A Date with the Future (2023)

A Story about Firefighting and Love Beautifully Done

The ML and FL connection and innocent chemistry was sweet. The tapestry of challenges that firefighters face as well as those connected to them was captured beautifully. In these dramas most viewers focus on the leads, but the writers were able to give a full experience of the ebb and flow of sacrifice and decisions that surround the lives of the cast. The OST was good for the theme of the show. The support cast and production did very well. This is my first time seeing something with William Chan. I love the dynamics of his character and look forward to his next works. Zhang Ruonan was very good as well. In parts you could see her age, but she will be one to watch moving forward. Definitely worth the watch.

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Excellent chemistry

You’ll never know when or where you’ll meet your future…. It could happen any moment… love this story a lot … when is meant to be is meant to be no matter the time of separation or place … true love .

The chemistry is excellent… started slow but it builds up very good. I enjoyed the whole cast, tho the actress was a little annoying but i think i blame her voice.. lol

It was a roller coaster of emotions, you will laugh, cry and be upset.

The ending was super cute and i loved their pj’s - his last line was just perfect.. - “Is time to make babies” .. 💞

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A pleasant series with talented actors but a somewhat worn and poorly constructed story

Interesting plot of a firefighter (William Chan, the ML) and journalist duo (Zhang Ruo Nan, the FL). He saved her from an earthquake 10 years earlier and she fell in love. During these 10 years, she did everything to get closer to him (she became a talented dog trainer, etc.). After a few adventures, they end up forming a couple but have to deal with all the twists / clichés of this type of series: an evil work rival, a Trash ML, best friend but love rival, accident, illness, various traumas.

PROS:
+ The 2 leads are endearing (although the fake kisses are a little too much), their mutual trust is a pleasure.
+ the FL2 (Dr. Zhang) is the most likeable, frank, honest character in this drama.
+ the very close-knit firefighters team, with solidarity, cohesion, friendship (all endearing characters).
+ the very cute dogs (congratulations to the IRL trainers)
+ the OSTs are well adapted
+ the action and rescue scenes are realistic with quality special effects.

CONS:
- Many inconsistencies in the story (the escape from the depressed FL for example) and unnecessary twists.
- I can't stand the Trash ML!!! This so-called best friend, stubborn even though he knows he doesn't stand a chance. Supposedly intelligent, shrewd businessman, but who is convinced that the FL will end up loving him at the end of the journey.
- the insertions of nationalist propaganda and to the glory of the fire soldiers, which end up giving an impression of brainwashing. A little bit, it's understandable in the context, but constantly and at inopportune times, it's too much!

=> Pleasant series, with very good actors, but which is not memorable due to a somewhat worn and poorly constructed story.
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Plot intéressant sur un duo pompier (William Chan en ML) et journaliste. (Zhang Ruo Nan en FL). Il l'a sauvée d'un tremblement de terre 10 ans + tôt et elle a eu le coup de foudre. Durant ces 10 ans, elle a tout fait pour se rapprocher de lui (dresseuse de chiens, etc.). Après quelques péripéties, ils finissent par former un couple mais doivent faire face à tous les twists / clichés de ce type de série : une evil rivale de travail sournoise, un Trash ML, meilleur ami mais rival amoureux, accident, maladie, traumas divers.
PROS :
+ Les 2 leads sont attachants (bien que les fake kisses soient un peu too much), leur confiance mutuelle fait plaisir.
+ la FL2 (Dr Zhang) est le personnage le plus sympathique, franc, honnête, de ce drama.
+ la team de pompiers très soudée, avec la solidarité, la cohésion, l'amitié (tous des personnages attachants).
+ les chiens très cute (bravo aux dresseurs)
+ les OST sont bien adaptés
+ les scènes d'action et de sauvetage sont réalistes avec des effets spéciaux de qualité;
CONS :
- Beaucoup d'incohérences dans l'histoire (fuite de la FL déprimée par exemple) et de twists inutiles.
- je ne supporte pas le Trash ML !!! Ce soi-disant meilleur ami, obstiné même s'il sait qu'il n'a aucune chance. Soit disant intelligent, homme d'affaires avisé, mais qui est persuadé que la FL finira par l'aimer au bout du bout.
- les insertions de propagande nationaliste et à la gloire des soldats du feu, qui finissent par donner une impression de lavage de cerveau. Un peu, ça se comprend dans le contexte, mais sans arrêt et à des moments inopportuns, c'est trop !

