Over Run Over EU超時任務 TVB Review

Welcome back to our blog!

We decided to bring you another TVB drama review as many of you guys enjoy reading these and they're always fun to write! This is going to be a loooong one so break it down in parts by each author or however you want to do it if you don't have the time to read it all at once!

Over Run Over is a 2016 TVB drama, which has just recently finished airing (we are totally not like over two weeks late ;) ) But we sincerely apologize for this super late review as it has been difficult compiling our thoughts and we have been so so busy! Anyways, this time we are also featuring thoughts and opinions from our part-time contributor, Ah Tao!! We will be starting off with a basic overview of the drama as always and then breaking it down to each of our favourite parts, shocking moments, acting thoughts... Let's get started!!

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Basic Overview: This is a spin-off of the EU Series from TVB. This time around, some characters in the drama have the ability to travel back in time for 3 days where they are given a second chance to complete their mission and right any wrongs. Ling San Fung played by Tracy Chu is the first character shown in the drama that is able to travel back in time. She is the commanding officer and se  n rgeant of her E.U team. She comes from a village where many changes are happening. The village chief, Kwan Ding Ming played by Vincent Wong is nicknamed Kui Tou and initially gets on Madam's bad side. The two have many arguments and Fung suspects that he has to do with this crime involving a leader in the village plotting to traffic drugs and force properties from villagers. The more Fung goes back in time, the more she learns and the more things change. It seems like there will be no end to who dies and she realizes that she cannot save everyone, but if she can help, she will do it. On the other hand, her boyfriend, Kwok Sheung-Ching, played by Benjamin Yuen has many secrets that he is hiding from her. Including the fact that he once had a one night stand with Fung's best friend, cunning and resourceful reporter, Lee Chi-Ting played by Zoie Tam. This causes many problems and throughout the 9 times that Fund goes back in time, she sees many sides of her friend and starts to stray off from her case to help her get back on the right track. Meanwhile, driver of the E.U. Van, Chan King- Wai played by Pal Sinn is growing restless during work hours to care for his sick wife played by Rebecca Zhu. He too is a man of many secrets and soon works together with Tracy and Vincent to solve the case. Many corrupt cops and undercovers are in the series providing for a more dense plotline. Through the 10 times that Ling San Fung goes back to April 1st, she discovers that the world she thought she knew is nothing like how it actually is.

from:  http://afspot.net/forum/topic/804360-upcomingtvb-overrrun-over-%e8%b6%85%e6%99%82%e4%bb%bb%e5%8b%99/


Ah Tao:
I enjoyed this drama for sure and it was an above-average production from TVB considering what's been on nowadays. I'm going to review the drama by analyzing some of the major characters and how well the actor/actress executed them.

Ling San Fung (Tracy Chu): This was Tracy's first main role and she definitely showed that she could handle a leading role. Overall, her acting was stable. Driven by her intention to reverse the sequence of events, she investigated and unraveled those nuances along with Vincent Wong. She had strong chemistry with Vincent Wong particularly in the ending, and you really felt their bond as it came to a climax.  However, her acting could still use some smaller improvements. This could also be limited by her character - she was quick to jump to conclusions and made irrational decisions, forcing her EU unit to investigate the main crime plot.

With that, I found that she sometimes (primarily in the beginning) 'over-exerted' some of the anger and urgency she demanded those around her - this was partly due to her character and partly due to her acting. Despite that, I thought her acting was stable was because she otherwise felt consistently 'real' in this role - you felt for her and for the shock in her discoveries. She is ready to lead in a TVB drama and I really look to see her explore her potential - especially outside procedural (cop) dramas she tended to have roles in.

Kwan Ding Ming or Kui Tou (Vincent Wong): Vincent Wong was the real star of the drama and really showed his versatile acting here and oh god, he was hella funny. You should really watch the drama for the whole deal, but in short he provided comic relief. A former financial analyst turned village chief, his character seemed like a superficial crook at the beginning but as time went on we learned more about his complex identity - and through that he and Tracy Chu together seeked the truth behind it all. He seemed to act in his self interest so he could be free once again and able to pursue what he wants - but as time went on he got more drawn on into the intricate events as well. In one of the last time travel sequences, Tracy rescues him from the verge of death and as he is 'revived' on a new April 1st, they instantly realize how much they value each other and confess their love.

Vincent did very well here and really showed he cherished Tracy - something shown in the beginning of the drama with his narrated introduction to the drama and at the ending as well. At the end, his realization that time flow and fate is inevitable is accompanied by his wise words and actions, like refusing to time travel for the last time and letting things be - and that was the best way to end the drama. Even though the drama narrative centered on Tracy's character, Vincent's role introduced and tied the various plot details together. Vincent's execution of this role was hilarious yet he carried the small details of his underlying thoughts solidly and really, the drama was defined by his emotions and conclusions in the ending. The character was written very memorably and so was Vincent's portrayal - they were inseparable - and really helps him cement a 'first-line' status.

Kwok Sheung-Ching (Benjamin Yuen): His main weakness at this point in his career is how he doesn't convey much facial expression sometimes and in turn doesn't execute the complex background and motivations in his characters. This was the third time in a row he's played a cop (after the Fixer and the Speed of Life) and to be honest here, his role really didn't offer much to work with. Up until episode 18 or so, we saw him most of the time doubting Tracy's foresight, rescuing her in a pinch, and re-engaging briefly in a love affair with Zoie . And yes, he was somewhat expressionless in these scenes and adding on to the one-dimensional nature.

In the finale episodes from ep 19 to 22, however, the complexity in his character was demonstrated by the shocking revelation that his dad, a revered figure in his life, was the ultimate corrupt ('black') cop. Honestly, in this last bit, he fared pretty well. His bitterness and rage came through before his engagement party with Tracy Chu, and you could tell he was disheartened yet ultimately propelled to conceal the evidence. He seemed innocently swept into the crisis yet he was manipulative too. He was convincing when he put up a facade to Tracy both pleading her not to reveal the secret and afterwards telling her he will recover...until he was shown to be the final villain. So for this, I would say he did well in the drama considering his role's development - but we'll have to see if this holds in other dramas.

Lee Chin Ting (Zoie Tam): At the beginning, Zoie's role was very much the typical 'bestfriend' role in TVB drama plots, so I wasn't expecting her to be the second female lead (of sorts). She shined but didn't really. As an active reporter, she was eager to investigate things for Tracy and it seemed like she was the perfect sidekick to our female lead - until it was revealed that she once had a one-night stand with Benjamin before he dated Tracy. This love was re-ignited once, then erased due to time travel - but then it kept on occurring multiple times. Along with the fact she kept investigating every time in the sequence despite Tracy and Vincent no longer wanting her help once they time traveled a few times, her character showed that events will always somewhat occur the way they do.

Zoie was decent in her portrayal of this character; to me, she didn't shine all that much nor falter in being accurate. And even though in the middle of the drama she began to hold her own attitude towards the events, she didn't really serve that big of a point. She died in the ending, but it was quite frankly pointless. Again, part of this is the character not being fleshed out, but I felt Zoie didn't give off a 'leading role' vibe even when she had the screentime. Next time, I think I would prefer seeing her in a character that had a bit more relevance.

Chan King Wai (Pal Sinn): Known as Wei Ye in Tracy's EU unit, Pal Sinn's character was the catalyst in the plot. From his facial expressions and refusal to divert to a crime scene after being directed by Tracy, you could tell something was strange with him. The mysteriousness grew as the plot unfolded as he tried to convince Tracy not to dwell into the past - it sounded like he knew things. And yep, he did. As a time traveler to save his wife (Rebecca Zhu), he knew plenty of things before Tracy and Vincent could piece them out. But shielding this is the fact that their actings shifted Pal's plans and now he must work for the mastermind villain -  Ho Chin Cheung (Vincent Lam). This lead Tracy and Vincent to think he was the 'black cop' - and really, he did seem like it as Pal portrayed the malicious side of his role.

Pal found himself in the 'grey realm' in the drama because he did seem sinister even though his ultimate motive was only to save his wife. Pal portrayed the character's self-serving interests well, which reminded me of his role in Tomorrow is Another Day, although with a much more 'human side.' He was quite devoted to caring for his wife, and that was really his only motive - and in the end, that motive pulled him toward a more moral direction. The scriptwriters did well writing in a more realistic side to him. If Pal wants to expand on his acting skills (and not rely on his comedian status to get roles), this role explains why TVB should see the value in at. Overall, a solid performance here.

In all and all...wow, that was a lot. I give this drama a 9/10 for the better-than-usual character development.

Cee:

After seeing Ah Tao's breakdown of all the main characters and their contributions to the drama, I will be breaking down the time-travelling segment. Jay will continue the end of the drama.

When I first saw read about this drama, I was very skeptical of it because I was like "Oh no, this is just a copy of time-travelling movies, way to save up the creativity TVB". But after watching all 22 episodes, my view of this drama changed.

Original and first two time travels:
The first thing we hear is Vincent Wong's last words (it seems) and they're very sentimental about how he once failed to cherish the one he loved the most, Ah Fung (Tracy Chu). It was somewhat uneasy listening to those words the first time since Vincent had taken on a new village accent and his voice sounded broken. More on this later.

The first few episodes were kinda inconsistent because of Tracy Chu's exaggerated acting and the story seemed all over the place. The moment Lo Lok Lam died the first time, I was like... breaking the record of on-screen deaths! Anyways, although the case made sense with the original time line, it felt too rushed and because I like to multi-task while watching TVB dramas, I was a bit lost tbh. I also half-watched some of the beginning episodes while studying so it's my fault I guess. I had no idea what the real crime was... A. drug trafficking or B. abusing villagers or C. illegally buying up property? Well, in the end we find out it's D. All of the above haha.

