| Honour And Passion 寶家衛國 |
|
|---|---|
| Genre | Contemporary Drama |
| Starring | Tay Ping Hui Bryan Wong Loke Khiang Felicia Chin Rui En Pierre Png Dawn Yeoh |
| Country of origin | Singapore |
| Language(s) | Chinese, with some English dialogues |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Running time | approx. 45 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | MediaCorp |
| Original run | July 24, 2007 – August 20, 2007 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | Like Father, Like Daughter |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Honour and Passion (Simplified Chinese: 宝家卫国, Traditional Chinese: 寶家衛國) is a Singapore Chinese drama which was telecast on Singapore's free-to-air channel, MediaCorp TV Channel 8. It was hyped for being one of the few Mediacorp series that was sponsored by the Singapore Ministry of Defence. This drama serial consists of 20 episodes. It made its debut on 24 July 2007 and ended its run on 20 August 2007.
Contents |
The serie's Chinese title, when translated literally, means "The Po [family] defends the country", a pun of the idiom "保家衛國", which translates to "protecting one's country".
It is a very apt description of the entire series, for every single male within the serie's main family (the Po family) has served or is serving in the Singaporean military. The only member in the family who has not served in the military in Po Wenwei, who, as a female, is exempt from mandatory NS (National Service) duties.
Po Wenwei (Rui En) is the third child in the family. Her father is Bao Pengju (Huang Wenyong) and she has two elder brothers and a younger brother. She is the only female in the family since her mother died of cancer when she was only nine years old. Their father, Pengju, a full-time soldier, is saddled with the roles of both father and mother, and though he loves his brood dearly, maintains strict discipline. The household is run under strict rules, and there is no exception for the girl in the family either.
The eldest, Po Wenjing (Tay Ping Hui) is a Commando Officer and Pengju’s biggest pride and joy. The calm, intelligent and highly skilled Wenjing is very much valued by the SAF. Women tend to swoon at the sight of the tall, well-built Wenjing, but when in contact with a lady that he likes, Wenjing’s mind turns blank and he puts on a cool front. This is why he has never had a girlfriend.
Po Wenzhong (Bryan Wong), the second elder brother, is a computer engineer as well as an active NSman. He is also the peacemaker and counselor in the family. Wenzhong is easygoing in nature with a good sense of humour, which naturally makes him the object of affection for many women. However, Wenzhong is full of ideals on the subject of love, and still has not had a girlfriend. This is because he believes he has yet to meet ‘The One’.
The youngest, Po Wenguo (Nathaniel Ho), has just graduated from a polytechnic and is waiting enlistment for National Service. To help prepare Wenguo for the army days ahead, Pengju forces the frustrated Wenguo to undergo daily physical training. To add on to Wenguo woes, Pengju constantly compares Wenguo to the outstanding performance of his two brothers. This makes Wenguo really resent enlistment. He even tries to escape the call-up by faking illness. Naturally, Pengju sees through all his antics and subjects Wenguo to a round of severe scolding and beatings. After enlistment, Wenguo unexpectedly discovers that his father’s earlier training allows him to excel among the fellow new recruits. During his course, Wenguo gradually realises the significance of military training, and begins to understand the importance of unity and responsibility. He finds himself maturing in the process.
A chance encounter with Ouyang Peipei (Felicia Chin) at the swimming pool, a Captain and an instructor with the School of Artillery, leaves Wenjing infatuated with her. He tries to strike a conversation when he meets her at a familiarization course later on, but his ‘coolness’ acts up.
While doing research for the advertisement, Wenwei gets to know female army office Ouyang Peipei. During her interaction with Peipei, Wenwei discovers that Peipei is intricately linked with two of her brothers: Wenjing and Peipei were acquainted during their military training, while Wenzhong and Peipei were secondary school classmates. The very feminine Peipei is the dream lover of many men. Wenjing is merely one of many who have fallen for her. Wenjing wishes to try to win her affection, but every time he comes close to her, his mind turns blank and he is rendered tongue-tied again. This, to Peipei, is a sign of weakness and she forms a bad impression of Wenjing. Touched by Wenjing’s sincerity, she decides to give him a chance and goes on dates with him, but realises that there are considerable differences between them.
In fact, Peipei has been in love with Wenzhong. The feminine yet tough Peipei has always liked Wenzhong ever since they were in secondary school. However, Wenzhong has only treated her as a friend and is aware of his brother’s affections for this sassy officer. Never one to admit defeat, Peipei believes that she will win his love one day as long as she perseveres.
Liu Yamei (Hong Huifang) has been colleagues with Pengju in the army. She has always been secretly in love with him, and takes good care of the four Bao children. She used to frequent the Bao family home, making sure everything was running smoothly, doing everything the lady of the house would. Yamei has often been arranged to go for matchmaking sessions by her relatives, and has come across candidates with good credentials. But she is always picking on everything she can think of, and no one seems to be good enough. This is because she is still waiting for Pengju. The Bao children are also aware of her feelings for their father, and thus do their best to bring them together. Pengju is also aware of her devotion to him, but he simply cannot forget his dead wife. Thus, he is still unable to bring himself to accept Yamei.
Picasso (Pierre Png) is the new creative director in the advertising firm, and has been assigned to work with Wenwei. Stingy and rebellious in nature, Picasso gets off on the wrong foot with Wenwei right from the start. They are always quarreling about every little thing. Coincidentally, when Picasso attends in-camp training, his commander turns out to be Pengju. Pengju has a bad impression of Picasso because of his slack attitude during training. However, he changes his mind and sees Picasso in a different light when the latter saves a fellow soldier in the face of danger.
