Top Ten HIGHEST and LOWEST Rated TVB Series from the past 15-20 years (Part 2)

As mentioned in my previous post, below is part 2 of the Singpao article recapping the highest and lowest rated TVB series from the past 2 decades or so.  Part 1 covered the HIGHEST rated series and now Part 2 covers the LOWEST rated ones. 

***NOTE:  If you haven't read part 1 yet, please do that first before continuing with part 2 because there are some 'disclaimers' in part 1 that are important to note.  Thanks!

I actually don’t have a whole lot to say about the series on the LOWEST rated list because frankly, I didn’t bother watching some of them because I was not interested.  But there are 2 series on the list that I DO want to ‘make a case’ for because I strongly feel that those 2 series were ‘victims’ of circumstances and probably wouldn’t be on this list if times were different.

The first series that I feel is sort of unjustified is Ultra Protection – granted, I only saw that series once and it was so long ago that I really don’t remember a whole lot about the series…but I do remember thinking to myself that the series actually was quite engaging and the performances were quite solid as well.  But of course, with the overwhelming popularity of Princess Pearl – a series that managed to take all of Asia by storm back then – I don’t think any series that TVB aired would have been able to compete.  Too bad for Ultra Protection, which ended up becoming the ‘sacrificial lamb’ in the ratings war between TVB and ATV.

The other series that I feel strongly about is The Intangible Truth.  I actually watched that series for the first time a few months back and even though I can totally understand why audiences might not like the series (because it definitely IS a very dark and depressing series), calling it ‘the worst’ series is absolutely ridiculous.   Sure, the theme might not have been too attractive and given the heavy political undertones in the series, it probably was a bad idea to make and air this series in the pre-handover era (especially in the mid-90s, when the anti-China sentiment was quite heavy in HK and many Hong Kongers were ‘dreading’ the impending return of HK to China in 1997).  With that said though, the biggest ‘redeeming quality’ for this series is its cast -- the stellar performances from majority of the cast in this series was enough to make me overlook the ‘dark’ theme and the political piece.  Roger Kwok actually gave one of the BEST performances of his career in this series (my humble opinion based on all the Roger series I’ve watched from the 80s til now) – not only that, the rest of the cast (including Esther, Sheren, Alex, So Hang Suen, Law Lok Lam, Lau Kong, Chun Wong, etc.) put in solid performances as well.  In fact, watching this series was an emotional roller coaster for me because there were times where I was so angry I wanted to slap some sense into the main characters for their ‘stubbornness’ yet at the same time, I felt so sad for their plight and couldn’t help crying with them during their moments of desperation.  Overall, this is actually a pretty good series that really should have been made post 1997 rather than prior….

Anyway…I will ask the same question that I did at the end of Part 1:  What are your thoughts on this list?  Agree? Disagree?  Shocked?  Don’t care?

.*******.

Top Ten LOWEST Rated TVB Series

Source:  Singpao

Translation: llwy12

A few months ago, when the finale for popular TVB series Triumph in the Skies II (衝上雲霄II) aired, it was able to pull in average ratings of 38 points, peaking at 41 points, which marked the first time in at least 2 years that TVB was able to break its ‘dismal’ ratings trend.  Unfortunately, most of the series aired after that, including the recent highly touted SDU-themed thriller Sniper Standoff (神鎗狙擊) were not able to keep up the momentum, with not a single series able to break the 30 point mark in ratings.

Earlier, we (Singpao) did a recap on TVB’s Top Ten HIGHEST rated series [from the past 20 years] – now let’s take a look at the opposite side of the spectrum and recap TVB’s ten LOWEST rated series from the same time period.   

Through a look back at TVB’s highest and lowest rated series, several conclusions can be drawn, one of which is this:  TVB’s ‘habitual ratings’ (慣性收視) phenomenon has helped them stay in the forefront of the HK television industry the past few decades and will likely continue to play a huge role in helping them maintain that status in the future, however relying on this phenomenon alone is unlikely to benefit them in the long run.  TVB needs to put much more thought into deciding what types of series to produce – a wrong move in this area could cause them to lose significant audience support as reflected in the ratings.

Rankings and summary below (note that this list should be read differently from the HIGHEST rated series list; the higher the ranking on the below list, the lower the ratings):

1^st PLACE:   Dressage to Win (盛裝舞步愛作戰) [2008] – averaged 14 points, peaked at 20 points

This equestrian-themed series was one of TVB’s rare attempts at bringing Taiwan’s ‘youthful idol series’ genre to Hong Kong audiences.  Starring Andy Hui (許志安), Mandy Lieu, Michelle Wai (衛詩雅), Ken Hung (洪卓立), etc., this series was the 3^rd installment in TVB’s popular ‘Four Leaf Clover (四葉草)’ franchise. [The first installment was Hearts of Fencing (當四葉草碰上劍尖時) in 2003 and second installment was Sunshine Heartbeat (赤沙印記＠四葉草2) in 2004].  The series aired in May of 2008 and with average ratings (for the entire series) of only 14 points, it ‘tops’ the list as TVB’s lowest rated series, perhaps of all time.