The real star was Vincent Wong in the beginning, he overshadowed Tracy Chu as the rowdy chief and his patterned shirts matched his personality well. Again we see Vincent Wong giving his all as a huge can of red paint is poured on his body. I really admire his professionalism in this aspect but after the Dead Wrong incident, I hope he doesn't sustain any injuries. One of my favourite sayings from him is how he says MADAM like MADUM. He's full of humour but he seemed to harbour some good feelings for Ah Fung even from the beginning. The first time she travels back in time, nothing much changes. The dad still dies and she is determined to change this fact and yells at the sky for another chance... but who knew she'd go back 8 more times to finally "finish" what she was set out to do. The second time travel is where it gets interesting I'd say. Her subordinate and good friend, Tim (Hugo Wong) suddenly alters the plot by killing off the enemies men. Now we see the butterfly effect and more secrets are brought to the surface, including an undercover in the story. Of course, you could say she's ruining what was alright to begin with everytime she goes back but I see this as a drama, so the more she goes back, the more entertaining it is. With that said, I found it very shocking to see Hugo Wong die and it was all really random to begin with. The one thing I like about this drama is how it gives you clues and then explains the motives behind each event.

I never expected Sau Kei to be the undercover since he almost sexually assaulted Zoie Tam and he is more of a kelefe. This doesn't take away from the drama though, and I'm happy to see TVB using their artists more so that the usual kelefes can be brought to light.

Fourth and fifth time travels:

By these episodes, Tracy is getting more natural in her role because the plot picks up and again, new things are discovered! So Ho Chin Cheung (Vincent Lam), is the real mastermind behind all of this and there is also another undercover. Storywise, I am surprised that this didn't get too messy. The characters thus far are well written compared to some other TVB dramas. The only question I had at this point was, what was up with Wai Yeh (Pal Sinn) and I was also wondering if they were ever going to stop going back. Turns out they don't (bravo to TVB for not making this boring) and more on Pal Sinn later! We are also introduced to Joyce Cheung (Christine Kuo) in these episodes and for some reason, she just doesn't appeal to me that much. Acting hasn't improved much and doesn't seem like she's going to be getting any more opportunities. She is a complication to the storyline and if she's already with Vincent, how is Vincent gonna end up with Tracy? And not to mention that Tracy seems to be at nearing the marriage stage with Ben Yuen. (side note, Christine was cringey throwing herself away like that to that nasty Ivan dude, but hey, there are people who do that). Back to the story, now Zoie Tam is also interested in the case and she messes this thing up even more! She thinks she's so good and so pro and at one point, I was like. STOP! She was the only annoying character in the drama though. I hated how she betrayed Tracy and kept making out with Ben Yuen like go awayyy! I just did not like how her character was written and it's crazy how Ah Fung was friends with her for that long to only realize how manipulative and cold she was at the end.She seems like the next Ali Lee to me as they're both from nowTV and have been getting bigger roles.

stop snooping around...

Sixth and seventh time travels:

Wow this is getting long haha. I think I'll try to shorten this up a bit but still keep the content good! Okk so this is where I really start enjoying the drama because Ah Fung's 6th time travel is also Kui Tou's first one and they start working together to find the black cop! Tracy is way better here because her character starts making more sense and she takes action appropriately now. I like how she keeps a board in her room but man, what if someone finds that? Anyways, Ah Gong, Fung's bro somehow ends up in an explosion...? So more crazy things are happening because of the butterfly effect and it's just getting way more complicated and the two of them seem to be straying away from the block cop because of all these distractions. Of course, as I said before, this deepens the plot without being too unnecessary. My only issue with these side distractions is how LO LOK LAM ENDED UP BEING ACCUSED OF MURDER. Like wow that was weird! This happens in the 7th time travel and I was like... what is even going on? Okay fine be a jealous husband but murder is a bit harsh, crazy scriptwriters. First the son gets bombed, then the dad gets accused of murder!

Eighth and ninth time travels:

By these two time travels, the black cop is finally nailed down to Pal Sinn, the suspicious Wai Yeh. It is hypothesized that he needs fast money to heal his wife and to provide her with a good home to rest, so he takes on the black cop role. Ah Fung does not believe this in the slightest but I actually sided with Kui Tou for this suspicion. Good for TVB for making him seem like a plausible villain. But like, seriously the evil guy is ALWAYS the retired high ranking dad and his son/daughter HAS to take over the dad's evil deeds. We knew from the FIRST time that the dad was introduced that he was evil. No doubt about this, classic, classic TVB. What can I say?

Anyways. in the ninth time travel, Tracy finds out that Wai Yeh is not the black cop and of course Vincent is a bit bummed since he wanted to get this thing over with and be with Christine.. Then Christine goes cray cray and is like, I am only playing with him! So wow. Ok then! I saw this coming but what a loyal man! It's incredible really how down to earth he is and Vincent really brings out these qualities. He's hitting those subtle spots now and I'm very excited to see his role in Dead Wrong! Meanwhile Ben Yuen starts going crazy because Ah Fung is starting to like Kui Tou (sorry I keep switching between the actor names and character names LOL)




Tenth and eleventh time travels:

Whew! I made it and big thank you to those of you who made it this far! If not, well... you wouldn't be seeing this but I do hope you checked out Jay's part! Okay, so one of my favourite scenes is pictured above!! This is the last time travel for Tracy and it is one I won't forget I think. The bond and the connection between the two characters is shown the most in this scene and their perseverance in climbing up the hole? ditch? thing together is just amazing. It was very real, no exaggeration at all! However, I was quite surprised that Wai Yeh kept switching sides and when he reveals he's been back 100 times, I kinda had the feeling that he could go back when the drama started. He did act cowardly before but his ending is beautifully written. TVB has been suffering from bad endings for a while lately, so this one is really a breakthrough. The action scenes were great here! It's sad to say that Zoie died? But then again, I didn't really like her and it was just a drama so I had no sympathy nor did I feel bad. TVB needs to have a couple deaths anyways, why not get rid of the most deserving one. 

OK, I was however mad at how TRACY CHOSE TO DIE. Like that was really sad and Vincent really showed all his heart when he embraced her burnt body and told her to hold on. That weird beginning I got shivers from now made absolute sense. This scene could have brought me to tears if I was really paying 100% attention and really feeling it in the moment. Ben Yuen did well in these last episodes but his character was lacking at the beginning so even if he got interesting in the end, he is subpar to Vincent. The last time travel with only Vincent was heart breaking. I loved how he still went around and completed everything he and Tracy worked for. Those 10 time travels would not go to waste and I am so so happy that it is hinted that they will end up together. This drama surpassed a lot of my expectations. The more I write about it the more I love it LOLOL. 

AHHH that was a mouthful! Or a handful ;) I am giving this an 8.8/10 for the good numbers. The marks off are for some shaky bits with Tracy, wooden bits with Ben, and some of the story was unnecessary. 

Jay:

Since Ah Tao and Cee have covered their thoughts on most aspects of the drama, I will give a short summary of my thoughts.

Thoughts: First of all, I apologize but this part where I share my opinions on the drama might be really unorganized and all over the place, since it's just literally me writing a stream of my thoughts out so I hope you don't mind. Now, moving back to the drama: I thought that overall, Over Run Over was very enjoyable, and it was definitely a pleasant surprise coming from TVB. The plot made sense for the most part and there weren't huge, crazy plot twists that were not reasonable. This isn't just any old time-travelling series like Captain of Destiny that made no sense, but it actually conveys some meaningful messages about telling us to move on and not to live in our past because things cannot last forever. In terms of acting, as emphasized by Ah Tao and Cee already, Vincent Wong shone with this role with excellent portrayal of Kui Tou, being able to bring tears to many audiences' eyes, especially near the end. Tracy Chu has shown vast improvement in acting as well. Of course, there are spots where she needs to refine on, like toning the emotion down a little or even in some cases, bringing it up. After seeing K9 Cop, it was kind of a huge transition from the role Tracy played as a
"港女" to this tomboyish, super serious madam. It was kind of a waste of Moon Lau as her role was so unimportant and small. At the beginning, I thought she would be the 2nd female lead, but it turns out that was Zoie Tam. Anyone could have acted as Ho Chin Cheung's sister and she only came out like some episodes. Speaking of Zoie, I was a little stunned to hear that she was 35, she looked like Tracy's age. Her acting was alright and it is the first time that she has gotten such a big role, so I would say she handled it quite well. Her character, however, lacked depth to make it memorable and she seemed like just another super passionate reporter, and not to mention not a very good friend at times.  I also thought the guy who played Song Q, the faithful sidekick of Ho Chin Cheung was good acting like a crazy, mad dog ready to bite the traitors any second LOL. Not much to say about Rebecca Zhu; she played her part. I won't go over the other characters since most of the important ones have already been explained up there by my fellow collaborators.

However, I would like to mention that TVB did a pretty good job with maintaining the suspense throughout the series. It was great how like a half of the episodes had some great action scenes with shoot outs, explosions, etc. The first few episodes had basically the same scenes so it got a bit repetitive and for a while, I thought that the whole series would just be the same situation where they try to arrest those criminals encountered by Tracy during the first episode. Thank goodness, the story kept progressing and the mission changed every time they went back in time. I would say things started getting pretty interesting as Vincent started going back in time with Tracy and they worked together. Vincent and Tracy's love story was good and incorporated nicely, but it was sad to see they didn't get much time together as a couple and had to be separated with Tracy's death. I have been finding that most TVB dramas nowadays somehow lack an interesting love plot and if they have one, there isn't enough time for its development. For example, Angel In-the-Making had like the last few minutes with Tony and Eliza which kind of sucked. But with so much stuff going on in this drama, I'm surprised that Vincent and Tracy got a decent amount of screen time as lovers. Overall, I'm quite happy with the plot and things were executed at a good pace, without the audience ever getting bored or tired. 

