I have probably watched TVB for 19 years by now, and within all these years there were many classics and favourites. This post is dedicated to highlight my favourite TVB series of all time (to be updated and elaborated each time I watch an outstanding drama that I decide to add it to this list).
War of the Genders (2000)
Reasons: I have only started to re-watch this series and it is no doubt a classic. Carol Cheng potentially gave a perfect performance of Francis Mo who is bossy, demanding and you can think of her as shallow yet has a heart and cares for those close to her. Dayo Wong was a star in this series with great comedic timing. This series is also fabulous due to its role to act as a social commentary on the issues back then, such as AIDS, sexism, gender equality, concern for animals and many more. It explores those issues, sometimes rather distastefully and politically incorrect, but nevertheless makes me laugh. To me this is a golden production of comedy.
Rosy Business (2009)
Reasons: This series was stellar because it had golden lines such as 'How many ten years do we have in our lives? Let's live life to the fullest!" which of course was by Chai Gau. Sheren Tang gave an expressive performance where she deserved her Best Actress Award.
Journey to the West
TO BE UPDATED and CONTINUED
Friday, 27 November 2015
TVB 2016 Sales Presentation Thoughts
Had a look at TVB's 2016 Sales Presentation, which of course is the preview of upcoming series projected to be broadcast next year, and my overall thoughts is that year will not be a TVB's shining year, at least not with the bunch of series being shown. I will accumulate my thoughts on each incoming tvb drama.
Anticipation Level: High
Anticipation Level: Medium
Anticipation Level: High
Anticipation Level: Low
Anticipation Level: Low
Anticipation Level: Medium
Anticipation Level: Medium
Anticipation Level: Medium.
| Triad Boss Under the Line of Fire 火線下的江湖大佬 | Leung Choi-yuen (producer); Ng Lap-kwong (writer); Kent Cheng,Kingdom Yuen, Tommy Wong, Alice Chan, Eliza Sam, Joel Chan, Li Shing-cheong, Amy Fan |
| Comedy |
Anticipation Level: Low
Thoughts: Probably will give this a miss. I long for Kent Cheng and Kingdom Yuen's comeback but the story seems a bit silly to say the least. Who knows it might be very funny.
| House of Spirits 一屋老友記 | Dave Fong (producer); Bobby Au-Yeung, Nancy Wu, Law Lan, Wu Fung, Lau Kong, Joyce Tang, Jonathan Cheung, Bob Cheung, Koni Lui |
| Comedy, Supernatural |
Anticipation Level: Very High
Thoughts: One of my most anticipated series for next year is House of Spirits. The preview at first was very engaging - the three veteran actors anticipating their young ones to come back visit for a Halloween Party and they get scared by their appearance with Bobby, Nancy and etc. But the end came with a revelation that the veteran actors were in fact already dead and were ghosts. The rhyming during the trailer was very catchy and memorable and it is refreshing to see Bobby and Nancy to work together (don't seem to remember the last time they collaborated). That being said, the cast, story and theme seems highly appeals to me.
| The Last Healer In Forbidden City 末代御醫 | Nelson Cheung (producer); Wong Kwok-fai (writer); Roger Kwok, Tavia Yeung, Ngo Ka-nin, JJ Jia, Jazz Lam, Law Lan,Jonathan Cheung, Rebecca Zhu |
| Historical period medical drama |
Thoughts: Am keen to watch this series purely for Roger Kwok, Tavia Yeung and my fascination for the mystery of Guangxu's death. The preview itself seemed promising but looks like Tavia has a poor character and typecasted as someone who has pre-judgement and is aggressive and annoying. Don't know how this series will last 25 episodes long but I do think it will be a decent series.
| Fashion War 潮流教主 | Dave Fong (producer); Wong Wai-keung (writer); Moses Chan, Sisley Choi, Him Law, Leanne Li, Ali Lee, Vivien Yeo,Hanjin Tan, Joel Chan |
| Comedy, Drama |
Thoughts: Don't know how I feel about this series. Couldn't care less about fashion but I don't mind some cat-fighting. What appeals to me is the rather large flow of female cast such as Leanne Li, Venice, Jacequline and Vivien Yeo all in one drama, yet I am unsure how Sisley Choi is going to perform. Just by looking at the preview itself, Him Law seems to be nicely cast and promising and Moses looked a bit out of place. What if Dayo Wong replaced Moses Chan in this series?
| You Who Came from the Kitty Star 來自喵喵星的妳 | Kristal Tin, Nancy Wu, Moses Chan, Vivien Yeo |
| Comedy, Sci-fi |
Thoughts: I truly enjoyed Ghosts of Relativity and for sure I think this spin-off series won't fail to disappoint either. That being said, the preview hardly showed anything and used clips from Ghosts of Relativity and then making Kristal Tin have a cat face. What a way to ruin an opportunity to promote what the story will be about. One reason is maybe they planned nothing about the story yet. I am giving this series a go because of the great compatible co-leaders of Nancy and Kristal.
| Legal Strongman 律政強人 | Marco Law (producer); Alex Fong Chung-sun, Liu Kai-chi, Raymond Cho,Mandy Wong, Ali Lee, Kelly Cheung |
| Legal drama |
Thoughts: The previews tries to promote this series as something potentially extraordinary and that it will be phenomenal. When I watched the preview it did look like a HKTV production and in my opinion was nicely filmed with a movie feel. That being said, I am not a fan of Macro Law's productions and none of the cast appeal to me. The theme about 'justice' and how it can either be corrupted/ persevered sounds repetitive from previous series and does not interest me. Will probably give this a miss.
