TVB series “When Heaven Burns 天與地” (2011): General Thoughts & Sub-theme Song Translation

TVB series "When Heaven Burns" just finished airing last week. I have no intention of doing a review on the series because to be honest, I didn't really "watch" the series, since I only caught various episodes here and there when my family was watching the series (I did tune into the 2 hour finale though and watched that in its entirety). In case you're wondering....no, I didn't decide to skip this series because of the cannibalism theme or the cast or whatnot -- in fact, from the little I've seen of WHB, I could tell that the series was well thought out in terms of script and the filming method as well as acting from artists were all above standard. Unfortunately though, the biggest problem with this series is that it was agonizingly SLOW and draggy (this is the reason why I chose to skip the series)...it's one thing if only the first few episodes were slow but with this series, almost every single episode dragged out, to the point that it became a bit too tedious to sit through and watch. Yes, the series did start to pick up pace about two-thirds of the way in, but unfortunately, it was too late -- I had already given up on the series less than halfway through because I didn't have that kind of time to waste (plus I don't tolerate slow / draggy series very well).

That being said, I did tune in to watch the 2 hour finale episodes (primarily out of curiosity) and I'll be the first to admit that the finale (unlike the rest of the series) was definitely worth the time to watch. I especially enjoyed the 2 musical segments in the finale: 1) the rock concert segment that featured the reunion of Hak Jai (Moses), Gu Lo (Bowie), and Ronnie (Kenny) singing "Youthful Ignorance" (which just so happens to be the sub-theme song of the series itself) -- I felt that segment was particularly moving and well done; 2) the "What If" video at the end of the series (again featuring the sub-theme song) was also nicely put together (plus I felt it was an appropriate ending to an otherwise intense series).

Talking about the sub-theme song..... 年少無知 (’Youthful Ignorance’) has become very popular in recent weeks (and deservingly so in my opinion, as the melody of the song is quite catchy and the lyrics are meaningful). The feedback I’ve heard regarding the song is that many people who haven't even watched the series are able to relate to the song’s lyrics and apply them to their own lives in some way – now THAT’s what I call an influential song!

A few people have asked about an English translation to the sub-theme song's lyrics -- originally, I was surprised that there wasn't already an English translation of the lyrics circulating out there somewhere, given the popularity of the song, however after studying the lyrics further, I understand why.....the lyrics are a bit tough to translate into English without losing some of its meaning.

Anyway, for those who are interested, I went ahead and translated the lyrics of the song into English -- however, I have to put a disclaimer that this is purely my interpretation of the lyrics and may not necessarily be a 100% correct translation. Also, I tried to keep to the flow of the song as much as possible while still maintaining the essence of the lyrics, however keep in mind that the song itself is not meant to be sung in English – so the translation is basically for reference only.

For those who understand Chinese, I highly recommend listening to the original version of the song (which is why I also included the link to the song's MV below).

Lastly, if anyone has feedback regarding the translation, you’re welcome to comment! :-)

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Link to MV (as posted on Youtube): 'Youthful Ignorance'

[Translated by: llwy12]

年少無知
Youthful Ignorance

電視劇【天與地】片尾曲
TV Series “When Heaven Burns” sub-theme song

主唱：林保怡．陳豪．黃德斌
Performed by: Bowie Lam, Moses Chan, Kenny Wong

作曲：黃貫中
Composed by: Paul Wong

填詞：林若寧
Lyrics by: Lam Yeurk Ning

編曲：黃貫中．劉志遠
Musical arrangement: Paul Wong, Lau Chi Yuen

監製：黃貫中
Producer: Paul Wong

(B = Bowie, M = Moses, K = Kenny, T= Together)


林：年少多好　頑劣多好
B: How good is youthfulness, how good is stubbornness

不甘安於封建制度裡迷信上街真理會達到
Unwilling to be content with feudalism, superstitious that on the streets truth will be attained

旗幟高舉　群眾聲討
The flag lifted high, condemned by the masses

不惜犧牲一切去上訴權貴的想法太俗套
Unhesitatingly sacrifice everything to appeal, the thought process of those in power is too conventional

只可惜生活是一堆挫折　只可惜生命是必須妥協
Unfortunately, life is a pile of setbacks, unfortunately, life requires compromise


陳：年少多好　貧困多好
M: How good is youthfulness, how good is poverty

一蚊積蓄足以快樂到廉價結他抒發我暴躁
A dollar in savings is enough to be happy, a cheaply-priced guitar to vent out my irritabilities

財富得到　年歲不保
Riches are obtained, youthfulness cannot be maintained

捐輸不必講究有回報人世間總會有異數
Contribution need not be concerned with payback, the secular world inevitably has its differences

只可惜生活是一聲發洩 只可惜生命是一聲抱歉 怕追討
Unfortunately life is the sound of venting, unfortunately life is the sound of apology, afraid to be chased down


合：如果命運能選擇十字街口你我踏出的每步更瀟灑
T: If, fate could be chosen, each step we’d take at the end of the crossroads would be more natural and unrestrained

如果活著能坦白舊日所相信價值不必接受時代的糟蹋
If, we could be honest with life, the values we believed in the past would not need to accept the ruin of an era


黃：年少多好　朋友多好
K: How good is youthfulness, how good is friendship

一番爭執不會有被告遊戲競爭不會記入腦
A dispute would not require a defendant, competition in a game would not be remembered

年歲增長　無法修補
Increasing age, unable to mend

青春的詩總會老　時間多恐怖
The song of youth will eventually get old, passage of time so terrifying


合：如果命運能選擇十字街口你我踏出的每步無用困惑
T: If, fate could be chosen, each step we take at the end of the crossroads would not need to be perplexing

如果活著能坦白舊日所相信價值今天發現還未老
If, we could be honest with life, we’d discover today that the values we believed in the past have not aged

如果命運能演習現實中不致接納一生每步殘酷抉擇
If, fate could be practiced, we would not have to accept a life of cruelly choosing every step

留守過去的想法我會否好像這樣生於世上無目的鞭撻
Standing behind the previous way of thinking, would I be subject to the blind lashing of today’s world?

2011 TVB Anniversary Awards: Who has the best chances of getting TV King? (My personal analysis / assessment)

I had said earlier that I'm not going to do a full-fledged "predictions" post for the 2011 TVB Anniversary Awards and I'm still standing by my decision. The main reason for this is because I didn't like majority of the series that aired this year and was not impressed by most of the performances -- plus I only watched 1 series completely from beginning to end so far this year (goes to show how BAD this year's series were if I wasn't able to bring myself to sit through most of them). [As a means of clarification, when I say that I only watched 1 series completely from beginning to end, that means that I watched every single episode without distraction….the rest of the series I either didn’t finish watching, watched only a few episodes here and there, or was doing something else while watching so didn’t really pay close attention]. Therefore, it would be a waste of time for me to do a full predictions post in all categories when none of the performances really stood out.

With that said, the 'hype' this year among the general public seems to revolve around the TV King category and since that's the only category that I actually have a strong opinion on this time around, I figured it would be more appropriate for me to just write about that particular category and forfeit all the rest of them.

So far this year, here are some of the 'names' that I've seen come up the most often (in the Media as well as on discussion forums) in terms of potential candidates for TV King:

Note 1: I am just listing out names I’ve heard, regardless of whether they are truly in contention or not (some of the roles may actually be considered supporting roles – I realize that, but please keep in mind that this post is meant to be hypothetical only).

Note 2: This list is not all-inclusive by any means – there may be male artists you feel should belong on this list in addition to the ones I listed…that’s fine – if I missed anyone or you disagree with any of what I wrote, feel free to comment and state your argument.

