Murphy's Law of Love

Murphy's Law of Love
莫非,这就是爱情

Murphy's Law of Love promo poster
Also known as Perhaps, This is Called Love
Genre Romance, Comedy
Created by Sanlih E-Television
Written by Wang Ruo-ting 王若婷
Fang Yi-de 方懿德
Wu Xiang-ying 吳香穎
Chen Xin-ying 陳妡盈
Directed by Ye Tian-lun 葉天倫
Li Qing-rong 李青蓉
Starring Danson Tang 唐禹哲
Ivelyn Lee 李佳穎
Jolin Chien 簡宏霖
Jenna Wang 王思平
Opening theme Fly With Me by Landy Wen 溫嵐
Ending theme Want To Say 想說 by GJ 蔣卓嘉
Country of origin Republic of China (Taiwan)
Original language(s) Mandarin
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 20
Production
Producer(s) An Jing-hong 安景鴻
Location(s) Taiwan
Camera setup Multi camera
Running time 90 minutes
Production company(s) Sanlih E-Television 三立電視
TM Brothers Media Co. Ltd 天億兄弟影音傳媒股份有限公司
Distributor Sanlih E-Television
Broadcast
Original channel SETTV
Picture format SDTV (480i)
First shown in Republic of China (Taiwan)
Original run 20 March 2015 – 30 July 2015
Chronology
Preceded by Aim High 22K夢想高飛
External links
Official Website
Production website

Murphy's Law of Love (Chinese: 莫非,這就是愛情; pinyin: mò fēi zhè jìu shì aì qǐng) is a 2015 Taiwanese romantic comedy television series produced by Sanlih E-Television. Starring Danson Tang, Ivelyn Lee, Jolin Chien and Jenna Wang as the main cast.[1] The Chinese title literally translates to "Perhaps, This is Called Love". Filming began on February 24, 2015, the drama will be filmed as it airs. First original broadcast begins March 20, 2015 on SETTV channel airing on Fridays from 10:00-11:30 pm.[2]

Synopsis

Murphy's Law means anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
Guan Xiao-tong (Ivelyn Lee) has been cursed with Murphy's Law all her life. Every time her attainable desires are within reach, they somehow escape her grasp at the last moment. After her boyfriend dumps her and breaks her heart, Xiao-tong decides to use her psychiatry expertise to help others with love at an online matchmaking service. Soon a divorce firm opens across the street from her office, threatening the matchmaking service. The divorce firm's owner, Ji Jia-wei (Danson Tang), thinks Xiao-tong's theory and love advice is idiotic while she thinks he is a cold hearted person who doesn't believe in love and only started his business so others can be like him. But since Xiao-tong is cursed with Murphy's Law, Jia-wei whom she has no interest in starts falling for her when she unknowingly starts to melt his ice-cold heart.[3]

Plot summary

Guan Xiao-tong has been dealing with Murphy's Law from the moment she was conceived. Just as she was starting to imagine a future with her boyfriend he dumps her and marries someone he doesn't love but is wealthy. That same night at the same place Ji Jia-wei gets rejected when he proposes marriage to his celebrity girlfriend He Zhi-yu, who cares more about her career than him. Heartbroken, Jia-wei gives the engagement ring to a drunk Xiao-tong. A year later Xiao-tong and Jia-wei meet again in the most unpleasant circumstances and become instant enemies when his umbrella accidentally splashes puddle water on her. She becomes annoyed with his unapologetic behavior while he thinks she should have been more observant of her surroundings. Their hatred for each other grows when they find out that they're in the opposite business of love. She's a Love Doctor that helps people find love at a matchmaking service while he's the boss and owner of a divorce firm that helps couples walk away from their broken marriages amicably.

When one of Jia-wei's employees and friends signs him up as a member of the matchmaking service as a joke, he becomes the most popular bachelor. Soon Xiao-tong is pressured by her boss and has to pretend to be friendly to Jia-wei in order to get him to accept an invitation to her company's matchmaking party so he can meet all the female members of the matchmaking service that is interested in him. During Xiao-tong's persuasion for Jia-wei to accept her company's invitation he slowly develops feelings for her that at first he is uncertain of since he can't stand her. However, every time restaurateur Xiang Zi-yan who possess all the qualities of Xiao-tong's ideal guy, is in her presence he becomes jealous and mad that she isn't paying attention to him. When his secretary, who is a follower of Xiao-tong's love advice blog, tells him to think about his feelings clearly he is unable to denied his feelings for Xiao-tong.

