CLASH OF THE IDOLS Don't Know Your Meteor Garden from Westside Story or The Rose? Here's help. Meteor Garden (2001) In A Nutshell: Meteor Garden showed that Taiwan dramas are not just Qiong Yao weepies but can be as hip as their Japanese cousins. Adapted from manga, it appeals to young girls and their fantasies with its plot of poor girl meets rich boy. Stars: F4 and Barbie Hsu (left, with Jerry Yen) Show And Tell: F4 members graduated to the big screen - Yen in Magic Kitchen (2003), Ken Chu in Sky Of Love (2003) and Vanness Wu in Star Runner (2003) - but without success. Now, idol-drama pioneer Angie Tsai is casting Chou for new show God Of War. He is set to be the top-earning idol-drama actor, getting about S$10,000 per episode. It's Love, Stupid: Tsai once said: 'Why are idol dramas all about love? Other than love, what else do youngsters understand?' Westside Story (2003) In A Nutshell: Boyband 5566 members play a bunch of teens who hang out at Taipei's Hsimenting. SPH MediaWorks' Kym Ng plays the mother of 5566 leader Tony Sun. The plot is a mess, but hey, you can see Sun doing stunts. Stars: Bad boy Sun, motor-mouth Zax Wang, hunky Sam Wang and former pudgy boy Jason Hsu from 5566. Lesser-known actors include CynDi Wang, Wallace Huo and Liu Pin-yan. Show And Tell: The show is more bentu (Mandarin for indigenous) than polished. The garish Hawaiian shirts worn by the show's leads are a nightmare. No wonder many top-class designers reportedly refuse to dress 5566. Still, many love the boys' commoner image. Their manager bowed to thank fans who turned up to see the group at an autograph-signing session in Singapore last month. Taiwan Rocks: Westside hails from the bentu school. No manga needed - the show spawned a comic book instead. The Rose (2003) In A Nutshell: Ella Chen (below left with Cheng Yuen-chang) from top Taiwanese girl group S.H.E. plays a girl caught in a love triangle with her two brothers (Jerry Huang and Cheng) in this manga-based series. No hint of incest can derail the story of a plain Jane who snags a prince, and wins over frosty relatives too. Stars: Eurasian-looking Huang and Cheng, who steal the show from Chen's babbling heroine character. Selina and Hebe from S.H.E. have minor parts too. Show And Tell: Models-turned-idols are the next wave. Cheng is so popular that he has come out with three picture essay books. He and Lu Ming-chun (who plays Chen's sister) show that they can act too. No R(A)-R(A) show: The show breaks boundaries with kissing scenes between male leads Huang and Cheng. But Chen says this does not reflect incestuous, homosexual desire. 'It's more a kind of concern and love for one's kin,' she says.