Waterboyy The Series
I stumbled across Waterboyy The Series while randomly searching Youtube for BL. Initially I thought it might be related to the Japanese movie 'Waterboys' from 2001 with Satoshi Tsumabuki - of which I've only seen parts - but it's actually a Thai BL series based on a 2015 Thai movie Waterboyy.
Summary: Captain of the university swimming team Waii is very handsome and popular with all the students, he even has an online fan club. He commands respect, but unfortunately he has a headstrong inflexible personality and doesn't tolerate differing opinions or ideas very well. He's dating fellow student Fay. His father Tee is the coach of the swimming team, and was once a great swimmer who appeared in the Olympics. New student Apo has transferred to the university specifically because of Coach Tee's reputation. He's an excellent swimmer, which puts Waii on his guard. Coach Tee places Apo in Waii's dorm room, much to Waii's dismay. Apo's quick intelligence and empathy soon find ways of overcoming Waii's mute rage and contempt, and the two become close friends. Fay reveals to Apo that Waii has difficulty trusting anyone, after his best friend Kan had betrayed him a year or so earlier. The swimming team suffers some serious misfortunes, and the dean of the university is considering disbanding it.
I started out watching entire episodes of Waterboyy but got bored after watching about five of them. The main cast of about ten characters all have their own interest and plotlines, but almost none of their stories held me for very long. Eventually I found I was skipping over all their scenes, looking only for scenes involving Waii, Apo, Kan and Coach Tee. This is possibly the reason why I ended up finding most of the series uninvolving. There's a very long and yet insubstantial build-up to the declarations of love, which doesn't help with the boredom, but it is at times nicely realised.
My favourite element in the series is witnessing the gentle manoeuvring of Apo's intelligence when faced with Waii's angry evasions and barriers. You can see him take the measure of Waii as soon as he moves in with him at the dorm. He realises he has found a rare pearl, despite Waii's initially awful behaviour to him (by which I mean violence and sexual assault). I could almost hear Apo say to himself "This guy is incredibly hot and he has a good heart, but he's not very bright. He can't express himself or think coherently, and it enrages him. My decision is made. I will help him, guide him and be present for him. Always. He's worth it. I will plant just enough ideas in his head to help him towards the right way of thinking, and I will make it seem like they are his own." This might sound manipulative and self-serving, but Apo manages Waii in this way only to help him. His motives are purely selfless. He simply wants what's best for Waii because he is falling in love with him. To Waii's credit, he listens to Apo and takes his advice and ideas in the spirit they are given. The best example of this is when the entire swimming team takes a sudden trip out of town, and Apo selflessly (though with a certain amount of intent) suggests Waii should call Fay to let her know. Waii is instantly annoyed, and responds rather pointedly that he has always done what he should do, rather than what his heart tells him to do. Apo smiles and replies with subtle irony, "Go for it. Whatever your decision is, I'm sure you've thought it through and you won't hurt anyone. You know first-hand what it's like to be hurt." Waii is silent for a moment, then smiles too, slightly ashamed. There's so much that's unsaid in this short but remarkable exchange, and both boys know exactly what the other is not saying and why. It's beautiful to see these trusting and revealing interactions between the boys, not least because they both sense their ultimate destination approaching each time they happen. The chemistry between the two leads actors is electric, due to the great performance of Newwiee as Apo. As the episodes progress, the other characters remark on how much Waii has changed: he's far more even-tempered, less dismissive and he actually listens when people speak. The problem is that only Fay makes the connection that the changes are due to Apo's influence. Cue the jealous girlfriend drama.
The other really interesting element in this series is the plotline involving Waii's father, Coach Tee. Without giving anything away, there's a number of revelations about him that come from way out of left field and produce the best drama of the series - far better than any of the other subplots involving the secondary characters, and possibly even better than the central Waii/Apo relationship. It's that good, trust me.
I wish these excellent themes and the patches of fantastic writing had been expanded further. Unfortunately, when we set them aside, what we're left with is a convoluted screenplay with a few points of interest, a lot of dullness and not much originality. This, despite having one or two highly original characters. Perhaps I should give it another chance and not selectively skip anything? For now, I'm placing this one firmly in the standard BL category.
Postscript: I think perhaps I am starting to tire of BL. When one of the characters in the final episode professes their love, their sweetheart responds sarcastically "I wish you'd told me that earlier so we didn't have to go through all that drama." This just about sums up the entire BL genre, its flaws and my current feelings about it. I've only really found a couple of series I've loved. Most of them I am ambivalent about (such as Waterboyy) and a couple of them I've hated. Perhaps I should set it aside for a while.
Rating: 12 out of 20
Ending: Happy
Best scene: it's hard to top the tent scene, but the intense kissing scene on a staircase gives it a good run for its money (even though it's obvious the actors aren't all that into it).
