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waitmyturtles · 7 months

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Turtles Catches Up With Old GMMTV: 55:15 Never Too Late, and Integrated Queer Storylines in Thai Het Dramas Edition

[What’s going on here? After joining Tumblr and discovering Thai BLs through KinnPorsche in 2022, I began watching GMMTV’s new offerings -- and realized that I had a lot of history to catch up on, to appreciate the more recent works that I was delving into. From tropes to BL frameworks, what we’re watching now hails from somewhere, and I’m learning about Thai BL's history through what I’m calling the Old GMMTV Challenge (OGMMTVC). Starting with recommendations from @absolutebl on their post regarding how GMMTV is correcting for its mistakes with its shows today, I’ve made an expansive list to get me through a condensed history of essential/classic/significant Thai BLs produced by GMMTV and many other BL studios. My watchlist, pasted below, lists what I’ve watched and what’s upcoming, along with the reviews I’ve written so far. Today, I delve into the queer storyline of 55:15 Never Too Late, an ensemble het drama that featured two phenomenal actors in Kob Songsit and Khaotung Thanawat as older and younger versions of the same person.]

55:15 Never Too Late: this is not a show that I think the majority of the Thai BL fandom is aware of, unless they're particular stans of Nanon Korapat (RAISES HAND) and/or Khaotung Thanawat (RAISES OTHER HAND). In part, let me just say upfront that 55:15 Never Too Late features significant het storylines with middle-aged adults, and -- one's assumed BL audience may not be so into that.

However. I picked this show up for the OGMMTVC after discussions with a few dear mutuals (in particular, the wonderful @chickenstrangers -- thank you for engaging me in conversation on this show!) about queer storylines in GMMTV het dramas. I had a thought early on in this project that I should touch upon this, as I was impressed with my earlier-this-year watch of GMMTV's 10 Years Ticket, and that show's inclusion of a wonderful queer storyline was woven with intergenerational trauma, which is a theme that I appreciate seeing in shows when it's done well.

In considering what might have been seminal for GMMTV regarding queer storylines in het dramas before shows like 10 Years Ticket aired: two shows kept cropping up in conversation, 55:15 Never Too Late being one, and The Shipper being the other.

I wanted to think on this because... man, for me, as an old Asian-American, to think about Asian het shows/dramas/primetime dramas that would have integrated queer storylines -- not even just a passing queer character who's used for cringe/comedy -- strikes me as remarkable. I certainly didn't see these kinds of storylines in the romantic or slice-of-life K-dramas and J-doramas of my youth.

Of course, this was territory that had already been crossed in pre-Thai-BL ensemble shows like Love Sick and Kiss/Kiss Me Again (which preceded Dark Blue Kiss). While The Shipper (I think -- I haven't watched it) was more of a coalesced storyline, 55:15 Never Too Late had a little bit of that ensemble feel to it -- but all the characters of this show were affected by the same supernatural phenomenon, which ended up bringing all their individual storylines together as one in the end. And after 55:15 Never Too Late, we have 10 Years Ticket, and hopefully more het dramas will follow suit in including impactful queer storylines as well.

I was encouraged VERY strongly to NOT watch The Shipper for the ways in which it treated issues of transgender identity (big ups to @so-much-yet-to-learn, @bengiyo, @shortpplfedup and more for helping me to avoid that disaster). And 55:15 Never Too Late was described to me as having a BL storyline that featured a cameo with Earth Pirapat and Mix Sahaphap, and that offered critical feedback about the wider BL industry.

All of that is true, and I deeply appreciated the feedback and direction. What I didn't expect was to receive a storyline that also treated elder queerness and coming out at a later age with empathy and tenderness.

Before I get there, let me set up the show and describe all the different storylines, and then I'll focus on Khao's turn, as he played the younger version of our main queer protagonist in Songpol.

55:15 Never Too Late starts off with five middle-aged individuals: San, a washed-up voice actor who is drunkenly robbed by two women; Jaya, a washed-up former teen idol; Amonthep, a washed-up former boxer whose boxing academy is about to default in debt; Jarunee, a despised high school teacher who receives a devastating cancer diagnosis, and Songpol, a restaurant owner who harbors a long-lived love for the pianist in his restaurant, a man named Mathee.