After her company's matchmaking party ends, Xiao-tong thinks she no longer has to deal with Jia-wei anymore, but with his growing feelings for her he proposes to her boss that the divorce firm and the matchmaking service team up and work together to help his divorced clients find love again, in order for him to continue associating with Xiao-tong without anyone finding out his true feelings for her. Jia-wei's entire staff notices him acting weird since his behavior is out of the ordinary while the entire staff at the matchmaking service thinks the divorce firm has ulterior motives to steal their business setup.

Cast

Main cast

With his good looks and wealthy background he is a good catch for many single ladies, but after being rejected by his ex-girlfriend He Zhi-yu when he propose marriage, heartbroken he chooses to remain single and is afraid to love again. He opens "Renew Agent of Divorce", a firm that helps couples move past their broken relationships and end their relationship on friendly terms, right across the street from "I MEET YOU" which the dating service sees as a threat to their business. In order to ward off anyone that might be interested in him he wears a fake wedding band to lie about his martial status. His only companion is his pet dog Polo that he has conversations with. One year after originally encountering Xiao-tong he meets her again but doesn't realize he had met her before. The two start of on the wrong foot due to an unpleasant encounter which later leads to many misunderstandings and bickering. They become enemies due to their rivaled businesses and he nicknames her "Dr. Loser" because she is a love guru with the title "Dr. Love". Thinking her theories and advice about love is idiotic he uses the alias "Wayne" to post the question of why he is unable to love another on her blog. When she gets every answer correct about what he is mentally thinking of, he starts to believe that she is indeed the real deal. After an accidental kiss and seeing how caring she is towards one of his distraught clients he develops feelings for her but isn't sure how he feels since he couldn't stand her, however with the arrival of restaurateur Xiang Zi-yan in her life he shows his anger and jealousy for Xiao-tong's attention whenever Zi-yan is presence or name is mentioned. Feeling able to love again and seeing a heated rival in Zi-yan, he starts to actively pursuing Xiao-tong and continues to communicate with her as "Wayne" for love advice during his pursuit for her.
She has fought with Murphy's Law all her life, knowing she is jinxed she is always prepared. After her boyfriend breaks up with her to marry someone he doesn't love but is wealthy, she has had a bias against rich people because she thinks they can use money to buy whatever they want. Wanting to help others who have been heartbroken like her she quits her job as a hospital psychiatrist and uses her expertise to give advice about love at the "I MEET YOU Online Dating Agency". She becomes a popular "Love Doctor" giving advice and lectures on her blog and monthly seminars. She also coins the phrase "4G Man" as the perfect man which stands for guts, giver, gentle and guarantee. Not knowing she had encountered Ji Jia-wei on her night of heartbreak she meets him again one year later in unpleasant circumstances. Due to their rivaled businesses and her misunderstandings of him she becomes enemies with him and gives him the nicknames "NG Man" and "Frozen Pork Chop" because he has none of the qualities of her "4G Man" and his cold exterior. When someone jokingly signs up Jia-wei as a member of "I MEET YOU", he becomes the most popular bachelor. Her boss pressures her to convince Jia-wei to accept the invitation to their single ladies party, in order to do so she stalks and pretends to be friendly to him. After Jia-wei attends the singles party and working closely together on their companies collaboration she starts realizing that he may appear cold on the outside but is actually soft and warm inside, eventually her opinion of him being an "NG Man" and "Frozen Pork Chop" diminishes and now sees him as a "Durian", spiky and hard outside but soft and sweet inside. She meets Xiang Zi-yan while dining at his restaurant. He soon becomes her knight in shining armor as he seems to avert her Murphy's Law. Just when she was getting to know Zi-yan, Jia-wei actively pursues her, which gets her heart beating and thinking about him. But her Murphy's Law catches up to her as it seems every direction is pointing her towards Zi-yan since he is her boss's son, her mother's cooking instructure and her best friend Xin-xin is pushing for them to be together, but her feelings for him is as a friend only.
A restaurateur and cooking instructure who also hobbies in amateur photography. He meets Guan Xiao-tong when she dines at his restaurant. He becomes instantly interested in her because she resembles a picture displayed in his restaurant. Upon conversing with her he does not tell her his true status and only lets her think of him as a waiter that works at the restaurant. He also happens to be Xiao-tong's boss Wu Mei-zhen, son and her mother Liu Xiu-mei's cooking instructure. Though he seems to possess all of Xiao-tong's "4G Man" quality, being her boss's son and her mother and friend liking him he is shoo–in to become her new boyfriend, but with Jia-wei actively pursuing her, her feelings for Zi-yan seems to be only as a friend.
Ji Jia-wei ex-girlfriend. A print model who is also a budding actress. She puts her career before her love life. When she rejects Jia-wei's marriage proposal he breaks up with her. Wanting to patch up with Jia-wei she rushes to him but gets involve in a car accident and disappears from Jia-wei's life.