2^nd PLACE:  ICAC Investigators 2007 (廉政行動2007) [2007] – averaged 17 points, peaked at 20 points

Spanning a total of 5 episodes, this series was one of TVB’s many collaborations with HK’s ICAC bureau that followed the usual format of multiple individualized stories making up the entire series.  With TVB’s director of production Tommy Leung (梁家樹) personally serving as producer alongside ICAC Media Relations Bureau Supervisor Law Heung Lan (羅香蘭) as co-producer, the series brought together a varying ensemble cast comprised of popular veterans such as Sunny Chan (陳錦鴻), Michael Miu (苗僑偉), etc. as well as younger favorites such as Teresa Fu (傅穎), Shirley Yeung (楊思琦), etc., with the cast rotating from one episode to the next.  The series aired starting in October 2006, however it was only able to pull in average ratings of 17 points – by far the lowest amongst the many ICAC-themed productions.

3^rd PLACE:  Colours of Love (森之愛情) [2007] – averaged 17 points, peaked at 19 points

This series was TVB’s adaptation of Commercial Radio’s (CRHK) idol drama series of the same name.  Produced by variety program veteran Fok Jak Kei (霍澤基), this 10 episode series also followed the ‘short story’ format and featured CRHK’s popular DJs Sammy Leung (森美) and Kitty Yuen (阮小儀) starring as the main leads.   Though the series boasted a cast of popular female idols from the television, movie, and music industries such as Ivana Wong (王菀之), Stephy Tang (鄧麗欣), Charlene Choi (蔡卓妍), Fiona Sit (薛凱琪), Niki Chow (周麗淇), Fala Chen (陳法拉), Miriam Yeung (楊千嬅), etc. in lead roles for each episode, that did not help the ratings much, as the series only managed to rake in 19 points at its peak.

4^th PLACE:  Dropping by Cloud Nine (你們我們他們) [2011] – averaged 20 points, peaked at 21 points

Adapted from Taiwanese author Jimmy Liao’s (幾米) novel of the same name, this series was helmed by TVB’s variety program supervisor Ho Siu Wai (何小慧). [TN:  Ho Siu Wai was responsible for most of TVB’s large scale variety programs such as Miss HK Pageants, Tung Wah Charity shows, etc.]  Despite being one of the ‘recommended’ series during TVB’s 2008/2009 Sales Presentation as well as boasting a leading cast of popular favorites such as Ron Ng (吳卓羲), Kate Tsui (徐子珊), Mag Lam (林欣彤), Jacqueline Chong (莊思敏), and Taiwanese idol Figaro Tseng (曾少宗), the 10 episode series was only able to muster a dismal 20 points average ratings.

5^th PLACE:  Gentle Reflections (恨鎖金瓶) [1994] – averaged 21 points, peaked at 24 points

As the TVB adaptation of the ancient Chinese classical novel The Plum in the Golden Vase (金瓶梅), this 20 episode series starred Pal Sinn (單立文) as ‘Ximen Qing’ and Irene Wan (潘金蓮) as ‘Pan Jinlian’ alongside a strong cast that included Kenix Kwok (郭可盈), Liu Kai Chi (廖啟智), Patrick Tam (譚耀文), Savio Tsang (曾偉權), Gordon Lam (林家棟), etc.  Unfortunately, even a strong cast was not able to save the series from becoming a ratings disaster, averaging only 21 points throughout its 4 week run.

6^th PLACE:  Ultra Protection (非常保鑣) [1999] – averaged 21 points, peaked at 22 points

This 20 episode modern day crime drama was helmed by ‘golden’ producer Mui Siu Ching (梅小青) and featured a stellar cast comprised of Bowie Lam (林保怡), Marianne Chan (陳妙瑛), Eddie Cheung (張兆輝), Steven Ma (馬浚偉), etc.  With its popular ‘cop thriller’ theme and solid cast, the series had all the makings of becoming a hit -- unfortunately, it was given a timeslot that ended up sinking the series before it had a chance to prove itself.  When the series aired in August 1999, it was pitted up against Taiwan’s runaway hit Princess Pearl (還珠格格), which rival station ATV had bought the rights to broadcast -- in the face of stiff competition from a series that was so popular throughout all of Asia, Ultra Protection ended up failing miserably in the ratings department [TN:  this was one of the few times in HK television history where ATV actually beat TVB in terms of ratings].  In a desperate effort to salvage its ratings, TVB decided to air the new season of the hugely popular game show Super Trio (驚天動地獎門人), hosted by Eric Tsang (曾志偉), right after Ultra Protection finished airing.

7^th PLACE:  Dragon Love (人龍傳說) [1999] -- averaged 21 points, peaked at 22 points

Produced by Marco Law (羅永賢), this 20 episode ancient romance drama starred Benny Chan (陳浩民), Fennie Yuen (袁潔瑩), Chin Kar Lok (錢嘉樂), Nicola Cheung (張燊悅), Michael Tse (謝天華), etc.  In ‘recovery’ mode after being ‘pummeled’ by ATV in the ratings department for the first time in 30 years, TVB decided to air this series in September 1999, right after Princess Pearl finished airing on ATV.  As ‘counter-attack’, ATV decided to ride on the momentum that Princess Pearl had generated just a few weeks back by airing the sequel to the popular series, Princess Pearl II, in the same timeslot.  Of course, the result was just as they expected -- Dragon Love’s ratings were hugely affected and the series ended up suffering the same fate as the series that aired before it:  average ratings of 21 points, peaking at 22 points.