Note 3: The numbers next to each name do not mean anything – numbering is my way of bullet-pointing in this post

List of 'potentials':

Steven Ma
Roger Kwok
Bowie Lam
Bobby Au Yeung
Sunny Chan
Wayne Lai
Bosco Wong
Raymond Lam
Michael Tse
Moses Chan
Kevin Cheng

Based on the above list as well as my knowledge of TVB, below is my assessment of what I think each candidate’s chances are:

1) Steven Ma
I already outlined in detail how I feel about Steven’s performance in my earlier review of “The Life and Times of a Sentinel”, so I’m not going to rehash all of that here (those interested can read the review at this link). As I stated in my review, Steven is definitely my number one choice for TV King this year, as his performance was truly phenomenal in my opinion (though some can argue that he’s just doing what he does best – either way, doesn’t matter to me – he still turned in the best performance so far in my opinion). So far, Steven has been the only one to move me emotionally with his performance this year. Of course, we all know that Steven’s chances of getting the award this year is pretty much ZERO given that whole fiasco with Virginia Lok a few months back and the early contract termination issue (plus add to that the fact that TVB traditionally frowns upon artists who are ‘disobedient’ and ‘vocal’ – two “sore spots” that, in TVB’s eyes, Steven has been ‘guilty’ of pressing recently). Even though he is the most deserving of the bunch and my vote goes to him for sure, I have pretty much resigned myself to the reality that he will once again be denied the award (unless by some miracle, Mona Fong intervenes and orders for justice to be done – not likely though). Nonetheless, I will continue to support him all the way!


2) Roger Kwok
Roger is actually my second choice for TV King this year, as his performance in “Wax & Wane” was truly awesome (despite the series itself being hugely mediocre). In fact, he was pretty much the only ‘saving grace’ to that series (in my opinion anyways) – if it weren’t for his steady performance, I doubt too many people would have bothered watching. Unfortunately though, his chances of getting the award this year is pretty much zero as well – for obvious reasons. First, with TVB’s focus on promoting their favorites the past few years, a lot of the veterans have pretty much been thrown by the wayside – Roger is already an established actor plus he already received the award twice, so from TVB’s perspective, how important is it to give him the award again? Plus in recent years, Roger has shifted his career to the Mainland and pretty much only films one series per year for TVB nowadays – so with a lot less exposure in the HK market (which translates to less audience exposure) and the fact that Roger will still work for TVB (when he’s in HK that is) irregardless of what happens, there’s really no incentive for TVB to give him the award. I actually don’t even think that Roger will get into Top 5 for that matter (remember that when it comes to awards, TVB is all about the politics, not about who is deserving or who is not). Regardless, I still feel that he turned in one of the best performances so far this year!


3) Bowie Lam
Bowie only has 1 series in contention this year – “River of Wine” – which just finished airing a week or so ago. Though he turned in a solid performance, the series overall was not well-received, as many people considered the cast ‘weak’ and also the storyline was way too draggy. Irregardless of what people thought of the series though, TVB is still not going to give him the award anyway because 1) he already left the company in May, and 2) he could care less about that particular award, since he already won the ‘Asia TV King’ award and that is WAY more prestigious than a stupid old TVB award. Also, it has already been made known (loud and clear in fact) that Bowie definitely has options – in Mainland China as well as other parts of Asia…so in comparisons, TVB is ‘small potatoes’ to him. There’s no point for TVB to give him the award because they are not going to get any return for their investment (except maybe his participation in the “War and Beauty” sequel next year – but if the schedule works out, he will probably still participate anyway regardless of the award).

** As a side note: I find it laughable that certain gossip mags placed Bowie in Top 5 contention for the TV King award based on his performance in “Heaven and Earth” (yes, I literally laughed out loud) – um, unless they got some sort of sneak preview that the rest of us audiences weren’t privvy to (which I doubt), there is no basis whatsoever for that ‘prediction’. I mean, come on now – that series isn’t even scheduled to air until mid to late November – which means that it’s not even going to finish in time for the awards ceremony! Besides, it makes no sense whatsoever to nominate someone for top 5 contention in an award category based on how they WILL perform in a series that no one has seen yet rather than how they ALREADY performed in a series that everyone has seen. All the more reason why people shouldn’t take what the gossip mags write seriously!


4) Bobby Au Yeung
Ah, dear ole Bobby – gotta love the guy (I certainly do..LOL)! He only has 1 series in contention this year (“Men with No Shadows”), but unfortunately, that series did not do too well in the ratings category. I actually see Bobby’s situation as similar to Roger’s in that there is no need to give him any awards because he’s pretty much already past that point in his career. Besides, he has a certain loyalty to TVB and has already said that he will make time in his schedule to film 1 series per year for them regardless of what happens – so then from TVB’s perspective, there is no need to reward him. For me, I’m at the point where I don’t care if TVB gives him an award or not because he already received the award a long time ago and it’s not like it’s going to change his status in our (audience’s) hearts anyway. Sort of off-topic, but I just wish that TVB would stop “using” him to promote their own biological sons and daughters….is that too much to ask?


5) Sunny Chan
I’ve ranted about Sunny so much over the past 7 to 8 years, I’m starting to sound like a broken record! I’ve always liked Sunny (ever since the 90s) and he is definitely a great actor, but unfortunately, TVB hasn’t treated him too well all these years. It’s interesting that he actually has the most series on the air this year amongst the veteran first line male leads (“Wax and Wane”, “River of Wine”, “Curse of the Royal Harem”, cameo role in “The Life and Times of a Sentinel”), but yet he has the least chance of even making it to Top 5 (forget about winning)! Maybe he’s just unlucky or TVB just hates his guts – whatever the reason, he’s gotten very few ‘decent’ roles this past decade, as most of the roles were mostly forgettable ones in forgettable series (for example: the series "The Wintermelon Tale" -- I mean, really? TVB put him in THAT ridiculous series?). Also, a lot of his series that he did in the past 7-8 years had been warehoused (for example: “Strike At Heart”, “The Slicing of the Demon”, “Phoenix Rising”, “The Greatness of a Hero”, etc. “The Wintermelon Tale” was warehoused for 1 year before it aired). He's had the most series warehoused out of all the artists -- to the point that he's dubbed "Warehouse King" by some insiders). Since his return, I have not seen a single breakthrough role for him (and he had plenty of them in the 90s)....plus I don't see him getting promoted either (despite being a skilled actor). Oh, and he is currently a TVB managed artist, but obviously to TVB, he's less important than the others that they are promoting right now...In any case, I feel sorry for him because I know that he is pretty much going to stay at TVB forever now (he wants to remain in HK to take care of his wife and son and has no interest in re-locating), which means that he is going to continue to get crappy roles and waste all that talent of his. Such a shame!


6) Wayne Lai
I love Wayne and with his awesome acting skills, I’m confident he will deliver a great performance as he always does (after all, he’s known for being consistent and meticulous with his acting and so far, based on all the series that I’ve watched of his, I’ve never been disappointed). BUT, since “Forensic Heroes 3” just started airing yesterday, it’s still too early to tell whether his performance in the series will be ‘award-worthy’ (though I have no doubt that he will do a good job). Without commenting specifically on his performance in FH3 as of yet, l actually think that Wayne’s chances of pulling a ‘three-peat’ victory are extremely slim….now don’t get me wrong – the reason I think this way has nothing to do with his acting or even the series that he will be competing with…I’m basing it purely on the fact that he has already won 2 years in a row (the first year because he had tremendous audience support so they HAD to give it to him and the second year because he was the ‘safest’ choice given the ‘playing field’ at that time)….this year, the dynamics are a bit different -- because of all the negative publicity that TVB has been getting, there’s more incentive for them to use the awards as a political tool to further their agenda (plus the past 3 years or so, they’ve pretty much treated Wayne as a ‘cash cow’ anyway – as long as he continues to remain popular with audiences and business sponsors, then they will continue to benefit, so it’s not like it’s absolutely necessary to give him the award). Of course, if by chance Wayne does end up getting the award, I am totally fine with it (because the way I see it, TVB is making up for neglecting him for 20 years) – but I highly doubt it will happen.


7) Bosco Wong
One advantage that Bosco has is that all of his performances this year (as Bai Co in “Lives of Omission” and also his earlier performances in “Grace Under Fire” and “7 Days in Life”) were pretty well-received by audiences – in fact, some people even feel that his performance in LOO overshadowed primary lead Michael Tse. With that said though, Bosco is also the most ‘junior’ among the field of candidates and technically, he isn’t even considered a ‘first line’ siu sang yet – I honestly don’t think that it will sit well with people if he is given the award when there are others at a higher level than him in contention (TVB may be stupid, but not THAT stupid!). By the looks of things (i.e. a lot of the first line siu sangs leaving and TVB’s supposed focus on promoting the 2nd line to first line in the coming year, plus the fact that he is a biological son who is on the ‘favored’ list), Bosco will have a lot of opportunities in the coming year, so he still has time to refine his acting and gain more experience….there’s definitely no rush to give him the award right now.