| Peculiar Taste 味想天開 | Chong Wai-kin (producer); Wong Bing-yee (writer); Tony Hung,Sisley Choi, Hugo Wong, Rebecca Zhu, Stephanie Ho, Maria Cordero |
| Historical period comedy |
Thoughts: Everything about this series from the preview was peculiar, just like the title. The cast looked off and out of place, the story about food doesn't seem to interest me. Sorry but Tony Hung is a competent actor but he has a long way to go before being a lead. Will probably give this series a miss.
| K9 Cop 警犬巴打 | Wong Wai-sing (producer); Chan Kam-ling (writer); Bosco Wong, Linda Chung, Raymond Wong Ho-yin, Tracy Chu,Oscar Leung, Angel Chiang |
| Comedy, Drama |
Thoughts: It looks ok. Bosco Wong, Raymond Wong, Linda Chung all look convincing from what I can see. It seems to be a light-hearted series that is worth a look. Will see how it goes.
| Presumed Accidents 純熟意外 | Andy Tan (producer); Lam Lai-mei (writer); Lawrence Ng,Sisley Choi, Selena Li, Lai Lok-yi, Chow Chung, Joyce Tang |
| Detective, Thriller |
Thoughts: Story at first looks exciting and promising. Are accidents always coincidence or is there a way for us to control these accidents from happening? It is the cast that doesn't appeal to me, but if the characters are nicely written and the actors such as Sisley will make a breakthrough performance, then why give this series a go?
Other series not featured on the Sales Presentation:
| 使徒行者2 | Michael Miu, Charmaine Sheh, Benz Hui, Elena Kong, Sharon Chan |
| Crime, Thriller |
Thoughts: Line Walker itself was a decent series but had so many plot-holes.
TO BE CONTINUED>
Friday, 20 November 2015
A look at 2015 TVB's Anniversary Awards confirmed nomination list so far...
From TVB's 48th anniversary gala show, they released a list of the nominations for the Best Actor and Actress in a Leading Role.
9. Moses Chan — Ghost of Relativity - Managed to watch the whole series and I think Moses should have been nominated for his other roles this year instead, because he wasn't the focus at the series nor did the script allow him to give any breakthrough performance. In essence, he didn't have much to do.
11. Chin Ka-lok — The Fixer - Watched parts of this series and as usual for Chin Ka-Lok acting isn't something second-nature to him.
12. Louis Cheung — Momentary Lapse of Reason - Watched some parts of this series and Louis Cheng scored well with his role as someone kind-hearted and caring for others. Deserved this nomination.
14. Tony Hung — Captain of Destiny - On the other hand, Tony was a rookie compared to Ruco. His performance was unremarkable for such a remarkable character on paper. I think he should deserve a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Eye in the Sky instead.
15. Bosco Wong — Under the Veil - Hardly watched the series so no comment.
16. Bobby Au-yeung — With or Without You - Bobby is always a competent actor. Best Actor for this role though? Maybe not.
17. Anthony Wong — Lord of Shanghai - Anthony excelled as Kiu in Lord of Shanghai. He gave a subtle performance. Highly deserved this nomination.
18. Wayne Lai — Lord of Shanghai - His performance there was a bit OTT in my opinion but I think Wayne did well for most parts. Deserved this nomination.
19. Kent Tong — Lord of Shanghai - Kent Tong was good. I guess deserved this nomination.
20. Kenneth Ma — Lord of Shanghai - Didn't quite expect this cameo performance to get a nomination for Best Actor but I think Kenneth serves the young version quite well, in particular the dubbing enhanced his performance. Deserved this nomination.
2. Elaine Yiu — Raising the Bar - What a joke, Elaine for Best Actress for this role?
3. Grace Chan — Raising the Bar - I was afraid she would be nominated for Captain by Destiny but nice step by TVB for to nominate her in Raising the Bar instead. I think Grace did very well in this role as Giselle who gave a sense of integrity even though she became annoying and was blinded by her own prejudice. Deserved this nomination.
4. Nancy Sit — My “Spiritual” Ex-Lover - Didn't watch her performance.
5. Sisley Choi — Young Charioteers - Didn't watch her performance.
6. Kate Tsui — Smooth Talker - Kate did well. Deserved this nomination.
7. Elena Kong — Smooth Talker - Elena did well too. Deserved this nomination.
8. Liza Wang — Limelight Years - Liza did well three. Deserved this nomination.
9. Linda Chung — Limelight Years - Linda was too shaky in my opinion.
10. Kristal Tin — Ghost of Relativity - Yes! Kristal for the win. She was spectacular as May and I never knew she could be that funny at times. Highly deserved this nomination.
11. Nancy Wu — Ghost of Relativity - Yes for Nancy as well. I pitied her character. Deserved this nomination.
13. Mandy Wong — The Fixer - Same goes for Mandy.
14. Myolie Wu — Every Step You Take - Something about Myolie, maybe the walk she speaks unstably or her same expressions or set number of emotions she can give, that never makes my convinced of her characters. Sorry a no for this one.
