Realiti - Pilot episode notes

Realiti. On Sundays on 8TV, starring Azizan Nin, Ashraf Sinclair, Melissa Maureen, Alvin Wong, Chelsia Ng, Radhi Khalid. What would you do to become a star?

"How come you haven't written about Realiti?" asked my producer Ping.

Well, I did. A long, long time ago. And now, unsurprisingly, Yahoo and Google are directing people to my website. And, of course, everything is a little out of date.

Personally speaking, I wanted to write a heck of a lot more about the show before it went on air. I wanted to write about how great Lydia Ibtisam was in rehearsals and how Radhi Khalid brought a different spin in his performance as the performance coach, Mac, that I hadn't anticipated while writing scripts. Might still write about them.

But the pilot for the show just aired on Sunday, and I guess I should write about that, albeit in a very I-was-involved-so-I-have-a-distorted-view-of-the-whole-thing sort of way.

I suppose I should explain what the show is about. I mean, the best way to figure that out is to watch it yourself, and so if any of you haven't seen it yet, I may be persuaded to send you over a copy of last Sunday's pilot episode. Alternatively, if you don't mind really crappy video quality, you can watch a copy of the short trailer on YouTube (No, Ping, I had nothing to do with that). If you want, I can also send a copy of the longer trailer. On the proviso, of course, that y'all share the bejeebus out of it with all your friends. Free publicity, good thing.

Nevertheless, for the curious-yet-impatient amongst you:
Realiti is a drama series about five different contestants in a reality drama show and what they go through as they battle each other and their pasts to win the contest.
I'm not entirely sure that was the best pitch possible, but it'll work.

Okay, so now I'm going to play a copy of the pilot in the background while I write the notes below. Yes, Sad, I know, but I really like this show, so I don't mind kind of watching it again. If you haven't seen the show, you should watch it first, otherwise it might not make that much sense. (This episode on YouTube: Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Oh, before that, pretty pictures:

Photos courtest of Popiah Pictures and Chelsia Ng

• My producer, the head-sifu and visoneer, Ng Ping Ho, wrote this pilot. He likes to write the pilot alone, but I do recall that he and I worked a little on the characters of the show. There were a few that we developed quite extensively before dropping them. There originally was meant to be a pub singer who had difficulty stepping out of her comfort zone and also I definitely remember a different interpretation of Melody (which I loved and am still a little peeved wasn't used). The pilot is used to guide other writers as to the style and characters in the show, but untalented bunch of hacks that we are, he always ends up rewriting us.


• The opening scene is meant to establish in two minutes the characters of Realiti. There is a sleight of hand here, because one of these characters will be out by the end of the first episode, but if anybody's seen the promos or the trailers, it's kinda obvious who. I think Burn, Baby and Nickson are established quite well, but Melody's intro is understated and Jessie suffers from being told who she is, instead of showing it. Maybe a better Melody intro? "Is it true your dad is giving you private vocal lessons?" "He helps. He just wants the best for me."


• For me, that exchange just before the title briefly comes up ("Is it always going to be like this?" "You want to be a star? Get used to it.") is great. Already it's established that we're going to be looking behind the scenes, and that life isn't going to be easy. Ping and I had long conversations about what the show is about. Getting this idea right is crucial, because it can make or break whether episodes 'fit' into the whole or not. The gist is that life is hard enough as it is, it's worse when you're under the spotlight in a reality competition. Our failure (I feel) is that we never wrote that down on a big piece of cardboard and stuck it up on the wall. Ping was always shouting at me through red-inked drafts, "It's always about the competition!". That was really important to him, although I kept being tempted to explore the alleys and by-ways of individual dramas.






• No title credits, because Ping didn't want to give Azizan's character away. Never mind that every press release before the pilot had him around.


• One question asked is "Why start at five?". Well, we would have loved to start with twelve contestants and then whittle them down one episode at a time, but twelve characters are tough to play with, and you can't tell all those stories in a thirteen episode (later trimmed down to ten) stretch. So we picked six, and then we cut down to five. Obviously, eliminations only then begin much later on, so we have about five or six episodes to establish stories and characters.


• The character of Mac, the performance coach, was originally much harsher, much more drill sargeant. Then the actor was changed, and Radhi brought a different take on the role than I originally expected. I don't know if we established that he was a rock star before who now has seen the dirt behind the glitz of the entertainment industry, and feels very responsible for the kids under him. Well, if we didn't say it out loud, it's obviously in the subtext, right?


• The idea for the contract that Mac makes the kids sign was something that Ping had from the first day. And stuck to it. Even if I arched my eyebrows at it the first time.


