Overall Review of TVB Series in 2014

Since I have watched quite a lot of TVB series from 2014 I might as well make a round-up commentary about them. Some of them I only watched a little bit while others I watched all the episodes. 

Guide: The series title coloured in green means highly recommended for me, yellow means the series is so-so and red means must avoid at all cost!

NOTE: I only commented for some series as I left the rest and left it as a draft until now, and my thoughts of the other series I've watched are a bit blurry. Sorry!

TVB Series	Awards Won
Return of the Silver Tongue 舌劍上的公堂	Comment: I only watched bits and pieces of this series so no comment.
Outbound Love 單戀雙城	Comment: I only watched around half of the series so no comment.
Storm in a Cocoon 守業者	Theme: Silk Business, Mystery, Period Drama What I've got to say about this series: This is a fantastic series that will get you guessing 'who killed the elder sister' and keep you anticipated for the next episode. It marks the comeback of Steven Ma who I think performed very well as some-one good-hearted yet unscrupulous in his actions. The plot is equally as good as the performances with red-herrings everywhere on who is the murderer. I admit the ending is lame but the performances from everyone redeemed the series. The English name itself is even outstanding; 'Storm in a Cocoon' - sounds mighty dramatic and relevant to the storyline. A Must Watch. What people have said about this series: This series got quite a lot of noise from Steven Ma and Tavia Yeung fans. Netizens praised this series as unpredictable and highly addictive. Also, Tavia Yeung's "excessive" lip-gloss garnered a lot of comment. Ratings-wise this series performed well with a peak rating of 35. Most Memorable Scene You Must Watch: The wedding scene (in Episode 25) of 'Ka Yeung' and 'Bing Bing' and where Chi Yan protested their marriage. It was Tavia Yeung's best moment where she said "So what I am re-marrying? Why should I reject someone who truly loves me? I married to the wrong person last time, but this time I won't. I will remarry no matter what, and I will say it loudly and proudly!"The dialogue in that scene was perfect and at the same time it was very dramatic.
Swipe Tap Love 愛我請留言	TVB Anniversary Awards 2014 ·         Most Improved Female Artiste: Priscilla Wong
Ghost Dragon of Cold Mountain 寒山潛龍	Comment: Only watched a little bit so no comment.
Rear Mirror 載得有情人	Comment: Only watched a little bit so no comment.  What I've got to say about this series: What other people have said about this series: Most Memorable Scene:
All That is Bitter is Sweet 大藥坊	Theme: Medicine Business, Period Drama What I've got to say about this series: I didn't feel much for the characters in this series. Linda Chung as "Gaai Kei' was painful to watch with her being so stressed all the time. On the other hand, Sammy Sum did great as someone ruthless and corrupted. Natalie Tong's character was too depressing for me to care. When I first watched the trailer in TVB's Sales Presentation I was thrilled to watch this as it seemed to be a series about empowerment and inspiration but at the end of the day it was more about corruption and power abuse and people with a big ego. The English name for this series in my opinion is too long, just like how the series itself was too long. What other people have said about this series: This series didn't get much attention despite it being quite anticipated. Surprisingly Ruco did great but not much comment from fans about his performance in here. Overall, word of mouth and ratings suffered. Most Memorable Scene: Definitely Raymond Wong's death scene. His tragic death was totally avoidable but he died on the hands of Linda's father who was too over-confident with his diagnosis. I liked the dialogue between Raymond and Linda where he said "We will live together in harmony and next second spat blood to Linda's father's face. Dramatic.
Come on, Cousin 老表，你好hea！	Theme: Supermarket Business, Comedy, Modern What I've got to say about this series: A very witty series. Despite all the criticism towards this series, I still found it very funny and clever, making it one of the most funniest TVB series I have ever watched. Wong Cho Lam did great as a scriptwriter with the funny gags that he thought of - the whole 'Shirley shark thing and I love eating shark fin thing', 'the I want to inherit my father's business mockery situation'. I found Roger Kwok's character to be very entertaining to watch with his now classical quote "How organic!" The downfall of this series though was that sometimes it was a bit lame and direction-less. One moment it focused on the supermarket business then it was something about awards ceremony. Compared to Inbound Troubles, this series lacked consistency but for me the chemistry of the cast and the performances redeemed this series. What other people have said about this series: Even though it was one of three TVB Anniversary Series of the year, it didn't get a positive reception from the audience but apparently it was too lame for people to watch. Overall, people felt disappointed about this series. Most Memorable Scene: For me it was definitely Roger Kwok's learning how to become a politician scene (in episode 19 I presume) where he had to convince the shoppers in the supermarket whether to buy pork or to not. One moment he said that pork is very nutritious for everyone to eat (convincing the shoppers to buy the pork), then warning them of the risks of eating pork (convincing the shoppers to feel too scared to buy pork), then saying pork's risk is actually very minimal (making them want to buy pork again) and then crying how because of fulfilling people's desire to eat pork a pig's life has to be sacrificed (making them not buy pork at the end). I found that scene to be very very very funny and proves why Roger Kwok is a brilliant actor.
Coffee Cat Mama 貓屎媽媽	Theme: Cafe Business, Comedy, Modern What I've got to say about this series: A highly entertaining series that grabs your attention with the limitless funny scenes and refreshing cast. Even though I hated the ending of the series where it ended so miserably, I've got to say it was consistently engaging to watch with limitless funny gags and the great performances by Bosco, Eliza and Vincent. A must watch for a few good laughs but don't except a great storyline or plot because there isn't really. P.S The English name sounds too confusing. What other people have said about this series: With a graveyard slot, unsurprisingly people were either out on holidays or overseas so probably not many people cared about this hidden gem. There was a rather debate from Nancy Wu's dedicated fans complaining about Eliza Sum being the leading lady when in fact Nancy Wu should of been. (I thought Eliza did fine in Coffee Cat Mama though). Most Memorable Scene: There was this scene where Bao Chi Tai (Bosco Wong) was talking with his best friend how he was sorry he accused him of stealing money in the Cafe restaurant and it seemed like they were confessing their love to one another like a couple and then suddenly comes a bunch of ordinary HK people saying "It's ok you two are in love, Hong Kong is very open now so no need to be scared". I laughed at that scene so badly.

