Together (, literally "When We Are Together") is a Singaporean Chinese drama produced in 2009. It was telecasted on Singapore's free-to-air channel, MediaCorp Channel 8. It stars Jeanette Aw, Dai Xiangyu, Elvin Ng, Eelyn Kok, Zhang Zhenxuan and Zhou Ying as the casts for the series. It is MediaCorp's 46th anniversary year-end blockbuster drama, and was sponsored by the Media Development Authority of Singapore. It made its debut on 30 November 2009 and ended on 18 January 2010. This drama serial consists of 36 episodes, and was screened on every weekday night at 9:00 pm. The series title also refers to the children's folk song "The More We Get Together" and the tune is played during the interlude and in the introduction of the theme song.

Cast

Yao Family

Lin Family

Huang Family

Qin Family

Wang Family

Dance Club

North Bridge Road shops

Police Station

Others

Plot

The story begins in 1967. During that year, Singapore first issued their own currency and made national service mandatory for all young Singaporean males who have come of age 18 years old. That year, there were people who rented out fake eyelashes for S$4 a day; prices of eggs plummeted to a new low, propelling Singaporeans to start a movement to kill chickens to reduce egg-supply. That year, the “Vietnam Rose” (a form of syphilis) set foot on the island, visitors who called on prostitutes shuddered at its mention; that same year, Sakura and Rita Chao's “New Peach-blossom River” was popular in the streets of Singapore... There lived 3 families in 3 houses along a horizontal street (which bustled with noise and excitement) in North Bridge Road, amongst whom were 6 youths of about the same age and had grown up together. Lin Xiaobei (Dai Xiangyu) was the only son of tailor Lin. He fought and got into trouble all the time, and was a constant headache to his neighbours. Yao Jianhong (Jeanette Aw), who grew up with Xiaobei, was the only person who could subdue him. Jianhong withdrew from school at a young age and with her father, performed martial arts in the streets to sell medicated ointment. She was in the ‘turf’ for years, and was a candid and forthright girl with a sense of chivalry. Lin Xiaobei liked her and the feeling was mutual. However she was very unhappy with Xiao Bei's frivolous attitude. She hoped that Xiao Bei would be down-to-earth and succeed his father's trade. Xiaobei did not want to be resigned to cooping in the humble tailor-shop. He wanted to venture into more ambitious grounds and strike it rich someday. Another childhood friend of Lin Xiaobei was Huang Zhihao, nicknamed "Tarzan" (Elvin Ng), who was always building castles in the air. A fickle-minded youth, he wanted to be a car racer for a moment and fantasized about being a wrestler next. Both of them were at loggerheads sometimes and allies during other occasions. Xiaobei and Tarzan stick by each other through weal and woe. Like chopsticks, each is incomplete without the other. Besides Jianhong, Tarzan's sister, Huang Jinhao (Eelyn Kok), also liked Xiaobei. She was a vain and materialistic girl with a naive mindset. Despite not winning Xiaobei's heart, she was loyal to him as a friend. Jianhong's twin brother, Yao Wuji (Zhang Zhenxuan) was very timid. He could only keep the feelings he had towards Jinhao to himself. Qin Hui Min (Zhou Ying) was the only one among the few youngsters who was highly educated. Though she was physically weak, she had an unrelenting perseverance, and eventually became a lawyer. The two generations of these families went through 30 years of changes, entwined in love, hate, grudge, jealousy, magnanimity and forgiveness.

Character analysis

Awards and nominations

The series was nominated for 20 awards in the 2010 Star Awards, and became the biggest winner with five awards, including the Best Drama Series and Theme Song. The show went on to nominate for three more awards in the Asian Television Awards, but did not win any of these categories.

Star Awards 2010

Trivia

Overseas release

The series was broadcast on PPCTV Channel 9 as a blockbuster drama series of the year.