15. Tavia Yeung — Momentary Lapse of Reason - Tavia was fine. Deserved this nomination.
16. Rosina Lam — Momentary Lapse of Reason - Should be for supporting instead.
17. Eliza Sam — Under the Veil - Should be for supporting instead.
18. Joey Meng — With or Without You - She did well. Deserved the nomination.
19. Louisa So — Lord of Shanghai - Deserved it. 20. Alice Chan — Lord of Shanghai - Deserved it!
“Best Actor” nominees:1. Mak Cheung-ching — Come Home Love - I watched Evergreen Mak's performance in Come Home Love and he was serviceable, nothing outstanding but decent enough for me to watch.
2. Johnson Lee — Officer Geomancer - Didn't watch his performance.
3. Edwin Siu — Madam Cutie On Duty - Didn't watch his performance.
4. Ben Wong — Raising the Bar - Watched Ben's performance and he was convincing as a lawyer but again nothing spectacular.
5. Him Law — Young Charioteers - Watched an first episode of this series and he was good from what I saw but don't know about the nomination.
6. Kevin Cheng — Eye In the Sky - Ok finally someone I think deserves this nomination with Kevin's rather impressive performance as Szetou Sir. He flattered a bit towards the end but for the most part I think he improved heaps.
7. Joe Ma — Smooth Talker - Watched parts of this series and Joe was ok.
8. Damian Lau — Limelight Years - Watched less than an episode and Damian was ok.
9. Moses Chan — Ghost of Relativity - Managed to watch the whole series and I think Moses should have been nominated for his other roles this year instead, because he wasn't the focus at the series nor did the script allow him to give any breakthrough performance. In essence, he didn't have much to do.
10. Vincent Wong — Brick Slaves - Watched parts of the series and from what I saw Vincent Wong is indeed a very good actor and a very versatile one. Deserved this nomination I say.
11. Chin Ka-lok — The Fixer - Watched parts of this series and as usual for Chin Ka-Lok acting isn't something second-nature to him.
12. Louis Cheung — Momentary Lapse of Reason - Watched some parts of this series and Louis Cheng scored well with his role as someone kind-hearted and caring for others. Deserved this nomination.
13. Ruco Chan — Captain of Destiny - What more can I say? Ruco gave a masterful performance as the 11th prince in Captain of Destiny. There were many great moments in the series by him and he definitely deserved this nomination.
14. Tony Hung — Captain of Destiny - On the other hand, Tony was a rookie compared to Ruco. His performance was unremarkable for such a remarkable character on paper. I think he should deserve a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in Eye in the Sky instead.
15. Bosco Wong — Under the Veil - Hardly watched the series so no comment.
16. Bobby Au-yeung — With or Without You - Bobby is always a competent actor. Best Actor for this role though? Maybe not.
17. Anthony Wong — Lord of Shanghai - Anthony excelled as Kiu in Lord of Shanghai. He gave a subtle performance. Highly deserved this nomination.
18. Wayne Lai — Lord of Shanghai - His performance there was a bit OTT in my opinion but I think Wayne did well for most parts. Deserved this nomination.
19. Kent Tong — Lord of Shanghai - Kent Tong was good. I guess deserved this nomination.
20. Kenneth Ma — Lord of Shanghai - Didn't quite expect this cameo performance to get a nomination for Best Actor but I think Kenneth serves the young version quite well, in particular the dubbing enhanced his performance. Deserved this nomination.
My Top Picks: Kevin Cheng, Vincent Wong, Louis Cheng, Ruco Chan, Anthony Wong, Wayne Lai, Kent Tong and Kenneth Ma.
Who Should Win: Anthony Wong.
“Best Actress” nominees:1. Priscilla Wong — Madam Cutie On Duty - Didn't watch her performance.
2. Elaine Yiu — Raising the Bar - What a joke, Elaine for Best Actress for this role?
3. Grace Chan — Raising the Bar - I was afraid she would be nominated for Captain by Destiny but nice step by TVB for to nominate her in Raising the Bar instead. I think Grace did very well in this role as Giselle who gave a sense of integrity even though she became annoying and was blinded by her own prejudice. Deserved this nomination.
4. Nancy Sit — My “Spiritual” Ex-Lover - Didn't watch her performance.
5. Sisley Choi — Young Charioteers - Didn't watch her performance.
6. Kate Tsui — Smooth Talker - Kate did well. Deserved this nomination.
7. Elena Kong — Smooth Talker - Elena did well too. Deserved this nomination.
8. Liza Wang — Limelight Years - Liza did well three. Deserved this nomination.
9. Linda Chung — Limelight Years - Linda was too shaky in my opinion.
10. Kristal Tin — Ghost of Relativity - Yes! Kristal for the win. She was spectacular as May and I never knew she could be that funny at times. Highly deserved this nomination.
11. Nancy Wu — Ghost of Relativity - Yes for Nancy as well. I pitied her character. Deserved this nomination.
12. Selena Li — Brick Slaves - Sorry she still has lots of room for improvement.
13. Mandy Wong — The Fixer - Same goes for Mandy.
14. Myolie Wu — Every Step You Take - Something about Myolie, maybe the walk she speaks unstably or her same expressions or set number of emotions she can give, that never makes my convinced of her characters. Sorry a no for this one.