8^th PLACE:  The Intangible Truth (生死訟) [1994] – averaged 21 points, peaked at 21 points

Written and produced by renowned veteran scriptwriter/producer Tsang Gan Cheung (曾謹昌), The Intangible Truth boasted a stellar cast of fine actors such as Roger Kwok (郭晉安), Esther Kwan (關詠荷), Sheren Tang (鄧萃雯), Alex Fong (方中信), So Hang Suen (蘇杏璇), Law Lok Lam (羅樂林), etc.   Unfortunately though, with its plot revolving around Mainland China’s criminal court system and the ‘melodramatic to the point of depressing’ story line, the series was very poorly received by audiences at that time.  Not only did the series pull in the lowest ratings of all series aired that year, it was also dubbed ‘the worst series’ because of its overly dark theme.

9^th PLACE:  Beauty at War (金枝欲孽貳) [2013] – averaged 21 points, peaked at 26 points

Prior to its broadcast, Beauty at War was originally met with huge anticipation – of course, this was primarily due to its position as the sequel to the tremendously successful War and Beauty (金枝欲孽) back in 2003, whose finale episode garnered a record breaking [at that time] 40 points average ratings, peaking at 44 points, thereby cementing the series’ status in history as the most ‘classic’ of palace fighting-themed dramas.  Unfortunately, the sequel itself did not live up to expectations.  With its storyline revolving around ‘rumors’ and ‘dreams’, the sequel took a completely different approach from its predecessor and instead, attempted to ‘explain’ the events that occurred in the first installment as merely ‘a figment of one’s imagination’.  After the series aired to disastrously low ratings, analyses were done that indicated the low ratings were primarily due to the complex, difficult to understand script, which caused audiences to lose interest.  In the end, the series averaged 21 points, peaking at 26 points.

10^th PLACE:  A Stage of Turbulence (刀馬旦) [1995] – averaged 22 points, peaked at ???

This 20 episode pre-modern series starring Sunny Chan (陳錦鴻) and singer Vivian Chow (周慧敏) revolved around the trials and tribulations of a Cantonese opera troupe in China.  The theme song Confidante (紅顏知己) was sung by lead actress Vivian Chow and the series itself was actually TVB’s 28^th year anniversary series.  However, despite its strong cast and ‘anniversary series’ status, the only managed to pull in average ratings of 22 points.

REPOST: Top Ten HIGHEST and LOWEST Rated TVB Series from the past 15-20 years (Part 1)

This article was actually written back in September 2013 and I had actually already posted up Part 1 not too long after the original article was published, however, before I got a chance to post up Part 2, I got sidetracked with the whole free TV license thing.  Now that things have settled a bit, I finally found some time to translate Part 2 – therefore, I figured it would be best to ‘re-post’ Part 1 so that people can read both parts together….besides, there are some important ‘disclaimers’ that I wrote when I posted Part 1 initially that also apply to Part 2 – this way, I don’t have to repeat myself for Part 2…LOL.

Anyway….those who didn’t get a chance to read Part 1 can do so now.  Part 2 will follow right after this…

.******.

Here’s an article that I came across earlier in the week.  It’s kind of a ‘two-parter’ special feature of sorts where Singpao (newspaper in HK) counts down the Top 10 highest rated and lowest rated TVB series from the past 15-20 years (the article doesn’t specify the dates, but based on the content, looks like the oldest series is from 1992).

I actually didn’t get the chance to ‘vet’ this article yet to see how ‘credible’ the information is – therefore, please take this article for what it is and don’t get too worked up if certain series are not on the list and you feel they should be (and vice versa).   I personally won’t vouch for the information in this article, but I will say this – I definitely have heard about a few of the series on the list having high or low ratings in the past, so there weren’t too many ‘shockers’ for me when I first read the article (for example:  The Intangible Truth being on the ‘lowest rated’ series list and Square Pegs being on the ‘highest rated’ series list are both accurate for sure, as the star of both series -- Roger Kwok -- had talked about this several years ago on his Be My Guest interview with Stephen Chan).

The one part I question about this article is the timeframe – I wish that it were more clearly defined.  It would make sense to say that the series were all from the past 15 years or so (late 90s to post-2000s), but then they threw in the series Key Man in there, which is from 1992  (which is why I threw the ‘20’ in the title of this post) – true, that was the only early 90s series on the list, but still, makes me wonder about the gap in timeframe.