All five of these 55-year-old adults wake up one morning -- after all having visited the same photocopying shop -- as their 15-year-old selves, with their adult minds still in tact. All five of them use their newfound youth to address longstanding issues in their lives, and to hopefully find clarity on the problems they face as adults.

Where our queer storyline lives is with Songpol, and shit if I did not yelp when I saw who was playing the adult Songpol: none other than one of the best and most-seen dads in BL, Kob Songsit -- Kinn's dad! Dean's dad! Kawi's dad! And he's also a dad of a gay son in the movie Love of Siam as well. (Khun Kob is also a legendary Thai actor and singer in his own right -- cc @wen-kexing-apologist for the heads-up!). I squealed because this was the first time that I'd see Khun Kob play a queer man himself. I'm almost positive that he's likely taken on other queer roles, but -- Khun Kob's characters are usually the accepting dads! This time around, we get to see him embody a queer role holistically.

The adult Songpol was closeted his whole life. Upon his mother's approaching passing, he whispers in his mother's ear, as she lays in her hospital bed -- "I'm gay." The line on the monitor goes flat. We can surmise as much, that her household would not have welcomed such an admission in Songpol's earlier years.

Songpol is also a fan of the aging teen idol, Jaya. After his mother's passing, he takes it upon himself to decorate his room fully with all the fan memorabilia he collected over his teen and adult years.

Before his transformation into his teenage self, he meets with his fellow queer friend at a gay club -- likely Songpol's only outlet to be out in private (and his friend is played by the FABULOUS Shaowanasai Michael, who just OWNED the time he had on screen as a fully-out, decked-out older gay man. WE NEED MORE ELDER QUEER UNCLES IN OUR SHOWS!). Songpol's friend encourages Songpol to finally admit his love to Mathee, the pianist. As Songpol finally screws up his courage to make his admission -- Mathee reveals that he's getting married.

And Songpol goes to bed, devastated. And he wakes up as his 15-year-old self, played by Khao.

Of the times that we see the adult Songpol on screen, we see Kob Songsit do the most amazing delicate balance of a kind of presence struggle that older queer men VERY often have to do, by way of tamping down a peeking-out, a shimmering of femme characteristics, that often needs to be traded for a carriage of more masculine characteristics in everyday life (what movie better captured this than The Birdcage?) (cc @wen-kexing-apologist). Throughout the show, when Khun Kob was on screen, he carried himself like... like a het Thai uncle, slightly worn in his years. But when he was able to flourish in recognition of his queerness -- we saw that slight shimmer, the little twist in his shoulders, a little gleam and sly smile in which he knew he was safe to be out and gay.

Dudes, if you're a completist nerd like me, taking a moment to watch Kob Songsit embody a queer role ALONE made this show worthwhile for me to watch.

But! And! What did Songpol learn about himself as his younger version in modern times?

That's where Khao steps in, and of course -- Khao is Khao, right? One of GMMTV's best actors, Khao as the young Songpol (in body, not in mind) takes himself on a journey of recognizing that the world (at least the world that the younger generations live in) has long moved past the prejudices of his mother's generation.

Young Songpol looks on in wonder as two boys hold hands at the high school that he's returned to. He listens in wonder as his niece -- who is now the same age as him, LOL -- tells him about BL series. And he's agape when a school project on BL shows is proposed to him by a fellow classmate.

That classmate (played by Win Pawin Kulkaranyawich) is none other than the son of Mathee -- the pianist that the adult Songpol is in love with. [NOTE: this post was published before domestic violence accusations were levied against Win Pawin in early 2024.]

I was talking with @chickenstrangers a bit about this -- that the one wrinkle (no pun intended, HA) (listen, I get to make that joke because I'm an old mom) that 55:15 Never Too Late faces is that we have actors playing 15-year-olds who are all tackling adult problems... often with the other age-appropriate adults of their past lives. Meaning: age gaps, both externally and internally.