As for the ending, there was a lot of talk about what really happened to Ah Fung and if she actually remembered Kui Tou. I thought the ending was good and well fitting for this type of drama, since straight out happy endings would be kind of cheesy. This ending isn't the normal type of open-ended thing or cliff-hanger, it actually made the audience think about what happened and wasn't really associated with a certain emotion; that was for the audience to decide. I guess they wanted to put focus on the emotion brought forth at the very end by Vincent's last words which were very touching. Anyways, here's my interpretation of what happened with the last scene:

Tracy actually already died the 10th time she traveled back in time but she somehow made a connection of her memories with the hourglass necklace when she died and Vincent was able to bring the necklace back without knowing. Maybe he dropped the necklace accidentally on Tracy's lawn, the first time he went to her house during the 11th time travel. When Tracy picked the necklace up, her memories of the past time travel experiences are restored because the necklace magically contained her memories. This explains why she looks up at Vincent with a small smile of recognition. So my guess is that they had a happy ending - at least I hope they did. But that's only what I think and there are several possibilities out there. If you think there's another explanation to the ending, please share it with us by commenting!

My final thought is this was quite an awesome drama and it was wonderfully put together, since it could have been disastrous with the complexity of the plot. Great job, TVB for producing this. I honestly thought that this drama would just be an average police show but turns out, I was in for a good treat. I hope that TVB will continue to produce thrillers that are this intense and captivating. I will give this drama a 8.7/10 since it was more than an 8.5, and because it was a pretty cool drama! Btw, whoops, sorry this turned out to be longer than I thought!

Together this drama rounds to a ... 8.8/10!!! One of the best dramas this year to date!

Well, again thank you for reading!!! This time, we all know it was super loooongg but we had too much to say about this drama! Again, if you liked it or share any similar feelings, please comment! Any other thoughts are appreciated as well! Share with your friends and family if you liked this post.

Stay tuned for more coming up!

-CeeJay and Ah Tao :)

Comments

  1. Hi guys!  Thanks for the review!  I actually enjoyed reading it (yes, I read the whole thing in one sitting, as the review didn’t seem that long to me…but then again, I’m the type who also writes a lot so the length doesn’t bother me,lol).  I actually haven’t watched Over Run Over yet (in fact, I haven’t watched any of the TVB series that aired since mid-2015 or so, save for a few episodes of Dinner at Eight earlier in the month) and wasn’t intending to at first, but I’ve been reading a lot of positive stuff about the series, plus I like Vincent and am ok with Tracy, so maybe I’ll check this series out after all -- though with all the other stuff I’ve got going on, it will definitely be at the bottom of my list given that’s where most TVB stuff is nowadays – low priority, lol....

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  2. Hey! Nice to hear from you again! :) Glad you liked reading it!! Thanks again! How is Dinner at Eight? Surprising that none of us on the blog is watching it but we did hear good stuff about the cast. Lol, definitely a low priority show considering TVB these days eh? It's alright, we've been lowering our standards so we're actually surprised with this drama. The latest drama, My Dangerous Mafia Retirement Plan is alright too with Kent Cheng and Kingdom Yuen coming back but you can skip Blue Veins for sure, we're on the verge of dropping it.

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  3. I enjoyed this repeat and repeat series. One of the better ones this year that's because i expect sub standard from this station

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  4. I know this series was shown earlier 2016 but I just finished it last night so looking for some reviews. You summed it up really really. I enjoyed it as well. It was actually shockingly good considering what TVB dished out over the years. I was watching that k9 cop or whatever I couldn't even finish a couple of episodes. It was a BS series. This is the first time I was able to watch Tracy Chu as lead cuz I certainly don't remember her in k9 series, none of the characters are memorable in that series. It was that stupidly boring. haha lol...

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  5. Hello anonymous, thank you for taking the time to read our post! Welcome to our blog and we hope you will continue to stop by to check out our posts :)

    Over Run Over was above average for sure. It was also nice seeing the two new leads and they handled it very well. LOL Tracy was a little annoying in k9 Cops and it was a mediocre drama. It was one of Linda's better performances though considering her works lately. Let us know if you are watching any other dramas and you can check out our list of what we are watching/have seen or dropped here as well

    http://mydramalist.com/dramalist/Ceejayent

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  6. Hi Cee,
    I never like Linda in any series I am sorry to say hahah lol.... I was watching K9 cuz I kind of like BOSCO but even he couldn't save that series. OMG, I find it so boring, I dropped it 1/2 way btw. It was that bad to me anyway. lol...
    Tracy Chu - never like her much in anything either but honestly I didn't even noticed her AT ALL in k9? haha lol... But here I don't think I like her like her but I do like her character a bit more at least. Vincent dude - never find her overally great anyway but here he shined as he's so stylishly tacky and the dialogues is pretty impressive lol...so I find it quite entertaining and the ending was good to me. I actually like imperfect endings hahaha lol... I am not one of those that just love the happily married w/children kind of ending. While they say an open ending will give them a chance to film sequels I don't usually like sequels so haha this kind of endings is totally fine for me.

    -kiki-

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  7. Hi kiki,

    We don't like Linda either and we can't think of any series in which she did exceptionally well. We clearly remember the cringe-worthy Madam she played in Tiger Cubs 2 and we were so done with Linda after that role. The main reason why we watched K9 was for Bosco, but like you said even with him, the drama was just ok. We were pretty surprised that Linda did better in K9 but the performance wasn't amazing or anything.

    We are fine with Tracy for the most part but she still has a lot of improvement to do. For Vincent, we think he's a pretty well-rounded actor and we can definitely see him getting many awards in the future. He did shine in ORO and we loved seeing both the funny and emotional parts in his portrayal of the character.

    We also think that sequels usually turned messed up like the Hippocratic Crush 2 which was a total dissapointement so maybe it's better that they just leave it as is. The problem with TVB is that they are running out of plot ideas so they're trying to squeeze sequels out of pretty much anything like how they are making a spin-off for Ghost of Relativity and they rarely turn out good. We enjoyed this open ending as well and it wasn't one of those cheesy open endings either with a new case or a new villain, if you know what we mean. Thanks for letting us know your thoughts btw!

    -CeeJay

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  8. Hi CeeJay,
    Yes, I know. TVB really have such nonsense, plotless and just boring productions now. I haven't watched much of anything lately except a bit of "Momentary Lapse of Reason" w/that ugly looking kind of guy but I like his acting a lot. Lol..

    I have also watched this ORO in completion and that’s also shocking. Haha lol…. The only series I like from the 2000’s are usually NOT at all popular in HK. HK audiences I feel do NOT like inspiration/meaningful series’.

    I love the series "The Green Hope" & "Seed of Hope or Love" w/Kenix Kwok and Patrick Tam. At least it's like kind of a bit inspirational meaningful series where you think biasly in a way that makes you think a little.

    Nowadays, most of them just suck so bad. So I was surprised I actually like a time travel series and this is from someone who hates sci-fi and just basically don't watch anything out of the ordinary and ancient series. I am mostly a modern series watcher.
    I love reading your review on it as you brought up all the great points. That kungfu scene on how they got out of the hole was pretty impressive, looks quite real. Wish TVB has like NG's/blobbers like some kdrama do but they don't so we can’t even see how unreal/real it was when filming.
    I like fighting series so when that RUCO series ends, I will give it a shot. That Philip guy looks pretty hot too. hehhe

    BTW, in the US, they have censorship on TV. Don’t think we can use F word on TV, only on films you know what I mean?

    How come ORO they can words like PK on TV? Isn’t that like a curse word?? Hahha lol… I never noticed any series that they say such words or recent series they are all like that. Haven’t watched much of anything so haha .. I was shocked to hear, always thought it was one of those curse words? Or to HK that’s very normal wording?? Lol..but on TV thought they would censor it since kids might learn to p/u such bad words?


    -kiki-

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    Replies
    1. Hello!!

      We saw Momentary lapse of reason last year as well. It was one of our favorites last year. Louis Cheung definitely surprised us and its too bad he wasn't in anything. We are waiting for his new drama with Bosco and Edwin. Tavia however was a bore in MLOR.

      We haven't seen the two dramas that you mentioned but yes HK audiences aren't really into that stuff. Recently, we can only think of Swipe Tap Love that was a different type of drama that spoke to the heart.

      Thanks again for liking our review! LOL yes the stories are so had these days its hard to find anything to watch. The ancient series especially are going downhill! As for the NG or bloopers, tvb is now including them at the end of every episode for House of spirits and also for A Fist Within Four Walls. You can also find them on tvb's YouTube channel.

      Yes! Definitely give AFWFW a shot! Philip is nice to watch on tv but he is quite wooden in his acting or rather his character is a little wooden. So far the women are shining more than the men.

      Right now, theres a lot of Puk Gai in AFWFW and other curses and we think now, PK is more of a cuss and its accepted on tv. Just not any of those big guns for swearing in Cantonese. Honestly in English the only real swear is the F word but theres so many in canto so maybe that's why pk has been degraded to a cuss HAHA. We are not quite sure but interesting point you brought up.

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    2. Sorry for butting in but couldn’t help commenting….. 

      @kiki – I was totally nodding my head when I read your comments!  Good to see that I’m not the only one who feels that many of the post 2000 era TVB series weren’t worth watching!  Someone asked me for a TVB series recommendations list earlier and all I could provide was a LONG list of series from the 80s and 90s but very few series from post 2000 era because I didn’t like a lot of those series and barely even remember most of the ones I watched from that period (which is obviously a problem with the series rather than my memory, as I still remember most of the series I’ve watched from the 80s and 90s, even if it’s been a long time since I’ve watched/re-watched them).

