My Favorite TVB Series of 2016

My Favorite TVB Series of 2016
*updated to add Dead Wrong 9/4/17

Sigh 2016 was definitely a good year for TVB indeed. It was a hard choice, and both A Fist Within Four Walls and Dead Wrong were both the cream of the crop. But if I have to choose, I have to vote for Dead Wrong as #1. Anyhow, TVB please keep making series like Dead Wrong and A Fist Within Four Walls to show you are still capable of bringing good series to the table!


1. Dead Wrong - It has been a while, but I still remember how much I enjoyed watching this serie, and the beautiful scenery of Vietnam. The mystery of who did it kept me watching until the end, and everything kind of makes sense at the end. Roger is definitely the star of the show portraying Vincent as a good man deep down, but he's not a flawless person because he is vengeful. He leads the series without any doubt. When he was angry and vengeful and going crazy, it felt so real - like this is not Roger Kwok, this is Vincent, which showcases Roger's superior acting skills. The other cast members also did a great job. I particularly enjoyed Vincent Wong and Stephanie Ho's story as a couple, which was unexpected. In one scene when she was all dressed up waiting at his bedside, she even kind of looks like Yoyo (Vincent Wong's wife in real life!). Roger and Joey Meng as a couple was actually cute to watch because the serie kind of shows when they get together and how they became a couple.. I am not a fan of Joey, but she did show she is a capable actress in this serie. The only actor that I had doubts was Kenny Wong, but he was bearable. I also think Zoie Tam and Rebecca Zhu both portrayed their characters well as supporting actresses. (Hello TVB, these actresses are what good supporting actresses should be!)

2. A Fist Within Four Walls - A close #1 but Dead Wrong's entire story and cast acting, I felt, was more complex and better. AFWFW was good entertainment without a doubt, the cast was well-casted, and the story kept me watching every episode. The chemistry of the cast reigns far more supreme to Dead Wrong definitely. I loved Grace Wong's character, and I was surprised she did such a a great job. I liked all three pairings in the serie. There are some elements of Ruco & Nancy's romance that reminds me of Charmaine & Raymond in Line Walker. Moon Lau and Phillip Ng also did well as a couple. I also liked Benjamin and Grace's story as well. It was cute watching all three pairs. It was not just the couples, the supporting cast all just a good job. I enjoyed all of Yuen Qiu and Phillip's scenes as mother and son. Carlo Ng also surprised me as well. I hope the whole cast would cooperate again in another serie because they all work well with each other.

3. Over Run Over- Time Travel/Sci-Fi Series/Movies are my favorite genres, so of course this one will be in my favorites list. This one was an unexpected surprise, but it kept me catching every episode. Without Tracy Chu and Vincent Wong as leads, it may not be the same level of success though. Their chemistry and romance story was really good, and the storyline was interesting to watch. Tracy is a charming actress, and Vincent Wong did a great job. I also like Pal's character in the serie.

4. Presumed Accidents-I enjoyed seeing the different cases and watching the mystery develop. This is one of the series that kept me chasing each episode and gave me a few surprises here and there. There are some sci-fi/mysterious element here with George's character and unbelievable plots, but it entertained me enough to keep watching. I grew to like Sisley's character in here, and she has improved a lot.

5.The Executioner- This was one of the first serie of 2016. My, time surely passed by quickly. In general, this serie told a pretty interesting story with interesting character - the midwive and the executioner. I remember I enjoyed watching it, and I kept watching it to see what would happen to the characters. However, nothing in the serie stands out incredibly. Nonetheless, a good serie in general.

6. K9 Cop- This one had decent leads, Linda Chung and Bosco Wong, and they were a cute pair. I liked it but felt like they didn't focus enough on the dogs. I think Kayi and Jerry Ku unexpectedly was an interesting couple and had good chemistry. Raymond Cho and Tracy was also a cute couple. I also enjoyed the chemistry with Bosco and the sisters (especially Kayi and Tracy). Bosco and Raymond Wong also worked well as good friends. Overall, enjoyable series but nothing memorable.