=> Série agréable, avec de très bons acteurs, mais qui n'est pas mémorable en raison d'une histoire un peu usée et mal construite.

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love the chemistry

If you love good chemistry and a strong female lead I recommend this drama.

I was hooked instantly when I watched this drama and couldn't put it down as I eagerly waited for a new episode.

The Chemistry:
I love the chemistry between the two leads. I love how xu lai was the one to go after jin shi chuan and seeing him slowly give in as the drama goes in. They are so cute and I love seeing their little moments together.

Characters:
I loved how strong the female lead is., even when faced with threats to her and those she loved she didn't back down and kept at revealing the truth. She didn't let her coworker make her a scapegoat. I love that since it's different from what I am used to seeing.

I loved the team members and seeing their friendship and how well they worked together. I loved every one of them and of course their dogs too though they only showed them a few times.

OST: I loved it especially daydream by chen xueran it is so cute and I couldn't stop myself from listening it over and over.

Fire Scenes: I loved them and I love how we get an idea of struggles of firemen like losing someone from the team, the worry over a loved one being a firemen and the sacrifices that they make. I just enjoyed the scenes of the fire rescues and how heartfelt it was when they saved someone.

Of course this drama isn't perfect it does have it's things (for example it doesn't have any good kisses) but even so I love it and I would recommend it if you just want to watch something heartfelt and cute to watch.

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Too long and repetitive

I totally forgot about this drama… I paused twice and by the time I reached Ep33 I had enough. I thought about just watching the final episode as I saw a spoiler of a wedding, but I completely forgot! Just goes to show it wasn't that great.

The main leads chemistry and romance development were alright to me- nothing wow and sizzling but not that bad either. The 2nd couple doctor and firefighter also was ok. The most annoying thing was FL’s coworker who has so many bad tricks up her sleeve - and yet she has not been sacked from her company!! Just ridiculous. And her evil exploits were too predictable and too crime like- she should be going to jail. Don’t know how she managed to evade the law

Sigh… so here’s another dropped cdrama. Too bad

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She fell in love at first sight and he did not know what to do with it. . . . at first.

A Date With The Future is a Chinese Drama involving the interaction of First Responders with the public. The First Responders are Firemen. My profession is considered a First Responder. While not a Firemen, I found much attention being paid to minute details, showing how First Responders save the lives of people they rescue. Secondly, and once again, Chinese dramas are charming me with their precision of movement, especially when the story is about Military-like occupations, such as Firemen in their calls for lineup.

In some dramas I just really love the couple, like in the Korean drama Twenty Five Twenty One. I adore this couple in ‘A Date With The Future’. Since this First Responder genre drama came out the same year as the Chinese drama Fireworks of My Heart (2023), this drama (A Date With The Future 2023) will be compared to that exhilarating fast paced drama with lots of action. ‘A Date With The Future’ is a no frills drama, but oddly enough, it works for me in this story rich more so in character studies than action. The concentration of the story is more on the love story rather than the action. I love the characters of the lead male and female. She has been crushing on this older man since this Firefighter saved her life in a devastating earthquake when she was a teenager. Now that she is old enough after ten years, she doggedly pursues the man she fell in love with at first sight ten years ago. He stays away from this female, who he thinks is weird, because she is pursuing him non-stop. Even though he is constantly making it clear that a relationship is a “no go”, she refuses to accept that answer. He has decided never to get married and to dedicate his life to his career. She had decided that she is going to make him love her. Throw in lots of dogs and training dogs for rescue and you have a simple, but impactful drama.

Most will be charmed by the courage of this young woman who just knows what she wants and is willing to do what is takes to get the love of her life and keep him safe. The stars of ‘A Date With The Future’ are C-Pop Artist/Actor William Chan (Swords of Legends) as Jin Shichuan and new comer, Actress Zhang Ruonan (The Glory of Youth) as Xu Lai.

‘A Date With the Future’ has the usual Band of Brothers.

Also, the signature of Chinese action dramas in particular is the cinematography, like this ladder rescue from a burning High-rise by Firemen.


Now, even with Chinese Dramas, there must be an umbrella scenes.

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Depends of if you can make it past the start or not!

This is one of those drama's which definitely gets better as it goes along, but first you have to get past one huge hurdle..........the start!

