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| '''The Golden Path''' (]: 黄金路) is a 30-episode blockbuster drama serial. Set in 1982 and spanning 25 years to tell the story of a family embroiled in conflicts of interest, webs of deceit, love, hatred and vengeance. The drama was produced by ] in celebration of the company's 25 years of local Chinese drama production and incorporates scenes from past dramas such as ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. | '''The Golden Path''' (]: 黄金路) is a 30-episode blockbuster drama serial. Set in 1982 and spanning 25 years to tell the story of a family embroiled in conflicts of interest, webs of deceit, love, hatred and vengeance. The drama was produced by ] in celebration of the company's 25 years of local Chinese drama production and incorporates scenes from past dramas such as ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. | ||
| This serial is being telecast on ], from ] ], weekdays at 9pm, and will end on ] ]. | This serial is being telecast on ], from ] ], weekdays at 9pm, and will end on ] ]. | ||
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| ==Cast== | ==Cast== | ||
| ====Ng Family<ref>The family's surname appears as Huang (the standard ] translation) on all English subtitles. However, the family's surname is discovered to be "Ng".</ref>==== | =====Ng Family<ref>The family's surname appears as Huang (the standard ] translation) on all English subtitles. However, the family's surname is discovered to be "Ng".</ref>===== | ||
| =====First Generation===== | =====First Generation===== | ||
| *Xiao-gu (笑姑, portrayed by ] (陈莉萍))- The pivotal character of the entire series. She is the matriarch of the Ng family. Xiao Gu's first husband, Ah Shun (阿順), died early, forcing her to raise her three children alone. She insisted on marrying Ah Jin against all odds, and adopts his two children when he commits suicide after a confrontation with the police. | *Xiao-gu (笑姑, portrayed by ] (陈莉萍))- The pivotal character of the entire series. She is the matriarch of the Ng family. Xiao Gu's first husband, Ah Shun (阿順), died early, forcing her to raise her three children alone. She insisted on marrying Ah Jin against all odds, and adopts his two children when he commits suicide after a confrontation with the police agents. After knowing that Kaijie had tipped them off, Xiao Gu began to felt guilty towards Jin Long and his sister. | ||
| *Ah Shun (阿順, portrayed by ])- The first husband of Xiao-gu. He died before the start of the serie's universe in ], and appeared only in flashbacks. His connections with the criminal underworld almost cost Xiao-gu's life very early on in the series. | *Ah Shun (阿順, portrayed by ])- The first husband of Xiao-gu. He died before the start of the serie's universe in ], and appeared only in flashbacks. His connections with the criminal underworld almost cost Xiao-gu's life very early on in the series. His surname is implied to be Ng, given the names of his children. | ||
| =====Second Generation===== | =====Second Generation===== | ||
| *Kaida (凯达), portrayed by ] (周初明))- The eldest son of Xiao-gu. Always the most academically inclined member of the family, he became a medical student, and served as a doctor at a local hospital. When Kaida discovered the crime his brother, Kaijie, had committed, he covered up for his brother. The pressure of such a cover-up drove Kaida to insanity, costing Kaida his medical licence, as well as his love interest, Lu Simin. | *Kaida (凯达), portrayed by ] (周初明))- The eldest son of Xiao-gu. Always the most academically inclined member of the family, he became a medical student, and served as a doctor at a local hospital. When Kaida discovered the crime his brother, Kaijie, had committed, he covered up for his brother. The pressure of such a cover-up drove Kaida to insanity, costing Kaida his medical licence, as well as his love interest, Lu Simin who married another man. | ||
| *Kaijie (凯杰), portrayed by ] (郑斌辉))- The youngest son of Xiao-gu. He has always been the person who resorted to unscrupulous methods to attain his goals. He, along with neighbour Fatty Ying, tipped off police as to the real identity of Ah Jin, thus causing Ah Jin's death. Although Kaijie had lagged academically in his youth, he attended university, and entered the police force after graduating in Law. He has a love interest for his adopted sister, Jinfeng, but when he made her pregnant, Kaijie pushed Jinfeng into the sea during a cruise, which killed her. He eventually married Lin Fei despite the latter's affections for Jin Long, and went into hiding after his crime was investigated by his superiors. | *Kaijie (凯杰), portrayed by ] (郑斌辉))- The youngest son of Xiao-gu. He has always been the person who resorted to unscrupulous methods to attain his goals. He, along with neighbour Fatty Ying, tipped off police as to the real identity of Ah Jin, thus causing Ah Jin's death. Although Kaijie had lagged academically in his youth, he attended university, and entered the police force after graduating in Law. He has a love interest for his adopted sister, Jinfeng, but when he made her pregnant, Kaijie pushed Jinfeng into the sea during a cruise, which killed her. He eventually married Lin Fei despite the latter's affections for Jin Long, and went into hiding after his crime was investigated by his superiors. | ||
| *Kaiqi (凯琪), portrayed by ] (白薇秀))- The only daughter of Xiao-gu, Kaiqi is a good-natured, justice-minded individual who aspires to be a journalist. She was only one who could communicate with Jinlong. When she discovered |
*Kaiqi (凯琪), portrayed by ] (白薇秀))- The only daughter of Xiao-gu, Kaiqi is a good-natured, justice-minded individual who aspires to be a journalist. She was only one who could communicate with Jinlong, but fell out with him after Kaida went insane. When she discovered Jin Long's exploits in the underworld, she tried to persuade Jinlong to leave the underworld and return to the family, without avail. | ||
| ===Jin Family=== | ===Jin Family=== | ||
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| *Ah Ying (阿英)- The wife of Ah Lin. She operated a ] store alongside Xiao-gu's cookery. She was a gossip-monger, always gossiping about others. Ah Ying held Xiao-gu responsible for Ah Lin's insanity, and became hostile towards her after her husband's arrest. | *Ah Ying (阿英)- The wife of Ah Lin. She operated a ] store alongside Xiao-gu's cookery. She was a gossip-monger, always gossiping about others. Ah Ying held Xiao-gu responsible for Ah Lin's insanity, and became hostile towards her after her husband's arrest. | ||