Special Mentions:

Law Disorder-  This serie was promising, and it did keep me watching from beginning. It kept me watching to see how Alex and Liu Kai Chi try to kick each other out, but there wasn't really anything too exciting or memorable about the series. I felt Liu Kai Chi was being a bit caricature as the villain though he was still captivating to watch. He even had a mustache like Hitler and really high standing hair. Alex Fong has always been a so-so actor for me, but he did a pretty good job in this serie. Ali Lee was not impressive at all. Mandy Wong does better but is not really leading actress material. Felt that Florence Kwok would've been a good female lead, and her character would've interesting material to work with. Too bad she would always be stuck as best supporting roles even though she is more than capable as an actress.

Fashion War- This is another serie that I thought would be relatively boring, but it was interesting to see the focus on the magazine industry. Not sure how it is in Asia, but magazines seems to be slowly dying here in the US since more and more people are going online for news and stories. I kept watching until the end, but again, not classic series material.

Blue Veins - Special mention because I thought this serie would be absolutely horrible, but I did enjoy the scenery, and the story is bearable. Kevin and Kay Tse's characters were romantic for me. I was never a fan of Kay Tse, but she did a good job. Grace Chan disappointed, and I thought her character was really annoying.

Come Home Love: Dinner at 8 - The thing with sitcoms is that it can keep you watching mindlessly. It's a good series for freshers to act and gain experience in. I liked that the serie revolves around the television station. Wayne and Teresa Mo work well together, and Power Chan and Angela Tong are good support, but is it classic material? No, but it's good enough that I know who the characters are and it's something to continue to watch because they are there.

TVB Awards 2016

Updated on 9/4/17 to include Dead Wrong.

TVB, what a much, MUCH better year! From what was a terrible awards presentation and series year in 2015, I guess you can only improve right? My general thoughts overall on the winners and nominees:

Best Actress

Last year, I absolutely was stunned with Nancy Wu’s win for such a mediocre character and mediocre serie, Ghost of Relativity. It was like how can you put this serie on the shelf next to TVB classics and NOT LAUGH? However, at least, like Kevin Cheng’s first won, Nancy Wu redeemed herself with this year’s acting and serie. She was funny/comical but yet when she’s serious, you want to cry with her as well in A Fist Within Four Walls. There is something with Priscilla Wong that I can’t picture her as a serious actress. She cries well but in serious scenes, I can tell she’s trying but I can’t buy her acting. People say Maggie Siu should’ve won, and her character in The Executioner was interesting enough. She gave a solid performance, but it’s a shame the serie itself was not popular. I like both Nancy and Maggie’s characters and performances, but I would say I like Nancy’s more as it is more memorable to me, while I don’t remember Maggie’s character as much.

Best Actor

I really like Ruco, and I think it's still nice he won,and he is a more than capable actor, but after watching Dead Wrong, Roger Kwok definitely led that serie as Best Actor, and judging between him and Ruco's acting and character in AFWFW, I think Roger was able to portray a complex character successfully to the point that in some scenes it was scary to watch him because it seemed so real. I really think Roger put a lot of efforts into the portrayal of his character, and he did a better job in that regards. Roger definitely deserved the Best Actor win, but Dead Wrong was not the popular series in 2016 - AFWFW was. The popular series usually gets the coveted Best Actor/Actress award. It's sad but thank you to Roger for bringing a Best Actor performance for audience to enjoy. Benjamin Yuen should not be in this list, and he would not if A First Within Wall Fours wasn’t that popular and he is deemed as co-lead with Ruco Chan. Bosco Wong has always been a good actor, but Two Steps from Heaven is not a popular serie. Somehow he just doesn’t have the best luck with characters – they’re always either the too nice, funny type or the villainy but chummy type. His most complex and interesting role has been Bai Co from Lives of Omission. He should do some undercover cop roles or some gang leader type of roles or ancient series fighter or revolutionary rebel type of roles. His looks does not suit modern businessman. Vincent Wong did a surprisingly wonderful job in Over Run Over, but it’s not perfect. There are some scenes that I feel are a little exaggerated. Plus, he does not have much leading actor nominations under his belt. It is understandable he did not win yet, but the future is bright for this one if he continues, maybe in the next few years. I think Ruco Chan did a great job in A Fist Within Four Walls. Is it his best performance compared to the rest (other than Roger because I haven’t watched Dead Wrong yet)? Yes, I do think so. Is it his best performance ever? No, I don’t think so, I liked him in The Other Truth, Reality Check, Outbound Love, and Captain of Destiny, but sometimes it is all about the right timing – he’s got a good partner with chemistry, a great cast, a popular serie that is well-received by audience, and he did his part, so it is in his favor to win.