      I also agree with your point about HK audiences not liking meaningful/inspirational series as I also prefer inspirational/meaningful series and care more about the quality of a series than its hype.  There are also a lot of series I like that were very poorly received in HK (meaning the ratings were very low and HK audiences were not accepting of the series).  This is why I mentioned in my response to a different post on this site that HK audiences are partly to blame for TVB’s dismal state, since majority of TVB’s target audiences (middle-aged housewives and seniors) don’t care for anything that’s too ‘deep’ or meaningful and also don’t understand how to appreciate quality.  It’s kind of a cultural thing that actually dates back several decades (even back when TVB launched in the late 60s) – TV series in HK were always treated as ‘background noise’ pretty much…housewives would have the TV on when they did their household chores, cooked dinner, etc. and  when the rest of the family got home from work or school, they would gather around the table for dinner and the TV would still be on.  There really was no such thing as ‘sitting in front of the TV and watching a TV series’ – majority of audiences would ‘listen’ to the TV rather than ‘watch’ TV, which is why TVB started to make their series so formulaic with dialogue that stated the obvious and paid less attention to the aesthetics.  With all that said, it’s definitely sad to see that TVB has not progressed with the times – to this day, their target audience is still those same housewives and so they continue to churn out formulaic, meaningless series for the most part, since they are still going off the premise that most audiences ‘listen’ to the TV rather than ‘watch’ TV.  Of course, it also doesn’t help that when TVB does try to produce a meaningful, quality series (i.e. the 2 you mentioned plus the likes of the controversial When Heaven Burns), they are essentially ‘slapped down’ by their traditional audience pool as well as the HK media (which always likes to go with majority opinion rather than actually reporting unbiased news).  In a way, I can see why TVB acts the way it does, but doesn’t mean it’s right – given TVB’s influence in HK,  if they had tried hard enough back in the day (and even now), they definitely could’ve changed the way HK audiences watch series. 

      Also, about the curse word thing – I agree with CeeJay’s assessment that PK is not really regarded as a major curse word in HK, so it’s allowed in series and such (I kind of liken it to using ‘bxxch’ versus the F-word here in the U.S.).  Oh, btw, using PK in TVB series is nothing new – it was used back in the old days as well…if you watch some of the older TVB series (like from the 80s and 90s), you’ll hear it in a few series as well (of course, used in a way that makes sense).  The instance I remember most (probably because I’ve watched the series like a gazillion times) was in 1990’s The Challenge of Life (one of my favorite TVB series by the way), during one of the final scenes when Leon Lai’s character called Frankie Lam’s character a PK (it was supposed to be a serious scene but to be honest, I chuckled a little the first time I heard it, lol).

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  9. @ Cee,

    Omg, yes I was surprised I enjoyed Momentary Lapse of Reason & Over Run Over cuz I am not much of MLOR genre and time travel??? Hhaah lol… So I was surprisingly entertained and finally was able to finish 2 TVB series in completion after such a long time.
    I did watch COD for Ruco but I was skipping here and there and that’s cuz of Ruco b/c everyone else in there just not my cup of tea. Lol..
    Yeah, those that I like are really old stuff. Well, kind of old now since one came out in 2000 & the other in 2003 if I remember correctly. The green hope n Seed of Love or Hope. I love them so much. They are very simple stories that people can related to but unfortunately, there were so underrated cuz HK ppl just not just dislike but probably HATE that kind of series. The green hope is about this guy Stephen Fung in all his dimple cuteness hahaah plays a guy who is a bit mentally challenged or I guess they have a better for him but I don’t know how to term it. haha… He’s on the verge of recuperating but does need medications in order to be back to being normal and he played a musical genius but that’s that. Seed of Hope or Love is about social worker Kenix Kwok and rich guy Patrick Tam and not your typical cocky rich guy. I love them as a pair but PT is not that popular in HK so series even get prob get promoted or anything. So both shows are equally UNPOPULAR. :(

    I just watched one episode of AFWFW last night. It was only ok for me on the first episode but will def see Philip Ng’s wooden acting haaha. He is kind of cute but not cuz of the cuteness I do like Kung Fu stuff so I guess I will continue a bit. :)

    Yeah, OMG… honestly, perhaps I don’t watch any of TVB series now and even if I did watch some older series, I don’t remember hearing PK hahaha lol…So I was like ok… there’s no censorship in HK TV land? Haha…My mom used to watch tons of HK, she’s more in the mainland series now and she will always go … “such words on TV, kids will have such bad role models” ahahah LOL…. so I was kind of shocked when I hear PK cuz I always thought that’s kind of like a bad word. If it’s on film, I would totally get it cuz hey films have all the bad words but on TV hahah lol… So I should NOT be shocked from now on when I do hear it on HK TV land.

    -kiki- :0)

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  10. @llwy12

    Thanks for butting in… lol…
    You are probably right about those ‘see lai’ audiences. Lol…That’s why they would never like inspirational/meaningful series.
    I was actually in HK in 2007 and my mom’s friend watches nothing but KOREAN DRAMAS. Ahhaa lol…She’s so hooked on kdramas that they don’t even watch TVB stuff. Gosh, times have changed. I remember wasn’t Japanese dramas dominating the drama world at one point? But now jdramas are pretty much unwatchable too. Some don’t even make sense? Lol..haha
    Yes, I agreed. My mom has some old very old series back from those VCR days haha lol…n they are so much more entertaining and just made a lot more sense than the ones showing now. It’s just sad how bad their scripts are these days. It’s literally watching 1 or 2 episodes and I can drop it, like couldn’t care less. Even if my favorite actors are in there, if I don’t like it I will drop it just like K9 Cop w/Bosco.

    “ watched the series like a gazillion times) was in 1990’s The Challenge of Life”??? OMG LOL… seriously, I remember this series cuz my mom has it on VCR tapes hahhaa LOL…It was GOOD. It was so entertainingly good I know, I have also watched more than once haha but not gazillion times but definitely at least twice hahah lol… Leon Lai was so cute in there and that girl I don’t remember her in anything but she was ok as well. That series I love that pretty girl who got raped?? She was so pretty back in the days, don’t know whatever happened to her but she was so good in there too, fits her to a T. The innocent, timid and shy role fit her so well.
    If you like Frankin Lam which I think is a good actor sometimes hahah lol…You should watch this really really old series I don’t remember the name but she was w/that film king Francis Ng I don’t like FN haha lol n Gigi Lai is in there… It was such a GREAT series as well. SAD but so damn good. In fact, I think Frankie Lam had quite some good series back in the days. There was another one about mainland china I think it’s called DRIFTERS…man that was a good one as well.
    So yes, HK series is going downhill these days, most of them sucks and we are practically seeing the same faces over and over too.
    I don’t really care much for any of the female actresses either. I think that snake woman Charmaine is overrated too. Used to like Tavia Yeung but even now I don’t really feel much for her acting.

    -kiki- :0)

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    1. @kiki:  LOL…ok, I probably was exaggerating with the ‘gazillion’ thing but it was definitely more than 20 times, haha!  I love that series alot as well (oh, by the way, TVB FINALLY released The Challenge of Life on DVD this month….been waiting for them to release it so I can replace my old VHS version, lol).  I actually haven’t rewatched the series since Jacqueline Law (Leon’s love interest in the series) passed away back in 2012, as she was one of my favorite actresses from back in the day and I loved her in TCOL (loved both her performance and her pairing with Leon – true pairing this time since the previous series they collaborated on in the 80s they weren’t truly a couple until the end of the series), so I know I will probably cry big time when I see her onscreen again.

      Yes, I like Kitty Lai too (that’s the girl you’re referring to who got raped in the series by Andy Dai’s character)….she’s actually quite a versatile actress, as she plays the non-shy/timid roles really well too (to this day, I still like her version of Zhao Min from The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre best out of the various versions I’ve watched).  Too bad she retired from the industry a long time ago…she was pretty and was a good actress too.   I actually am not a fan of Frankie Lam.  He’s a decent actor, but very much hit and miss – when given the right role, he can be excellent but when the role doesn’t suit him, his performance falters.  With that said though, I would rather watch him than most of the current actors at TVB. Which series were you referring to with Francis Ng?  I wasn’t quite sure if you were referring to Kitty or Frankie being in the same series.  I did watch Drifters (that’s the one with Frankie, Gigi, Fiona Leung, Canti Lau) and the series wasn’t bad actually, though the story was a bit far-fetched….and WAY depressing.

      Yes, the current series are definitely hard to sit through.  A few years back, I would at least force myself to watch 5 episodes before dropping the series, but nowadays, I’ve cut it down to 1-2 episodes.  The way I see it, if they can’t draw me in to continuing the series after 2 episodes, that’s their issue and I’m not going to waste my precious time.  This is why in recent years, most of the TVB series I watch are older series, like from the 80s and 90s (some of them that weren’t released on DVD so I actually had to dust off my old VCR in order to watch the VHS versions that I have)…but it sure does tell you something when long-time TVB fans like us would rather re-watch old series than bother with the new series they churn out!

      @CeeJay:  Sorry for hijacking this thread and going off topic…will try to be more relevant next time! :)

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  11. @llwy12
    I am sure @CeeJay doesn’t mind us hijacking her blog w/some off topic series. It’s all good stuff.
    Lol… No worries, I am sure it was a metaphor when you said gazillion times. Hahaha LOL….. I was like I remember that series well cuz it WAS GOOD.
    As I said I have always dislike Francis NG. He’s one of those actors that I always find OVERRATED sorry if you are a fan. Just like how those veterans stars like Anthony Wong and snake woman… TVB always give those awards to them. For the newer generations or really really old veterans I feel bad for them cuz it’s like some of them have been on series FOREVER yet we never even know their names b/c their roles were so minor and these days it’s kind of hard for the newer ones to get their so called TVB KING award b/c they feel other veterans deserved it more. Just like how we were thinking Vincent Wong should get something for his role in ORO but that’s HIGHLY DOUBTFUL. Lol… it’s like its either that Wayne Lai or some other cuz they are more popular. If Ruco Chan wins I will be happy for him too cuz he’s been in that ATV for years and years and was so underrated. Glad he finally got recognized from TVB.