Anyway, one thing to note – both the ‘highest’ and ‘lowest’ lists only count the ‘top ten’ series….so just because a series didn’t make the list doesn’t mean that it had good or bad ratings – it just didn’t get a ‘placement’ on the list based on mathematical calculation.  I emphasize this point because some people may misread the title and think that this is one of those ‘highest/lowest of all time’ type countdown, which is definitely NOT the case – there are actually NO 1980s or early 1990s series on this list at all.  [As a sidenote:  If you would like an idea of what the top rated TVB series were from the 1970s to early 1990s (1991 or so), check out this particular blog post that I wrote several years back – it’s a recap of the ‘top rated series countdown’ that TVB did themselves during one of their Anniversary Galas (complete with a video excerpt from the gala itself!): TVB 28th Anniversary Gala]

Back to the article…..part 1 will cover the ‘highest rated’ series while Part 2 will cover the ‘lowest rated’ series. (Again, both lists were put together by Singpao – I’m not too familiar with that particular newspaper, so not sure how ‘trustworthy’ it is…therefore, please don’t shoot me if the information is wrong….)

What are your thoughts on this list?  Agree?  Disagree?  Shocked?  Don’t care?

.****.

Top Ten HIGHEST Rated TVB Series 

Source:  Singpao

Translation: llwy12

In recent years, there has been an obvious downward trend in the ratings for TVB series.  Some of the criticisms towards TVB series that have arisen over the years include poor production quality, accusations of ‘copying’ ideas from other series, plot and story arcs being too ‘heavy taste’, etc. – the result is that TVB series have lost a lot of their previous luster and appeal.  In addition, the rapid advancement of technology such as the Internet -- which gives audiences the choice of viewing series online rather than on television -- plus TVB’s recent switch to a different ratings measurement company, all contributed to majority of TVB’s series not being able to reach the 30 point mark in the past year.  In fact, it has gotten to the point where even TVB’s own ‘TV King’ and ‘TV Queen’ winners aren’t able to pull the station out of its ratings rut, as evidenced by the disastrous ratings that both Bullet Brain (神探高倫布) [starring 3-time TV King winner Wayne Lai (黎耀祥)] and Beauty at War (金枝慾孽貳) [starring 2-time TV Queen winner Sheren Tang (鄧萃雯)] garnered.  With all these factors combined together, it’s no wonder that so many people have called into question the relevancy of TVB’s series in recent years.  It wasn’t until this past summer when the airline-themed Triumph in the Skies II (衝上雲霄II) finally aired that TVB was able to regain their lost ground in the ratings department – unfortunately though, since the series was a sequel to their hit series from 10 years ago and brought many of the characters back from the original series, it can be said that the ratings increase was partially due to the popularity of the original.

Given the recent ratings situation, we (Singpao) decided to put together a list of TVB’s highest rated series from the past 15 years or so to ‘reminisce’ together with our readers.  However, one interesting thing to note is that even the number one highest rated HK series on the list could not reach the ‘ratings peak’ that Korean drama Jewel in the Palace (大長今) created when it aired on TVB back in 2005.

Rankings and summary below:

1^st PLACE:  Square Pegs (戇夫成龍) [2003] – averaged 37 points, peaked at 46 points

Set in the late Qing / early Republic era, this series aired at the end of 2002 going into early 2003 and starred Roger Kwok (郭晉安), Jessica Hsuan (宣萱), Raymond Cho (曹永廉), Winnie Yeung (楊婉儀), Yuen Wah (元華), etc.  Not only did the series garner the highest overall ratings (based on calculation), it also proved to pay off greatly for the series’ lead actor Roger Kwok, as he won both the TV King and Favorite TV Male Character awards at that year’s (2003) Anniversary Gala for his performance, which catapulted him once again to the height of his career.  In 2005, the sequel Life Made Simple (阿旺新傳) was made, which was set in the modern era and re-assembled many of the same cast members from the original series – unfortunately though, the series was not able to achieve the type of record-setting success that its predecessor did.

2^nd PLACE:  Return of the Cuckoo (十月初五的月光) [2000] – averaged 36 points, peaked at 46 points

At the mention of this series, the first thing most people will probably remember is Julian ‘Chilam’ Cheung’s (張智霖) character Brother Chor (初哥哥).  Set against the backdrop of one of Macau’s most famous streets (Rua de Cinco de Outubro十月初五街), the main plot of the series revolved around both family love and romance.

In addition to setting ratings records at the time, the series also received quite a few awards, including the Best Serial Drama award from Taiwan’s APTV as well as various awards at TVB’s Anniversary Awards Gala, such as the ‘Favorite Television Character’ award for Chilam Cheung, Charmaine Sheh (佘詩曼), and Nancy Sit (薛家燕) [TN: the Favorite Character award back then was given out to as many as 10-15 artists in a given year] and also the ‘Favorite On-screen Partners – Drama Series’ award for Chilam and Charmaine.

The series also successfully cemented lead actress Charmaine Sheh’s ‘first line fadan’ status at TVB; at the same time, Chilam Cheung’s theme song for the series, Wishing Kwan Well (祝君好) became an instant hit and even today, enjoys a status as one of TVB’s most popular, ‘classic’ love ballads.