Post-postscript: I've just watched the full-length movie Waterboyy. What a disappointment. The series is Shakespeare in comparison. Fantastic to see the actor who played Earn in Love Sick in a lead role though, and it's interesting to see that a lot of the narrative from the movie has been transposed to the series. But you can safely ignore it, the series is far better.
Summary: Captain of the university swimming team Waii is very handsome and popular with all the students, he even has an online fan club. He commands respect, but unfortunately he has a headstrong inflexible personality and doesn't tolerate differing opinions or ideas very well. He's dating fellow student Fay. His father Tee is the coach of the swimming team, and was once a great swimmer who appeared in the Olympics. New student Apo has transferred to the university specifically because of Coach Tee's reputation. He's an excellent swimmer, which puts Waii on his guard. Coach Tee places Apo in Waii's dorm room, much to Waii's dismay. Apo's quick intelligence and empathy soon find ways of overcoming Waii's mute rage and contempt, and the two become close friends. Fay reveals to Apo that Waii has difficulty trusting anyone, after his best friend Kan had betrayed him a year or so earlier. The swimming team suffers some serious misfortunes, and the dean of the university is considering disbanding it.
I started out watching entire episodes of Waterboyy but got bored after watching about five of them. The main cast of about ten characters all have their own interest and plotlines, but almost none of their stories held me for very long. Eventually I found I was skipping over all their scenes, looking only for scenes involving Waii, Apo, Kan and Coach Tee. This is possibly the reason why I ended up finding most of the series uninvolving. There's a very long and yet insubstantial build-up to the declarations of love, which doesn't help with the boredom, but it is at times nicely realised.
My favourite element in the series is witnessing the gentle manoeuvring of Apo's intelligence when faced with Waii's angry evasions and barriers. You can see him take the measure of Waii as soon as he moves in with him at the dorm. He realises he has found a rare pearl, despite Waii's initially awful behaviour to him (by which I mean violence and sexual assault). I could almost hear Apo say to himself "This guy is incredibly hot and he has a good heart, but he's not very bright. He can't express himself or think coherently, and it enrages him. My decision is made. I will help him, guide him and be present for him. Always. He's worth it. I will plant just enough ideas in his head to help him towards the right way of thinking, and I will make it seem like they are his own." This might sound manipulative and self-serving, but Apo manages Waii in this way only to help him. His motives are purely selfless. He simply wants what's best for Waii because he is falling in love with him. To Waii's credit, he listens to Apo and takes his advice and ideas in the spirit they are given. The best example of this is when the entire swimming team takes a sudden trip out of town, and Apo selflessly (though with a certain amount of intent) suggests Waii should call Fay to let her know. Waii is instantly annoyed, and responds rather pointedly that he has always done what he should do, rather than what his heart tells him to do. Apo smiles and replies with subtle irony, "Go for it. Whatever your decision is, I'm sure you've thought it through and you won't hurt anyone. You know first-hand what it's like to be hurt." Waii is silent for a moment, then smiles too, slightly ashamed. There's so much that's unsaid in this short but remarkable exchange, and both boys know exactly what the other is not saying and why. It's beautiful to see these trusting and revealing interactions between the boys, not least because they both sense their ultimate destination approaching each time they happen. The chemistry between the two leads actors is electric, due to the great performance of Newwiee as Apo. As the episodes progress, the other characters remark on how much Waii has changed: he's far more even-tempered, less dismissive and he actually listens when people speak. The problem is that only Fay makes the connection that the changes are due to Apo's influence. Cue the jealous girlfriend drama.
The other really interesting element in this series is the plotline involving Waii's father, Coach Tee. Without giving anything away, there's a number of revelations about him that come from way out of left field and produce the best drama of the series - far better than any of the other subplots involving the secondary characters, and possibly even better than the central Waii/Apo relationship. It's that good, trust me.
I wish these excellent themes and the patches of fantastic writing had been expanded further. Unfortunately, when we set them aside, what we're left with is a convoluted screenplay with a few points of interest, a lot of dullness and not much originality. This, despite having one or two highly original characters. Perhaps I should give it another chance and not selectively skip anything? For now, I'm placing this one firmly in the standard BL category.
Postscript: I think perhaps I am starting to tire of BL. When one of the characters in the final episode professes their love, their sweetheart responds sarcastically "I wish you'd told me that earlier so we didn't have to go through all that drama." This just about sums up the entire BL genre, its flaws and my current feelings about it. I've only really found a couple of series I've loved. Most of them I am ambivalent about (such as Waterboyy) and a couple of them I've hated. Perhaps I should set it aside for a while.
Rating: 12 out of 20
Ending: Happy
Best scene: it's hard to top the tent scene, but the intense kissing scene on a staircase gives it a good run for its money (even though it's obvious the actors aren't all that into it).
Post-postscript: I've just watched the full-length movie Waterboyy. What a disappointment. The series is Shakespeare in comparison. Fantastic to see the actor who played Earn in Love Sick in a lead role though, and it's interesting to see that a lot of the narrative from the movie has been transposed to the series. But you can safely ignore it, the series is far better.
Comments