The World of Collecting

One of the most interesting game shows I've seen recently is a Chinese one called "The World of Collecting" (ICN). From what I can understand, you have these celebrities sitting on a panel, trying to judge whether an item is a real antique or not. These "antiques" are brought in by average joes. The joes talk up their antiques and try to get the celebrities to bid. Now comes the interesting part. After the bidding, the joes have a choice. It turns out that their "antiques" have been evaluated by experts. If their "antiques" have passed the test, they'll get a certificate of authentication. If the "antiques" have failed, the host will smash their "antiques" to pieces. The choice is this: do they want to go through this authentication process or do they want to walk away with no chance at earning money. Education and drama all in one!

Look At Flower In Fog

Lately I've been watching Look At Flower In Fog on ICN. A Chinese drama, it takes place in modern China and it's all about the antique business.  That alone is fascinating, the drama going into depth about all the fakery and fraud that goes on, like taking ancient jade and machine cutting it into a "rare" object or using laborious ancient techniques to manufacture exquisite pottery that are as good as the ones from famous eras.  The plot itself is just as complex, no one knowing who's really who, who's conspiring with whom.  But what really keeps me coming back is the excellence of the script, the directing and the acting.  Every scene is filled with tension, even a simple breakfast scene where a father warns a daughter to eat slower.  There was this one amazing scene:  a man and a woman, co-workers, arguing in a corridor; she's in love with him; he's in trouble (a client has complained that he's conned her); the woman, in a fit of anger, declares that the client is a whore and she's going to slug her; for a moment, absolute silence as each absorbs the outburst; then the man smiles and says, "That's so nice of you." Absolutely wonderful.

What Happened To The Queens?

Anyone know what happened to The Queens on ICN?  The grandson of the evil bitch is finally in power and now the shows disappears?  Instead, I'm stuck watching Go West and not really liking it.