Jadedreams Central

TVB Anniversay Gala 2009

2009-11-23T20:49:00.001-08:00

TVB had once again held it's Anniversary Gala celebration on November 19th. It was ok overall, but I'm just going to focus on Bosco & Shirley for this post.

My favorite part of the Anniversary Gala this year is not the cute singing by the group performing My Girl & Stupid Cupid , it is actually the opening. Why? Because one of my favorite couples, Bosco & Shirley got to perform as part of Man Chor street segment. At first, I thought it was Lai Lok Yi & Shirley, but after re-watching, I was like OMG lol. Bosco looks so dashingly handsome!! I am thinking that he & Shirley may be wearing similar clothing to Gordon & Kathy's roles in Time Before Time? Whatever it is, can we have a remake of Shanghai Bund or Time Before Time or some other Man Chor serie so that Bosco & Shirley can pair up once again? They look so gorgeous as a couple!!

It was so nicely done with Kathy Chow's themesong to In the Chamber of Bliss playing (although the lyrics changed), but the atmosphere and cinematography was extremely beautiful and romantic!! Even the lyrics were nicely done. And of course, my dear Bosco & Shirley was also performing as one of the couples. When it got to Bosco & Shirley onscreen, the lyrics say "roles going through with you"...and I was thinking how fitting it is since the actors & actresses live through their roles with each other (but I guess it was meaning more of the audience). Shirley's smile is so pretty when the screen was focusing on them and Bosco had kind of a sly smile, which made it all the more cute haha.

I am surprise they did not put Bosco with Myolie walking out for War of In Laws in the initial opening and not putting Shirley in the Miss. HK segment either. I am glad though because Bosco looks so darn handsome in that suit and specs! And he's pairing up with Shirley, who was so pretty too, so double bonus for me!! Hahah...I am such a fan girl still!! LOL

Here's a very beautiful & clear version of them from another site.

* This picture found from this site (I just remove all the wording...can't resist because it's such a beautiful pic of them!): http://www.tieku.org/238655/2.html

For more on Bosco & Shirley, visit: http://chakkei.blogspot.com/

Astro on Demand 2008 - Bosco & Shirley

2009-11-23T20:08:00.000-08:00

My first post back & it's because I saw one of my favorite couple, Bosco & Shirley on TVB's anniversary Gala haha! Bosco & Shirley has motivated me to update something!! lol

Astro on Demand awards 2008 was actually aired earlier/beginning of this year, but since I was lazy, I did not post anything. However, Bosco & Shirley did walk out on stage together at the beginning. It was interesting since, correct me if wrong, but I think while arriving on Red carpet, it was Ron & Shirley who came out and Bosco & Tavia. So they switch onstage?? lol Perhaps Ron & Tavia are more popular in Malaysia?

Ahhh...they are so cute together as a couple!! Can't TVB see that?? When can they be in another serie together??

Shirley Yeung won for My Favorite Villain from Sung Ka Yee of The Brink of Law, and she thanked Michelle Yim because it was her who helped her get into character. I thought that was so sweet sweet. I hope Michelle & Shirley will be able to cooperate again (and well with Bosco too haha!)

Bosco won for his character Lui To in The Price of Greed. When he was onstage, the MC's teased him saying that there is one person he needed to thank in the audience, and both Tavia & Shirley was gesturing Myolie, but Bosco cleverly said that he has to thank the person sitting next to Myolie, which is Shirley because she was his partner in the serie (actually his onscreen partner is really Kate though! lol). He ended up thanking Shirley a second time onstage too, making everyone laugh haha. It seems something is really going on with Myolie and Bosco - gotta be something with other artistes/friends pointing it out.

For more on Bosco & Shirley, visit: http://chakkei.blogspot.com/

TVB 41st Anniversary Awards 2008

2008-11-22T19:47:00.000-08:00

The Beginning

The beginning shows various stars showing up on the red carpet in antique cars. Then the stars were introduced by pairs or groups and came out onto the stage to give a little comment. I particularly like the actresses and actors that said their comments while being in character or referring to it. My favorite comments were Wayne’s and Michelle Yim’s. Wayne was saying that every year he gets nominated, every year he eats “white fruit” (kind of like canto slang meaning he gets nothing), so everyone, remember that he is “white fruit king” and Michelle Yim saying “Husband, I don’t mind sharing, but talking about Best Actress...”and doing her Hung Yee’s hand gesture, finishes by saying “it must not be shared”. The introduction was a nice ice-breaker and kind of funny at times, while the artistes got to stand out a little bit and distinguish themselves so I enjoyed it.

Most Modern, Stylish Award

The first award to be passed out was the most stylish award. Magazine covers of all the nominated artistes were flashed out one by one, and the way it was done was pretty cool and the magazine covers were nice to look at…very starry lol. I thought Bernice would be the best candidate to win because her tastes in clothes are always very on target and always very elegant or sexy. However, I think Myolie may have been in more of a variety of outfits from daring to bold this year, so perhaps she does deserve it. I never think Myolie is pretty when she is on-screen, but she does look very nice in magazine covers or at awards though. Anyway, she looks ‘handsome’ in the suit! At least Bernice didn’t come, or else she would’ve been a little embarrassed since she is always well known for her style and look.

The cameraman is so off guard at times. After this award, Amigo Chui was asking Chau Chung ( the Grandpa from Moonlight Resonance) who he thinks would win Most Improved female, and he said Tavia Yeung, but the camera focused on Toby instead, but then he later he did say Toby…so I guess the cameramen could read minds.

Athena Chu & Francis Ng – Presenters

I was so shocked that Francis came as a presenter. Partly because I thought that after Triumph in the Skies, he and TVB were not on friendly terms, and partly because I just finished watching On the Edge, and he was all kinds of awesome in that serie, so I was like..ah…it’s Francis!! It’s funny when Athena asked Francis at what part in time he thinks he would win for the Most improved, and he said of course, after he left TVB, and then he was referencing how a bird can get tired so once in a while, he comes back to film some series like Old Time Buddy and how TVB let him fly up to the highest, letting him Triumph in the Skies….and everyone was clapping afterwards lol….and Athena also says briefly, “then I will see when I will triumph in the skies.” Last year, Ray and Kathy Chow came back as presenters, and Kathy has already acted for E.N.I (or whatever they call the third part of The Academy) with Ron and Sammul, and now Ray Lui is going to film the grand serie with Gallen. It seems that Athena and Francis are expressing some interest in filming for TVB again, so I REALLY, REALLY hope to see Francis jump on board again and film a new modern drama. Come on TVB, ask Francis to come on board again!

Most Improved Male

Wong Jo Lam won this. I think this is the only award that I am kind of disappointed with even though I haven’t watch his performance that much. I thought Derek Kwok did a great job in D.I.E. , and he also seem to have a different role in War-of-in-Laws too and along with Joyce Tang, he has made some headlines, so I was kind of expecting him to win. I was rooting for Johnson Lee personally since I think he’s such a funny guy, but yet he can be very convincing when serious in Catch Me Now. As for Wong Jo Lam, I personally think he kind of tries a little too hard to be funny, and at times, it can buy a chuckle or two, so I don’t really get all this hype about him.

Most Improved Female

Personally, I was rooting for Selena Li because she is one of my favorite younger actresses and I like her characters in most of her series, but Nancy Wu has always been a capable actress to me, so I think it was well-deserved. Her performance as the Fourth wife in The Silver Chamber of Sorrows was well-performed indeed. I especially like how Nancy mentioned Triumph in the Skies and her role in Silver Chambers of Sorrow. It’s always nice to hear when stars mention about when they first started in their acceptance speech because it shows how hard and long they have worked. In Nancy’s case, she really had to ride it out a couple of years. The dance competition really help propelled her up into the spotlight. However, does anyone feel like she’s not really surprise of winning? Her speech seems really good but a little rehearsed.

Best Blog

Raymond Lam wins this award. Considering he is so popular, of course it would rest safely in his hands. ^_^ His speech was a little brief, but I guess with the blog, maybe he didn’t feel like he should take too much credit for it? I think I only visited his blog like once…I will definitely visit again.

I’m gonna skip the variety shows awards. I’m not really into those shows.

Eric Tsang, Wong Jo Lam, and Louis Yuen -Presenters

First thing Eric says when he comes out, he tells Carol Cheng that his English is very good, don’t say his English is poor. And Carol was like “So?” Eric is hilarious, he was saying how it has been 11 years, and Super Trio has won every year, but since Louis and Wong Cho Lo became elders, there is no winning of an award. He even mentions how TVB has one award rule so that Wong Cho Lam won the Most Improved award so that’s why they can’t win it. Oh Eric Tsang, gotta hand it to him to make people laugh. I also love the bit he said about Charmaine, about how she is “great” (that it’s apparent that she was seen by [paparazzi], but she would say no, no and still wouldn’t admit it (her being seen with Ron or Kevin I guess lol) I hope I would be able to meet him one day or at least get an autograph lol. Anyone know where I can get his autograph??

My Favorite Female Character

Louise Li Si Kei won this award. She mentions a disappointment….that it’s a bit stressful to be nominated, so she asked the higher management if she could step out the race this year, but they said no. It was sort of a what the heck, why did she say that moment, but I think Louise is just being very honest and straight to the point about how she feels since she probably wants to get out of the competition so that others can have a chance. I think she’s just a humble lady that doesn’t really want to hog the spotlight, but it came out awkward.

Carol Cheng briefly interviews the nominees. I like the part in which she goes and tells Liza that not many people are rooting for her this year and what does she think? And Lisa’s response was “it’s not only me, I think everyone at the company thinks I’m not here” (which can mean exactly as it is said, but in this case, it can means she’s everyone is treating her like she’s not important” Carol then asks everyone if they think Liza Wang is “not here”, and everyone says no.

Dicky Cheung -Presenter

If I’m not wrong, Dicky was referring to ATV and TVB’s rivalry during his opening presentation since ATV is “Yau Han” company vs. TVB is “Mo Sin” company so he put it in a clever way saying to have (Cantonese =”Yau”) and not to have (Cantonese = “Mo”)so there is no need to be so stubborn. I think it’s not really a good time to talk about rivalry on an awards show because it is after all TVB’s moment to shine. Anyway, I don’t think Dicky meant to be rude, but I didn’t really appreciate it, it wasn’t the right timing. What does everyone think?

My Favorite Male Character

Raymond won this award, but Dicky was not there when Raymond was on stage. I thought he just left like that because he was having an attitude, but it turns out he was heading straight to Stephen Chan in the audience section. There was a brief moment showing Dicky going over to Stephen Chan, and Stephen Chan seems excited when he saw Dicky but yet his expression was like “oh no….get off the screen”.

Anyway, Raymond seems to be putting the focus back on TVB in his acceptance speech by saying he hopes HK audience continue to support TVB’s programs and even more television series , so that every year there can be more improvements. (Isn’t he so clever!) I like how he refers to his colleagues as his ‘brothers and sisters’….gives a very close feeling….but also not forgetting the veterans by saying he hopes to cooperate with more and learn more from them. Raymond just always knows what to say. Every year that he wins, I always enjoy his acceptance speeches. He’s a darling! I wonder what he would say when he wins Best Actor….and I just know that day would come soon! Keep working hard, Ray!

Carol & Amigo interviews the nominees a bit, and one part deserving a mention was that both Sharon and Nancy Wu had confidence in Tavia! That was a nice moment! The younger generation does seem very close with each other!

Anthony Wong – Presenter

Anthony Wong was joking about Eric Tsang, which caused Eric to be onscreen a bit in his casual clothing lol. I thought it was funny how he says the supporting artist should have good acting, but good enough acting that the main leads do not feel that you are a threat to them.

Best Supporting Actress

It is very sweet how before Tavia gives her acceptance speech, she asks everyone to give a great applause for Lee Heung Kum, who Tavia says is considered the best supporting actress to her. I like how she thanked all the producers that used her in their series, and that she would continue to do her best, and not be proud!

Tavia made ah Yuet a very real and likeable character. If it was played by someone else, perhaps ah Yuet wouldn’t be so real and likeable. Tavia totally deserves the award! Although, I would also give props to Fala. If Tavia’s character does not exist, Fala’s chance would be the highest as her character was also very likeable, and Fala did a nice job. Lee Heung Kam also did a great job too, but popularity-wise may not win that much points.

Karena Lam – Presenter

It’s interesting how Karena Lam relates best supporting to stealing or being a big thief. I don’t really get the concept. I think I agree more with Anthony Wong’s comment lol.

Best Supporting Male

Wayne got this one! Everyone stood up for him and cheered too! Truly wonderful to hear him thanked someone through all the wonderful characters he got to act such as the pig in Journey to The West (nice that Dicky was there too) and Hon Shun in The Conqueror’s Story (which was also one of his best acting). I actually have not watched The Gentle Crackdown II, so I don’t know how his performance is, but he probably did an exceptional job anyway as usual. It was a great moment to see that he finally got the award he deserves years ago.

Best Serie

Moonlight Resonance wins. It’s really a no-brainer. The serie has great characters, not in the sense that it has a great plot, nor great development, but in the sense that these characters add to the family element when put together and most characters were able to stand out in this serie through their ups and downs as they continue to touch or amaze the audience. There is the annoying and money-crazed auntie, the mute daughter and sister, the sort of rebellious adopted daughter, the somewhat wacky son, the filial and sweet son, the second wife villain, etc. And it does help that a majority of the actors and actresses playing them gave a convincing performance. And I actually liked the other phrases by Auntie Sa and Hung Yi more than “Do not be scared, Hor Ma is in the living room” like…. (in Mandarin) “I say you can [make it], then you can [make it]. I say you can not [make it], then you can not [make it]. I say you can [make it], and you can not [make it], you will still [make it]” or Michelle Yim’s phrase “[My] person is in heaven, the cash is in the bank, why do I need so much money”?

On a side note, it was kind of sad to see that Shirley Yeung didn’t get to stand up with the cast when all of them went up there. It’s understandable that she would not be included since she only has one or two scenes as guest star, but it can be disheartening in a way. I don’t think there would be a sequel though. It broke the 50 pts ratings, so if the next one doesn’t make it, it would bring the name down. They probably don’t want to risk it.

I think Catch Me Now deserves an honorable mention. If there was no Moonlight Resonance, this would be the next best serie. It was fast-paced and it was a fun storyline to watch which side would win….the cops or the robin - hood team. Characters are also engaging, but I guess there was some chemistry lacking between leads.

Moving on…getting tired lol…

Best Actress

My favorite win of the whole awards show is Michelle Yim’s Best Actress Award! Not only is it the most well-deserved Best Actress award in a LONG time, but she also broke the record for having a villain character won Best Actress (Gigi Lai doesn’t count from War & Beauty to me)! Michelle’s speech was very touching, especially how she talked briefly about her career and how she does her best in every role. That made me think about her character in “The Brink of Law” which was another great villain portrayal by her, but in that one, she was more reserved and calm, while in this one she was more loud and angered. Two villain roles, but yet clearly different portrayals. Simply a great, great actress! And it also sweet of her to remember her three assistants….which very few winners would thanked when they win. By the way, she looks so beautiful too. I bet that wig in Moonlight Resonance is to make her look older haha.

Best Actor

Ha Yu’s name is announced, and everyone stood up and gave a big applause. It was funny how Louise Li brought tissues up for him lol. He waited for 40 years for these two series. Ha Yu did do a great job in Moonlight Resonance, and he really touched me whenever he cried and went back to his children and Hor Ma. I’m glad he won because he totally deserves it out of all the male actors in Moonlight Resonance. It was inspiring how he mentioned how he was so depressed last year since whole the whole of Heart of Greed won awards, but he listened to Johnny To saying that as long as he continues on without leaving the entertainment circle, he will have a chance, so he didn’t leave, and now his opportunity for the award came. His ending remarks tied Moonlight Resonance and Heart of Greed together so I thought it was a good final note for his speech and a good representative of the end of the Heart of Greed series.

Have to say Roger also did a great job in Last One Standing, but it was too bad the serie did not do so well, which is as I think it should be. I think Last One Standing was good at times, but it failed to keep me interested as much as Moonlight Resonance.

Ending with Lifetime Achievement Award

Paul Chun wins this award. He mentioned that it is kind of afraid to win this award because he’s afraid having to be retired, but he emphasized that acting plays a big part to him, and that he will continue to act. He is certainly a consistent actor, and being a TVB actor for SO many years, any TVB fan would be familiar with his face. I am glad to see him win this award!

Final Thoughts

I believe the results were widely supported by many TVB fans, and those who knew the results were most likely satisfied. However, I think some things can be improved such as that every artiste that participated should be invited and come also, such as it was in the past. Although the awards were well-deserved this year, it just seems kind of empty without the familiar middle generation Siu Sung and Fa Dans? Where is Joe Ma, Bowie, Ada, Gigi Lai, Jessica, etc.? Another thing would be leaving us some suspense, don't narrow down the winners. In 2003, it was like Bobby, Kong Wong, Chilam, Roger, Francis Ng, and Bowie all together, and it was until the final moments when we know the real winner. The excitement was there, the competition was healthy. It should be like that. Hope that the 42nd anniversary would be more improved.

Seeing Ha Yu, Michelle Yim, Wayne, Tavia, and Nancy winning is like seeing hard work getting noticed since they have been in so many series, so many roles, and have never gotten popular and noticed and awarded until now. Hope that these winners are signs that TVB is beginning to cherish and appreciate the talented and strong great actors and actresses that they have, to promote potential when it is there, and to stop playing favoritism.

TVB Best Actress 2008 - My Top 3 Picks

2008-11-12T19:24:00.000-08:00

3. Susanna Kwan – in Moonlight Resonance - BRONZE

For playing such an annoying character, but yet was comedic and entertaining. Moonlight will definitely be missing something without her crazy remarks and hilarious jokes. Being so bratty and being into everyone else’s business, but also standing out, it’s definitely a job well done.

2. Louise Li – in Moonlight Resonance - SILVER

Her character is supposedly very housewife-like, and she does appears very gentle and homely, but when faced with obstacles, she becomes particularly strong, and Louise was able to convince me that how strong her character can be although her outer appearance is more soft. I also enjoyed her golden quotes and speeches as she presented them very well also. There’s a certain way she says them that reinforces the statement. Anyway, great performance, but someone else was able to stand out more.

1. Michelle Yim – in Moonlight Resonance - GOLD

She has a villain presence in this serie and of course that stands out, but what amazes me the most was her expressions – her facial expressions and body language. Remembering her character in this serie, she had two particular scenes that wowed me. One was when she was sitting with Jo Bau at the park, and Jo Bao couldn’t see, and towards the end, ah Hung was crying and saying that she should find a way to repay Hor Ma, but her eyes all of sudden became vengeful when she looked at Jo Bau. And then the second scene was she was telling Linda why she explained why she is lowering the amount of shares to give to Jo Bau every time she thought about ah Sum and ah Ho being together and when she was counting down with her fingers, it was intense. And then there was one scene, and I don’t remember who it was she was interacting with, but she was using her sunglasses and just putting it towards the guy’s chest as she was talking to him, which I think also made an impact that she’s making her point and you better listen. And she also cried so beautifully heartbroken but became angry in a flash when she knew that Jo Bao went to celebrate ah Hing’s birthday, which shows how volatile her character is. As a character, ah Hung isn’t really that memorable to me, but since it was Michelle who portrayed her, she really stood out. I don’t think there are many actresses that can portray her role so effectively without worrying about image and all because it requires an air of superiority, lots of guts, much bitchiness, and also a dash of elegance while at it. Anyway, I think Michelle simply displayed what great acting is all about in Moonlight Resonance. Best Actress belongs to Michelle Yim hands down- no doubts, no questions, no complaints!!

TVB Best Actor 2008 - My Top 3 Picks

2008-11-02T19:38:00.000-08:00

My top 3 goes to...

3. Kevin Cheng – Last One Standing : Bronze

A very different performance from Kevin portraying an angry and extremely aggravated character. Whenever he was mad, he was scary to watch! One of his best scenes was when he was with Roger in the alley when he was kicking and punching things! On a side note, I think Kevin did a great job in last year’s The Ultimate Crime Fighters as the gay villain.

And then now….I feel like it’s a tie between two actors.....between Damian Lau – Catch me Now and Ha Yu- Moonlight Resonance

For Damian Lau, the portrayal of a modern Robin Hood hero is believable and indeed, he was very suave, intelligent, and charming also. Damian is just a superb actor. He never fails being the antagonist or protagonist who can emote any type of feeling the character at the moment is like.

For Ha Yu, his character gave him a lot of ups and downs to portray many types of expressions from semi-bad, to happy, to silly, to angry, to sad, to you name it. There were many scenes in which he broke down and got downright dejected to the point that it touches your heart.

So who should win?? Kind of a tough choice right? I personally like both actors, but there needs to be a winner, so how else to judge? Well, I think it’s safe to say that we can judge by the opposite pairing and cast chemistry.

Who can say those who won Best Actor or Best Actress in the past did it alone without the interactions with their opposite partner and the other people in the cast? Probably 99% of the time those who won had a very compatible partner (Gallen Wang, Ada Choi, Louis & Jess, Bowie & Gigi, Kevin, Moses, etc.) or at least a very compatible cast (as in the case with Liza Wang and War of In Laws). One person can be an excellent actor or actress, but with a not so good partner or screwy cast, the hopes of a best actor or actress is brought down.

So if we use chemistry interactions with opposite pairing and other members of the cast, then I have to say Ha Yu wins over Damian.

2. Damian Lau - Catch Me Now : Silver

For Damian Lau, he has wonderful chemistry with his group of partners in crime in Catch Me Now, but lesser so with Idy Chan, so his romantic moments with her didn’t really bring out his best moments.

1. Ha Yu – Moonlight Resonance: Gold

Ha Yu would reign supreme as he has chemistry with almost everyone in Moonlight Resonance, especially his opposite pairings, Michelle Yim and Louise Li. I also like his interactions with Fala. When he wiped away her tears, it was a very sweet father-daughter moment!

So those are my Top 3 picks! What are yours?

And why not Raymond Lam for Moonlight Resonance?
In all honesty, between Raymond Lam and all the other nominees for Best Actor, he is my favorite actor and idol out of them all. So why didn't I choose him? Because his character in Moonlight Resonance did not get the plot or scenes that shows how strong he really is as an actor. So because I am his fan, I would rather he win for a character that is WORTH it, and not this simple character in Moonlight Resonance because if you ask me whether he stood out from everyone else in terms of acting or character from Moonlight, I can definitely say no.

To see some others' opinions on whether Raymond should win for his character in Moonlight Resonance, you can visit: Asianfanatics: Does Ray deserve the Best Actor award with his acting? [in Moonlight Resonance]

Stay tune on my choices for the other picks!

43rd Golden Bell Awards - Best Female Actress

2008-11-02T19:37:00.000-08:00

Ariel Lin has won Best Female Actress award for They Kiss Again! She has had tough competition with Chen Qiao En and Rainie Yang as nominees! Personally I was rooting for Chen Qiao En the most, but I am glad to see Ariel won as I have seen her past works and knows that she is a wonderful actress.

As for Chen Qiao En, I think she already has gained a lot of attention and popularity from Fated to Love You, so even though she did not win, to be nominated is also another achievement! I believe that she will continue to improve and act out wonderful characters in the future!

To see other winners, you can visit: Asianfanatics: 43rd Golden Bell Award Winners

劉三好/宮心計 “Palace Schemes”

2008-10-19T22:26:00.001-07:00

Pictures fromYule.baidu.com

Genre – Ancient series revolving around the palace

Rumored Cast – Moses Chan, Kevin Cheng, Charmaine Sheh, Tavia Yeung, Fala Chen, Michelle Yim (Mai Suet), Selena Li, Susanna Kwan, Christine Ng, Nancy Sit, etc.

Plot – Its going to be about revolving around the fights and struggles within the Sheung Goong (which from my understanding seems to be a group of court ladies and servants that prepare the extravagant clothing and fashion accessories for the imperial family) during the Tang Dynasty. Wiki Source* shows that Charmaine would be playing the character, Lau Sam Ho, whom is the main character of the serie. Moses Chan would be playing the emperor, and he will have a crush on Lau Sam Ho. Kevin Cheng would be a guard, who pursues Lau Sam Ho romantically. Tavia Yeung would play a concubine who would harm Lau Sam Ho. Susanna Kwan’s character killed Lau Sam Ho’s mom. Fala Chen would be the palace maid. Michelle Mai, Susanna Kwan, Kara Hui, and Christine Ng are all listed as part of Sheung Gung.
*Wikipedia information are tentative and may not be accurate.

My thoughts: I am very excited about this serie, and I hope most of the cast can stay the same! I love series revolving around the imperial palace. There’s so much drama, mystery, and romance that can be stirred up into a great serie as seen with War & Beauty! I think the cast is just simply TOO grand, and it’s definitely going to be a flexing of muscles for the ladies if the above rumored cast holds. I extremely love the whole cast although I wouldn’t mind if Moses and Charmaine are not included. I like them as actors and actresses respectively, and I think they are capable in most of their scenes, but as they were involved before in War & Beauty, I kinda want the whole cast to be fresh. I think it would be interesting to replace Moses and put Raymond as emperor instead. Anyhow, I am very excited that Tavia would be playing a villain role. It would definitely be a new role for her to try. I have a lot of hope that she would excel in her role as a villain, and I can’t wait to see her shine again! Also glad to see Selena in here as she would get a lot of experience from the veterans. With such a big female cast, I'm guessing the focus would be on the gals, but I hope it would give the guys some good stuff to work with also.

For more information:
Wiki Source
Spcnet thread for this serie

Similarities with Price of Greed & Moonlight Resonance

2008-10-19T22:05:00.001-07:00

A few similarities with The Price of Greed and Moonlight Resonance can be seen! Wonder if the producer of MR took some inspiration from The Price of Greed eh??