3^rd PLACE:  Armed Reaction 2 (陀槍師姐II) [2000] – averaged 36 points, peaked at 47 points

Fans who enjoy watching the ‘magical’ chemistry between ‘golden’ pairing Bobby Au Yeung (歐陽震華) and Esther Kwan (關詠荷) can check out their latest collaboration Always and Ever (情逆三世緣) [which just finished airing on TVB].  But when it comes to recounting one of the most representative, ‘classic’ collaborations between these two, the Armed Reaction (陀槍師姐) franchise is definitely at the top of most audience’s lists.   Set in the modern era, the first installment to this police comedy/drama franchise originally aired in 1998 to almost instant popularity, resulting in a sequel to be made in 2000 that not only reunited the entire original cast, it also continued the story exactly where the original left off.  In an interesting twist, the ratings for the second installment far surpassed the original -- not only did the series break ratings records for franchised series, it also shattered the widely held notion that sequels are never as good as the originals.  The franchise also expanded its reach into Taiwan at one point and was well-received there as well.

The characters in the series also left a deep impression with audiences – Esther Kwan’s Ngor Jeh and Joyce Tang’s (滕麗明) Sam Yue’ were especially memorable and can be considered both actresses’ most ‘representative’ performances.

4^th PLACE:  Time Before Time (大鬧廣昌隆) [1997] – averaged 36 points, peaked at 46 points

Starring Gordon Lam (林家棟), Kathy Chow (周海媚), Florence Kwok (郭少芸), etc., this pre-modern ‘supernatural’ themed series premiered in 1997 with a plot that revolved around the romance between ‘Ah Gwong’ (Gordon) and a ‘ghost’ named ‘Siu Fu Yong’ (Kathy) who resides in an umbrella.  Even though the series was technically a ‘ghost story’, the underlying message was actually about interpersonal relationships (whether between family, friends, lovers, etc.) – resulting in a story that resonated on an emotional level with audiences.

5^th PLACE:  Journey to the West (西遊記) [1996] – averaged 36 points, peaked at 43 points

Starring Dicky Cheung (張衛健) in the lead role as the Monkey King, Journey to the West first premiered in 1996.  In 1998, the series was rebroadcast on TVB’s Jade Pearl channel [TN: TVB’s English language channel] in both English and Cantonese – that same year, a sequel to the iconic series, Journey to the West II, debuted on TVB’s Jade channel, however this time around, Dicky’s starring role was replaced by fellow actor Benny Chan (陳浩民).

Journey to the West was an important series in many aspects, but one of its biggest ‘contributions’ was that it shot each of the main actors in the series to almost instant stardom, including ‘Monkey King Sun WuKong’ Dicky Cheung, ‘Tang Sanzang’ Kong Wah (江華), ‘Zhu Bajie’ Wayne Lai (黎耀祥), and ‘Sha Wujing’ Evergreen Mak (麥長青).  The series proved to be immensely popular with audiences, especially the younger crowd – back when the series aired, audiences throughout HK could be heard repeating Dicky Cheung’s ‘golden phrase’ from the series:  “Yo!  Nothing to be afraid of!” [Yo！使乜驚呀！]

6^th PLACE:  Detective Investigation Files III (刑事偵緝檔案III) [1997] – averaged 36 points, peaked at 44 points

When it comes to cop series, the entire Detective Investigation Files franchise can be counted as a ‘classic’ that was immensely popular with audiences back then and continues to be even now.  Back in 1995, the first installment in the franchise debuted to stellar ratings, prompting a sequel to be filmed immediately and aired in December that same year, thereby making DIF the first franchise in TVB history to have both its original and sequel air within the same year.  The 3^rd installment of the franchise – the last one with the original cast from the first 2 installments -- aired in 1997 and broke ratings records.  In addition, the DIF franchise also succeeded in cementing star Michael Tao’s (陶大宇) status as a lead actor – he also became especially popular amongst TVB’s female audiences, earning him the title of ‘housewife killer’ (a title he shared with fellow actor and close friend Bobby AuYeung 歐陽震華).

7^th PLACE:  The Key Man (巨人) [1992] – averaged 36 points, peaked at 43 points 

Out of the 10 series on this list, 1992’s The Key Man can be considered the one that dates back the longest.  Many of the artists who participated in this series became ‘stars’ in their own right – amongst them including Alex Man (萬梓良), Louise Lee (李司棋), Idy Chan (陳玉蓮), Monica Chan (陳法蓉), Dicky Cheung (張衛健), Cutie Mui (梅小惠), etc.  With its storyline surrounding the complicated love/hate relationships between several generations of 2 families, The Key Man can be considered a ‘model’ for classic, family conflict themed modern series.  In addition, this series started the ‘trend’ of series that revolved around business world conflicts and battles amongst families – a theme that was pushed to its ultimate peak with TVB’s famous classic The Greed of Man (大時代), which aired later that year.  This series can also be considered one of veteran actor Alex Man’s most representative works.

8^th PLACE:  War of the Genders (男親女愛) [2000] – averaged 35 points, peaked at 50 points

Every time comedian Dayo Wong (黃子華) films a series for TVB, it almost always garners attention and becomes a hot discussion topic -- in this way, he is absolutely a ‘ratings guarantee’.   In 2000, Dayo teamed up with Dodo Cheng (鄭裕玲), Marsha Yuen (原子鏸), Patrick Tang (鄧健泓), etc. in a situational comedy (sitcom) called War of the Genders that not only became an immensely popular ‘classic’, it also ‘smashed’ ratings records when it peaked at 50 points near the latter part of the series.  War of the Genders was the first TVB series to reach the 50 point mark in ratings and shares the record as being one of only 4 series that have been able to achieve this so far. [TN:  The other series were:  Korean drama Jewel in the Palace (大長今), which aired on TVB in 2005, 2008’s Moonlight Resonance (溏心風暴之家好月圓), and 2009’s Beyond the Realm of Conscience (宮心計)].  In addition, this was one of the few TVB series that was also turned into a stage musical not long after its successful television run, thereby allowing audiences to enjoy the hilarious antics of the cast and the humorous story all over again.