8) Raymond Lam
Every year, TVB tries to push Raymond up onto the TV King throne and every year, it doesn’t work (that strategy is starting to get old now and TVB should seriously consider giving up on it! ). And honestly, this year, it’s not going to work either, considering both of his series (“Sister of Eternal Flower” and “Men with No Shadows”) pretty much tanked (in terms of ratings and word of mouth). Also, despite what people may say, the negative publicity he’s gotten this year with all those relationship issues (and the whole bed photos mess) truly did impact his image and reputation, which indirectly affected his chances. Of course, TVB could still give him the award if they wanted to, but I don’t think it would go over well because 1) the favoritism would be too obvious, especially if TVB is supposedly using the ratings of the series as a benchmark for the award – it’s too hard for them to justify why they would give him the award when his series flopped, and 2) it would create too much controversy due to the ‘Virginia Lok’ factor (I’m sure you all know what I mean) – VL has been ‘in the news’ a lot lately and not for ‘good’ reasons either…given all the bad press that she’s been getting (plus Raymond’s), it’s probably not a wise idea for TVB to pile even more controversy on top of that!


9) Michael Tse
I will be upfront right now -- Michael Tse isn’t even on my list of potential ‘contenders’ for TV King because, frankly speaking, he ISN’T WORTHY!! His acting is ‘mediocre’ at best and the only reason why he’s so ‘popular’ right now is because of the Laughing Gor persona – it’s unfortunate that he let the whole Laughing Gor thing get to his head and as a result, has been acting all arrogant and cocky. He’s definitely NOT lead actor material (um, yea, let’s see him carry an entire series by himself, without any help from anyone!) and his acting isn’t even that great, yet he has the audacity to go around thinking that he is the ‘next best thing since sliced bread’!! (yea, right – in your dreams, dude!). Anyway, I highly doubt that TVB is going to give him the award (even if they considered it previously), especially after how poorly he handled the Steven Ma situation – a lot of audiences have a bad impression of him now (the number one comment I’ve been hearing on forums is: “I don’t care who gets the award, as long as it’s not Michael Tse!”). TVB is in a precarious position right now (given everything that has happened to them the past year or so) and I doubt that they can afford to take on the type of ‘backlash’ (similar to what they got back in 2006) that will inevitably come if they give the award to an undeserving jerk like MT.


10) Moses Chan
What are Moses’ chances of being crowned TV King for the 2nd time? Well, to be honest, it’s really hard to say…I personally couldn’t stand him in “Yes Sir, Sorry Sir” (in fact, I couldn’t stand that series PERIOD), but he IS a somewhat ‘safe’ choice because 1) he’s a biological son, 2) he’s gotten the award before, so that does put him up a notch over others who never got that recognition, and 3) though his acting in recent years hasn’t been good, it hasn’t been horrible either (generally speaking). I used to have a certain appreciation for Moses’ acting when he first started, but after so many years of watching one OTT (over the top) performance after another, it has started to become annoying to the point of boring. I don’t know how I’ll feel if he gets crowned TV King again – I guess it’s one of those ‘better him than MT’ situations for me. Realistically speaking though – unless TVB really has no other choice, I doubt that they will give him the award again (at least not this year).


11) Kevin Cheng
Very honestly speaking, I think that Kevin actually has a very good chance at the award this year (I know what you’re thinking.…I can’t believe I’m saying this either, but to be fair, I do have to give credit where it’s due). His acting definitely improved a lot in “Ghetto Justice” (and he wasn’t too bad in “Only You” either) and the ‘Law Ba’ role was a breakthrough for him – plus the feedback from the general public for his performance in that series has been overwhelmingly positive. Also, don’t forget that his popularity has soared in recent months due to his latest Mainland series "Bu Bu Jing Xin" (with Nicky Wu, Damian Lau, etc.) being a HUGE hit over there – he actually received much acclaim for his portrayal of the 8th Prince (I have yet to watch the series, so not going to pass judgement on the validity of those praises) – to the point that he now officially has a fan club with thousands of fans in the Mainland. True, it can be argued that the Mainland series shouldn’t have anything to do with the TV King award, but the point I’m trying to make is that the stars could potentially be aligned for it to be Kevin’s year this year. For the record, I am known for being ANTI-Kevin Cheng and to some extent, I still am (and yes I'm still adamant that TVB made a really BAD BS decision by giving him the award back in 2006 when he wasn't anywhere near deserving of it), but even I have to admit that his acting has improved in the past year or so. (And just to be very clear for people who may misunderstand….no, I'm not ‘suddenly changing course’ -- I'm merely giving an honest assessment of who I feel has the best chance based on how things look so far this year).

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Concluding Thoughts

With the above, I tried as best I could to give an honest assessment and analysis of some of the actors who were mentioned at some point this year as a ‘possible candidate’ for TV King. Of course, with more than a month left until the awards show, pretty much anything can happen at this point.

One point that I do want to emphasize is that I pretty much stopped caring about the awards years ago – therefore, no matter who wins TV King this year, I probably won’t have any reaction to it from an emotional standpoint (that is, unless Steven wins….)

2011 Hong Kong Celebrity Breakups (SO FAR)...

Written by: llwy12
(Originally written and published as an Editorial for Asianfanatics.net)

We're only halfway through the year and already, there have been a number of celebrity 'breakups' in the HK entertainment industry -- many of them high-profile. Could it possibly be that the Hollywood 'breakup' bug has finally hit Hong Kong? Or perhaps it’s all in the stars and was just meant to be?

Whatever the reason, it’s worth taking a look back at some of the more notable breakups that have made headlines in the past few months (and hope that the breakup trend does NOT continue!).

Note: The below list is definitely not all-inclusive, as I’m sure that there were more celebrity breakups that occurred this year that are not mentioned. I just chose to mention some of the more ‘high profile’ ones that dominated headlines for awhile.

Nicholas Tse and Cecilia Cheung -- To divorce or not to divorce, that is the question

Is it just me, or is anyone else sick and tired of the whole Nicholas / Cecilia divorce drama thing?

After almost a month of occupying the headlines of practically every newspaper and magazine in HK (and in other parts of Asia for that matter), this high-profile (soon-to-be ex) celebrity couple's divorce saga is finally showing some signs of dying down -- that is, until either Nic or Cecilia physically show their faces in public anywhere in HK (or elsewhere) -- then the mayhem starts all over again (well, at least that seems to be the pattern right now).

Indeed, the Nic / Cecilia situation has played out like a soap opera in the past few weeks, with speculations galore by the Media (and the general public) as well as varying degrees of mudslinging and PR ploys from both camps. Without judging who is right or wrong (because it is pretty much impossible to determine at this point), just look at what kind of impact the public airing of the couple’s marital woes has had on the family and friends (on both sides) thus far….

Take for example Nic’s dad Patrick Tse – I’m sure he is probably fed up by now with all those annoying reporters hounding him everywhere he goes, asking him the same questions over and over again (Are Nic and Cecilia really getting a divorce? How do you feel about it? Is Cecilia still 'The Pride of the Tse Family'? Are you going to yell at Eileen Cha when you see her? How long has it been since you've seen the grandkids?....and the questions go on and on). At the rate that things have been going, I wouldn’t be surprised if old man Tse gets so exasperated that he ends up punching one of those pesky reporters in the face (like we need more Tse family drama, eh?). Until that happens though, I continue to find Patrick’s responses to the Media (regarding his son’s situation of course) quite amusing -- definitely gives me my ‘laugh of the day’ listening to his responses.

Oh, and how about all those celebrities affected by the reporters camped out at the HK International Airport for days on end, waiting for either Nic or Cecilia to show up? Those reporters probably bumped into more celebrities at the airport than they would ever bump into attending any other event (boy would I like to be one of those reporters – reading about all the celebrities they encountered, I couldn’t help thinking how lucky’ they were)! And I’ve got to say that seeing the ‘shocked’ expressions on the faces of some celebrities who showed up at the airport to find swarms of reporters was actually quite funny.