Most Popular Female Character

I think Grace Wong deserved this award. Her character was well-liked by the audience. Joyce Tang is also well-liked by the audience but her character is more of an ensemble – nothing too outstanding on just her character. Grace’s character was definitely well written- mysterious, interesting, and romantic as well. Nancy Wu’s character is also more interesting than Joyce’s. I don’t know why, but Tracy Chu is just naturally talented as an actress. She can really take an unlikeable role and make it likeable (case demonstrated in K9 Cops). Her character is quite stubborn in Over Run Over but yet I like her character. TVB needs to promote her like 100x time because she’s uber talented and smart! I would give her my third vote after Nancy and Grace. I didn’t think Natalie Wong’s character as Yiu Yiu was any outstanding – I would like to see her in a villain role so she can do something different rather than play a flower vase type of characters. I think she has potential but keeps on getting the need to protect her vibe in all characters.

Most Popular Male Character

I liked Benjamin Yuen’s character as A First Within Four Walls although he is wooden but that’s his character, so it’s alright, but my favorite was definitely Vincent Wong in Over Run Over. I can see how others like Ruco Chan, Bobby Au-Yeung, or Louis Cheung more as well. In my opinion, it should’ve went to Vincent Wong in Over Run Over – he was simply endearing in there. I was never a big fan of his, but he won me over in Over Run Over! Vincent also further won me over in Dead Wrong - I find him quite romantic to watch and had chemistry with both Stephanie Ho and Zoie Tam. 2016 finally turned me into a big Vincent Wong fan! 

Best Supporting Actress

All three nominees are great actresses. In terms of popularity and character this year, Grace Wong’s character in A Fist Within Four Walls was definitely Best Supporting Actress material for THIS YEAR. I think Katy Kung did an ok job in Two Steps from Heaven from the scenes I’ve seen of her in it, and her acting has been decent since beginning, but I don’t feel like her character was a crucial supporting for the serie. Joyce Tang is always a standard good actress, and if counting all her past performances, she definitely deserved this award the most. However, I didn’t think her character in a House of Spirits was any different or outstanding though. If I have to say who is deserving at least based on this year’s performance and characters, then my choice is in the order of Grace Wong, Joyce Tang, and then Katy Kung. If based on experience and acting, then it would be in the order of Joyce Tang, Katy Kung, and Grace Wong.

Best Supporting Actor

Raymond Cho is deserving of Best Supporting Actor as a consistent actor in all of his roles. I like his character in A Short End of the Stick, and I am glad it brought him the fame finally. I felt his best performance and character was in The Confidant, and I hope that he will have the opportunity to showcase his acting skills in more complex roles. Hugo Ng was good in his role in Brother’s Keeper II, and the man should get recognition for taking on such a hated and controversial character. Alas, as with any other, Brother’s Keeper II was not popular and thus will not get notice. In my opinion, I did not get the hype with Brother’s Keeper I either though yes, I did enjoy watching Kristal Tin’s explosive character.