15. Tavia Yeung — Momentary Lapse of Reason - Tavia was fine. Deserved this nomination.
16. Rosina Lam — Momentary Lapse of Reason - Should be for supporting instead.
17. Eliza Sam — Under the Veil - Should be for supporting instead.
18. Joey Meng — With or Without You - She did well. Deserved the nomination.
19. Louisa So — Lord of Shanghai - Deserved it. 20. Alice Chan — Lord of Shanghai - Deserved it!
My Top Picks: Grace Chan, Kate Tsui, Elena Kong, Liza Wang, Kristal Tin, Nancy Wu, Tavia Yeung, Louisa So and Alice Chan.
Who Should Win: Kristal Tin
Thursday, 15 October 2015
TVB's Captain of Destiny - Thoughts so far
I am currently up to episode 22 at watch TVB's Captain of Destiny and I am truly impressed. I have quite a long list on some scenes that should become a classic. How should I start?
Firstly, if you have read my review for Ghosts of Relativity you would of known I was dreading to see the horrible CGI from Captain of Destiny, but this time the CGI was very decent. Yes if this was in Hollywood it would still probably have been laughed at but for TVB's standard it is excellent. You could tell that a lot of effort was made to make it look realistic and I admire the fact that they made a lot of scenes that used CGI, unlike Three Kingdoms RPG that tried to avoid it most of the time.
Another wow factor of this series is Ruco Chan. He never fails as an actor but I think it is this role as the 11th prince that will be his defining role. In this series he was quite temperamental, stubborn and overeager but he is at the same time nice-hearted, filial and quite caring.
The highlight of this series thus far was in episode 18, where Ruco destroyed Tony's pirate gang. It was action-packed to say the least.
Hurts to say, but Grace Chan was unremarkable. Most of the time she went over the top whether it was body movements, expressions or tone, it was as if she pressed the button too hard than she should have. I do point the finger at the producer for not going 'cut! stop acting OTT' and etc but really it was her responsibility to execute this role.
One major thing to note, the plot is very messy. Some episodes will focus on the pirates' side, one about palace drama or the 11th Prince's time in the naval base camp. The producers juggled the different aspects at the time that made it quite inconsistent. However, I won't be complaining. This is because for each aspect such as the pirates side was enjoyable to watch, so as the palace drama side and etc. Seems like they want this to be a fusion series and I am not too bothered by it even though I can understand by others will be.
Grace Chan, some messy plot and inconsistency may drag this series down but it cannot deny some great moments that I was truly impressed with.
Firstly, if you have read my review for Ghosts of Relativity you would of known I was dreading to see the horrible CGI from Captain of Destiny, but this time the CGI was very decent. Yes if this was in Hollywood it would still probably have been laughed at but for TVB's standard it is excellent. You could tell that a lot of effort was made to make it look realistic and I admire the fact that they made a lot of scenes that used CGI, unlike Three Kingdoms RPG that tried to avoid it most of the time.
Another wow factor of this series is Ruco Chan. He never fails as an actor but I think it is this role as the 11th prince that will be his defining role. In this series he was quite temperamental, stubborn and overeager but he is at the same time nice-hearted, filial and quite caring.
The highlight of this series thus far was in episode 18, where Ruco destroyed Tony's pirate gang. It was action-packed to say the least.
Hurts to say, but Grace Chan was unremarkable. Most of the time she went over the top whether it was body movements, expressions or tone, it was as if she pressed the button too hard than she should have. I do point the finger at the producer for not going 'cut! stop acting OTT' and etc but really it was her responsibility to execute this role.
One major thing to note, the plot is very messy. Some episodes will focus on the pirates' side, one about palace drama or the 11th Prince's time in the naval base camp. The producers juggled the different aspects at the time that made it quite inconsistent. However, I won't be complaining. This is because for each aspect such as the pirates side was enjoyable to watch, so as the palace drama side and etc. Seems like they want this to be a fusion series and I am not too bothered by it even though I can understand by others will be.
Grace Chan, some messy plot and inconsistency may drag this series down but it cannot deny some great moments that I was truly impressed with.
Friday, 14 August 2015
Nearly September soon!
Time had gone by so quickly this year! It's already edging towards September and I am going to be another year older when my birthday comes later next month. Speaking about time, I haven't spent much time with TVB series this year at all even though I've done my university entrance exams long ago by now. Surprisingly this year I've only fully watched a handful of series and these were:
- Eye in the Sky
- Raising the Bar
- Ghost of Relativity
- Empress of China
Shocking that I have only watched 4 TVB dramas compared to like 20 dramas last year. What is even more disappointing that none of the series that I have watched were great or amazing overall, with Ghost of Relativity my favourite of the bunch so far (due to the very funny delivery of gags and puns) and then Eye in the Sky (it was quite enjoyable to watch in terms of drama and reflecting upon the idea of nature versus nurture but it has its sore moments), and then Empress of China (I quite liked it even though the story was very mundane) and then Raising the Bar (actually a not bad series that showed the potential of Grace Chan and a few other actresses).
This doesn't mean that I've done watched 4 series this year. In fact, I've watched a bit more. I started Brick Slaves (looks ok but I haven't been tempted to watch other episodes in the meanwhile), Come Home Love 2 (watched a bit but a pity they decided to focus on a fitness centre and boring Priscilla Wong), Smooth Talker (watched parts of this series and enjoyed it but have yet to complete it), Limelight Years (have actually anticipated to watch this series but then I wasn't tempted anymore when it was broadcast), Romantic Repertoire (watched a little little bit and just couldn't be bothered), Master of Destiny (watched parts of it too but was way over-the-top and cliche).