| *Ah Lin (阿林, portrayed by ])- The husband of Ah Ying. He is a cowardly man, and frequently abused by Ah Ying. This drove him into becoming the "Oily Man" (油鬼仔): a man covered in motor oil who rapes women across town. When Jinlong found out, he attempted to blackmail Ah Lin, but Ah Lin could not come up with the money, and went insane. After chasing Jinlong, Kaiqi, and Kaijie across Chinatown with a butcher's knife, Ah Lin was arrested and committed to a mental institution, though years later he recovered. | *Ah Lin (阿林, portrayed by ])- The husband of Ah Ying. He is a cowardly man, and frequently abused by Ah Ying. This drove him into becoming the "Oily Man" (油鬼仔): a man covered in motor oil who rapes women across town. When Jinlong found out, he attempted to blackmail Ah Lin, but Ah Lin could not come up with the money, and went insane. After chasing Jinlong, Kaiqi, and Kaijie across Chinatown with a butcher's knife, Ah Lin was arrested and committed to a mental institution, though years later he recovered and secretly became Jin Long's ally. | ||
| *Lao Cai (老蔡, portrayed by ] (李文海))- A police officer in Chinatown, a well-meaning but |
*Lao Cai (老蔡, portrayed by ] (李文海))- A police officer in Chinatown, a well-meaning but muddle-headed man who doesn't gave much thought to the idea of Ah Jin being the robber. He eventually got promoted after his years of hard work. | ||
| *Chen Ge (成哥, portrayed by ])- A close friend of both Xiao-gu and her deceased first husband, Ah Shun. He helped them out when Ah Shun was gravely ill. He was a member of the triads, and was betrayed and murdered by his wife's lover, Ah She in the first episode. Before he breathed his last, he entrusted a key to his hidden ill-gotten money to Xiao-gu via Jinlong. The money was destroyed in a house fire during a struggle between Xiao-gu and Ah She. | *Chen Ge (成哥, portrayed by ])- A close friend of both Xiao-gu and her deceased first husband, Ah Shun. He helped them out when Ah Shun was gravely ill. He was a member of the triads, and was betrayed and murdered by his wife's lover, Ah She in the first episode. Before he breathed his last, he entrusted a key to his hidden ill-gotten money to Xiao-gu via Jinlong. The money was destroyed in a house fire during a struggle between Xiao-gu and Ah She. | ||
| *Ah She (阿蛇)- The lover of Chen Ge's wife. He ordered the killing of Chen Ge, and when he and Chen Ge's wife found out about the key to the safe that Chen Ge gave to Xiao-gu, they kidnapped Xiao-gu and Kaijie. They safe was found at an abandoned house, full of money, but a scuffle between Xiao-gu and Ah She broke out, and a fire was subsequently started (with the original intent to kill Xiao |
*Ah She (阿蛇)- The lover of Chen Ge's wife. He ordered the killing of Chen Ge, and when he and Chen Ge's wife found out about the key to the safe that Chen Ge gave to Xiao-gu, they kidnapped Xiao-gu and Kaijie. They safe was found at an abandoned house, full of money, but a scuffle between Xiao-gu and Ah She broke out, and a fire was subsequently started (with the original intent to kill Xiao Gu and Kaijie). Ah She died in the blaze. | ||
| *Chen Sao (成嫂, literally "The Wife of Chen", portrayed ])- She had an affair with one of the members of her husband's triad. She collaborated with her lover, Ah She, to murder Chen Ge and set their hands on his ill-gotten riches. When they discovered that the key to the safe that held the money was in Xiao |
*Chen Sao (成嫂, literally "The Wife of Chen", portrayed ])- She had an affair with one of the members of her husband's triad. She collaborated with her lover, Ah She, to murder Chen Ge and set their hands on his ill-gotten riches. When they discovered that the key to the safe that held the money was in Xiao Gu's hands, they kidnapped both Xiao Gu and Kaijie. The money was discovered, but it was lost it in a fire set by Ah She in an attempt to kill Xiao Gu and Kaijie. She was rescued by Xiao Gu eventually. | ||
| ====1995 era==== | ====1995 era==== | ||
| *Lin Fei (林菲, portryed by ] (陈凤玲))- Born into a rich family, Lin Fei suffered from a grave illness with a bone marrow transplant only possible from Kaijie to save her life. She fell for Jinlong first, but married Kaijie after some misunderstandings arose between Lin Fei and Jinlong. Despite that, she still had feelings for Jinlong, and was in a dilemma after she found out about the dark secret Kaijie has been hiding for years. | *Lin Fei (林菲, portryed by ] (陈凤玲))- Born into a rich family, Lin Fei suffered from a grave illness with a bone marrow transplant only possible from Kaijie to save her life. She fell for Jinlong first, but married Kaijie after some misunderstandings arose between Lin Fei and Jinlong. Despite that, she still had feelings for Jinlong, and was in a dilemma after she found out about the dark secret Kaijie has been hiding for years. | ||
| *Bak Kut Girl (肉骨妹, real name Ah Zhen (阿真), portrayed by ] (蔡佩璇))- A runaway from ], ], where she was forced to marry a rich man to clear her father's debts. She worked at Jinlong's grandfather's ] stall. She is rough and brute, but caring for her friends inside. She developed a love interest in Jinlong, and eventually married him. She killed a rival gang leader for Jinlong, and |
*Bak Kut Girl (肉骨妹, real name Ah Zhen (阿真), portrayed by ] (蔡佩璇))- A runaway from ], ], where she was forced to marry a rich man to clear her father's debts. She worked at Jinlong's grandfather's ] stall. She is rough and brute, but caring for her friends inside. She developed a love interest in Jinlong, and eventually married him. She killed a rival gang leader for Jinlong, and was arrested. Jinlong broke her out of police custody, but she was eventually killed by Kaijie. | ||
| *Lin Desheng (林德生, portrayed by ] (黄文永))- A famous lawyer in Singapore, his investments have earned him millions of dollars. Aware of his daughter Lin Fei's grave illness, he dotes on her and gives her free will to do anything she wants. When she was saved by a successful bone marrow transplant operation, however, his relationship with her begins to worsen as he starts to plan for her life. |
*Lin Desheng (林德生, portrayed by ] (黄文永))- A famous lawyer in Singapore, his investments have earned him millions of dollars. Aware of his daughter Lin Fei's grave illness, he dotes on her and gives her free will to do anything she wants. When she was saved by a successful bone marrow transplant operation, however, his relationship with her begins to worsen as he starts to plan for her life. What he did not know was that Lin Fei is actually the beneficiary of a trust fund worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The trust fund was left by Lin Fei's mother, who hated Lin Desheng for his fickle ways. | ||