Louis Cheng (張繼聰) - Brief Brief Thoughts abt him

What I know about him already: Kay Tse's husband, a singer and actor and dancer, only starred in TVB series not long ago, TVB Most Improved Male Artist, someone with rough skin but awesome actor.

What Wikipedia taught me about him: He is also a songwriter and even written songs for big HK singers such as Joey Yung and Eason Chan and has been in TV shows for longer than I thought.

My thoughts about him: I admire Louis Cheng since I find as someone humble and thankful in his achievements. People may say he doesn't have good lucks to appeal viewers but he definitely has the acting chops to attract the audience's attention. Rewind a few years back and I would of not heard about him but now he is popular in TVB and even promoted to leading actor.

TVB Eye in the Sky Theme Song

I played the theme song for the series, "Eye in the Sky" and it sounds pretty good. After listening to it a couple more times, if you pay special attention to the lyrics it sort of gives you a gist of what the storyline is about.

TVB Eye in the Sky 天眼 Review (2015) Brief Thoughts

I have just finished watching Episode 20 (the last episode) and I have come to the conclusion that this is not a bad series at all, just sometimes silly or cringe-worthy moments.

This series revolves around two biological twin brothers (Szeto Shun and Lik Hang) who reunite after more than 30 years of separation due a midwife selling Lik Hang to another family. Lik Hang endures a rough life having a pitiful childhood and the only light in the sea of darkness for him was Terry (portrayed by Tony Hung) who decided to take care of him and they become best buddies. The duo would then seek fortune by means of committing thief. This is in contrast to Szeto Shun, who instead enjoys a happy childhood with his parents beside him the whole time, leading way for him to become a policeman. One incident of Lik Hang committing arson however has led to the attention of Szeto Shun who was eager to find his twin brother. With the help of Jan (portrayed by Tavia Yeung), they eventually find Lik Hang and the drama begins of betrayal, jealousy, misunderstanding and mistrust, leading to a final showdown between the two brothers. 

Characters:

Szeto Shun (portrayed by Kevin Cheng).

Some would say Szeto Sir is the goody-goody in this series but he is not perfect or flawless. Szeto in the series would do anything to save his brother from committing crime again, whether it meant breaking his principles or spying on others. 

Kevin Cheng > I am impressed by his performance as someone who is serious-looking, unemotional and intelligent. 

In my opinion, Kevin had the equal opportunity to flourish like Ruco and he did do well generally but not at the same standard as Ruco. This is because acting is not second-nature to him and he is not a naturally gifted actor. As much as he tries to act well, it sometimes seem to look too forced or deliberate. 

Lik Hang (portrayed by Ruco Chan)

This Lik Hang is a calculative, angry and blind fella. 

I liked the fact how although he is not a psychopath, he is someone filled with hatred and his grudge will over-weigh whatever conscience he has left. I also liked how this series did not make him a changed person because at the end who he cares is winning. He is jealous on the fact hat his brother Szeto has always been well-respected and superior compared to him and he wants to be the one winning.  

Favourite acting scene - The scene where he watched Hor Yee Gu bleed to death. At first it looked like he was concerned for her and was about to see how she was, but then he had a headache and flashbacks of his past emerged. Feeling angry he watches in satisfaction for an agonising five minutes until she finally dies. Ruco then looks up the sky and smiles as in justice has been done. That was one of the many fine acting moments by Ruco and I applaud him for that. In this series you can tell he is a great actor by the fact that he doesn't seem like his trying to act. His hand guestures, his eye expressions all seem natural so you will be convinced of his acting. 

Ruco Chan > I don't have a clear favourite role of Ruco because frankly he excels in basically who the roles that he is offered and this one is no exception. 

Jan (portrayed by Tavia Yeung) - So far 2015 most wasted female character. I was so eager to see her as an assassin (that was instead given to Vivien Yeo) but instead she was a naive, stupid and rather shallow Jan which was wholly disappointing. What makes things even worse is when she gets considerable time-screen and her scenes w

Favourite acting scene - I guess the first episode where although silly she used her photographic memory skills to escape from the gangsters running after her. 

Another thing that the scriptwriters seem to ignore the fact who killed King Kong? Obviously it was Lik Hang who shot him to prevent him from saying his name but no mention of this throughout the whole series. 