Despite this, I've been tuning in mainland dramas lately. I've watched the Hunan version of 'Empress of China' (you'll know if you've read my comparisons of the TVB version and mainland version), The War of the Beauties (the one with Jessica Hsuan), The Legend of Zhen Huan (the one with Ada Choi), The Huang Shi Fei one (with Ruby Lin) and that's about it.
This doesn't mean that I've done watched 4 series this year. In fact, I've watched a bit more. I started Brick Slaves (looks ok but I haven't been tempted to watch other episodes in the meanwhile), Come Home Love 2 (watched a bit but a pity they decided to focus on a fitness centre and boring Priscilla Wong), Smooth Talker (watched parts of this series and enjoyed it but have yet to complete it), Limelight Years (have actually anticipated to watch this series but then I wasn't tempted anymore when it was broadcast), Romantic Repertoire (watched a little little bit and just couldn't be bothered), Master of Destiny (watched parts of it too but was way over-the-top and cliche).
Despite this, I've been tuning in mainland dramas lately. I've watched the Hunan version of 'Empress of China' (you'll know if you've read my comparisons of the TVB version and mainland version), The War of the Beauties (the one with Jessica Hsuan), The Legend of Zhen Huan (the one with Ada Choi), The Huang Shi Fei one (with Ruby Lin) and that's about it.
Speaking of which, I still anticipate a few yet to be released series later in the year/ next year. The ones I want to watch are:
- No Reserve (After the amazing Rosy Business and No Regrets franchise, please wow me again)
- Lord of Shanghai (Star-studded)
- Captain of Destiny (sort of anticipating)
- Blue Veins (Have yet to watch a decent vampire series)
- Short End of the Stick (purely because of the great cast)
- The Last Imperial Physician (I want to see Tavia and Roger together, and the plot seems both suspenseful and interesting.)
- Brother Keeper II
- The Legend of Empress Lu (Not sure if I quite want to watch this without Charmaine Sheh)
Hurry and release this dramas soon!
Sunday, 9 August 2015
TVB Ghost of Relativity Review (鬼同你OT)
Review:
In the end Kristal Tin married with Michael and they had a daughter (I'll tell you about the daughter later on). I kind of cringed at this ending because May and Michael never should have been in a love relationship in the first place and five years later they are married. Why?!?
Genre: Modern supernatural romance comedy. (I guess what made this series different from other comedies was the fact that this was supernatural and revolved around the idea of the inexplicable - the world of ghosts in a funny sort of way.)
Casts: Moses Chan, Kristal Tin, Nancy Wu, Eddie Kwan, Pierre No, Vivien Yeo, Ram Chiang, Mimi Chu, Wai Lee, Celine Ma, C-Kwan, Anthony Ho, Alan Wan, Zoie Tam, Lee Yee-man, Carat Cheung and more.
Number of episodes: 28 (This series should of stopped at episode 15 or even earlier).
This series revolves around the character of May who first works in an architect firm as a receptionist but within a day she becomes fired for supposedly ruining the building model that collapses during a presentation pitch for an international award. May leaves after she becomes fired but then she realises that her bag and phone got mixed with Gin's. Gin eventually gets electrocuted by May's dodgy phone and she dies. One year later May collects the dodgy phone from the police station that was used as evidence and she gets the shock that Gin is an electromagnetic wave inside her phone. In a period of three months, both May and Gin work together as the administrative manager back at the architect firm to help Michael with his "a tilted building that shall never fall" project.
What can I say about this series? It was quirky, funny and light-hearted. In many ways this series was spot on with a few of the hilariously funny gags that they had. One classic scene was when May was applying for an administrative manager position but the application form was in English. Gin grabbed May's hand and filled in the rest of the application form for her. The two workers who were observing May filling in the application form were of course aghast at how May could quickly write the application form but without looking at the form (because Gin was the one filling it in).
First I found the name of this series to be ok, both the English and Chinese title. The Chinese title basically means, "Who the heck would work overtime with you?" and can also mean "Ghost working overtime with you" which made sense. In particular, I liked the theme song that gave a happy and enjoyable feel.
Performances alone, there were a few that shined in this series and made it at times very enjoyable to watch. First and foremost, I would say this series is one of Kristal Tin's career-defining roles. She mastered the role of May (a.k.a Suen Suk Mui) by bringing it to life. May was cute, childish and courageous and Kristal showed all of that. She impressed me in those moments where Gin was possessing her body, and every body movement and her tone of voice mimicked Gin well, so kudos to Kristal. I suppose her weaker moments was towards the end of the series where she had to try and explain to Michael that she truly likes him and that she wasn't a traitor or anything. I have a problem with this character though, May didn't convince me that she was in love with Michael. For the majority of the series she was treating Michael as a baby and would go off her own business without caring for Michael if it wasn't for Gin nagging her to help out. Just because they kissed (Gin was the one who started the kiss), had some nice time together and overtimed together (Gin was the one who made her), I couldn't see how they would develop love for one another. It seemed much more of a friendship or sibling relationship and nothing more. I blame the script in that sense rather than Kristal.