-Bosco, Shirley, and Kate are casted in both series
(Lui To, Mui Mui, Lam Ping; Dr. Ling, young Hor Ma, Ka Mei)

-Adopted Children
(Louise Li and Tavia; Kingdom Yuen and Bosco & Shirley)

-Adopted sister crushing on adopted brother
(Shirley crushing on Bosco; Tavia crushing on Moses)

-A mute sister
(Shirley; Fala)

-“Goon Ga Jai”
(Kingdom Yuen refers to Bosco’s character in TPOG as that nickname; Raymond’s nickname is that)

-Deception
(Sammul & his brotherhood of con artists; To a lesser extent, Kate being conniving and lying about her past and intentions)

-Guy really likes the girl, but girl really likes another guy
(Bosco likes Kate who really likes Sammul ; Raymond likes Linda who really likes Bosco)

-One foot stepping on two boats (Sammul with Kate, Vivien, other women lol; to lesser extent, Bosco with Linda and Claire)

What do you think? Of course it could be inspiration or it could just be coincidence, but nonetheless, it's a little fun trivia.

TVB 41st Lighting Ceremony

2008-10-05T16:28:00.000-07:00

*Above picture from TVB Weekly, pg 32, found from lovebosco.net

Another year seems to be coming to an end, but before it does, it's another controversial, although still the-talk-of-the-town, TVB 41st anniversary coming up! Actors and actresses in glamorous outfits will be paired up, awards will be passed out, and lots of stage performances by various TVB actors and actresses, not to mention the new presentation clips for new series that are in store for us in 2009.

However, it all starts with the lighting ceremony. Joyce Cheng starts the show singing the themesong of 畢打自己人, which is a new drama sitcom that she will also star in. Joyce is a decent singer, and her themesong for TVB serie, Speech of Silence, was a very pleasant song. However, her performance for this themesong is a little off, like she has something stuck in her throat. She is still able to reach those higher notes ok, but I felt like she couldn’t sing the song very smoothly.

Then there is a drama skit with the cast of 畢打自己人, which gave out a couple of jokes and chuckles. I like Teresa Mo, so I’m glad to see her acting for TVB again. I think she is a great comedian- actress. I feel bad for the people that has to drink the milk. With the given milk conditions in China, they are indeed very brave lol.

Then we have the cast of The Gem of Life talking about their characters. I haven’t paid attention to the news of this serie, so it’s actually pretty interesting to hear the older veterans talking about their characters. The clips they showed of the serie is very dramatic and exciting, not to mention very, very beautiful with the scenery. Still having a bit of gripe that Linda Chung is in the serie, but oh well, hopefully she will make something out of it. The younger cast from TGOL goes on a catwalk with their diamonds. I think the cast looks very cool and dazzling in black accompanied by their diamonds, and the themesong by Shirley Kwan playing in the background is very catchy and fitting for the serie.

We move on to Lisa, Charmaine, Joe Ma, and Raymond Wong’s serie “Turbulence of East and West”. I didn’t know much about this serie before, but seeing the clips and Lisa talking about her character, it seems like a pretty interesting serie. Lisa’s character in this serie is different and complex, being an unwed pregnant woman who went ahead and got married to another man. Charmaine’s character seems a little like her character in Point of No Return, while Lisa’s character seems a little like a serious version of her character in the War of In Law series lol.

The nominations are then revealed. Various actors and actresses were asked who they support or think would win. I listed who each of them support below. A lot of people are rooting for Michelle Yim, Ha Yu, and Moonlight Resonance!

-Dodo thinks Michelle Yim because she did a good job and is still so beautiful after many years.
-Roger supports Moonlight Resonance, but also supports Lisa Wang since her character is fresh and is able to display different acting. Somehow Roger seems a little bit down? It seems like he is forcing the smiles and excitement.
-Christine Ng thinks Louise Li because she portrayed different characters for both MR and HOG and still did a great job.
-Kevin supports Susanna Guk and Michelle Yim from MR
-Ron says he would support Michelle because he likes watching her act, and they cooperated a few times, and she also adores him, so with business or personal, with “tung ching fun” (sympathetic points) or “gum ching fun” (feelings points), he’s got to vote for her.
-Bowie for Michelle Yim
-Louise Li favors Susanna, Michelle and of course, herself
-Nancy sit supports herself because one she always have confidence
-Lisa Wang is confident of War of In Laws II despite tough competition.
-Lau Dan thinks Ha Yu and two, Kevin Cheng
-Dodo, Carol Cheng, hopes Ha Yu or jokes that he’ll have a temper
-Charmaine favors Jo Bau and felt it’s unfair that he didn’t get it last year
-Sharon votes for Raymond because she knew him for a while and says he worked hard and he did a good job with Goon Ga Jai.
-Kiki Sheung votes for her "son" in Last One Standing, Kevin cheng and Bobby Au
-A girl votes for Bobby (I don't know her name)
-Bobby is for Ha Yu
-Nancy for Ha Yu and Raymond Lam
-Wong Jo Lam for Ha Yu
-Lisa votes for Ha Yu because his character is able to let him demonstrate his acting and is a hot serie
-Micheal Tse says literally says HOG’s Chinese title (while everyone else says Ga Ho Yuet Yuen), World's Twister Adventure, and D.I.E
-Ron likes MR and places his bet on this
-Kevin thinks MR and reminds audience about Last One Standing too
-Kate Tsui for MR and feels proud to be part of the serie that is the talk of town
-Roger mentions MR and reminds audience about Last One Standing also.

If you don’t want to get spoiled, don’t watch the part where it shows the clips of the finale for The Four and Last Man Standing. I’m so looking forward to the ending of both series, very exciting! But also, they kinda ruined it for me, but still, very exciting!!

Then Kelly performs two of her songs for the concluding performance of the show.

The clips of the upcoming anniversary series and TGOL Catwalk are the best highlights in the ceremony! Of course for me, I’m also happy Shirley was behind Bosco and Ron in the group picture haha!

43rd Taiwan Golden Bell Nomination for Best Actress

2008-10-05T15:33:00.000-07:00

Read news on AF

The nominations for the 43rd Taiwan Golden Bell Best Actress Awards includes 4 major popular Taiwanese idol actresses: Angela Chang, Ariel Lin, Chen Qiao En, and Rainie Yang.

Personally, I am rooting for Chen Qiao En although I have not seen the other three’s works in the running. I think she did a great job in Fated to Love You, and her character in the serie has experienced a lot of events which gave her the opportunity to display different acting throughout the serie. I’ve seen Ariel Lin and Rainie Yang’s previous works before though, and Ariel Lin is a stronger contender between the two in my opinion. As for Chen Qiao En and Ariel Lin, it’s hard to say. Both of them are my favorite Taiwanese idol actresses, so I hope the best for both of them.

Kelly Chen becomes Mrs. Lau

2008-10-05T15:19:00.000-07:00

Above Pic found from: Apple

Miss. Kelly Chen becomes Mrs. Kelly Lau on October 3, 2008. Her marriage announcement was made during her last concert earlier this year. I actually do not know much about Alex Lau, but I knew that Kelly dated him for many, many years. However, they look like a very matching couple! I especially love the above picture of him just touching Kelly’s chin…a very touching moment!

When I first saw her wedding dress in the pics , I thought it was kind of simple since Kelly’s outfits usually stand out more, but of course Kelly still looks very beautiful. Possibly with all the wedding attire she has worn for modeling and acting, simple is considered sweet. Congrats to Kelly and Alex for becoming officially husband and wife!

Niki-Kevin-Charmaine Rumored Triangle

2008-10-05T14:46:00.000-07:00

The recent rumor that is most interesting is the Niki-Kevin-Charmaine triangle! It seems to come out of nowhere for me, but then the HK media seems to get these things right at times. If it were true, I think Niki and Kevin are cute, but then I think Charmaine and Kevin seems to match more with TVB as a common background, which brings same interests, events, in career and same friends also. The rumors seem to die down now probably due the TVB anniversary coming up.

To read more:
Kevin Cheng admits break up, Charmaine Sheh expressed her view

Kevin Cheng Becomes Charmaine Sheh's Tenth Boyfriend

Speculation and Gossip

I wonder how many believe this rumors, so please take the poll!

What a September!

2008-10-04T18:37:00.001-07:00

It turns out I didn't get to go on vacation because a hurricane came into town the same weekend I planned to go. So I stayed home and survived my first hurricane! About three weeks ago, Houston was hit by Hurricane Ike!. I didn't imagine it would be so bad. A lot of people didn't have any electricity and water for weeks. I was lucky because I only have to endured no electricity for one week. Lots of trees on houses, and roofs leaking for many others. Of course, with no traffic lights, people have to stop and go, and there are some crazy drivers. I went to a supermarket that was open because they running on generators, and it's kind of like mass hysteria when people are getting ice. You would think it's like the end of the world when you see people run to get the ice and grabbing it, and of course, LONG lines to the cashier. Gas stations were pretty crazy too because only a few opened at a time, so cars would be lining up for streets. I have to say the worst experience is not having real "hot" food to eat afterwards. Can't really cook at home, and going out, no restaurants would be opened because there is no electricity and water. It was a very difficult and different experience, and really makes me appreciate the things that I take for granted like food, electricity, and water. I mean without electricity, I spent two days either sleeping or staring out the window (no, i'm not joking). I was bored out of my mind. Anyhow, that's my little rant and update for anyone interested. I think next time, I'm not staying when another one comes. Then now, there are worries about the US economy with bank failures and stock market falling. It's a very busy and interesting 2008 for people in the US, I know it is for me.

So back to Asian entertainment, so many entertainment news! What is the hot topic now?? If you're still reading, look forward to more of my thoughts on various old news and Moonlight Resonance in the upcoming days.

Updates

2008-09-07T14:52:00.007-07:00

If you visit this blog regularly, you would know I usually update on the weekends because sometimes I don't have much time, or I get lazy and don't update haha.

Anyhow, I have added other blogs to my list of long TVB related blogs, except for 2 or 3 sites which aren't exactly blogs, so the list is about like 37 blog sites related to TVB by TVB fans. If you know of any TVB blog sites that I haven't put on my TVB Links, please let me know so I can add to my grand list of TVB-related blogs!

As if having this blog is not enough, there is also my blog on Bosco Wong & Shirley (which by the way I haven't updated for a while), I created another one!

If you have read the Christian the Lion post I have originally posted on this blog, you might be wondering, why is it gone? Well, after looking at the post for a while, it just didn't fit, and so I decided to make a new blog about lions! The blog is named Handsome Lions, and I will be putting up posts about lions.

On top of the blogs, I have my full time job, and my course on Healthcare Policy, and I'm going on a trip this upcoming weekend so I will not be updating this upcoming weekend.

In the meantime, please take the polls on the left, and enjoy the updates I have made today for this blog, and let me know what you think!

TVB Triangles: Chilam-Jessica-Gallen MV's

2008-09-07T14:52:00.005-07:00

Triangle relationships are always interesting to watch because viewers get to pick between two couples. To me, good triangle relationships are the ones who keeps you guessing until the end. For example, Tavia/Raymond/LiQian and Leila/Ron/Nancy in TOB. It is until the very end, we knew who the guys loved the most. I suspect that is one of the reasons TOB was enjoyable...the triangles. The more repetitive triangles are the ones that you know the girl will pick the better guy or the main lead over the supporting or third supporting characters (ie Bosco/Linda/Raymond in MR). In future posts, I will try to post more on TVB triangles in various series.

If you read my previous posts, you know I am a big Chilam and Jessica fan. Being that they did not ended up together in Cold Blood Warm Heart, really puts them in a special position in my heart when I think of my favorite TVB couples. I came across two MV's on Youtube that I thought was especially matching with Jessica's point of view with Chilam and Gallen in CBWH.

Both songs talk about how the girl has been in a relationship with a great guy, but the great guy is not the one who she ends up with at the end. In Jessica's case with Chilam, their relationship was sort of unexpected but yet natural at the same time since they started off as friends. They had a great relationship, but yet at the bottom of her heart, Gallen will always be the one she loves. Personally, although I root for Chilam-Jessica deeply, in reality, I would go with who my heart and most happiness lies with and not just settle.

Anyhow, check out the MV's. The people who made the MV's have picked truly representative songs for Chilam-Jessica-Gallen in CBWH. I did the translations of the lyrics based on my interpretations/translation, so if you use, please credit me.

網友自製MV-天地男兒立雪建戀(可惜不是你) -
Pity, it's not you by Fish Leong

Lyrics:
Song: 可惜不是你
Sang by: Fish Leong
Translation by Jadedreams

這一刻　突然覺得好熟悉
This moment, is suddenly feeling very familiar
像昨天　今天同時在放映
Like yesterday , at the same time it is repeating today
我這句語氣　原來好像你
This tone of mine, is really like you
不就是我們愛過的証據
It is only evidence of the love we had

差一點　騙了自己騙了你
Almost faltering, fooling myself, fooling you
愛與被愛　不一定成正比
Love and being loved, is not always a fair ratio
我知道被疼　是一種運氣
I know being doted on, is a type of fortune
但我無法完全交出自己
But I am unable to fully give out myself

＊努力為你改變　卻變不了　預留的伏線
Made efforts to change for you, yet can not change, the already-placed boundary defeat line
以為在你身邊　那也算永遠
Thought staying by your side, it can be forever
彷佛還是昨天　可是昨天　已非常遙遠
forgot that yesterday, but only yesterday, is already very far
但閉上我雙眼　我還看得見
But closing my pair of eyes, I can still see....

＃可惜不是你　陪我到最后
It is a pity it is not you , accompanying me to the end
曾一起走卻走失那路口
Once together getting lost into this route
感謝那是你　牽過我的手
Grateful for you, holding my hand
還能感受那溫柔
Still can feel the gentleness

那一段　我們曾心貼著心
That one part, we once put it close to the heart
我想我更有權力關心你
I think i have the ability to be concerned about you
可能你已走進別人風景
Possible that you already went in someone else's scenery
多希望也有星光的投影
Really hope there will also be stars' glow appearing
Repeat ＊,＃,＃

感謝那是你　牽過我的手
Grateful for you, once held my hand
還能溫暖我胸口
Still can warm my chest [heart]

Cold Blood Warm Heart Triangle -
Sorry, it's not you- Kelly Chen

歌手：陳慧琳
作詞：黃偉文
作曲：吳國敬孫偉明
唱片公司：正東唱片
Interpretaion/Translation by Jadedreams

Lyrics：

大概真的不夠喜歡你
In general, am not able to like you enough
才讓你座上客机
that is why [I] let you sit on the passenger's seat
若我真的不要放走你
It seems that I did not need to let you go
誰又怕去擋飛机
Who wouldn’t be afraid of blocking airplanes?

但我真的想過嫁給你
But I really did think of marrying you
才沒有逐串愛起
without the ability to build up love
很假裝總會骗到你
Really pretending [in hopes of] fooling you
無奈我似個卑鄙
Cannot help feeling like a jerk

＊曾怀疑共你很努力地扮談情便有轉机
Once thought that making efforts to act as romantic couple would turn for the better
然而時候都該禮貌地　　放手再拒絕你
Yet it is time to politely let go of your hands, and then reject you

誰當是玩游戲　　為你花過力气＊
Who think it's just a game? [I] Did put in a lot of effort for you
很可惜最多只好知己
It's a pity that at most it is only friendship
我試過在暗中配合你
I tried to attentively match with you in secret
我試過學放松接受你
I tried to loosen up, to accept you

小火花擦出了燒不起
Small fire can spark, but can not burn
我愛你未夠深對不起
I can not love you enough, sorry

是我真的不夠喜歡你
I am not able to like you enough
誰令愛一面涂地
Who lets love smeared to the ground on one side?
他意外使我有心跳
He unexpectedly made my heart beat
暪住你沒有惊喜
Being with you, there is no surprise

＊曾怀疑共你很努力地扮談情便有轉机
Once thought that making efforts to act as romantic couple would turn for the better
然而時候都該禮貌地　　放手再拒絕你
Yet it is time to politely let go of your hands, and then reject you

誰當是玩游戲　　為你花過力气＊
Who think it's just a game? [I] Did put in a lot of effort for you
很可惜最多只好知己
A pity that at most it is only friendship
我退后未夠早對不起
I did not back out fast enough, sorry
我顧累亦太多對不起
I worried too much, sorry
小火花擦出了燒不起
Small fire has sparked, but can not burn
我對你未夠狠對不起
I was not ruthless to you, sorry

Lyrics from: http://ent.163.com/ent_2003/editor/media/t...719_264537.html

Charlene Choi Manip. Pictures

2008-09-07T14:52:00.003-07:00

The above pictures are manips of Charlene that I made before using Charmaine Sheh's pictures from War & Beauty. These are pretty old, but just wanna share again! The below are the original Charmaine Sheh pictures. I always wonder how Charlene would look in a more normal ancient clothing, since all her past ancient movies have fantasy-like clothings.

I know, I know, of course it's not realistic, but I did my best!

遇見, "Meeting" by Stephanie Sun

2008-09-07T14:52:00.001-07:00

遇見 - 孫燕姿
曲︰林一峰
詞︰易家揚
編︰TERENCE TEO
Interpretation/Translation by Jadedreams

聽見　冬天的離開
Hearing, winter's departure
我在某年某月醒過來
I am at a certain year, certain month, waking up
我想　我等　我期待
I am thinking, I am waiting, I am look forward
未來卻不能因此安排
The future should not arrange this

＊陰天　傍晚　車窗外
Cloudy skies, nearing dusk, car window outside
未來有一個人在等待
in the future, there is a person waiting
向左　向右　向前看
Towards the left, towards the right, looking towards the front
愛要拐幾個彎才來
love would turn how many curves before coming?

＃我遇見誰　會有怎樣的對白
The person I meet, would have what phrase?
我等的人　他在多遠的未來
The person I am waiting for, how far is he in the future?
我聽見風　來自地鐵和人海
I hear the wind , coming from the subway in a huge crowd
我排著隊　拿著愛的號碼牌
I am standing in line, holding love's ticket number
重唱　＊,＃

我往前飛　飛過一片時間海
I go forward flying, flying over a spread of ocean time
我們也常在愛情裡受傷害
We are often in love suffering pain
我看著路　夢的入口有點窄
I am looking at the road, the road into the dream is narrow
我遇見你是最美麗的意外
Meeting you is the most beautiful unexpectedness

終有一天　我的謎底會解開
There will be one day, my riddle would be solved

//A very pleasant ballad to listen to, and I'm sure many people are thinking the same thing. When am I going to meet "the one" ? How would I know? What is the first dialogue between us?

Actresses who Escaped the Aging Process

2008-09-07T14:20:00.000-07:00

After reading about Kathy Chow being praised as youthful in her latest Costumes Fitting Ceremony for her newest series 蔡鍔與小鳳仙(General Tsai O and Lady Balsam), I remember how there are a handful of actresses who people praised retain their youthfulness over the years. Out of the actresses I have picked, it is noted many praised their youthfulness. I know the actreses are not exactly the same age, although I think Gigi and Athena are the same ages, but who do you think has indeed aged the best out of this group?

(in order from left to right in above picture)

Noel Leung- always the cute girl, she also retain her cute looks as she aged too.

Athena Chu- always described as many men's dream girl, she is often described as a goddess.

Irene Wan- just releasing an album a couple of months ago, it looks like she has kept her figure and sexy looks as well!

Margie Tsang- even though she has a son, many have praised that Margie is still very youthful

Vivian Chow- The sweet and pretty 'jade' girl Vivian Chow is praised as still looking the same as she was a decade ago as well!

Gigi Lai- In War & Beauty, there were many people who says Gigi was able to portray a teenage girl pretty successfully because of her good looks.

Kathy Chow Hoi Mei - was recently praised that she looks like she did when she filmed Time Before Time in 1997, and that is a decade ago!

So who do you think aged the best from you recollection??

Tavia Yeung, 楊怡 turns 29 on August 30th

2008-09-01T00:27:00.000-07:00

Tavia Yeung turned 29 years old on August 30th, 2008. Having graduated from TVB’s acting class in 1998, she is one of those rare gems of TVB actresses that didn’t come from Miss. HK or pageants. Looking back it has now been a decade of acting in TVB series for her. She first gained major attention playing Maggie Cheung Hor Yi’s sister because they look really like sisters in The Awakening Story. Later on, she even got to star in the grand production of the time, Golden Faith, with Gallen Lo, Jessica, Deric Wan, and Raymond Lam.

Winning Most Improved Actress in 2003, it seems that her path as one of TVB leading fa dans was all set. Tavia became a hot favorite for overseas fans, but does not seem to win HK audience’s hearts with her roles after the win. She got some attention from The Academy, but unfortunately there were more lesser-favored series following suit.

Starting in late 2006 with Dicey Business, Tavia's luck changed and she is more involved with TVB grand productions. Although most of her characters in the series are supporting or guest stars, nonetheless, she is able to gain more publicity and attention with her roles, and her acting skills are being recognized by the audience.

After not being female main lead for so many years, the last being Twins of Brother and some may say The Academy, she is given the lead role in a new TVB series revolving around the salt trade in 2008. Tavia’s character in Moonlight Resonance has also gotten a favorable response from the audience, so hopefully, Tavia will be able to lead more TVB series in the future!

Here's to Tavia's hard work and perseverance throughout the decade she has been at TVB. She represents hope that TVB do have actresses with talent and good acting skills that are not from pageants! Wish Tavia a successful year ahead (especially at this year’s anniversary awards!) and that she will continue to amaze the audience with her acting!

Hot Shots - Songs

2008-08-31T21:20:00.000-07:00

Hot Shots is a Taiwanese idol series that is currently on air. It's getting alot of publicity because it stars three hot guys - Jerry Yan, Show Luo, and Wu Chun - playing basketball. I think it has about 15 episodes or less.

Well the point of this post is that I got to listen to the soundtrack, and I really the songs. Usually, it's the other way around, I watch the series and then like the soundtrack. I remember once when I like the soundtrack before watching, I ended up not liking the serie that much. The serie was Tokyo Juliet, and it has a very nice soundtrack, but after three episodes, it didn't keep my interest. And like Tokyo Juliet, it seems that Hot Shots befalls the same fate for me. I watched the first episode, and it didn't keep me interested. However, if I remember when the ending comes up, I may watch the ending. Anyhow, this post is more about how the soundtrack is pretty catchy, even the instrumentals - very hip hoppish.

Superman - 倪子岡(Nese)

This is like the first Chinese hip-hop song that I think is catchy [and not cheesy and exaggerated] and actually can be consider hip-hop lol. A lot of people says this song sounds similar to Crank That by Soulja Boy though, but I don't think it's that similar.

絕對無敵 - 倪子岡(Nese)

Another subtheme of Hot Shots by Nese. I think this song is also catchy, but not as much as the Superman one.

絕對無敵(all english version) - 倪子岡(Nese)

I actually like the English version more. It kinda reminds me of One Tree Hill a little though with Haley-Lucas-Nathan haha.

霹靂決鬥- instrumental

Really upbeat instrumental. Thought it was creative how they mimicked the scratching from the shoes on the court. If only there wasn't some guy that goes "uh" every now and then, it would've been perfect lol.

絕對無敵之籃球夢- instrumental

Another instrumental. This one is the instrumental to 絕對無敵 by Nese.

隧道 - 林凡(Freya Lin)

Very nice ballad. Freya's vocals are very soothing.

If you want to watch the series, you can visit this blog: http://lanqiuhuo.blogspot.com/

Fala & Tavia as singers

2008-08-30T17:51:00.000-07:00

So the other day, I came by some Youtube videos of Fala and Tavia singing live for various functions, and I thought they weren't too bad as singers either, especially Fala. I think she sounds even nicer than Linda! Tavia isn't too bad either.

Fala singing 遇见

Fala singing 我的驕傲

Tavia singing Sammi's song

Tavia singing Kelly & Sammi's songs

Maybe these "sisters" of Moonlight Resonance, ah Yuet, ah Chau, and ah Hing... can form some sort of band together....TVB's own S.H.E haha

Stephen Au : A talented actor

2008-08-16T15:58:00.000-07:00

*picture found from AsianFanatics

Burning Flame II is the first series I’ve seen him in, and the second series I seen him in was Angels of Mission. These two characters he portrayed were also my favorite characters acted by him. I really enjoyed watching him and Annie Man as a couple in BFII, and he showed he could do comedy too. In Angels on Mission, I admire his character, Wallace, since he was so cool and calm, yet also very charming. He has acted out a variety of characters from these and other series and managed to do a good job. In the drama department, he could act out the brutish and loud-mouth type of guys (BFII), but also the calm and intelligent type (AOM), or even the villain type (WTAPII and Legend of Love). Because he knows martial arts, that makes him available for ancient fighting scenes or modern action scenes. And he’s got great comedy timing too. In the looks department, ok, he’s not drop dead gorgeous like Louis Koo, but he’s still good looking in my opinion. This guy is like a freaking walking talent at TVB, why isn’t he getting more leading and supporting roles already? Even Michael Tse is able to snag some roles opposite Sheren Teng (don’t get me wrong, I like Michael Tse and am glad he is getting more heavier roles), but just saying, Stephen Au is being very unrecognized!

I think TVB needs to promote more men that could be paired up with Gigi and Charmaine, and other older fa dans. TVB is now promoting Wayne Lai, which is a great decision on TVB’s part, but Stephen’s a pretty good candidate. He can be quite handsome in some angles, and also dashingly charming. Not to mention the chemistry he has with his past female co-stars. He has terrific chemistry with leading ladies like Charmaine Sheh a lot, and also works well supporting actresses like Joyce Tang and Fiona Yuen.