Law Lan - A good performance by Law Lan and Samantha Ko did well. 

Another downfall was this series was how small-scaled and convenient everything was. 

Recommended or not? Definitely worth a watch for Ruco, Kevin and Lau Kong (when we see his true face) scenes. The rest like Tavia and her dad's scenes are all just an overdose for this already short series. Watch it for some brilliant acting, watch it for some dramatic moments and watch it for some heart-wrenching dialogue. But that aside prepare for some stupidity, shallowness and silliness that will equally be scattered throughout the episodes. It's your call.

The Legend of Zhen Huan Brief Thoughts

This is a series that I have previously never intended to watch at all. Interestingly, I really only paid attention to this series when I was watching "The War of the Beauties" and some netizens pointed out that the plot of that series was similar to the one for this series. Given that I was quite impressed with the plot of "The War of the Beauties" and my fascination of Chinese Ancient History, I decided to give this series a try and I don't regret it.

The Legend of Zhen Huan is a palace drama that revolves around the struggles and journey of Zhen Huan who eventually becomes in charge of the harem at the end. Born with a natural beauty and equipped with a sweet charm, she gain favours of the emperor and causes jealousy among some of the concubines (especially Consort Hua and the Empress). Both Consort Hua and the empress do whatever it takes to eliminate Zhen Huan but this only toughens up Zhen Huan ultimately not to take revenge but to be determined to stick up for herself.

No doubt this series was a big hit in Mainland China and other parts of Asia (Japan). Whilst I was impressed with this drama in general, it isn't without its flaws.

At many times this series could have just move forward quicker but refused to do so. Don't mistaken me as the pacing was ok but some dialogue was irritatingly long. There were too much fidgeting in my opinion; a few seconds would be wasted for some characters just to sit down, the overall dialogue is slow with the actors having a tendency to speak rather slow and just some lines that could be cut out completely. Yes these problems are quite petty and slow but if you add them together it can become quite menacing to watch at times. This series was 72 episodes and it could have been more exciting and enjoyable to watch with an adjustment of 25 episodes.

Lack of character development was also another issue that dragged down this series. Looking at it optimistically it's a good thing to just focus on the lead actors but I thought that there were quite a few pointless characters such as Huan Bi and etc.

Performances along ,this series boasted of some fine acting by some actors and actresses that I do not recognise until now.

For instance, Ada Choi was the only few of a small handful of artists I know. I've never really cared about Ada Choi or any of her roles in TVB before (the last memorable performance was when she portrayed the third sister in the Gem of Life?). That being said Ada is not a bad actress. In this series she did a decent job in portraying the phony, jealous and pretentious empress. She smiles with an obvious fakeness but it does in a way look as if she is generous and caring. She does stare at counterparts with some sense of suspicion and makes it as if she looks down at them (to create a sense of authority). The most memorable scene of her would probably be when she was trying to justify her evil deeds to the emperor by blaming him for neglecting her and favouring other girls.

Next one will be Betty Sun who was of course the lead actress in the series. I've never watched any of her series before but from this role of her alone as Zhen Huan she did impress me as a highly capable actress. There were many scenes that she did very much.

Overall a decent series.

TVB's Captain of Destiny <張保仔> Brief Review

Captain of Destiny is a TVB production that revolves on the historical Qing Period where the conflict between pirates and the Qing army came to a peak.

My thoughts on this series? I highly enjoyed it.

Performances alone, some excelled. Ruco Chan as 11th Prince/ Man-Ho - Man-Ho is someone rather eager, filial at times and sometimes nice heartened. Man ho can be said to be quite over eager and ambitious, where his actions of be the hero of the day by travelling to places to solve crimes and investigate bribery however does not earn him much credit by the emperor. Instead, Man-Ho gets cold treatment by the brother as well as his brothers, but Man-Ho is by no means undeterred. He nominates himself to become the lead commander in destroying the pirates down in Southern China.

Ruco gave an explosive performance with his role as Man-Ho. He was convincing as assertive, cunning, though quite stubborn. Ruco made his character as someone you will cheer for.

Joel Chan as Wong Yat-Hin stole some limelight with some attention-demanding performance as a merchant. I never quite enjoyed any of Joel's performances in the past (with the exception of the Last Steep Ascent) but I think he fitted his role very well. Sometimes you will feel his Wong Yat-Hin is a bastard, other times you will respect him.

Grace Chan portrayed Wong Tai Mui, who is supposed to be cutesy, opinionated and have a strong personality. By that I mean being stubborn and sticking to her own set of values and beliefs and judging everyone else's as 'wrong'. That already makes her character quite annoying but Grace miraculously managed to make it highly irritating by the end of this series.

No doubt Grace Chan gave an over the top performance. Most of the time she would yell, scream and move dramatically. By that I mean big body movements that were out of shape or looked unusual for the situation. You can say she was a pain to watch in this series with the uncontrolled and loud performance, but there were some redeeming factors such as her expressive facial expressions I think she perfected in some of the rare scenes of this series. Back at the start of the series, her sister was mentioning, "Are there no more good men left in this world?" and Grace said, "Well, there still is" and smiled to the night sky. In the first episode as well Grace was trying to stop a car with the hostage in there and her face of suspecting something was wrong was well done as well. Grace Chan excels when it comes to expressions in my opinion but unfortunately she has to tone down. Her boyfriend Kevin Cheng perfectly translated her performance, "Grace used to too much effort. When you put too much effort it means you didn't put any effort at all" meaning it's inappropriate to always be too hyper. That being said, this horrid performance still cannot deny the greatness of her two performances in 'Overachievers' and 'Raising the Bar' and I'm sure Grace has got the message from everyone so I'm confident she will only get better for 'Blue Veins' and 'Brother's Keeper II'.

