A New Life (Singaporean TV series)
A New Life is a 2005 Singaporean drama series which aired from 13 June 2005 to 8 July 2005. It is about how an ordinary man and blue-collar worker manage to overcome obstacles by himself and face many challenges and difficulties in his daily life. This drama also depicts on the daily Singaporean life and also working out on different jobs in the workforce and also assisting the medical doctors and nurses in helping out on the cancer patients by earning and donating money to the NKF Cancer Fund. Firstly, this drama also depicts the titular protagonist asking to borrow money from the supporting characters to help the cancer patients, which is a reference to the popular and successful film by comedian, film producer and screenwriter Jack Neo known as Money No Enough, where the film also features curry chicken and funerals located at void decks as well, same likewise for leukemia, or simply known as blood cancer for the cancer patient was also featured in the film as well. At the same time, this drama also depicts umpteen times where some of the supporting characters would criticise the titular protagonist for being stupid, and then the titular protagonist would reply by saying "I'm Not Stupid, I am Youfu", this could also be another reference to popular comedian and film director Jack Neo's popular and successful educational film known as I Not Stupid, where leukemia, or simply known as blood cancer for the cancer patient was also featured in the film as well. Firstly, It also marks the on-screen reunion of Christopher Lee, Yvonne Lim, Jin Yinji and Alan Tern after their previous collaboration in the police drama known as True Heroes. Secondly, it also marks another on-screen reunion of Yvonne Lim and Alan Tern after their previous collaboration in the fishball factory drama known as Portrait of Home and Portrait of Home II, where they both portrayed villains in that drama and as good people in this drama instead. Thirdly, it also marks another on-screen reunion of Andrew Seow, Carole Lin and Jin Yinji after their previous collaboration in the fantasy drama known as Zero to Hero. Moreover, it also marks another on-screen reunion of Melody Chen and Lee Weng Kee after their previous collaboration in the restaurant sitcom known as Happy Belly. Furthermore, it also marks another on-screen reunion of Hossan Leong and Cheryl Desiree Chan after their previous collaboration in the popular Jack Neo education film and television series and sitcom known as I Not Stupid Movie and respectively. Also, it also marks another on-screen reunion of Christopher Lee and Margaret Lee after their previous collaboration in the Jack Neo gambling movie known as The Best Bet. At the same time, some of the cast members including Yvonne Lim, Carole Lin, Alan Tern, Hossan Leong, Timothy Nga, Margaret Lee, Melody Chen, Lee Weng Kee, Cheryl Desiree Chan and Sharon Wong would later make appearances in certain episodes of the popular Singaporean local sitcom known as Police & Thief, where Margaret Lee and Sharon Wong would portray Mark Lee's character Lee Tok Kong's Wife named Lily Lee, where the former portrayed her from Seasons 1 to 5 and the latter in Season 6, which was also the final season. Moreover, Darren Lim, May Phua, Eelyn Kok and Jin Yinji would later collaborate again in the flower and florist drama known as Love Blossoms. Furthermore, Darren Lim, Eelyn Kok and Yan Bingliang would later collaborate in the future again as members of Huang family in the popular and award-winning Singaporean local period drama known as The Little Nyonya, which was also written by Ang Eng Tee just like this drama as well. Darren Lim, Ann Kok and Eelyn Kok would later collaborate in the education drama known as My School Daze. At the same time, Darren Lim, Ann Kok, Alan Tern and Seth Ang would later collaborate again in the Chinese New Year drama known as Happy Family. Darren Lim, May Phua and Jin Yinji would later collaborate again in the drama known as The In-Laws. Moreover, Christopher Lee, Yvonne Lim and Ann Kok would later collaborate again in the medical drama known as The Oath. Furthermore, Christopher Lee, Darren Lim and Ann Kok would later collaborate again in the future in the musical drama known as Crescendo.
