Aim High (TV series)


Aim High is a 2014 Taiwanese romantic-comedy television series produced by Sanlih E-Television. Starring Summer Meng, Chris Wang, Kuo Shu-yao, and Lego Lee as main leads with Lyan Cheng and Huang Wei Ting as main supporting cast. The original title literally translates to "22K Dream Fly High". 22K was a reference to the median salary for recent college graduates entering the workforce in Taiwan.
Filming began on October 14, 2014, and the drama was filmed as it aired. First original broadcast began October 24, 2014 on SETTV channel, airing every Friday at 10:00-11:30 pm. Original broadcast completed on March 13, 2015, when the last of the 20 episodes aired.
WWW blog.iset.com.tw/AimHighFB setAimHigh

Synopsis

Four friends at the end of their junior year of college dreams of success and landing that perfect job. Each has a detailed perception of what they want to be, however once they graduate from college and enter the workforce reality sets in. All four are struggling by in dead end jobs. Only Xu Yi Fen is still holding on and chasing her dream of being an app developer and creating her own app. Soon hotshot app developer Yu Qi Feng sees potential in her and hires her at his company.

Plot summary

After listening to a lecture speech at her University by hotshot app developer Yu Qi Feng, junior year student Xu Yi Fen is taken to heart by his closing statement to "Live for nothing or die for something". This drives her to become an app developer like Qi Feng. Yi Fen recruits her three best friends Yan Mao Tang nicknamed Mao Mao, Tian Ming Xian and Hao Mei to help her develop her app "Dream Life" when she decides to enter the Capcom app developer contest.
Each one of her friends have dreams of their own. Stubborn Mao Mao wants to be a flight attendant, free spirit Ming Xian wants to be a poet and righteous Mei wants to be an economist to help the poor. However one year later when all four graduate from college, reality sets in when they enter the work force. Yi Fen is still holding onto her dreams to make her app "Dream Life" happen while struggling to make a living as a beverage delivery person and working as a receptionist at a driving school. Mao Mao is a life insurance salesman who faces pressure from her boss each day to meet her monthly sales quota and fend off perverted clients who sexually harasses while leading her on that they will buy life insurance from her. Ming Xian is a taxi driver but tells her riders that she's really a poet who is a part-time taxi driver. Mei is a teaching assistant for her former professor whom she has a crush on, at the university.
Yi Fen and Qi Feng meet again when he is at the driving school for lessons while she uses the student driver car to chase after her former roommate who swindled her and lied about helping her develop the "Dream Life" app. With encouraging words from Qi Feng at the scene, Yi Fen gains confidence and continues developing her app on her own. The three other friends reunite at their former professor's wedding. They reminisce about how happy they were in college. After realizing Yi Fen not attending the wedding because she has to hand in her app contest presentation, the three are touched that Yi Fen is still following her dreams and decide to go to the contest venue to support her.
Qi Feng who is head of research and development at Capcom Taiwan, has problems of his own when his boss refuses to green light the development of his phone game app while stringing him along that he will reassess the project. Qi Feng spills his frustration about the situation to his friend Ren Dao Yuan, who is head of the customer service department at Capcom Taiwan. The next day Qi Feng encounters Yi Fen during a beverage delivery run and feels talent being wasted in a menial job, he refers her to Dao Yuan since there is an opening in his department.
Dao Yuan works long hours in a demanding job and lives a lonely life, moved to Taipei from Kaohsiung after graduating from college to search for his former girlfriend Mao Mao, that he lost touch with for six years. The two had tried to maintain a long-distance relationship before losing touch. He was in Kaohsiung during college and she moved to Taipei after her father died. The two had a petty fight about putting time aside for each other and both didn't bother to contact the other back. Thinking Dao Yuan doesn't care, Mao Mao moved and changed her contacts. When Dao Yuan went to Taipei to look for her it was already too late.

