I’m hooked. What can I say? In a Lost, Desperate Housewives kind of way, local drama Realiti is top on my list of recommended let’s-vege-in-front-of-TV-on-Sunday programs. It’s brilliantly shot, well-acted and has a pretty interesting storyline (wanna know who writes for Realiti? It’s Dzof (for a couple of episodes) and also Ng Ping Ho (who happens to also be the Director of the series.
What’s Realiti about? To cut a long story short, Realiti is a story about a reality TV show – The Malaysian Star. Much like Malaysian Idol. And One in A Million. But life’s never that straight forward is it?
So why do I like Realiti? I like the characters. Kudos to the casting director because I think it’s spot on. Azizan as Amir, the cool Malay kampung rocker. Ashraf as American-bred R&B influenced Burn, Melissa as the sexy Baby, Alvin – the very poofy Nickson (he is SO right for this role, I laugh each time I see him on screen!), Chelsia – the pretty girl and Burn’s love interest with a drug problem. Radhi Khalid as Mac the mentor is brilliant. And I love the dialogue. Very real, in a everyday Malaysian sort of way. Like Rabun. Like Sepet. Like Gubra. There’s English, Malay, Hokkien, the Malaysian suffixes – “la“, the works. Sweet.
I missed the pilot and a couple of early episodes, but fret not, I’ve got them bookmarked on YouTube. For those who missed any episodes, head on to YouTube and do a search. Or point your browser here –> Dzof.org: Realiti
To tell you the truth, it’s getting better as the characters develop further. I can’t wait till Sunday again. Hope they also release a DVD collection of the entire series. Definitely a worthy addition to my DVD collection.
Realiti. 10pm Sundays on 8TV, starring Azizan Nin, Ashraf Sinclair, Melissa Maureen, Alvin Wong, Chelsia Ng, Radhi Khalid. With Nazrudin Rahman, Juliana Ibrahim, Lydia Ibtisam, Nell Ng, Kee Thuan Chye, Cheyenne Stutzriem, Aishah Sinclair. Special appearances by Fat Fabes, Carmen Soo and Fly Guy. What would you do to become a star?