At this point though, in my humble opinion at least, it doesn’t matter whether majority of the public are on Nic’s side or Cecilia’s side -- and frankly, I don’t care to know the timeline of when (or if) Nic has already filed divorce papers or not…I’m sure I’m speaking for a lot of people (including the members of the Tse and Cheung families) when I say -- can we just be done with this mess and move on? Please?

One last note -- just for the record, I’m not a fan of either artist (and never will be) so I really don’t care either way how this fiasco ends up turning out…but I do feel sorry for Nic and Cecilia’s two kids, Lucas and Quintus, and I sincerely hope that history doesn’t end up repeating itself 20 years down the road (though with the Tse family genes, it’s definitely hard to say)…


Gregory Lee and Shirley Yeung – From sweet bliss to controversial breakup?

After 9 years of dating, Shirley Yeung announced a couple days ago (at a public event no less) that she and her boyfriend Gregory Lee have broken up. I will admit that I was shocked when I first heard the news, as I had always thought that this was one of those celebrity couples that had a high chance of ‘making it’. I mean, let’s face it -- they look cute together and personality-wise, seem to be compatible in so many ways (or so I thought).

Before I proceed, just a brief mention for those people reading this who may not know who Shirley and Gregory are: Shirley is a 2001 Miss Hong Kong winner (and current record-holder for winning the most awards during a Miss HK pageant) and currently is an actress at TVB; Gregory is a former 1980s child actor (those following TVB series during that time will definitely remember him, as he was the child actor of choice back then) who comes from a veteran acting family and is currently working for TVB again (his career in adulthood is lackluster compared to when he was a kid).

As with any celebrity breakup where very few details are provided by the ‘main players’ themselves, Media speculation is bound to arise -- and so far, that is exactly how this situation is playing out. With Shirley refusing to comment further and Gregory too upset to think or speak clearly, it’s no surprise then that everyone else around them (family, friends, the general public) is speaking for them -- and of course, the HK Media is pouncing on ‘every juicy detail’ and reporting on it as though it were the truth.

What makes this particular breakup attention-worthy is the ‘controversy’ surrounding it -- the supposed ‘one-sided’ announcement of the split, the shocked reactions from family, the rumors of a third party, speculations of infidelity and deceit, and even a possible pregnancy, etc. Oh, and then there are the questions about the timeline not adding up – i.e.: did they break up a few months or a few days ago? Did the parents know or not know? Did Gregory only find out when the public announcement was made or did he truly know in advance? And so on… (Heck, the controversial nature of this split makes the whole Nicholas/Cecilia thing seem boring in comparisons!)

In the days to come, I’m sure the ‘true story’ related to this situation is going to emerge (eventually), so until that occurs, I’m going to reserve judgment on who is telling the truth and who isn’t. One thing is for sure though -- based on Shirley and Gregory’s public comments so far, both of them are definitely NOT on the same page!


Moses Chan and Bernice Liu -- From ‘rumored relationship’ to real breakup

Ever since their pairing in TVB series “Love Bond” back in 2003, Moses and Bernice have been rumored to be in a relationship in real life, despite the fact that neither party had officially confirmed it (until just recently that is). Though no one really knew whether these two were truly a couple in real life (“BerMo” fans probably didn’t care, as long as the on-screen chemistry was there), TVB definitely took full advantage of the rumor -- pairing them up in typical ‘couple team’ fashion for subsequent collaborations in series as well as commercials, promotional events, and even the Anniversary Awards ceremony. Talk about ‘milking’ the rumored relationship to the fullest -- hey, free promotion for TVB (not that they need any more promotion…)!

The relationship was no longer a “secret” when, at the end of last year (2010), Bernice was photographed hanging out with her “rich male friend” Alastair Lam -- almost immediately, accusations of Bernice “cheating on Moses” started flying and Bernice’s public image went down the toilet. Needless to say, “BerMo” was no more and the turn of events made the breakup ‘official’ (at least in the eyes of the public). Of course, the HK Media jumped on the chance to ‘fan the fire’ and so the focus shifted from ‘bad Bernice’ to ‘poor Moses’: aww, poor guy, he looks so forlorn -- hey, let’s dub him ‘the deal of the century’…that should surely make him feel better and show Bernice what she ‘lost’! (Yeah, whatever…it’s the HK Media – they’re not the smartest of people anyway…). Then after that, Aimee Chan comes into the picture (that was mighty convenient, eh?) and hence, Moses’ ‘fairytale courtship’ of Aimee begins…Meanwhile, the Media is clamoring for Bernice’s ‘reaction’ to Moses and Aimee becoming a rumored couple and next thing you know, the headlines read “Bernice Liu hints that Aimee Chan is Third Wheel in relationship with Moses Chan”…wait, but didn’t Bernice and Moses break up already back when that Alastair thing surfaced? So how is Aimee the 3rd wheel? So does this mean Moses was cheating on Bernice instead of Bernice cheating on Moses? I’M CONFUSED!!! Ah, let me guess -- the Media is twisting people’s words again, right??

In a dramatic ‘turn of events’, Bernice revealed recently in an interview that she and Moses actually broke up back in 2008 -- which means that even if she was truly dating Alastair Lam last year, she was not ‘cheating on Moses’ as the public claimed she did. (Of course, she also took the opportunity in the same interview to ‘criticize’ her former employer TVB --I definitely got a kick out of that…LOL!).

Anyway, regardless of how much of the whole thing is fact or fiction, the bottom line is that the relationship between Moses and Bernice is officially OVER. Period.

P.S.: In case you’re wondering why I included the Moses / Bernice breakup in this article when it technically occurred in 2010 -- well, basically because I felt like it for one, but also because the issue sort of overlapped into 2011 as well. (Plus, according to Bernice, the official breakup was in 2008, so technically, the 2010 date isn’t accurate either).


Richard Li and Isabella Leong -- No longer a “Cinderella” story

Honestly, who was actually taken by surprise when news came out that billionaire tycoon and chairman of HK telecom company PCCW (and Asia’s richest man Li Kar Shing’s son) Richard Li had broken up with actress Isabella Leong? I mean, just look at the facts -- Isabella was a ‘struggling’ actress at the time that she met Richard Li and he was a rich dude who wanted a male heir (or two). Less than a year after they met in 2008, she was already pregnant with his child and in 2009 bore him a son -- then last year, she became pregnant again and gave him twin boys. BUT the two of them are NOT MARRIED -- without the commitment of marriage, how realistic is it that a rich guy like Richard is going to remain with Isabella for the rest of his life? Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure THAT ONE out!

To be honest, I’m sort of indifferent to the whole Richard / Isabella situation because, well, frankly I don’t really care. I definitely know who Richard is as well as who his father is (which Hong Konger doesn’t know them? Plus there are enough references to them in TV series and such that a TV fanatic like me would have no reason not to know) -- but that doesn’t mean that I care. As for Isabella…well, let me just say that prior to her connection with Richard Li, I barely knew who she was -- all I knew was that she was an actress who was having contract issues with EEG and after she got together with Richard, her contract issue ‘disappeared’’(it’s actually more like Richard paid the money that was required in order for Isabella to break off her contract early) -- obviously, I had never watched any of her movies prior to that (and I have no interest whatsoever in watching them any time in the future either).

Isabella announced her split with Richard Li back in February and a few days later, Richard issued his own statement to the public confirming the matter. Not surprisingly, rumors immediately arose of a possible third party in the relationship (which Richard as well as Isabella’s spokesperson denied)…but the ‘unique’ aspect of this particular breakup was the rumor of a ‘separation fee’ in the amount of several hundred million dollars that Richard supposedly gave Isabella (which again, both parties have vehemently denied). Of course, only when the breakup involves a millionaire or billionaire will such a rumor exist!

Hmmm, now I’m starting to wonder…was it really a ‘good move’ for Isabella to have 3 children with Richard without being married to him? I would think not…but then again, that’s just my opinion -- others may actually feel she was ‘smart’ for having the children, especially since she did provide the ‘male heirs’ that the Li family wanted.

