ToGetHer

ToGetHer
Promotional poster
Also known as愛就宅一起
Ai Jiu Zhai Yi Qi
Superstar Express
GenreRomance, Comedy
Written byLin Xinhui (林欣慧), Jane Qi (簡奇峯)
Directed byLinzi Ping (林子平)
StarringRainie Yang
Jiro Wang
George Hu
Opening theme"越來越愛" [Loves You More And More] by Fahrenheit
Ending theme"默默" [Silently] by Fahrenheit
Country of originRepublic of China (Taiwan)
Original languageMandarin
No. of episodes12 (CTV edited version)
13 (GTV uncut version)
Production
Executive producersWu Yuqing (吳毓慶), Fang Ke Ren (方可人), Chen Zhihan (陳芷涵), Feng Jiarui (馮家瑞)
ProducersWang Xingui (王信貴), Huang Wanbo (黃萬伯)
Production locationsTaipei, Taiwan
Running time90 mins (Sundays at 22:00 to 23:30)
Production companyComic International Productions
Original release
NetworkChina Television (CTV)
Release15 February (2009-02-15) –
3 May 2009 (2009-05-03)
Related

ToGetHer (Chinese: 愛就宅一起; pinyin: Ai Jiu Zhai Yi Qi, aka Superstar Express) is a 2009 Taiwanese drama starring Jiro Wang of Fahrenheit, Rainie Yang and George Hu. It was produced by Comic International Productions (可米國際影視事業股份有限公司)[1] and directed by Linzi Ping (林子平). It started filming on 4 June 2008 and wrapped in mid-September 2008.

It was first broadcast in Taiwan on free-to-air China Television (CTV) (中視) from 15 February to 3 May 2009, every Sunday at 22:00 to 23:30 and cable TV Gala Television (GTV) Variety Show/CH 28 (八大綜合台) on 21 February to 9 May 2009, every Saturday at 21:00 to 22:30. The last two episodes on GTV were aired together as one episode. A few scenes were filmed in the 100% Entertainment recording studio and the building of Gala Television.

Synopsis

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Momo Chen is a quiet and shy girl with Jia Sen as her only friend. She is often forgotten and left behind. Her only interest is to read her manga, "Prince Kashaba." Mars is a superstar whose popularity went downhill after a series of negative publicity incidents. His finances, as a result, go into red alert and he is forced to move out of the company house provided to him and moves into a cheaper place instead. He is also told to attend school while on downtime. On the first day of school for Mars, he arrogantly signs his name onto one of Momo's manga with a permanent marker over a picture of Prince Kashaba. Momo becomes furious and yells at him in front of everyone. Meanwhile, Mars' manager, Yi Zhi, finds him a room for rent in Momo's house. Momo is unaware that the room is being rented until her sister drops the news on her suddenly after school. Both are unaware that it is Mars who is to be their tenant.

Mars gradually befriends Momo and her childhood friend Jia Sen, a swimming captain with the cognitive ability and maturity of an 8-year-old. Momo Chen describes him as "different from us" and "not silly or stupid". Jia Sen earns many medals for swimming and gives them to Momo because he secretly has feelings for her. He refers to Mars as "bad guy" and often gets upset when Momo hangs out with Mars. In the beginning Mars and Momo constantly fight but after going through some challenges together, they finally begin to show their feelings for one another.

Cast

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Actor Character Relationships
Jiro Wang (汪東城) Mars (莊俊男)
Rainie Yang (楊丞琳) Chen Mo Mo (陳默默)
George Hu (胡宇崴) Wei Jia Sen (魏加森) Mo Mo's best friend and Mars' rival
Linda Liao (廖語晴) Chen Chu Chu (陳楚楚) Mo Mo's sister
King Chin [zh] (金勤) Ke Yi Zhi (柯一隻) Mars' manager and friend
Bao Wei Ming (包偉銘) Tony Ge (Tony 哥) Mars' manager
Teddy Wang Jianlong (王建隆) Ben Mars' nemesis
Ke Shuqin (柯淑勤) Mars' mother (Mars母) Mars' mother
Ann Hsu (許瑋甯) Ivy (言詩嘉) Mars' ex-girlfriend
Mandy Wei (魏蔓) Luo Shasha (羅莎莎) Mars' classmate and Mo Mo's bully
Lin Caiwei (林采薇) Mao Mao (毛毛) Mars' classmate and Mo Mo's bully
Ba Yu (巴鈺) Xiao Bi (小白) Mars' classmate and Mo Mo's bully
Yang Ching-Hsuan (楊晴瑄) Money Mars' classmate and Mo Mo's bully
Heaven Hai Project team member Cameo

Soundtrack

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ToGetHer
Soundtrack album by
Various artists
Released2009
GenreMandopop
LanguageMandarin

ToGetHer Original Soundtrack (爱就宅一起 電視原聲帶) was released by Various artists, containing nine songs, in which four songs are various instrumental versions of the five original songs.[2]