| ====2003 Era==== | ====2003 Era==== | ||
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| ==Synopsis== | ==Synopsis== | ||
| In the year 1982, a young widow named Xiao Gu (Chen Liping) set up a street hawker stall in Chinatown, selling cooked food. Xiao Gu befriended Ah Jin (Li Nanxing), a seemingly normal man who seeks companionship. Xiao Gu has 3 children: Huang Kaida who is the eldest son in the family, Huang Kaijie the second son, and Huang Kaiqi the youngest child and the only daughter in the family. For Ah Jin, he has two children: Jinlong the elder son, and Jinfeng the younger sister. | |||
| Things in life never ran smooth for Xiao Gu and Ah Jin. Xiao Gu had to take care of both her food stall and her three children, while Ah Jin hides a dark unknown past, which not even his children were clear of. Ah Jin's children only know that their father took custody of them some years after they were born. Nevertheless, Ah Jin proposed to Xiao Gu and the two prepared to get married again. | |||
| Xiao Gu’s elder son, Kaida (Chew Chor Meng) is a medical student while her 2nd son, Kaijie (Tay Ping Hui) is studying law. Her youngest child and only daughter, Kaiqi (Joanne Peh) is also an undergraduate. While her own children seem to have a bright future ahead of them, the same cannot be said of Ah Jin’s off springs. Ah Jin’s son, Jinlong (also played by Li Nanxing) has a carefree nature, and does not have any direction in life. As for his daughter, Jinfeng (newcomer and Miss Singapore Universe 2007 first runner-up and Miss Photogenic Joey Feng), she has her mind set on being a TV artiste, and is therefore not interested in pursuing her studies. Except for Kaiqi, Jinlong has always regarded Xiao Gu and her family with enmity, thinking that she is somewhat responsible for his father’s death and that she has made use of his father’s loot to rise to riches. While he has a secret liking for Kaiqi, as a result of their disparity in station, Jinlong keeps his feelings for Kaiqi to himself. | |||
| On the day of their marriage however, Ah Jin was confronted by thirty mysterious gunmen dressed in black who wanted to take him away. Ah Jin resisted, with surprisingly inhuman strength and speed, before being fatally wounded. Much to Xiao Gu's horror, Ah Jin morphed into a green-skinned extraterrestrial, and in his dying breath, pleaded with Xiao Gu to take care of his two children who were still oblivious to Ah Jin's true nature due to the secret agents' memory distortion devices. | |||
| Although Jinlong is at loggerheads with Kaijie, his sister, Jinfeng on the other hand, is especially on close terms with him. Jinlong suspects that Kaijie has a hand in the sudden drowning of Jinfeng. He breaks away from the Huang family, and goes astray. He joins the secret society, and after some time, rises to be the infamous ‘Loan shark King’. As for Kaijie, he joins the police force after graduating with a law degree. He makes a name for himself in the police force, after having led a number of successful operations. At the opposing ends of the law, Jinlong and Kaijie’s feud continues. | |||
| Although Xiao Gu turned half-insane from the incident, she took on the challenge of raising 5 children. After years of hard work, she managed to set up a restaurant by the name of "Insane Restaurant" where customers pays as much as S$200 for normally cheap food like bread and rice, and as little as 50 cents for normally expensive delicacies like foie gras. The restaurant became extremely popular. | |||
| On a yacht trip,Kaijie quarrels with Jin Feng and pushes her overboard.The rest,downstairs in the cabin,are oblivious to the tussle. | |||
| Xiao Gu and Ah Jin's children also grew up. Kaida (Chew Chor Meng) becomes a talented doctor who graduated from a medical school recently. Kaijie (Tay Ping Hui) studied law while Kaiqi (Joanne Peh) also became an undergraduate. Ah Jin's son Jinlong (Li Nanxing again) dropped out of school due to his peers making fun of his pointy elf-like ears, while Ah Jin's daughter Jinfeng (Joey Feng) also stopped attending school, being more interested in pursuing a career in gambling, which thrives in the neighbouring state Coral Island. | |||
| Kaida discovers that Kaijie is responsible for Jinfeng’s death. However, he decides to cover up for his brother. Saddled by guilt, he soon becomes mentally affected, and is unable to fulfil his dream of becoming a doctor. After her graduation, Kaiqi becomes a journalist. While researching the crimes of the underworld, Kaiqi learns that Jinlong is already one of the underworld chiefs. She tries to persuade Jinlong to leave the underworld, but to no avail as he reasons that he has already ventured onto path of no return…. | |||
| Kaijie and Jinlong are archenemies from the beginning when Ah Jin and Xiao Gu's children met, and now they still quarrel. Kaijie would insult Jin Long by making fun of his intelligence and his pointy ears while the latter would become furious and attempt to beat up Kaijie and send him to a hospital. He would have succeeded, given his unnatural brute strength and invulnerability if it had not been for Kaijie's similarly unnatural agility. | |||
| The friction between Jinlong and Kaijie intensifies. Forced by circumstances, Jinlong has to leave Singapore. As for Kaijie, following investigation by his superiors, he has also gone into hiding. After much effort, Jinlong manages to trace the whereabouts of Kaijie, with the intention of killing him. However, in the end, he changes his mind, and instead returns to Singapore to give himself up. | |||
| Kaijie and Jin Long soon became interested in a girl named Lin Fei (Felicia Chin). Lin Fei however, only have eyes for Jin Long, and she often gave Jin Long cryptic messages like "You are the chosen one" and "The power of two brings you into perfection". Jin Long had no idea what she was talking about, but he still stick around and entertained her. On the other hand, Kaiqi was suspicious of Lin Fei, believing her to be in league with those agents who had murdered Ah Jin. | |||
| For the past 20 years, in spite of the various challenges that come her way, Xiao Gu has always take them in her stride. She sells all her properties and donates the proceeds to charities. Together with Kaida who is recovering from his mental illness, she re-starts the “Happy Restaurant” business. | |||