As always, Lau Kong gives a competent performance as the emperor even if his emperor was weird. I couldn't read the emperor's mind, did he want the brothers to treat each other peacefully and with virtue or did he not mind them being acting their self-interest? I feel that his character was badly written and inconsistent sometimes.

Elaine Yiu as Imperial Consort Yim - Sorry but Elaine's performance compared to the others was sub-par. The way she speak was no means scary and she lacked aura.

Imagine if the producers casted better actors. Ruco Chan as 11th prince and others like Him Law, Vincent Wong as the other princes, perhaps Charmaine Sheh as Consort Yim. This series would have done much better.

My verdict of this series is that it excelled with some great acting, explosive war battles, grand scenes, sharp dialogue, some impressive computer generated effects, exceptionally nice filming location and sets and a not too bad story with a fusion of palace drama, pirates and navy conflicts. But, a big but, is that this series flattered with the irritating emergence of Wong Tai Mui, Tony Hung's unremarkable performance and a lot of stupid moments.

Worth a watch but prepare for cringing.

2015 Miss Hong Kong Winner: My Thoughts on Louisa Mak

I have watched Miss HK Pageant recently and without any surprise Lousia Mak (Contestant Number 1) was the winner, garnering a staggering amount of over 90,000 votes from Hong Kong fans. I congratulate Louisa Mak for being the champion but for reasons I am feeling that TVB is benefiting from her rather her benefiting from being a Miss Hong Kong. The way TVB also promoted Miss Hong Kong was cringe worthy to be honest. It was advertisements of previous winners such as Grace Chan talking about being famous and getting to fame as being the purpose of winning (in which it is), but the fact they shamelessly advertised Miss HK to be like that is cringe-worthy.

FanBingBing's performance in 'Empress of China'

As you may have realised, I 'was' currently watching TVB's edition of 'Empress of China', which circles around the struggles of Meiliang and how she transitions from an innocent and compassionate girl to a bitter and less forgiving Empress. Her role itself offers plenty opportunity to show off some great acting chops in a lot of scenes, but most of the time I feel FanBingBing gives an effortless performance that drags the whole series down. The main reason was because she hardly emoted. She was either a little bit shocked (with her mouth one quarter open) or looking innocent and pure with her eyes wide open and curious. A one dimensional performance for a role that had heaps of opportunity to display one's acting ability. The uninspiring storyline doesn't help much either. If this role was given to Betty Sun (the lead actress from The Legend of Zhen Huan, i'm sure the series will be much better overall). What a pity.

My Picks for this year's 48th TVB Anniversary Awards 2015 and my final thoughts of the award ceremony

The whole nomination list has been released so time for me to unravel my mere thoughts on who I think deserves an award, based on their acting abilities for their respective roles.

Scroll down for overall thoughts of the Awards Ceremony and my thoughts of the award recipients. 

“Best Actor” nominees:
1. Mak Cheung-ching — Come Home Love
2. Johnson Lee — Officer Geomancer
3. Edwin Siu — Madam Cutie On Duty
4. Ben Wong — Raising the Bar
5. Him Law — Young Charioteers
6. Kevin Cheng — Eye In the Sky
7. Joe Ma — Smooth Talker
8. Damian Lau — Limelight Years
9. Moses Chan — Ghost of Relativity
10. Vincent Wong — Brick Slaves
11. Chin Ka-lok — The Fixer
12. Louis Cheung — Momentary Lapse of Reason
13. Ruco Chan — Captain of Destiny
14. Tony Hung — Captain of Destiny
15. Bosco Wong — Under the Veil
16. Bobby Au-yeung — With or Without You
17. Anthony Wong — Lord of Shanghai
18. Wayne Lai — Lord of Shanghai
19. Kent Tong — Lord of Shanghai
20. Kenneth Ma — Lord of Shanghai

My top five explained (In no particular order):

Kevin Cheng - Eye of the Sky 
Thoughts: I enjoyed Kevin's portrayal of Szetou Sir. He was stony yet you could somehow see his through eye expressions and small gestures like clamping hands together when he is in deep thought or confused. I do think it was his breakthrough performance and one of the few roles that I highly enjoyed.

Wayne Lai - Lord of Shanghai
Thoughts: A lot of people felt he was over the top and indeed he was, but Wayne was also subtle who unleashed himself as someone aggressive and scrupulous. Although he was cold-blooded and crazy, his Shan was someone who cared about his family deep inside, even though he would always yell at them. The portrayal of this character by Wayne Lai shows the greatness of his acting.

Louis Cheung - Momentary Lapse of Reason
Thoughts: You can say this is his first bona-fide leading role (as well as Raising the Bar), and Louis did not disappoint. As always, he is expressive in his eyes and he gave this character some dimensions of caring for others. The reason I think his acting top-notch is because he doesn't need to be lot in this series to get people's attention, where his silent moments are in itself powerful. A good performance I say.