(Very namely, Nanon's character, the young San, interacts with his former high school love interest. Now, Nanon can pull off almost anything, and I'd argue that he was fabulous in this role -- as long as you were comfortable watching a 20-year-old Nanon express a long-lost love for a 55-year-old woman. He did it exquisitely, but the age gap could give some folks the jibbles. This also happened with the young Jarunee, played by the AWESOME AS USUAL View Benyapa, who confirms her love for a 30-year-old man, who was actually in love with the original 55-year-old Jarunee, so we're dealing with TWO age gaps there, okay, confused yet? ANYWAY.)

In this age gap case, Pawin's character, Phiphu, begins crushing on the young Songpol. The young-bodied and old-minded Songpol is like, wut. You're Mathee's son. Phiphu even goes in for an acted kiss as he and Songpol audition (AUDITION! LOL) for a BL series.

It's Khao and Pawin kissing -- but it's an older character that Khao is embodying. Khao did not lean into the kiss, and made it seem plenty awkward, which -- good job, Khao/Songpol. But I'd say the show overall didn't quite address the age gap issues frontally, which I do think was a miss.

(KhaoPawin, btw? Yet another reason why I want to ban branded ships. Pawin's never been better than when he was paired with Khao! Pawin was great! They were great together! Pair more randoms together!)

I think the show did a responsible job at indirectly addressing the age gap issue at least between the old/young Songpol and the only young Phiphu, when Phiphu finally admits his attraction to the young Songpol. And remember! They're living in an age -- an age that the adult Songpol isn't familiar with -- where Phiphu can feel comfortable making a queer admission to another teenager.

The young Songpol knew he was kinda in the shit when Phiphu confessed to him. Between the time that the young Songpol received this confession and the end of the series -- the young Songpol had transitioned back to his present elder self. In that elder self, played by Khun Kob, the young Songpol left a letter for Phiphu to explain his departure -- and to urge Phiphu, a loner, to be hopeful for a more loving future. A kind of future that, prior to his trip to his younger self, that the older Songpol may not have ever imagined for himself.

All while this is happening: the elder Songpol's love interest, Mathee, is getting married. And: Mathee confesses to the adult Songpol that Mathee knows that Songpol was in love with him. Mathee addresses it head-on, and explains how important Songpol is in Mathee's life as an elder uncle, a familial presence. It was empathetic as anything, wonderful to watch.

Again, repeating myself from the top: these topics are extremely adult topics. Not by way of explicitness, but by way of maturity and and growth. The way this show touched me as an adult -- there aren't a lot of BLs that do that, simply because I'm much older than your average BL audience member. This show really gut-punched me, simply because it was a drama (it just so happened to be a het drama) about reckoning with the highs and the disappointments of adult life, ones that, especially as a parent of young children, I am learning far too fast and all too well. To see an adult Songpol's mind -- channeled through Khao's brilliant acting -- coming to terms with a new generation for which queerness is far more accepted, was utterly moving. Even for myself, a het woman who was raised with a culturally embedded sense of bigotry for anyone "different," watching young people just accept queerness, as an everyday part of life -- and watching an elder mind try to process that, and realize that he could live safely and publicly, as he finally did, as an adult, at the end of the show, totally got me.

Most of the storylines of the rest of the characters ended beautifully, with a little tragedy mixed in. If you're a fan of dramas that feature the GMMTV stable outside of our beloved group of BL actors, I would definitely say to give this one a shot. (If you're a BBS girlie like me, keep in mind that this was airing at the same time as BBS, so Nanon had two shows airing at the same time -- and I do be believing that there was a little BBS reference in 55:15 because of that timing.) Sea Tawinan in particular, who I have no familiarity with (I didn't watch Vice Versa) was fantastic as a devoted and thoughtful son to one of the time jumpers. View, Kay, Arm, Piploy, Marc Pahun, and ESPECIALLY PRIGKHING (WHAT A DELIGHT!) were all fantastic.

Some of the latest het dramas out of GMMTV -- UMG, The Jungle, etc. -- seem to me to be post-pandemic leftovers featuring cute dudes in weak storylines that not a lot of folks really got excited about. 55:15 Never Too Late was a pandemic-era drama that was very much rooted not only in nostalgia, but also rooted in addressing regrets -- the exact kind of mental exercise that a lot of folks had time to work on during the pandemic. 55:15 held a queer storyline in its hands with tenderness, it featured two phenomenal actors in Kob Songsit and Khao Thanawat to treat it with compassion, and the result was eye-opening and fulfilling. This was a wonderful show, and it makes me very glad that there are GMMTV shows, outside of the Jojo Tichakorn universe, that consider queerness as inclusionary of storytelling. If this theme can continue at GMMTV, I will be ever more glad about it.