Ohh boy those first few episodes are tortuous and I can see why people have mixed opinions on this! The FL is saved by the ML 10 years before the series begins and meets up with him again in the first episode. She has spent 10 yrs making herself into someone worthy of him and is determined she loves him and belongs at his side. She does all sorts to get his attention, including putting herself in danger. Lets get one thing straight right away, if the ML acted the way the FL is acting........it would be straight up stalking behaviour, but somehow because its the female people think it's cute. Also in those first few episodes the FL is not in love with the ML, as she doesn't know him, not even his name. She is obsessed with the man who saved her and needs a therapist, not a relationship!

However if you can get over those first few episodes then it does even out a lot. The relationship does become a lot more healthy and based on knowledge and respect rather insane obsession. Although the two careers are not depicted mega realistically they are done quite well, and certainly well enough for the show. The other members of the cast are all good in their respective roles, and the characters enjoyable. The animals used in the show are amazingly well trained and work well with the cast. The music is ok but doesn't jump out at you.

All in all it's a good drama that makes you feel good. IF you can get past the severely messy start.

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Adorable love story, one of my favorite modern dramas

I'd rank this as my #2 favorites of modern dramas (just behind To Love starring Lin Gen Xing). Great storyline, great acting, pretty good OST. Overall I gave it a 9. Took off a point for the last 2 episodes dragging out beyond the climax of the story.

*** Spoilers below ****

Acting/Cast:
- William Chan (ML) - he's one of my favorite male leads right now, I've been binge watching a lot of his shows. He's not the best actor w/ a ton of range, but he just lights up the screen with his charisma and adorable smile. He plays the action hero role very well. In this role as a fierce firefighter he shined in every way. He was able to convey the tormented, tough, cold & aloof on the outside, but caring/loyal on the inside persona so well. As much as I adore William Chan, he usually does not have much chemistry w/ his female leads (other than Sandra Ma in Age of Legends). However in this series it's the most chemistry I've seen him with a female lead. They had great chemistry.
- Xu Lai (FL) - this is the first time I've seen this actress, she did a great job. She was believable conveying the sweet bubbly innocence w/out being annoyingly over the top, but also tough w/ grit and rational determination. When she cried you can feel her sadness.
- Dr. Zang Qui (Support Female) - first time seeing this actress. She's beautiful and did a great job being the tough logical sounding board for people. But the flashbacks of her youth she was so sweet and bubbly, and the scene where she broke down crying begging Jin Sichuan to let her see her dying husband...that scene was just heartbreaking.

PROS:
- Storyline - I loved it, it was very reminiscent of Backdraft from the 1990s, one of my all time favorite movies with Kurt Russell, Billy Baldwin, etc. The emergency calls/situations were very plausible, unlike a lot of Cdramas.
- The character development was done well showing how people experience and recover from traumatic life experiences
- The death of Liu Xu and his secret recording being played to his brigade team after dies, oh man that was a tearjerker! Get your tissues for that.
- The scene of Jin Sichuan in the coma...trying to follow the dead Liu Xu into the light...but getting pulled back by Xu Lai. That was powerful. I was on the edge of my seat holding my breath.

CONS:
- Hospital scenes - as battered up as Jin Sichuan gets, rightfully so as a firefighter, most of the hospital scenes he still looks perfect, other than 1 time when he saved Xu Lai from the kidnapper he was bruised and battered. But even when he was supposedly in a coma for awhile (maybe months, as they did not really specify how long) - he had not 1 scratch on him, hair perfectly done, clean shaven, etc. Very unrealistic, but this is pretty typical of most cdramas anyway.
- Xu Lai in the beginning came across as some crazed stalker at first w/ zero boundaries and thick skin.
- The annoying coworker of Xu Lai - dumb as bricks and the trouble she tries to inflict on Xu Lai is lame. But she was barely held accountable by the news station even when caught several times - except for the last straw when she almost killed her.
- Rescue dogs were cute and the scene when Windhound died saving Jin Sichuan - gut-wrenching. But the dogs and dog training got too much screen time.
- The dubbing wasn't always the best. Some voices just did not fit w/ the character/actor.
- The 3rd support couple - Lao Huo and Shi Shi the actress. The entire series he was irrationally obsessed and possessive of Xu Lai, while Shi Shi followed him around like a pathetic puppy. Then suddenly at the end of the series he magically realizes...Oh, wait, ok, I love you now Shi Shi (because he can't have Xu Lai). It felt like an unnatural progression, as if the writers wanted to force some sort of resolution for Lao Huo out of pity.