Ruco Chan - Captain of Destiny
Thoughts: Ruco was great as the 11th prince. He emoted well and brought his character to life, even though he did look odd for me in a historical setting. He was also mainly in the scenes that was my favourite, such as crying and kneeling towards his dead brother with the emperor looking behind. Ruco deserves heaps of credit for this role. 

Anthony Wong - Lord of Shanghai
Thoughts: Truth to be told, I wasn't used to his Shanghainese accent throughout the series but what stood out for me was his subtle expressions. There's nothing really wrong about Anthony Wong's (yes I did that) acting in here. He way he sat down, the way he was staring and the way he was walking was very subtle. He performed well for a series that turned out to be rather mediocre. 


“Best Actress” nominees:
1. Priscilla Wong — Madam Cutie On Duty
2. Elaine Yiu — Raising the Bar
3. Grace Chan — Raising the Bar
4. Nancy Sit — My “Spiritual” Ex-Lover
5. Sisley Choi — Young Charioteers
6. Kate Tsui — Smooth Talker
7. Elena Kong — Smooth Talker
8. Liza Wang — Limelight Years
9. Linda Chung — Limelight Years
10. Kristal Tin — Ghost of Relativity
11. Nancy Wu — Ghost of Relativity
12. Selena Li — Brick Slaves
13. Mandy Wong — The Fixer
14. Myolie Wu — Every Step You Take
15. Tavia Yeung — Momentary Lapse of Reason
16. Rosina Lam — Momentary Lapse of Reason
17. Eliza Sam — Under the Veil
18. Joey Meng — With or Without You
19. Louisa So — Lord of Shanghai
20. Alice Chan — Lord of Shanghai

My top five explained (In no particular order):

Grace Chan - Raising the Bar
Thoughts: Yes she bombed it in Captain of Destiny but in Raising the Bar her performance was eye-opening. Grace Chan did a terrific job in bring the character Giselle to life, as someone charming and genuine. I was turned off by her pretentious way of trying to appear 'Australian', but you won't notice it unless you're from Australia. Grace Chan's best performance to date and I applaud TVB for nominating her for this character instead of Wong Dai Mui.

Liza Wang - Limelight Years
Thoughts: Liza did a nice job here. To be honest I didn't get much chance to watch this series but from the glimpses of what I saw she looked well-cast and I didn't find much flaws in her performance. The reason I liked her performance because even if her face is quite frozen you can still the right expressions, such as guilt, worry and regrets.

Kristal Tin - Ghost of Relativity
Thoughts: I was highly impressed by Kristal Tin in here. Surprisingly, she can be really funny and look naturally funny. It seemed like she didn't put much effort but she managed to make May an intriguing and convincing lady. In here her May had good comedic timing and she was article in delivering her lines. My favourite performance of hers so say and she definitely deserves an award.

Nancy Wu - Ghost of Relativity
Thoughts: Compared to Kristal, Nancy was less funny, but Nancy was awesome in a way. As audience we could sympathise with her Gin as a ghost or electromagnetic wave that not experienced an innocent and avoidable death, but the suffering of not being able to live or be an human again like her surroundings. Nancy excelled in those quiet moments and refreshing to say the least.

Elena Kong - Smooth Talker
Thoughts: Not much attention was given to Elena's role in this series but she was stellar. First it seemed like she was on steroids. I could she was giving everything in for this character just like her role from Bounty Lady. Hard to explain but she was expressive, funny and gave a smoothing performance.

“Favourite Male Character” nominees:
1. Oscar Leung — Officer Geomancer
2. Edwin Siu — Madam Cutie On Duty
3. Ben Wong — Raising the Bar
4. Him Law — Young Charioteers
5. Kevin Cheng — Eye In the Sky
6. Damian Lau — Limelight Years
7. Moses Chan — Ghost of Relativity
8. Vincent Wong — Brick Slaves
9. Benjamin Yuen — The Fixer
10. Louis Cheung — Momentary Lapse of Reason
11. Mat Yeung — Momentary Lapse of Reason
12. Ruco Chan — Captain of Destiny
13. Tony Hung — Captain of Destiny
14. Bosco Wong — Under the Veil
15. Joseph Lee — Under the Veil
16. Bobby Au-yeung — With or Without You
17. Anthony Wong — Lord of Shanghai
18. Wayne Lai — Lord of Shanghai
19. Kent Tong — Lord of Shanghai
20. Kenneth Ma — Lord of Shanghai

Thoughts: Not much to comment for this award category since its more based on popularity than acting itself. Based on what I've read from netizen's comments, the most popular actors this years should be Ruco Chan who got a lot of media buzz, competing with Anthony Wong who got a lot of praise. The rest are mainly just fillers in this category. If it was my favourite, I too would give it to Anthony Wong, Ruco Chan, and also to Kevin Cheng, Vincent Wong, Louis Cheung, Boobby Au-yeung, Wayne Lai and Kenneth Ma. Ruco gave a magnificent performance as the 11th prince, also known as Man-Ho. There were plenty of great dramatic scenes by Ruco and in here the series failed more than he did. He was fillal, genuine and intelligent fellow who just has a bad fate with everyone who doesn't like him, including the emperor and his so-called brothers. There were times that he seemed to be a bit out of place in terms of expressions, but that's probably because his character was poorly developed. Again, a praiseworthy performance by an actor who deserves a pat on the back. Last but not the least, is Anthony Wong. He was criticised for using an Shanghainese accent but I was fine with it as it gave some sense of authenticity to his role, at the expense of some audience feeling uncomfortable or it being out of place. The main reason Anthony is great in this series is not because of his well-adapted accent but because of his subtlety. The way he sits, the way he swifts his paper fan and even the way he blinks helps to give an unique character to his role. It was masterful.