Anyway, Stephen probably looks good for his age. I say probably because his real age is undisclosed to the public. Whatever his age is, it doesn’t matter because he’s a good actor and a talented artiste. Looking at Wikipedia, it seems like he has been with ATV for 10 years (from 1990-2000), and TVB for 5-6 years (from 2002-current). Talk about loyalty, how many known ATV artistes have stayed that long at TVB eh?

What do you think about Stephen Au? Are you a fan?

More info from this AF post by meteorstar:
Asianfanatics: Stephen Au

http://www.stephenau.com/

Shirley Yeung, 楊思琦 turns 30 on August 7th

2008-08-09T21:50:00.000-07:00

Although Shirley still looks younger than her age, Miss. Shirley Yeung turns the big 30 on August 7th, 2008! After winning Miss. HK in 2001, she has now been in the entertainment industry for almost 8 years! In over 15 TVB series, she has starred as guest stars, to supporting, to main lead.

Other than winning Miss. HK, she has won the Most Improved Award for Angels of Mission in 2004, and Best Supporting Actress for Always Ready in 2006, Most Outstanding Actress Award at the 42nd Chicago International TV Festival in 2006. Quite a load of achievements!

Even though she has gained a lot of awards, there have been many criticisms about her acting. Often typecasted in cute girl roles or disabled roles one after the other and also being heavily promoted didn’t help lower the criticisms. However, in 2007, her character, Ka Yee, as the manipulative villainess in The Brink of Law made heads turned and gained many praises as well as fans.

In 2008, she has managed to guest star in two grand productions, Forensics Heroes II and Moonlight Resonance, and the serie in which she plays supporting (The Silver Chambers of Sorrow) became one of TVB top rated series of this year. She is also in the remake of TVB’s serie The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, which will probably air sometime later this year or in 2009.

Turning 30 years old, I sincerely wish Shirley a great year ahead and that she will be able to give more mature and improved performances during the year ahead!

Fated to Love You (Ancient Version) and Possible Movie?

2008-08-09T21:48:00.000-07:00

Read News here: Not fated to be a couple previous era; Ethan and Qiao En comes together on big screen

The news just talks about how the ancient version did not get to film, and how the serie may be able to put into film. I think it is too bad the ancient version will not be able to film. The plot is quite creative, and I would like to see how it would play out.

I thought this news was also interesting because I’ve wondered why TVB ancient series could be made into a modern serie, but there has yet to be a modern TVB serie put into ancient version (correct if I’m wrong). With the modern to ancient type of serie, I know some modern elements can’t be used in ancient, but plots with the family, friends, and lovers can still be used. It would be interesting to see the cast of Heart of Greed or Moonlight Resonance star in an ancient version. I could just see it with Ha Yu being Emperor, Louise Li, Susanna Kwan, Michelle Yim as the Empress and Concubines, while Raymond, Moses, Bosco are the princes, etc. etc.

Do you?? LOL Take the poll on the left!

Moonlight Resonance - What does ‘Resonance’ mean?

2008-08-09T21:44:00.000-07:00

How in the world did TVB came out with this title? It sounds kind of awkward, but yet, after searching it up, the definition of resonance really does fit the theme of this serie. I have actually heard of the word resonance before, and I knew it had something to do with sound and two, I remember there was some sort of chart I had to draw from organic chemistry that had to do with resonance. But what does it mean for this serie? So in my geeky quest to gain an understanding of yet more unnecessary knowledge of TVB series, I looked the word up!

Looking it up at dictionary.com, here are the few definitions that seems fitting for this serie.

From American Heritage Dictionary:

1. Richness or significance, especially in evoking an association or strong emotion: "It is home and family that give resonance . . . to life" (George Gilder). "Israel, gateway to Mecca, is of course a land of religious resonance and geopolitical significance" (James Wolcott).

From WordNet:
2. a relationship of mutual understanding or trust and agreement between people

See how the word resonance matches the theme of the serie? As the theme of the serie is centered on the mooncake business, if we take the first definition, then moonlight or rather what it represents (Autumn’s festival) is a huge significance to the Gam & Hor family since their business revolves around mooncakes. As the moon glows above them that day, when the family gets together, the warmth and happiness with the whole family is the richness they get.

If we take the second definition, then we could interpret it as by the witness of the moonlight, there is an agreement or trust between the various characters. And throughout the serie (I’m assuming), there would be many agreements between Hor Ma’s family and Jo Bao & ah Hung, as well as many of the sibling relationships, and romantic relationships.

Personally, I am quite happy with this name for this serie now, and am glad that it is not Moonlight Greed or Greed of Mooncakes, or something extremely bizarre of that nature haha.

Will Chilam be back at TVB soon?

2008-08-03T12:34:00.000-07:00

You know who I miss? I miss Chilam! If you are a fan of TVB, you cannot miss the cutie Julian Cheung Chi Lam! He’s been in quite a few memorable TVB series. It has been about 4 years since his last serie with TVB. Lets have a review of some of his series, shall we?

*Above Picture from Chi-Lamania

1. 2004 - Shades of Truth (with Gigi Lai, Wong Hei, Tavia) – I have only watched the first few episodes of this serie, but then I lost interest because I wasn’t into TVB at that time and it was a bit wacky for me. Anyone a fan of this serie that could tell me more about it?

2. 2003 - Point of No Return (with Charmaine Sheh, Damian Lau, Gigi Chiu) – It was a serie that was divided into two parts, the first part focused on Damian Lau & Gigi Chiu’s characters, and the second part was on Charmaine & Chilam’s romance. In my opinion, I think I enjoyed the first half more because it was well-rounded, but nonetheless Charmaine & Chilam were a cute pair though I didn’t like how her character broke up with Chilam, and how his character was so love-struck about her afterwards. His character was very cute in looks and personality, but not my favorite. Beautiful theme song though. This was also the serie that Chilam was adamant that Damian should’ve been nominated for the TVB Best Actor role.

3. 2002- Take My Word for it (Bobby Au Yeung, Kenix Kwok, Chilam, Annie) – This was actually quite a popular serie at that time, but I thought the plot was only ok, what was great was the chemistry between the cast. Annie & Chilam were adorable as a couple. Chilam’s character of Yeung Kwok is my version of the ideal boyfriend (Raymond Lam in Survivor’s Law I is my second ideal haha). He keeps talking and talking and talking like a freaking robot, and you will think it is annoying, but it is hilarious watching him talk. I also really liked his subtheme song for this serie.

4. 2000 – Return of the Cuckoo (Charmaine Sheh, Nancy Sit, Steven Ma) – This serie promoted the popularity of the Charmaine-Chilam pairing. Unfortunately, I have not watch this serie. I read that Chilam played a mute character, and it was sort of focused on the romance between the triangle of Chilam-Charmaine-Steven Ma.

5. 1996 – Cold Blood Warm Heart – (Adam Cheng, Gallen Lo, Nnadia Chan, Louis Koo, Jessica Hsuan) – One of TVB’s classic TVB serie, it is also my favorite out of Chilam’s series. The serie in itself was awesome to watch, and I adore Chilam’s role as the heroic and romantic ah Git in this serie. It still breaks my heart to this day that he and Jessica did not end up with each other because they had some of the best scenes as a couple. Some of Chilam’s best scenes were after he has found out about Jessica cheating on him behind his back…still breaks my heart to this day. I have read that it was originally intended to have them as the ending couple but because the ratings or the serie was such a hit, they had to extend it, and that changed the storyline. Bah humbug!! However, at least his character got to be with Nnadia at the end, I believe.

6. 1994 - The Legend of the Condor Hero (Athena Chu, Gallen Lo) – This serie is actually one of my first ancient TVB series. Chilam & Athena were very cute as the young Jin Yong characters, Kwok Jing and Wong Yung. Gallen also played the villain in here. I think Chilam did a very good job playing the confused Kwok Jing, and I love how his character is so devoted to Wong Yung, but it is too bad this serie was not as popular as the version with Felix Wong and Barbara Yung.

7. 1994 - Remembrance (Kenix Kwok, David Siu) – His only time pairing with Kenix Kwok in a TVB serie was in this serie. I don’t remember this serie very much, but I remember he looked very dashing in this serie hehe.

*****************************************
There were some news in February of this year that Chilam wanted to film for TVB in 2008. See here: Jaynestars: Chilam Cheung Wants to Film for TVB in 2008.

In the news bit above, it was reported ….Chilam mentioned that he was especially interested in filming for TVB again. "I desire to speak Cantonese on screen again! I wish to service television audiences!"

*****************************************

This is only my opinion, but I hope he will come back to TVB in time to cooperate again in the 40 episodes grand production drama with Gallen! It will be like Cold Blood Warm Heart again! Think of the possibilities of a grand cast!! I want to see Jessica Hsuan pair up with Chilam again! It will then easily be the most anticipated TVB serie in 2009, no doubt about it.

*Above Picture from Chi-Lamania
So this lead me to the polls: Favorite Chilam TVB serie, and which male actor you would like to see cooperate with Gallen again (it's not always about the ladies!).

Greed of Man (大時代) on DVD

2008-08-02T22:14:00.000-07:00

One of TVB’s classic serie of all time, Greed of Man, starring Adam Cheng, Damian Lau, Sean Lau, David Siu, Vivian Chow, Loletta Li, and Amy Kwok will be released on DVD with uncut versions at YesAsia.com – expected release date August 8, 2008. You can purchase it for $50 at YesAsia.com

Greed of Man Themevideo

If you ask me, I wouldn’t say Greed of Man is at the top of my favorites list. Perhaps it is because I have not watched the whole thing, I think I only watched the second half of the serie. From where I started, Damian was already gone and it was focusing on the attraction between the characters of David Siu and Loletta Lee, and how the kids of the two families dislike each other very much...and then to the point of "hating to the bones" with no backing off. Nonetheless, from what I have watched, it is still no doubt a very memorable serie for me because it has a few traumatizing scenes that absolutely caught me off guard. I think from what I’ve seen so far with family feuds in TVB series, none has came to the point of mayhem and doom compared with the two families in this serie! If it were to be broadcast in today’s times, no doubt there would be an unlimited number of complaints. Anyhow, I’m sure many fans of this classic TVB serie will rejoice in the DVD’s release.

Gallen's new 40 episodes TVB Serie - to start filming in November?

2008-07-27T18:39:00.001-07:00

Read news here: Asian Fanatics: Gallen Lo was paid $80,000 for every episode of TVB drama

This is only just a rumor now since Gallen did not confirm in the news above, but this is quite exciting if it were true! Gallen & TVB big productions generally equals QUALITY DRAMA & ENTERTAINMENT.

I wonder who the female lead would be. Personally I would love to have him cooperate with a couple of the original Fa Dans in the serie, especially Kenix and Maggie. I love the pairing of Jessica and him, but they've cooperated so many times already. Gigi Lai & Gallen would actually be fresh since I believe they have never really cooperated as a couple. For others, I actually wouldn't mind if Amy Kwok comes back to TVB to pair up again post-Secret of the Heart!

Please take poll on the left side: Who do you want to be the female Lead? You can pick more than one.

8/1 - Rea from Gallen Harbour says 40 episode series in November is actually confirmed!

Tony & Carina - Officially a Married Couple

2008-07-27T17:58:00.000-07:00

Picture found from stars.udn.com

//Yes, this is old news, in fact, it happened this past Tuesday/Wednesday of this week, but this is huge! It's Carina & Tony! HK celebrity courtships are always so long, but it seems like in the recent years, many HK celebrity couples have been tying the knot (Ada and Max, Chilam and Anita, etc.) or in the process of (Kelly Chen & her bf), but many people have probably been waiting, in Cantonese phrase, "waiting until the neck becomes long" for Carina and Tony to finally tie the knot. And they finally did!

Carina looks gorgeous and Tony looks dashing as usual! I have watched 27 Dresses, and remember how the main character says her favorite part of any weddings is when the bride walks down the aisle because she gets to look at the groom's happy face. There are no aisle pictures for Tony & Carina, but looking at the pictures that are available, Tony looks so happy. I even read that he kissed Carina while cutting the cake. It is not surprising for a groom to do that, but Tony Leung just doesn't strike me as an affectionate person in public, so to me, that shows how happy he is that day. Admire how they are such a strong couple despite the ups and downs they have been through over the years in the entertainment business. Hope they will have a little bundle of joy to add to their family soon!

Moonlight Resonance Themevideo/song

2008-07-27T08:26:00.000-07:00

*If you want to listen to the full DJ version (3:32), you can visit Crimsonrain.com , but it sounds kind of different to the themesong.

//So Moonlight Resonance will be airing today (in HK time)! Wonder how it will fare in ratings for the first day!

I like the themesong for Moonlight Resonance more than the themesong for Heart of Greed. MR's themesong reminds me a little of the old (and LONG!) family sagas in the 80s, which seems to be quite fitting for this serie. It starts off a little bit loud but gradually it gets softer, and the overall melody is pleasant to listen to. The themesong to Heart of Greed is way too loud and dramatic at the beginning that when it gets softer it's like a big jump. The lyrics to MR, however, seems to be talking about the viewpoint of Michelle's character, so don't know if it's a good representative of the whole serie though.

I saw the first four clips of MR, and I am surprised to see a fight scene with Tavia and Susanna. It's a very different character for Tavia, at least so far I've seen of her series, and I can't wait to see more of her, Susanna, and Michelle's characters. I'm looking forward to this serie, but man, hope I don't jinx the show. The series I look forward too often don't do well in ratings. Boo! lol

TVB Canteen

2008-07-27T08:02:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder where people who work at TVB have lunch at? Well watch Patrick's little tour of the TVB cafeteria. It actually looks pretty spacious and nice! The food looks tasty but kind of oily lol. I want to try the TVB milk tea! I love milk tea - the HK style kind! I want a tour of TVB haha!

TVB Canteen from parkn123 on Youtube

The Carpenters-Yesterday Once More

2008-07-27T07:40:00.000-07:00

The Carpenters-Yesterday Once More Lyrics
Lyrics Found here

When I was young
I’d listened to the radio
Waitin’ for my favorite songs
Waiting they played I’d sing along
It made me smile

Those were such happy times
And not so long ago
How I wondered where they’d gone
But they’re back again
Just like a long lost friend

All the songs I loved so well
(*) every sha-la-la-la
Every wo-wo-wo
Still shines

Every shing-a-ling-a-ling
That they’re starting to sing’s
So fine

When they get to the part
Where he’s breakin’ her heart
It can really make me cry
Just like before
It’s yesterday once more

Lookin’ back on how it was
In years gone by
And the good times that I had
Makes today seem rather sad
So much has changed

It was songs of love that
I would sing to then
And I’d memorize each word
Those old melodies
Still sound so good to me
As they melt the years away

Repeat (*)

All my best memories
Come back clearly to me
Some can even make me cry
Just like before
It’s yesterday once more

Repeat (*)

//Tong Tong and OK jai's favorite song in Speech of Silence ^_^

New Layout

2008-07-20T16:39:00.000-07:00

After such a LONG time, I finally changed the blog layout! I'm pretty happy with it except I would like to put music, but I am not able to figure that out how yet! If all his good, this is gonna be the layout for a LONG Time from now haha. Any suggestions or comments?

Please take the polls on the left side! One is about the new layout, and the other is a poll on whether Raymond would win Best Actor this year in November! It would definitely be a nice feeling to see Raymond win since I think a majority of us TVB fans watched his career started way back then in ASITP and some fans even earlier before that when he was hosting a programme for TVB8! I guess we will see how he fares in his role in Moonlight Resonance. For now, we can make predictions!

Other than that, hope you enjoy the new layout!

CURRENTLY BEST VIEWED IN MOZILLA FOX, not INTERNET EXPLORER!

No Frankie-Charmaine-Kevin in FH2? - Rumors

2008-07-20T00:18:00.000-07:00

Read here: Asian Fanatics : Kevin, Charmaine and Frankie Are Done, Ron, Myolie and Bernice to Join in FH3

//My Thoughts: These are only rumors, but I actually did enjoy the triangle between Charmaine, Kevin, and Frankie. Although the chemistry between both couples wasn't through the roof, nonetheless, I think both couples were decent to watch. They absolutely can not do away with Frankie since Dr.Koo helps solves like half of most investigation cases. To replace him is unthinkable! Frankie has also done a great job portraying the role of medical examiner, Sam Koo, and Forensics Heroes just would not work without him.

As for Charmaine & Kevin, I would like to see them in FH3 because I really enjoyed watching them towards the end of FH2 and would like to see how they will fare in FH3. Though if Yoyo gets more screen time, it is probably not necessary for TVB to cast Charmaine again since both are female cops (Madams). Kevin's character as a bomb specialist is actually a profession that I wouldn't mind watching more about. They could focus on more bomb cases (which FH2 should've focused more on) if Kevin is back for FH3.

Myolie, Ron, and Bernice seems like a big addition to the cast. Ron & Bernice would be a fresh and beautiful pairing to look forward too, while Ron and Myolie have some chemistry as a couple. With Ron being mentioned in the above news that he would be a policemen, it makes the article seem more like a rumor instead to me. Since Ron is known for his role in The Academy I, II, and III, why would he be picked to play a cop in FH3 also? I know, it's possible of course, but wouldn't TVB consider the idea that it may be confusing for some viewers to see him as a cop in another serie, not to imagine how they would probably milk another sequel out of the third installment too?

The article also talks about focusing back on Bobby-Yoyo's relationship in FH3, but I think their relationship was actually written very well in FH2. I like how they were strong as a couple, and there were many scenes that show them as a loving couple. I never did like them as a couple in FH1 since they were rushed and seemed more one-sided to me. Also, the ratings weren't too bad for this serie. They weren't through the roof, but I think FH is the 4th highest rating serie of the year so far. I do agree with the article that the cases in FH2 were not very interesting and easy to solve though, so they should definitely focused on that.

What do you think? Keep the cast of FH2 or dump Frank-Charmaine-Kevin for younger blood Myolie-Ron-Bernice?

TVB8 Program will air 7/27

2008-07-18T22:47:00.000-07:00

The TVB8 game show episode with both Shirley & Bosco will air on 7/27/08!
*credits to lovebosco.net

Clip about the show with two brief clips of Shirley & Bosco interviewing each other: Sina Video of TVB 8 Game Show Program

Not a very fun clip of them, but it was cute watching them interviewing each other. I wish they would star in another serie as a couple again!

For more on Bosco & Shirley: http://chakkei.blogspot.com/

Francis Ng says TVB Actors & Series gone downhill

2008-07-12T22:03:00.000-07:00

Read news here: Asian Fanatics: Francis Ng states TVB Actors & Series have gone downhill

In the news article, it has says that Francis Ng has mentioned that a young female actress used to complain to him during filming of Triumph in the Skies that acting in television series is not about talent, but about connections. It is rumored that this is Myolie Wu. Raymond responded saying that he does not believe Myolie would say that and comments that is is more about grasping the opportunities.

//My thoughts: I give props to Francis for stating his opinion. Like Raymond, I do not think Myolie would say that as she was being heavily promoted during Triumph in the Skies time. Heck, she gets to pair with a veteran on his first come-back serie to TVB! It is more probable that it was Michelle Yip since TVB didn't really promote her after Triumph (she went from female lead to mostly supporting for the series she did before she left TVB) and her inevitable break from TVB makes her the most likely to complain about that situation.

I believe the audience can see that actors & actresses who are favored by the top execs are highly promoted, but that is reality. There are people who make it with connections in every field. It really sucks, but there's nothing that can be done. There's no rule that says you can't play the favoritism card. So I think if the actor or actress have potential and can prove it to the audience, then it doesn't matter if they are heavily promoted. To those who can not prove their potential but are vastly promoted, then they only draw criticisms upon themselves. Thus, they can be over-promoted at one point but gain nothing at the end.

As for the quality of series and actors & actresses' talent going down, I half-agree. Compared with actors & actresses in the 90s and earlier, I do feel that actors & actresses back then had more passion and charisma with acting, and series were more intriguing and addictive. However, it is a different era and while series in the past were more dramatic and characters were more complex and deep, ever since post- SARs, HK audience has been favoring family series moreso than drama.

Is it about TVB not taking the risks? TVB does try to have different plots and be creative here and there, but these series just do not do as well with ratings as compared to the familiar type of family series that HK audience seems to favor. It would be so as to say "throwing away the rice" if TVB does not produce series that are of the HK audience's taste.

And with the acting, with very few series that write complex characters, how would actors & actresses be able to demonstrate their abilities to act different characters, especially when actors & actresses often stay in the comfort zone too?

Anyhow, at the end of the day, TVB's job is to entertain and through complaints or applauses, their series as well as actors & actresses still manages to entertain TVB fans around the world. Until one day when there are no more discussions about their new series, then their series & actors and actresses have truly gone downhill.

On a side note, I have read a rumor that there would be a sequel to Triumph in the Skies. Anyone heard about it??

*Edit: part of the news from 星島日報 2008-07-12 that I have translated:
Credits to lovebosco.net

To expose Siu Sung, Fa Dan's Bad Attitude

Other than talking about TVB dramas' quality, Francis also expressed that he does not understand why TVB holds the TVB Anniversary Awards every year, and feels that this would only divide the Siu Sung and Fa Dans. He and Sandra Ng Kwan Yu both pointed out that TVB's system of promotion is to put them on news headlines, but do not train their acting skills. This is not a good image.

Regarding the repeat of the serie at night, having taken part in the TV series Triumph in the Skies, Francis exposed that during filming back then, there was a Fa Dan, whose acting was very disappointing. There was a phrase that could not be done well, and NG about 30 times. He wanted to comfort her, but she cried and said "Acting in series [do they not] nowadays rely on relationships? Still need acting skills?"

He also commented on one of the four top Siu Sungs during that time [consisting of]: Bosco, Ron, Sammul, and Kenneth. He remembered in one scene, one of the Siu Sungs said the wrong phrase, and Francis wanted to advise him, but the Siu Sung questioned him "What does it have to do with you?". Francis laughingly remarked that back then when he has acted in dramas, he does not dare to go against veterans.

//My thoughts: Interesting....wonder which Siu Sung it was?

Charlene & Show to be a Couple in a Movie soon!

2008-07-12T21:50:00.000-07:00

Read news here: Asianfanatics: Show Luo and Charlene Choi to make a movie!

The tentative title of this serie is Passionate Love, and it may be a tragic movie. I first saw them on Show's talkshow program, and they seem like a very cute couple. I was hoping they would get to be in a movie someday, so I'm excited about this movie! I think they will have a lot of chemistry together.

//Short Clip of Charlene talking about the movie:

//Watch an old hilarious clip of them singing a Cantonese song on a Show's talkshow program (I believe he is attempting to sing in Cantonese):

Au Revoir Shanghai to air on Pay Vision

2008-07-12T20:06:00.000-07:00

Old Promotional Event Picture from Sohu.com

I just saw this news on lovebosco.net by member mui mui. Au Revoir Shanghai will air on August 12, 2008 as mentioned on TVB 剧集台 website.

Very happy to know since there may be a possibility of another promotional event with Bosco & Shirley! Bosco & Michael Mui are also quite good friends, so if there any promotional events, they will bring a fun atmosphere! I am a little curious whether Anne Heung would attend if there is a promotional event since she has left the entertainment circle already. I hope she would, but it would be hard to take a day off at her workplace. Imagine the boss's reaction when she says "Boss, can I take a day or two off to promote a Hong Kong TV show I was a main lead in?"

I remember Au Revoir Shanghai is an ok serie, and I thought it was very interesting towards the beginning, but I didn't like it as much as the serie progressed. Nonetheless, the Bosco & Shirley scenes were cute, but I didn't quite like their relationship in this serie because Shirley's character spent a majority of the time with Power Chan's character.

Hope to see the cast promote the serie in August!

For other Bosco & Shirley news, please visit: http://chakkei.blogspot.com/

Jadedreams Central Discussion Board

2008-07-08T22:25:00.000-07:00

I was fond of visiting the simple discussion boards such as "New TVB Series Discussion forum" from Ciniple back then in the late 90s or so. The newest and most popular topics would always be on top, the most interesting topics will have the longest thread, and anyone can post with a click.

Thus, I wanted to start a discussion board with the same kind of format as the Ciniple forums and see if there would be fans who would like to interact like the good old times.

This board is free so it's not gonna be awesome as the ones from Ciniple back then, and maybe this board would be dead, but hey, at least its a try for good times sake!

Anyhow, I've started some topics. Check it out and feel free to post anything! Please share the forum with others if you could!

LINK is here -> Jadedreams Central Discussion Board

//

Moonlight Resonance. 家好月圆

2008-07-06T17:28:00.000-07:00

Moonlight Resonance Trailer

Usually referred to "Heart of Greed 2", Moonlight Resonance is the official TVB title. The trailer says that TVB will air this on July 28th. I am surprised that they are airing it so early, but considering it is 40 episodes, the ending will be shown about a week after the Moon Festival holiday on September 14, 2008 (China Time).

I really like how some of the characters got up and arrange new positions in the trailer. I have not watched HOG I, but I like how the trailer shows the character arrangement from HOGI, and then everyone got up and changed their spots. Although this serie is completely different from HOG I, it's quite a creative way to show that the actors and actresses will play different characters in this serie, and that the feud & triangles are different.

The cast is incredibly stunning. Michelle Yim looks beautiful, and I have no doubts she will give a fine performance as the villain of this serie. Kate Tsui's character is also very interesting. She is suppose to be a villain or a semi-villain in this serie. Shirley will get to guest star as the young Lee Szi Kei in this serie. The will also be Lee Heung Kum's first come-back serie in a long time. And the two hottest guys at TVB that I just can not pick over (Raymond & Bosco) will be fighting over a girl!? Now, IF ONLY, if only, it could be Tavia that they fight over, man it would be one triangle I wouldn't miss for anything. Imagine the chemistry between both guys! However, unlucky for me and perhaps other TVB fans who are not fond of her, it is Linda Chung who will be stuck between two fine guys.

