UrbanWire

Something's fishy going on in the Channel 8 story department, if the recently produced local drama serials are of any hint.

First, there was the nasi lemak [coconut rice with fried condiments] in the heart of Holland Village, then came the Katong laksa [noodles in coconut gravy] that stirred relations in Spice Siblings and now, a fish n chips business that causes plenty of family fireworks and theatrics in the latest and second marathon serial- the 130-episode Double Happiness.

It seems the scriptwriters and producers are having very serious hunger pangs and they've certainly been making a television trend out of their stomach's misery. What's next? A family drama that revolves around the ham chee peng [deep fried pancake]?

Jokes aside, Double Happiness is billed as the next Holland V - an award-winning drama that had 1.2 million Singaporeans watching the finale.It stars real-life couple Edmund Chen, Xiang Yun, Jeff Wang, Vivian Lai, Aileen Tan, Ivy Lee and Priscelia Chan. The star-studded cast rounds up with 3 talented actors who won awards at the Star Awards last year for their roles in Holland V - Best Actor Xie Shaoguang [see picture left], Best Supporting Actor Huang Yiliang and Best Supporting Actress Patricia Mok.

The family drama revolves around the Luo family and their fish n chips restaurant managed by Mrs Luo (Jin Yinji) whose husband Luo Kaijin (Zhang Wei) sired 2 families. This sets the premise for the show where it centres on the children from the 2 families, from eldest loafer son Jialong (Xie Shaoguang) to sophisticated high-end living sister, Jiayu (Aileen Tan). Xiang Yun plays Jiaxi, the eldest daughter and Vivian plays the quiet and affected 3rd daughter, Jiaqian. Jeff Wang plays stage actor Jiafu, the 3rd son.

Yiliang [see picture left], who sports a weird balding hairdo for his character Lin Xuezhi, husband of Xiang Yun, describes his role in Mandarin, "This time, I play a nice husband whose business has failed. It is different now because I used to play the bad guys like a con man or a lazy husband in Holland V."

However, things aren't too different for the resident goody-2-shoes doctor character played by Edmund Chen [see picture right]. "Yes, I play a doctor again. I play an urologist who deals with, well, we would not go there!" Edmund laughs it off in English. With self-deprecating humour, Edmund is taking his typecasting with a pinch of salt. "I feel that I am a doctor and my job is an actor! Yes, my profession is being a doctor and my passion is acting!" he jests in mocking laughter.

Mrs Luo will die from a stroke halfway through the show, which sets the wheels of fighting for a share of the fish n chips business into motion. Family-fights and theatrics is just the kind of prime ingredient for a drama the audience tends to swallow hook, line and sinker, but whether the show can repeat Holland V's amazing feat remains to be seen.

The cast and crew are still filming the 2nd half of the show and somehow, somewhere, we suspect some hungry scriptwriters are writing the draft for a ham chee peng show. Now my hunger is showing.