| Knowing that Kaida would soon be leaving Singapore for Coral Island for a medical course on how to bandage wounds using just poker cards and dice, Jinfeng desperately pleaded with her stepmother Xiao Gu to allow her to go with Kaida. Xiao Gu who is slowly becoming more and more insane, gave Jinfeng permission and even encouraged her to earn a million dollars through gambling. A worried Kaida resolved to bring his mother Xiao Gu to see a psychiatrist when he returned back. | |||
| Being ever optimistic, Xiao Gu still stands by her personal belief and dictum: “A day passes whether you laugh or cry. So, shouldn’t you choose to laugh your day away instead?” | |||
| In Coral Island, Kaida and Jinfeng were amazed to see that the lecturer for Kaida's life-saving course was none other than the legendary gambler Yan Fei (Li Nanxing yet again). Yan Fei had became so adept with his gambling skills that he is even able to float in the air for up to 3 minutes by pummelling on the ground repeatedly with steel-made dice. Taking a liking at Kaida and Jinfeng, Yan Fei agreed to teach both of them his skills at the price package for the medical course. | |||
| Jinfeng learnt unique gambling skills like how to manipulate poker cards while bathing or hiding herself from view with flying poker cards when she needs to relieve herself in an open space. During the months she spent in Coral Island, she earned 300,000 Coral Dollars through gambling, and upon returning to Singapore she was sorely disappointed to find out that the exchange rate turned out to be 29,867 Coral Dollars for every Singapore Dollar. | |||
| As he had promised, upon returning Kaida brought his mother to see a renowned Psychiatrist in Holland Village, named Mo Wanwan (Chen Liping again). The famous Psychiatrist was once a hawker just like Xiao Gu, and seeing a kindred spirit, decided help Xiao Gu restore her sanity to the best of her ability. Mo Wanwan's unconventional ways of curing insanity involve making a patient regularly eat a specially-treated dish of either Hokkien Mee or Nasi Lemak served with powdered medicine at varying quantities that heals his or her mental aspect. | |||
| Soon after Xiao Gu restored her sanity, becomes as normal as she did before she married Ah Jin. She was grateful to Mo Wanwan for saving her mental state. When she returned back to her restaurant, she was shocked at its name and pricing methods, and decided to rename it as "Restaurant of Sanity", where it would serve highly exotic food like Polar Bear Brain in Pig's Blood with Herbs and Spices, at reasonable prices. | |||
| Years passed. Jinlong has married Ah Zhen (Cai Peixuan), nicknamed Bak Kut Girl, partly because of her working in a Bak Kut Teh stall and partly because of her skeletal thin figure. Still, the meddlesome Lin Fei showed up to harrass the family. Upon seeing Lin Fei intruding in the lives of his family again, Kaida and Kaiqi decided to confront her. However, Kaida's sixth sense, gained from his training with Yan Fei, tells him that Lin Fei means no harm. | |||
| The two siblings brought along their stepbrother Jinlong as well. It turned out that Lin Fei is a Messenger for a Terrorist group named the Liberation of the Tigers of the Singapore Republic, or Singapore Tigers in short. She reveals that Singapore has been sealed off from outsiders and had the people living in an illusion: They do not know that they are actually in the late 21st Century, in the year 2094. Jinlong's father Ah Jin was an alien from a distant star who have accidentally entered and discovered Singapore's illusion world, and thus the Singapore government had him killed. | |||
| Jinlong was also revealed to be a hybrid creature born from an experiment mixing the DNA of Ah Jin and a human. This makes Jinlong a half-human, half-alien, thus explaining the elf-like ears he have. Having the strengths of both races, Jinlong is the ultimate, and the chosen saviour to defeat the evil government that controls the illusion world, thus freeing everyone including his family. | |||
| Lin Fei elaborated on the past attempts by the Singapore Tigers to free Singaporeans from the illusion world. VR-Man (Edmund Chen), a superhero allied with the Singapore Tigers, tried to use his own reality-altering powers to revert Chinatown back to normal but the secret agents chased him away. Soon after, VR-Man discovered the existence of a massive machine named the Matrix Illusion Generating Machine, that brainwashes Singaporeans to believe that they are still living in the early 21st Century. | |||
| VR-Man was about to return to the base of the Liberation of the Tigers of the Singapore Republic when he was surrounded by secret agents. VR-Man was killed by them for gaining this top secret information, but he managed to pass down the knowledge to his successor Chadley Krakka, who wastes no time disseminating the information to all the top leaders of the Singapore Tigers. | |||
| Chadley Krakka, who viewed VR-Man as a martyr, joined the Singapore Tigers as their best warrior. The terrorists are currently seeking the location of the Matrix Illusion Generating Machine. They hired the services of Phua Chu Kang (Gurmit Singh), a talented contractor who can help to deliver explosives to blow up the machine. Now what they need is someone to break past the defences that protect the machine. | |||
| Jinlong realised that his greatest nemesis is his own stepbrother Kaijie, who works for the government. Kaijie has been keeping tabs on his movements and Jinlong found out about it. Not only that, Kaijie murdered his wife Bak Kut Girl, who in her death reveals to be another member of the Singapore Tigers who has been encouraging Jinlong to fight against the government. Wanting revenge, Jinlong undergoes intensive training for some months to prepare to fight the ultimate battle. | |||
| Xiao Gu became worried at Jinlong's involvement in terrorist activity, and sent Jinlong's sister Jinfeng to talk him round. Jinlong refused to budge, only thinking of revenge against Kaijie and the Singapore government. Jinfeng had no choice but to seek the Golden Pillow, a big smooth stone made of pure gold which is reputed to have prophetic powers and can speak to a user. | |||
| The Golden Pillow is currently in the possession of David (Nathaniel Ho), a young punter who uses the treasure to get the future winning lottery and toto numbers. Together with betting on horse races successfully, David quickly became a millionaire. He also managed to woo and married Kaiqi successfully after consulting the Golden Pillow on how to satisfy the needs of Kaiqi. Knowing of the Golden Pillow's potential powers, Jinfeng pleaded with David to lend her that treasure. | |||
