Monday, July 23, 2012

Weibo Fever # 17: Producer Lau Ka Ho’s Series Through the Years

Yesterday (7/22) was ‘golden’ producer Lau Ka Ho’s (劉家豪) birthday. In addition to many of his friends and colleagues giving him birthday wishes via Weibo, one of the HK entertainment news sites gave him a very special gift: a fan-made video clip that incorporates the themesong videos from 23 of the series that LKH produced over the past 3 decades (late 1980s to 2012).

I really enjoyed watching this clip (even though at a little over 37 minutes, the clip is LONG) because it brought back a lot of memories for me, since I’ve either watched (or am currently watching) all 23 series featured in this clip (though of course, some of the series I watched awhile back ago -- especially the ones from the 80s -- so I'm not necessarily going to remember everything about them). It also made me realize how long I’ve been ‘following’ TVB (I guess I really am ‘old’…haha).

Anyway, here is the list of the 23 series that Ka Ho Gor produced (the same series featured in the clip) as well as a [partial] cast list (I actually decided to list out the cast on my own). I’m sure that a lot of TVB fans (especially long-time fans) will recognize majority of these series (especially the ones that were anniversary series / grand productions).

This clip absolutely worth keeping, especially given the fact that Ka Ho Gor has already left TVB – he was definitely a very important part of TVB history and even though he may not have produced as many series compared to other TVB producers, many of his series were 'classics' that helped to secure the careers of many artists over the decades.

Lastly, just wanted to take this opportunity to say:

HAPPY [belated] BIRTHDAY KA HO GOR!!!

*****
 
Link to Video Clip:  Lau Ka Ho’s series



picture credit as listed


1). When Silken Hands Get Rough 靜待黎明 (1987)
Cast: Barbara Chan (陳敏兒), Susanna AuYeung (歐陽珮珊), Eddy Ko (高雄), Margie Tsang (曾華倩), Sean Lau (劉青雲), Lau Kong (劉江), Gregory Lee (李永豪), etc.


2). The Rise of a Kung Fu Master 南拳蔡李佛 (1988)
Cast: Meng Fei (孟飛), Cecilia Wong (黄杏秀), Kitty Lai (黎美嫻), Andy Dai (戴志偉), Paul Chun (秦沛), Ng Man Tat (吳孟達), Eddy Ko (高雄), Lau Kong (劉江), Samuel Kwok (郭鋒), etc.


3). Behind Silk Curtains 大都會 (1988)
Cast: Adam Cheng (鄭少秋), Liza Wang (汪明荃), Stephen Chow (周星馳), David Siu (邵仲衡), Yang Kwun (楊群), Jamie Chik (戚美珍), Spencer Leung (梁思浩), Wing Lam (林穎嫺), etc. etc. [Note: This was a special 5 episode series that featured pretty much every single artist working for TVB at the time – most of them appeared in cameo roles, with a few seconds to few minutes screentime, so cast list is too huge to list out completely.]


4). And Yet We Live 當代男兒 (1988)
Cast: Alex Man (萬梓良), Ray Lui (呂良偉), Lee Heung Kam (李香琴), Barbara Chan (陳敏兒), Dominic Lam (林嘉華), Wing Lam (林穎嫺), Mak Chui Han (麥翠嫻), Maggie Siu (邵美琪), Dicky Cheung (張衛健), Sean Lau (劉青雲), Andy Dai (戴志偉), Teresa Mo (毛舜筠), etc.


5). Ho Ching  豪情 (1989) [Note: Not sure about English title]
Cast: Wilson Lam (林俊賢), Ray Lui (呂良偉), Margie Tsang (曾華倩), Carina Lau (劉嘉玲), Wong Wan Choi (黃允財), etc.


6). The Final Combat  蓋世豪俠 (1989)
Cast: Stephen Chow (周星馳), Jacqueline Law (羅慧娟), Francis Ng (吳鎮宇), Yammie Nam (藍潔瑛), Ng Man Tat (吳孟達), Cutie Mui (梅小惠), Lau Kong (劉江), etc.