Plot
Zhang Youfu is an ordinary man and blue-collar worker who stopped studying and dropped out of secondary school at Secondary [education in Singapore|Secondary 2] at the age of 14 years old to join the workforce by helping his father Zhang Dongcai, which he was later renamed Zhang Wancai, a.k.a. Curry Cai in the curry chicken business, as Zhang Wancai is a chef cooking curry chicken and therefore hopes that his youngest son Youfu would take over his business. Besides helping Zhang Wancai out in the curry chicken business, he also tried working out on different jobs from different industries including a roast duck apprentice, durian seller, a [Mee pok|handmade fishball noodles] seller and a massage service assistant after he completed his service in Singapore|national service] either, but unfortunately, they were all failed attempts and he ultimately returned to cooking curry chicken at funerals located at the void decks.However, as he is slow-witted and clumsy, the bosses of the durian and handmade fishball noodles business of his employers find his work performance wanting and thinking that he is beyond hope. As for the roast duck and massage jobs, he accidentally burnt his boss's and master's buttock using the charcoal that was meant to cook the roast duck in the stove and it landed up on the chair that his boss and master is seating at. For the massage portion, he also accidentally broke one of his female customer's foot whilst massaging and her other foot kept touching and kicking Youfu, and because of the latter 2 reasons, he also ultimately got fired and ultimately and eventually returned back to cooking curry chicken at funerals located at the void decks.
At the same time, he is optimistic by nature and does not hold a grudge with his family, friends and employers. Following the death of Zhang Wancai due to heavily smoking and drinking which eventually got him diagnosed with throat cancer, the heavy burden of supporting his entire family consisting of his mother, his elder sister Zhang Zhenzhu and his elder brother Zhang Hongyun falls squarely on his shoulder. Not only that, he also has to help one of his army friends named Steven and his wife named Xiuxiu in their coffee business located at a hawker centre by also becoming an illegal hawker selling fried bee hoon with eggs, as this is to ensure that Xiuxiu would be able to return the amount of money she borrowed from loan sharks and also to the hospital as well, as she mentioned to Youfu that she has owed over S$1000 which are mainly Steven's medical fees. And also, in order to support his family and also mourn the death of Steven due to him diagnosed with brain cancer and also Ah Mei, who also diagnosed with breast cancer as well, he went on to work as a taxi driver and a petrol kiosk worker to pay for all of the latter's medical bills.
Ah Mei is from Indonesia where she grows up in a fishing village and became one of Youfu's army friends named Lin Laifa's 's girlfriend, love interest and later wife where he and another of Youfu's army friends named Ah Gen travelled to the fishing village in Indonesia by boat to introduce and pick her up and eventually marry her and live with Laifa at his HDB Flat along with Laifa's mother and younger sister. After Laifa fetched her back to Singapore and also after their marriage, he allowed Ah Mei to stay with them and did all of the house chores for Laifa and his family.
But after a while, Laifa also realised that Ah Mei is diagnosed with breast cancer and wanted to send her back to the fishing village in Indonesia and enlists Youfu this time along with Ah Gen as well to assist Laifa in returning Ah Mei and chaos ensued between Laifa and Ah Mei's father, where the latter is a butcher in Indonesia and has a very short temper, which he would get extremely infuriated easily. When Laifa and Ah Gen returned to Singapore from Indonesia, Youfu was tasked by Ah Mei's father to bring Ah Mei back to Singapore and they never returned to the fishing village ever again.
Ah Mei and Laifa also got divorced thereafter and the latter also chased the former out of his HDB Flat. And because of this, it resulted in Ah Mei becoming homeless and she has been looking for houses to live in and even attempted suicide, due to her feeling that she's beyond hope because of her breast cancer. This was when Youfu realised this and was kind enough to allow her to stay in his HDB Flat along with his mother and Hongyun, and then after settling down in Youfu's HDB Flat, she also began to help them in the house chores everyday and helping even more than in Laifa's HDB Flat. Besides that, she's also extremely industrious and even studied the English dictionary just to prepare herself for the O Level English Subject, to the extent that it astonishes Youfu and that he was extremely impressed by her.
Besides serving national service and working, Youfu also asked his new girlfriend named Guo Jialing out for a date and watches movie and eats duck porridge with her, and also hangs out very frequently at her family's retail shop, where he would also make friends with Jialing's elder sister named Guo Jiayi. He would also bring Jialing's father out to the park very frequently and learn to play erhu from her father either. Not only that, Youfu would also bring Jialing's father out to drink beer and later introduces the non-alcoholic drink kind of beer to the latter so that he would not become drunk and beat people up in public, and claims himself as Wong Fei-hung. Moreover, when Youfu masters playing the erhu, he plays the music related to drunken boxing that Jialing's father could use it to practice upon.