[So! WITH THIS! I'm going to be doing a slow rewatch of Bad Buddy and Our Skyy 2 x Bad Buddy x A Tale of Thousand Stars, along with a robust, if not heavy, slate of currently airing shows, including Absolute Zero and What Did You Eat Yesterday?, all of which will be taking a chunk of time of meta writing away from my generally middling level of sanity.

That being said, I'll be doing plenty of liveblogging of BBS, and I have at least two OGMMTVC posts planned for the show, so stay tuned in the next few weeks, as I sharpen my pencils and take notes on Aof Noppharnach's very best drama.

There is a future after my BBS rewatch, namely Cheewin Thanamin's Secret Crush On You, which I'm really looking forward to watching later this fall.

Here's the latest info drop on the OGMMTVC watchlist. For a more clear picture of what I've watched, please click this link!

1) The Love of Siam (2007) (movie) (review here) 2) My Bromance (2014) (movie) (review here) 3) Love Sick and Love Sick 2 (2014 and 2015) (review here) 4) Gay OK Bangkok Season 1 (2016) (a non-BL queer series directed by Jojo Tichakorn and written by Aof Noppharnach) (review here) 5) Make It Right (2016) (review here) 6) SOTUS (2016-2017) (review here) 7) Gay OK Bangkok Season 2 (2017) (a non-BL queer series directed by Jojo Tichakorn and written by Aof Noppharnach) (review here) 8) Make It Right 2 (2017) (review here) 9) Together With Me (2017) (review here) 10) SOTUS S/Our Skyy x SOTUS (2017-2018) (review here) 11) Love By Chance (2018) (review here) 12) Kiss Me Again: PeteKao cuts (2018) (no review) 13) He’s Coming To Me (2019) (review here) 14) Dark Blue Kiss (2019) and Our Skyy x Kiss Me Again (2018) (review here) 15) TharnType (2019-2020) (review here) 16) Senior Secret Love: Puppy Honey (OffGun BL cuts) (2016 and 2017) (no review) 17) Theory of Love (2019) (review here) 18) 3 Will Be Free (2019) (a non-BL and an important harbinger of things to come in 2019 and beyond re: Jojo Tichakorn pushing queer content in non-BLs) (review here) 19) Dew the Movie (2019) (review here) 20) Until We Meet Again (2019-2020) (review here) 21) 2gether (2020) and Still 2gether (2020) (review here) 22) I Told Sunset About You (2020) (review here) 23) YYY (2020, out of chronological order) (review here) 24) Manner of Death (2020-2021) (not a true BL, but a MaxTul queer/gay romance set within a genre-based show that likely influenced Not Me and KinnPorsche) (review here) 25) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) (review here) 26) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For The Sake Of Rewatching Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (re-review here) 27) Lovely Writer (2021) (review here) 28) Last Twilight in Phuket (2021) (the mini-special before IPYTM) (review here) 29) I Promised You the Moon (2021) (review here) 30) Not Me (2021-2022) (review here) 31) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) (thesis here) 32) 55:15 Never Too Late (2021-2022) (not a BL, but a GMMTV drama that features a macro BL storyline about shipper culture and the BL industry) 33) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) and Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (2023) OGMMTVC Rewatch (watching) 34) Secret Crush On You (2022) [watching for Cheewin’s trajectory of studying queer joy from Make It Right (high school), to SCOY (college), to Bed Friend (working adults)] 35) KinnPorsche (2022) (tag here) 36) KinnPorsche (2022) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For the Sake of Re-Analyzing the KP Cultural Zeitgeist 37) The Eclipse (2022) (tag here) 38) The Eclipse OGMMTVC Rewatch For the Sake of Re-Analyzing an Politics-Focused Show After Not Me 39) GAP (2022-2023) (Thailand’s first GL) 40) My School President (2022-2023) and Our Skyy 2 x My School President (2023) 41) Moonlight Chicken (2023) (tag here) 42) Bed Friend (2023) (tag here) (Cheewin’s latest show, depicting a queer joy journey among working adults) 43) Be My Favorite (2023) (tag here) (I’m including this for BMF’s sophisticated commentary on Krist’s career past as a BL icon) 44) Wedding Plan (2023) (Recommended as an important trajectory in the course of MAME’s work and influence from TharnType) 45) Only Friends (2023)]

