2
12
3
virgievirgie
Lost in Dramaland
Beautiful and Mellow Healing drama that also feels like a documentary
Completed - 3/7/2022 - 8.25 rounding up to 8.5
“A Thousand Goodnights” is a beautiful, healing drama about family, dreams and people in your life. It also gives me a feeling that it’s part documentary and part tourism promotion of Taiwan. You get to travel to different parts of Taiwan, learn about small town/village traditions and livelihood. Following the train route mapped out by her deceased father, Tai Tien Ching (FL) completes the journey that her father couldn’t.
I would recommend this drama for those who enjoy:
1. Slower paced, healing drama where you get to feel, listen and experience what the characters are going through.
2. Beautiful landscapes and scenery of Taiwan - hills, mountains, ocean, islands, etc.
3. Learning about small town livelihoods and traditions
4. Different dialects spoken - Mandarin, Taiwanese and Hakka
5. Wisdom and life lessons through dramas
I also would suggest not binge-watching this drama as each episode is about an hour and 15 minutes long. Due to its slower pacing, I think 1-2 episodes a day is good. When I watch 3+ episodes a day, I lose my focus and get bored. It wouldn’t be fair to judge a drama due to my binge-watching habit.
After Station Master Tai retirement, he planned out a trip to different places along the train routes to visit old friends. But he was unable to do so and his older daughter Tien Ching wanted to complete the trip for him. Following her father’s mapped out route, she discovered different sides of her father that she never knew. She met her father’s friends and learned many life lessons throughout the journey. The trip actually did not take up as many episodes as I thought it would. I thought the majority of the drama would be about the trip itself. Actually, I would say only about 50% of the drama took place in different Taiwanese towns and villages. The rest is spent back home. There’s enough going on at home surrounding our FL, ML, 2FL and 2ML (don’t want to give out spoilers).
Romance does not take center stage in this drama. However, the two romance storylines we have give viewers two very different flavors. The romance between Tien Ching and Chen No is quiet and mature. They understand and support each other. They have honest and open communication. There’s no cute fluffiness or public display of affection. Actually, Tien Ching never straight up tells Chen No that she likes him. But you find glimpses of sweetness in their conversations and actions. And you know they care for each other deeply without any big declaration of love. On the other hand, the romance between Tien Yu and Po Sen is more of a typical rom-com romance. They are cute together and will flirt with each other. When the drama transitions to them from Tien Ching’s trip, the transitions seem out of place and weird. At times, I do think their romance and 2ML music career change the tone of the drama. I am not sure if it’s a good or bad thing.
The music and the cinematography are beautiful. There are many scenes of mountains and rivers, fields and ponds, islands and trains. The background music complements the scenery so well, without overpowering the sounds of nature (birds chirping or ocean waves). For me, I heard different types of music - from Disney-like, to classical music, to historical drama-like and big Hollywood music scores. I am not a music critic but I really, really like the background music in this drama. I also read that the opening and closing themes are specially written for this drama. The songs are beautiful as well.
Other Observations:
1. Station Master Tai seems to be the most perfect character ever.
2. I love his station master decal on his cell phone case.
3. For some reason, I don’t like how FL behaves - not sure if it’s the character or the actress
4. Why break the cute elephant banks when you can take money out from the bottom?! All for drama’s sake!
5. First time seeing a drama using Facebook Messenger as the chat app.
6. What happened to the studio’s financial crisis?
7. I do think the drama could be a little shorter.
Lastly, I love the last episode - gives me warm fuzzy feelings. “Good Night’ can mean -
I Love You
I Miss You
Thank You
I am so thankful to have you in my life
See You Soon
Good Night, Sweet dreams
“A Thousand Goodnights” is a beautiful, healing drama about family, dreams and people in your life. It also gives me a feeling that it’s part documentary and part tourism promotion of Taiwan. You get to travel to different parts of Taiwan, learn about small town/village traditions and livelihood. Following the train route mapped out by her deceased father, Tai Tien Ching (FL) completes the journey that her father couldn’t.
I would recommend this drama for those who enjoy:
1. Slower paced, healing drama where you get to feel, listen and experience what the characters are going through.
2. Beautiful landscapes and scenery of Taiwan - hills, mountains, ocean, islands, etc.
3. Learning about small town livelihoods and traditions
4. Different dialects spoken - Mandarin, Taiwanese and Hakka
5. Wisdom and life lessons through dramas
I also would suggest not binge-watching this drama as each episode is about an hour and 15 minutes long. Due to its slower pacing, I think 1-2 episodes a day is good. When I watch 3+ episodes a day, I lose my focus and get bored. It wouldn’t be fair to judge a drama due to my binge-watching habit.
After Station Master Tai retirement, he planned out a trip to different places along the train routes to visit old friends. But he was unable to do so and his older daughter Tien Ching wanted to complete the trip for him. Following her father’s mapped out route, she discovered different sides of her father that she never knew. She met her father’s friends and learned many life lessons throughout the journey. The trip actually did not take up as many episodes as I thought it would. I thought the majority of the drama would be about the trip itself. Actually, I would say only about 50% of the drama took place in different Taiwanese towns and villages. The rest is spent back home. There’s enough going on at home surrounding our FL, ML, 2FL and 2ML (don’t want to give out spoilers).
Romance does not take center stage in this drama. However, the two romance storylines we have give viewers two very different flavors. The romance between Tien Ching and Chen No is quiet and mature. They understand and support each other. They have honest and open communication. There’s no cute fluffiness or public display of affection. Actually, Tien Ching never straight up tells Chen No that she likes him. But you find glimpses of sweetness in their conversations and actions. And you know they care for each other deeply without any big declaration of love. On the other hand, the romance between Tien Yu and Po Sen is more of a typical rom-com romance. They are cute together and will flirt with each other. When the drama transitions to them from Tien Ching’s trip, the transitions seem out of place and weird. At times, I do think their romance and 2ML music career change the tone of the drama. I am not sure if it’s a good or bad thing.
The music and the cinematography are beautiful. There are many scenes of mountains and rivers, fields and ponds, islands and trains. The background music complements the scenery so well, without overpowering the sounds of nature (birds chirping or ocean waves). For me, I heard different types of music - from Disney-like, to classical music, to historical drama-like and big Hollywood music scores. I am not a music critic but I really, really like the background music in this drama. I also read that the opening and closing themes are specially written for this drama. The songs are beautiful as well.
Other Observations:
1. Station Master Tai seems to be the most perfect character ever.
2. I love his station master decal on his cell phone case.
3. For some reason, I don’t like how FL behaves - not sure if it’s the character or the actress
4. Why break the cute elephant banks when you can take money out from the bottom?! All for drama’s sake!
5. First time seeing a drama using Facebook Messenger as the chat app.
6. What happened to the studio’s financial crisis?
7. I do think the drama could be a little shorter.
Lastly, I love the last episode - gives me warm fuzzy feelings. “Good Night’ can mean -
I Love You
I Miss You
Thank You
I am so thankful to have you in my life
See You Soon
Good Night, Sweet dreams
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