In Cantonese, there is a term call "duk nan, duk bei" which translates to meaning something like "you don't like seeing and feel that they are in the way" which generally means you don't like that person. When it comes to a grand cast and a potential great serie, whenever I find Linda Chung is casted in the serie, I feel that way. I think she is like the only thorn amidst a bouquet of roses. That is how I feel about her in The Gem of Life too. Thus, her being in the cast is my only disappointment. I can only hope her being casted in two grand productions this year means that she will stay out of future grand productions for the next year or so (I can only hope forever too!). Sorry Linda, TVB and the Hong Kong audience must love you, but I do not.

直覺, "Intuition" sang by Joyce Cheng

2008-07-05T16:34:00.000-07:00

直覺 [TVB《甜言蜜語》主題曲]- 鄭欣宜
"Intuition" TVB's themesong for Sweet Talk, sang by Joyce Cheng
作曲：周永恒
填詞：陳詩慧

寂靜若笑聲不再動聽
Silence, as if though the sound of laughter is not pleasant to hear
說話無奈已聽不到怎呼應
Words spoken, can not help but am not able to listen anymore, [so] how to respond?
能用心聽仍未肯定
Can use the heart to listen, yet still can not be sure
雙眼總算可以看清
[My] pair of eyes could still be able to see clearly

**誰會以真心的對我如若說出口可算麼
Who would treat me with genuine feelings; if said out loud, does this count?
又無需許下承諾只話甜言蜜語出錯
There’s no need to leave a promise, then say the sweet talk was just an error
用我雙眼看會否清楚
Using my pair of eyes to see, would it be clear?
問那位真心的對我
Ask who will treat me with genuine feelings
直覺推測應該會是沒有錯*
[My] Intuition deduces that indeed there should be no error.

假使沒有開口說在意
Suppose, [even though I] have not express this attention out loud
心裡其實很清楚你的真摰
The heart actually knows your true sincerity.
無用猜疑如若表示
No need to doubt, if there is an expression
輕輕一個擁抱已知
A light hug [and] it is known

Repeat * *

*Chinese lyrics founded here: king-zone.com
*Translation: My version of the translation into English

// The first time I heard this song, I didn't think much of it, but after listening a couple of times, I grew to like it. Joyce seems like she put a lot of emotions into the song, especially the chorus part. If Joyce is able to sing this nicely live, then she may have a career in singing after all.

I find this song quite romantic. It's like blocking everything else around you, and asking yourself if the person in front of you, really loves you.

The Belle's of TVB

2008-06-28T23:55:00.000-07:00

*warning: may be spoilerish!

Fate – Two Guys – True Love

//Triumph in the Skies

This Belle believes in fate and that the bracelet which brought together her parents will also bring her and her true love together. Belle meets Sam, who consistently finds her bracelet whenever she drops it and gives it back to her. However, because of a misunderstanding, she married Vincent instead. There have been doubts here and there after marriage, but she finally realizes that they were meant to be...

//Forensics Heroes II

This Bell does not believe in fate, but conveniently one of her colleague tells her one day that as a Libra, a prince charming will find something she lost that is important to her. Sure enough, one day she has lost her pen cap which is very important to her. Ivan finds it, gives it to Sam, and Sam gave it to Belle. Ivan came to like Belle later and pursues her. Belle ends up dating Ivan, but realizes that she may have feelings for Sam. Towards the end, she made her choice...

The Belle's of TVB are sure lucky, don’t you think? :)

Twins Possible Split?

2008-06-28T23:27:00.000-07:00

*Source: Sina, Mingpao
Credit: Lena ♥ @ http://asianfanatics.net

Read News Here

//My Thoughts:
This news piece is just a rumor. EEG has denied this breakup, and no official source has confirmed yet. It has been about 7-8 years since this group of unknown pop duo turned 'red' and became familiar faces in the HK entertainment biz. Like them or not, it is fair to say that they are quite iconic in Hong Kong entertainment industry.

Many HK entertainment fans, whether fans of the music, movie, and or even television scene immediately knows that the name 'Twins' refer to ah Sa and ah Gill. However, this name does not actually represent them in all aspects of the entertainment circle. Charlene & Gillian are mostly known as 'Twins' when it comes to making albums and advertisements. Save for a few exceptions, their movie career paths have been individually paved. Thus, if they break up, then it would mostly affect their music route.

What do I think? I do not think they need to break up directly because of this scandal. Realistically, I think they should break up only if their album do not sell well. I do not know for sure, but it seems like the news of them breaking up was pretty hot news. Maybe EEG released the news to test the waters and see if people still care about Twins? If they did, then I would say yeah, people still care. I think EEG should release a new Twins album and see how it fares. If it fares well, then why not keep them as a pop group for a couple more years? Unlike movies and television, people actually do not have to see them.

Anyhow, I'm interested to know what other people think about this. Should they split up? Please vote in below poll.

The Silver Chambers of Sorrow; 銀樓金粉 Review

2008-06-28T18:34:00.001-07:00

Title: The Silver Chambers of Sorrow aka 銀樓金粉(2008)
Producer: 唐基明
Episodes: 21
Cast: Christine Ng, Nancy Sit, Paul Chun, Ng Wait Kwok, Shirley Yeung, Jack Wu, Charmaine Li, Matt Yeung, Rebecca Chan, Nancy Wu, Eric Li, Winnie Yeung
Theme: Pre-modern ancient serie
Setting: Guangdong province
Themesong: Sang by Ivana Wong
Awards won from this serie: N/a

Warning….some major spoilers here and there….

Basic setup of the serie…

Basically, this is a TVB serie about a traditional wealthy family in pre-modern ancient times. The family is preparing to celebrate the grandfather’s upcoming birthday. To everyone’s surprise, the second son of the family (Ng Wai Kwok) returns with his wife and son! It is very surprising to the whole family because it was known that he left and never came back home for 8 years! The third wife of the patriarch, Sau Hung (Christine Ng) begins to show signs of jealousy since it was revealed that she and the patriarch’s brother were lovers in the past. She is still in love with him and still yearns to be with him despite being his sister-in-law!

With the story focusing on the gold business, there is much struggle over traditional versus modern ways of doing business during that time. The other focus is the thoughts and beliefs of women during that time. The personality and the different sides of each of the female characters is one of the highlights of this serie.

Character and Actor Discussions….

Nancy Sit as matriarch/first wife – I was disappointed with this character because I was anticipating it being a more villanish role for Nancy. About 99% of the time, she is kind-hearted and the decisions she has made were generally mostly due to the situation. It was not a very outstanding performance because the character itself was not very hard to portray, but nonetheless, she did an ok job.

Paul Chun as patriarch- I find that his character was despicable at times because of his traditional mindset. However, there are times when he is very soft-hearted such as how he treats his dog or how he shows he seems to show that he cares for his third wife, Sau Hung (Christine Ng). In general, I don’t like this character, and by the last episode, it pretty much sealed the deal for me that this character was just horrible. Despite all the nice or good things he had done, his actions in the last episode sealed the deal that the character is a miserable, horrible man. I think Paul Chun also did an ok job in here as well, but I think he has done villain roles in older TVB series that seems much more superb.

Christine Ng as third wife- Her character is, in my opinion, the real female lead as this serie revolves around her a major part of the time. She was in love with the second brother in the serie, but he chooses not to be with her due to his obligations to his wife, so she was discontent and seeks revenge by being with Paul Chun’s character again, then she becomes alcoholic and does many things to gain Paul’s favor, but ends up hurting everyone around her and herself. In general, Christine did a decent job in here, but I did not like her character that much. Her character’s progress throughout changed too soon, too fast, and it is not very appealing. Sometimes she seems strong and competent, then lovesick and dependent, then horrendous and conniving, delusional and jealous, etc. Towards the end, it was hard to see her be the gentle and serene Sau Hung again. It is just not the same after all she has done. I pity her character in the beginning, but it all went downhill once she rejected the opportunity to be free again and went back into the Sheung’s family.

Ng Wai Kwok as brother- This character serves as sort of a moral compass in this serie and tries to reason with his brother many times over traditional versus modern thinkings with business and family life. I like his how his character has integrity and is always very respectful and considerate, and most of the scenes with his wife (acted by Winnie Yeung) were pleasant to watch. As for Ng Wai Kwok’s performance, I would have to say it is below average. His acting lacks fire for this character, in which he had for his character in The Drive of Life. I don’t know whether it is just the character’s problem or Ng Wai Kwok’s boredom with this character, but I don’t find his acting or the character above average.

Shirley Yeung as maid- Shirley plays Christine Ng’s maid in this serie and is very loyal to her. Later on it turns out that she is the daughter of Paul Chun’s character. At first, she and Jack Wu’s character do not get along because she thinks he’s her bad luck star, but then after realizing that Jack is a good guy and cares about her, she starts liking him. In all honesty, I think Shirley’s character is unnecessary, and it was also not a good performance from her. There was nothing different or challenging about this character compared to other characters she has done except that she was bullied for a while, and her acting has failed to convince me the pain she was in when she was bullied too. For example, in Lost in the Chamber of Love, there was a couple of scenes in which Myolie was hit by the head mistress/matriarch, and when she was screaming, it seems like she was really in pain! I really like Shirley and I’ve seen her done better, so I guess I will have to say this character just isn’t very outstanding.

Jack Wu as worker- Jack Wu plays the son of Paul Chung’s right-handed man. When he was young, he was sent off by Paul to gain an education (don’t remember for what, but I think it’s some sort of gold-making trade). Anyhow, he comes back and he works for Paul, but realizes that Paul isn’t as great as he thought he is, and goes under the second brother’s (Ng Wai Kwok) wing. He likes Shirley since young, and Charmaine Li’s character really likes him. Jack Wu’s character is another unnecessary character, and I would say he’s mainly there as the love interest of the younger gals. However, I did enjoy his scenes with Charmaine Li, not so much with Shirley though.

Charmaine Li as daughter- She plays the only daughter of the matriarch (Nancy Sit), and she was passionately in love with Jack’s character after appreciating his knowledge of the outside world in which she is often fascinated in. In one scene, after getting rejected by Jack, she got into an accident and ended up handicap from the waste down. Because Jack feels guilty about this, he decided to marry her. However, towards the end, she ends up letting him go and went off to France with her uncle. I was happy she ended up going to France to "see the outside world" as she has always wanted.

Rebecca Chan as second wife- Rebecca plays the second wife of Paul Chun’s character. She became the second wife, after betraying her mistress (Nancy Sit’s character) and gave birth to Paul Chun’s one and only son (acted by Matt Yeung). She is quite petty, and does most of the trouble-making towards the beginning of the serie.Towards the end, she became insane due to death of her most beloved son. We even have a scene in which Paul Chun’s character kicked her in the stomach after finding out the son’s death was due to her advice. Thus, her character is quite pitiful in the end.

Nancy & Eric Li as a couple having an affair- I think Nancy Wu did a good job portraying a modern, somewhat loose type of woman. She enjoys western entertainment, but she ended up settling down by marrying Paul Chun’s character. I quite enjoyed watching her scenes with Eric Li, those were pretty entertaining to watch.

The Relationships….

Sadly, there are not many romantic relationships to root for in this serie, which give this serie another negative point. Yes, Jack & Shirley was a couple, but their relationship could make me fall asleep. I was rooting for Charmaine Li & Jack, which could be written to be something interesting, but nope, he only loves Shirley’s character. Other than that, Nancy Wu and Eric Li has got to be the most fun to watch in here, but their relationship was marked for doom. I didn’t appreciate the romantic story between Ng Wai Kwok and Christine. They lack chemistry as a couple, and I felt their relationship sort of dragged throughout the whole serie.

Comments

This serie was a major, major disappointment for me. I was heavily anticipating this serie for the cast, but not only were the characters not very outstanding, the acting was also below average in general. I am not kidding when I say there is really a lack of drive to keep people tuned in. In fact, there were quite a handful of episodes which ended at points where it doesn’t keep you intrigued, to continue watching. How did I manage to finish? I guess the characters had something that kept me watching to see how they will end up at the end.

The most positive factor about this serie is the writing of the female characters. They’re not exactly two-dimensional so it can be interesting to watch the character develop. Nancy Sit’s character is the head of the household, but yet she can be very sentimental at times. Nancy Wu is modern, sort of loose woman but yet she’s afraid of her husband finding out that she’s having an affair. Rebecca Chan’s character is a bully, but she loves her son a lot. Then there is Christine Ng’s character which managed to show a variety of personalities as the serie progressed. As the female characters develop throughout the serie, you would see that they all have different goals and dreams, but are very much confined by traditional thinking and family.

I think throughout the serie, it has some traces of War & Beauty like there was the overhead scenic shot of the buildings they were living in, how the wives try to maintain a good position in the family, and even the bit towards the end with the fire. It is not using the exact same plot and storyline of course, but there are some traces here and there.

Surprisingly, the ratings for this serie was better than I expected, averaging 30 points. The last week even reached 34 points with the highest at 40 pts at one time.

My Rating:
*2 Cups of Herbal Tea (2 out of 5 stars)
1st cup for the variety of characters
2nd cup for some refreshing plots

Herbal Tea is not for everyone. It’s got a distinct flavor, so it takes time to get familiar with the flavor. Although not a drink to drink every day, after drinking for a while, you’ll come to appreciate the different flavors just like the different characters within this serie.

A Must Watch IF:
1. If you want to watch the types of different women during that time period, their thinking and actions.
2.. If you like watching women manipulate and scheme against each other, as well as a lot of petty arguments between the ladies.
3. If you like watching family-centered series
4. You like watching complex characters and character development.
5. Something to pass time with.
6. If you are a major fan of any of the cast and don’t mind watching their serie no matter whether it is good or bad.

Stay Away IF:
1. You prefer series that are fast-paced and intriguing.
2. You don’t like to watch a lot of long dialogues and or sentimental, crying scenes.
3. You prefer watching series with romantic relationships worth rooting for.
4. If you are looking for extreme cast chemistry.
5. Moments or scenes that make you go, what the heck?

Some Concert News...

2008-06-22T19:12:00.001-07:00

I usually do not post about concert news, but as there is one good news piece and two upcoming HK celebrity concerts in US & Canada that I think are interesting, here goes:

I. Kelly Chen announces Her Marriage at Concert
*Link: AsianFanatics
*Credits to themissingpiece @ Asianfanatics.net

As the last singer to hold a concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum before renovations, Kelly Chen's "Love Fighters 2008" concert drew to a close last night. In front of an audience of 20,000 near the end of the concert, Kelly announced that she will get married soon to her boyfriend of many years, Alex Lau. During the announcement, Kelly could not hide her joy and started crying. She said that after marriage, she will continue her work in the entertainment industry and will NOT quit the industry.

Direct quote from fans, here was Kelly's exact announcement translated:

"With this concert, I completed a big mission. I will continue with another big mission. I am getting married!!! (Crowd goes ecstatic for 2 minutes). I finally said it, I wanted to say it for a long time already. If I get married, and the Coliseum is finished with repairs, will you guys come back and watch me? What if I have kids and am holding two babies?"

//I am very happy to hear this marriage news! The way she said it was so cute! I am not sure of the date on which she shared the happy news, but it must be during the week of June 16 since this news was posted on June 18. It was cute how she said she wanted to share the news, and it was hard to hold it back! I wonder how her boyfriend proposed. It is very interesting how HK celebrities date for such a long time before getting hitched. For Hollywood celebrities, it seems to take like three months lol

II. Bernice Liu, Raymond Lam, & Linda Chung Concert in Canada - August 2008

*For more information, please visit: Aznconcerts.blogspot.com ; Taipan Tours

// It's too bad I'm located in the US or else I would consider going for Bernice & Raymond! Am still waiting for them to pair up as a couple in another serie since Survivor's Law I! It would also be interesting to hear them sing the themesongs. While I'm not a big fan of Linda, I do think she has potential as a singer.

III. Joey Yung Concert at Atlantic City, Trumph's Taj Mahal Casino - September 2008

*Picture from: Wiki

*For more information, please visit: Aznconcerts.blogspot.com ; Raymond Miu Productions

// This would probably be an awesome concert since I love a majority of Joey's songs, but New Jersey is far from Texas lol. Why, oh why, don't HK celebs visit Texas??

Siu Sung & Siu Fa Dan Series over the years...

2008-06-20T20:04:00.001-07:00

What is this?
Ever since the year 2000, many young TVB Siu Sungs and Siu Fa Dans were given the opportunity to star in many series, but how many series are they truly a part of? How many series have they starred with each other? Thus, I decided to do some research of my own.

Although Wikipedia may not be the most accurate source to go for information, it was the fastest source to get information and what the heck, this is just for fun. So I went to the Chinese Wikipedia pages of the actors and actresses and tabulated the TVB serie they were a part of. Those serie in which they were a part of as leading or supporting were counted. For other series, I used my best judgment to consider whether they are just cameos and or have enough speaking scenes in the serie to consider it as one of their serie they are truly a part of.

Why were only these 10 people chosen?
For one, from what I have seen, these 10 people have been involved in a lot of TVB series since 2000. For two, they are all my top favorite TVB actors and actresses. Thus, these are my top choices to do some fast search on.

For those wondering why Michelle Yip is not on the list, I did not include her because she is not part of TVB anymore, but mostly, because she is not part of my favorites list and these ten actors and actresses are.

*Credits go to Chinese Wikipedia pages of respective actors & actresses listing their series
*The ones in parenthesis are the series I am not sure whether to count it as per their serie

What does the graph show?
I have included the series the TVB actors and Actresses are a part of due to leading, supporting, or having enough speaking scenes to consider the serie as one of their series.

The X indicates the respective actor or actress starring in the serie. The X in parenthesis indicates these are the serie in which I am not sure whether to really count as one of their series.

The total # of series I have counted are listed at the bottom, including those in parenthesis. In parenthesis is the # of series that I am not sure whether to truly count it as one of their serie. Thus, you could subtract the number in parenthesis to get the # that I think for sure they have a pretty big role in.

If you would like to take a view of the chart, save the picture and then use a program to zoom in. I am not able to make it bigger.

Some Interesting Results/Trends
1. There are 108 TVB series included in this list, counting new TVB series that has not been shown but that I have read on various news articles that they have finished filming, in the process of filming, or will film for sure. That means, these 10 actors and actresses have starred in over 108 series whether individually or co-starring with one another.

2. Using the total # of series from each respective artist (counting the series in parenthesis), the average # of series for these ten actors and actresses was 18.2

3. For the male actors, Bosco seems to have the most # of series, while Ron has the least # of series (counting the # in parenthesis).

4. For the female actresses, Tavia seems to have the most # of series, while Bernice seems to have the least # of series (counting the # in parenthesis).

5. The serie which starred the highest # of these ten actors and actresses was Find the Light starring five artistes : Ron, Bosco, Tavia, Shirley, Leila. Series starring four out of ten artistes include Twins of Brothers, Brink of Law, Survivor's Law, Triumph in the Skies, Twins of Brothers, Moonlight Resonance, and The Four.

6. Ron & Sammul seems to have co-starred the most together out of the five guys with 5 series, while Ron & Bosco seems to have co-starred the least with one serie.

7. Tavia & Leila seems to have co-starred the most together out of the five gals with three series, while Bernice & Tavia seems to never have co-star with each other before.

8. Raymond & Tavia seems to have co-starred the most together, with 7 series (including non-couple series). Kenneth & Tavia seems to never have co-star with each other.

9. Out of 108 series, 45 series are ancient. That means a majority of the series these ten actors & actresses have filmed are modern series. However, this varies for each respective actor and actresses.

10. Theres are about 20 grand productions these ten artistes have starred in.

11. So who actually is the Ratings King and Queen of these ten? Well, I don't know for sure. I originally wanted to do research on this but as I can not find the average ratings of their series, I was not able to see. From observations of this chart, I find it interesting that the male actors overall seems to star in more "hit series" (based on ratings hype I've read from news articles) than the female actresses. Wonder if that is part of the reason TVB is promoting more of newer actresses like Linda Chung, Kate Tsui, Fala Chen, Selina Li etc.

Don't Take the Results Too Seriously
Please do not take these results seriously. For one, for some series that I have not seen, I do not know whether these actors or actresses have a lot of screen time to actually call the serie as one of their serie. Of course, the leading and supporting roles are counted, but I have not watched all 100+ series these actors & actresses starred in, and I do not have photographic memory. Some of them are just based on guesses, and others could be bias due to what amount is considered a cutoff point to include the serie as theirs. For example, I counted Shirley in Forensics Heroes II as one of her series(although in parenthesis), but I did not count Ron in Aqua Heroes or Kenneth in The Last Breakthrough although they did have speaking scenes in those series.

If you note some errors or feel that a serie should be counted, please inform me so that I could make the changes to the list. Notice any other trends, leave your comments!

Bosco & Shirley at TVB8 Program on 6/9/08

2008-06-14T15:52:00.000-07:00

*From now on, posts on Bosco & Shirley will be posted on this blog and my Bosco Wong & Shirley Yeung blog.

*Pictures from LoveBosco.net and on.cc

Finally, Bosco & Shirley meet again filming for a TVB8 Program called 娛樂金剛圈, and they took some pics together outside of the program! The pictures and articles do not show them playing any games together so that's too bad, but heck, pictures are better than nothing! :)

Bosco sure looks skinnier! His hairstyle reminds me of his character in The Price of Greed though! Shirley looks cute as usual!

hmm....I've noticed that in many pictures, Bosco & Shirley doesn't seem that close as compared to say Bosco & Tavia or Bosco & Myolie. Bosco & Shirley seem very distant. Through so many cooperations and appearances together, I would've thought they were be somewhat friends, but in many pictures, it doesn't seem to show?

Well I hope they would pair up again in another serie, but a serie that is worth it. I would rather wait for a great script and a good couple storyline for them to portray. When they pair up again, I hope it would be an awesome serie that showcase their chemistry and put them up there as TVB top couples. Well, they have to shorten that distance between each other to do so, but I do hope they can one day!

//For more on Bosco & Shirley, please visit: http://chakkei.blogspot.com/

Classic TVB serie, "名門"

2008-06-13T21:09:00.001-07:00

http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/ecIFekqIjvE/

Has anyone seen this old TVB serie before? I do not know whether there was an English name to this serie, but I would translate it as " Prestigious Family". This is one of those really old serie I have watched when I was a little kid. I don't quite remember the plot nor the characters, but I remember it was quite tragic and the ending was very unexpected. I was searching for this serie's themevideo since The Silver Chambers of Sorrow sort of reminded me of this serie at the beginning(I guess with it being about a big family and all). Plus, this themesong was one of those songs that make a long-lasting impression.

The themesong was sang by Lui Fong, and the lyrics were by the legendary Wong Jim. Sigh...really miss the themesongs of the past which had more meaning to them. Has anyone watched this serie before?

Themesong Lyrics:

演唱：吕方
作曲：黎小田
作词：黄霑

怎么解决这份冤
怎么解脱万重孽缘
重重命运围住我
绕着你打圈

心知是未了债理亦还乱
隐隐我又觉得
情缘是就要变
仿佛是那交叉的线
一相逢人就散
不会是大团圆

偏偏心里挂牵
偏偏心里充满依恋
仍然命运围住我
绕着你打转

Credits: Jennydu1999 from http://tieba.baidu.com/f?kz=308935030

Dayo & Charmaine Pairing Up in New Series

2008-06-09T22:49:00.000-07:00

Some information about the serie:

"Dayo Wong will be returning in late September to film new TVB series produced by Cheung King Man. This time, Dayo will become a genius entrepreneur who saves a lot of businesses. He will be paired up with Charmaine Sheh, starting from bickering enemies to lovers. As Dayo once complained that he doesn't get paired with fadans often, TVB arranged for him to work with five fadans.

According to souces, Dayo's role in the new series is very intelligent and has an attitude. He is a genius entrepreneur but only concerned about making money. Due to a mistake, he learned a lesson and stop emphasising on money and decided to bceoma 'business doctor.' However, his methods are very weird and set up deathtraps before turning the situation around. People have mixed reactions toward him.

As for Charmaine, in the beginning she mistook him for a bad person tehrefore she constantly ruins his plans and goes against him. From fighting they fell in love. The series plotline will be in chapter format (different store every few episodes) and there will be a lot of attractive actresses guest starring the series such as Bernice Liu and Angela Tong. All of them likes him therefore Dayo definitely will have a good time filming the series."

*Credits: [Oriental Daily 05/06/2008]; Sehseh's Blog; posted on AsianFanatics by foreverleila

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As a fan of Dayo Wong, I'm excited to hear that he will be filming another TVB serie again! His character seems very interesting, and seems like it might be a challenge for him. My feelings about him and Charmaine are neutral. I was not particularly excited upon hearing them pairing up as a couple, but since Dayo is such a funny guy, perhaps Charmaine and him will have some sparks during filming!

Is Sammul Chan a Good Singer?