    Anyway, I have goggled that series for you. http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Frankie_Lam

    It was one of those series that I really dislike the mom lead. She was just so stubborn but wasn’t stubborn enough til the end or Francis Ng wouldn’t have ended up being so bad and evil. Haha lol… The older series I would say make you freaking think you know of what could have been and WTH is this. LOL…
    Just extremely real and poignant but of course it’s a FAKE storyline too but nonetheless it’s series’ that viewers can ponder over. Not like now, seen it and forget it. That was why I was surprised they dished out THE GREEN HOPE & THE SEED OF HOPE in the 2000’s. Those 2 scripts at least made some sense i/o of the usual BS. Lol….

    Jacqueline Law – honestly, I have never watched anything of her as I don’t really watch ancient/historic series at all but my mom might still have one or two on VCR but I don’t even owe a VCR player anymore… LOL…..In fact, I think DVD players are almost obsolete so I am mostly on the phone n computer now if I do watch series. But yes, JL was kind of interesting to watch. She is not overly pretty at all and but she has her own characteristics. Kitty Lai – ohhhh yes, that’s her name. She is so pretty but yeah too bad she’s totally gone now. She was in a lot of great series back in the days. But I feel she often played very extremely sad roles. Drifters - I did enjoy it that series too, I think these are the only series I watched of Frankie Lam I don’t think I have watched much of his newer series. It was also a very depressing series, the way the both ended up having kids w/other people was kind of weird. LOL…but at least it’s a shocking kind of ending not like now..either a happily ever after or some lame ending. :) I am weird I know I like endings that doesn’t always have to be happily ever after. Lol haha
    Frankie Lam’s line in TCOL “ I did not choose to be a common man “ will forever be imprinted in my head. Haha lol… He was not great by any means but I thought he was good as a newbie back then? He was interesting to watch and I think that was his most evil role EVER. Haha cuz ther other roles I see him in he’s actually mostly a good guy.

    Cee – sorry for the off topic :)

    Peace!!!!!!!!!

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    1. Ah, ok – I know which series you were referring to now – The Change of Time.  Good series but also depressing as hell (one of the biggest things I remember about that series is that practically everyone dies, lol).  I actually like Francis Ng – he’s a great actor who can do both villain and good guy roles with ease and be convincing in both (oh and he can do comedic quite well too!).  He had many great performances when he was in TVB, which is why I’m not surprised at the success he’s been able to achieve in movies as well.  But no worries…everyone has their own tastes in actors/actresses so don’t feel bad about not liking him (though just curious whether the opinion about his acting was based on particular series or not, as sometimes that can make a difference…you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to…it’s just pure curiosity on my part).

      Regarding Frankie’s performance in TCOL:  Well, to his credit, he did have to act opposite veteran actor Fong Kong (who played Leon’s biological dad) – a seasoned pro who, in my opinion, never seems to be acting when he plays villains because his very look and voice already scares the crap out of people…he pretty much steals the spotlight whenever he is onscreen.  For Frankie to be able to hold his own as the villain in the series opposite such a veteran ‘villain’ actor is actually quite an accomplishment if you ask me!

      Yea, I thought Drifters’ ending was weird too and totally unexpected, but I’m ok with it because, like you, I don’t necessarily want to see a ‘happily ever after’ ending (or a group bbq ending for that matter) to every series – if it’s appropriate to the storyline, then fine, but if it’s not, then don’t force one in just for the hell of it.


      To be honest, I wouldn’t put so much weight on the TV King award.  We all know that TVB awards (whether TV or music related) are all rigged to some extent and their internal politics will always play a heavy role in who gets what award.  I actually don’t feel the word “deserving” even applies to any TVB awards anymore, since they are never going to award those who are truly “deserving” no matter what happens (in fact, I don’t think TVB management is even capable of determining what is “deserving” because they don’t even understand what that word means, lol)…so there’s really no point getting all upset over the results anymore.  As entertainment industry people always say, TVB’s awards shows pretty much boil down to ‘a closed-door game’ that only certain people get to play – as with all games, there are bound to be a set of ‘rules’ (whether written or unwritten) that the players must adhere to….those who don’t agree with or dislike the rules can choose not to play (which is what those artists who refuse to film for TVB are essentially doing – choosing not to play at all).  Basically, there is no prestige nor credibility to TVB’s awards anymore so why even bother?   Personally, I stopped caring about the TVB Anniversary Awards years ago so whoever ends up winning the award doesn’t matter to me.  With that said though, I would also be surprised if they were to give it to Vincent, as despite his great performance in ORO, the fact of the matter is that TVB weighs heavily on politics and also ratings (two things which should be absolutely irrelevant when it comes to awards, but since this is TVB, of course it would matter to them).  Ruco has a good chance considering he was a top contender last year and he has another solid (though definitely less nuanced and complicated) performance under his belt this year….but depending on what series air in the next few months, his chances could be reduced.  I like Ruco, but I will be very honest– if Uncle Chi’s (veteran actor Liu Kai Chi) series airs this year and he ends up in contention for TV King, I am absolutely rooting/voting for him (call me biased if you want but Uncle Chi is an amazing actor in my book and I will always support him!)

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  12. @llwy12
    I love your input on these series and HK showbiz. You are very detailed and explained them so well. Haha lol…
    Yeah, I was goggling you the name but just copied wiki instead. Lol…Yup, you found the right series. It was freaking depressing but I think most older series were mostly depressing but perhaps that’s why it made them good you know. Nowadays, it’s really hard to find the same substance and deep plots.
    Francis Ng - No, I don’t think I am that shallow in liking/disliking an actor just b/c of a role he portrayed in a film or drama whether it’s a good or evil character. Although, I was quite disgusted w/Orlando Bloom after that TROY movie. haha LOL….But most of time whatever they do in films/dramas has nothing to do w/me liking or disliking them. I guess it’s just a feeling that you either like or dislike? Lol…I used to watch The Super Trio Show before when they it was aired in HK and I kind of just find him a too cocky? Haha I like actors who are bit more humble in general so I don’t know it’s just a feeling that I don’t quite like him. Some might say then I could be subjectively biased if I don’t like him then automatically I don’t find him to be a good actor. I guess you can say yes and no but I am not sure I am that extreme into linking that together? Haha lol…Just like I find ChiLamCheung cute and all but I never find him to be a good actor? I will never mixed that w/his cute humble character? He’s just so so to me in every series. Snake woman, everyone says she’s so beautiful and one of the good ones that left TVB. Hum, I too find her overrated. Lol...So I just leave it as you either like or dislike and not put much deep thoughts into it? Haha

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    1. @kiki:  Thanks for the compliment, LOL!  Glad that you didn’t think I was too long-winded or something like that (which is what I usually get from people who complain that I write too much and am too detailed, lol).  :)

      I’m actually fine with depressing as long as it’s justified and there is substance to it. What I don’t like is when TVB producers/scriptwriters make a series more melodramatic than it needs to be purely for the purpose of ‘fluffing up’ the series in the hopes that it will attract more people to watch.  I’m actually a writer myself and have taken enough scriptwriting classes to understand what constitutes a ‘good’ script – I can safely say that most of TVB’s scripts with their unnecessary plot twists, nonsensical story arcs, ‘filler’ characters, etc. definitely don’t make the cut, lol!  In a good script, every single scene should have a purpose and every character should have a reason to exist – otherwise, that scene or that character should not be in the script in the first place (sorry for getting so technical about scriptwriting, lol).  Obviously many of TVB’s current scriptwriters need to go back and take scriptwriting classes or something…

      Regarding Francis Ng – ok, got it.  Again, I don’t see anything wrong with liking or disliking a particular artist as long as it makes sense.  And I totally get your point about preferring artists who are more humble, as I fall into that category as well to some extent (to this day, I only consider myself a “fan” of 2 idols:  Jacky Cheung and Chow Yun Fat – both of whom are two of the most humble, low-key, down-to-earth guys in the entire HK entertainment industry….everyone else for me only falls into the “like” category regardless of their talent, lol).  And obviously I don’t care about looks either because my long-time idol Jacky Cheung (been a fan for 25 years and counting!) is not known for his looks (in fact, in his early days, people actually called him ‘ugly-looking’) and I still love him all the same -- of course, the fact that he is super-talented and has an awesome personality also helps, though what I love most is that he is such a dedicated family man with a reputation for being a good husband and father (I mean, which other big name celebrity out there actually plans his concert shows around his daughters’ school schedules so that he can continue to personally take them to school and pick them up after school?)

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  13. Just like Momentary Lapse of Reason – Louis Cheung. I only know he is a singer who has a beautiful wife but even w/his NOT so good looking face he seems like he can act. I still follow the drama til the end. Lol..I love watching hot guys obviously lol….but if they are NOT so good looking I will not automatically diss that drama cuz of their looks or their hateful character. Lol..Just like one of my friends was watching mainland drama on that HOT HOT guy named Godfrey Gao. He is super hot but for the life of me I can not watch that series even if he’s shirtless the whole series thru. Ahha lol…It was so damn boring.
    I didn’t even know Leon Lai’s dad in that series is name Fong Kong? I only know the leads names ahha ….. Yea, I know what you mean. That guy is also not so good looking but OMG… He fits that kind of role so well cuz he’s basically IT. Ahha lol… Yes, def belong to the veterans that can act. He’s just so evil looking without even trying. Lol

    I like the Drifters too but I didn’t like how they didn’t really have closure w/the way his friends back in China who risked their lives getting him out of prison so that he can swim to HK.???? You know, they didn’t really say how they could have might have been able to be released after a certain time or whatever whatever. It was sad cuz they were really guys who helped him and his best friend is understandable but the 3 guys risked their lives for him too but basically they were forgotten after he went to HK. :0(

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    1. Glad to see that there are more people out there who actually value talent over looks!  With the constant entertainment industry (and society in general) obsession over celebrities having good looks and fit bodies, it’s refreshing to interact with people who understand how to appreciate what is on the inside rather than just being concerned with surface-level stuff.  Of course, I’m not opposed to people being attracted to good looks, but that shouldn’t be the only thing matters.