9^th PLACE:   Moonlight Resonance (溏心風暴之家好月圓) [2008] – averaged 35 points, peaked at 50 points

Billed as the ‘sequel’ to 2007’s grand production Heart of Greed (溏心風暴), Moonlight Resonance went down in the history books as one of HK’s highest rated series ever.  With its huge ensemble cast comprised of TV veterans such as Ha Yu (夏雨), Louise Lee (李司棋), Susanna Kwan (關菊英), Michelle Yim (米雪), Lee Heung Kam (李香琴) as well as popular idols such as Raymond Lam (林峯), Moses Chan (陳豪), Linda Chung (鍾嘉欣), Tavia Yeung (楊怡), etc., the series not only lived up to the ‘success’ of its predecessor Heart of Greed, it also far surpassed it in terms of ratings and popularity.  Further to re-assembling most of the original cast from the first installment, the sequel also boasted the addition of popular artists such as future 3-time TV King Wayne La, Kate Tsui (徐子珊), etc.

10^th PLACE:  Beyond the Realm of Conscience (宮心計) [2009] – averaged 35 points, peaked at 50 points

Due to its ancient series genre and palace conflict theme, Beyond the Realm of Conscience has often been compared to TVB’s 2004 hit palace series War and Beauty (金枝慾孽) since it debuted 4 years ago.  At TVB’s Anniversary Awards ceremony in 2009, the battle for TV Queen ended up coming down to a heated race between BTROC’s Tavia Yeung (楊怡) and veteran actress Sheren Tang (鄧萃雯), who was nominated for her phenomenal performance in Rosy Business (巾幗梟雄) [coincidentally, Sheren had also starred in War and Beauty back in 2004 and was widely viewed as having been ‘robbed’ of the TV Queen award that year for her stellar portrayal of Concubine Yu in the series].  In the end, Sheren triumphed by winning the coveted TV Queen award for her portrayal of Fourth Mistress in Rosy Business while Tavia took home the Favorite Female TV Character award for her performance in BTROC.

Article: Hong Kong dramas dethroned

Very interesting article that I happened to come across earlier today.  I’m actually not familiar with this particular Media site, but from what I can tell, it’s a Mainland news outlet, so the articles will undoubtedly have a Mainland spin to them.

In any case, I decided to share this article because it actually highlights the same sentiment that I’ve had towards the HK television industry for the past 15 years or so.  Most people probably know that I’ve been ‘following’ the HK television industry (and the entire entertainment scene as a whole) since the 1980s era and my parents have been ‘following’ since the 1960s, so collectively, we share several decades worth of ‘investment’ in the industry.  So of course, it goes without saying that having to watch the industry deteriorate the way it has the past 15-20 years has definitely been painful and heartbreaking.   I don’t mean to sound pessimistic, as it definitely hasn’t been all bad and no good – but unfortunately, the ‘bad’ has outweighed the ‘good’ for many years already and it has gotten to the point where it’s hard not to lose hope (especially with the recent events surrounding the free TV license controversy). 

Some people have asked me why I even bother with the HK entertainment industry anymore, especially given how badly it has deteriorated and how disappointed I have become towards it nowadays.  Well, it’s hard to give a simple answer, since there are a boatload of reasons why I’m still so concerned about the industry (and listing them all out will probably take forever) – but one reason I will state is that, even though the industry might be ‘dying a slow death’ in my eyes, the fact of the matter is that it’s still not ‘dead’ yet.  There are still people in the industry I care greatly about (artists I grew up watching for example) and as long as those people continue to exist, I will continue to ‘follow’ the industry (albeit not as ‘closely’ as I used to). 

And of course, there are always the memories of the ‘good old days’ -- that ‘golden era’ when the industry was flourishing and all aspects of the HK entertainment world (TV, music, movies, etc.) were worth experiencing.   Back then, the TV programs were better, the movies were better, the music was better, the people were better – everything all around was better!   Sometimes, when I feel particularly frustrated or disappointed with the industry and am to the point where I want to give up, those memories of ‘how it used to be’ come flowing back and it restores my hope just a little.  Yes, you can say that it’s a ‘coping mechanism’ for me, but hey, if it works, why not?

Anyway, for those fellow HK television fans reading this article – try not to get too depressed after reading it….after all, it’s just entertainment, right?

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Hong Kong dramas dethroned

Source:  The Global Times

Scenes from Hong Kong TV's heyday (from top): The Legend of the Condor Heroes, At the Threshold of an Era and The Legendary Fok

The Hong Kong TV industry has been in the news not for its popularity but rather its decline. Hong Kong's TV dramas have long been a symbol of Hong Kong's culture and economic prosperity. From the 1960s on, the industry enjoyed four decades of sizzling stars and innovative ideas promoted by Hong Kong TV stations like Television Broadcasts (TVB). The industry stood as a standard for all of Asia.