I've never re-watched any modern dramas (except 1 other one) - but I'd probably re-watch this one.

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Nice drama with a beautiful ending

I really like this drama, it made me emotional and smile a lot. The leads have good chemistry and I love their relationship. The kissing scenes weren’t really good but you could still feel their amazing chemistry. They were together for many episodes, I love that in dramas.

I also really loved the second couple and we got to see a lot of them. They were really cute too.

The only things that I hated is the annoying second lead who have an unrequited love for FL. It took him more than 30 eps to finally move on. I would have loved for that to happening sooner so we could have seen more of his relationship with 3FL. I was invested in this 3rd couple too, we can consider their ending happy. They are not officially a couple, but they reunited at the end, I was happy about that.
I also hated the unnecessary and stupid breakup, but it didn’t last long.

Overall I love all the couples and the story. The romance was amazing for me. The rescue scenes were good and I liked the training plot with the dogs. I didn’t find it boring and I enjoyed the drama from beggining to end.

Also a very positive point for me was the ending. I love it so much, one of my favorite cdrama ending ever. I love a long ending, a happy ending of a few min or sec is annoying as fuck. It was beautiful, we saw their happy moment, proposal, wedding and a bit after (fast forward 1 years later). Also, we got to see ending for all 3 couples. The last scene was beautiful too. A real 10/10 ending for me❤️❤️

I would recommend this drama

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A wonderful and fun story

I first have to thank the Producer, Writers and Directors for put together a wonderful, joyful and fun storyline. For once they don't have the ML portraying a rich, arrogant, demeaing, get your face, yanking a woman around person. They also didn't have the FL portraying a poor, need a man to help her, mumbling, yank me around, subservient, weak minded person. Most of that you see in most Chinese Romance dramas

I am really enjoying this Drama. It has highes and lowes, funny parts and seriuos. Chemistry among the cast is through the roof good. The interaction between the ML and FL looks natural and not creepy.The music suits the occassion and the ballards are great. If you watch this drama, you'll find out that there isn't a relationship in this drma that doesn't fit. You really don't have a bad guy in this drama. The fire fighting action scenes where hairs raising. There was a part in this drama that was heartbreaking, and you will feel it to your soul.

It's nice to know that big citites are the same all over the world: Too many people, too manny cars, bad air and traffic jams.

If you do not watch this drama, you'll be missing out. This is the way love, romance dramas should be made. No-one is demeaning anyone, no weak minded females and no demeaning males.

I recommend this drama and I will watch it again.

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Just too ridiculous- female lead is so awful!

The first episode was very dramatic and grabbed my attention. I thought this was going to be excellent. And then… oh, it was not! The cast did their best with what they had. The story is the problem.
At age 15 she “falls in love” with a man who saved her, even though she never even really talked to him. She states she will come find him in 10 years, and he blows it off. (Because what sane person would say that?) She remains obsessed for a decade and then, amazingly enough, stumbles across him randomly in… 10 years. He doesn’t remember her, so she stalks him. She uses a documentary as an excuse to stalk him more. Not only is this 25 yr old woman a professional investigative journalist, she’s also a professional dog trainer. And when no one is looking, she can sneak into a firefighter uniform and run into a burning building to save someone. This is where I had to quit. Apparently she’s a master of everything.
Then there’s the suicide jumper. A girl gets dumped by her bf and tries to commit suicide by jumping from a building. The hero saves her, so she transfers her “love” to him and says if he rejects her, then she’ll kill herself. Really?!?!? To top that off, our main stalker girl heads her off at an open house, stating that SHE is the captain’s “reserve wife”. Captain at that time wanted nothing to do with her.. FL tells her that she’s obsessed and it’s not love and she needs to focus on herself. Wow.
The evil coworker repeatedly risks destroying the company she works for (and thus her own job) in order to frame the female lead… I didn’t get far enough into it to find out what caused that level of hate. There are too many levels of crazy in this show.
I love William Chen, and he did well here, I have liked Zhang in other recent shows, and I guess she played the character as she was supposed to… but the role was so terrible! The support cast seemed good, but there hadn’t been any character development by the time I quit. I didn’t even know most of their names. There’s no way I can finish this show. I ‘lol just wait for whatever Chen does next and watch him there.

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