The Vagrant

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For the Vagrant butterfly, see Vagrans egista.
For the 1992 black comedy starring Bill Paxton, see The Vagrant (film).
The Vagrant
豹子胆
Written by Ang Eng Tee 洪荣狄
Directed by Fang Jiafu 方家福
Starring Li Nanxing
Huang Biren
Zheng Geping
Yvonne Lim
Opening theme 好人难做 by Benny Wong, sung by Tay Ping Hui
Ending theme 无名 by Benny Wong, sung by Li Nanxing
Country of origin Singapore
Original language(s) Chinese
No. of episodes 20
Production
Producer(s) Winnie Wong 王尤红
Running time approx. 45 minutes
Release
Original network MediaCorp Channel 8
Original release April 2002
Chronology
Related shows On the Fringe (2011)

The Vagrant (Chinese :豹子胆) is a 2002 Chinese drama. It was produced by Mediacorp, a television station in Singapore. The cast includes veteran actors Li Nanxing, Huang Biren and Huang Yiliang as well as new artistes Zhang Yaodong, Le Yao and Zzen Zhang. The Vagrant was the second highest rated drama serial in 2002, after Beautiful Connection which coincidentally also starred Huang Bi Ren.

Simplified Chinese characters standardized Chinese characters developed in mainland China

Simplified Chinese characters are standardized Chinese characters prescribed in the Table of General Standard Chinese Characters for use in mainland China. Along with traditional Chinese characters, they are one of the two standard character sets of the contemporary Chinese written language. The government of the People's Republic of China in mainland China has promoted them for use in printing since the 1950s and 1960s to encourage literacy. They are officially used in the People's Republic of China and Singapore.

The year 2002 in film saw the release of significant sequels take place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams, Stuart Little 2 and Blade II. The year also saw the 3rd installment Austin Powers in Goldmember and the 10th installment Star Trek: Nemesis. Paramount Pictures celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2002

Mediacorp is a media conglomerate based in Singapore. It holds interests in radio, television, digital, print publishing and filmmaking. It runs 7 television channels and 11 radio stations, making it the largest media business in Singapore; it holds a monopoly on free-to-air television in Singapore. It is owned by Temasek Holdings, a state-owned investment arm.

Contents

Story

The first episode begins with the introduction of Ah Bao, who narrates his story. Abandoned by his own parents as a child, Ah Bao (Li Nanxing) grew up with gangsters and often got into trouble. At the age of 21, Ah Bao went to jail after his friend (Zheng Geping) and girlfriend (Joey Swee) betrayed him during a robbery he took part in. While in jail, Ah Bao plotted his revenge against the people who betrayed him.

Upon his release from prison, he discovered that his friend is now mentally retarded and that his friend's ex-girlfriend has remarried. He learns that the couple has left behind children, who are abused by their foster family. Feeling sorry for them, Ah Bao decides to take care of the children.

Ah Bao ends up renting a place from Shushu (Huang Biren), a chicken rice seller, who is infamous for her weird temper. Living under the same roof, Ah Bao learns that Shushu's temperament is due to her husband's (Huang Yiliang) betrayal when she had breast cancer. As time goes by, the couple discovers the nicer side of each other and Ah Bao learns about trust again.

Hainanese chicken rice Singaporean rice and chicken dish

Hainanese chicken rice is a dish of poached chicken and seasoned rice, served with chili sauce and garnishes. It was created by immigrants from Hainan province in southern China and adapted from the Hainanese dish Wenchang chicken. It is considered one of the national dishes of Singapore and is most commonly associated with Singaporean cuisine but is also seen throughout Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia where it is a culinary staple.

Breast cancer cancer that originates in the mammary gland

Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a red or scaly patch of skin. In those with distant spread of the disease, there may be bone pain, swollen lymph nodes, shortness of breath, or yellow skin.

Just when life seems to be turning better for Ah Bao, he discovers the truth about his downfall ten years ago. He decides to uncover the mastermind. Is Ah Bao taking a wrong step in his life again?

Cast

Main cast

Jonathan Lee Nam Heng (born 7 November 1964), better known as Li Nanxing (Chinese: 李南星; Wade–Giles: Li2 Nan2 Hsing1), is a Malaysian actor and was named as 'Abang' (大哥, "big brother") of Caldecott Hill.

Huang Biren is a Singaporean actress best known for appearing in numerous MediaCorp Channel 8 television dramas. She was prominently a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 1998 to 2008 but continues to film on an ad-hoc basis.

Supporting cast

Tay Kok Peng, also known as Zheng Geping, is a Singaporean actor and executive producer. He works on the Chinese-language Channel 8.

Huang Yiliang is a veteran Singaporean former artiste. He was prominently a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 1980 to 2006.

Yao Wenlong is a Singapore based Malaysian actor.

2002 Accolades

Award Nominee Result
Young Talent Award 青苹果奖 Ang Ching Hui Nominated
Best Actor 最佳男主角 Li Nanxing Won
Best Supporting Actor 最佳男配角 Huang Yiliang Won
Best Supporting Actress 最佳女配角 Tracer Wong Nominated
Best Drama Serial 最佳电视剧 N/A Nominated
Best Screenplay 最佳剧本 Ang Eng Tee Won
Best Sound Design 最佳音乐与音效设计 Chen Weichang & Leong Mei Han Won

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