Supporting cast

Renew Agent of Divorce staff

Ji Jia-wei's best friend and co-worker. He is the dependable friend that Jia-wei relies on in work and personally.
Ji Jia-wei's immature friend and co-worker. Even though he is married he likes to use Jia-wei's identity to meet females online. When his online chat friend Xia Xin-xin who works at "I MEET YOU" asks him to help her sign up new members at her dating service he uses Jia-wei's identity to sign up.
The newly hired receptionist and secretary at "Renew". She is a fan of Guan Xiao-tong that follows her advice blog religiously and attends all her seminars.

I MEET YOU dating service staff

Owner and boss of "I MEET YOU Online Dating Agency". A demanding boss that won't accept any excuses. After finding out that her dating services most popular bachelor is Ji Jia-wei and that he is also the owner of "Renew" she still insist Xiao-tong to have Jia-wei accept the "Popular King" title and attend their singles meet party. She is also Xiang Zi-yan's single mother who is searching for love herself..
Guan Xiao-tong's best friend and co-worker. She is also online chat friends with Simon who works at "Renew". She tries to hook up Xiao-tong with Xiang Zi-yan after noticing that he averts her Murphy's Law jinx.
The webmaster at "I MEET YOU" who is in charge of maintaining and managing the companies website and all the members information.

Ji family

Ji Jia-wei's single father. He pushes his son to either take over his business so he could retire and travel the world or start dating again.

Guan family

Guan Xiao-tong and Guan Xiao-qing's father. Liu Xiu-mei's husband.
Guan Xiao-tong and Guan Xiao-qing's mother. Guan Bo-wei's wife. She is also a cooking student of Xiang Zi-yan. She sees Zi-yan as a potential son-in-law and wants to set Xiao-tong on a blind date with him.
Guan Xiao-tong's older sister. Married for less than a year, she catches her cheating husband with his mistress when she comes home earlier then expected. Her and her ex-husband becomes "Renew's" first clients.

Extended cast

Guan Xiao-tong's ex-boyfriend. Even though he loved Xiao-tong he still broke up with her to marry someone he didn't love because that other person was wealthy.
Guan Xiao-tong's father during his youth. He had hoped Xiao-tong to be a son during his wife's pregnancy.
Guan Xiao-tong's mother during her youth. She had no plans for a second child but got pregnant with Xiao-tong.
Young Xiao-tong who notices nothing ever going right for her.
Teenage Xiao-tong who discovers that she is jinxed with Murphy's Law after rushing home to watch Fated to Love You only to have the power go out.
The doctor who delivered Guan Xiao-tong.
The nurse who helped deliver Guan Xiao-tong.
One of Ji Jia-wei's clients who reconcile with his ex-wife Ms. He after remaining on friendly terms with her after their divorce.
One of Ji Jia-wei's clients who reconcile with her ex-husband Mr. Fu after remaining on friendly terms with him after their divorce.
Guan Xiao-qing's cheating ex-husband. Insisting on having a divorce party held by "Renew". At the party he says he did no wrong during their marriage in front of their friends.
A client of "Renew" who is interested in Ji Jia-wei and planned on starting a relationship with him after her divorce. When Jia-wei rejects her advances she becomes suicidal.
A divorced participant of Renew and I Meet You's joint social camping trip to help people find love. He blames Xiao-tong when his matched mate swindles him.

Guest star

Murphy's Law

A list of Murphy's Law mentioned in each episode.

