TELEVISION

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LOVE ME, LOVE ME

NOT

Channel 8

Every Monday to Thursday 7pm

By SUZANNE SNG

HOW do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

     There are many ways to love Love Me, Love Me Not, a Channel 8 drama serial from  MediaCorp, about two fallen angels, but the heavenly duo on the show are definitely not the prime reasons to tune in.

     Played by the ethereal Jacelyn Tay and comeback kid Li-Lin, the two stars may be heavenly to gaze at, but it is the ugly-as-hell Chen Hanwei who steals the limelight.

     Complete with Bugs Bunny teeth, goggle glasses, trousers up to his armpits and a whole tub of Brylcreem, he is so nerdy, the guy is almost lovable.

      On top of providing much-needed colour to the cast of characters - literally, since those angels have a thing for bland white outfits - he also provides comic relief by simply pedalling his bicycle on screen in all his uncouth splendour.

      And surprisingly for a supposedly light-hearted look at affairs of the heart, he doles out a few morsels of food for thought as well.

     For instance, are ugly people doomed to a life on the shelf'.? Is inner beauty more  important than looks? Is there really a soul mate out there? Can love last forever? Is there such a thing as true love in the first place? 

     It's all very Ally McBealesque, and the two angels join in the musings, but in opposite camps.

 Tay's character, XingXing, is the stereotypical die-hard romantic, all roses and candlelight.

     Not unpredictably, as punishment for falling out of heaven's favour, she has to take on a distasteful job as a divorce attorney and break up couples. Ouch.

     Her antithesis is Li-Lin's Jingjing, who believes only fools fall in love.

   Her task, as an officer of the Marriage Development Unit (MDU, not to be confused with SDU), is to pair them up - even when. they are obviously mismatched. So what if they wind up as  potential divorcees?

     As the two heavenly beings struggle with their earthly duties (and passions), their guardian angel, played by radio DJ Chew Chong Keng, appears at the most inappropriate moments to prod them

For unfathomable reasons - other than to draw cheap chuckles from the viewer - he materialises in various disguises.

     Once, it was a giant Afro wig that made the skinny guy look like a hairy lollipop. Another time, he cross dressed in a sari, stuck a bindhi on his forehead and affected an Indian accent.

     If you are looking to be touched by an angel, this show is somewhat lacking in celestial power.

     But if you are looking for love in all the wrong places, there are many lovestruck fools in this show to keep you company.