| David was unwilling to let the treasure to fall into the wrong hands, and thus challenged Jinfeng to beat him in a gambling match. If he loses, he will lend her the Golden Pillow. Jinfeng accepted the challenge. Not knowing that Jinfeng had trained under Yan Fei the elite gambler, David underestimated her and was defeated. Kaijie, who learnt of Jinfeng's plans, snatched the Golden Pillow away before David can hand it over to Jinfeng. | |||
| Kaijie now have the potential to defeat Jinlong so long he keeps his ear to the Golden Pillow. Then a miraculous event happened. The star warrior from the Singapore Tigers arrived: Chadley Krakka, who uses his energy saber to slice up and destroy the Golden Pillow before Kaijie was able to learn the secrets to defeating Jinlong. David screamed in horror when he realised that he no longer can predict the future winning lottery and toto numbers, and thus have to start working for a living. | |||
| Kaijie retreated back to his government base of operations. Chadley Krakka handed his energy saber to Jinlong, telling him to make best use of it against the forces of evil before flying off for another mission to save the day. Lin Fei arrived to help Jinlong in the final confrontation against the corrupt government. Chadley Krakka and the Singapore Tigers Intelligence directed them to the Parliament, which is where the government has placed their Matrix Illusion Generating Machine. | |||
| The final boss showed up - Kaijie in his power suit sponsored by the government. The Parliament crumbles down after a fierce battle between Jinlong, Lin Fei, and the enemy machine drones, revealing the Matrix Illusion Generating Machine. Kaijie merged with the machine to become a gigantic robot, naming himself as Mecha Kaijie. Mecha Kaijie killed Lin Fei with his huge laser gun. With her last breath, the dying Lin Fei called up Phua Chu Kang to set up the explosives... | |||
| Phua Chu Kang the contractor turned up in stealth mode and set up explosives on the feet of the robot and then detonate them. However, the explosives only destroyed his feet and had not stopped the Mecha Kaijie's firepower. Jinlong sacrificed himself by using the energy saber to slice Mecha Kaijie into two at close range, killing them both. The illusion world was thus destroyed, freeing Singaporeans along with Xiao Gu and her remaining children. Xiao Gu and Kaiqi offered a prayer for Jinlong, knowing in their hearts that he had sacrificed himself so that Singaporeans can start their lives anew. | |||
| (''Source: Channel 8 website'') | (''Source: Channel 8 website'') | ||
Revision as of 06:49, 20 January 2008
2007 Singaporean TV series or program| The Golden Path | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Modern Drama |
| Starring | Chen Liping Li Nanxing Tay Ping Hui Joanne Peh Felicia Chin Chew Chor Meng Huang Wenyong Alan Tern Cai Peixuan (Chua Poi Suan) Joey Feng Priscelia Chan |
| Opening theme | 路 by Mi Lu Bing |
| Ending theme | 舍不得 by Mi Lu Bing |
| Country of origin | Singapore |
| Original language | Chinese |
| No. of episodes | 30 |
| Production | |
| Running time | approx. 45 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | MediaCorp |
| Release | 11 December 2007 – 21 January 2008 |
The Golden Path (Chinese: 黄金路) is a 30-episode blockbuster drama serial. Set in 1982 and spanning 25 years to tell the story of a family embroiled in conflicts of interest, webs of deceit, love, hatred and vengeance. The drama was produced by MediaCorp in celebration of the company's 25 years of local Chinese drama production and incorporates scenes from past dramas such as The Seletar Robbery, The Flying Fish, Pretty Faces, Turn of The Tide, Finishing Lines, The Last Applause, Stepping Out, Unbeatables III and Holland V.
This serial is being telecast on MediaCorp TV Channel 8, from 11 December 2007, weekdays at 9pm, and will end on 21 January 2008.
Cast
Ng Family
First Generation
- Xiao-gu (笑姑, portrayed by Chen Liping (陈莉萍))- The pivotal character of the entire series. She is the matriarch of the Ng family. Xiao Gu's first husband, Ah Shun (阿順), died early, forcing her to raise her three children alone. She insisted on marrying Ah Jin against all odds, and adopts his two children when he commits suicide after a confrontation with the police agents. After knowing that Kaijie had tipped them off, Xiao Gu began to felt guilty towards Jin Long and his sister.
- Ah Shun (阿順, portrayed by Yang Xinquan)- The first husband of Xiao-gu. He died before the start of the serie's universe in 1982, and appeared only in flashbacks. His connections with the criminal underworld almost cost Xiao-gu's life very early on in the series. His surname is implied to be Ng, given the names of his children.
Second Generation
- Kaida (凯达), portrayed by Chew Chor Meng (周初明))- The eldest son of Xiao-gu. Always the most academically inclined member of the family, he became a medical student, and served as a doctor at a local hospital. When Kaida discovered the crime his brother, Kaijie, had committed, he covered up for his brother. The pressure of such a cover-up drove Kaida to insanity, costing Kaida his medical licence, as well as his love interest, Lu Simin who married another man.
- Kaijie (凯杰), portrayed by Tay Ping Hui (郑斌辉))- The youngest son of Xiao-gu. He has always been the person who resorted to unscrupulous methods to attain his goals. He, along with neighbour Fatty Ying, tipped off police as to the real identity of Ah Jin, thus causing Ah Jin's death. Although Kaijie had lagged academically in his youth, he attended university, and entered the police force after graduating in Law. He has a love interest for his adopted sister, Jinfeng, but when he made her pregnant, Kaijie pushed Jinfeng into the sea during a cruise, which killed her. He eventually married Lin Fei despite the latter's affections for Jin Long, and went into hiding after his crime was investigated by his superiors.
- Kaiqi (凯琪), portrayed by Joanne Peh (白薇秀))- The only daughter of Xiao-gu, Kaiqi is a good-natured, justice-minded individual who aspires to be a journalist. She was only one who could communicate with Jinlong, but fell out with him after Kaida went insane. When she discovered Jin Long's exploits in the underworld, she tried to persuade Jinlong to leave the underworld and return to the family, without avail.