      Oh, also, I had meant to comment about Anthony Wong on my last post but forgot.  I’m not a fan of Anthony’s by any means, but I definitely appreciate his acting talent and I like the fact that he tells things like it is and is not afraid to go against authority.  He is actually one of the few artists in the entire HK entertainment industry who can actually film for TVB and be respected by them, yet at the same time criticize the lack of quality in their productions (believe me, he doesn’t mince words when it comes to criticizing TVB, lol).  Most artists who film for TVB, even if they aren’t TVB managed artists, try to avoid saying anything bad about them (some actually lie through their teeth and praise TVB to the sky, which irks me to no end).  In other words, Anthony doesn’t “kow-tow” to TVB like everyone else does – yes, he returned to film a series for them (which he did purely to repay a favor to producer Amy Wong, who was his mentor of sorts when they were both at ATV), but at the same time, he had no problems telling TVB management to their faces that the way they manage their productions is crap!  I read an interview recently where Anthony basically said that those who try to compare TVB series with Western or even European series such as Sherlock Holmes for example as being on even a remotely similar level is full of crap, as that’s akin to comparing a kindergarten production (TVB’s series) with a college production, lol!  Sure, Anthony’s acting may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I appreciate his honesty and the fact that he is not fake and doesn’t say things that people want to hear so as to not rock the boat – for that, Anthony has my respect!

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  14. OMG, yea… TVB awards. I know it’s heavily based on connections and such so you probably know them to a T. All of what you are saying are probably true. It’s all rigged. That Anthony Wong won too right? Awww… another one of those veterans I don’t like. Ahha lol… Out of all those people they give it to him? Sigh…Lord, what a joke of those so called awards really. So Vincent Wong, not by a long shot and esp ORO has been done since the beginning of the year? Haah lol… all but forgotten. Ruco – I will be happy for him too if he does win, better him than the others in TVB now.
    I had to goggle veteran actor Liu Kai Chi, seen him in other old series and he is also in THE GREEN HOPE. He is awesome. He portrays emotions so well and it’s just natural to him. He was Stephen Fung’s counselor or social work mentor in TGH. It was very nice to see him in that series but in fact most of the people in that series was good except for JOEY YUNG and that now SUPER RICH wife Cathy Tsui. Lol…Those two probably never acted a moment in their life before that series, it was just so bad. Hahaa lol..but like I said I watched it because of the moving storyline and added Bowie Lam & Stephen Fung. I was hooked, line & sinker. Haha lol…

    -kiki-

    Sorry for the long post lol...

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    1. @kiki:  LOL…I should’ve posted my comment about Anthony Wong on this reply instead of the previous one (go ahead and refer to my reply above, since I’m too lazy to re-copy it right now, haha).

      Haha….Uncle Chi is actually beyond awesome in my opinion!  I enjoy watching his performance in pretty much everything, whether TV series or movies (he’s actually a well-respected, award-winning movie actor now so the fact that he still enjoys filming TV series is definitely a blessing for us TV audiences).  The other thing about Uncle Chi that I love (which I’m sure you’ll appreciate based on your comments above) is that he is actually one of the nicest, friendliest, most down-to-earth (and humble) guys you’ll ever meet.  He’s the type of person who pretty much doesn’t have a mean bone in his body (though you would never think that given how convincing he is when he plays villain roles) and always treats everyone with respect and dignity, no matter who they are.  Even when he is criticizing someone or something, he does so in a way that is still respectful to the party he is criticizing, which is hard to do.  I remember back when Uncle Chi was filming series for HKTV (loved him in both series by the way), which was during the time when there was a lot of negativity toward TVB and people were jumping ship left and right – he had done an interview with a magazine where he had talked about the main reason why he had decided to leave TVB and what he hoped to see improve at his ‘mother station’.  After that interview, TVB’s chairman at the time, Norman Leung, actually publicly acknowledged Uncle Chi’s comments in the interview and said that it actually triggered him to self-reflect on some of the inherent issues with TVB and make a commitment to fix those issues moving forward (though unfortunately, Norman Leung ‘resigned’ as chairman before he got a chance to ‘fix’ those issues).   Uncle Chi is the ONLY artist at the time who filmed for a rival station and “criticized” TVB (albeit in the nice way that only Uncle Chi can pull off, lol), yet was publicly acknowledged by TVB management as being an artist they highly respected and was willing to listen to….definitely a rare (and surprising) moment of “humbleness” for TVB!

      Regarding The Green Hope – LOL…um, it’s pretty much a given that Cathy Tsui can’t act, as she was horrible in every single series she was in (which luckily wasn’t much, haha)….in fact, I wonder what talent does she have except perhaps a pretty face and an attractive body?  I’m actually kind of glad she got married and retired from the industry for good, since, knowing TVB, they probably would’ve tried to ram her in our faces 24/7 if she had stayed and they got desperate enough!  And I agree with you about Joey Yung’s acting – I couldn’t stand any of her performances in TVB series either…

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  15. Hey kiki and llwy12!

    Don't worry about going off topic at all! This discussion is great! You guys are covering a lot of ground here about TVB back then and sadly, we have not seen any of the dramas you guys have listed since we only started watching TVB in the 2000's. It's a shame we couldn't see the golden era of TVB with great scripts and a bunch of great actors. Although we have heard of people like Frankie Lam, we haven't seen him in any drama besides Forensic Heroes and we have forgotten all about it already. We have only seen Francis in Triumph in the Skies 2 and Anthony Wong in Lord of Shanghai... Because we haven't seen any of the awesome TVB dramas, we are still ok with watching the current ones because there isn't anything to compare with. It is just on at dinner time and often times, we find that if we miss an episode or two, we still know exactly what's going on and we could also close our eyes and just listen to the drama and still know what's going on LOL. It has just gotten to the point where it is a habit of ours and once in a while, for ORO and AFWFW, we will sit in front of the TV and be interested in what will happen next. If not, we are finding that we drop a series after 1-2 episodes as well. Like Fashion War, A Time of Love 2, The Last Healer in the Forbidden City, we had no more patience to watch them even though A Time of Love is 2 episodes, it was not appealing at all. The first 20 minutes of the Germany episode with Kenneth Ma and Charmaine Sheh just showed them walking around the streets and they might as well film a travel show since there isn't any story and there are just two actors the whole time. Just get two travel hosts and that might have been better!! llwy12, you are right about the "quality stories" that are never going to exist. (We will reply to your comment on our House of Spirits Review here as well). We actually enjoyed M Club but it was actually very unfortunate that they got taken off the list!! We do not understand why since there are plenty of veterans in it and Eric Tsang produced it, so wouldn't it be a top contender? Instead of some trash like Come on Cousin that year? Man that drama!!! it was an anniversary drama?! What? Nobody could save that one, not Roger, not Louis. The whole "cousin" idea ceased to exist, what "cousin"? The drama just was not about anything but Wong Cho-Lam being a rowdy kid. We hate to be harsh about things online but it was trash. The monopoly in HK TV is why TVB has gotten away with churning out these dramas and is still surviving. In a society like HK, where we think competition is key and capitalism is key, we aren't finding that with TVB. They aren't improving and in fact have gone downhill. We have so many dramas in mind where we looked at each other and questioned what the scriptwriters were thinking and why the actors agreed to partake in such a drama! Of course, looks like there is no where else to go for the actors since the industry is so small. As kiki brought up, many people are turning to kdramas and refuse to watch TVB anymore and we can see why. Sure HK is just one city and South Korea is a whole country which explains why they have more channels blah blah. We kind of disagree with this because so far, we know of tvN, KBS, MBC, SBS with dramas and Hong Kong has TVB, RTHK, ViuTV with dramas, but TVB is the only one with more popular dramas so the other two stations get no buzz and that seems to be the thing Hong Kong people care about.

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    1. @CeeJay:  Thanks for the encouragement and being so understanding!  Just wanted to make sure you guys were ok with us discussing other stuff, as sometimes people may have issues with that and we didn’t want to offend anyone. :)

      Yea, I saw the list you posted about the dramas you’ve seen and noticed that it only went back to the year 2000, so I assumed that’s when you started watching TVB dramas.  In a way, I guess it’s not necessarily a bad thing (depending on which perspective you look at it from of course), since, as you said, there is no comparison point so it helps overall with enjoying (or at least tolerating?) the current dramas more?  I know for me, it’s hard for me to see TVB (and the HK entertainment industry in general) in the same light as everyone else, since I experienced that ‘golden era’ and know that TVB is capable of doing better but they just don’t want to – I think that’s why I get more worked up than most folks when debates come up about TVB and/or the HK television industry. And I admit that I do come across as more critical of TVB than most people are (at least that’s what people have told me, lol), but I actually see it as trying to give constructive criticism in the hopes that there will be improvement -- though now I know that this is never going to happen given the management’s screwed up mindset.  It’s actually interesting that you brought up the piece about competition being key to improvement – I have always believed in that too and I’m sure 99.9% of the HK population agrees with that as well…however TVB management seems to be that 0.1% that doesn’t believe in competition.  I think I might have talked about this in one of your other review threads but TVB’s CEO (or whatever his title is nowadays) Mark Lee (who is pretty much the main person in charge at TVB aside from their new owner Charles Chan) recently made a speech where he said that competition doesn’t bring improvement but rather it brings destruction, so TVB’s official position is to oppose competition.  Not sure if Mark Lee truly feels this way or he is just trying to justify TVB’s monopoly – either way though, based on these types of comments, it’s no surprise at all that TVB hasn’t improved over the years – why improve when they can just use the “all competitors are out to get them” excuse to pull strings with the HK government and drive everyone else out of the market.