In the end Kristal Tin married with Michael and they had a daughter (I'll tell you about the daughter later on). I kind of cringed at this ending because May and Michael never should have been in a love relationship in the first place and five years later they are married. Why?!?
Nancy Wu as Gin (a.k.a Keung Yung) on the other hand did a nice job as well. I could connect with Gin in this series and her emotions of feeling quite helpless with the limitations of being a ghost. Keung Yung is a frustrated, sensitive and jealous type of woman and Nancy Wu did a very nice job justifying why she is what she is. I did eventually get annoyed at Gin for being too unreasonable and demanding at May at times but she was dependent on May. After all she had an innocent death (to be blamed on May, Tinman and Brian) and as an electromagnetic wave she had to rely on May for everything. Everything that she once had; being an administrative manager with $8,000HKD income per month, expensive clothes and being able to spend with her crush Michael all the time were all in the hands of May. Physically, Nancy Wu's rather petite and pale looking physique helps to make her look like a ghost/electromagnetic wave. In essence, Nancy displayed the right emotions and she excelled in those quiet moments where all she did was stare sadly. Nancy made Gin a character that was easy for the audience to be sympathetic with.
In the end, Gin becomes May and Michael's daughter Sisi. This reminded me of the ending of another ghost series by TVB but can't remember what series it was. It would be quite weird for Gin to be Michael's daughter. Quirky ending but I'm ok with that.
In the end, Gin becomes May and Michael's daughter Sisi. This reminded me of the ending of another ghost series by TVB but can't remember what series it was. It would be quite weird for Gin to be Michael's daughter. Quirky ending but I'm ok with that.
Moses Chan however had a limited role as Michael. First of all he was stiff in every sense, he muttered his words and he tried to act shy but for some reason it didn't look much convincing at all. That is maybe because Moses Chan was a miscast in the first place and his role could be replaced by anyone. For instance I would say Roger Kwok would did very well in this role as he can be funny and yet at the same time innocent looking and funny. At some times Moses very competent in the delivery of some scenes that required him to be funny and he would go high pitch but most of the time he was hardly natural.
5 years later Michael was a successful architect and he married to May. No comment.
Pierre Ngo these days always gives me the dejavu of his previous roles - such as Bit man from "Rosy Business". In here his role is different but his characterisation and mannerisms all resemble his previous roles. For me Pierre Ngo was never a versatile actor (except he can do the other extreme as an innocent boy in "No Regrets"). In this series his character as "Charlie" didn't have much impact on the series besides his so-called master plan to steal the building sketches and sell them off for a profit, though I must say he got $100 million from that so his plan did work but only for the cheque to be taken by Hugo.
Charlie, Manager Ley and Hugo all ended up in jail. For how long I don't know but seems like Manager Ley got less than 5 years because he was soon to be released. Good ending for them.
Eddie Kwan as Hugo on the other hand was ok. I mean he didn't really make me laugh but he was quirky enough for this series. In this series he acts as the head manager who is posh and values high quality, but commits acts of low quality by rushing Michael's "The tilted building that shall never fall" project. In that aspect he was stupid because why not make sure all the calculations are correct? After all even if Michael was the one responsible for the building measurements to be right he was ultimately the head manager and he was nevertheless responsible for overseeing the project. Very dumb I say.
Vivien Yeo as Lolita deserves a mention in this series. I do believe Vivien went everything for this role. She made Lolita such as an ugly, cheap and seductive lady that was intriguing. Vivien's Cantonese has yet to become fluent but her acting was decent and I do think she improved. So good job.
Michael's three assistants; Anthony Ho as (Keung Chung), C-Kwan (a Mo) and Alan Wan (Manhattan) were quite funny in this series as the fat, short and stupid. They all had comedic timing and their delivery of the gags and puns made this series very enjoyable to watch so no complaints at all.
Charlie's three angels (Charlie's angels); Zoie Tam (Annie), Lee Yee-man (Angie) and Carat Cheung (Anna) were all ok in this series, except they didn't quite have the comedic timing like Michael's three architect assistants for some reason. I guess all three of them have room for improvement.
Funnily enough, all three of them were in a relationship with the three architect assistants at the end. A rather preposterous ending because I don't see how the three angels who were all materialistic would like the three architect assistants and how the three architect assistants would fall in love with them again after being cheated on and humiliated.
Mimi Chu as Sau-yuk gu and Wai Lee as Brian were competent as veterans in this series. I found Brian to be a rather disgusting character who would want to sell off his daughter's place and forced his son to pay rent and never really taking care of the two of them before. Sau-yuk gu had more of a conscience problem where she conned people with her false methods to identify and negotiate with ghosts. In the end, Sau-yuk gu and Brian got together and I am satisfied with this ending.
The other additions to the veterans in this story were Maggie Yu as Hong Wai and Raymond Chiu as Chuk long. Sorry but Maggie Yu was hardly funny in this comedy and Raymond did an ok job as a dodgy person who appears from everywhere, as a dodgy boyfriend, taxi driver and then a security guard. In the end the two weren't together anymore. Hong Wai was a street cleaner and Chuk long landed in jail again. Nice endings for both of them.
The later additions to this series was Ram Chiang who I had long anticipated to appear in this series and he did a nice job as I.T man. Ram Chiang was convincing as geeky and clever and he made an impact to this series as one of the few characters in the series who had integrity in his work. In a limited amount of time Ram managed to bring life to this character so kudos to him.
