The pop TV drama "Meteor Garden" (Liuxing Huayuan) has become so controversial
since its airing that it was banned from broadcast on TV stations across the
Chinese mainland this week as a result of strong protests by parents and
educators. While the 18-episode love story captured the hearts of many teens
and young adults with its good-looking cast and Cinderella-style plot, parents
were upset over its campus violence and the excessive lifestyle of the heroes.
The worried that dream-like descriptions in the drama could lead their children
away from real-life responsibilities. According to Beijing Youth Daily, the
banning order issued by the State Administration of Radio Film and Television
reads: Meteor Garden is prohibited from broadcast because of its tendency to
mislead teenagers. The made-in-Taiwan series is set in an elite prep school for
affluent students. When a new, spirited girl from a middle-class family enters
the campus, the four most popular and affluent boys, the F4, soon develop a
love-hate relationship with her. With candy-eye casts, sentimental storylines
and catchy theme songs, the romantic series appeals to local audiences looking
for an alternative to Hollywood. F4, namely Jerry Yen Cheng-hsu, Vic Zhou, Vanness
Wuand Ken Zhu, already have shot from total unknowns to pin-up idols. Their debut
album "Meteor Rain" has sold over 180,000 copies in Taiwan alone. A
university student who gave her name as Ding watched the drama by downloading
every episode from the Internet. She thought the story revolved around school life,
soshe could relate to it and she like to watch love stories in which the guy
and girl have to overcome lots of barriers. Many college students also said the
show's really funny. Not surprisingly, parents and teachers see something different in
the idol drama based on a Japanese cartoon. A man whose daughter is keen on
F4 considered the drama's irony is that there is nothing really extraordinary about them,
apart from the fact that they are all lanky (1.8 m) and good-looking and he didn't
know why so many people are infatuated with them very much.