2008-05-18T00:55:00.000-07:00

I. 陳鍵鋒- 捨不得 MV

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvElzI6CB0A

陳鍵鋒- 捨不得 Lyrics
Credits: Lyrics from here

我是真的捨不得
捨不得讓你遠走
捨不得讓你的一切變成了泡沫
黑夜都逃離了燈火

眼淚一顆一顆不停流
流到嘴邊化爲了虛空
空中還有一點點溫柔
是你的放縱

思念一片一片地拼湊
湊成你最驕傲的輪廓
我們到底犯了什麽錯
愛情讓人落魄

我是真的捨不得
捨不得讓你遠走
捨不得讓你的一切變成了泡沫
黑夜都逃離了燈火

我是真的捨不得
捨不得讓你難過
捨不得讓你的溫度在手心陷落
分手是真的不快樂

每次夜色降臨都感到冷清
逃進空洞人群

那一種快樂才讓人放心
被動地隨你悲喜

我是真的捨不得
捨不得讓你遠走
捨不得讓你的一切變成了泡沫
黑夜都逃離了燈火

我是真的捨不得
捨不得讓你難過
捨不得讓你的溫度在手心陷落
分手是真的不快樂

MY THOUGHTS: This MV is of Sammul singing in the studio. I think it's a more enhanced version, but nonetheless the song is a nice ballad and really pleasant to the ears!

II. Sammul @ cne 2005 singing Eason's song "Bicycle"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIh8NRzTnVg

MY THOUGHTS: I think he sang the song pretty well until the very end because he couldn't sing reach the high note haha. As for the rest of the song, I think he did a decent job singing it live. Not bad, not bad at all for an Eason song...

III. Survivor's Law Themesong- Sammul Chan (live)
忘記傷害 (禁毒廣告創作比賽首播會) - 陳鍵鋒

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7xfzOmV6sE

MY THOUGHTS: This is a must-hear! I have to say, I really like Sammul's rendition of the themesong, much moreso than Raymond's version. I thought Raymond's version of the song was ok, but I never really liked it, but after hearing this version, I really like the song! Sammul is able to lift the song up, giving it more melody. Raymond's vocals, though while being strong and deep, it drags the song out.

IV. 孩子，讓我愛- Sammul Chan MV

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2uzNQfvKWI

Sammul's Live Performance of this song at 4:27

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QQCENZiEZ4

MY THOUGHTS: This MV is for a movie about motherly love staring Kiki Sheung, Damian Lau, and Sammul himself. I think it is an alright song. Some parts of it is somewhat gospel-like for me. The movie looks very touching though.

V. 陳鍵鋒-旋旋轉MV

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxTWCYd36Sk

MY THOUGHTS: This MV is for a children's program show. His singing vocals is quite smooth and clear.

VI. Other clips of Songs He Sang:

CLICK 中你 - Sammul Chan (Recommended!)
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/mUKrhRvxTec/

左擁右抱 - Sammul Chan
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/NPrOt33nPOk/

同等的空間 - Sammul Chan
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/8dljyGhxfXg/

隱形眼鏡俠 - Sammul Chan
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/QoI7OH8-Rt4/

新朋友 - Sammul Chan
http://video.pomoho.com/ent/763485

VII. Other live, but not clear performances:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QQCENZiEZ4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCZqFdTWIdo

* All Clips and Videos uploaded by various people at respective websites.
************************

So is Sammul a good singer? I have to say, I really like his singing from the videos and songs above! His Mandarin is also pretty good, but I like his Cantonese songs more. I can't say he's a great singer along the ranks of the top top singers, but he would make some awesome ballads and nice themesongs or sub-themesongs as demonstrated by the song 'Click 中你'.

I read that he is going to sing the themesong of The Four with Raymond, Ron, and Kenneth. But watch they give all the good parts to Raymond and Ron, and Sammul ends up with like one line and the chorus with everyone, which would be sad since he's the best singer out of all of them actually.

So what do you think? Is Sammul a good singer? a decent singer? or just alright? Share your opinion in comments section!

D.I.E aka 古靈精探

2008-05-17T20:38:00.000-07:00

Title: D.I.E aka 古靈精探(2008)
Producer: 張乾文
Episodes: 25
Cast: Roger Kwok, Sonjia Kwok, Kenneth Ma, Derek Kwok, Margie Tsang, Mimi Lo
Theme: Modern Police Investigation Series
Setting: Hong Kong
Themesong: Sang by Roger Kwok
Awards won from this serie: Highest Rating Serie so far for 2008

The Setup of the Serie….

The beginning drive of the serie in which D.I.E is formed is quite funny and somewhat creative. In the police force, there are those cops that are great detective material, and then there are the klutz who usually gives more headache to their ‘head’ as in the Cantonese phrase “meh wok” (literally translated carrying a wok) meaning having to carry the burden with the problems than actually giving any achievements. So what to do with them? Why not gather them up and send them somewhere so as to alleviate the problems? Thus, the brash tomboy who is all quick acting, but no thinking- Sonjia, the cop with a silly health problem- Roger, the girl who always want to look pretty and marry a great bachelor – Mimi Lo, and the guy who is afraid of blood – don’t know his name, and a little bit later on, the Bruce Lee wanna-be – Derek Kwok, were all sent to an empty station to form a new group call D.I.E. Thus, this group of silly cops went on to solve unsolved cases on victims who were killed for a while.

Character and Actor Discussions….

Roger’s character has been struck by lightning, thus whenever he touches objects or the victim from the scene of the murder, he would have “Tung Ling Kum” which is a process in which he gets literally knocked out for a couple of minutes, and he would experience things from a different world, sometimes it can be a reenactment of the crime, or it could be signaling an object that is key to solving the case. So through each case, Roger is usually the intelligence behind each group. He also likes to read detective manga or anime, and he is fairly intelligent with solving the cases throughout the serie. Roger Kwok did a good job as usual, but I can’t say it was something surpassing the usual.

Sonjia’s character is tomboy who seems to only have one goal in her mind always- “catch the criminal. “ There are many times in the serie in which she doesn’t think before she acts which leads to many “man why did you do that?” shouts at the screen, but nonetheless I think it is a very refreshing role for Sonijia. I am surprised that I actually enjoy Sonjia’s performance even though I get annoyed of her always rushing to catch the criminal without thinking about whether it was the right situation. Nonetheless, I still liked her character. She was pleasant to watch, and she has nice chemistry with both Roger and Kenneth Ma, especially Kenneth Ma. I still can not pinpoint on why I like this character, but I think it is because this is the first character of Sonjia’s that isn’t stereotyped as a bad or rude person. She has her weak points, but nonetheless she is a very sweet and normal girl. I guess what I’m saying is Ching Ching is a down to earth gal, and I don’t see Sonijia Kwok when she is onscreen, but just a simple and cute girl name Ching Ching…which marks good improvements for Sonjia! Not a bad performance, but the girl still needs to work on her crying. Also, I find it pretty convincing of her to act as the cute and adorable Siu Yee. I didn’t expect the mature and serious Sonjia to be able to deliver Siu Yee’s personality so well! Just for that, I think I should give Sonjia a big applause!

Kenneth Ma plays a good cop, but when it comes to love, he is somewhat “fa sum” in this serie. He is rational and calm, but just a few times in this serie, it portrayed him as not being as quick-witted as solving cases as Roger’s characters. Although this character is suppose to be semi-villianish because of his unfaithfulness to Sonjia’s character, I liked his character throughout the serie. He’s not a bad guy, he just fell for another girl. It’s actually quite refreshing since TVB always like to put the cheater as the bad person, but in this case, they manage to let Kenneth’s character still be a protagonist despite that. By the way, Kenneth Ma was looking HANDSOME in this serie! The hair, the glasses, the fashion, his coolness, the cuteness with Sonjia, whew….just hot haha! I think this is the best look he had in the dozens of TVB series he has been in. And also, I totally buy his portrayal as a good cop. If only there was a DIFV or another serious police investigation drama, I think he would make an awesome main lead.

Derek Kwok’s character in here has one idol, and that is the legendary martial artist, Bruce Lee. Not only does Derek’s character dress like him, but he holds Bruce’s (or what he represent in movies) visions to fight for what’s right, with righteousness comes justice, that sort of thing. Derek is so hilarious in this serie. There was this one scene in which Roger and Derek were re-enacting a crime scene, so one was trying to choke the “victim” while the victim tries to write the other’s name on the floor, and I think Derek ended up writing Roger’s name somewhat more neatly because Roger isn’t able to choke him since he has martial arts background and can hold his breath for a while lol. I didn’t think he looks that great with the Bruce Lee fashion, but this is a very new character for Derek to portray since his character is so silly.

Margie’s character in here is Roger’s bigger sister, a good-hearted and pretty girl. She works at her aunt’s dating service company. Due to Roger’s overly concern about her dating life, her love life is quite void because Roger tends to scare away her boyfriends. I didn’t think her character was really that hard to play. There weren’t many emotionally challenging scenes for her, but she has chemistry with everyone around her. She seems very comfortable, and so I think she gave a pretty good performance for her first comeback serie to TVB. Margie is also definitely very pretty for her age, and she keeps her figure very well after having a kid!

The Relationships….

Roger & Sonjia- These two play the opposites attract couple. For me, I think they were ok as a couple. I like how Roger always looks out for her, and they were given quite a lot of cute scenes together. Actually, I think I like watching them more as partners rather than lovers. Their bickering and Sonjia’s trying to be a better/smarter cop is fun to watch. I think their best scenes together was when with Sonjia’s body was taken over by Siu Yee.

Kenneth & Sonjia- Surprisingly, a very cute couple. Although Sonjia’s character isn’t really the perfect girlfriend throughout their scenes together, I still enjoy watching them. They seem very comfortable together, and I could see them as a couple. It was unexpected they had chemistry together. I really liked that she gave him a second chance after the first unfaithful incident. They also look very compatible together in looks and personality.

Derek & Margie- At times, I think it was a little dragging how their relationship progressed. He likes her, but she did not at first, but eventually they admit their feelings and got together. I actually like watching them more after they got together than before they got together. I think they were cute portraying an older innocent couple, and they did have the necessary chemistry to make it work as a couple, but I have to admit at one point in this serie, I was actually hoping he would hook up with Mimi Lo since I think they would have more fun scenes to watch.

Roger & Siu Yee – I think they deserve a mention as I find them to be quite cute together. Although technically they weren’t really a couple in this serie, but I enjoyed their scenes together. He’s mean to her, but yet he cares a lot for her too. I really liked their last scene when Siu Yee “moves on” at the beach.

My Rating:
*4 Cups of Lemon Iced Tea (4 out of 5 stars)
1st cup for cast chemistry
2nd cup for some refreshing plots
3rd cup for some funny moments/scenes/jokes
4th cup for overall an enjoyable serie to pass time with.

Why lemon iced tea? Because it was refreshing to watch, and you would want to watch it while you're relaxing. Yet it has some sour moments with the lemon, so it may not be for everyone. See reasons to stay away.

A Must Watch IF:
1. You are looking for a serie for enjoyment as this would give you some laughs.
2. You liked To Catch the Uncatchable. The cases and characters are silly and sort of out there (actually this serie is a bit more out there than TCTU due to some unexplainable, supernatural plots).
3. You would like to watch fresh pairings. Roger & Sonija, Kenneth & Sonjia, as well as Derek & Margie all have their chemistry together as a couple
4. Family related scenes….I quite enjoy Sonjia’s interaction with her family and definitely Roger’s interaction with his family
5. You would like to see Sonijia’s major improvement as an actress
6. A really good looking cast haha.
7. You are looking for something to pass time with.

Stay Away IF:
1. You are looking for a serie with serious drama and plots
2. You are looking for awesome police detective investigation cases (the cases in here are not in DIFI-IV’s range). In my opinion, the only interesting one was Kenneth’s case with Queenie. That was the most exciting case throughout the whole serie for me.
3. You need absolute consistency with unfolding of plots….one supporting pairing was somewhat together without any prior scenes of interest for each other.
4. You do not like to watch unexplainable plots like seeing ghosts and having premonition ability.
5. You are looking for an ending that is not rushed.

The Silver Chambers of Sorrow, 銀樓金粉

2008-04-18T21:11:00.000-07:00

*Poster found from: Szeki World; posted by Blue_Angel_12

I am very excited to read that The Silver Chambers of Sorrow will be releasing on April 28th, 2008. The cast is very promising, and I think I like the majority of the cast even though they aren’t popular. This serie is somewhat referred to Heart of Greed ancient version, highlighting family feuds and schemes, but I think it’s also somewhat a little of War & Beauty crossed over with The Charmed Beneath too, while looking at pics and reading the plot. Like War & Beauty, it seems like it would focus on the main wife and the concubines and their feud/scheming with each other, and this seems like a serie the females would get more screen time and a better script. Then like The Charmed Beneath, I think they would be some focus on the patriarch’s children and their romance and lots of arguing from the ladies’ parts. Hopefully this serie would do well, but if TVB has faith to release it so early, then it must not be so bad right?

Well good script or not, I definitely think the acting would be something to look forward too. The majority of the older cast are veterans, so their performance should be stable if not better. The cast as a whole is refreshing to me since I don’t think this group worked together as much (compared to the same cast/couples used over and over again from HOG, Dance of Passion, Gem of Life). I am really interested in how the four wives are going to “duke it out”. Not to mention, it would be interesting to see the four actresses (Nancy Sit, Rebecca Sau, Christina Ng, and Nancy Wu) portray their characters. This serie is also, I believe, Ng Wai Kwok’s second serie since returning to TVB. I quite like watching him from The Drive of Life, so I look forward to his performance in this one as well. And of course, Shirley is also in this serie! I don’t actually like her character’s role and story from what I have read, and it doesn’t seem like a role with a lot of room for her to improve on, but maybe I would change my mind after watching.

I really like the poster of the cast above! It seems like the people to the left of Ng Wai Kwok are the antagonist or the trouble-makers, and the people to his right, are more of the protagonists. Especially like Christina Ng's tragic/sorrowful look! As for the promos, I like the promos focusing on the two lovers moreso than Nancy Sit and Christina Au and Nancy Wu, but both of them are too short though. Wonder when the themesong would come out?

Edit 4/21- Themevideo is added below from todou and youtube. I love the beginning when Nancy Sit does the voiceover which lists a series of human sorrows in life,..it automatically catches your attention. Very fitting with the title. As for the scenes in the themevideo, I anticipate a lot of crying and injustice but nothing really catches my eye though. The song is very beautiful, but it is also not catchy in the first hearing. I just wish the themesong was a bit longer.

Edit 4/23- Added intense trailer clip of this series below from Szeki World. Very intense clips, although a bit revealing about the plot....but nonetheless it seems like a very plot-driven series. Christine Ng seems to be the main female lead or at least the main focus. Can't wait to see how this series would fare for the HK viewers!

I. Themevideo:

II. Themesong sang by Ivana Wong, first few verses recited by Nancy Sit

王菀之 - 認命

獨白：天荒地老　最好忘記
笑也輕微　痛也輕微
生老病死　相聚分離
身不由己　心不由己

曾經我不太相信　定了宿命
曾經我想去反抗　命中注定
如果我感覺心跳沒法安靜
誰願聽

在歲月裡飄和沉　是我的命運
無望中啞忍　痛苦中偷生
用愛換最傷教訓　妄想走近
因此生出了遺憾

如果我可以改變　就勇敢地
留住你

*Lyrics above found from here: http://www.littleoslo.com/lyc/home/?p=1248

III. Trailer & Promos(watch before Youtube takes them down....you know they will!!)

Intense Trailer (recommended) *found from Szeki World

Promo # 1:

Promo # 2:

To see poster of the serie and cast & more info: http://www.shirley-yeung.starszz.com/main.html

Blown Out of Proportion or Wrongful Death?

2008-04-17T17:45:00.000-07:00

On April 5th, a Chinese girl named Tan Jing (谭静) was found dead in Shenzhen, China. I first read this story on Asian Fanatics. What caught my attention first was that she used to be an ATV artiste. The tabloid has reported that she was a prostitute who got into a 4P session (which is like a four-some) and was raped and murdered by three Korean guys. However, the Chinese police deemed her death as a suicide. Netizens and media are still questioning the death and making it a mystery.

After surfing the web around, I have found many stories regarding this incident. Although the tabloid reported that she was a prostitute, there are reports that said she was not a prostitute. There were stories about how she was often partying and meeting up with men. Then, there were stories that she broke up with an American or Thai boyfriend, who cheated her money. There was also bits that said she was unstable because her dad was murdered around the same time a decade ago. What to believe? What to believe?

Well, I think what cause this whole controversy was the photo of her hanging in midair half-naked with a rope tied around on the thought that her body was originally found that way. You can see the picture here, but please be warned that it might be a little too morbid for some. However the picture of the rope tied around her while she was hanging in mid-air was what the police/firemen used to take her body down. Her body was originally on top of a strip between the two buildings. Got to say it was a morbid shot of the body when it was just hanging there though. You could see the original finding of the body in the below Youtube video.

So it is just blown out of proportion or was it a wrongful death? Well it could be both. Perhaps she was murdered and pushed out the window. Perhaps she was, like the police said, committing suicide or just fell to her death b/c she was too drunk to know. Whichever it is, it can be seen how crazy the stories get with just so little information.

What is sad is that there seems to some tensions between Koreans and Chinese due to this incident. Hope that she has been given a proper funeral or will be given one soon and that the tabloids/media doesn't exaggerate too much on this.

Here are some forum topics about this:
http://asianeu.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=73080
http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=212037
http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=155630

Tavia Yeung, Shirley Yeung, and Linda Chung

2008-03-30T17:24:00.000-07:00

Tavia, Shirley, and Linda took a picture together for "Heart of Greed 2" catwalk in the traditional Chinese red wedding chi pao on 3/28/08, and posted it on their TVB Blog. They also took a pic together during the TVB Anniversary Celebration or Awards in November 2007. I wonder if they are really good friends? I thought they look beautiful together despite me not being a Linda Chung fan. Kinda like Charlie's Angels right? lol Anyway, I just made a little fanart of them above. For the real pictures, go to their blog sites.

Since I quite adore Shirley and Tavia individually, I love this pic of them. Hope they would be able to star in another serie and have many friendship or sister scenes together. It is impossible in "HOG2" since Shirley plays the young Lee Sze Kei and is guest starring, while Tavia is part of the main cast.

*Above pics are all found from Shirley and Tavia's TVB Blog:
Shirley Yeung TVB Blog
Tavia Yeung TVB Blog
All pictures owned by TVB and respective artists. Please visit their blog sites for more pictures of them for this event.

TVB plots inspired by Literature & Plays?

2008-03-23T17:06:00.000-07:00

We always compared series to other series or movies, but how about series and literature/books?

American Tragedy & Looking Back in Anger

This possibility first came across my mind when I read An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser in high school. I have watched Looking Back in Anger when I was a little kid, so when I read this novel, I noticed some familiarity with some of the characters and plots. In An American Tragedy, the main character was Clyde Griffiths, and in Looking Back in Anger, the character to be compared would be Ding You Hong (acted by Deric Wan).

Familiarity-

#1 - Both Clyde Griffiths and Ding You Hong were from a poor family.
#2 - Both of them are ambitious and wanted to achieve a better status.
#3 - Both envies those who are wealthy and able to have fun.
#4 - Both of them tries their best to make themselves appear well-to-do.
#5 - Both of them were involved with an automobile accident in which their car hits (and possibly killed someone) which is the start of their problem (though Clyde wasn't behind the wheel though).
#6 - Both wooed a girl (for Clyde, Roberta Aldens; for Ding You Hong, Ka Mun played by Maggie Siu) that they later got pregnant, and the girls forced them to marry or they would exposed the affair.
#7 - Both met a rich girl they were interested in during this time (for Clyde, Sondra Finchley; for Ding You Hong, Cindy played by Kiki Sheung).
#8 - Both murdered their pregnant girlfriends in which the girls would least expect after promising them marriage (Clyde hit Roberta in the face, causing her to fall off the canoe and drowned; while Ding You Hong pushed Ka Mun off the train)
#9 - Both were executed at the end (Clyde by electrocution; Ding You Hong by hanging)

The Counte of Monte Crisco & The Great Vendetta

The second serie that came to mind was actually a very old Adam Cheng series called The Great Vendetta. I have watched this when I was a little kid, and my memory of it is very vague, but I’ve remember only bits and pieces of it . From what I remember, this serie was about a guy (Adam Cheng) who got framed and got put in either prison or some sort of tunnel , and he was able to find a way to lots of treasure somehow, so he used the money, and came back with a different identity and seeked revenge for all those who have hurt him in the past, including the guy who took his wife/fiancé while he was locked up or gone. Now, I never heard of The Counte of Monte Crisco before this serie, but when I found out the plot from the movie promos, the plot sounds sort of the same isn’t it?

Taming of the Shrew & Taming of the Princess

A third serie I think may be similar is the Taming of the Princess with Bobby au Yeung and Esther Kwan, which I believe uses pretty much the same concept as Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, though I could be wrong though. However, I believe in both the guy marries the girl, who is spoiled and verbally blunt, but yet they both fall in love with each other. Correct me if wrong.

Thus, it is very interesting to pick up bits and pieces of these plots from literature and plays. I once read a comment on Spcnet forums, and a poster there commented on how older TVB series were successful because partly the TVB writers followed the same type of storytelling as Shakespeare and other playwrights. Really interesting post, but it is a shame I can not find it.

Do you know of any TVB plots that are similar to literature or novels?

Discussion About Artistes and Managers

2008-03-21T20:38:00.000-07:00

*Picture from: Asian-gossip.blogspot.com

The latest HK scandal brewing was the Isabella Leung-EEG relationship being on the rocks. A discussion was held with several managers of well-known artistes about manager and artistes relationships. Mani Fok is the manager for a number of artistes at EEG, including Twins, Joey, Nic Tse, and Isabella Leung. Wong Jing is a movie and series director, producer, screenwriter, etc. Virginia Lok is TVB production executive. Paco Wong is CEO/Manager of Gold Label Entertainment which includes artistes like Leo Koo, Stephy, and Alex Fong. Miriam Yeung used to be under his management/label.

It was quite an interesting news article to read about several managers' perspectives from the HK movies, series, and music industry. It seems like the people there were making jabs at each others' companies. I would've liked it if we could see the whole discussion on tv to see their facial reactions while they made the comments!

On the Issue of Signing Contracts:

"First, I am against signing long term contracts. Like the long contracts at EEG; I am against it. Fifteen years is too long. Normally it is eight to ten years.” - Wong Jing

“If it is that short, then they would easily leave after they become famous.”
- Mani

"If you are still investing (in the artiste) in the seventh year and there is no contract extension then you are stupid! Actually, if you have a long term contract in your hands then you are powerless in their betrayal."
- Wong Jing

On the Issue of Freezing:

"Wong Jing smiled and pointed out that Ng Yu’s company (EEG) has the biggest freezer.

Mani believes that during freezing, it can give the artiste time to think things over more clearly. They are more conscious and aware when they come out.

Ng Yu points out that Virginia’s company, TVB, has the largest freezer. They froze people like Chow Yun Fat, Andy Lau and others.

Virginia joked: “We moved already. It was taken down! Actually artistes should be rewarded and punished because the buffer period gives them time to think.”

My Thoughts on the Two Issues:

I think I have to agree with Wong Jing there about signing long contracts. I think a shorter contract gives the artistes some room to breathe so that they can evaluate their potential and plans further down the road. It is also like saying, we care about you, but you have the right to choose another company because we respect and value you as an artiste.Plus, at the beginning, a newcomer will be excited to become a star so they most likely will sign anything, but when it comes time to actually fulfilling the term, it might be a different story.

As for the freezing issue, I am 50-50 about it. In some ways, freezing can be a good thing because like Virginia Lok says, it gives time for the artistes to reflect on their behavior and direction. However, some of the reasonings behind freezes, as reported by media, are silly....such as for people dating, saying the wrong things according to the company. If the artistes are doing their jobs well, then they can have their fun and be blunt all they want. Freezing an artiste is probably only justified if whatever they are doing/have done negatively affects their work such as partying/drinking so much that they are constantly late to work or making NGs, stuff like that.

The Source of the Article:
- Asianfanatics: Discussion About Artistes and Managers
*Credits to Serena from Asian-gossip.blogspot.com
(Please click on links above to read whole article. I have only reposted some parts.)

Other Interesting Articles to Check out:

-Asianfanatics: TVB executive Virginia Lok: Must not be softhearted towards artistes

-Wikipedia: Gold Label

ATV Concubines Of Qing Emperor Themevideo (2006)

2008-03-21T15:59:00.000-07:00

【大清後宮】主題曲
曲:張兆鴻詞:楊紹鴻
唱:劉雅麗 (Alice Lau)

冷冷看著人間恩怨情仇
笑笑問誰知曉我感受
跌進了深溝難容易看透
深宮只有痛苦定不會回頭
有了那份權威將會無愁
那怕是桃花不再依舊
要靠這雙手無情來利誘
成功背後計謀

天你可知否我傷口
你可知否我憂愁
回望過後太多荒謬
天那天不需再擔憂
那天方可以罷休要追究前路已沒法等候
怎麼可覆舟來換取寵愛但是現實亦接受
干一杯清酒何用懼怕命運要自我保祐

*Lyrics found here: Alice Lau Official Forum posted by anubis

*Ripped Cantonese themesong here: Sang by Alice Lau
Found from here: Asianfanatics post by bella_sky

*****
Supposely this serie was similar to TVB's War and Beauty. I have not watched this serie, and I do not know if I would later, but I saw the themevideo on Youtube, and I just love the themesong so that's a good start for this serie. The lyrics and the singer's voice is very captivating, and I thought she sounded a bit like the late Anita Mui. Anyway, later on, I found out it was sang by Alice Lau thanks to one of her fans posting the lyrics at her official site's forum.

*For those who want to watch the Mandarin version: Crunchyroll

*For those interested in purchasing the Cantonese ATV version: YesAsia Cantonese ATV version

"Rumors"

2008-03-16T15:13:00.000-07:00

*Really old pic of them I have saved

The post is about the viewpoints of rumors before and after this sex scandal was "proven" to be true indirectly.