In a misunderstanding, Wenzhong gets to know Liang Xiaonuo (Dawn Yeoh) from a neighbouring country. Wenzhong has a good impression of Xiaonuo, who is physically disabled and walks with a limp but is a mentally strong and determined girl. He falls for her and decides that Xiaonuo is ‘The One’ he has been waiting for.
Wenzhong goes all out to woo her. Although touched by Wenzhong’s sincerity, Xiaonuo is unable to forgive herself for causing the death of her ex-boyfriend. On top of it, she is conscious of her handicap and finds herself unable to accept Wenzhong’s affections. Later, Wenzhong risks his own life to save Xiaonuo. His actions finally melt down her defense, and Xiaonuo consents to accept Wenzhong. However, the traditional Pengju does not approve of his son choosing to be with a woman with a physical disability. He objects vehemently, and for the first time, father and son have a falling out.
Subsequently, with the encouragement and advice from Yamei, Pengju decides to find out more about Xiaonuo. He secretly checks up on her and discovers that she is in fact a kind and understanding person. He is finally able to let go of his previous prejudice, and grants his approval to the young couple.
Peipei finds out that she has lost to Xiaonuo. This is a huge blow to her confidence, and she becomes depressed. Wenjing is pained to see her emotionally crushed, and supports her unfailingly in silence. It is only then that Peipei realises the one who truly cares for her is Wenjing. Besides being deeply touched, she also understands that to be loved is a greater fortune than to love, and thus accepts Wenjing.
At a Taekwondo practice, Wenjing got to know Wu Cheng Yi (Ix Shen). Although in the beginning Cheng Yi appeared to be a cold, unfriendly person, the ice was soon broken after Wenjing and Cheng Yi worked together to foil a robbery attempt. Soon after, Wenjing gets to exchange blows with Wu Chengyi (Ix Shen). The two men’s skills are closely matched. They then discover each other to be primary schoolmates. Chengyi is a freelance photographer, and has been working in third world countries most of the time. With the air of a philosopher, he would spout a couple of lines on the meaning of life now and then.
During an advertisement shoot that Wenwei is charge of, the photographer she engaged backs out due to some food allergies. Chengyi volunteers his service and takes the place of the photographer. Wenwei is extremely grateful and becomes drawn to this talented yet mysterious man. Chengyi is aware of Wenwei’s feelings for him. However, due to the burden of his mission, he tries to keep Wenwei at arms’ length. In an accident, Wenwei mistakenly thinks that Chengyi has died. Her true emotions touches Chengyi greatly and he finally opens his heart to Wenwei.
Picasso and Wenwei are assigned with the task of developing a proposal for the advertisement for the Singapore Armed Forces and get acquainted with Peipei, who has been transferred to do publicity and is overseeing the project.
During the course of working together, Wenwei and Picasso progress from hating to discover the good sides of each other. Picasso subconsciously falls in love with Wenwei, who is a kind and lovable girl. He begins to give in to her every whim, but the careless Wenwei does not notice it.
Picasso used to be a bomb disposal expert in the armed forces, and had a good colleague and friend Ben (Vincent Ng). One day, Picasso and Ben gave chase when they encountered a robbery. In the process, Ben fell down a flight of stairs while trying to save Picasso. Paralysed as a result, Ben sank into despair and even drove his wife and children out of their house.
Wenwei finds out about this incident by chance. She realises that Picasso’s stingy personality is the result of him financially helping Ben, and he is not the slacker he appears to be. Wenwei has a great change of opinion over Picasso. At the same time, she also feels that Chengyi, being frequently non-contactable, has been keeping some things from her. The couple seems to be drifting apart.
Though Picasso is by now in love with Wenwei, he hesitates because of Chengyi’s very presence. He decides to give it all up and leave for an overseas posting. The night before his departure, Wenwei and Picasso are unable to put their thoughts into words for each other. After a sleepless night, Wenwei finally admits to herself that the only one in her heart is Picasso. The next morning, she rushes to the airport but misses out in meeting him. As she downs her sorrows with ice-creams, Picasso suddenly appears before her. Not wanting to have any future regrets, he confesses his love for Wenwei, who accepts him with joy.
Wenwei arrives at Chengyi’s home to come clean on her relationship with Picasso. Unexpectedly, she discovers Chengyi’s secret and is held hostage by him and his group. It turns out that Chengyi’s mission this time is to rescue his brother who is on death row. Chengyi has repeatedly used bomb threats to force the government to release his brother, to no avail. The group thus decides to take further extreme action and hold a kindergarten of teachers and children hostage.
When Picasso discovers that Wenwei has been captured by Chengyi, he dashes around searching madly for her. Almost at the end of his wits, Picasso remembers having met Chengyi at a kindergarten, and rushes to the building with Wenjing hoping to get some clues. As fate can have it, he encounters Chengyi and his group barging into the kindergarten. In a face-off, Wenjing and Picasso successfully subdue the group and rescue the teachers and children.
With Chengyi’s directions, Picasso finds Wenwei who has been strapped with a time-bomb. The time of detonation draws near but Picasso is still unable to disarm the bomb... With luck, Picasso managed to disarm the bomb successfully - After all, he once worked in the Army as a bomb disposal expert. With Wenwei successfully rescued and Cheng Yi dead, the case was solved. Wenjing and Pei Pei got married, Wenwei and Picasso got married, Wenzhong and Xiaonuo got married, and even Pengju and Ya-mei got married.
| Week | Date | Average Number of audience in 5 weekdays (Round off to nearest thousand) |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 24 July 2007 to 27 July 2007 | 664,000 |
| Week 2 | 30 July 2007 to 3 August 2007 | 696,000 |
| Week 3 | 6 August 2007 to 10 August 2007 | 709,000 |
| Week 4 | 13 August 2007 to 17 August 2007 | 750,000 |
| Last episode | 20 August 2007 | 820,000 |
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