7). The Justice of Life 他來自江湖 (1989)
Cast: Alex Man (萬梓良), Stephen Chow (周星馳), Ng Man Tat (吳孟達), Tien Niu (恬妞), Teresa Mo (毛舜筠), Anthony Wong (黃秋生), Lee Heung Kam (李香琴), Cutie Mui (梅小惠), Kwan Hoi San (關海山), etc.


8). The Hunter’s Prey 烏金血劍 (1990)
Cast: Canti Lau (劉錫明), Gallen Lo (羅嘉良), Vivian Chow (周慧敏), Eddie Cheung (張兆輝), Gordon Lau (劉家輝), Stella Wong (王敏明), etc.


9).  The Big Family  大家族 (1991)
Cast: Alex Man (萬梓良), Elizabeth Lee (李美鳳), Tien Niu (恬妞), Kenneth Tsang (曾江), Chu Kong (朱江), Kwan Hoi San (關海山), Canti Lau (劉錫明), Benz Hui (許紹雄), Ha Ping (夏萍), Fung So Bor (馮素波), Wayne Lai (黎耀祥), Cutie Mui (梅小惠), etc. [This was 1991’s anniversary series and actually had a huge cast – too many artists to list out completely].


10). The Key Man 巨人 (1992)
Cast: Alex Man (萬梓良), Dicky Cheung (張衛健), Idy Chan (陳玉蓮), Monica Chan (陳法蓉), Wilson Lam (林俊賢), Louise Lee (李司棋), Kwan Hoi San (關海山), etc.


11). The Edge of Righteousness 龍兄鼠弟 (1993)
Cast: Alex Man (萬梓良), Dicky Cheung (張衛健), Jessica Hsuan (宣萱), Athena Chu (朱茵), Monica Chan (陳法蓉), Kent Cheng (鄭則仕),Kwan Hoi San (關海山), etc.


12). Down Memory Lane 萬里長情 (1995)
Cast: Alex Man (萬梓良), Michelle Yim (米雪), Frankie Lam (林文龍), Kenix Kwok (郭可盈), Dominic Lam (林嘉華), Candy Law (羅霖), Gordon Lam (林家棟), etc.


13). The Gentle Crackdown 秀才遇著兵 (2005)
Cast: Moses Chan (陳豪), Niki Chow (周麗淇), Wayne Lai (黎耀祥), Michelle Yim (米雪), Yuen Wah (元華), Lee Sing Cheong (李成昌), Johnson Lee (李思捷), Mimi Chu (朱咪咪), Eddy Ko (高雄), Cindy Au (歐倩怡), etc.


14). When Rules Turn Loose 識法代言人 (2005)
Cast: Liza Wang (汪明荃), Ha Yu (夏雨), Myolie Wu (胡杏兒), Sammul Chan (陳鍵鋒), Wayne Lai (黎耀祥), Patricia Liu (劉綽琪), Marco Ngai (魏駿傑), etc.


15). Heart of Greed  溏心風暴 (2007)
Cast: Louise Lee (李司棋), Ha Yu (夏雨), Susann Kwan (關菊英), Michelle Yim (米雪), Moses Chan (陳豪), Linda Chung (鍾嘉欣), Bosco Wong (黃宗澤), Tavia Yeung (楊怡), Louis Yuen (阮兆祥), Raymond Lam (林峯), Chris Lai (黎諾懿), Fala Chen (陳法拉), Yoyo Mung (蒙嘉慧), Lee Sing Cheong (李成昌), etc.


16). Devil’s Disciples 強劍 (2007)
Cast: Kevin Cheng (鄭嘉穎), Bosco Wong (黃宗澤), Bernice Liu (廖碧兒), Sharon Chan (陳敏之), Shirley Yeung (楊思琦), Wayne Lai (黎耀祥), etc.


17). The Gentle Crackdown 2  秀才愛上兵 (2008)
Cast: Steven Ma (馬浚偉), Yumiko Cheng (鄭希怡), Wayne Lai (黎耀祥), Ha Yu (夏雨), Law Koon Lan (羅冠蘭), Lee Sing Cheong (李成昌), Johnson Lee (李思捷), Savio Tsang (曾偉權), Evergreen Mak (麥長青), etc.