This is what I call a quirky and funny ending. I.T man ended up being with Lolita and I.T man drove off with Lolita in a motorcycle. Made sense because Lolita has an unusual taste and I.T man is an unusual man.
Last and not the least, we have Kong Wing-fai and Celine Ma as basically the human resources managers in the series. I found them to fit in their respective roles very well and they worked well in a comedy with facial expressions that were funny and enjoyable to watch. Nice job to both of them.
In the end Manager Ley got out of jail and worked back at GSZ Architect Firm as a servant holding drinks for everyone and my thoughts are that he was with Mei-ching (Celina Ma). Nice ending for both of them. A pity about Celine Ma as I would have wanted scriptwriters to develop her character more since she seems to be a rather intriguing character.
5 years later Michael was a successful architect and he married to May. No comment.
Pierre Ngo these days always gives me the dejavu of his previous roles - such as Bit man from "Rosy Business". In here his role is different but his characterisation and mannerisms all resemble his previous roles. For me Pierre Ngo was never a versatile actor (except he can do the other extreme as an innocent boy in "No Regrets"). In this series his character as "Charlie" didn't have much impact on the series besides his so-called master plan to steal the building sketches and sell them off for a profit, though I must say he got $100 million from that so his plan did work but only for the cheque to be taken by Hugo.
Charlie, Manager Ley and Hugo all ended up in jail. For how long I don't know but seems like Manager Ley got less than 5 years because he was soon to be released. Good ending for them.
Eddie Kwan as Hugo on the other hand was ok. I mean he didn't really make me laugh but he was quirky enough for this series. In this series he acts as the head manager who is posh and values high quality, but commits acts of low quality by rushing Michael's "The tilted building that shall never fall" project. In that aspect he was stupid because why not make sure all the calculations are correct? After all even if Michael was the one responsible for the building measurements to be right he was ultimately the head manager and he was nevertheless responsible for overseeing the project. Very dumb I say.
Vivien Yeo as Lolita deserves a mention in this series. I do believe Vivien went everything for this role. She made Lolita such as an ugly, cheap and seductive lady that was intriguing. Vivien's Cantonese has yet to become fluent but her acting was decent and I do think she improved. So good job.
Michael's three assistants; Anthony Ho as (Keung Chung), C-Kwan (a Mo) and Alan Wan (Manhattan) were quite funny in this series as the fat, short and stupid. They all had comedic timing and their delivery of the gags and puns made this series very enjoyable to watch so no complaints at all.
Charlie's three angels (Charlie's angels); Zoie Tam (Annie), Lee Yee-man (Angie) and Carat Cheung (Anna) were all ok in this series, except they didn't quite have the comedic timing like Michael's three architect assistants for some reason. I guess all three of them have room for improvement.
Funnily enough, all three of them were in a relationship with the three architect assistants at the end. A rather preposterous ending because I don't see how the three angels who were all materialistic would like the three architect assistants and how the three architect assistants would fall in love with them again after being cheated on and humiliated.
Mimi Chu as Sau-yuk gu and Wai Lee as Brian were competent as veterans in this series. I found Brian to be a rather disgusting character who would want to sell off his daughter's place and forced his son to pay rent and never really taking care of the two of them before. Sau-yuk gu had more of a conscience problem where she conned people with her false methods to identify and negotiate with ghosts. In the end, Sau-yuk gu and Brian got together and I am satisfied with this ending.
The other additions to the veterans in this story were Maggie Yu as Hong Wai and Raymond Chiu as Chuk long. Sorry but Maggie Yu was hardly funny in this comedy and Raymond did an ok job as a dodgy person who appears from everywhere, as a dodgy boyfriend, taxi driver and then a security guard. In the end the two weren't together anymore. Hong Wai was a street cleaner and Chuk long landed in jail again. Nice endings for both of them.
The later additions to this series was Ram Chiang who I had long anticipated to appear in this series and he did a nice job as I.T man. Ram Chiang was convincing as geeky and clever and he made an impact to this series as one of the few characters in the series who had integrity in his work. In a limited amount of time Ram managed to bring life to this character so kudos to him.
This is what I call a quirky and funny ending. I.T man ended up being with Lolita and I.T man drove off with Lolita in a motorcycle. Made sense because Lolita has an unusual taste and I.T man is an unusual man.
Last and not the least, we have Kong Wing-fai and Celine Ma as basically the human resources managers in the series. I found them to fit in their respective roles very well and they worked well in a comedy with facial expressions that were funny and enjoyable to watch. Nice job to both of them.
In the end Manager Ley got out of jail and worked back at GSZ Architect Firm as a servant holding drinks for everyone and my thoughts are that he was with Mei-ching (Celina Ma). Nice ending for both of them. A pity about Celine Ma as I would have wanted scriptwriters to develop her character more since she seems to be a rather intriguing character.
What made this series very entertaining to watch was the ghost or electromagnetic wave aspect of the story. We as viewers could see Gin but the characters in the story couldn't. I could buy the theory about the electromagnetic waves and the fact that they tried to explain why only May could see Gin and other miracles made enough sense for me. Take out May and Gin in the story and the whole story would be empty. The gags, puns and delivery of the lines worked very well when it was appropriate.