Jin Family
First Generation
- Ah Jin (阿金, portrayed by Li Nanxing (李南星))- On the surface, Ah Jin appeared to be a kind person, albeit with a rough edge. However, it is soon discovered that Ah Jin was a green-skinned extraterrestrial who landed on Singapore accidentally, and was hiding from secret agents. Xiao-gu, unbeknownst of his horrifying background, eventually decided to marry him, only to be pursued by the police on their day of their marriage after a tip-off from Xiao-gu's second son, Kaijie. His children Jinlong and Jinfeng were entrusted in her care after he committed suicide.
Second Generation
- Jinlong (金龙) portrayed by Li Nanxing (李南星), young version portrayed by Fraser Tiong (張家奇))- The son of Ah Jin, he was entrusted in Xiao-gu's care after Ah Jin committed suicide. Throughout the series, Jinlong was spiteful towards the Xiao-gu's family because of his perception that Xiao-gu was responsible for his father's death and that she used his jewelry heist loots as a springboard for her future business successes. He had a love interest towards Huang Kaiqi, but eventually left the family after the death of his sister, Jinfeng. He joined a terrorist group by the name of Singapore Tigers in order to repay his grandfather's debts, and marries Bak Kut Girl.
- Jinfeng (金凤), portrayed by Joey Feng (冯瑾瑜))- The only daughter of Ah Jin. She had been, in contrast to her brother, on endearing terms with Xiao-gu's family. She was not academically inclined, and always dreamt of being a celebrity. She was the love interest of Kaijie, who made her pregnant. Refusing to acknowledge the relationship, and unwilling to give up his chance at millions of dollars with Lin Fei, Kaijie pushed Jinfeng into the ocean during a cruise, which put Jinfeng into a coma that eventually killed her.
Other Characters
1982 Era
- Ah Ying (阿英)- The wife of Ah Lin. She operated a wanton store alongside Xiao-gu's cookery. She was a gossip-monger, always gossiping about others. Ah Ying held Xiao-gu responsible for Ah Lin's insanity, and became hostile towards her after her husband's arrest.
- Ah Lin (阿林, portrayed by Wang Yuqing)- The husband of Ah Ying. He is a cowardly man, and frequently abused by Ah Ying. This drove him into becoming the "Oily Man" (油鬼仔): a man covered in motor oil who rapes women across town. When Jinlong found out, he attempted to blackmail Ah Lin, but Ah Lin could not come up with the money, and went insane. After chasing Jinlong, Kaiqi, and Kaijie across Chinatown with a butcher's knife, Ah Lin was arrested and committed to a mental institution, though years later he recovered and secretly became Jin Long's ally.
- Lao Cai (老蔡, portrayed by Li Wenhai (李文海))- A police officer in Chinatown, a well-meaning but muddle-headed man who doesn't gave much thought to the idea of Ah Jin being the robber. He eventually got promoted after his years of hard work.
- Chen Ge (成哥, portrayed by Edmund Chen)- A close friend of both Xiao-gu and her deceased first husband, Ah Shun. He helped them out when Ah Shun was gravely ill. He was a member of the triads, and was betrayed and murdered by his wife's lover, Ah She in the first episode. Before he breathed his last, he entrusted a key to his hidden ill-gotten money to Xiao-gu via Jinlong. The money was destroyed in a house fire during a struggle between Xiao-gu and Ah She.
- Ah She (阿蛇)- The lover of Chen Ge's wife. He ordered the killing of Chen Ge, and when he and Chen Ge's wife found out about the key to the safe that Chen Ge gave to Xiao-gu, they kidnapped Xiao-gu and Kaijie. They safe was found at an abandoned house, full of money, but a scuffle between Xiao-gu and Ah She broke out, and a fire was subsequently started (with the original intent to kill Xiao Gu and Kaijie). Ah She died in the blaze.
- Chen Sao (成嫂, literally "The Wife of Chen", portrayed Joey Swee)- She had an affair with one of the members of her husband's triad. She collaborated with her lover, Ah She, to murder Chen Ge and set their hands on his ill-gotten riches. When they discovered that the key to the safe that held the money was in Xiao Gu's hands, they kidnapped both Xiao Gu and Kaijie. The money was discovered, but it was lost it in a fire set by Ah She in an attempt to kill Xiao Gu and Kaijie. She was rescued by Xiao Gu eventually.
1995 era
- Lin Fei (林菲, portryed by Felicia Chin (陈凤玲))- Born into a rich family, Lin Fei suffered from a grave illness with a bone marrow transplant only possible from Kaijie to save her life. She fell for Jinlong first, but married Kaijie after some misunderstandings arose between Lin Fei and Jinlong. Despite that, she still had feelings for Jinlong, and was in a dilemma after she found out about the dark secret Kaijie has been hiding for years.
- Bak Kut Girl (肉骨妹, real name Ah Zhen (阿真), portrayed by Cai Peixuan (蔡佩璇))- A runaway from Kelantan, Malaysia, where she was forced to marry a rich man to clear her father's debts. She worked at Jinlong's grandfather's bak kut teh stall. She is rough and brute, but caring for her friends inside. She developed a love interest in Jinlong, and eventually married him. She killed a rival gang leader for Jinlong, and was arrested. Jinlong broke her out of police custody, but she was eventually killed by Kaijie.
- Lin Desheng (林德生, portrayed by Huang Wenyong (黄文永))- A famous lawyer in Singapore, his investments have earned him millions of dollars. Aware of his daughter Lin Fei's grave illness, he dotes on her and gives her free will to do anything she wants. When she was saved by a successful bone marrow transplant operation, however, his relationship with her begins to worsen as he starts to plan for her life. What he did not know was that Lin Fei is actually the beneficiary of a trust fund worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The trust fund was left by Lin Fei's mother, who hated Lin Desheng for his fickle ways.
2003 Era
- Old Monkey (老Monkey)- Rival gang member who tried to kill Jinlong, but ended up dead instead during the attempt. Although it was an accident, Jinlong was nonetheless implicated for the murder, and was acquitted by the help of the top lawyer in Singapore, Su Ma.