       

      Yea, not sure what TVB was thinking by shutting out M Club.  Whoever came up with the nomination list obviously had their heads up their butts (and that’s putting it nicely, lol).  That was one of the most meaningful series TVB has had in years, yet they treated it like it wasn’t worth crap.  My guess is that even though there were a lot of veterans in that series, majority of those artists weren’t TVB-managed artists and you know how TVB will always favor their own promoted artists first – plus they probably already knew those artists won’t film for them again anyway and it wasn’t like they’re ‘big name’ artists like Anthony Wong whom they don’t dare to disrespect.   And to be honest, Eric Tsang producing the series probably didn’t matter much, as TVB knows that Eric will never do anything to them due to his respected role in the industry and the fact that he is and always will be very supportive of the HK entertainment industry no matter what happens and so will always consider big picture (Eric is actually one of the few artists left in the industry who has the power to ‘move mountains’ due to his huge network of connections and influence across Asia).  Eric will criticize TVB and call them out on stuff (he’s done it on many occasions), but always with the intention that they improve and he will personally help them get there if need be….TVB knows this and so pretty much takes him for granted.

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    2. And why did you get me started on Come On, Cousin, lol!  That series was such a joke!  The ONLY 2 reasons why I actually sat through that series (every episode unfortunately….) was because of Ram Tseung (another veteran artist whom I adore) and also the slew of 80s/90s Cantopop songs – all of which were songs I grew up listening to -- that they incorporated into the series.  It was absolutely torture though, especially after Ram’s storyline ended and therefore his screentime was reduced during the second half of the series…I had to forward through most of the scenes slowly so as not to miss the songs but at the same time try to watch as little of the actual series as possible.  Did you guys hear that Wong Cho Lam and TVB plan on doing a third installment to the series with original cast (well, as much of the original cast as they can get, as it’s already confirmed Joey Meng won’t be in the series due to scheduling conflict with her starring in Steven Ma’s stageplay)?  My first reaction when I heard the news was -- LORD HAVE MERCY ON US PLEASE!!!!

      Yea, definitely agree with the last part about the TV stations.  And that’s why TVB management can be the arrogant bastards that they are – they already know that they have a certain number of HK audiences ‘in their pocket’ so to speak and no matter how crappy their programs get, that number will never change….because of their status, they basically get a permanent guaranteed freebie when it comes to ratings (just like they are allotted a certain number of free slots at the HK Coliseum every year for them to use as they please, which is why we get such ridiculous shows as that stupid “Liza Wang and the Three Gods” slapstick farce thing from a few years back….just a TVB ‘fun fact’ that I felt like sharing, lol).  It’s kind of interesting that many people didn’t even know that RTHK produces series and would refer to those series as “TVB series” (well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, as there is a large of people who actually thought all of HKTV’s series were TVB series as well – Lawrence Chou actually uploaded a picture of a bootleg DVD version of “The  Borderline” that his friend saw in a store that actually had TVB’s logo on it and was touted as a TVB series, lol).  And I can’t help laughing whenever I read an article written by a non-HK media outlet that pretty much only acknowledges the existence of TVB as HK’s one and only TV station (even the cable networks are disregarded) – such ignorance!!!

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  16. The TVB Awards are just a joke nowadays so we won't bother commenting on that. Deserving definitely isn't the right word for them anymore. Lots of "pork meat" awards as well. It is just so disappointing to the point where we will look at the winner list and say meh.

    As for the contradiction between having veterans return or keep them out of dramas, we feel the same way. But we feel that the veterans are not saving the dramas, especially with Born Rich LOL. That was a total flop! Maybe instead of having veterans return, they should work on promoting and training their younger artists. They should ALSO work on better stories, but as we said already, that is not going to happen since the dramas are now just a background noise for many families and it doesn't matter what happens. Looking at the last time Anthony Wong returned, he had to help out with the script, pay for his hotels or something and that is why it turned out ok (but the end still sucked). Then there was Damien Lau who returned for Silver Spoons, Sterling Shackles and he again had to basically write the script and it still turned out very bad LOL. That is all we have to say for now and thanks again for commenting on our post!!

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  17. @llwy12
    Not at all, I used to love reading books not as much anymore ever since the ipods/phones, games came along. Lol…but if I do read I do still very much like an old fashioned hard copy book on hand instead of a kindle or nook or the phone. So I am ok w/your super long posts and you write very well and makes sense. Make sense that you are a writer. :)
    TVB scriptwriters definitely need to go back to school as the things they are making now are not garbage but nothing worth watching.
    Yes, Jacky Cheung and CYF are quite admirable as they seem to be nice family men who didn’t seem to have much scandals thru-out their careers. That’s why I am baffled by the way Andy Lau kept his wife when he’s almost hitting 50s? LOL… I mean, like really ppl care that much that he has to keep his love life a secret even @ 50? Haha lol… Jacky Cheung among others have gotten married young and when they were famous, did it slow down their career? I just don’t get the Andy Lau issue with secrets. Finally had a kid at this age and people will prob confused the kid as a grandchild i/o of their son. Not that there’s anything wrong w/ppl having kids after 50 but the secretiveness of it is just funny to me sometimes. Lol… I never really thought of Jacky Cheung as ugly? Yes, in the earlier days his face might not be the most good looking and a bit scar-ish but definitely not someone they can call ugly. Momentary Lapse guy’s face is even uglier but so what? Haha As long as they have talent, can act and can sing? What’s there to dislike?
    Wow, you are writer? No wonder, makes sense since you seem to write very well. Keep up the good. :)
    Anthony Wong – haha…Lol… So that’s why you like the guy. I actually thought he is one of those ugly veterans and is kind of same kind of cockiness as Francis Ng. haha lol…. But of course that’s just me as I never really watched anything of Anthony Wong on any old series but I know he was in that TVB drama a little while back but my mom did say he was once an IT guy of TVB.

    -kiki-

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    1. @kiki:  LOL…coincidentally, I’m also a bookworm and prefer hard copy books over e-readers as well (high 5!!)  Nothing beats having a physical book in my hands and being able to feel the paper as I turn the pages…and I love browsing through bookstores whenever I get the chance (lol, I know, I’m starting to sound like a nerd, haha).  I still read a lot now, though admittedly not as much as I used to back in my school days (mostly due to time constraints).  Glad to hear that my super-long posts don’t bore you, lol!  :)

      Agreed regarding Andy.  I think the biggest difference between why Andy felt the need to keep his love life a secret versus Jacky being so open about it is because they followed different ‘paths’ in the entertainment industry.  Back in the day (whenever I say this, I usually refer to my generation – 80s/90s, lol), the industry was very big on ‘talent path’ versus ‘idol path’ artists, the music and television industries in particular.  Artists who were considered ‘talent path’ were those who relied primarily on their talent to make a name for themselves in the industry whereas artists who were ‘idol path’ relied more on their looks and/or other ‘packaging’ to make a name for themselves (don’t get me wrong – being an ‘idol path’ artist wasn’t necessarily a bad thing and it didn’t mean the artist had no talent, it’s just that the talent part took the backburner compared to the other more surface-level stuff).  Jacky obviously was a ‘talent path’ artist, since he was never known for his looks and from the beginning, relied on his singing talent to get to where he is today.  Andy actually took more the ‘idol path’ back in the day (though if you ask his fans, they would probably disagree with me), which isn’t really surprising given that he was already an established lead actor before he officially became a singer and we all know how much ‘looks’ matter in the acting world (specifically lead actors/actresses).  Most artists who consider themselves ‘idols’ (and it’s obvious that Andy considers himself one, both back then as well as now) are notorious for not wanting to reveal their relationships because that’s part of the whole idol package so to speak and helps them maintain their popularity (i.e.:  the whole thing about wanting the fangirls to worship you and fantasize about you – the minute you reveal your relationship and those ‘fantasies’ are shattered, you lose a lot of fans– though I will say that Andy took it overboard by taking the ‘super-secret’ route with all the bodyguards and the air of mystery surrounding his family and such).   Look at how many so-called ‘fans’ stopped being Andy’s fans as soon as his marriage to Carol was revealed (oh and don’t forget that delusional fangirl who tried to commit suicide when she found out that Andy was actually married…it was ‘big news’ in the entertainment papers for days..).  Jacky never had such pressure because he was never considered an ‘idol’ to begin with – so he was free to do as he pleased in terms of relationships (though he actually was very low-key about his relationship with May before they married, but that’s because he’s a naturally private person who doesn’t like to flaunt his personal life – if you ask, he will tell you, but he won’t volunteer the information on his own accord).  Being a Jacky fan for so long, I can tell you from personal experience that most of Jacky’s true fans were very accepting of his relationship with May back then – in fact, many of us were rushing him to get married and then after he finally did, we were rushing him to have children, lol (I remember some fans also started giving him baby bottles and other baby stuff as gifts rather than flowers and stuffed animals – it was our way of telling him to hurry up and start a family, haha).

      LOL…of course I never considered Jacky ugly either, but hey, you know how superficial people can get, especially as it pertains to the entertainment industry.  Not everyone is keen on recognizing talent so they go with the easiest thing, which is obviously looks.

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    2. Actually, Anthony Wong was never an ‘IT’ guy at TVB – he really wasn’t that tremendously popular, to be honest.  Francis Ng was way more popular than he was back during their TVB days.  Anthony had acting talent though, even back then (he was  a graduate of ATV’s acting classes and also formally studied acting at the HKAPA), which is why it wasn’t surprising that he would move on to the film industry instead and get his ‘big break’ there rather than continue wasting time in the television industry (which traditionally does a poor job of recognizing true acting talent).  With all the restrictions in HK television, artists with true acting talent such as Anthony (goes the same for scriptwriters and other behind the scenes people as well) are better off working in an environment that allows them to showcase their talent (which the movie industry definitely allows, though the best environment is probably theater, which is always live performance in front of an audience, so you have to constantly be on top of your game).