Favorite Female Character” nominees:
1. Priscilla Wong — Madam Cutie On Duty
2. Mandy Wong — Madam Cutie On Duty
3. Stephanie Ho — Raising the Bar
4. Angela Tong — My “Spiritual” Ex-Lover
5. Liza Wang — Limelight Years
6. Linda Chung — Limelight Years
7. Kristal Tin — Ghost of Relativity
8. Nancy Wu — Ghost of Relativity
9. Vivien Yeo— Ghost of Relativity
10. Selena Li — Brick Slaves
11. Tavia Yeung — Momentary Lapse of Reason
12. Rosina Lam — Momentary Lapse of Reason
13. Grace Chan — Captain of Destiny
14. Elaine Yiu — Captain of Destiny
15. Eliza Sam — Under the Veil
16. Joey Meng — With or Without You
17. Jacqueline Wong — With or Without You
18. Louisa So — Lord of Shanghai
19. Alice Chan — Lord of Shanghai
20. Jade Leung — Lord of Shanghai

Thoughts: Same goes for the ladies. Most popular stars this year was of course Kristal Tin and Nancy Wu who both received unexpected popularity for their eye-catching chemistry in Ghost of Relativity, Grace Chan who got the thumbs up from some people for her Giselle and Alice Chan whose role was well-received by the audience this year. My favourites this year is also all those previously mentioned and Vivien Yeo, Tavia Yeung, Rosina Lam, Joey Meng, Louisa So and Jade Leung for their likeable performances.

“Best Supporting Actor” nominees:
1. Owen Cheung — Come Home Love
2. Koo Ming-wah — Lady Sour
3. Raymond Cho — Madam Cutie On Duty
4. Junior Anderson — Madam Cutie On Duty
5. Ram Chiang — Raising the Bar
6. Timothy Cheng — Raising the Bar
7. Jason Chan — Romantic Repertoire
8. Tommy Wong — Smooth Talker
9. William Chak — Limelight Years
10. Jonathan Wong — Limelight Years
11. Eddie Kwan — Ghost of Relativity
12. Ngo Ka-nin — Ghost of Relativity
13. Timothy Hung — The Fixer
14. Lau Kong — Momentary Lapse of Reason
15. Hugo Wong — Momentary Lapse of Reason
16. Li Shing-cheong — Captain of Destiny
17. Joel Chan — Captain of Destiny
18. Joseph Lee — With or Without You
19. Vincent Wong — With or Without You
20. Willie Wai — Lord of Shanghai

My top five explained (In no particular order):

Eddie Kwan - Ghost of Relativity
Thoughts: Eddie was very funny in this series as Hugo. His delivery of gags was great and I managed to laugh out all. A sassy performance from Eddie Kwan who I sometimes find boring in his roles. So kuods to him.

Lau Kong - Momentary Lapse of Reason
Thoughts: Lau Kong is a competent veteran and in he was great as usual as someone cunning and rotten deep inside. He seems to be getting type-cast into villain roles who are somehow insecure and crazy, but at least he does them well and convincingly well. I will never be tired of seeing Lau Kong and his roles. Thumbs up for Lau Kong.

Li Sing-Cheong - Captain of Destiny
Thoughts: As like Lau Kong, Li Sing-Cheong is an excellent veteran. He was very irritating in Captain of Destiny who was basically the shit-stirrer. He managed to make his role very funny indeed. Thumbs up for Li Sing-Cheong as well!

Joel Chan - Captain of Destiny
Thoughts: I never really had any thoughts about Joel Chan in the past. I've heard that he was in a relationship with Laurinda Ho who is the daughter of billionaire Stanley Ho and that's when I paid attention to him as people were saying he is being a soft rice king - watch Come on Cousin and you'll understand that term. His personal life aside, Joel stole the limelight in this series. As a viewer, you couldn't completely like him or hate him. His Wong Yat Hin was likeable in the sense he would save others but be there for the 11th prince, but you would find him unlikeable for how she supposedly treated Ha Shim or just left Mandy Wong, but at the end you will cheer for him because he is a nice person. Joel Chan was in essence the redeeming factor of this series.

Vincent Wong - With or Without You
Thoughts: What more can I say? Vincent Wong was great. His Siu You was convincing and nicely portrayed. No complaints whatsoever.