.***.

As I said at the start of this write-up, I sincerely hope that this ‘breakup trend’ among the celebrities does not continue (though I know that’s probably unrealistic given the nature of the industry). I guess we will have to see at the end of the year whether there will be a ‘part 2’ to this particular post!

My Thoughts on “Beyond the Realm of Conscience 宮心計”

I finally got around to watching this series, but only because it happened to come on TV -- for the longest time, I refused to watch this series because I hated how TVB overpromoted it (it totally turns me off when they do stupid stuff like that), plus I had also said that I would not watch this series until after I watched "Rosy Business" and "Born Rich" (and I've finally watched both series, so I guess the timing was perfect).

Anyway, I must say that I totally do not understand the hype over BTROC at all -- it's way overrated and is pretty much all stuff that I've seen before (goes to show that this is yet another example of TVB running out of ideas and overhyping this series solely because all of their favorite sons and daughters are in it).

Since this series has probably been analyzed to death already (by netizens and audiences alike, no doubt), I don't see the point of wasting my team with an in-depth review -- so I am just going to state my opinion on certain parts (mostly the dislikes) and then move on....

Ok, so back when this series aired in 2009, the biggest 'hype' with the series was the supposed 'stellar' ensemble cast and also Tavia's 'breakthrough' performance as a villain. I'll talk about Tavia's performance later....but first, the cast -- the biggest selling point of the series was supposedly the story surrounding the main leads Charmaine, Moses, Kevin, and Tavia (and of course TVB had no qualms about sticking this point in our -- the audience -- faces...or should I say, ramming it down our throats?). Anyway, I personally was not impressed by any of the main leads' performances because to me, it was the same old stuff: Moses in his Emperor role again trying to outsmart the evil generals who are constantly trying to usurp his power; Charmaine in her 'goody-two-shoes' role again who is unrealistically nice to everyone and everything and let's people walk all over her without a word of complaint; Kevin in another typical 'nice guy' role that honestly, put me to sleep; and Tavia in her first evil villain role that really was not convincing at all (to put it less midly, she came across very fake to me).

So first, let's look at Moses and Charmaine's characters in the series. To be honest, I found it really weird watching this series and seeing Charmaine as Moses' love interest (though it's mostly one-sided, since Charmaine is paired with Kevin) because I had just finished re-watching "Perish in the Name of Love" not too long ago and the 2 of them were father and daughter in that series (true, that series was made like 7 years ago, but still....). Luckily, Moses and Charmaine weren't really a couple in this series because that would have just totally grossed me out (sorry, but I'm a bit slow when it comes to switching relationships like that). But actually, there's another reason why I bring up the series PITNOL -- because I really felt that both Moses and Charmaine's characters in BTROC (Charmaine's especially) reminded me of their characters in PITNOL, a series that I absolutely HATED with a passion because almost all the characters (except Steven's) were so utterly stupid (I mean, come on now, how many times does someone have to "hurt" you before you 'wake up' and stop continuing to 'believe in' that person??). I think this is why I absolutely hated Charmaine's character in this series because just like in PITNOL, she kept forgiving her friend/sister for doing bad things and kept believing her when she said she would change, but actually don't (though I have to say that Charmaine's character in PITNOL was 10x worse). I mean, come on, no normal person is like THAT DENSE in real life (even in the imperial days)! Personally, I think that the writers didn't develop Charmaine's character on purpose because remember that TVB's whole point for this series was to push Tavia for TV Queen, so of course the focus should be on her rather than Charmaine (plus Charmaine had another popular series in contention that year anyway, so it didn't really matter -- she would make it in either way). For Charmaine, playing the role of Lau Sam Ho was probably a piece of cake, since she's constantly playing those types of roles anyway....As for Moses, well I don't have much else to say about his character except that it's another 'typical' role, one that he's done before, so it totally lacked creativity....

On to Kevin's character....in my opinion, Kevin was really boring in this series -- I honestly was wondering what the point of his character was except as a love interest for Charmaine. Yes, his job was supposed to be protecting the emperor, but hey, there weren't very many action/fighting scenes in the series anyway (why would there be when the focus is supposed to be on the evil schemes of the women in the inner palace?). His character (and to some extent, his performance) was so boring that it pretty much put me to sleep. And I'm sorry, but I did not sense any chemistry at all between Kevin and Charmaine in this series (in constrast, as much as I hated PITNOL, I was really able to feel the chemistry between Steven and Charmaine there) -- I'm actually starting to think whether it's Kevin's problem because I noticed that in most of the series that I've watched with Kevin in it, I always feel like there is zero chemistry between him and his female co-stars (at least on screen).

And finally, Tavia -- who is supposed to be the central figure in this series. My personal opinon is that Tavia does not do 'evil' or 'villainess' very well at all -- she came across as very fake and forced to me...pretty much, I think she tried too hard (especially with her supposed 'evil' stare and laugh). I've heard arguments from people (Tavia fans no doubt) that we should cut her some slack because it's her first time as a villain so there are bound to be flaws -- well, my response to that argument is that 1) I never said she had to be perfect in her role, but she has to be at least CONVINCING and 2) there are many artists in the past who did convincingly awesome jobs in their first villain roles, to the point where they were able to completely turn their 'good boy/girl' image around (Michelle Yim and Susanna Kwan come to mind on the female side and Gallen Lo as well as Deric Wan for the males -- though there are undoubtedly many more). I think this just goes to show that Tavia doesn't have enough depth as an actress yet to be able to pull off these types of difficult villain characters with success -- she definitely needs more work in this area....

Ok, now that I've vented my frustrations with the main leads, was there anything that I actually liked about this series? Yes, of course -- I really liked the supporting cast in this series and totally feel like they stole the show. Lee Kwok Lun was downright evil as General Ma (I've watched his series since the 80s and he is an absolutely awesome actor -- and terribly underrated), Michelle Yim and Susanna Kwan were great in their roles as heads of their respective departments, and I absolutely loved Ram Tseung in his eunuch role (another one of my favorite supporting actors who is so totally underrated). Oh, and of course, I have to mention Susan Tse and Mary Hon in the Empress Dowager roles, which were very fitting for them and the acting was superb. Even KK Cheung was great, even though he only had a small role in the series. For some odd reason, I actually felt that the storyline surrounding these supporting characters had way more depth and was alot more interesting than the main one involving the 4 leads. The supporting cast and the storyline surrounding them was definitely the primary motivating factor that made me continue to watch -- otherwise, I probably would have given up on the series a long time ago.

TVB Anniversary Awards 2010 (萬千星輝頒獎典禮2010)

Since I watched the Anniversary Awards, figured I would blog about it – but I have to make clear that I watched it because I wanted to have something to write about, not because I particularly care about who was going to win. The last couple years especially, I watch mostly because I want to see who the presenters are and the ‘funny’ or ‘clever’ dialogue that they usually give.

So before I go any further, I have to make the following disclaimer: the TVB Anniversary Awards from the past 5 years or so don’t mean anything to me because personally, I feel that TVB rigs them to benefit their own – we already know that TVB uses the awards to promote / showcase their own biological sons/daughters and the criteria is pretty much NOT based on acting skills or who gave the best performance, so there is NO CREDIBILITY whatsoever to the awards they give out.

With that said, below is the list of winners, my reaction to the results, as well as general comments and highlights from the ceremony (in my opinion):

TVB.COM Popular Artist: Raymond Lam
.> Of course, I’m not surprised that Raymond got this award, since he has such a huge fan base. In my opinion, this award is absolutely worthless because it doesn’t mean anything at all – it merely is an indication of how much on-line support the artist who wins it has…and I’m sure all of us (as well as Raymond himself) already know how many fans Raymond has – he doesn’t need a ‘stupid’ award to tell him that! Plus, if I remember correctly, he’s gotten this award several times in the past already (except for last year, but that’s because he didn’t have any series in the running last year) – pretty much every year that Raymond has a series in contention, he will continue to get this award.

Most ‘Enjoyable’ Program (aka Program Most Worth Watching): HK ARTchitecture
.> Since I didn’t watch any of the nominated programs in this category except for “The Voice”, not really going to comment (especially since I didn’t even know those other programs existed).

