The Journey (trilogy series)

The Journey 信约
Genre	Period drama
Written by	Ang Teng Tee 洪荣狄 (A Voyage and Tumultuous Times) Seah Choon Guan 谢俊源 (Our Homeland) Chen Siew Khoon 陈秀群 (Our Homeland)
Directed by	Chong Liung Man 张龙敏 Loo Yin Yam 卢燕金 霍志楷 苏妙芳 Doreen Yap 叶佩娟 Loo Yin Kam 卢燕金 Png Keh Hock 方家福 Chen Yi You 陈忆幼
Starring	Li Nanxing Elvin Ng Desmond Tan Joanne Peh Jeanette Aw Chris Tong Pierre Png Shaun Chen Romeo Tan Andie Chen Felicia Chin Carrie Wong Chen Hanwei Rui En Zhang Zhen Huan Rebecca Lim Shane Pow Ian Fang Julie Tan Jeffrey Xu
Opening theme	家乡 by Alfred Sim (A Voyage) 信。约 by Kelvin Tan 陈伟联 & Joi Chua 蔡淳佳 (Tumultuous Times ep 1-24) 诀别书 by Jim Lim 林倛玉 and The Freshman 插班生 (Tumultuous Times ep 25-30) 梦里家园 by Olivia Ong (Our Homeland)
Country of origin	Singapore
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	91 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Chia Mien Yang 谢敏洋 (A Voyage) Chong Liung Man 张龙敏 (Tumultuous Times) Wong Kuang Yong 黄光荣 (Our Homeland)
Producer(s)	Kwek Leng Soong 郭令送 (A Voyage)
Running time	approx. 45 minutes (exc. advertisements)
Release
Original network	MediaCorp
Picture format	16:9 HDTV
Original release	25 November 2013 – 26 August 2015
Chronology
Related shows	The Awakening (1984) The Price of Peace (1997) Stepping Out (1999) In Pursuit of Peace (2001) The Little Nyonya (2008) Together (2009) Tuesday Report: The Towkays (2013) Tuesday Report: The Towkays 2 (2014) Tuesday Report: Where The Heart Is (2015)
External links
"The Journey" official website

The Journey (Chinese: 信约) is a Singaporean transmedia project about the story of Singapore, aired from 2013 to 2015. It consists of three parts: A Voyage, which is about the early settlers that arrived in Singapore, Tumultuous Times, which is about the Second World War, as well as Singapore's road to independence, and Our Homeland, which is about Singapore's progress as a nation, which is slated to wrap up during Singapore's 50th birthday. The drama trilogy focuses on a fictional depiction of the events and lives of the people in each era.^[1]

Plot

The Journey: A Voyage showcases the human spirit in Singaporeans of the past from the 1920s through the 1930s. It offers a glimpse of what Singapore is like in the 20s to 30s, where people from Tangshan sailed the seas to arrive in the shores of Nanyang, in search of a better life for themselves and their loved ones. Whether if it is intentional or otherwise, they will ultimately settle down in this country known as Singapore, sink their roots and lay the foundation for their descendants. Starring Li Nanxing, Elvin Ng, Desmond Tan, Joanne Peh, Jeanette Aw, Chris Tong and Pierre Png as the main characters of the series, each of a different background and with different forms of motivation, the series aims to inspires viewers with the characters’ hunger for survival and grit in overcoming adversities without lamentation. This is the third show on Channel 8 to celebrate MediaCorp's TV50, after mid-year blockbuster The Dream Makers and variety series The Joy Truck. The series is written by Ang Eng Tee and executive produced by Chia Mien Yang, who also executive produced C.L.I.F. and C.L.I.F. 2. This is also the only season to have a producer, Kwek Leng Soong, who is notable for The Little Nyonya, before her resignation in August 2014. The series garnered 12 nominations for 10 awards in Star Awards 20, to which Pierre Png won Best Actor.

The Journey: Tumultuous Times continues on from A Voyage, spanning more than 20 years from World War II to Singapore's independence. In this period of uncertainty, there were vastly different ideals among the people about how independence could be achieved; yet despite all odds, they pulled through and survived. Shaun Chen, Jeanette Aw, Andie Chen, Felicia Chin, Romeo Tan, Carrie Wong and Chen Hanwei portrays the series' main characters, where their stories unraveled as the country strove towards and finally gained independence. Key events or themes as the series progressed include World War II, secret societies, Hock Lee bus riots, student demonstrations, self-independence and Bukit Ho Swee fire. Ang Eng Tee returned to write the script for the series, after A Voyage, while Chong Liung Man, who won Best Director for A Voyage in Star Awards 20, returned as executive producer. It is Ang and Chong's third drama working together, after It Takes Two and I'm in Charge; the next being long-running television series 118. The series won 7 awards out of 17 nominations in 14 awards in Star Awards 2015, including Best Drama Serial.