Before this incident was exposed, five or six years ago, there were many rumors of Edison and Gillian floating around. There were rumors they were dating, attracted to each other, fell in love with each other, and etc. At that time, I did not buy their rumors together. For one, I thought "they" were a couple EEG is trying to put together for promotions since well they are very good looking people. For two, they seem like they don't really like each other with their answers to the media. They would either avoid or get mad about questions concerning the other party. For three, they just do not seem like a couple that is interested with each other. Edison always gave me the impression he likes outgoing girls, and Gillian seems quite opposite of that. The most I thought of them was they were attracted to each other due to media reports/influence but attraction died when the negative publicity came floating in after the Shawn-Edison fight, and fans, popularity, and probably management got in the way. So when this incident came out, I was quite surprised to learn that hey, this rumor of them was probably real back then!

In a way, this rumor of Edison-Gillian back then being proven to be true, it made me think about other rumors that the paparazzi or media have written or will write. I am starting to think that there is some truth to some of these rumors given that there is extensive media coverage. With constant media report, then there seems to be a higher probability of it being true. Otherwise, why write about it for so long? However, that is just my opinion. What do you think?

Please vote in polls below.

Enhance Your Vocab with HK entertainment- Lesson 4

2008-03-16T14:53:00.000-07:00

1.) adumbrate- to foreshadow

Ex: In A Change of Destiny, it was shown that although the book, Chinese Prophecy (Twei Bui To) was rumored to adumbrate the future of the next destined emperor to reign, the interpretation varies from different perspectives.

2.) complaisant - desire to please

Ex: After Wan Wan fell in love with Tzi Ling in Twins of Brothers, she offered and made many complaisant actions, in hopes that he will one day feel the same for her.

3.) ingenuous - naïve and trusting

Ex: In Dicey Business, it was frustrating to watch the ingenuous character of ah Fu “wake up” because it took a long time before he realized his Sifu had bad intentions and was using him.

4.) banal - predictable

Ex: Watching so many TVB series, there are many banal plots that are reused over and over again, for example, the “opposites attract” storyline.

5.) archaic- outdated

Ex: It was demonstrated in Revolving Door of Vengence that Ella Koon’s character was old-fashioned when she still uses archaic technology such as tape cassettes to listen to her favorite Hackan song.

Want to Share Your Thoughts/Opinions On This Blog??

2008-03-01T20:48:00.001-08:00

I want this blog to consist of interesting thoughts or ideas on TVB and Asian Entertainment by me, but yet there are times I run out of things to talk about (or I get lazy and tired), so I would like to reach out and share what others are thinking so that this blog can be a blog with not only my thoughts, but a gathering of other people's thoughts or interests on TVB and Asian Entertainment as well.

Do you have something you want to write about or you feel strongly about regarding TVB, HK and or Asian Entertainment, and you want to share but maybe you don't have a blog? Maybe a review for a serie, albums, or movies? Or perhaps you want to share a song or pictures relating to Asian Entertainment (NO Edison sex pictures please) or fanart?

Or you want to know what I think about something? Or are you looking for something and want me to write about it? Or a suggestion?

Any writing, article, or picture that you write or share would be appropriately credited to you, but will be posted by me. There would be no monetary compensation, just the satisfaction of seeing your writing online and comments from me and maybe other readers. Not every writing or article would be posted, but I'll try to answer all emails or comments.

If you want to submit your writing, article, or suggestion, please email me at Jadedreams@gmail.com

Enhance Your Vocab with HK entertainment- Lesson 3

2008-03-01T18:42:00.000-08:00

1.) opprobrium- disgrace, dishonor

Ex: The Edison sex pictures scandal was considered an opprobrium, not only to Hong Kong people, but also for the Chinese community as well, since Chinese people tend to hold a conservative view on sex.

2.) erudite - scholarly

Ex: Ron's erudite character in Lost in the Chamber of Love was a romantic gentleman, but with too much focus on studying, I find his character a little boring.

3.) foment - arouse, promote

Ex: Whenever TVB wants to foment hype for big productions, a lot of promotions and publicity events with the cast would be held.

4.) misanthrope - person who dislike other people

Ex: Always filled with rage and vengeance, Jin Yong's character, Li Mo Chou (李莫愁) in the Return of the Condor Heroes, would be a good example of a misanthrope.

5.) perfidious- disloyal

Ex: In Where the Legend Begins, Yan Fok's (Ada) son finally realizes Kwok Huen's (Sonjia) perfidious character when Yan Fok's maid revealed how Kwok Huen treated his mother after death.

Goodbye- L2M

2008-03-01T17:50:00.000-08:00

I don’t know what to say,
and why I feel this way.
And when I think of you,
I know it’s sad but true.

Now that the bond is broken,
due to all the words that were spoken.
And now I got to let go,
This is what I want you to know.

Goodbye (goodbye~)
My friend (oh my friend~)
This time, this is the end.
So long (so long my friend~)
I hope that one day, we will meet again.

I don’t know what to do,
cause now I’m here without you.
How can I heal this pain?
When all there is, is blame.

I’m looking for a new sky,
so I can mend this broken heart.
And now I got to let go,
this is what I want you to know.

(Repeat Chorus )

*Bridge
I cannot wait, for these tears to dry.
I must move on right now and leave the pain inside.
Give me the strength, cause I cannot wait.

(Repeat Chorus x2)

I don’t know what to say,
and why I feel this way...

*Lyrics Translated by bebexd at AF:Wish To See You Again Thread

**DL link:http://www.sendspace.com/file/rrrr39

***Can be purchased at: Wish to See You Again TV Soundtrack

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This song is a song that is part of a soundtrack for a Taiwanese series call Wish to See You Again. I thought it was very soothing to listen too. For those who don't like boy band songs, you are warned lol.

In older TVB series, there used to be some really good English songs they play once in a while, but nowadays, the English songs they choose aren't really up to par in my opinion, at least with the series I was able to catch lol

As for this song, which couple from TVB series do you think it relates too? I haven't watch On The First Step, but reading about Tavia and Ron's relationship, I thought this song would fit them. Any thoughts?

How Accurate are Astrologers??

2008-02-25T18:39:00.000-08:00

Before Nicholas Tse and Cecilia admit they got back together during The Promise, I remember I read an astrologer predict that they would get back together, and sure enough, they did get back together. So sometimes it is quite interesting to see how accurate astrologers can be. We always want to know the forecast for the year ahead, but why not take a look back at last year's prediction by HK astrologer Mak Ling Ling and see?

Year of the Pig (2007) - Horoscopes by Feng Shui Master Mak Ling Ling: Translated by Em @ TVBspace
I do not pay attention to the news of a lot of the stars mentioned in the above article last year, but I know Mak Ling Ling sure pin point it right about Moses Chan for 2007.

From TVBspace: "Moses has a chance of an award

Moses Chan (born 16/04/71) needs to take care when driving or working to avoid injury. He will be very busy workwise, but his popularity will rise and he may have the opportunity to win an award. Romance-wise, there will be happy new developments and if he has a girlfriend already, then this will take a leap forward."

Don't know about injuries, but sure enough, Moses Chan did grabbed two fruitful awards at last year's TVB Anniversary and his popularity did rise thanks to his role of "Sai bao" from the mega -popular Heart of Greed. And is Mak Ling Ling talking about Bernice Liu too?

Now, there is news of an astrologer/fortuneteller called XuYueZhi who predicts Jay Chou and Jolin having the opportunity to get back together this year? How accurate is this fortuneteller? I guess we'll see by the end of the year.

Have you heard any astrologer predict something really accurate about a star? Do share!

萍蹤俠影錄: Chronicles Of The Shadow Swordsman

2008-02-25T18:07:00.000-08:00

Chronicles Of The Shadow Swordsman

Does anyone know any websites that sells this series, preferably in English? It was sold on Sensasian.com, but it is out of stock now. I believe it is an ATV series.

Chinese Title: 萍蹤俠影錄
Ping Yin: Ping Chung Hap Ying Luk
English Title: Chronicles of the Shadow Swordsman
演員：劉松仁、米雪、姚鳳絲、斑斑、岳華、金興賢、江漢、熊德誠、凌文海
Starring: Damian Lau Chung Yan, Michelle Yim, Yiu Fung See, Ban Ban, Yueh Hwa, Kam Hing Yin, Kwong Hon, Hung Tak Sing, Ling Man Hoi
Info found from here: Wuxiasociety.org

If you know of any websites, please leave a comment or email me at Jadedreams@gmail.com

Upcoming Concerts of Asian Stars

2008-02-24T17:48:00.001-08:00

Other than a Louis Koo, Charmaine, and Anne Heung's concert, I've never been to concerts of other Asian stars. I've always hoped that more TVB and HK stars/singers would visit my city, but unfortunately, many have chose to visit other cities far away from mine haha.

The following are some sites I found that has information on upcoming concerts of Asian stars during the year. *I am not affiliated with these concert promoter/companies, and I am just sharing the links as a fan.

Check them out and see if your favorite singer or actor is coming to a city near you!

1.Aznconcerts Blogspot: click on Calender (concerts in US & Canada)

2. Hong Kong-Chinese Concerts Being Held In The San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose Bay Area

3. High Level Entertainment (not really updated)

4. YesAsia: Scroll to the bottom where it says "Upcoming Concerts" (concerts in HK mostly)

5. Taipan Tour Concerts

6. Raymond Miu Productions

7. USA Star Image

Other Sites to look at:

7. Genting.com - Concerts and other Shows in Malaysia

8. Superkeypro.com (concerts in New York?)

9. IEMShowPlace.com

10. Hong Kong Coliseum

11. Jade Entertainment

12. Face Entertainment

13. Khype.com

*Link 7-10 credit to this AF forum: [Concerts] Information on Asian Concerts

If you know of any cool sites with information on upcoming concerts, please leave a comment or email me at Jadedreams@gmail.com

Lydia Sum... A Great Mom

2008-02-24T16:14:00.000-08:00

HK celeb Lydia Sum, who died on Tuesday, lived for her only child after divorce

I thought it was a nice article on how great a mom Lydia was. She never gave up on Joyce's dreams of entering the entertainment industry and always supported her despite having so many setbacks and negative feedback from the audience. I find that not a lot of Asian parents are supportive of their children's career paths, especially when things aren't looking great.

Lydia also sacrificed having a love life just because her daughter was scared that the step-father wouldn't love her. I think that's quite selfish of Joyce, but perhaps she was very young then, and years passed and Lydia just didn't find the need to have a man in her life. But to be able to give up one's happiness for another person at any time, one must love that person dearly.

It was sad that she was not able to see Joyce married and have kids yet, which are events I think every parent wants to see for their child. I don't know whether Joyce would ever be able to really be in the entertainment circle and win HK's people heart, but I do hope she'll find happiness with whatever she will do. That is probably what Lydia would want.

Edison and Gillian Facing the Light...

2008-02-24T00:16:00.000-08:00

2/11- Gillian speaks at first public appearance: Naïve and Foolish

2/21- Edison holds press conference: Quitting Hk Entertainment

Being that I got my internet connection back yesterday, I finally got to see the two speeches myself today. Both of them have apologized, but which one is more sincere? After watching, I think both of them were not very sincere, but I believe Edison’s speech made more impact.
Gillian’s speech irks me more because it seems so positive when it should not have been. As an idol for many young people, when these kinds of pictures come out of the open, I think she should’ve been more serious and despaired. Not only did she give a short comment, but she also smiled a bunch like it is no big deal, and had fans backing her up in the background. This coming from a girl who was so upset before when pictures of her changing clothes were taken. It doesn’t really make sense. I think people would cut her some slack if she shows how upset she is about this and also tell the truth. Really, all she had to say was that the difference is that the sex pictures were private and never intended to be seen by the public, and the pics secretly taken of her changing were without her permission. That would take away the hypocrisy standards and comparison from how she acted before with regards to being filmed while changing. And she could’ve even use this as an example for young people not to follow in her shoes and to be careful with making decisions, which just might save her ‘idol’ ship from totally sinking down. I think it was sincere when she said that she was being naïve and foolish, but the way EEG planned it out did not help Gillian at all.

As for Edison’s speech, I thought it was insincere since he had to read off the speech from a piece of paper. He was like reading off every line. At least memorize it before you hold the conference, especially when you’re saying it in your primary language. I thought it was a bit weird that he was saying it in English, but then I think for one, it was done to show that he understands what he is saying and two, so that people in Hollywood and other areas can understand and keep open that small door of job opportunities in other areas. And I think his offer of quitting HK entertainment made an effective impact. It doesn’t matter whether he is going to come back next year, or work someplace else, or behind the scenes, but for now, it showed that he is willing to take “responsibility” for the scandal, for being wrong (at least that is how the public sees it), by stepping out of the entertainment circle which is a big decision. Compared to Gillian’s she’ll work harder, it does not show that she acknowledges that she has done anything wrong (which is what the public wants to see).

But I do believe Gillian was more sincere with what she said, but she didn’t put up the better show. Edison put up the better show, but I do not really buy his sincerity.

Here is an interesting article on AF, which discusses some details of Edison’s speech: The Scheming behind Edison Chen's Apology Speech

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
//Bobo, Cecilia & Nic has not made any speeches yet….

But I hope Bobo’s fiance would forgive her and stand by her side. If he does not and choose to stand by his family, then it shows that he can not be a guy she can depend on.

As for Cecilia and Nic, there are rumors that Cecilia has been cheating on Nic during their relationship the second time around and even after marriage, but I think Cecilia has always loved Nic and only Nic. During the years they were not together (after Nic broke up with Faye, the huge scandal back then when he told the driver to take the blame), through interviews and music, she seemed to show she was quite hurt by him. If she doesn’t care about him, why was she so hurt the years after? Edison and all the other guys were just fun, but I think from the bottom of her heart, it has always been Nic. That is why she still got back with him after all the hurt he has caused her before. I read that Nic is a very traditional man, so I guess the decision would be made by him.

Enhance Your Vocab with HK entertainment- Lesson 2

2008-02-23T21:49:00.000-08:00

1.) soporific- to cause sleep

Ex: Even though I am a fan of Ron and Leila, Fei Huen and Chi Ling had some soporific scenes in Twins of Brothers.

2.) obsequious- obedient, very attentive, showing deference

Ex: In many ancient series, obsequious eunuchs attend to the empress and concubine's whims and demands to gain favor.

3.) recant- to retract

Ex: In Brink of Law, there was a scene in which ah Chun (Ron) caught Ka Yee (Shirley) throwing away dvds/cds that he request her to give to ah Long (Stephen Wong) to watch, but she recanted her action by saying her aunt wouldn't allow it.

4.) proscribe- to condemn/denouce; to banish

Ex: In Dance of Passion, it was shown that woman who was raped or had affairs were proscribed and punished.

5.) loquacious- talkative; synonyms: verbose, garrulous

Ex: Chilam's character, Yeung Gwong, in Take My Word For It, was very loquacious since he tends to give many quick witted comments and explanations, though most were hilarious!

Lydia Sum Din-Ha (1948- 2008)

2008-02-23T16:55:00.000-08:00

Known as "Happy Fruit" to the audience, one of HK and TVB's entertainment icons, Lydia Sum Din-Ha passed away on February 19, 2008 from cancer. I first read the news from TVBMusing. I was surprised, yet I also remembered how thin and weak she looked at the TVB Anniversary Awards last year. I am not a big fan of hers, but her death saddens me since I grew up watching TVB, and it was inevitable to see her on television every year hosting a variety of programs including charity shows, appearances on game shows, interview programmes, and of course the TVB Anniversary. I still remember her in 2004's hilarious War & Beauty skit, in which she plays Yuk Ying. She was very hilarious.

In a city which fears fat, and despite her weight always being the topic for jokes, she was always strong enough to not let it bother her. TVB variety programmes are not going to be the same without Lydia's laugh and presence. Brave and outspoken, her dedication to the HK entertainment and determination to make people laugh will forever be remember. Rest in peace, Lydia.

Chinese New Year...2008....Year of the RAT!

2008-02-07T18:01:00.001-08:00

Sharing my Chinese writing and drawing skillz!

May the Year of the Rat bring everyone joy and success!

Enhance Your Vocab with HK entertainment- Lesson 1

2008-02-04T20:49:00.000-08:00

Who says you can't have fun while learning? Since I need to start studying for the GRE, I'm going to use HK entertainment to enhance my vocab, hopefully weekly or bi-weekly. If you have time, try a few examples on your own in the comments section. It'll help you, and it'll help me! You'll be surprise at how much easier you remember the words!

1.) anachronism- something out of place in time or history

Ex: Louis Koo's character, Hung Siu Lung traveling back in time from present times in A Step in the Past was definitely an anachronism.

2.) adulation- excessive praise, adoration

Ex: After Shirley Yeung's performance as Ka Yee in The Brink of Law, she had received much adulation from many viewers, for portraying a villain role successfully.

3.) kleptomaniac- strong desire to steal

Ex: Would you consider Tavia's family in The Academy kleptomaniacs since they often like to take steal things and resell them for profit?

4.) collusion - a secret agreement to get involve with fradulent schemes

Ex: The con men and women in The Price of Greed formed a collusion to trick rich women and take their money, even taking years to get their plans to succeed.

5.) Precarious - risky

Ex: The act of sleeping with Suen Bak Yeung, to get pregnant was definitely a precarious move on Yuk Ying's part in War and Beauty.

Edison, Gillian, Bobo, and Cecilia Sex Scandal

2008-02-02T17:18:00.001-08:00

Unless you live under a rock, if you're at all interested in HK entertainment, then you probably came across this scandal already. At first, when I first read about it, I thought the photos would be most likely doctored, but curiosity got the best of me, and I googled Edison and Gillian's name. The pictures aren't as "nasty" as I thought they would be, but most of the photos do look real, especially the ones with Gillian and Edison. However, the girls look younger in those pics so it probably happened years past.

I was actually quite surprised the most with Gillian being involved because I buy her "good girl" image that EEG put out. For gosh sakes, they don't even let her kiss her male costars onscreen. I certainly don't expect her to be a virgin or anything like that, but I sure didn't expect her to have sex pictures though. Second surprise was Cecilia since I always thought she loved Nicholas Tse, so it was surprising to learn that she might have had some history with Edison, who is Nic's friend.

If these pics are indeed real, I don't think these artistes are wrong, I think they are just stupid for taking these kinds of pictures especially if they are already in the entertainment biz or thinking of joining the entertainment biz when they took the pics. And it's even more stupid for their personal future when it comes to marriage and having children. Actually, the idea of being with Edison, is kind of questionable really.

I find it interesting how the HK police are searching for the culprit who put these pictures up. Isn't the search in itself indicating indirectly that the pictures are real and stolen from Edison's property? I also find it interesting that these stars haven't come out and say something official about these pictures. Whether it be true or not, I think they should come out and face the light.

An article about the Scandal, funny intro:
http://www.zhonghuarising.com/2008/01/gillian_chung_and_edison_chen.html

So there you have it, my thoughts on HK entertainment's most scandalous sex gossip to date. What about your thoughts?

//Update 2/4/08:

The latest update is Edison's video message. Here is a link on Youtube: Edison talks about Sex Scandal, in which I found the link from Asianfanatics. I think this video message is too late, and really doesn't help the situation. A better effect would probably be to hold a press conference earlier and then deny or accept the pictures as being real. At least, he would be doing it in person and doesn't seem like such a coward. Why does he keep on saying "strange"? I think that's quite a unique word to use for this situation, I think more appropriate words would be "unexpected", "outrageous", and "surprising". I wonder when this scandal is ever going to fade away. It's kind of sad this is happening so close to Chinese New Year's too. Even though only a few stars/idols are involved in this scandal, I think it would have some effects on other artistes, fans, and the mood for the Chinese New Year, since this scandal would probably be fresh on people's minds. Or perhaps maybe it may be a good thing, maybe Chinese New Years might take the focus away from this scandal.

On a side note, ever since this post has been posted, there has been over 100 hits to this blog in like a day, (this blog usually get like what, 10 hits a day at the most). So you can imagine how many people are visiting other online sites, all curious about this scandal.

//Latest Update 2/7/08:

So unfortunately for the idols involved, the scandal is still making headlines with the release of more sex photos that appears to be continuation of the ones previously uploaded and first exposed the scandal. From More Edison Pictures Released, that there was also a rumor going on that a supposed uploader name Kira said:

"Rumor: video will coming out soon, and also the 4th pic is fake
32 mins video of E & G.
Coming out soon.
believe it or not.
I am not in hk , so i dun give a sh*t.
the 4th pic is fake, she is a Jap AV
here u are
the video clip is in media’’s hands,
the co-worker alrdy got the copies,
cannot get thu it now, be patient just wait"

For me, if the message did come from the real uploader, I think the message seems to convey that this might be one of Edison's friend turned nemesis who is probably living somewhere in Canada or US. However, what is really at the back of my mind ever since this scandal came out is what Athlon (the webmaster and leader of AF) posted: "I'm afraid some girls won't be able to take it and there will be some suicide news...." This scandal is huge gossip and a hot discussion topic for Asian entertainment fans, so it is a huge impact to the girls involved. With rumors that Gillian haven't left her residence for 240 hours and Bobo rumored to cancel her upcoming wedding (news from AF here: Gillian Chung Has Her Misfortune Turned Into Blessing - Bobo Chan rumoured to have her wedding cancelled), everyday I am afraid that I would see this type of headline due to this scandal, especially when none of the girls seems to be able to face the media/people. I really hope these girls would be able to get through this, and that the uploader really stops doing this. He or she has made their point that this scandal is real, but if they go too far, there might be horrible consequences.

Ada's Marriage to Max Zhang 1/12/08

2008-01-26T16:52:00.000-08:00

Reading about Ada's wedding, it seems to be very beautiful and touching. Ada looks beautiful in her wedding gown in pictures snapped by the media. I especially love the above picture. I think the gown was shown off beautifully by Ada in that shot. And from her smile, it seems like she feels very, very sweet and happy becoming Miss. Zhang. I wonder if Ada would share her wedding pictures of the ceremony later on.

A lot of past and current TVB artistes were invited, and there were pics snapped of them as well. The bridesmaid included Monica Chan, Athena Chu, and Catherine Hung, three beautiful gals. And it's really nice to see Kenix, Flora, and Jessica showing up! After all, Ada and them are after all part of the 5 original Fa Dans. Wish Ada and Max great happiness as husband and wife!

Read more about the wedding here:
Asianfanatics: Ada Choi Marries Zhang Jin In Simple Ceremony
Asianfanatics: Ada Choi's wedding gifts from friends
Asianfanatics: Guests Opened White Umbrellas
Asianfanatics: Ada Choi and Max Zhang’s Wedding

More Pictures of guests and bridesmaids here:
Page 1
Page 2

Hardships During Filming....

2008-01-25T21:11:00.000-08:00

Asianfanatics: Shirley Yeung Frozen, Cries For Help 1/8/2008

From what I can recollect, Shirley has had some history with having to deal with health problems while filming such as falling off the horse while filming Blade Heart, injury during an anniversary practice with Bosco, and now this could be considered another issue.

Before the last year, I always thought Shirley was weak since she always had these health issues. If she had a strong will and a strong body, then she could've accomplished the filming without problems because other actors/actresses don't have the same problems. But now, I think differently now not because I am her fan now, but because I believe that you have to be in the harsh situation to experience the pain. Last year, I had some back problems, and it hurts so much to even get up and walk, so I could imagine how bad it must've been for Shirley who fell off a horse years before!

The tone of the article seems to put Shirley in a bad light, but I think it was really cold for her. The girl is also quite skinny and has a history of health problems. If she could have done the filming efficiently, she most likely would. It is not great to get those bad pictures snapped and probably judged unprofessional.

But what I am thinking is the frozen ice necessary? Did they really have to have a steamed water scene? This is not the first time that I read news about actresses facing hardship while filming. I can't find the article at AF, but I remember reading another news about Linda Chung having to film for Jewel's Splendor, and she was quite cold filming a swimming pool scene, but she had to 'brave it' and continue filming also. And also Gillian Chung from Twins was hung on a wire for a while for Lets Steal Together and asked to come down but supposely the directors did not hear her? There was also another time she was hung on a wire too, but I can't find that other article. There are probably more news about hardships during filming, but these few are the ones that come up in my mind now. And then I heard past TVB actors complained about how filming series for TVB takes longer hours and is very tiring. And we see how some current popular actors and actresses filmed strenuously in one or two months to complete filming or take series after series.

So the next time we come across one of these news in the future, we shouldn't be too fast too judge the actor or actress as unprofessional, perhaps the conditions are indeed very unbearable for them.

Have you heard or read about any other hardships for other actors/actresses during filming? Please share.

孽吻 Ambition Themevideos...

2008-01-20T15:58:00.000-08:00

Two Ambition themesongs were on Youtube. Which one was the original themesong or is one of them a sub-theme? I don't remember. For those who have not seen Ambition, this serie stars Gallen Lo, Amy Kwok, Michael Tao, and Noel Leung. Gallen plays an ambitious, greedy guy who liked three sisters for their upbring/money.

Which themesong did you like better for the themevideo? I think the first one fits the series more since the second one sung by Sammi sounds more like a romantic song, and Gallen's character didn't seem to really love the girls in the serie.

Sammul’s old gossip about an ex-friend back-talking about him

2008-01-18T19:17:00.000-08:00

Picture found from bosco-wong.com

This gossip is a year ago, but I suddenly remembered it after seeing Sammul in Survivor's Law 2 and thought it would be interesting to write about. When I first saw this news, my opinion was that Sammul was petty and immature for stirring up trouble with this report. Whether it be true or not, he should’ve kept it to himself and be mature enough to realize that saying it is someone from among the Six Olympics guys causes troubles for not only the so called perpetrator, but also for the innocent four others.