Best Variety Show: The Voice 2
I didn’t like any of the nominees in this category, so personally I don’t really care who won. Though I would have to say that as long as Super Trio didn’t win, then I’m fine with it – I used to love Super Trio, but the past couple years, the show has gotten very stupid and the games have been extremely lame. So I’m glad they didn’t win. I wasn’t too keen on the other nominee “Fun with Liza and the Gods” (as I’ve always said, I feel that watching that show makes me feel ‘dumb and dumber’) and the other 2 nominees I never even heard of, so I guess the logical choice would have been “The Voice 2”.

Most Improved Actress: Natalie Tong
.> Unlike most people in the forums, I actually don’t have much of an opinion on who deserved to win in this category because personally, I’m not too keen on any of the actresses who were nominated. I guess if I had to choose, I would probably prefer Selena more as an actress, as I can’t stand the majority of Natalie’s roles / performances. But as someone said in one of the forums, the reason why Selena probably didn’t get the award was because she’s pretty much already an established actress compared to Natalie so there wasn’t a lot to “improve” persay (which makes sense). But again, I don’t really care who wins this one (in fact, I can’t even remember who I voted for anymore in this category – goes to show how much I don’t care about it).

Most Improved Actor: Raymond Wong
.> Ok, I must say that this one was expected and very well-deserving. Raymond definitely did a good job this year and for me personally, I don’t mind watching his series. I don’t like very many of the newer generation TVB artists, but he’s definitely one that I enjoy watching. I feel that Raymond is deserving because I’ve also seen his improvement from his first few series to “When Lanes Merge” and “No Regrets”, so I can understand why he won. And I also give kudos to Raymond for giving one of the best speeches of the night. It was obvious he was well-prepared, as he had written down people he wanted to thank on a piece of paper and was able to get through the entire list. And even though he is sort of ‘new’ to TVB, he’s not new to the industry (13 years in the industry and 3.5 years in TVB) – he mentioned that this is his first award. He was very calm and extremely well-spoken, which really impressed me. Oh, and I loved the last part of his speech where he thanks his wife for sticking with him even during the lowest point in his life, then says that she will be giving him “a little life” very soon (meaning that she’s pregnant). Everyone was applauding and screaming when he made that announcement, which was so cute! Congrats to Raymond on his win and also on soon becoming a father!

Favorite Female Character: Charmaine Sheh
.> I actually am ok with Charmaine getting this award because out of the top 5 finalists (Charmaine’s princess from CBML, Sheren’s Miss 9 from NR, Linda’s character from CBML, Teresa’s character from Some Day, Tavia’s character from MOL), both Charmaine’s and Sheren’s characters were quite memorable and well-liked by audiences. It was pretty obvious though when Charmaine’s name was announced that Sheren would be TV Queen and this would be Charmaine’s consolation prize (because no matter how much TVB loves Charmaine, they would not risk the huge backlash from the audiences by giving her both Character and Actress awards again). Also, I’ve always looked at this award as a consolation prize for TV Queen for one, and two, it’s more about the ‘character’ in the series than the actor or actress, so again it doesn’t really mean anything in terms of the artists themselves (the artist could have so-so acting skills, but if the character is well-written, she could still win this award).

Favorite Male Character: Raymond Lam
.> Ok, this one was so obviously RIGGED!!! Raymond’s character in MOL was SO BORING and not even memorable. I mean, since this award was consolation for TV King, they could have given the award to Kenneth or Steven instead – they deserved it WAY more than Raymond did (if they didn’t want to give it to Wayne again because he was already going to get the Actor award). Though I don’t think that Moses deserves this award either because his character in CBML was annoying, but I don’t think I would have as much problem if he had gotten this award (probably cuz I was already expecting him to win it, since TVB was pushing him so much). I was actually rooting for Kenneth in this category (because his character stood out so much and AFOS was a great series with barely any recognition), but I would have been fine with any of the other 3 winning. But Raymond????? TVB was obviously trying to play favorites here!

Best Television Program Host: Liza Wang, Louis Yuen, Wong Cho Lam, Johnson Lee
.> This one was predictable – in fact, I would probably be surprised if they “didn’t” get this one…though I will say that I didn’t vote for them (I voted for Steven Ma). But oh well, it is what it is…not too much comment about this one (again, another category I didn’t really care about).

Best Professional Performance: Moses Chan
.> This was that stupid ‘pork’ award (the one Tavia got last year) that TVB made up in order to please certain people. Pretty much, it means nothing (most people can’t even explain what the purpose of the award is because frankly, it has no purpose) and does absolutely nothing for the artist who receives it. Last year, TVB gave it to Tavia because they didn’t want to waste all the investment they made with her in BTROC and this year, they are giving it to Moses because they chose Raymond over him for Favorite Character and there is no way that they could give him TV King without major backlash. Basically, this is a lame award that TVB should just get rid of instead of ‘embarrassing’ the artist who ends up receiving it! (But I do have to give credit to Moses for trying to make the most of the win by injecting a little bit of humor in his acceptance speech and trying to lighten up the atmosphere).

Best Supporting Actress: Fala Chen
.> Sorry, but there is no way I can support Fala getting this award with all of the veteran actresses nominated who were WAY better than her. I mean, they’ve got Elena Kong, Kara Hui, and Susanna Kwan nominated in this category (along with Nancy Wu) and they give the award to Fala for her character in NR that wasn’t even her best performance? I voted for Elena Kong because her performance was absolutely awesome in “Beauty Knows No Pain”. And absolutely how could a 7-time Best Actress in Film (Kara Hui) lose to Fala? Kara’s performance in AFOS was also way better. The winner of this category definitely was not determined based on acting skill!

Best Supporting Actor: Evergreen Mak
.> For me, this was the hardest category to pick the winner, as I liked almost all of the performances in this category. From the beginning, the race was really between Pierre Ngo, Evergreen Mak, and Dominic Lam (though Raymond Wong and Ron Ng were nominated as well, but they already knew they didn’t have a chance). I remember it took me so long to decide who to vote for in this category, as all three are good actors…in the end, it really came down to a choice between Dominic and Evergreen for me (though I would have been fine with Pierre getting the award as well). Evergreen ended up winning, which is still well-deserved in my opinion, as his Fei Fan Gor was very well-done and memorable. Also, his win was the most emotional one of the night, as I could tell that he was really surprised that he won. His win was pretty much reminiscent of the time back in 2008 when Wayne Lai won for the same award – all of his colleagues stood up and hugged him and applauded him. Same thing happened for Evergreen (though I actually think there were more hugs for Evergreen because he has always been a very amicable actor with tons of friends), plus all of his female colleagues stood up and hugged / kissed him as well (it took him forever to get up on the stage…LOL….also, people kept rubbing his bald head, which was kind of cute!). I also thought it was sweet of him to go over and especially give Elena (his wife in NR) a bear hug, partially sweeping her off her feet (awww)!

And his speech, which he gave through tears (his voice kept breaking at certain parts) was very heartfelt and very humbling – I almost cried at the part where he said that there are so many artists who are better than him at TVB and for the audience to applaud for them. This was probably the only win that I was extremely happy for all night.

Best Actress (TV Queen): Sheren Tang
.> Of course I’m not surprised that Sheren won and no complaints here, since her win was well-deserved. In the forums, there are many people who say her character was not at as ‘popular’ as Fourth Mistress in “Rosy Business”, but to me, that doesn’t really matter, since it’s really about her acting rather than the popularity of the character (plus Cheng Gau Mui was a really intense character anyway, one that was not easy to portray and definitely takes someone with Sheren’s skills to do). And it was already obvious when Charmaine won Favorite Character earlier that Sheren would win TV Queen. One thing that I have to say though – just because TVB gave TV Queen to Sheren, it DOES NOT mean that they are being “fair” – they are giving the award to her again because they have no choice, since she has tremendous audience backing and they wouldn’t be able to justify giving it to Charmaine after all the backlash they got from the horrendous ‘bad decisions’ they made before.

