The Star Online: Entertainment: TV & Radio

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 04:12 PM PDT

Debbie Goh plays a widow who gets a second chance at love in a new TV series.

EVERY woman just wants some happiness for herself. Some are willing to make sacrifices for the sake of love, while others only crave for power and money. But when one has to resort to extreme means to achieve her goals, will the happiness last? Three women find out the true measure of success in Ntv7's Mining Magnate.

Set in the 1960s in Malaysia, Mining Magnate is a costume drama revolving around the turbulent times experienced by a wealthy tin mining family. Central to the story are the struggles of three strong-willed females who are compelled by circumstances to fight for everything that matters to them.

Star2 recently met up with Debbie Goh, 33, and Frederick Lee, 36, who play star-crossed lovers who persevere despite the odds stacked against them. Featuring an all-Malaysian cast, the 30-episode Mandarin series also co-stars Loo Aye Keng, Chris Tong, Josh Lai and Goh Wee Ping.

Debbie plays Luo Lin who was educated in Britain. She is the rich widow of a mining magnate's eldest son. She is modern in outlook yet traditional in moral values.

Lee's character Su Zi Kai is an impulsive ex-convict who is loyal and who will do his best to protect those whom he loves.

Impressed by his caring nature and struck by how much he resembles her late husband, Luo Lin falls for Zi Kai, who initially rejects her love due to the disparity in their social status.

Su Jie Ying (Tong) and Zhu Xi Guang (Lai) are a rebellious young couple, who are compelled to pair up by the tin mining matriarch, Shu Xing Yu (Loo). Shu also introduces government officer Xi Jun (Wee Ping) as an alternative love interest for her daughter-in-law Luo Lin.

"Luo Lin is a really smart woman who's educated abroad. Although she may look modern, she is actually a very traditional person. If she loves and believes in something deeply, she would pursue it wholeheartedly," shared Debbie.

Cast as a couple for the fifth consecutive time, Debbie and Lee play a pair of mismatched lovers brought together by circumstances. "I'm excited to collaborate with Debbie again. In all my previous collaborations with her, it has always been a one-sided love as my character would pursue hers. This is the first time where both our characters are in love with each other," said Lee.

Debbie added: "What's interesting is our previous dramas set in the 1960s and 70s all revolved around poor families living in small villages, but for Mining Magnate, we're from a rich tin mining family. So, I'm always decked out in the finest jewellery. The diamond I wear is so big it looks like a rock. I also wear pearls in my hair and I've got some of the most beautiful dresses in this drama. We also throw grand balls and drive sports cars."

"All this luxury is only part of her character's background. My character, unfortunately, does not get to experience that so much. It's only in the initial episode where I play her husband, who is the tin mining magnate's eldest son. Thereafter, my character and hers are like two people from markedly different worlds," said Lee, who added that he has some action scenes in the drama that were filmed in Seremban, Negri Sembilan, and Muar in Johor.

Mining Magnate premieres on Ntv7 at 9.30pm today. It airs from Mondays to Thursdays.

Quite a steal

Posted: 30 Oct 2012 04:12 PM PDT

Extreme Couponing shows you a way to shop without spending much.

WHO doesn't like getting things for free or at a massive discount? It's a thrill to get something at a fraction of the cost or for close to nothing at all.

Extreme couponers (people who use a lot of discount coupons when they go shopping) spend some 20 to 30 hours a week looking for coupons, deals and sales, and they make it a point to stay on top of the stores' coupon policies.

Armed with binders or envelopes full of coupons, these savvy shoppers stack their shopping carts (yes, they usually end up with more than one cart full of stuff!) with large amounts of products – be it candy, frozen foods, cereal, sodas, condiments, detergent, make-up, over-the-counter medicine or pet treats – when they go grocery shopping.

If they have a good coupon for an item, that item goes into the cart. To score the highest amount of savings, the items that they pick are the ones they have coupons for that often can be combined with store deals.

When they head to the cashier counter, the real buzz kicks in for the coupon-carriers because they will see their hours of planning, clipping and calculating pay off.

Sometimes, it's rather nail biting. A coupon could be scanned wrongly or the cash register gets jammed when too many items are scanned in one transaction (it happens!).

But the end result is always spectacular – the savings are jaw dropping. With those little pieces of paper in their hand, they can walk away with thousands of dollars worth of groceries for next to nothing.

Reality series Extreme Couponing shines the spotlight on these super savers in the United States.

In one episode in the first season, one woman paid US$10 (RM30) for US$400 (RM1,200) worth of groceries. In another, one guy bought over 100 bottles of sports drink and soda using only coupons and donated them to local charities.

Quite a few of the people featured on the series turned to cutting coupons to help make ends meet in tough economic times.

A few enlist their children, siblings, spouses, neighbours, grandparents and/or friends in their quest to acquire the best coupons from newspapers, manufacturers and online sites.

One coupon-clipper even resorts to dumpster diving for newspaper coupon supplements. Then, there are those who get items for the sake of getting them for free or at a super discount. Yes, like the shopper who doesn't eat mustard but goes ahead and buys dozens of bottles anyway.

Several of these thrifty people have substantial stockpiles as well. Thousands of dollars worth of groceries sitting in their basement, garage and/or squirrelled away in whatever space available – under beds, in cupboards, shower stalls – you get the picture.

One woman has 400 rolls of kitchen paper towels in her stockpile. Another has a two-year supply of laundry detergent. Yet another stores about 60 bottles of air fresheners. And everything was obtained almost for free, if not totally free.

It's hard not to feel envious of their incredible floor-to-ceiling inventories.

Some of them store their enormous haul so well it looks like they are keeping a private mini-mart in their home! It does make one think of another non-fiction series – Hoarders. But at least, these items do eventually end up being used, hopefully.

There have been allegations that certain coupons used on the show are fakes or certain parties are using them fraudulently, but the truth of the matter is, in the wake of a less than stellar economy, surprise hit Extreme Couponing does encourage viewers to save money with coupons. And that may be the most important message from this guilty pleasure series.

In Malaysia, it might be next to impossible to bring one's grocery bill down to zero like a few of the people featured on the show, but it never hurts to try. Besides, the rush of getting something for less never gets old.

Extreme Couponing Season Two airs on Tuesdays at 10pm on TLC (Astro Ch 707).

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Selasa, 30 Oktober 2012