18). Moonlight Resonance 溏心風暴之家好月圓 (2008)
Cast: Louise Lee (李司棋), Ha Yu (夏雨), Susann Kwan (關菊英), Michelle Yim (米雪), Wayne Lai (黎耀祥), Lee Heung Kam (李香琴), Moses Chan (陳豪), Linda Chung (鍾嘉欣), Bosco Wong (黃宗澤), Tavia Yeung (楊怡), Louis Yuen (阮兆祥), Raymond Lam (林峯), Chris Lai (黎諾懿), Fala Chen (陳法拉), Kate Tsui (徐子珊), Lee Sing Cheong (李成昌), Vincent Wan (溫家恆), etc.


19). In the Eye of the Beholder  秋香怒點唐伯虎 (2010)
Cast: Moses Chan (陳豪), Ha Yu (夏雨), Myolie Wu (胡杏兒), Fala Chen (陳法拉), Johnson Lee (李思捷), Savio Tsang (曾偉權), Chris Lai (黎諾懿), Elaine Yiu (姚子羚), etc.


20). Mysteries of Love 談情說案 (2010)
Cast: Raymond Lam (林峯), Tavia Yeung (楊怡), Kenneth Ma (馬國明), Bernice Liu (廖碧兒), Law Lok Lam (羅樂林), Evergreen Mak (麥長青), Jazz Lam (林子善), etc.


21). Yes Sir Sorry Sir  點解阿Sir係阿Sir (2011)
Cast: Moses Chan (陳豪), Tavia Yeung (楊怡), Linda Chung (鍾嘉欣), Ron Ng (吳卓羲), Savio Tsang (曾偉權), Law Lok Lam (羅樂林), Queenie Chu (朱慧敏), Lee Kwok Lun (李國麟), Ronald Law (羅鈞滿), Cilla Lok (樂瞳), Dickson Wong (黄得生), Brian Chu (朱敏瀚), etc.


22). Witness Insecurity 護花危情 (2012)
Cast: Bosco Wong (黃宗澤), Linda Chung (鍾嘉欣), Paul Chun (秦沛), Ram Tseung (蔣志光), Ronald Law (羅鈞滿), Cilla Lok (樂瞳), Queenie Chu (朱慧敏), Rachel Kan (簡慕華), Eric Li (李天翔), Lee Kwok Lun (李國麟), Geoffrey Wong (黃子雄), Savio Tsang (曾偉權), Yeung Ching Wah (楊證樺), Lee Yee Man (李綺雯), Jonathan Cheung (張穎康), etc.


23). Three Kingdoms RPG 回到三國 (2012)
Cast: Kenneth Ma (馬國明), Raymond Lam (林峯), Tavia Yeung (楊怡), Kaki Leung (梁嘉琪), Lee Kwok Lun (李國麟), Savio Tsang (曾偉權), Law Lok Lam (羅樂林), Jimmy Au (歐瑞偉), Lee Sing Cheong (李成昌), Ruco Chan (陳展鵬), etc.

4 comments:

  1. Hi llwy12, I am back from my mth long holi:) Thanks for this post to let me rant abt Mr Lau produced dramas:P I did watch Witness & RPG here & there while I am away. Such a die hard TVB fan, haha....Witness started of promising but ended up cliche & what a stupid ending (in the same league as Bottled Passion). Sorry lah, I didn't shed a single tear because their love story wasn't well developed for me to feel anything. Why must the rich daddy always have a dark past to come back to hunt him & bring conflict? This plot has been done to death. Can't Mr Lau just focus the story on the duty of Witness Protection unit & how it can affect love relationship & Linda's emotional problems affecting her r/s? The story just lost its plot midway thru.RPG so far is entertaining but the CGI is very cheap.TVB pls dun be so stingy.