Looking back now, it is a year since then (two years since the comment was supposedly said as seen on Wikipedia) and Sammul has filmed/is filming many series for TVB and costarred with many members from among the Six Olympics group with series including The Price of Greed, The Academy I, Survivors Law II, On the First Beat, and The Four Constable/ The Four recently. Reports at the time were heavily concentrating on Ron or Kenneth being the culprit, but yet he has filmed with both Ron and Kenneth for respective sequels which showed recently. And he filmed with Bosco in The Price of Greed in 2006. Now, he is currently filming/almost done with The Four Constable, and it has Raymond, Ron, and Kenneth. Now, if the ‘backstabber’ is among these costars, would he really be willing to work with him again?

The chances of it being Kenneth and Lai Lok Yi are slim since they hardly had series before Sammul’s comment was said. However, out of everyone, he hasn’t worked with Lai Lok Yi again I believe. Personally, I have never thought it was Ron because I think out of the four (Ray, Ron, Bosco, and Sammul), he seems to be the most humble. As for Raymond, he gives me the image that he wants to be able to succeed on his own performance/talent. Kenneth Ma also seems very serious and doesn’t seem to talk a lot. As for Bosco, at first when I wrote this post I thought the signs sort of point to him since Sammul hasn’t filmed anything with him for a while and didn’t show up at The Price of Greed function earlier this month. However, I found out that they filmed The Price of Greed in 2006, which was after the comment was made in 2005. As for Lai Lok Yi, I didn’t think it was him either. But then lately, there is a comment I came across from a Sammul article quoting him saying “I can't complain, I must keep working. Maybe next time it is Lai Lok Yi being the main lead and I have to support him. Do I quit? If I can't take it easy, I won’t be able to do anything.” Why did he mention Lai Lok Yi? Is it because he thinks Lai Lok Yi isn’t as good as an actor as he is or is it because Lai Lok Yi was the back-talker he was talking about.

Reading the comments at AF a year ago, a lot of people thought it was between Ron and Bosco the most. What does everyone think now? So is the comment Sammul made false, or it was real but was exaggerated by the media to aim at the Six Olympic guys, or is true that one of the Six Olympic guys really did talk bad about Sammul behind his back?

//Posts about the Sammul's back stabber friend:
http://asianfanatics.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=338579&st=240
http://asianfanatics.net/forum/index.php?&showtopic=338941&mode=show&st=0
http://asianfanatics.net/forum/-talk338578.html

//Article About Sammul Chan with the quote about Lai Lok Yi:
http://asianfanatics.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=491767&st=0

TVB series dvds

2008-01-16T19:41:00.001-08:00

So I've decided to make some TVB series dvd purchases, and I was looking around for sites that sell them. I actually wanted to purchase newer series like The Price of Greed, Heart of Greed, and The Brink of Law but I can't seem to find them ones that is playable in the US so I'm forced to go once again to the somewhat pricey, but trustworthy YesAsia.com site.

Nonetheless, here are some English sites I found that sells TVB dvds. I am not affiliated with any of these vendors, and I personally have only ordered from Yesasia.com from the list. If you do end up purchasing with them, make sure you read the policies and faqs, and also check the region & language of the dvds. And shop smart, always browse around for the best prices/offers before settling. I just want to share what I have found so other TVB fans who wants to make DVD purchases have other options.

1. YesAsia.com
2. Five Star Laser Co
3. Cinemashops.com
4. DVDAsian.com
5. Soasianstyle.com
6. Play-Asia.com
7. Sensasian.com
8. Malmusic.com
9. Gooshow.com
10.Coolwin-video.com
(recommended by chris)
11.Ihkmusic.com

And from what I read from an SPCNET forum, Tai Seng and TVB are two distributors of the dvds. Supposely the TVB covers for the dvds look better than the Taiseng ones. To get the TVB ones from Yesasia, one has to type "global" instead of the "us" in the website address.More info at this site: SPCNET: TVB DVDS

If you have made purchases at these sites and could give a review of them, please leave a comment. Or if you know of other sites, please comment also. Thanks.

WOIL II Subtheme & Lyrics

2008-01-14T16:41:00.000-08:00

感激遇到你 Lyrics
Grateful to Have Met You (War of In-Laws 2 sub) - Myolie Wu & Bosco Wong

M: Myolie
B: Bosco
T: Together
( ): English Translation by honeybee* at Tvbsquare

M: 這是愛,承諾用心戀愛
(This is love; promising to love you with all my heart)

注定要和你同步飛身愛海
(Destined to walk simultaneously with you, rushing into the sea of love)

B: 誰人是最愛
(Who is the one I love most)

全程投入去愛,有你每日也精彩
(Loving you wholeheartedly; Having you, each day is so wonderful)

T: 永遠與你一起,日後都只愛你
(Being with you forever; will only love you hereafter)

T: 永遠的心動每日也令我回味
(Being moved by you forever, will cause me to recollect the pleasant feeling each day)

T: 珍惜就像調味
(Cherishing is like seasoning)

T: 能維繫便銘記,愛你能教我幸福一世紀
(Able to maintain, so it will engrave on my memory; Loving you has taught me to be happy for a century)

T: Oh, baby, I love you, I love you everyday

T: 永遠的心動每日也令我回味
(Being moved by you forever, will cause me to recollect the pleasant feeling each day)

T: 珍惜就像調味
(Cherishing is like seasoning)

T: 能維繫便銘記,愛你能教我幸福一世紀
(Able to maintain, so it will engrave on my memory; Loving you has taught me to be happy for a century)

T: 感激遇到你
(Grateful to have met you)

*Translation credits tohoneybee at TVBSquare, reposted by myolie_admiror at AF

//Short clip of their live performance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q9hlqwploM

//Ripped Themesong (with some talking) by joyce20176 @ AF:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/onnrih

***********************************
I just immediately love this song when I first heard it. It's so romantic and makes me wonder if I'll ever meet that special someone that I would feel the same way, and who would feel the same way about me too, like in the song. Although I am not a huge, huge fan of Bosco and Myolie, I can't help but think that this song is really what they feel about each other in reality...especially with the part "Cherishing is like seasoning"....and seasoning reminds me about how Bosco really likes to cook and how Myolie likes to eat too...

Twins' Charlene & Gillian Mandarin Solos on Youtube

2008-01-14T14:58:00.000-08:00

I came across these their new solos, and I really thought these songs were very meaningful and touching….

Charlene Choi - 妹妹/Little Sister MV w/Lyrics

This song is dedicated to her mom. I believe she might’ve wrote the lyrics for the song.

Gillian Chung - 你看得見嗎/Can You See? MV w/Lyrics

This song is dedicated to her grandfather who passed away. I believe this song and lyrics are not written by her though.

********************************************
When I first listen to the songs, I immediately like Gillian's solo better, but after listening to Charlene's solo several times, I grew to like it also. Gillian's solo sounds more appealing and is very touching, and I got kind of teary after listening to it. As for Charlene's solo, I love the chorus, that part sounds really strong and emotional. Which one do you like more?

TVB- the 4th decade: 1997-2007

2008-01-13T20:06:00.000-08:00

In TVB Weekly Issue 543, the latest decade of TVB series is showcased. The fourth decade brought a lot of series that I can easily recognize. While the earlier years of the decade were focused on professional career series, the latter years of the decade aired more comedic, less dramatic series. With a lot of series that set professional careers as the theme, plots that raise discussions in society, attempting ‘never-been-done before’ series, and filming in variety of new locations, this decade can be said to be the most innovative and ambitious....

In 1997, 大鬧廣昌隆 (Time Before Time) was shown, and the comments below mentioned that its highest ratings were at 45 points. The themesong is sang by the late Anita Mui, and it is a song that not only sounds beautiful but also sets a sort of tragic and sullen tone that seems to tell a story. And Time Before Time is a serie that tells a compelling story from a ghost’s point of view. It is one of those themesongs you want to listen to before every episode begins because it is THAT good and you feel that it just ‘completes’ the series, and without it, something is missing. I remember there were just a few times that I became disappointed when the theme video doesn’t air before the episodes show on cable. Anyway, I was quite addicted to this serie, and I love watching the whole cast. It has got a right mixture of comedy, suspense, and also romance but best of the serie is sort of like a people’s version of a novel. If I remember correctly, there were several episodes which were a continuation of Siu Foo Yong’s story about her romance and eventual tragedy with Luk Wun Kwong. This type of continuation is attractive because it really drives people to keep watching as it seems like the audience is finding out at the same time as the other characters who are listening to Siu Foo Yong’s story too. It really works the best when you get one episode per day, of which I did, so it got quite addicting for me. I am not usually a big fan of Kathy Chow Hoi Mei, but in this serie, I liked her performance and her character Siu Foo Yung very much. Gordon Lam was extremely charming as Luk Wan Kwong, and he was also funny as the present day ah Kwong in the serie. I also like Gordon and Florence’s relationship as a couple. 鑑證實錄 (Untraceable Evidence) can not be a miss for Bowie-Flora fans, but I myself have only catched a few episodes. It is most probably the predecessor to recent time’s Forensics Heroes. Other than that, there was also 美味天王 (A Recipe For The Heart). I don’t remember much about it other than it was kind of funny in a quirky way…at least with Jessica’s parts.

The serie that can be referred to as the ER version in HK was 妙手仁心 (Healing Hands I) which debut in 1998. I did not watch Healing Hands I when it first aired. In fact I watched it much, much later probably around 2005 or so, but I was surprised at how much I enjoy watching it. HH has probably the best chemistry with the main and supporting casts of all the TVB series ever produced. In a way, the social relationships and the chemistry is somewhat like the US series Friends with regards to friendship and dating. The cast was wonderful, and it seems like everybody got along really well and was really friends with each other in reality. I don’t remember the cases really well, but I think the integration with the medical aspects of the show were well-done overall and touching a few times. And I may be wrong, but this may very well be the first serie highlighting an older female-younger male relationship with Stephen Ma and Astrid Chan. 烈火雄心 (Burning Flame) is another classic that I have not watched. One positive thing I heard about this serie was the friendship. I think I never watched this serie because I was not a fan of any of the couple pairings in the serie. As for this year’s 鹿鼎記 (Duke of Mount Deer), it was my first version of the story. I think I enjoyed Jordan Chan and Stephen Ma’s version at the time I first watched, but I liked Dicky Cheung’s version with Patrick Tam more later on in 2000. The comment mentions that Eason’s wife (Hilary Tsui) was one of the wives too. Another serie of the year was 難兄難弟之神探李奇 (Old Time Buddy) with Gallen Lo, Maggie Cheung, Gordan Lam, and Elaine Ng, which was a sequel to the original one with Gallen, Maggie, Jessica, and Francis Ng. I liked the original one a lot more because the main four did a great job. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy Gordan and Elaine’s performance in this one, but the original cast and serie was very different and fresh. 天地豪情 (Secret of the Heart) was quite a hit this year since the comments mentioned this serie reached 45 points. The themesongs sang by Gallen were very enjoyable to listen to. I can’t say I really liked any of the characters in the serie, but I remember I quite enjoy the serie overall. Nick Cheung did a really good job as the villain. One of the most memorable and disturbing scenes in the serie was the scene in which Ada's friend went to look for her after Ada was going to expose Nick's illegal doings, and when she looked around, blood was everywhere on the walls.

For the entertaining year of 1999, there was 創世紀 (At the threshold of an era), 金玉滿堂 (Happy Ever After), and 刑事偵緝檔案IV (Detective Investigation IV). I did not watch the whole 105 episodes of ATE. I watched the first half, but only catch a few episodes and the ending for the latter half. I remember I quite like Flora and Gallen though, so it was disappointing they didn’t end up together at the very end. Marianne and Bobby were very compatible and funny in Happy Ever After, and I also enjoy watching Roger and Fiona Leung too. And the food always looks so yummy! As for DIFIV, I think three words are self-explanatory: Louis and Jessica. I truly think they are the BEST couple in the history of TVB series. I adore them together, and when I watch them in there, it seems like they were really a couple. It is no wonder they won Best Male Lead and Best Female Lead for this serie. So even though Jessica has many memorable moments with Gallen, Roger, Bobby, and Wong Hei…..Louis would be extra special because she won Best Female Lead while costarring with him and winning it together hehe. Other than them, there were a bunch of Miss. HKs in this serie from Lee San San to Charmaine, to Anne Heung so it was probably the first serie in which Miss. HKs were getting heavily promoted. And when I go online to read posts about new series at that time then, it seems like a lot of people hated that. There were so many complaints about how Charmaine has a horrible voice, or how the Miss. Hks can’t act. Who knew that by a decade or so, Charmaine has climbed up the ladder to become one of the top, top fa dans at TVB and Anne Heung, although not as heavily promoted nowadays, has her fair share of fans too.

TVB pushed out quite a few series in 2000, but the most successful serie this year was probably 男親女愛 (War of Genders), which as the comments mentioned, still kept the record for the highest local production (in HK) rating with 49 points. I do not know what the hype is about this serie other than I believe Carol Dodo Cheng is an excellent actress, so that must’ve been an attractive factor, and knowing that somehow the comedic Dayo Wong gained a whole lot of popularity after this serie. I don’t think a lot of people knew who he was before this serie. In what could be said as Charmaine’s first popular serie, 十月初五的月光 (Return of the Cuckoo) showed in this year and Chilam and Charmaine became a favorite couple. They even had a few movies later on. Showing her compatibility with other male co-stars, Wong Hei was next in line to pair up with Jessica Hsuan in 雷霆第一關 (A matter of customs). As a couple in the serie, their characters went through a whole lot of problems so it was really sad to see the ending. An honorable mention would be Wong Hei's sub-themesong for this serie which I thought was very touching, and the MV also answered some questions for viewers. This is probably the first serie in which some questions of the ending were answered by an MV. As for an ancient serie, Anne Heung first’s female lead was in 楊貴妃 (The Legend of Lady Yang) opposite Kwong Wah. Although some may disagree about Anne’s beauty, but I think her physical attributes matched Yang Gui Fei well because she has much elegance and beauty. Although her acting wasn't the best, I still think she did an acceptable job portraying an iconic figure in China's history. Another production of the year was Loving you 我愛你 (Loving you) with Nancy Sit, Lawrence Ng, and Sheren Tang.

In 2001, Louis agree to film an ancient production, 尋秦記 (A Step in the Past) pairing up with Jessica once more again. The comments mentioned that “although the script made changes to Huang Yi’s novel, another novelist Jin Yong did enjoy Jessica’s acting, and of course including first time onscreen and being female main character Sonija Kwok.” The reason I quoted is because I don’t know whether the writer meant to say Jin Yong liked Jessica and Sonjia’s acting, or just Jessica only, due to that comma. You be the judge. ASITP was also the first serie in which I saw Raymond Lam, and he made quite an impressive first impression for me. The third continuations of two popular TVB series dawned in this year and both also had a different female lead. Though bearing a new female lead, 陀枪师姐 III( Armed Reaction III) turned out to be a favorite for many this year. Ada and Bobby played an enjoyable couple, and the cast had nice chemistry together. 酒是故鄉醇 (Country Spirit), which used almost the same name as Plain Love I and II had Charmaine Sheh and Gordan Lam as the main lead. Although I have no clue about its ratings, I find that Country Spirit was quite romantic and appealing in its own way. I especially like Sheren’s character in here also, and this is probably the serie in which many would agreed that Charmaine Sheh had potential as an actress and did indeed improved. Running a total of 322 episodes, 皆大歡喜 (Virtues of Harmony) first showed in this year. Being a major hit, it spawned a modern sequel and came to be a predecessor of many ancient series crossing over to modern serie sequels. Now that I think of it, were there any modern series that was able to cross back over to an ancient sequel? Other series of the year included 婚前昏后 (The Awakening Story), in which Maggie Cheung Hoi Yee and Tavia Yeung (who had similar features) were fated to play sisters in the serie, and 美味情緣 (A taste of love) in which Raymond Lam continued his acting in a supporting role with TVB.

Ancient Series were a great hit in 2002, so I must start with 戇夫成龍 (Square Pegs).The comments below said that this serie has let Roger reached a high level in life, and wherever he goes, he would be asked about his “lo poh jai”. I can’t say this serie was classic, but Roger Kwok did an exceptional and also hilarious job playing ah Wong. It can even be said that he saved this serie, well he and Jessica since she was his “Lo poh jai.” Oh I quite enjoyed watching Leila and Raymond Cho Wing Nim’s relationship in here. I thought Leila’s character was very endearing as the wife who always stood by her man’s side. Although 無頭東宮 (Love is beautiful) was her last TVB serie before she left to become a businesswoman, lot of people praised Marianne Chan for her acting in here. And for an average production, it also did quite well with ratings. Anne Heung also play a beautiful woman with an evil heart (although her character really had a good heart at the beginning and got switched into Marianne’s body).The beautiful woman with an evil heart type of characters have always been around in past TVB, but with a Miss. HK playing one, it is refreshing since Miss. HK winners usually have to keep a good image. Not only did Anne Heung played a villain, but Sonjia Kwok also played her first villain role in 洛神 (Where the Legend begins). I enjoyed watching this serie although I can't say it is one of my favorites. I think Ada's Yan Fook was simply too nice, while Sonjia's character was mega annoying. A modern serie with hit ratings was 絕世好爸 (Family Man) which probably play a part in Flora’s win for Best Female Lead Actress in the anniversary awards that year. The sibling interactions with the father (Chun Pui)was entertaining to watch. Though it didn’t achieve a hit rating, 流金歲月 (Golden Faith) was Gallen’s last huge production at TVB before he left to film in mainland series. Not only was Gallen-Jessica’s relationship touching in this serie, but Tavia and Raymond also won quite a few fans with their pairing in here although Raymond played a semi-villain.

Relatively a modern series year, 2003 was a year filled with memorable modern series and the beginning of what I would deemed the first TVB idol appearance in the 2000s with the appearance of S4 from 衝上雲宵 (Triumph in the Skies). Sophisticated and classy, not only was it a favorite and romantic serie for many viewers, but it was also TVB’s first attempt with filming in various different locations like Italy and Japan. It renewed HK people’s (and other viewers) interest in the airplane industry, and brought up viewers' interest in younger actors at TVB due to S4. Many people say Raymond was technically the first young actor to start the way for others, and I do agree somewhat, but I think it was also partly due to S4 too since the popularity of Triumph in the Skies got people to turn their heads to notice the younger generation of actors and actresses at TVB. Probably inspired by ASITP, 九五至尊 (King of Yesterday and Tomorrow) became a major hit with people this year, and led Kwong Wah and Maggie Cheung to be strong contenders for the Best Male lead and Best Female lead awards at the anniversary awards. Although it was quite comedic at times, the serie had a nice plot that was well written in general. The acting was also superb, and Kwong Wah did a great job portraying an emperor traveling into modern times. Although Kwong Wah lost out to Roger that year, Maggie Cheung finally got the Best Female Lead award this year. However, her award speech and attitude about the whole thing caused a lot of unhappy rumors and news, and from this year onwards, there happens to be a lot of rumors running rampant during anniversary awards time regarding the Best Female leads. I only watched a couple of episodes of the modern version of 皆大歡喜 (Virtues of Harmony II), which was shown this year, and like its original, it managed to be a fan favorite. A favorite ancient serie of this year was 西關大少 (Point of No Return) which marked the return of Gigi Chiu (from The Bund). The comments said that it has reached 40 points, and while I thought the first half was very good, I felt the second half was too focused on the romance that it got kind of dragging at times. Nonetheless, I still love the themesong, and I thought the acting was overall great. Chilam got into the top 5 lead for best male actor this year, but I think he was adamant in saying Damian Lau really deserved to be nominated there instead. I think it’s quite true, since Damian Lau is one of those actors who always seem to do a great job but never seems to get the awards for it. Other serie of the year included 美麗在望 (Not Just a Pretty Face) which starred the young Joey Yung, who was known for being Cantopop’s princess at the time and a ratings-downer for movies. Although I am not sure about the ratings for this serie, I did like it because it was funny at times. I especially like Johnson Lee, who played the Dog in the serie too.

In terms of recognition and luck, 2004 must’ve been TVB’s golden year. There was the critically acclaimed 金枝慾孽 (War & Beauty) which I read from Wikipedia led many psychologist and sociologist (from HK I suppose) to talk about issues like how it can be a stressful and challenging environment at work when people would use ways to get ahead while pushing others down. The comment mentioned that this serie was able to be put on A1 headlines (in newspapers). So I think War & Beauty was one of the series of this decade that was able to contribute to a discussion of various issues in society. With ratings, 棟篤神探 (To Catch the Uncatchable) managed to score higher ratings than WAB. Since the original ending was sort of dark comedy, the audience also demanded a different ending. When I watched it the first time, I thought the original ending was better since it makes it more memorable. However, when I watched it a second time, I realized that Dayo and Ada’s character has been through a lot, and they really did deserve the happiness so I liked the second ending more. A fun fact was that Ada was initially in a promo for WAB, but I believe she rejected the role to take TCTU. In a way, it was a smart decision since TCTU scored great ratings, but yet when it comes time to the anniversary, it did not get much recognition at all. Even up to now, people would probably recognize WAB moreso than TCTU. Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable serie overall. Filming in HK and Africa, 天涯俠醫 (The Last Breakthrough) was a refreshing serie that focused on the act of volunteering and having a good heart to help sick African locals. It was quite informative and moving to watch, and Raymond and Leila’s cute pairing also became a favorite for many viewers also. Other creative attempts of the year were 隔世追兇 (To Get Unstuck In Time) and 爭分奪秒 (Split Second). To Get Unstuck in time was sort of science-fictionish, and I quite like this genre. However, if watched closely, a lot of flaws would be noticed. If not, it is actually quite an enjoyable serie that keeps you watching. The father-son chemistry with Benz and Roger Kwok was very touching to watch. With Michael Tao being back to film for TVB again, of course he would first paired up with costars that he had immense chemistry with. With Michael Tao, Kenix Kwok, and Bobby Au as the main leads for 青出於藍 (Shine on You), it became quite popular with viewers.

Personally I would deemed 2005 an average year because the series highlighted has some good series, but I wouldn’t say the series were classic. 我的野蠻奶奶 (War of In Laws I) and 阿旺新傳 (Life Made Simple) were two of the more popular serie. War of In Laws brought Bosco’s popularity up and turned away his negative rumors in the past. Not only that, but Liza Wang adored him and Myolie. The serie was funny, and Myolie and Bosco were very cute, instantly becoming a popular couple with rumors of being a real couple to this day. As for Life Made Simple, Bosco also had the opportunity to play supporting in here as sort of a really semi-villain. People love ah Wong and his ‘Lo Poh Jai’, but who knew that there are also fans of Bosco & Jessica too? Despite being in other series, this is also the first serie that Bosco & Leila played a couple and had more scenes together (unlike Aqua Heroes). The comments mentioned that Angela Tong’s Lee Siu Ho started off the “ugly girl trend.” 秀才遇著兵 (The Gentle Crackdown) were also shown this year. Surprisingly, I did enjoy this small production and Niki was actually alright as Sup Yee Mui though I once referred to her as Sup Sam Mui though haha. However, I enjoyed watching Moses Chan and Michelle Yim more. Moses was hilarious in this serie, and Michelle was so sweet as the mother. HK audience also seemed to enjoy watching 甜孫爺爺 (My Family) which had Cheung King Fai portraying the grandfather in the serie. Although I have not watched it, there seems to be some cute scenes with Shirley and Alex Fong and Shirley and Hawick Lau. Another serie of the year was 佛山贊師父 (Real Kung Fu), which had a lot of Kung Fu artists in the cast. I don’t quite remember it, but I think it was Charmaine Li’s first big role in a serie.

For some reason, the series highlight from 2006 and 2007 were on the same page. In 2006, there was 女人唔易做 (Le Femme Desperado). The comments below said that there were two endings and that it had the second highest rating for the year. Michael and Sheren had really great chemistry together, so it was not surprising that they had two endings. As to which ending I liked, I did prefer the ending which Michael knew it was his daughter, but the way he reacted didn’t seem like it totally registered that Haley was his real daughter. As for Raymond Lam and Melissa, their relationship was a hot topic since it was about an older female, younger male, which was another issue for discussion about society. Another serie shown was 鐵血保鏢 (Safe Guards), of which I read from many online fans that it was a really good production but I have not seen it. It seems like ever since this serie, Stephen’s series have been doing well with ratings. Is he just lucky or does he pick his series carefully? The comments below also said that the ending episode reached 40 points. For 2007, two big productions were mentioned. 溏心風暴 (Heart of Greed) swept the floors at the anniversary awards. I’ve always thought that Raymond has always been popular for people overseas, but somehow I don’t think he was that popular with the HK audience until this serie (Ron & Sammul had TITS, The Academy; Bosco- WOIL). Raymond got a whole lot more recognition (even more than Le Femme Desperado) and luck after this serie since his first album sold pretty well after. The other big production mentioned was 歲月風雲 (The Drive of Life), which was 60 episodes with a very good cast. I think the characters were developed quite nicely and the acting was great. It was too bad that the HK audience didn’t like it. Other than one measley award for best promo clip at the anniversary awards, this serie did not get much recognition. Hopefully, as it is shown in other areas, it would be recognized.

And that concludes the series highlights and my personal opinions for series throughout four decades. Although the series highlight mentioned only a few series for each year, it still took a while to go through them. Imagine how thick the magazine would be or how many issues it would take if they would list every serie they have ever produced! It is no wonder there are so many devoted fans to TVB even though some of their newer series just may not pass expectations. Some of their past series were simply too addicting and well-casted. Hopefully in the next decade, they would bring more series that would live up to its glory in the past.