“Best Supporting Actress” nominees:
1. Law Lan — Officer Geomancer
2. Rachel Kan — Madam Cutie On Duty
3. Natalie Tong — Raising the Bar
4. Stephanie Ho — Raising the Bar
5. Jeannie Chan — Raising the Bar
6. Elena Kong — Raising the Bar
7. Ali Lee — My “Spiritual” Ex-Lover
8. Samantha Ko — Eye In the Sky
9. Michelle Yim — Limelight Years
10. Vivien Yeo — Ghost of Relativity
11. Celine Ma — Ghost of Relativity
12. Mimi Chu — Ghost of Relativity
13. Tracy Chu — Smooth Talker
14. Cilla Kung — Every Step You Take
15. Elaine Yiu — Captain of Destiny
16. Kelly Fu — Captain of Destiny
17. Susan Tse — Captain of Destiny
18. Katy Kung — Under the Veil
19. Jacqueline Wong — With or Without You
20. Jade Leung — Lord of Shanghai

My top four explained (In no particular order):

Jade Yeung - Lord of Shanghai
Thoughts: She was sublime in this series and you could feel her character as someone reserved, attached to her spouse and willing to turn a blind eye for Shan but is a good person and will pray for his sins. Good performance overall.

Sustan Tse - Captain of Destiny
Thoughts: Wasn't a fan of her operaish acting or old-fashioned way of speaking but she was very good in here. Gave the right expressions. Nothing to complain about really.

Celine Ma  - Ghost of Relativity
Thoughts: Although she didn't have much to do in this series, her acting abilities were supreme and impressive to say the least. I always feel that Celine as an actress has been under-appreciated.

Mimi Chu - Ghost of Relativity
Thoughts: My thoughts of Celina Ma are the same as with Mimi Chu. She is always a compent actress.

Don't know why, but no one in this category had caught my eye. Some did well but not in the level of Best Supporting Actress. I have a feeling that Elaine Yiu will since her win from the TVB Star Malaysia Awards but she had a lot of room for improvement from her performance at Captain of Destiny. If I was to really narrow it down and be strict, I would perhaps choose no one to win.

“Most Improved Male Artiste” nominees:
1. William Chak
2. Tony Hung
3. James Ng
4. Hugo Wong
5. Mat Yeung
6. Benjamin Yuen

My top choice In no particular order):
No one again. Compared to previous year award recipients such as Louis Cheng who improved a lot in terms of acting, this year no one improved tremendously that was award worthy. I have a feeling that Tony Hung would win but that would be based on popularity rather than acting because he had some awful moments from Captain of Destiny, so he has deproved instead of improved. If he wasn't part of Captain of Destiny and his last role was Eye in the Sky then perhaps I would agree with him winning. Don't know how James Ng got there at all. Benjamin Yuen, Hugo Wong, William Chak and Mat Yeung still acting like a log of wood.

“Most Improved Female Artiste: nominees:
1. Grace Chan
2. Tracy Chu
3. Rosina Lam
4. Ali Lee
5. Jacqueline Wong
6. Rebecca Zhu

Rosina Lam. I feel that she matured as an actress and she has picked up with her acting even though she still has some bad habits. My comments of Tony Hung apply the same with Grace Chan, even though she has great potential. The rest still have a long way to go in improving.

“Most Popular Classic Drama” nominees:
Lives of Omission (2011)
Brother’s Keeper (2013)
Triumph In the Skies (2003)
The Greed of Man (1992)
The Justice of Life (1989)
The Final Verdict (1988)
Time Before Time (1997)
War of the Genders (2000)

War of the Genders
Thoughts: I recently re-watched this series and I have come to the conclusion that this is a brilliant series. It was the acting, the plot and the funny gags that deserve credit and this series will do justice to the award. Dayo Wong and Carol Cheng were amazing in this series. My full support for this series.

“Best TV Host” nominees:
Sidewalk Scientist – Ali Lee, Leung Ka-ki, Jacqueline Wong, Mayanne Mak, Sammi Cheung, Roxanne Tong
Sunday Songbird – Liza Wang, Adam Cheng, Jerry Lamb
Are You Healthy? – Lawrence Cheng, Leung Ka-ki, Steven Cheung
Neighbourhood Gourmet 3 – Kitty Yuen, King Kong Lee
Good Cheap Eats 3 – Maria Cordero, Luk Ho-ming
Helen TO-KYO! – Helen To
Four Amigos Bon Voyage – Kenneth Tsang, Patrick Tse, Wu Fung, Joe Junior
Not Far But Away – Tony Hung
DoDo Goes Shopping – Carol Cheng, Priscilla Wong, FAMA, Sammy Sum, Sharon Chan, Fred Cheng, Oscar Leung, Kenneth Ma

Not much to comment. 

“Best Variety Show or Special Programme” nominees:
Sze U Tonight
Sunday Songbird
Street Sorcerers 3
Good Cheap Eats 3
Helen TO-KYO!
The Million Dollar Minute
Four Amigos Bon Voyage
Miss Hong Kong 2015
DoDo Goes Shopping
網絡挑機
48th TVB Anniversary Gala

Not much to comment. 

“Best Informative Programme” nominees:
Sidewalk Scientist
Am I Healthy?
Big Big World
World’s Great Parties
Not Far But Away

Not much to comment. 

“Best Drama Serial” nominees:
Come Home Love
Lady Sour
Officer Geomancer
Noblesse Oblige
Madam Cutie On Duty
Raising the Bar
My “Spiritual” Ex-Lover
Young Charioteers
Eye In the Sky
Romantic Repertoire
Smooth Talker
Limelight Years
Wudang Rules
Master of Destiny
Ghost of Relativity
Brick Slaves
The Fixer
Every Step You Take
Momentary Lapse of Reason
Captain of Destiny
Under the Veil
With or Without You
Lord of Shanghai

Ghost of Relativity
Thoughts: Even though it has its flaws I think it was a good funny series. A pity that there were no series that I would see as a classic or will be long remembered.