Track listing

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No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Can't Help Myself" (管不住自己 (Guan Bu Zhu Zi Ji))Ring Hsu (徐宛鈴) 
2."World Wide Blackout" (全世界都停電 (Quan Shi Jie Dou Ting Dian))Tank 
3."Good to Be By Myself" (一個人就好 (Yi Ge Ren Jiu Hao))Jeno Liu 
4."Far Away By Your Side" (遠在身邊)Judy Chou 周定緯 
5."Silently inst." (消失的存在)  
6."Good To Have you - Silently inst." (有你真好)  
7."It's Love - Silently inst." (原來是愛)  
8."Loves You More And More inst." (噩運)  
9."Happy Lamb - Loves You More And More inst." (快樂羔羊)  

In addition, there are two songs not included in the original soundtrack: The opening theme song, which is "越來越愛" or "Loves You More And More" and the ending theme song "默默" or "Silently", both by Fahrenheit from their 3rd album Love You More and More.[3]

Books

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  • ToGetHer Love Box - Novel + Making Book (愛就宅一起戀愛寶盒-純愛小說+戀愛大作戰) - ISBN 978-957-803-727-4[4]
  • ToGetHer Photobook (愛就宅一起甜蜜寫真) - ISBN 978-957-803-723-6[5]

Reception

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China Television (CTV) (中視) Ratings[6]
Episode Original Broadcast Date Average Rank
1 15 February 2009 1.46 2
2 22 February 2009 1.19 2
3 1 March 2009 1.12 2
4 8 March 2009 1.06 2
5 15 March 2009 1.04 2
6 22 March 2009 0.98 2
7 29 March 2009 0.84 2
8 5 April 2009 0.76 2
9 12 April 2009 0.69 2
10 19 April 2009 0.82 2
11 27 April 2009 0.71 2
12 3 May 2009 0.80 2
Average 0.95 2

Rival dramas on air at the same time:

International broadcasts

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Channel Location Dates Times
Channel U Singapore 21 February - 9 May 2009 Saturdays at 21:30
8TV Malaysia from 7 March 2009 Saturdays at 18:30
Ching TV Korea 23 July - 19 August 2009 Mondays to Fridays at 18:00
China Entertainment Television (CETV) China from 20 August 2009 Mondays to Fridays at 19:00
Television Saitama (TVS) Saitama Prefecture, Japan from 15 January 2010 Fridays at 11:30
i-CABLE Entertainment Hong Kong from 1 February 2010 Mondays to Fridays at 22:00
TVB J2 Hong Kong from 3 February 2010 Wednesdays & Thursdays at 22:30
Hunan Broadcasting System (HBS) China from 14 July 2010 every night at 22:00

Controversy

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On 15 February 2009, the premiere of the first episode of ToGether on China Television (CTV) (中視) was cut by approximately 17 minutes. This led to criticisms on the CTV forum, for not respecting the production team's vision and their creative spirit. CTV defended by stating that they wanted the story to be more compact.[7] On 17 February 2009, Rainie Yang expressed on her blog, of hers and the production team's sadness over the edited first "incomplete" episode and reiterated that the premiere on Gala Television (GTV) Variety Show/CH 28 will be the complete version.[8]

On 20 February 2009, the unaired episode 2 of TogetHer, due for network broadcast on 22 February, was posted on YouTube. Lai Cong Bi (賴聰筆), Deputy General Manager of Gala Television (GTV) expressed that in order to maximise the promotional tour of Jiro Wang, Rainie Yang and George Hu to Singapore, DVD of episodes 1 and 2 were released the previous week in Singapore.[9]

Production credit

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  • Screenwriter - Lin Xinhui (林欣慧), Jane Qi (簡奇峯)
  • Screenplay coordinator – Qi Xilin (齊錫麟)
  • Marketing coordinator – Choi Ji Qiao (蔡紀喬)
  • Producer – Wang Xingui (王信貴), Huang Wanbo (黃萬伯)
  • Director – Linzi Ping (林子平)
  • Post-production director – Zhang Ying-lun (張映綸)
  • Executive Producer – Wu Yuqing (吳毓慶) (CTV program manager), Fang Ke Ren (方可人) (GTV Planning Manager), Chen Zhihan (陳芷涵) (GTV Planning Manager), Feng Jiarui (馮家瑞) (Comic International Productions Executive)

References

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  1. ^ (in Chinese) Fahrenciti.com Jiro Wang filmography profile info Archived 2009-09-19 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2010-11-11
  2. ^ Various Artists. ToGetHer Original Soundtrack. 2009. CD.
  3. ^ Fahrenheit. Love You More and More. 2009. CD.
  4. ^ Yesasia.com ToGetHer Love Box - Novel + Making Book info Archived 2009-05-02 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2010-11-10
  5. ^ Yesasia.com ToGetHer Photobook info Archived 2010-07-06 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2010-11-10
  6. ^ (in Chinese) China Times.com China Times Archived 2013-01-26 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ (in Chinese) NOW News 《愛就宅一起》首集意外遭中視刪剪 楊丞琳發文表示失望 Archived 2009-02-22 at the Wayback Machine 2009/02/19. Retrieved 2010-11-11
  8. ^ (in Chinese) Rainie's Blog 不完整的"愛" Archived 2012-03-20 at the Wayback Machine 17 February 2009. Retrieved 2010-11-11
  9. ^ (in Chinese) 宅一起爆山寨版 大東床戲被看光 Archived 2010-06-26 at the Wayback Machine 23 February 2009. Retrieved 2010-11-11
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