I was also quite impressed with the CGI used. I assume it must have taken them quite a while to shot different shots for just a scene (like when we see May with Gin and then just May by herself to indicate that she is a ghost). I found it quite subtle and nice attention to detail by the producers. The special effects also were nicely used and didn't look over-the-top at all. While I praise TVB for this just wait until I see Captain of Destiny...
I was also quite impressed with the CGI used. I assume it must have taken them quite a while to shot different shots for just a scene (like when we see May with Gin and then just May by herself to indicate that she is a ghost). I found it quite subtle and nice attention to detail by the producers. The special effects also were nicely used and didn't look over-the-top at all. While I praise TVB for this just wait until I see Captain of Destiny...
The problem of this series however falls on the silly and less funny backstories. One backstory was Wai Lee as Brian (or Bing-yan) and the rivalry between Sau-yuk gu (portrayed by Mimi Chu) and Hong Wai (which sounds like bra). This backstory never interested me in the first place and I find Brian's sudden desire to be with Sau-yuk gu too contrived. The other backstory of Michael's assistants being seduced by Charlie's angels (that was a pun they made in the series) also dragged on for too long and I didn't care what happened later. These backstories acted more as a filler for the length of the drama and it didn't work well. Why can't TVB just trim down the length of this comedy to a neat 15 and it would of been tight and nice. Cut the silly love relationships, the silly backstories and the unnecessary characters and this would have been an excellent short series. Too bad that's not the case.
Another regret about this series was that the story didn't revolve around architecture at all. I am currently enrolled in a course that broadly focuses on areas like architecture and I can tell you that all those calculations were more of an engineering duty rather than an architect's duty. The only time that I really heard them discuss anything about architecture was when Michael was thinking whether to place female toilets in the middle of the shopping mall or at the two ends. I was anticipating for them to work more on the design of their project, like what colour should the building be, how many people can it fit and etc but none of that. Rather disappointed at how poorly this series being set in an architect firm but the scriptwriters didn't bother to include anything about architecture.
Another thing that made this series quite silly was how on earth was Michael the only architect in the whole architect firm? Surely there must have been many other architects working on their own different projects at the same time. The fact that the company solely relied on Michael's project for one year and three months was hard to believe. I know at the end of the day there's no need to be too serious in a comedy but don't you think it would have been much more interesting to have Michael with rival architects in the firm who were working on all these different and cool buildings and May helps Michael to fasten the process?
Speaking about Michael, May and Gin, their love triangle was boring and poorly developed. I was rather surprised in one scene when the doctor asked "How are you related to May" and Michael replied, "She's my girlfriend". What? How? When? What? was what I was thinking. This series tried very hard to try and clarify that Michael's feelings towards May were because she was May and that they genuinely loved each other but I beg to differ. The producers of this show just shot themselves on the head during the scene where Michael said to May that he genuinely likes her not because she is Gin's replacement but because she is May. But soon after we were shown scenes of May starting to kiss Michael, which was when May was possessed by Gin, not when May was May!
One note about this series was that it was nicely received by the Hong Kong audience. My thoughts are that it wouldn't have been that well-received if Ada Choi was May instead. Apparently Ada Choi dropped this role because her religion meant she didn't believe in the ghosts ideology or something like that? My thought was that it was stupid because you're supposed to be acting a character not you and it's not in real life so why not? As an actress you are supposed to be exploring how to portray different types of roles in this role but nevertheless I would have preferred Kristal Tin in this role anyway. So good last minute 'find someone replacement' by the producers.
One note about this series was that it was nicely received by the Hong Kong audience. My thoughts are that it wouldn't have been that well-received if Ada Choi was May instead. Apparently Ada Choi dropped this role because her religion meant she didn't believe in the ghosts ideology or something like that? My thought was that it was stupid because you're supposed to be acting a character not you and it's not in real life so why not? As an actress you are supposed to be exploring how to portray different types of roles in this role but nevertheless I would have preferred Kristal Tin in this role anyway. So good last minute 'find someone replacement' by the producers.
Verdict: This quirky series rocked because of the funny gags and somehow the scriptwriters wanted to include a love triangle that dragged on and on. This is one of the better series from TVB this year but I will stop short of calling it a true classic or highly entertaining series but there were just simply too many flaws that made it hard for this series to redeem itself. Even with the renewed plot of a ghost and a mighty performance by Kristal Tin and a few others, it doesn't deserve much credit with its inconsistency in the plot, ignorance in what an architect does and the inevitable love triangle on what was incoherently presented to us. I do recommend you watch this series if you are prepared for some travesty halfway down.
P.S This was my one of my favourite scenes in this series that proved the great chemistry between May and Gin. I don't care how many takes it took but their movements were very similar and both Kristal and Nancy did an excellent job in this scene! Watch it!
P.S This was my one of my favourite scenes in this series that proved the great chemistry between May and Gin. I don't care how many takes it took but their movements were very similar and both Kristal and Nancy did an excellent job in this scene! Watch it!
Wednesday, 29 July 2015
TVB Ghost of Relativity Update
So far I am on track with the episodes of this series. My thoughts right now is that this series is quite bitter, bitter in the sense that May and Gin's relationship are filled with doubts, jealousy and frustration. The thing that drags this series so far is not Gin, May or Michael, but it's the backstory of Charlie and his triple angels or the backstory with Suo Yuk Gu and her rivalry with a main lander. Everything just doesn't seem that funny anymore. Kristal Tin is the only person that is keeping me watch this series.
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