At the same time, he also came into a major rivalry with Jialing's junior manager named Michael, who is operating his business at a travel agency and coincidentally falls in love with Jialing and married her thereafter. The rivalry started to happen because Jialing was having dinner with Michael at a restaurant and Youfu was not rest assured, and therefore Jialing had no choice but to introduce the 2 men to each other by even giving Youfu a nickname known as "Tom". Michael then invites Youfu to join them for dinner and even gave him his business card to get the latter to know the former better. Jialing even told another wide lie to Michael that "Tom" is a general contractor and white-collar worker majoring in the construction sector building houses like condominiums and bungalows.
When Youfu tells Michael the honest truth that he isn't a general contractor but a curry chicken chef instead, the latter started to give the former a bad impression and also looks down on him and even dislikes him even more, thinking that Jialing should not carry on her friendship and also boyfriend and girlfriend relationship with Youfu and date and marry Michael himself instead.
This also led Jialing becoming extremely infuriated and disappointed with Youfu that he does not know how to tell wide lies sometimes and then broke up with him and also saying that they are not suitable to be together in a relationship but can still remain as good friends and continue hanging out with each other.
But after a while, Jialing also realised that Michael is a very scheming person and also a jerk and crook due to him having bad intentions on both Jialing and Youfu and is also a womaniser having fun with many other women outside as well. Jialing's father and Guo Jiayi has actually never liked Michael all along and they were all merely just being polite to Michael only, because deep down they all know that Youfu is definitely a much better, honest and genuine man than Michael after all. Jialing also confessed to Youfu that she was being forced by Michael to have dinner with him and also dating and marrying him as well. This then lead to both Jialing and Michael getting divorced and letting Michael being arrested and thrown in prison, mainly because after divorcing Michael, she remarries another lawyer named Thomas who helped Jialing in the divorce case for her and Michael, and then started to date with each other and got married for the second time with Thomas himself and then moved to Tasmania, Australia and enjoy their honeymoon in a big mansion there.
But then after Jialing returned to Singapore from Tasmania, Australia and visited Youfu at his new business stall selling curry chicken ramen, she told him that both Thomas and her have also decided to file for divorce, which astonishes Youfu. Which explains why Jialing told Youfu that she misses her old life before marrying Michael and Thomas, and knowing Youfu was one of the best things that happened in her life, which is why she told him that it would be better to remain as good friends rather than becoming husband and wife after getting married because friends would always help one another in need but married couples would quarrel and become enemies instead. This resulted in Youfu understanding Jialing's point and therefore she eventually continues her friendship with Youfu despite not getting married but ultimately decided to remain as good friends for life.
Ah Mei eventually fully recovers from breast cancer after she went for chemotherapy and then Youfu eventually promised to help Ah Mei pay for all her medical bills. Eventually, Laifa is also diagnosed with lung cancer and also passes away as well like both Zhang Wancai and Steven due to him heavily smoking like the former, and also that Youfu's mother also passes away due to her old age and certain injuries as well, and that Youfu eventually quitted both of his jobs as taxi driver and petrol kiosk worker and sets up a Food & Beverage business selling curry chicken ramen known as Hock Woon Curry Chicken Ramen stall with Ah Mei, Hongyun, Zhenzhu, Jialing's father and Ah Gen.
Finally, after setting up Hock Woon
Curry Chicken Ramen business successfully and Youfu donating S$50,000 to NKF Cancer Fund on behalf of Hock Woon Curry Chicken Ramen business, both Ah Mei and Youfu himself eventually got married and then start a new life together.
Cast
- Christopher Lee as Zhang Youfu
- Yvonne Lim as Ah Mei
- Darren Lim as Lin Laifa
- Andrew Seow as Zhang Hongyun, Youfu's elder brother
- Carole Lin as Zhang Zhenzhu, Youfu's elder sister
- Ann Kok as Guo Jialing
- Jin Yinji as Youfu's mother
- Hossan Leong as Ah Gen
- Eelyn Kok as Qiurong
- Alan Tern as Ah Ler
- May Phua as Xiuxiu
- Yan Bingliang as Zhang Dongcai, later renamed Zhang Wancai, a.k.a. Curry Cai, Youfu's father
- Timothy Nga as Michael
- Margaret Lee as Xiaoyan
- Melody Chen as Ah Hua
- Cheryl Desiree Chan as Laifa's younger sister
- Lee Weng Kee as Jialing's father
- Justina Low as Guo Jiayi, Jialing's elder sister
- Seth Ang as Steven
- Sharon Wong as Michael's girlfriend and wife
- Luis Lim Yong Kun as Ah Xing
- Remus Teng as Richard
- Benjamin Yeung Sheung Bun as Alex
- Chua Lee Lian as Herself
Accolades