• I really like the first time you see the kids sing. It reveals more of their character. And, heck, yah, it's really their voices. Douglas Lim was given the responsibility to get them shaped up, and I remember asking him whether he was going to dub them or to use their original voices. The problem, he said, is that there are scenes where they practice singing in rehearsals, so dubbing is going to be tricky for that.


• The role of Mac is a combination of several roles: performance coach, vocal coach, minder, coordinator. In real life, he wouldn't be doing all that on his own. It's much more convenient to write one character that does all, than to come up with several people (and actors).


• Melody's exchange with Mac ("She feels trapped" "You pernah tak rasa macam tu? Like you can't get out of something") is classic foreshadowing, very underplayed, and completely missed by me when I read the first draft. This is why I am just a lowly writer and Ping is the producer. He also has a longer CV.


• The song that Melody sings is One Step, written by Douglas Lim. It isn't available on general release, as far as I know. The clapping at the end of it though, is not so good. Feels unrealistic.


• Nickson's performances when he's on the phone is very good. It's tough acting by yourself, but he makes it look easy.


• Kee Thuan Chye plays David Yeoh, Melody's father. What a great choice. I've never met him in person, but I would like to shake his hand for his performance in this series.


• Lots of singers just drink warm water. For real.


• Ah... Lydia and Azizan together. Absolutely brilliant. I think they have Chemistry (with the capital 'C'), and even though we all know Lydia from Impian Illyana, much effort was made to make her much more serious in this show. Initial rehearsals had her slipping into 'Illyana' mode, but I think she came through in the end.


• The way that Burn speaks with Joe sounds put on, but trust me, it's not. Reefa talks like that in real life, and he pretty much improv'd lines with Ashraf (that's what it looked like to me, anyway). There are Malaysians that speak East LA lingo. And, "Bila lu dah sampai Sungai Buloh, lu hantar I postcard, okay?" - classic.


• Is it reasonable that people hide that they have asthma? Yes and no, we argued about this a little. I could buy it, but only if Jessie had severe issues to go with it. In the end, at least we have Baby saying that it isn't a big deal.






• Melody's journal is Ping's scribbles with Chelsia's scribbles and photos, all tied up into one.


• Azizan can sing. Albeit in a very safe way. But pleasant on the ear. Not quite the rocker I originally imagined, but good enough. 'Nuff said.


• The first rooftop scene, with that condensor in the background. It's pretty, I think. The rooftop just suddenly became a set location out of nowhere. I think I came up with it when thinking of a location for romantic liaisons, but maybe Ping mentioned it as a possiblity, and I jumped on it with gusto.


• Ping worried that they might not let you show Melody smoking a cigarrette, although you never actually see her inhale. In the end, it got through.


• I wasn't a big fan of the Nickson's-father-abuses-mother storyline, because it felt a little clichéd. The big story of Nickson, for me, was that he had an... alternative lifestyle, and he has to hide it in order to succeed in the competition. I was told it's easier for certain people to accept that Nickson is gay if he had an abused background.


• That bit, when Baby is asked if she is nervous, that raised eyebrow from her - very cool.


• "This is just not me" - this line is foreshadowing over three episodes. I don't know if Ping planned it that way!


• The guy who plays Baby's fan - he makes that line work.


• The stage is Sri Pentas 2, where they hold Malaysian Idol, One in a Million and Muzik Muzik. The intercut shots are from the Malaysian Idol final, season 2.


• I think Aishah Sinclair looks hot in that jacket. So sue me.


• The songs sung: Pop Yeh Yeh by VE (Nickson); One Step by Douglas Lim (Melody); Party Like This by VE (Burn); Slumber by OAG (Baby).






• I like the way Baby's performance begins, but that dress, that hair - ugh. Not my choice by a long way.


• Melody's dress is sheer with the light behind it - I wasn't sure if Ping shot that intentionally, but it looks pretty good.


• The scene in the dressing room after Jessie collapses is tricky. But it really works. They're stars now, they have to act like it. And it sets up the money shot of them striding in formation.


• "Burn... nampak sangat you lupa lirik lagi". Why? Watch episode 2.


• The song that Amir sings in the stairwell is Akustatik by OAG. And sings it very well too.


• During the "minggu depan..." bit of the episode, we see a highlight of Burn arguing with someone: "You're just waiting for me to ------" and then they censor (by muting) his original lines: "You're just waiting for me to screw up! Screw you!". *Sigh* Somebody said that was better, because then you could insert your own, harsher words in.