//Other Links of Interest from Youtube:

Time Before Time Themevideo

Plain Love II Themevideo(1999)

Country Spirit Themevideo

Wong Hei's subtheme MV for A Matter of Customs, answering questions for the ending

If you are a big fan of this decade and would like to see the scans, email me at jadedreams@gmail.com or leave your email in the comments section.

TVB- the 3rd decade: 1987-1996

2008-01-09T20:43:00.000-08:00

What has TVB given us in the third decade? TVB Weekly Issue 542 brings back a lot of nostalgic feelings as I reminisce about the past series it featured, not only of the series itself but also the simple and pleasant times of enjoying time with the family. I watched a lot of these series while I was a kid, so it brings back a lot of fond memories of just being a kid and not having to deal with problems and life. The years of being a kid is truly when entertainment is and can always be first on the list. The quality of many of the dramas in this decade is brought on by superb acting and great lessons about life and people which provided entertainment that is not only addicting but inspirational and thought provoking…..

In 1987, I noticed 生命之旅 (The Price of Growing Up) with Alex Man and Kathy Chow Hoi Mei. Alex Man and Francis Ng’s characters were orphans, but Francis Ng’s character got adopted by a rich man. Later on, it turns out that Alex Man is the real son of the rich man, so Francis Ng is afraid that he’ll take everything every from him. Not only that, but they were also rivals with love. Francis likes Kathy Chow Hoi Mei, but she likes Alex Man, who likes Carol Dodo Cheng at first, who I think discovered she had cancer or something so she married Kenneth Tsang instead. Personally I think Alex Man and Carol Dodo Cheng had more chemistry as a couple than Alex Man and Kathy Chow Hoi Mei but nonetheless they were a nice couple as well. Francis as a villain wasn’t too evil to the core I think, but he did a good job nonetheless. Stephen Chow is also in this one, but his role is quite serious and not funny at all. His character even had to limp for some time in the serie. To celebrate TVB’s 20th anniversary, 大運河 (The Grand Canal) was specially created. The comments below said that Tony and Lau Ching Wan’s acting made it seem like Kau Yim Hak and Lee Sai Man were still alive. I have not watched this grand production…come to think of it the only Tony Leung series I have watched was Police Cadet and The Rough Road even though he was known from other series more. 季節 The Seasons is a 389 episodes family series that is somewhat similar to Kindred Spirits of the 90’s. This is another serie I have watched as a young kid, and I briefly remember Ma Da, who was acted by Tang Bik Wan and the third auntie who was often hilarious (she was in The Charmed Beneath as Yoyo’s mom). I think I like watching Dai Dee and his wife ah yuk the most. Gallen Lo also has a part in this serie. Interesting tidbit I just noticed from the comment, the family’s name for the main family in this serie is Tong, which is the same family name for the family in Heart of Greed.

I don’t recognize a lot of series in 1988. The only serie I know was 誓不低頭 (The Final Verdict) but didn’t watch the whole thing. I remember there was a part in which Kenneth Tsang went mad and started killing all his relatives with a butcher knife. He almost killed his own son too, who was played by the young Gregory Lee (currently Shirley Yeung’s boyfriend) as a kid. Now I myself watched this as kid, so it scared the heck out of me, what with the freaky psycho music and all. I still get freaked out when I watched that scene later several years ago. This scene is in my opinion, one of TVB’s disturbing scenes made. It’s funny that HK audience these days complain about how some series have inappropriate or violent scenes. Boy, the HK housewives would probably have a field day if TVB made a scene like that nowadays. The thing is, was he really psychotic or did he really have an intent to kill them later? Whatever it is, it shocked the heck out of me to see him killed his relatives. After all, Chinese people tend to be closer with family and relatives.

義不容情 (Looking Back in Anger) was a huge hit in 1989. The comments mentioned that other than Danny Chan’s themesong and Dave Wong’s sub theme song becoming classic songs, it set off the trend of folding lucky stars. I once read from somewhere online that this serie was had ratings through the roof at the time and that people would rush home to watch it. I don’t know how accurate this is, but it is definitely a classic TVB serie. Many probably liked it because of the conflict between the characters, but I liked the serie because I liked watching the ‘chun ching’ (in my best interpretation as of now…familial closeness) and the loyalty, trust, and love between friends and lovers. I loved watching Carina and Felix together, and despite all the struggles, Felix went from rags to riches. Of course, Deric Wan was vicious as Ding You Hong. The thing is, there are probably many people like him in this world. They make mistakes, and rather than take responsibility, they dig a deeper hole to bury themselves into. Other than this serie, the 他來自江湖 (Justice of Life) with Alex Man and Stephen Chow was also another favorite of mine. One scene in the series that I always found quite sad and tragic was the death of Alex Man’s fiancé (played by Pauline Yeung who was a guest star) in the serie. Alex Man plays a triad member working for her dad. They were preparing to get married, and on the day they went to try on wedding attire or take wedding pictures, somehow she got killed taking a bullet for Alex I believe. Perhaps it was the first time I saw this idea of the bride dying while in her wedding dress but it was really sad from the way it was told. Stephen Chow and Cutie Mui played a really silly couple in here. I still remember their scene in which they were held hostage, and Stephen was like “if nobody wants you, I’ll take you.” hehe I noticed that whenever the male characters say that phrase, he usually has to get with the female character he said it too. I wonder if it works in real life….I should trick a guy I like to say that to me haha XD. Stephen Chow’s other serie for this year was 盖世豪侠 (The Final Combat) with Francis Ng playing the villain. Stephen and Jacqueline Law were very cute together. Another interesting tidbit is that these two once dated! I also recognize Leon Lai and Nnadia Chan’s 天涯歌女(The Song Bird) in the same year. My memory is failing me. I remember a scene or two of them on the rooftop, but the rest I forgot. Though as I look at pictures of young Leon, I think Ron sort of looks like him in some angles. Perhaps that is why everybody keeps on saying Ron is good looking haha.

Moving on to 1990, I see Derek Wan and Maggie Siu’s picture for 我本善良 (Blood of Good and Evil). I have heard many good praises for this serie, but I myself have not watched it. The comment mentioned that Deric’s character pushed Maggie’s character off a train. Did his character do that in this serie too? It was a classic scene in Looking Back in Anger, but is it also in this serie as well? I wonder if the writer messed up. 人在邊緣 (The Challenge of Life) was a favorite serie of mine from this year. I especially like how it the beginning started with the main characters as little kids, and not a brief scene either. It was two or three episodes with many scenes of the young kids growing up and all. Those kids were pretty good actors themselves too. I quite enjoyed watching Jacqueline and Leon’s relationship. It’s quite romantic since he whisked her away and saved her when they first meet. They’re cousins, but I don’t have a massive phobia against that relationship, probably due to me watching lots of TVB series since young and seeing cousins sometimes getting hitched. Frankie was quite manipulative in this serie. Another favorite of mine from this year is 孖仔孖心肝 (It Runs in the Family) with Stephen Chow and Sean Lau Ching Wan. This serie was hilarious, probably even more so than The Justice of Life. There are many jokes and comments said in this series that were very witty and funny between Stephen and Sean.

Two more series I watched growing up was 大家族 (Big Family) and 今生無悔 (The Breaking Point) from 1991. Big Family was another rags to riches story for Alex Man’s character and is probably the best representative for classic family dramas. One theme within the serie that I thought was interesting was that the rich family had genetic heart conditions and health conditions. Then we see the dad (Kenneth Tsang) going against his son (played by Alex Man). There is a lot of internal and physical struggles with the characters in this serie so there are quite a lot of scenes that makes you feel for the characters. I noticed Alex Man plays a rich guy in almost every serie he is in or associated with rich people at least. But when he does dress up to be a rich businessman, his looks are quite convincing. In reality, the last I read is that he is quite a successful businessman. As for The Breaking Point, I don’t quite remember the whole story, but I remember Deric played another villain. But I believe in this one, his character was an average guy before he went to jail and then when he came out, he worked to get the things he lost. One of his most evil scenes was that he tortured his god-father (Kwan Hoi San) by locking him up in the trunk and later physically abusing him. Another scene I remember was when his wife tried to kill him by baking him a cake, and later commit suicide. It was one of those kind of slow scenes in which you’re thinking…does he know? What’s going to happen? Leon Lai is also in this one, and I remember I quite like his relationship with Maggie Siu rather than Kathy Chow Hoi Mei. Yeah, I am not a big fan of Kathy’s until later years. Another serie from this year is 月兒彎彎照九州 (Beside the seaside, Beside the seaside). I only remember Ekin and Nnadia on the rooftop for many scenes, but don’t remember anything else.

I was surprised to learn that 大時代 (Greed of Man) was a 1992 serie. I have always thought it was shown in the late 1980s or so. I guess it is because the colors of this serie was not as colorful as other series then. The most memorable scenes have got to be all the people being forced down the buildings or jumping on their own, especially when Sean Lau’s family fell from the building right in front of him. Talk about traumatizing. Now, that I watched some of the clips again, the wiring is very, very noticeable. I was also rooting for Amy Kwok and Sean Lau, but it is too bad he chose Vivien Chow in the serie. Aaron Kwok’s series 風之刀 (Revolution of the last hero) was one ancient serie of this year. Frankie Lam and Ada Choi play villains in here. I remember I quite like Fennie and Aaron together, they were funny together. Noel Leung and Ada Choi were simply gorgeous in this serie. They look wonderful in ancient attire. 壹號皇庭 (Files of Justice I) was also shown in this year. Michael Tao and Bobby Au Yeung became ‘housewives killers’ (adored by housewives) after this serie. My memories fails me when it comes to FOJ I-III, the only one I can remember the most is FOJV and possibly FOJIV. This is the only serie in TVB history that has reached part V. The other ones that came close were DIFIV and ARIV. If I could make a guess, I would think this is the serie that began the "professional career" genre for series.

1993 showcased two series I know of 原振俠 (The Legendary Ranger) and 金牙大狀 (Man of Wisdom). For The Legendary Ranger, it is unique since it is sci-fi and TVB rarely touches that genre, and it is also well-known since it has a very popular and beautiful cast. However, I read many reviews that said the plot was really bad, but I do not know since I have not watched it. As for Man of Wisdom, I don’t remember it much, but I did remember that I enjoy watching it.

In 1994, 恨锁金瓶 (Gentle Reflections) is one of the serie highlights. Being one of my favorite series, I am glad to see that it was mentioned. I thought it was a good serie overall, and I adore Kenix’s portrayal of Ping Yee. There is also 笑看風雲 (Instinct) which stars Ekin and Nnadia playing a couple again, while Roger Kwok plays the villain. I love the themesong. The lyrics are meaningful, and the song is pretty soothing. 射鵰英雄傳 (Legend of Condor Heroes), Chilam and Athena’s version of Kwok Jing and Wong Yung was shown in this year’s Legend of Condor Heroes. This is the only version I watched, and I quite like how Kwok Jing is devoted to Wong Yung. I guess one of the reasons The Legend of Condor Heroes and Return of the Condor Heroes is because the devotion of love between the main characters were so strong and unbreakable. Despite conflicts after conflicts, they do their best to get back to each other.

Possibly the second greatest police series made after the Police Cadet in the 80s, 刑事偵緝檔案 I and II (Detective Investigations Series I and II) came to life in 1995. The comments below mentioned that these two series were made within a year and that Dai Yung and Jessie’s relationship was a conversation topic for audience over tea break. DIF I-III were good, but I think I like DIF II the most because I think the relationships and chemistry was strong. I even liked Amy and Michael’s pairing also. Other than that, who knew that 真情 (Kindred Spirits) which debut this year would have a total of 1, 128 episodes five years later? 神鵰俠侶 (Return of the Condor Heroes) with Louis Koo and Carmen Lee was also shown during this year. Many thought Carmen Lee was the perfect actress for Siu Long Nui. I don’t know whether she truly is or not since I have not read the novels, but I think Carmen Lee and Louis Koo was quite a good couple.

For 1996, the decade ends with three huge productions I know of and watched. Dicky Cheung’s first version of the ancient series, 西遊記 (Journey to the West) came to life this year. I’m not a big fan of the serie, but Dicky Cheung and Wayne Lai was great as the Monkey King and the Pig respectively. Modern family drama, 天地男兒 (Cold Blood Warm Heart) showcased a lot of young siu sangs and fa dans of the time. Of course, Gallen Lo plays the villain so successfully that I just want to throw something at the screen whenever he appeared in this serie. Good thing I don’t live in HK at the time, but since I probably watched this two years after it aired, I guess it would be a huge difference lol. I also enjoyed Chilam and Jessica's relationship in the serie. It was really cute, and I was quite angry when Jessica cheated on Chilam! The third production of the year is the 新上海灘 (Once Upon A Time In Shanghai). This version had a very, very popular cast with Sunny Chan, Nnadia Chan, Gordon Lam, and especially the veterans like Adam Cheng, Carol Dodo Cheng, and even Eric Tsang. It cannot be denied that the cast was definitely more popular than the cast of JTTW or CBWH of the same year put together, but alas, I think the latter two series were more popular and revered by TVB fans.

Many of the series from this decade had a certain focus on good and evil aspects of human beings….the villains versus the protagonists. And in doing so, the protagonist and villains work to triumph over each other, which keeps the audience watching. Looking at these older series, I have a sudden urge to go back and watch them again. I know I would enjoy watching them again, but would I understand it better than I was a kid? Would I think differently of the characters then before? I guess I would know when I have the opportunity to re-watch some of these series again in the future.

If you are a big fan of this decade and would like to see the scans, email me at jadedreams@gmail.com or leave your email in the comments section.

** I don’t really know if anyone is actually reading these posts about the decades, but just in case someone is, since this one took me a while, it is probably going to be a longer time before the next decade gets posted.

TVB- the 2nd decade: 1977-1986

2008-01-05T17:42:00.000-08:00

In Issue 541, TVB Weekly showcased series from the second decade. I begin to recognize some well-known series and had even watched a few of them later on due to re-airing. I noticed that the series highlighted from 1977-1982 had more popular (and really long) modern family dramas while 1983-1986 had more popular ancient series. Along with legendary themesongs, the TVB series from this decade can be consider the most glorious in terms of fame...

Since I am not as familiar with this decade as I wish I could’ve been, I’ll only comment on the series I have seen and the more well-known ones I've heard of. In 1977, 家變 (A House is not a Home) with Liza Wang was shown. The caption below it mentioned that HK newspapers at the time actually published a missing headline cover ad for one of the characters at the time. Talk about promotions for series…that really can’t be beat! A House is not a Home must be really popular with HK people at the time. With 110 episodes and it still kept its popularity, that’s really saying something. Reading online posts, I’ve seen tons of complaints about 2007's The Drive of Life dragging with only 60 episodes! I actually watched a bit of this one since my grandma loved this serie. She quite like watching Tang Bik Wan and Nam Hung, the first and second wife of the series. I remember Liza Wang’s Lok Lam was a kick-ass career woman in this serie, very independent and strong type. She probably set a great example for women of her time and also future actresses that take on career women roles.

In 1978, 強人(The Giants) with the young Lee Si Kei was shown. This was a serie I watched when I was a little kid so obviously I don’t remember much. I only remember a bit of Lee Si Kei character’s romance with the main guy, and that Lau Dan’s character was really mean to his wife. Lee Si Kei’s character Yurk Nam was also quite independent and career minded. Other than that serie that year, I see 小李飛刀 (The Romantic Swordsman). I, myself have never watched the serie but the themesong to this serie by Roman Tam is instantly recognizable.

Adam Cheng and Gigi Chiu’s 楚留香 (Chor Lau Heung) is probably the most notable mention of the serie highlights in 1979. Chow Yun Fat’s 網中人 (The Good, the Bad, the Ugly) may have been another popular serie. The caption under this serie mentioned that ah chon or Liu Wai Hung (the guy who presented the Most favorite female character award to Susanna Kwan at last year’s anniversary) actually ate 36 hamburgers at one time in a scene. Now that is quite impressive. It is no wonder he always mention this whenever I see him being interviewed and such. Another serie of the year was 天虹 (Over the Rainbow), which is another serie my grandma was into. I remember Liza Wang’s character falling in love with the bad guy play by Patrick Tse (Nicholas Tse’s dad), and he was involved with making counterfeit money. The caption below this serie mentions that this serie was 85 episodes long, and it used the fashion industry of its time for the theme, making this serie represent the trends of the time.

In the next three years, I only recognize one serie per year. Another well known Liza Wang serie, 京華春夢 (Yesterday’s Glitter) was shown in 1980. The caption below this serie mentions that this serie was originally meant to be 20 episodes, but because the audience’s reaction was so great that it was extended to 25. I guess the HK audience had always had a history of control on TVB series lol. Anyway, I did watch this serie, but again, I do not remember that much. The parts I remember the most were the family arguments. I also thought it was quite liberal with regards to the pregnancy before marriage plot with Liza and Damian Lau. Oh and the last scene with Damian Lau got me quite teary eyed. In 1981, I see 千王群英會 (The Shell Game), which dealt with gambling, starred Patrick Tse, Liza Wang, Simon Yam, and Chow Yun Fat. The first Jin Yong series highlighted thus far is in 1982 with 天龍八部 (Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils) with Felix Wong, Leung Ka Yan, and Idy Chan.

In 1983, two acclaimed Jin Yong adaptations were shown: 射鵰英雄傳 (The Legend of the Condor Heroes) with the young Felix Wong and Barbara Yung and 神鵰俠侶 (Return of the Condor Heroes) starring the young Andy Lau and Idy Chan. I would like to mention 老洞 (The Old Miao Myth) with the young Andy Lau and Ray Lui. Even though I have not seen this serie, I saw an ad for its vcd, and I thought it was very interesting since TVB doesn’t touch scary themes very much. The clips they showed also made the series kind of freaky, and whenever I saw it, I often wonder whether it was good.

As for 1984, I see a Leslie Cheung serie, 儂本多情 (Once Upon An Ordinary Girl) and an Anita Mui serie, 香江花月夜 (Summer Kisses, Winter Tears). I have not watch both of them, but considering they were one of the very few TVB series these two legends filmed, it must be very memorable for many fans. Other than these two rare gems, there was also Chow Yun Fat’s version of Jin Yong’s 笑傲江湖 (The Proud Smiling Wanderer) shown.

The Yangs’ Saga (楊家將) and Police Cadet Sequel (新紮師兄續集) were two of Tony Leung Chiu Wai’s known TVB series in 1985. The Yangs’ Saga seems like a star studded cast with the Five Tigers, Alex Man, Carol Dodo Cheng, Liza Wang, Gigi Chiu, Chow Yun Fat, Maggie Cheung Man Yuk, Carina Lau, Simon Yam, Francis Ng, etc. In the future, I’ll definitely try to catch this serie sometime. I have only watched Police Cadet Sequel from the mentions, and I remember watching Tony and Margie Tsang’s relationship blossom in this serie. Tony Leung’s character didn’t feel the same way for Margie’s character at first, so it was cute watching them date throughout the serie. Simon Yam was also a good addition as the manipulative villain, Hon Bon.

The last year of this second decade of series is 1986. There is Felix’s 薛丁山征西 (General Father, General Son), which is later adapted in Jessica Hsuan’s Lady Fan in 2004. Alex Man’s 流氓大亨 (The Feud of Two Brothers) along with Carol Dodo Cheng, Kathy Chow Hoi Mei, Lawrence Ng, and Carina Lau, was also part of this year's contribution. Alex Man is the protagonist who was led on to believe the family he lived for like 20 years was his real family even though he was adopted and was actually the son of a rich man. Lawrence Ng plays the villain in here, who was interested in Kathy Chow Hoi Mei’s character and later got her pregnant and left her. The most memorable scene was the ending with Carol being in a coma as Alex Man cries by her bedside. Could this be the serie that set the precedent for future coma-induced plots and brother feuds? And I see 倚天屠龍記 (New Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre) with Tony Leung and Kitty Lai. Kitty Lai plays Chiu Man and Sheren Teng plays Chow Chi Yurk.

And that concludes the series that I know mentioned in the article from the second decade of TVB series. I was surprised to learn that this article left out two popular series during this decade, 上海灘 The Bund which was shown in 1980 and 鹿鼎記 Duke of Mount Deer in 1985. Those two series were definitely the cream of the crop, so it’s a little surprising that it was left off, but I guess maybe it was so well known that people knew when it came out?

If you are a big fan of this decade and would like to see the scans, email me at jadedreams@gmail.com or leave your email in the comments section.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Check out the various Youtube trailors/themevideos/songs of the TVB series mentioned from above (I did not upload any of these):

’77 家變 (A House is Not a Home) VCD Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93hZiSlAjZo

’78 強人 (The Giants) Themevideo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JEa3AtpuEM

’78 小李飛刀 (The Romantic Swordsman) Themevideo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apgA0kpMSVw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDpVGaG_epQ

’79 楚留香 (Chor Lau Heung) Themevideo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PurHKJ7py-s

’79 網中人 (The Good, the Bad, the Ugly) VCD Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvzJMcTrNJs

’79 天虹 (Over the Rainbow) Themevideo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSNUkC7eYCY

’80 京華春夢 (Yesterday’s Glitter)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34-Nq7Z12BI

’81 千王群英會 (The Shell Game)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PxoEoyOwJE

’82 天龍八部 (Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQ4nTPesQWk

’83 射鵰英雄傳 (The Legend of the Condor Heroes) & making of themesong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U9E3COZRBs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqBGU-X8toA

’83 神鵰俠侶 (Return of the Condor Heroes) themevideo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgUkvyUoXDk

’84 儂本多情 (Once Upon An Ordinary Girl) themevideo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJt3s42ipm4

’84 笑傲江湖 (The Proud Smiling Wanderer) themevideo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjgd71yTBvY&feature=related

’85 楊家將 (The Yangs’ Saga) themevideo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAK-aQhCzs8

’85 新紮師兄續集 (Police Cadet Sequel) themevideo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsQOLsN3WJw

’86 薛丁山征西 (General Father, General Son) themevideo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiqrdehH0RU

’86 流氓大亨 (The Feud of Two Brothers) themevideo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtB4_UtEbp8

’86 倚天屠龍記 (New Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre) themevideo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwwbjr7Ptpw

TVB- the 1st decade: 1967-1976

2008-01-03T22:29:00.000-08:00

Looking at TVB Weekly Issue 540’s special article on the first decade of TVB’s history with a few series highlights for each year, I realized that I have not seen any of these shows at all. Heck, I wasn’t even born then. Nonetheless, these are TVB first ‘pioneer’ series and shows produced, which makes these series truly classics...

An avid TVB fan would realize that the TVB anniversary is on November 19th of every year. However, not many would know the whole date TVB was established, which is November 19th, 1967. From that date onwards, TVB aired many of its first shows including the stage show Enjoy Yourself Tonight with one of TVB’s famous faces today, Lydia Shum. Since I have not watch any of these series, I am very unfamiliar with the names of these series, but I’ll just mention whatever I find interesting.

From 1967-1972, most of the series highlighted were black and white. In 1973, the series highlighted had more color, but it was still a little blurry. In 1974, the series mentioned were mostly ancient but the pictures were a bit lighter and clearer. This is also the year in which Lee Si Kei’s series, 啼笑姻緣 (she was the wax figure for this character in 2007’s anniversary gala wax museum comedy skit) and TVB’s first version of 西遊記 (otherwise known as Journey to the West for today viewers) was shown. In 1975, TVB’s first version of 洛神 (otherwise known as Where the Legend Begins for today viewers) was shown. In 1976, TVB’s version of 黃飛鴻 (otherwise known as Wong Fei Hung for today’s viewers) was shown. In the same year, and the only serie I believed to be the most widely known in this decade for today’s viewers is 陸小鳳 (known as Luk Siu Fung) starring Damian Lau. Other famous faces I see in this decade include the young Liza Wang, young Adam Cheng, the young Sek Sau, and Ng Wai Kwok (from Drive of Life).

Even though I have not watched these original series myself, this decade seem to have quite a few influences on future adaptations. I was surprised to learn that there were several popular series that were later remade from this decade. I mean, who knew, I always thought Dicky Cheung’s version of Journey to the West was the first one TVB ever made. There are many other series made during this decade that was either part of the highlights and I did not mention or not part of the highlights at all. Are there any particular series during this decade you, your grandparents, or your family have watched and enjoyed? Do share.

If you are a big fan of this decade and would like to see the scans, email me at jadedreams@gmail.com or leave your email in the comments section.

First Post of the New Year....

2008-01-03T20:33:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone! Looking back, I have made several attempts to start and continue several blogs/site before this blog. The problem with me is that I get excited about things very quickly, and I would start them, but I would have trouble continuing to update.

Once again, I started this blog in 2006 with an interest to blog, but I was again too lazy to sit my butt down to continue. It changed last year. Every year when it comes to the anniversary time, I would get excited and it’s no different for 2007. And that is one of the reason I continued this blog…to share my thoughts about the anniversary last year, TVB, and Asian Entertainment. The other reason is because I wanted to start some sort of fan site on Bosco & Shirley because it seems they have very few support from online fans. After seeing the visitor hits and reading the comments of visitors and their opinions, it really motivated me to continue writing. Much thanks to the people who continue to visit and those who leave comments.

In my next several posts, I would write some of my thoughts on a special article spanning four issues of TVB Weekly which highlighted classic TVB series and moments over 40 years. In the meantime, check out the poll on the left side.

Cheers to the upcoming New Year....

2007-12-31T20:18:00.000-08:00

It's still like 2 hours away for me until the new year, but I know it is already the new year for people in the East. As for the upcoming new year, I hope I would be able to constantly update my thoughts and other random stuff for the upcoming year. Much thanks to those people who take the time to read my thoughts...I really appreciated it.