Yet, all these are now statements in the past tense. Along with the dwindling viewership, various critics are mourning the fall of the Hong Kong TV industry.  


The glory days

Like its economic development, the TV industry in Hong Kong experienced a golden age in the 1980s. Asia Television (ATV) and TVB are the two biggest and most widely-known free-to-watch stations in Hong Kong. The two dominated the market after Commercial Television (CTV) shuttered in 1978.

Founded in 1957, ATV is the longest-established TV station among the three. TVB was founded in 1967 by Hong Kong media mogul Run Run Shaw. Fierce competition between the two allowed the industry to flourish.  

Immigrating to Hong Kong with his whole family in the early 1980s, Li Zhi (pseudonym), like many Hong Kong citizens, grew up watching local programs. Every evening as a child, he would sit in front of the TV with his parents and switch on TVB Jade. 

Li can still recall some of the scenes from the 1981 version of Legendary Fok, a 20-episode drama produced by ATV. 

They would curse a little bit whenever there was a hokey plot in the soap operas.

"When we first moved to Hong Kong, we watched ATV more. There were not many choices then, but many of the dramas produced by the two TV stations were very good," Li said.

Compared with the dull, poorly-produced works of the Chinese mainland then, shows from Hong Kong sparkled and were widely watched, especially by young people. For example, the 1983 version of The Legend of the Condor Heroes is still a good memory for many Chinese mainland audiences now in their 30s and 40s.

A number of talented actors and actresses were brought up during this time as well. Household names like Chow Yun-Fat, Carina Lau and Andy Lau were all being trained at that time. These stars later contributed a great deal to the Hong Kong TV and film industry.


Hackneyed and forsaken

The glory days lasted until the 1990s, though there were already signs of decline in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

"You can see from the statistics, the audience rating of Hong Kong TV programs keeps going downhill from the late 1980s on," Anthony Y. H. Fung, director of the School of Journalism and Communication at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, told The Time Weekly. 

But the dwindling appeal really became apparent a decade or so ago, when South Korean and Taiwanese dramas swept the Chinese mainland.

In research conducted by Hong Kong's Office of the Communications Authority earlier this year, ATV was criticized for too often broadcasting reruns of old dramas and biased news reports.

Li's first reaction to this buzz around ATV was, "Is there anyone who still watches?"

TVB has been condemned for formulaic dramas. Some netizens deride the so-called "TVB styles." For example, lines like, "As a human, the most important thing is to be happy," and "Why not have some noodle?" were once heartwarming in the old days, but after being widely used for several decades, they have become jokes.  

"TV markets around the world are shrinking, except for the places where the Chinese are living, because the Chinese love to watch TV dramas," Chow Yuk-ming, a renowned scriptwriter who worked at TVB for nearly 20 years, told The Time Weekly. "The frequent turnover at ATV made TVB the monopoly over the recent two decades. [In a market with little competition,] quality is guaranteed to go down." 

Chow has created a number of TV dramas with both high ratings and critical acclaim, such as Cold Blood Warm Heart (1996) and At the Threshold of an Era (1999).

In 2012, he left TVB and moved north to the Chinese mainland with a number of others in the TV industry, though he said there was "no special reason." 

"I wanted a change in my working environment," he said.

TVB is not only losing its drama makers, but its stars as well. The mainland TV industry is attracting numbers of Hong Kong actors and actresses.

As The Time Weekly described, TVB is facing the biggest shortage of stars in 40 years.


Effect on the film industry

The downfall of Hong Kong TV was accompanied almost simultaneously by an ebb in the film industry.

Li Qing (pseudonym), a student at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, told The Time Weekly that though 90 percent of the academy's students ultimately go into the film industry, they all know TV and film industries have their ups and downs. 

Looking back over the past 40 years, it is not difficult to see the supporting function Hong Kong's TV industry has played for its film industry.

"Almost all the scriptwriters and directors of the early Hong Kong film industry came from TV," Fung said. "Therefore the death of the TV industry indicates an end to the film industry."

While many of the veterans move northward, it is difficult for young beginners to follow the same way, Li added.

"The best way to train the young people is with the TV shows," Li said. "A film cannot provide the same work experience." 

Latest update on Free TV License Issue: Special Powers Motion Gets Defeated

I’m sure everyone already heard by now, but just to close the loop on this issue (for now), here are the latest articles from SCMP summarizing yesterday’s Legislative Council meeting.

Also, based on other articles I’ve read about the issue (in Chinese news sources), looks like now we know for sure that the Central government in Beijing had a hand in the license decision.  After the Legco special powers motion was defeated yesterday, a few legislators admitted to being contacted by people from the Central government on Wednesday (prior to the voting on Thursday) wanting to ‘discuss’ their thoughts on the issue (which, reading between the lines, meant that the Central government was trying to influence their vote and sway them to vote in favor of the government).  Some lawmakers stood firm in their vote (one lawmaker said he still voted for the motion despite being contacted) while others changed their votes last minute.  