#55:15 never too late #55:15 never too late the series #55:15 never too late meta #nanon korapat #khaotung thanawat #pawin kulkaranyawich #kob songsit #view benyapa #khaopawin #turtles catches up with old gmmtv #turtles catches up with thai BLs #turtles catches up with the essential BLs #the old gmmtv challenge #ogmmtvc #prigkhing sureeyares

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k-white · 2 years

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Ok considering quite a few people are doing it I wanna do a "currently watching", "rewatching", "anticipating the most" too so here it

Currently Watching (order is based on the number of episode i have watched) its gonna be mostly generic opinion not too spoilery cuz if I went in the specific of the show this post would be as long as a freaking book cuz I have the ability to write too much:

1. Vice Versa ep.1: this just started 2 days ago, I really liked the first episode the pacing was good, the acting was good, the cinematography and the colors were stunning and the story really intrigues me cuz I am a suker for supernatural teamed BL's, also I am really happy that Sea has a main role, I really like him since 55:15(watch it it's such a good series not BL but it has amazing plot acting and characters) wich marked the start of my love for him (and Pawin but he is not in this show so lets move on) so I'm exited to see how it develops, also OhmNanon always stunning, Jimmy is a snack, I cant wait to see Neo and Victor was a beautiful surprise not gonna lie

2. Oh! My Sunshine Night ep.2: I like this, its a bit slow paced but still enjoiable, I really like Rain he is probably my fav out of the bunch at the 2 episode we shall see later on, I really enjoyed his interaction with Payou, Fluke still amazing like always and I am really liking Kim with his antisocial cold akward interactions he's cute, I feel tho that there are too many caracters and at the moment the screentime is a bit unbalanced.

3. Even Sun ep3. Well... its bad I am not gonna lie, it feels like a huge commercial for beaches in Thailand with BounPrem as MC and it did make me wanna travel to thai islands, back to the story tho its very confusing and this is due to the script wich is scattered and unfocused at best, and the translation errors that are a huge amount so much that sometimes you canto even understend what a character means, the acting is fine our boys are doing the most in my opinion but I also like Mek's actor, overal i am sitting trough this cuz I really missed BounPrem in a main role and am anticipating Between Us so much

4. Sky In Your Heart ep5. ok I still have to watch the latest episodes and its tied to my opinikn on the show, and it's such a booooring show its not interesting I don't like how the characters act, especially Fah, the acting is nice and the visuals are pretty(scenary a la ATOTS wich was the reason I was exited for this show) To be fair I was already pissed with Star In My Mind and i didn't really like the last 6 episodes of that show but I was expecting more from this since the trailer, sky between the 2 was the one I had some expectation for but was disappointed the most by. I'll finish it just cuz its very short and the episodes are not that long but I probably wont enjoy the ride.

5 Mama Gogo ep.6: I FREAKING LOVE THIS SHOW(not BL eaven tho the cast is mostly composed by man) its so funny, light and holesome and over the top with the characters and the interactions and its so amazing it brightens my day, but I already knew from the trailer that Id love it, all the characters are amazing and unique and each one is having their spotlight and they are so funny especially Drake's charcter, Earth's character and Lee's character also I really like Annie she is a bad Bitch and she knows it

6. My Seacret Love ep7. I really like this show at the moment is my comfort show easy simple not too dramatic with lovely characters and relationship the problem au to this point got resolved preatty quikly with good comunication wich I really appreciate and I like the development the characters had since episode 1... exept for Tim I don't like him his so wishiwashi with how he acts you dob't understand his motivs cuz not even him understand himself and he takes his best friend and his feelings for granted never reflecting on his own making it unberable for him.