EpisodeLaw #Murphy's Law
1 1If there is a possibility of things going wrong the one that will hurt the most will mostly happen.
如果事情有兩種可能,你不想要的越會發生。
2 It never rains when you have an umbrella, but pours when you don't have one.
帶傘的時候不下雨,沒帶傘的時候下大雨。
2 3If there is a correct solution, then it will bring new problems.
有效的解決方案,都會帶來新的問題。
4 There is never enough time to do it right the first time, but always enough time to redo it again.
事情永遠做不完,但總有多的時間重做。
3 5 The more you don't want to meet someone, the easier you'll meet.
越不想遇到的人,越容易遇到。
6 If all seems well, you have obviously overlooked something.
要是一切看來順利,一定有哪裡出錯了。
5 7 The thing you need at the most critical moment, is not in your hand.
關鍵時候最需要的東西,偏偏不在手上。
78 穿高跟鞋那天,地上一定坑坑洞洞。

Soundtrack

Filming locations

The opening sequence of the drama was filmed on a studio built set at Sanlih's headquarters in the Neihu District of Taipei. The closing sequence and end credits were filmed entirely in Chiayi, Taiwan. Places included Zhuqi Station, Jhuci Waterfront Park and National Chung Cheng University. The offices of where the main characters work at are located on the ground floor of No. 14 and 17 Lane 177, Guangfu N Rd in the Songshan District of Taipei, Taiwan. Both are vacant storefronts that was remodel by the production team. The home of the Guan family are two separate home-stays located in Yilan County, Taiwan. The Guan family living area and building exterior is the "Nature Country Homestay - BnB", while Guan Xiao-tong's bedroom is the "Fish Homestay".[4][5] The exterior of Ji Jia-wei's residence is a interior design firm named "ART Interior Design 亞圖設計", located at Alley 2, Lane 69, Section 5, Minsheng E Rd in the Songshan District of Taipei Taiwan. [6]

Taipei, Taiwan

  • Daan District
    • Yunzhinan Japanese Restaurant 雲之南麗江斑魚火鍋[7]
  • Datong District
    • Chelsea Gallery 雀兒喜畫廊[8]
  • Neihu District
  • Songshan District
    • 14 Lane 177, Guangfu N Rd
    • 17 Lane 177, Guangfu N Rd
    • ART Interior Design 亞圖設計
  • Xinyi District
    • FooShion SKY Festival 食尚攝影棚[9]
  • Wanhua District
    • Huazhong Riverside Park
  • Zhongzheng District

Chiayi, Taiwan

New Taipei City, Taiwan

  • Sanxia District
    • 7-Eleven (Daxue Rd & Xueqin Rd)
  • Sanzhi District
    • Datun Natural Park
    • Yangmingshan National Park

Yilan County, Taiwan

  • Liuying District
    • Nan Yuan Garden Resort Farm 南元花園休閒農場[11]

Yilan County, Taiwan

  • Yilan City
    • Fish Homestay 宜蘭魚悅[12]
  • Zhuangwei Township
    • Nature Country Homestay - BnB 宜然風鄉村民宿[13]

Broadcast

NetworkCountryAiring DateTimeslot
SETTV TaiwanMarch 18, 2015Friday 10:00-11:30 pm
ETTVMarch 21, 2015Saturday 8:00-9:30 pm
Astro Quan Jia HD MalaysiaMarch 20, 2015Friday 10:00 pm–11:30 pm
StarHub TV SingaporeApril 12, 2015Sunday 10:00 pm–11:30 pm

Episode ratings

Competing dramas on rival channels airing at the same time slot were:

Air DateEpisodeAverage RatingsRank
March 20, 2015 1 1.13 3
March 27, 2015 2 0.98 3
April 3, 2015 3 0.81 3
April 10, 2015 4 1.11 3
April 17, 2015 5 1.08 3
April 24, 2015 6 1.24 3
May 1, 2015 7
May 8, 2015 8
May 15, 2015 9
May 22, 2015 10
May 29, 2015 11
June 5, 2015 12
June 12, 2015 13
June 19, 2015 14
June 26, 2015 15
July 3, 2015 16
July 10, 2015 17
July 17, 2015 18
July 24, 2015 19
July 31, 2015 20
Average ratings

References

  1. Retrieved 3-18-2015 (Chinese)
  2. 李佳穎被壁咚喊上癮 私下叫唐禹哲「親密綽號」 Retrieved 3-18-2015
  3. Murphy's Law of Love Viki page. Retrieved 3-18-2015
  4. Nature Country Homestay fb page. Retrieved April 14, 2015
  5. Fish Homestay fb page. Retrieved April 14, 2015
  6. ART Interior Design website. Retrieved April 18, 2015
  7. Yunzhinan website. Retrieved April 7, 2015
  8. Chelsea Gallery facebook page. Retrieved April 12, 2015
  9. FooShion website. Retrieved April 7, 2015
  10. Wunan Books website. Retrieved April 7, 2015
  11. Nan Yuan FB page. Retrieved April 18, 2015
  12. Fish Homestay website. Retrieved April 14, 2015
  13. Nature Country Homestay website. Retrieved April 14, 2015

External links