Also, there was a group of several hundred pro-government protesters present at Wednesday’s rally in front of government headquarters (keep in mind that in the week long protests that HKTV supporters had a few weeks ago, not once did they encounter such a huge group of opposition).  These protesters all wore yellow shirts and held up red signs with Central government’s logo on it – they were heckling the HKTV supporters there and calling anyone who supported the motion a ‘traitor’.  The situation almost got out of hand too, as this group kept shouting insults at those present, most likely in the hopes of instigating some sort of fight – they were partially ‘successful’ in that they got some people engaged in shouting matches with them, but luckily the police stepped in to put a stop to things before they escalated further.

When Commerce Secretary Gregory So was asked about the above, especially the fact that several legislators admitted to being contacted by Central government, Mr. So dodged the question and would only vaguely answer that he’s ‘just trying to do his job’.

Also, one of the lawmakers who admitted to being contacted by Central government (architectural sector lawmaker Paul Tse, who is mentioned in the below article -- though they got his name wrong) said on a radio show later that night that HK people need to face reality when it comes to government -- he said that there are many people out there who think that CY Leung always does his own thing and makes brash decisions on his own, but in reality, he actually doesn’t have much power (he wouldn’t say it directly, but he’s basically implying that CY Leung is being controlled by the Mainland government – honestly though, he might as well come out and say it because it’s not like we don’t already know – the majority sentiment out there is that CY Leung is a ‘puppet’ of the Mainland government).

Anyway…so what is the next step?  Most likely judicial review....how long this issue will drag out in the judiciary system, no one knows….however, one thing is absolutely certain:  until this issue gets resolved, both of the free TV licenses that were issued to NowTV and i-Cable will continue to be ‘on hold’.  In other words, we are pretty much back to being ‘status quo’ where free TV is concerned:  TVB will continue to enjoy its monopoly while ATV will continue to be, well, the best way to put it – an embarrassment to the TV industry.

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Article 1:  

Legco bid for HKTV licence probe defeated

Source:  South China Morning Post

A bid to launch a special Legislative Council investigation into the HKTV licence row was defeated in the Legislative Council on Thursday.

The vote came after 12 hours of debate by lawmakers and a protest outside the Legco building on Wednesday night that saw thousands of people voice their support for an investigation.

The bid to investigate came after weeks of heated debate on why HKTV's application for a free-to-air TV licence was not approved while those of iCable's Fantastic Television and PCCW's Hong Kong Television Entertainment Company were.

The failed investigation bid disappointed the approximately 400 protesters, including HKTV staff and their supporters,  watching the debate and vote outside the Legco building via a live TV broadcast on Thursday.

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Article 2:

Government looks set to defeat motion calling for TV licence probe

Source:  SCMP

A bid to launch a special Legislative Council investigation into television licence row faces defeat today after a group of wavering lawmakers last night decided to vote with the government against a pan-democrat motion.

As thousands opposed to the controversial government decision to refuse Ricky Wong Wai-kay's Hong Kong Television a free-to-air television licence protested outside government headquarters, the momentum inside the Legco chamber swung towards the government.

Hours of debate ended without a vote, but barring a remarkable numerical turnaround, the motion to invoke Legco's special investigative powers and spark an investigation into the decision will fail today - and the battle will move to the courts.

Last night's drama followed dissatisfaction at Tuesday's attempt by the government to explain its decision to grant licences only to PCCW's Hong Kong Television Entertainment Company and iCable's Fantastic Television.

It said concerns over "the dilution of advertising revenue" in an overcrowded free-to-air market gave it reason to limit the number of licences granted.

Earlier yesterday, the attempt to force the government to reveal the reasons behind its decision by invoking the powers and privileges ordinance was three votes short in the 35-member functional constituency, after industrial lawmaker Lam Tai-fai decided to vote for the motion.

By last night, three non-affiliated functional lawmakers - Chan Kin-por, Poon Siu-ping and Tony Tse Wai-chuen - were still wavering but the eight votes in from the Business Professional Alliance grouping look to have swung it for the government.

Cultural lawmaker Ma Fung-kwok, who expressed discontent at the government's handling of the row, said: "There is a strong voice in the industry urging me to vote for the motion, but this is against my beliefs.

Resorting to the court for a judicial review is a better option to corner the government," he said.

Amid frantic pre-vote lobbying, the government deployed about 20 officials at the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau to ensure enough votes to veto the motion.

The pro-establishment camp expressed disappointment towards government despite most of them opposing the motion.

Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen, leader of Business and Professionals Alliance, said the TV licence row would harm the government's ability to implement future policies.

"We really hope the government can learn from its mistakes," said Leung. "They should listen to the people ... the public deserve a choice and there's a wide consensus that the current TV programmes are awful."

Separately, Executive Council convenor Lam Woon-kwong yesterday said it would be best to leave the case to the judiciary.

"The court, as an institution with high credibility, could then review if the government's arguments and procedures in granting licences are reasonable," he said, adding this would be fairer to all parties involved.


Meanwhile, private citizen Lee Yeung-kwong has sought a judicial review of the government's decision - the second such court challenge mounted by a private citizen in as many days.