Cast

Main

Supporting

  • Edison Wang as Yu Pin Yao - Age 24
  • Ray Yang as Lin Ming Hong - Age 25
  • Wasir Chou as Hou Pei Xiang - Age 32
  • Fu Lei as Yu Rong Fa - Age 57
  • Su Yi Jing as Yuan Ruo Wen - Age 56
  • Yin Chao De as Xu Shi Tang - Age 55
  • Kelly Kuo as Zhong Hui Xin - Age 53
  • Lung Shao-hua as Ren Qi Liang - Age 58
  • Ke Shu Qin as Feng Si Si - Age 52
  • Debbie Yao as Qian Ru Xi - Age 55
  • Lin Hsiu Ling as Tang Shí Fang - Age 54
  • Xie Li Jin as Tian Mu Xi - Age 50

Guest appearance

  • Ma Li Ou as CEO Liu
  • Chen Ching Chieh as Yu Zi
  • Zoe Li as Zoe
  • Zhou Wei Jie as DJ Jas
  • Maggie Lai as Mao Mao's boss
  • Irene Yang as Hou Pei Xiang wife

Soundtrack

Aim High Original TV Soundtrack was released on January 30, 2015, by various artists under Avex Taiwan Inc. record label. It contains 16 tracks total, in which 8 songs are various instrumental versions of the songs. The opening theme is track 1 "Dazzling Dreams 閃亮的夢想" by Vianz and Shan, while the closing theme is track 8 "You're Most Welcome 別客氣" by Soo Wincci.

Track listing

Songs not featured on the official soundtrack album.
  • Who Stole Your Happiness 誰偷了你的快樂 by Ryan Ding 丁衣凡
  • I Want You by Dom.T

Publications

* 8 January 2015 : Aim High Original Novel - - Author: Sanlih E-Television 三立電視監製 & Li Yan Cheng 李炎澄 - Publisher: Spring Press 春光出版社
* 3 December 2014 : S-Pop Vol. 23 December 2014 - barcode 4717095578630 - Author: Sanlih E-Television 三立電視監製
* 28 November 2014 : Iwalker No.06 Dec 2014/Jan 2015 - barcode 4717095572690 - Author: Sanlih E-Television 三立電視監製
'''* 3 February 2015 : S-Pop Vol. 25 February 2015 - barcode 4717095588332 - Author: Sanlih E-Television 三立電視監製'''

DVD release

* 8 May 2015 : Aim High - DVD Region 3 - Disc: 5 - Publisher: Cai Chang International Multimedia Inc.
'''* 4 May 2015 : Aim High - DVD All Region - Disc: 7 - Publisher: Multimedia Entertainment SDN. BHD. '''

Filming locations

The opening sequence of the drama was filmed at the "White House Resort" located in Wanli District, New Taipei, Taiwan. The building and the lobby depicted in the drama as Capcom Taiwan headquarters is a newly built commercial building located at the corner of Minshan Street and Xinhu 1st Road in the Neihu District of Taipei, while the real headquarters of Capcom Taiwan is located at Sec.1, Dunhua South Road in Daan District, Taipei.

''Taipei, Taiwan''

''New Taipei City, Taiwan''

  • Sanzhi District
  • *Eighteen Kids House 18個孩子民宿
  • Tamsui District
  • *Ya Dear Restaurant 雅帝皇家經典美食
  • Wanli District
  • *White House Resort 白宮行舘海灘度假村

''Taoyuan County, Taiwan''

  • Zhongli City
  • *Yuan Ze University 元智大學

Development and casting

  • Original title of the drama during post-production was "22K Small Fortunately 22K的小確幸".
  • Both Lego Lee and Chris Wang was announced on July 30, 2014, to be headlining an upcoming SETTV drama together.
  • Sanlih held a press conference on July 31, 2014, showcasing their four main in-house contractual lead actors and announcing the upcoming dramas for the later half of 2014 schedule lineup.
  • The four main actresses of the drama Summer Meng, Guo Shu Yao, Lyan Cheng and Huang Wei-Ting was introduced at a press conference on September 22, 2014, at Sanlih's headquarters rooftop garden.
  • The opening lens and blessing ceremony was held at SETTV headquarters main entrance on October 13, 2014.
  • On October 23, 2014, another press conference was held at SETTV headquarters auditorium introducing the extended cast of the drama.

Episode ratings

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