The Journey: Our Homeland is set a few months after the events of Tumultuous Times. The series stars Rui En, Shaun Chen, Felicia Chin, Rebecca Lim, Romeo Tan, Zhang Zhenhuan, Ian Fang, Julie Tan, Shane Pow and Jeffrey Xu as the main characters. The series is Channel 8's mid-year blockbuster, coinciding with Singapore's 50th National Day. Spanning two decades, it depicts the development of Singapore from her budding steps during post-independence in 1966 to her era of prosperity in the 1980s. The series features the partings and reunions of the main characters in Tumultuous Times, and through one family's disintegration, bring out the changes of the era. Key events such as the 1969 racial riots, explosion of tanker Spyros in 1978 and the collapse of Hotel New World in 1986 will be presented. The series is written by Seah Choon Guan and Chen Siew Khoon, and executive produced by Wong Kuang Yong.

Cast Timeline

Note: A gray cell indicates that the character did not appear in that medium.

Cast	Character	Episode count	Seasons
			1	2	3
Li Nanxing	Zhang Tianpeng 张天鹏	35	Main	Supporting	(photo only)
Elvin Ng	Zhang Dong'en 张东恩	27	Main	(flashback)
Desmond Tan	Hong Shi 洪石	28	Main	Supporting	(photo only)
Joanne Peh	Zhang Huiniang 张蕙娘	29	Main	Guest	(photo only)
Jeanette Aw	Lin Yazi 林鸭子	29	Main	Supporting	(mentioned only)
Chris Tong	Bai Mingzhu 白明珠	34	Main	Supporting	(mentioned only)
Pierre Png	Hei Long 黑龙	21	Main
Allen Chen	Zhang Tianying 张天鹰	15	Supporting	Guest	(photo only)
Terence Cao	Zhang Guangda 张广达	26	Supporting
Carole Lin	Huang Zhenniang 黄珍娘	21	Supporting	(mentioned only)
Priscelia Chan	Han Xiuxiang 韩秀香	21	Supporting
Shaun Chen	Hu Jia/Zhang Jia 胡佳/张佳	48	Younger version	Main	Main
Romeo Tan	Zhang Yan 张晏	34	Younger version	Main	Guest
Andie Chen	Hong Dangyong 洪当勇	34	Younger version	Main	Supporting
Jeanette Aw	Hong Minghui 洪明慧	32	Younger version	Main	Guest
Felicia Chin	Zhang Min 张敏	49	Younger version	Main	Main
Carrie Wong	Bai Lanxiang 白兰香	19		Main	(mentioned only)
Chen Hanwei	Hu Weiren 胡为人	16		Main	(flashback)
Rui En	Yang Meixue 杨美雪	22			Main
Zhang Zhen Huan	Yan Yisheng 严义生	11			Main
Romeo Tan	Hong Kuan 洪宽	27		Younger version	Main
Rebecca Lim	Wan Fei Fei 万菲菲	19		(mentioned only)	Main
Shane Pow	Wan Zi Hua 万子华	19		(mentioned only)	Main
Ian Fang	Wan Zi Cong 万子聪	26		Younger version	Main
Julie Tan	Yao Jia Hui 姚嘉惠	17			Main
Jeffrey Xu	Hong Rui 洪锐	22		Younger version	Main
Darren Lim	Dai Xiaoxiong 戴晓雄	16			Supporting
Cheryl Wee	Wan Fangfang 万芳芳	24		(mentioned only)	Supporting
James Seah	Yan Yi Min 严义民	10			Supporting
Chen Guohua	Wan Shan 万山	12		Guest	Supporting

Development

The dramas are the first periodical dramas in Singapore to use CGI. This is done with the help of 27 students from Diploma in Digital Visual Effects in Nanyang Polytechnic.^[2]

List of episodes

References

1. "关于《信约》About The Journey". http://microsites.toggle.sg/thejourney2/about_journey.html. Toggle. External link in |website= (help);
2. "Nanyang Polytechnic A Very Special Journey for 27 Animation and Digital Visual Effects Students". http://www.nyp.edu.sg/media/campus-news/news-archives/2013/oct-dec/a-very-special-journey-for-27-animation-and-digital-visual-effects-students. Nanyang Polytechnic. External link in |website= (help);