Overall thoughts of the awards ceremony:
I was cringing throughout the whole awards ceremony. Don't mistaken me, I think it has a less serious tone compared to last year, but I think it would appropriate with this tone in the award ceremony because frankly the award categories were very weak this year with me struggling to find a clear winner despite being bombarded with a long list of nominees. I'll elaborate the cringe-worthy moments later.

It was evident that there were some obvious absences  in the awards ceremony. Where was Myolie Wu? Bosco Wong? Kent Tong? Louisa So? So many big stars weren't there even though there were so many people on the seats this year. I've heard that it was Bosco's birthday and his father is sick in hospital so it would be the right thing to visit his father and not attend the awards ceremony. But what about the others? Joey Meng? Kate Tsui? Bobby Au-Yeung? Are they all busy?

Kudos to Carol Cheng for picking the game up this year. Undeniably she was a bit off and absent-minded in the award ceremonies of the previous years, where last year she had a sore throat and ruining her hosting experience, and then the year before she incorrectly named 'Most Popular Male TV Character' as 'My Favourite Male TV Character' and other small moments of uncertainty. I do think she is a great host because she delivers her lines with gentleness and sincerity and knows how to move forward the ceremony and etc. That being said, where was Amigo? We had Sammy instead who I think was ok but a tad nervous and amateur. Wong Cho Lam was as usual great as a host who had good humour.

Some memorable moments include Linda Chung mistaking Louis Cheng's role for Best Actor nomination. I don't know what's with her but she seems a bit 'meh' attitude in my opinion. She simply said I don't know when asked who she'll support. Didn't they practice before making the speech? To be honest, she made a fool out of herself, whether it was intentionally or unintentionally.

I was thinking it would be awkward with Kristal Tin and Anthony Wong interacting together since Anthony Wong and Kristal's husband Chapman is not in particularly good terms. They ended up being ok talking to each other even though I would it was an intense moment when Kristal said, "Go continue your speech, what has this got to do with me?".

Oh, and the KFC moment. Great publicity for KFC don't you think? All these celebrities eating food of their brand in front of viewers. Sort of funny when they were distributed gloves.

Most Improved Female Artise award goes to Grace Chan. Would have been awkward for Anthony Wong to present the award to Grace Chan since he gave constructive criticisms of her performance from Captain of Destiny and he mentioned that he thought she would win. But does he think she should be the one winning? Grace Chan for Most Improved Female Artise is to me a not well-deserved award. Grace Chan was expressive in Captain of Destiny but she was constantly screaming and yelling and everything you would expect from a poor actress. Also, the heartbeat part was derived from the 2006 award ceremony where I remember they used it for the Best Actress award. This made it seem less serious and I am fine with it since it is a joke she won and TVB would have made a fool of themselves had they make it serious.

Second. Most Improved Male Artise award goes to Tony Hung. I like the segment where they invited the nominees' rumoured girlfriends or most compatible partner, and funny when they got Celina Ma to come over. Tony's speech was heartfelt and he got his girlfriend I think Natalie Tong to present it to him. I liked the fact that he acknowledged he still has room for improvement and will keep on trying harder.

Another thing I noticed was Carol Cheng being eager to see which series would win Most Popular Classic Drama, as she was leaning towards the slip that announced the winner. And it was The Greed of Man. I could see the disappointment in her and so was I disappointed. I recently re-watched War of the Genders and is taken back from the great chemistry between the cast and intriguing storyline even if it sometimes distastefully explores on social issues. That being said, I haven't watched The Greed of Man before but do know that it is a hit series so I respect the audience's decision.

Wai Hung for Best Supporting Actor? That took me in suprise. Was expecting Joel Chan who clearly impressed everyone in Captain of Destiny. Wai Hung is competent in small roles but he was clearly not supporting actor, which gave a surprise when he was even nominated. Same goes for Elaine Yiu who got Best Supporting Actress, when there was no strong competition this year. 

Now the disaster ends when the more serious awards are presented. Kristal Tin for Most Favourite Female TV Character was truly deserving for a great actress who excelled in a great role. Ruco deserved his Favourite Male TV Character even though he was visibly upset and disappointed knowing that his chance for Best Actor was pretty much gone. Anthony Wong for Best Actor was well-deserved since Anthony Wong is a fantastic actor and while I have doubts if Nancy Wu truly deserves the award, she at least did good in that role as a Gin. Oh, while Anthony Wong is a great actor, he's definitely not an eloquent speaker, who was speaking rubbish and being a bottleneck during the segment for Most Improved Female Artiste. 

The cringe-worthy aspects of the award ceremony was not the hosting, the banters nor the presenters, but the award recipients. TVB ceremony no longer holds credibility like previous years and the fact that there is no strong competition is becoming evident. I wasn't surprised that they tried to make it a hall of fame ceremony with previous winners to present the award and having a classic drama series. Still couldn't hide the fact that TVB had a unremarkable year in terms of television broadcasting. 

As for the fashion, I don't care.