| abstract | - Cheng Yi's appearance in most of the Mediacorp series or sitcoms are either mere cameos, or as a guest starring in that particular episode of the series. He made his first appearance in The Unbeatables III as a supporting role. He appeared in a few episodes of that series, portrayed as a mere rogue who works with the Cobra Organization of G.I. Joe. As a touch of humour, the series also made Cheng Yi into a homosexual and have Ix Shen play out the gay stereotypes which infuriated the homosexual community when the series aired. Mediacorp liked the character of Cheng Yi so much so that they feature him again on variety shows or sitcoms like Phua Chu Kang. However, due to the controversy caused when he first appeared in The Unbeatables III, the homosexual characteristic was removed, instead focusing on parodying terrorists. Then in 2007, Mediacorp decided to write off his character like how the writers for South Park decided to write off Kenny McCormick. His last appearance would be in a major Mediacorp production. His final role is much more prominent, this time as the main antagonist in Honour and Passion, a 2007 Mediacorp series sponsored by the Ministry of Defense. In this series, Cheng Yi is given a much more serious portrayal than in his previous incarnations. In this show, his homosexual characteristic returned again as one of the main highlights of the show, but however the intention was to portray the plight of the homosexuals in Singapore, who are otracised by people who viewed themselves as "normal". This time his performance was praised by the homosexual community for portraying them in a positive light.
|