7. Astrophile ep13. (again not BL) last show and the one I am almost done with cuz its relising bi weakly. I like it its more on the dramatic side compared to other shows on this list(tho the most dramatic one I watched latly is Triage and that is on a compleatly different level cuz its so good) back to the series, I like how they show how women get treated by the work industry and how the pressure from family can break a person life making them the sole sorce of income amd how it takes a tol on them, there is also kind of a love triangle wich I dont like personally but its very mellow and it only makes you simpatize more with the second leed(our beloved Off), Kim the protagonist is a very lovely lead both i character and in visuals(mister Bright hellow) also First is in this and I am a huge suker for him since Not Me(I practically binged the series his in)

This are all the series I am watching at the moment, for the ones acrually reading this you can see that there is no Unforgotten Nights and Love mechanics or Check Out wich are the most poluar ones at the moment but I am not one bit interested in eather of those for different reasons for UN its the same reaso as KinnPorche(wich I have not watched maybe one day ill sit trough it and start it but not at tis moment) and that is the mafia plot line wich I am not a fan of at all and you can say I am too sensitive and that its only a show but its my life i decide what i watch must be something I am sure I am gonna enjoy and mafia stories are not it, you can pin it on me being Italian and being tought to stand against it but still I am entitled to my opinions.

Rant aside, maybe I will update this in the future but I am not sure, I also have no idea enyone is eaven interested in this

Series I am rewatching.... none I have bearly the time to watch the ones airing at the moment with my work skejule imagine rewatching a hole show, none the less the one I am planning on rewatching is: The Umbrella Accademy wich is neather thai nor BL but its one of my favourites show of all time and I wanna rewatch all 3 seasons together, other than that I wanna make myself suffer cuz I wanna rewatch Together with me(only that no bad romance nor next chapter I refuse to go trough both of those messess I dont hate myself thanks) cuz I kinda miss thos 2 idiots Korn and Knock

Ok series I am exited to watch. Lets start with the ones that have a release date wich are just a couple

1. War of Y: so exited for this one the story seems very interesting, with them bringing the dark side of BL to light with 4 different stories and 4 different couples, tho I am scared they will all have a sud ending lets cross fingers to me beig paranoid

2. Love in the air: I'll be compleatly upfront for this I have not watched anything from Mame, no TharnType, no Dont Say No, no Love By Chance(tho I dont know if LBC is in fact written by Mame i havent check I am lazy) so take that I will be going in to this story completly blind, I havent watched the other shows cuz the I didnt loke the plot the interaction and the characters it was too problematic for me but this one sems to have potential even tho the plot written on Mydramalist was kinda cringy but the trailer sparked my interest so we shall see

Now for the ones that still have no date od release(this ones in no particular order)

1. The Eclipse: just the cast would be enough to make me watch this show( HELLOOO First, Khaotung, Neo, Pawin, Louis and AJ like yess take my time and my soul) if you put in also a cool and dark story with a élite school that seems to be killing its students and maybe a time loops I am sold

2.The hole Midnight series by GMMTV so Midnight Motel, Moonlight Chicken and Dirty Laundry all 3 trailers sold it to me with story and cast

3.basically half of the shows in the 2022 borderless from GMMTV I will not write them all down its too much take those four aspecially the eclipse cuz off all its the one I am most intrigued by

4.Wish Me Luck. Na and Fiat in a main role??? YESS PLEASE its about time(que in falsettos song) they gave this boys a main role and not just a support one they deserve it

5.Transplant. just literally discovered this first of all existed, cuz I dont keep up with Thai novels cuz I have 0 access to them, and its the sequel of Manner Of Death and its connected with Triage! ( I love Sammon she is my new Godeess with her connected universe with cool couples and bad guys) and its just been unnounced as MaxTull new project!! exited

6.Make a Wish anothe Summon story with doctora and angels with our boy Fluke Natouch

I am done!!! this was a lot of work to write and nobody is gonna read it LOL, still it was fun to do it and put on "paper" what I was thinking of this shows i am watching an shows i wanna watch hope someone find this eather usefull, interesting or funny

I hope you all have a nice day and until the next post stay healty amd hydrated kisses

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