- Su Ma (Huang Yiliang) - The top lawyer in Singapore, whom amongst the Huang family, only Lin Fei was able to afford to hire to help Jin Long in his case with the dead Old Monkey.
Synopsis
In the year 1982, a young widow named Xiao Gu (Chen Liping) set up a street hawker stall in Chinatown, selling cooked food. Xiao Gu befriended Ah Jin (Li Nanxing), a seemingly normal man who seeks companionship. Xiao Gu has 3 children: Huang Kaida who is the eldest son in the family, Huang Kaijie the second son, and Huang Kaiqi the youngest child and the only daughter in the family. For Ah Jin, he has two children: Jinlong the elder son, and Jinfeng the younger sister.
Things in life never ran smooth for Xiao Gu and Ah Jin. Xiao Gu had to take care of both her food stall and her three children, while Ah Jin hides a dark unknown past, which not even his children were clear of. Ah Jin's children only know that their father took custody of them some years after they were born. Nevertheless, Ah Jin proposed to Xiao Gu and the two prepared to get married again.
On the day of their marriage however, Ah Jin was confronted by thirty mysterious gunmen dressed in black who wanted to take him away. Ah Jin resisted, with surprisingly inhuman strength and speed, before being fatally wounded. Much to Xiao Gu's horror, Ah Jin morphed into a green-skinned extraterrestrial, and in his dying breath, pleaded with Xiao Gu to take care of his two children who were still oblivious to Ah Jin's true nature due to the secret agents' memory distortion devices.
Although Xiao Gu turned half-insane from the incident, she took on the challenge of raising 5 children. After years of hard work, she managed to set up a restaurant by the name of "Insane Restaurant" where customers pays as much as S$200 for normally cheap food like bread and rice, and as little as 50 cents for normally expensive delicacies like foie gras. The restaurant became extremely popular.
Xiao Gu and Ah Jin's children also grew up. Kaida (Chew Chor Meng) becomes a talented doctor who graduated from a medical school recently. Kaijie (Tay Ping Hui) studied law while Kaiqi (Joanne Peh) also became an undergraduate. Ah Jin's son Jinlong (Li Nanxing again) dropped out of school due to his peers making fun of his pointy elf-like ears, while Ah Jin's daughter Jinfeng (Joey Feng) also stopped attending school, being more interested in pursuing a career in gambling, which thrives in the neighbouring state Coral Island.
Kaijie and Jinlong are archenemies from the beginning when Ah Jin and Xiao Gu's children met, and now they still quarrel. Kaijie would insult Jin Long by making fun of his intelligence and his pointy ears while the latter would become furious and attempt to beat up Kaijie and send him to a hospital. He would have succeeded, given his unnatural brute strength and invulnerability if it had not been for Kaijie's similarly unnatural agility.
Kaijie and Jin Long soon became interested in a girl named Lin Fei (Felicia Chin). Lin Fei however, only have eyes for Jin Long, and she often gave Jin Long cryptic messages like "You are the chosen one" and "The power of two brings you into perfection". Jin Long had no idea what she was talking about, but he still stick around and entertained her. On the other hand, Kaiqi was suspicious of Lin Fei, believing her to be in league with those agents who had murdered Ah Jin.
Knowing that Kaida would soon be leaving Singapore for Coral Island for a medical course on how to bandage wounds using just poker cards and dice, Jinfeng desperately pleaded with her stepmother Xiao Gu to allow her to go with Kaida. Xiao Gu who is slowly becoming more and more insane, gave Jinfeng permission and even encouraged her to earn a million dollars through gambling. A worried Kaida resolved to bring his mother Xiao Gu to see a psychiatrist when he returned back.
In Coral Island, Kaida and Jinfeng were amazed to see that the lecturer for Kaida's life-saving course was none other than the legendary gambler Yan Fei (Li Nanxing yet again). Yan Fei had became so adept with his gambling skills that he is even able to float in the air for up to 3 minutes by pummelling on the ground repeatedly with steel-made dice. Taking a liking at Kaida and Jinfeng, Yan Fei agreed to teach both of them his skills at the price package for the medical course.
Jinfeng learnt unique gambling skills like how to manipulate poker cards while bathing or hiding herself from view with flying poker cards when she needs to relieve herself in an open space. During the months she spent in Coral Island, she earned 300,000 Coral Dollars through gambling, and upon returning to Singapore she was sorely disappointed to find out that the exchange rate turned out to be 29,867 Coral Dollars for every Singapore Dollar.
As he had promised, upon returning Kaida brought his mother to see a renowned Psychiatrist in Holland Village, named Mo Wanwan (Chen Liping again). The famous Psychiatrist was once a hawker just like Xiao Gu, and seeing a kindred spirit, decided help Xiao Gu restore her sanity to the best of her ability. Mo Wanwan's unconventional ways of curing insanity involve making a patient regularly eat a specially-treated dish of either Hokkien Mee or Nasi Lemak served with powdered medicine at varying quantities that heals his or her mental aspect.
Soon after Xiao Gu restored her sanity, becomes as normal as she did before she married Ah Jin. She was grateful to Mo Wanwan for saving her mental state. When she returned back to her restaurant, she was shocked at its name and pricing methods, and decided to rename it as "Restaurant of Sanity", where it would serve highly exotic food like Polar Bear Brain in Pig's Blood with Herbs and Spices, at reasonable prices.
Years passed. Jinlong has married Ah Zhen (Cai Peixuan), nicknamed Bak Kut Girl, partly because of her working in a Bak Kut Teh stall and partly because of her skeletal thin figure. Still, the meddlesome Lin Fei showed up to harrass the family. Upon seeing Lin Fei intruding in the lives of his family again, Kaida and Kaiqi decided to confront her. However, Kaida's sixth sense, gained from his training with Yan Fei, tells him that Lin Fei means no harm.