Best Actor (TV King): Wayne Lai
.> Again, no surprise here…this was totally expected (especially after they gave Moses and Raymond awards already). I’m happy for Wayne and am totally fine with him getting the award, though my opinion of why TVB gave him the award is the same as why I think they gave it to Sheren (to appease the audiences and lessen the backlash – plus they know that the audiences nowadays aren’t as ‘naïve’ as they were back in 2006, so pulling a Kevin Cheng-type win again would definitely have gotten them in serious trouble!). I will admit thought that I would much rather the award have gone to Steven – not because Wayne isn’t good because he is definitely absolutely awesome and no one can compare with him in terms of acting skill (he’s definitely the master), but Steven is also a very high quality actor and doesn’t get enough recognition, plus his PSL as well as AWT roles were very well-done and well-deserving of an award (I actually voted for Steven, despite Wayne being one of my favorite actors).

Oh, and Sandra Ng's speech (she was the presenter for the TV King award) was funny too and in a sense, it indirectly 'referred' to TVB's politics as well -- when she announced Wayne as the winner without even opening the envelope (supposedly), then saying "we all know how TVB works already", she definitely hit it on the spot as well...my first reaction was "Absolutely right -- we sure do!!!!" She knows just as well as everyone else (both artist and audience alike) that Wayne would be the TV King because Moses and Raymond got their 'consolation prizes' already...that’s TVB politics and is obvious to everyone!

Best Drama Series: Can’t Buy Me Love
.> This was definitely the category where I was like WTH???? No way was CBML better than NR in terms of script / plot or acting – in fact, CBML was pretty much just a bunch of nonsense! It was so obvious that this category was rigged – TVB was just trying to ‘satisfy’ the CBML group (and upper management, since the series has most of their favorite biological sons and daughters in it).

Also, the finalists for this category were a big huge joke…I mean, how did “A Chip Off the Old Block”, “Every Move You Make”, and “Mysteries of Love” make it into this category when there were so many better made series that deserved to be in those spots (i.e.: “Ghostwriter”, “A Fistful of Stances”, and how about ‘anniversary series’ “Gun Metal Grey”?????).

The presenter of this award was famous director / producer Johnnie To. I love the comments that he made right before opening the envelope: 「咁明顯, 應該係佢喇, 應該無做馬啦, 係咪呀? ~~~ 咦, 又唔係喎, 咁至衰喎」. (Since the above is in Cantonese, here’s the translation: “It’s so obvious, it should be them [“No Regrets”], the applause is different….shouldn’t be rigged, right? “ (he looks back at the artists when he says this). He then opens the envelope and states: “Oh, errr, it’s not them…that’s the bad thing.”

Ok, I know it’s not just me who thinks that the above comments by Johnnie were an indirect ‘diss’ on TVB -- there are very few artists who would be brave enough to do that and Johnnie is definitely one of them (notice how he also mentioned how great his life has been since he left TVB?). And since Johnnie used to work for TVB and was responsible for bringing us a lot of the most respected series in TVB history (along with his teacher Wong Tin Lam), his words have a lot of clout (people can't claim that he is an 'outsider' who doesn't know how it works). That was one of the other highlights of the entire show for me.

In terms of the Best Series award itself, well, again another example of TVB politics at work. I'm pretty sure that TVB was already intending for CBML to win big at the awards ceremony (by win big, I mean either TV King/Queen and/or Series) from the beginning when they took it out of the anniversary series timeslot (which they might as well have kept it there with the way they've been treating its replacement GMG!) and with so many audiences behind Wayne and Sheren, there only option was to give CBML the Best Series consolation prize. Pretty much as long as CBML and NR were in the top 5 for that category, it doesn't matter what other series were in there because doesn't mean anything anyways.

Concluding Comments:

Overall, the awards ceremony was lackluster and disappointing as usual – true, there were some very deserving wins, but there were also quite a few that left me scratching my head and asking “What the hell were they thinking?” With that said though, I don’t get ‘upset’ anymore over the results of the awards ceremony because frankly, I don’t give a damn about those awards – they don’t mean a thing to me and won’t cause me to like an artist that I already dislike or hate an artist that I’ve always liked. In fact, I’m already used to TVB’s STUPIDITIES after so many years following HK entertainment!

Even so, I do want to mention what I felt were the biggest SNUBS (disappointments) of the night:

.>> Kenneth and Steven losing to Raymond in the Favorite Male Character award – as I said above, both were SO MUCH MORE deserving of the award than Raymond. I don’t really care too much that TVB sacrificed Moses in this category (I didn’t vote for him anyway), but with Ma Ming and Steven’s awesome performances, it was just plain sad that they fell victim to TVB’s stupid politics!

.>> “Gun Metal Grey” not being in the top 5 for Best Series. Sure, TVB can (and probably will) argue that because GMG has not finished airing, that’s why it was at a disadvantage for the awards (which I can totally refute because both Felix and Nancy were in top 5 in their respective categories!)…BUT whose fault is it that GMG is airing so late and didn’t finish in time for the awards? TVB’s fault of course, since they were the ones who decided to remove CBML from the anniversary series timeslot (to give it better advantage at the awards ceremony) and make GMG into a replacement!

.>> I’m also sad that Steven didn’t win ANYTHING, not even a consolation prize, despite being better in terms of acting than some of those who actually won an award (and many of those who were nominated). Goes to show how much TVB DOESN’T care about him (yup, might as well put him into the same boat as Wong Hei, Sunny Chan, and all those other talented artists whom TVB loves to throw by the wayside). Well, in the long run, it doesn’t matter because we all know TVB’s awards are rigged anyway – Steven’s fans will continue to support him, no matter what happens (and I was happy to see what a great sport he was at the ceremony).

Overall, I still feel that the awards were rigged…TVB knows what they are doing -- they are very CLEVER when it comes to this kind of stuff and knows how far to push it before they will get 'caught' so to speak. Why do you think Raymond, Moses, and Charmaine as well as CBML were still awarded even though there were a lot of much more deserving candidates? TVB made sure that they still went with the audiences to some extent (hence Wayne and Sheren won) but still wanted to make sure they get their own biological children in there to satisfy their upper management.

No matter who they end up "awarding" and how much those won deserved or didn't deserve the awards, I will never associate the word "fair" with TVB's Anniversary Awards -- because no matter what, it will always be a reflection of TVB's politics (every year, it's pretty much just a matter of which category TVB decides to "rig")

Also, with regard to the ‘audience voting’ nonsense (some ignorant fans’ assertion that the awards were based on audience voting and so people who weren’t satisfied with the results should have voted) – well, sorry to burst your bubble, but the audience's vote really doesn't mean much at the end of the day because TVB will give the awards to whomever they want, since it's all about the politics really...they mostly just look at the audience vote to give them an 'idea' of how much backlash they will or won't get and how best to 'divide the pork' so that everyone is somewhat happy. So basically, whether we vote or not really doesn’t matter, since TVB will still rig it to benefit them (without making it seem too obvious of course).

LASTLY…..after this awards ceremony, it's even more obvious that FAVORITISM is rampant in TVB....so next time, if I hear again anyone from TVB claim that 'no favoritism exists in their company' (the message they continue to push out to the media), I'm just going to laugh at anyone who is naive enough to believe that!

TVB 43rd Anniversary Gala (萬千星輝賀台慶2010)

TVB’s annual anniversary “birthday party” occurred today (yesterday in HK) – it was a bit lackluster compared to years past (well, it’s actually been lackluster for the past decade and can’t compare at all to the ones from the 80s and 90s)….

Anyway, here are some of the highlights from this year’s anniversary gala that I felt were worth mentioning (good or bad):

.> It was obvious that Moses and Wayne were the biggest ‘stars’ of the anniversary gala show, as they were probably the biggest names there in the ‘fa dans & siu sangs’ category. Many of the other ‘big names’ and TVB’s current ‘favorites’ (i.e.: Charmaine, Sheren, Raymond, Steven, Myolie, Bosco, etc.) were all no shows . There was also barely any representation from anniversary series GMG (well, the 3 main leads didn’t show up at least) – it was pretty much the NR / CBML anniversary gala if you ask me (the cast from both series were the focus and pretty much overshadowed everyone else).
*** SIDENOTE: Found out some more information about the GMG thing, but gonna save it for my next post, which will be another one in my “TVB Rant” series….