Most Improved Female Artiste

I am disappointed with Most Improved Female Artiste because I think Moon Lau, Tracy Chu, Katy Kung and Stephanie Ho are all more deserving than Ali Lee. I’ve seen Ali Lee in all her series, and I felt like it’s more or less the same traces of each other. When I see her onscreen, I’m like it’s Ali not whatever character she is supposed to portray. If talking about versatility and talent, Tracy Chu and Katy Kung are far ahead of the race in this group. They shouldn’t be in this category because they are far more advance than this. I feel bad for Moon Lau because it seems like this award is stolen from her. She definitely did well portraying different roles and you can see her improvement in the latest series playing the mistress in Bosco’s serie, Two Steps from Heaven.  Stephanie Ho is a pretty decent actress and can convey her emotions well. The only thing that works against her is her height, but she no doubt tries her best in every role. Not sure who Mayanne Mak is. This is the first time I see her on television, but seems like she is well liked. Does she have some connections with management?

Most Improved Male Artiste

Most improved male artiste nominations have a bunch of good looking guys! I feel the winner, Jonathan Cheung, is deserving of Most Improved Male Artiste. The only thing is that I feel like he can work on his facial expressions more. Other than that, he seems like a very sweet and romantic guy, proclaiming his love for his wife for her support during his winner’s speech. If Jonathan Cheung isn’t there, I would feel that Mark Ma would deserve this award. Mark Ma is a decent actor although not too good looking but he has that good guy charm that works on television for best supporting actors. Matthew Ho is easily the cutest guy out of the group but I find it is hard to see him in his roles because of his babyface. To his credit, his acting is decent, and I look forward to seeing him in more series. I always felt like James Ng is a cute guy, though not handsome, but I see him more as a singer rather than actor. Hubert Wu is cute, but as for acting, he definitely needs to act more to gain more experience. Bob Cheung doesn’t really have that much roles yet, but so far, I think he’s a pretty good actor and is quite good looking. With his good looks, he should have more opportunities for roles to improve his acting.

Most Popular On-Screen Partnership

Nice to see Vincent Wong and Tracy Chu win the Most Popular On-Screen Partnership. They do have a lot of chemistry in Over Run Over. Tracy Chu has always does such an awesome job with all her screen partners though. She even has great chemistry with Bosco as just siblings in K9 Cop. Ruco and Nancy also had good chemistry and a great couple’s storyline in A Fist Within Four Walls too. It is deserving either of the two won.

Most Popular Drama Theme Song

The TVB themesongs over the last several years or so have been great simply because actual singers have been singing the themesongs! In some cases, the only thing going for the series have been the themesongs. I am ok that the duet “Never Know You are the Best” by Ruco and Nancy won. It is a relatively decent song, but my favorite is Stephanie Ho’s themesong for Over Run Over – it simply brings so much emotions and represents the storyline and romance so well. Stephanie Ho's themesong for Dead Wrong was simply the best themesong hands down (even better than her themesong for Over Run Over). Her themesong for Dead Wrong gives me all kinds of feels and matches the romance for the couples in the serie.

Best Serie

A Fist Within Four Walls is well-deserving for Best Serie. I have not known about the Kowloon Walled City before, so it was interesting to learn about its existence from this serie. Great cast, great characters and acting, good couple pairings, and addictive. For me, what is deemed as a good serie has to keep me wanting to watch more to see what happens. Not to mention, it is exactly the type of action drama that can be milked into a movie or sequel in the future. Overall, this year the year has so much better series than last year but then you can only improve from the wasteful year of 2015. I have enjoyed quite a few series here and there and most were better than I thought. Other series other than A Fist Within Four Walls that I thought were interesting and kept me wanting to chase each episode were Over Run Over, The Executioner, Presumed Accidents. I’m just glad to see Over Run Over get some recognition. It was an unexpected success, which makes it even more memorable. I thought TVB would’ve swept it under the rug, so it’s good to see it’s not.

Special mention - Carlo Ng also won the professional actors award, and he is well deserving. He did an awesome job as Cheung Mei Gor.

I look forward to TVB’s 50 years celebration next year. It looks like there are a lot of great big-time series and good competition next year, so hopefully TVB will not disappoint.