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  18. If you like Anthony Wong’s honesty, perhaps you like LEON LAI as well? Haha cuz I feel like that Leon Lai is the kind that does not like BULLSHIT either? He says it as it is. Remember he got divorced and he does bother to hold whatever BS press con and broadcast to the world why so n so he’s getting married or divorced? And that twins girls and that ex hubby who no one knew that they were even married they had to come out to the public and cried about it on national television? Haha lol…It’s like really?
    Leon Lai, I feel a lot of times some might say hes RUDE cuz he also doesn’t sugarcoat and I kind of that refreshing. I mean, cuz most showbiz I am sure are full of ppl who prob BS, fake i/o saying it as is. Perhaps like one of my friend used to say perhaps cuz is a BOSS, he doesn’t have to listen to anyone so he does suck ass as much as some others are the managed by a company. I guess that also makes sense in a way, cuz then if you are your own boss and publicist you can say whatever the heck you want.
    Uncle Chi – WOW, I never knew such things about him but I do remember him in older series and he was always good. I think in real life he has a long lasting marriage as well and you don’t even hear anything negative about him which is good in showbiz.
    Cathy Tsui – Yeah, I guess she is one of those most ppl will say LUCKY b/c she actually have an education and she did pop those babies out after the wedding and not before you know. Lol…Everytime ppl say how lucky Isabella Leong I am thinking, yes Cathy Tsui’s hubby is not handsome hottie but compare to Isabella Leong and she’s barely of legal age and went w/that rich, ugly, bald & old looking dude…Awwww… gross. Lol…So yes, the Green Hope was full of unknown actors at the time but I think most ppl if they do like them was glad that Bowie Lam & Stephen Fung carried it well. It’s the story, the brotherly love that we are hooked up not cuz of those females that played their love interests. Joey Yung – just be glad she has a good voice and nothing else cuz her acting sucks equally as bad as Cathy Tsui’s. Cant even compare who is worst. Lol…
    “Eric is actually one of the few artists left in the industry who has the power to ‘move mountains’ due to his huge network of connections and influence across Asia).”
    WOW, super trio shorty is that INFLUENCIAL? Woww…LOL I know he must have connections didn’t know he is that big in HK. Lol…
    Come On Cousin - I actually thought Part I was a messed but I was laughing in the beginning of the series? Ahaha N that was the series that I first saw Louis Chung? He was funny in there too. Lol….
    My friends barely got thru part 2 so I didn’t even bother watching one episodes. That’s why I really don’t why TVB is so damn desperate you know…. Dishing out all these stupid sequels when the first ones were already a hot messed. In my opinion anyway so sorry if you do like some of the series.
    Brother’s Keeper – waaa omg, that Linda Chung worst girlfriend in any series I was barely able to finish that series.
    Triumph in the Sky – don’t get it, don’t get it really …. Lol
    Line Walker – Really? It’s that great n they have to shoot a film too… Ohh lord!!!
    Chi Lam n that Snake Woman stupid series also went into a film after what 10 years or something? OMG, I thought it was a stupid series PERIOD hahah lol….
    Again, I am sorry if you like these series, they were just NOT my cup of tea again ahhahaa LOL….

    Peace!!!!! :)

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    1. @kiki:  Leon Lai…boy, where do I start?  To me, Leon is in a whole different category altogether.  Yes, he can be blunt and brutally honest as well, but he expresses his thoughts in a more ‘likeable’ way, probably due to the fact that he has more PR and social acumen than Anthony does (no surprise, since Leon probably gets good practice with being the head of a music label and all).  Whenever Anthony opens his mouth, he usually gets into trouble and ends up on someone’s ‘blacklist’ due to stuff he says – Leon, on the other hand, is usually praised for his oftentimes cryptic ‘golden phrases’, which the HK media often finds pleasure in quoting and re-quoting like it’s profound wisdom or something, lol.   I like Leon well enough but I’ve always felt that he’s a hit and miss in terms of both acting and singing – when he’s on, he’s good but when he falters, it can be a mess.  With that said though, I do have a newfound respect for him after seeing how he handled the issue with his concert, which shows that he obviously has leadership skills as well as good social pulse (which may not be too significant in the entertainment industry but when you look at the mess that HK is in right now politically and socially, it is indeed refreshing to see someone with good problem solving skills who actually cares about fixing a problem).


      Oh, you don’t know about Eric Tsang?  I figured that anyone who has been following the HK entertainment industry for a long time would probably know about him.  Yea, he’s big in HK and also has connections in Taiwan (his daughter is a famous host over there) as well as Mainland China (a few other places too but those are the big ones).  In HK, he’s one of the few people who actually has access to most of the big stars / A-listers in the industry (movies, music, and television), though of course he’s smart about using those connections wisely (like during those major charity events like fundraising for some sort of natural disaster that occurred).  That’s why to me, it’s stupid for TVB to burn their bridges with Eric Tsang because he’s one of the few ‘connections’ they have left who can actually get big-name veterans and A-listers to ‘make appearances’ for them (though it sounds like they have been trying to ‘groom’ Wong Cho Lam to take Eric’s place based on what I’ve observed the last couple years, which could be why TVB is taking Eric for granted more and more).

      LOL…I actually thought the first installment of the ‘Cousin’ franchise was decently made and I enjoyed watching it.  But of course, typical TVB, they had to ruin a good thing by doing sequel after sequel (or spin-off series in some cases), with each subsequent installment being worse than the one prior.  The first series definitely DID NOT warrant a sequel and it’s obvious they ran out of ideas because Come on Cousin was mostly a re-hash of the first one except raunchier and sillier.  And now they want to do a THIRD installment?!?!?!  Damn, TVB sure is desperate!

       

      I didn’t like the rest of the series you mentioned anyway, so no offense taken, lol.

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  19. @llwy12

    Lol…yeah, but really nowadays I don’t read. I am on the phone either catching up Big Bang Theory & Prison Break. Lol…But if I do read, it’s gotta a good soft paperback copy of the book. :) Hey, I guess we can all somehow classify as nerds since we always seem to be doing something on the computers? Haha lol…

    Omg---Andy Lau vs Jacky Cheung. I see what you mean now. And that sounds believable and most likely true. Lol..Idol vs Talent…lol…Obviously Andy Lau goes more into the Idol league since let’s face it, he can’t sing shit???? Hahah LOL..That’s what I think anyway so don’t kill me if you are a fan. Lol… His voice is horrible? And his albums probably still sells like there’s no tomorrow. Lol…
    I know this cuz one of my aunt loved or should I say love him even now? Haha lol…I used to have this hk exchange student who loves him as well and when she heard of him having a wife, she was upset. I was like WTF? Pardon my french? ahaha lol…We were like don’t you have a fiancée or something and you are upset that your idol have a family? She just later defending to herself she was more shocked than upset. Ok, whatever you know…lol… These hardcore fans really quite psychotic when it comes to idols. I have to say I have never been obsessed w/idols even in the teens lol…. They are someone you can totally ohhh hes so hot, so cool whatever whatever but never will I feel anything personally whether or not they are attached? Lol…I have more insane stuff to worry about. I remember that stupid suicide story even thou I really didn’t pay attention to the details just this insanely stupid mainland woman and then the dad who helped her go to HK just to meet him. Talk about people who really need to get medications. Lol
    But isn’t there some sort of same situation w/Jacky Chan too? About this Japanese woman committing suicide for him? How do ppl classify Jacky Chan anyway? Talent or Idol route? Haha lol… I never get the hype w/him. Besides been a big nose guy who treated real wife like crap and had a mistress w/that stupid woman and who knows a bit of Kung Fu but I am JET LI fan so haha probably why I will never get the popularity w/Jacky Chan. Lol…

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  20. Leon Lai – Yes, I really haven’t heard from him except that time that he was getting quietly divorced w/that tall guy model who can speak English well. Cuz I really don’t watch HK movies, I just don’t get them honestly. I am mainly watching HK dramas cuz mom watches it and even now it’s less cuz she’s into mainland dramas now. So when I do happened to hear some of his news it’s on utube clips here and there and he sounds cocky in a way but just brutally honest. I think I distinctly remember that one time he was talking back to reporters w/o a care of what they think. Like literally how much $$$$ did you guys make from the story now?? The reporters are basically SILENT. Lol…. But very true if coming from Anthony Wong’s mouth, ppl probably just wants to kill him right there cuz he has a bad vibe about him haha at least I feel he does haha…lol….Leon Lai- “ finds pleasure in quoting and re-quoting like it’s profound wisdom or something “ That’s funny. Lol…I wouldn’t say profound wisdom but I guess when he does speak it’s not all utterly BS like some stars do. Like there is much truth to whatever the hell he was saying.
    Eric Tsang. Yes, I remember him cuz I was a Super Trio Fan..lol.. They were stress free stupid variety shows that makes you feel silly and just chill. I know he has connections but really no idea he’s that huge. Wow! Wong Cho Lam taking his place? Well, one thing they do have common is both quite short. Lol… WCL is actually very lucky isn’t he? I still remember that sitcom he was on and he was not even the main lead but he was so much more popular than that cute main lead guy I don’t even know his name now haha lol… He is just one lucky dude. He does have some talent I suppose I mean first Cousin I thought was pretty ok. At least that ugly looking Louis Cheung I was watching it and find him extremely funny even more so that the veteran stars of the show. Lol…But come on, TVB is just desperate doing sequel after sequel when it can just end as a stand alone drama.
    Good, all of them sucks at least in my opinion. That’s why ppl watch mainland & Korean dramas now. Lol..Not that they are any better cuz I am not a mainland drama fan either but one thing I know is that if I do happened to see glimpses here and there on their series – the actors in China can really act. You can tell just by a few shots of them compares to the HK actors. Lol… In fact, even Korean dramas I feel some idol stars can act better than Mr & Ms. HK’s??? lol…It’s like HK doesn’t have drama classes or what?
    The most recent Kdrama I was able to finish well more like skimming thru is Descents of the Sun. I don’t get the hype of the drama but I was watching cuz everyone was saying how great it was; how much money they made and how many countries they have sold the rights to. I find it overrated but hey at least it’s something different than the usual boring rich boy/poor girl scenario dramas.

    -kiki-

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