The two siblings brought along their stepbrother Jinlong as well. It turned out that Lin Fei is a Messenger for a Terrorist group named the Liberation of the Tigers of the Singapore Republic, or Singapore Tigers in short. She reveals that Singapore has been sealed off from outsiders and had the people living in an illusion: They do not know that they are actually in the late 21st Century, in the year 2094. Jinlong's father Ah Jin was an alien from a distant star who have accidentally entered and discovered Singapore's illusion world, and thus the Singapore government had him killed.
Jinlong was also revealed to be a hybrid creature born from an experiment mixing the DNA of Ah Jin and a human. This makes Jinlong a half-human, half-alien, thus explaining the elf-like ears he have. Having the strengths of both races, Jinlong is the ultimate, and the chosen saviour to defeat the evil government that controls the illusion world, thus freeing everyone including his family.
Lin Fei elaborated on the past attempts by the Singapore Tigers to free Singaporeans from the illusion world. VR-Man (Edmund Chen), a superhero allied with the Singapore Tigers, tried to use his own reality-altering powers to revert Chinatown back to normal but the secret agents chased him away. Soon after, VR-Man discovered the existence of a massive machine named the Matrix Illusion Generating Machine, that brainwashes Singaporeans to believe that they are still living in the early 21st Century.
VR-Man was about to return to the base of the Liberation of the Tigers of the Singapore Republic when he was surrounded by secret agents. VR-Man was killed by them for gaining this top secret information, but he managed to pass down the knowledge to his successor Chadley Krakka, who wastes no time disseminating the information to all the top leaders of the Singapore Tigers.
Chadley Krakka, who viewed VR-Man as a martyr, joined the Singapore Tigers as their best warrior. The terrorists are currently seeking the location of the Matrix Illusion Generating Machine. They hired the services of Phua Chu Kang (Gurmit Singh), a talented contractor who can help to deliver explosives to blow up the machine. Now what they need is someone to break past the defences that protect the machine.
Jinlong realised that his greatest nemesis is his own stepbrother Kaijie, who works for the government. Kaijie has been keeping tabs on his movements and Jinlong found out about it. Not only that, Kaijie murdered his wife Bak Kut Girl, who in her death reveals to be another member of the Singapore Tigers who has been encouraging Jinlong to fight against the government. Wanting revenge, Jinlong undergoes intensive training for some months to prepare to fight the ultimate battle.
Xiao Gu became worried at Jinlong's involvement in terrorist activity, and sent Jinlong's sister Jinfeng to talk him round. Jinlong refused to budge, only thinking of revenge against Kaijie and the Singapore government. Jinfeng had no choice but to seek the Golden Pillow, a big smooth stone made of pure gold which is reputed to have prophetic powers and can speak to a user.
The Golden Pillow is currently in the possession of David (Nathaniel Ho), a young punter who uses the treasure to get the future winning lottery and toto numbers. Together with betting on horse races successfully, David quickly became a millionaire. He also managed to woo and married Kaiqi successfully after consulting the Golden Pillow on how to satisfy the needs of Kaiqi. Knowing of the Golden Pillow's potential powers, Jinfeng pleaded with David to lend her that treasure.
David was unwilling to let the treasure to fall into the wrong hands, and thus challenged Jinfeng to beat him in a gambling match. If he loses, he will lend her the Golden Pillow. Jinfeng accepted the challenge. Not knowing that Jinfeng had trained under Yan Fei the elite gambler, David underestimated her and was defeated. Kaijie, who learnt of Jinfeng's plans, snatched the Golden Pillow away before David can hand it over to Jinfeng.
Kaijie now have the potential to defeat Jinlong so long he keeps his ear to the Golden Pillow. Then a miraculous event happened. The star warrior from the Singapore Tigers arrived: Chadley Krakka, who uses his energy saber to slice up and destroy the Golden Pillow before Kaijie was able to learn the secrets to defeating Jinlong. David screamed in horror when he realised that he no longer can predict the future winning lottery and toto numbers, and thus have to start working for a living.
Kaijie retreated back to his government base of operations. Chadley Krakka handed his energy saber to Jinlong, telling him to make best use of it against the forces of evil before flying off for another mission to save the day. Lin Fei arrived to help Jinlong in the final confrontation against the corrupt government. Chadley Krakka and the Singapore Tigers Intelligence directed them to the Parliament, which is where the government has placed their Matrix Illusion Generating Machine.
The final boss showed up - Kaijie in his power suit sponsored by the government. The Parliament crumbles down after a fierce battle between Jinlong, Lin Fei, and the enemy machine drones, revealing the Matrix Illusion Generating Machine. Kaijie merged with the machine to become a gigantic robot, naming himself as Mecha Kaijie. Mecha Kaijie killed Lin Fei with his huge laser gun. With her last breath, the dying Lin Fei called up Phua Chu Kang to set up the explosives...
Phua Chu Kang the contractor turned up in stealth mode and set up explosives on the feet of the robot and then detonate them. However, the explosives only destroyed his feet and had not stopped the Mecha Kaijie's firepower. Jinlong sacrificed himself by using the energy saber to slice Mecha Kaijie into two at close range, killing them both. The illusion world was thus destroyed, freeing Singaporeans along with Xiao Gu and her remaining children. Xiao Gu and Kaiqi offered a prayer for Jinlong, knowing in their hearts that he had sacrificed himself so that Singaporeans can start their lives anew.
(Source: Channel 8 website)
Criticism
There has been some criticisms that the costumes worn by the actors and actresses, as well as the props that are used, are anachronistic, compared to the time period and settings portrayed. Also, some believe the role of Jinlong was miscast, as Li Nanxing is much older than the character he portrays.
Viewership
| Week | Date | Percentage of Population (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 11 December 2007 to 14 December 2007 | TBA |
| Week 2 | 17 December 2007 to 21 December 2007 | TBA |
| Week 3 | 24 December 2007 to 28 December 2007 | approx. 18% |
| Week 4 | 31 December 2007 to 4 January 2008 | 18.6% |
See also
References
- The family's surname appears as Huang (the standard Pinyin translation) on all English subtitles. However, the family's surname is discovered to be "Ng".
- "Failure in set designing/backdrop". MediaCorp Communities Forum. 6 January2008.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - "LNX (Li Nanxing) as a 20s chap?". MediaCorp Communities Forum. 19 December2007.
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