    Mr Lau has never been one of my fav producer in TVB. None of his dramas made it to my top ten:P Some of those listed above are quite entertaining & tolerable whereas some are downright bad. He is not innovative, uses recycle or cliche plots & most of his dramas start off promising but just become train wreck in the middle.He loves to use Alex Man & Ray Lam to secure rating. No no, I am not a hater. I do find him competent as there are worse one in TVB but not exceptional. Actually I like his wife's dramas more eventhough they are of the smaller budget & comedy kind as I feel there is more heart in most of them.

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    1. @BOGAEfan: First off, my apologies for responding so late -- I've been extremely busy lately and fell behind on a bunch of things, so trying to catch up right now. But I guess a late response is better than no response, right?

      Oh, so you WERE on holiday -- no wonder I hadn't seen you around for awhile....I was starting to wonder what had happened to you! Glad to see you back!

      Ok, so with regard to the post....

      I'm actually not going to comment much on Witness Insecurity right now because I'm in the middle of writing a review for the series and would rather save my comments for that. It should be posted up in the next day or two, so we can discuss the series further at that time...As for 3 Kingdoms....sorry, but I gave up on that series already, primarily because the episodes I happened to watch were boring and then afterwards I got busy, so didn't bother going back to watch the series...

      Despite my post, I'm actually not too fond of LKH's dramas either (he's definitely not my favorite producer....in fact, I sort of feel that he is overrated as a producer). I like some of the series he produced back in the 80s and 90s (though none of those series would make my top ten list either), but I feel that the series he made in the "after 2000s" era were too formulaic and started looking the same after awhile. And despite all the 'hype' over HOG and MR (which are sort of considered his 'golden works' in the after 2000s era), I didn't like either series much to be honest --both series were too overdramatic and OTT for my liking (plus I wasn't too fond of the cast either -- the veterans were fine and I enjoyed their acting, but still, hearing them yell at each other for 40 episodes straight takes a toll on even the most tolerant of viewers...LOL). His wife Mui Siu Ching's series are definitely better in comparison -- plus there's more variety to her series (even though she also specializes in family dramas as well, but the more lighthearted kind), which I feel is important for a producer. I have more 'favorites' among MSC's series than I do among LKH's series.

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    2. Heehee, I've been busy catching up with work also so better late than never:P

      I read your review on Witness Insecurity but I won't leave any comment because I watched a bit here & there so I missed quite a fair bit so it is not appropriate for me to write anything except the ending. I didn't expect a happy ending but I expect one better executed & more logical. Maybe because I didn't watch fr beginning to end, I don't feel much for Linda & Bosco love story. Currently, I am engrossed in listening to Chinese audio books. I shed so much tears for the characters because they've been well written compared to this love story.Anyway very surprised that you like this drama:)

      I agree 3 Kingdoms is partly boring but also partly interesting because of some gutter jokes & ideas. I find it entertaining as I don't know the story of 3 Kingdoms & I can't remember watching any TVB drama based on it, not like those Qing drama which has been filmed to death.

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    3. @BOGAEfan: Haha...I definitely hear ya! I've been extremely busy with work recently as well (which is why I haven't been updating my blog as often either...just haven't had the time)....in fact, I've fallen so far behind on some stuff that it's probably impossible to catch up at this point....but oh well...I'll continue to do what I can...

      To be honest, I'm actually surprised myself that I liked WI so much too, especially given who the leads were and the fact that I generally have low tolerance for series that are all over the place like this one. Could be a timing thing though, since most of the series airing on TV recently (old and new) have been mediocre / boring and this one happened to capture my attention with the good first couple episodes, so I started to get 'into' it and stuck with it until the end (well, at least the writers did do something right in terms of making the opening of the series captivating and drawing viewers in with it -- that's one of the basic tenets of screenwriting that was drilled into my head over and over again back when I took screenwriting classes....LOL).

      Yea, the jokes in 3 Kingdoms are funny, especially given the 'time-travel' environment, but unfortunately, that wasn't enough to draw me into the series. Of course, if you compare the series to the overused Qing-themed dramas, the series is definitely a breath of fresh air, but still......besides, I've pretty much lost all confidence in TVB's comedy series because the last few ones that they've done (the ones I've watched, that is) were quite horrible and crude....to the point that I don't feel like watching TVB comedies anymore until they get their act together....

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