.> TVB pretty much recycled some of the same ideas from last year’s anniversary gala this time around – namely having artists who are not known for singing partner up and perform songs, having the veteran green-leaf artists (the 50+ year old crowd) do a song and dance number, doing the whole ‘wet dance’ thing, etc….the only difference is that TVB shuffled things around in terms of order and also they had different artists perform in those segments from the ones who did so last year.

.> I must say that the anniversary skit that they did this time around was one of the funnier ones from this decade (though not as funny compared to the ones from the ‘old days’) – it was pretty clever how Eric Tsang did a parody of Virginia Lok and TVB’s infamous internal politics (I was cracking up because a lot of it was so true and he would irreverently poke fun at it). Oh, and for once, they didn’t make a huge mess and ‘torture’ artists with whipped cream, water, etc. (though I did feel sorry for Moses, who was pretty much the only one who ‘fell victim’ to Eric’s shenanigans….).

.> The ‘3 Gods Award Ceremony’ was interesting – I was actually expecting it to be funny, but it wasn’t really. The only thing I liked about that segment was the first part when they showed pictures of a few artists when they were young – the Kiki ones were nice and the Evergreen part was hilarious (the Evergreen / Raymond Lam pictures were quite clever –hey, who would’ve thought that Evergreen as a teenager would resemble Raymond Lam?

.> The last segment where TVB artists whom we are not used to seeing them sing were paired up with the Voice contestants for a ‘sing-off’….the 4 artists who sang were King Kong, Evergreen, Kiki, and Eric Tsang. All 4 of them did pretty good jobs, but I was most impressed with Kiki and Eric’s performances: Kiki sang like a pro – the way she carried her pitch and tone…wow, she sounded like a real singer! And Eric – well, I’ve always known that he’s a good singer because I’ve heard him several times, but he definitely did an awesome job (hey, in my opinion, he sang way better than his partner Mag Lam!!!) Evergreen was ok, but I think he could have done better – probably because his Mandarin pronunciation wasn’t that great, so it distracted me a bit from actually concentrating on his singing. As for King Kong, well, he did good, but I’m actually not surprised because I thought I had heard of him before back when I was following Taiwan entertainment in the late 90s / early 00s and if my memory serves me correctly, I think that he was a professional singer? I could be wrong, but his name just sounds familiar.

Overall, the show was a disappointment – though of course, not too surprising given TVB’s lack of star power in the past few years. My assessment: if you didn’t get to watch it, don’t worry – you didn’t miss anything!

TVB Anniversary Awards: My Predictions for Top 5 TV King

Below are my predictions on who will get into Top 5 for TV King.

Note that this is who I THINK will get into top 5, not who I WANT to get into top 5. In other words, the below predictions are NOT based on my personal preferences, but rather who has the highest chances based on all the information that has been out there so far. Just wanted to make it clear so that people don't get confused.

Top 5 predictions for TV King (in no particular order): Moses Chan, Raymond Lam, Wayne Lai, Steven Ma, Kevin Cheng

Analysis:

Moses: Well, he IS one of TVB's favorites so of course he will get in -- plus TVB went to great lengths to 'rig' the ratings for his series CBML, which tells me that they are trying to increase his chances. Also, Moses won both TV King as well as Favorite Male Character back in 2007 for his HOG role and has pretty much been in the running for both awards since then, though the focus hasn't been on him those 2 years because there were other 'hype' that overshadowed it (the Raymond vs Ha Yu thing in 2008 and the overwhelming success of Wayne Lai / Rosy Business in 2009).

Plus, based on TVB's actions so far, looks like Moses is 'back on top' again this year. In fact, in today’s Lighting Ceremony, Moses got the ‘prime spot’ during the group picture, standing right next to Dodo Cheng -- those familiar with TVB’s Lighting Ceremony knows that this means he is the hot favorite this year, as the closer one stands to Sir Run Run Shaw in the front row, the more ‘important’ he/she is to TVB. (Of course, Dodo and Liza Wang always occupy the space to the left and right of Mr. Shaw – it’s the people who surround them that are of the most interest).

What I think: Personally, Moses' performance in CBML was not that good – it was way too OTT (over the top) and is very similar to all the other comedic roles he's had -- nothing different, nothing special, no 'wow' factor. Oh, and his performance in the other series from earlier this year (ITEOTB)? It was a total joke! (ok, I admit some bias here because he was paired with Myolie in ITEOTB and I can't stand her). Regardless, the point is that I wouldn't be surprised if TVB gives the award to him purely based on the 'success' of CBML…if TVB gave him the award because he truly deserved it based on his acting, then that’s one thing, but if they give it to him because he is their favorite and his series was highly rated, then that’s totally wrong.


> Raymond: Of course Raymond will get into the Top 5 -- he's TVB's favorite 'biological son' and has been heavily promoted the past 2 years (2 concerts, 2 movies, 3 series, endless public events, etc.) He has pretty much been everywhere this year (I see an article about him in the news like every single week almost). Also, his series MOL -- which paired him with Tavia again -- was highly rated (the second highest rated series this year so far, beaten out only by CBML) -- so according to TVB's standards, I guess that automatically 'qualifies' him to be in contention for the award. In addition, it's important to note that 'rumor' has it back in 2008, TVB was planning to give the TV King award to Raymond, but because of the overwhelming audience support for Ha Yu (as well as TVB's notorious 'snub' of him in 2007), they had no choice but to give it to Ha Yu. TVB has been 'itching' to give the award to Raymond since then, but of course, since he didn't have any series nominated in 2009, they couldn't do it. This year, he's got 2 series in the running, though the other (GTL) was not well-received at all....

What I think: I feel that Raymond's performances in both his series weren't that great this year – maybe because he has way too much on his plate (tv series, movies, music -- he's pretty much been working non-stop), plus all his injuries this year....it's definitely affecting his performance. He needs to give it a rest and take care of his health first or else his career will be VERY short-lived -- but I guess that won't happen as long as he is under TVB's management. I know I'm putting my neck out there when I say this, but I don't think Raymond deserves to get the award this year for the reasons I outlined above. However, I don't think he needs to worry, since it's pretty much a given that TVB will reward him at the JSG awards end of this year....

Also, I had suggested a theory earlier on in another forum that TVB has decided to ‘switch gears’ now and instead of promoting Raymond for TV King, they are going with Moses instead (for obvious reasons – Raymond’s performance in MOL was so-so and his other series tanked, so it would be harder to justify giving him TV King). I’m actually beginning to believe this theory more after reading about today’s Lighting Ceremony and seeing the placements in the group picture – as stated above, Moses got the prime ‘Male Lead’ spot (along with Wayne)….Raymond was relegated to ‘second banana’ as he was standing next to Charmaine, who was next to Moses.


> Wayne: Last year's TV King will definitely be in the running this year, no matter what, even if he only has 1 series in contention this year. At this point, in terms of nominations, it really doesn't matter how his series "No Regrets" will do in the ratings because he's pretty much already guaranteed a spot on the top 5 list merely due to the fact that he has a series this year and he got the award last year -- it's like he's automatically entered into the contest. Wayne is known for his meticulous, brilliant acting in the entertainment circles and none of the contenders can 'beat' him so to speak in this arena, so of course there's really not a question of how 'good' his acting will be in "No Regrets" -- rather, the question is whether his performance in that series will 'beat out' the other contenders for the award -- or to put it more bluntly, whether TVB will give him the award over the 'favorites' that they are trying to push.

As for how TVB is treating him this year – well, they DID put him right next to Liza Wang during the group picture at the Lighting Ceremony, which is another ‘prime spot’ and shows that he is being pushed as the ‘other favorite’ (keep in mind that Moses is in the same position, but except on the other side right next to Liza Wang).

What I think: I will be quite happy if they give the award to Wayne, as I am confident that his performance in "No Regrets" will definitely be of high quality and he will probably be the one who most deserves it. Now, I'm sure people are going to say that it's unfair to give it to the same person or that his acting is at a different level than the other nominees so it's unfair to 'compare' because he has an obvious advantage with his experience and tenure, etc. etc. -- my response to this: yeah, whatever. People can make all the excuses they want, but the truth is that the acting of the other so-called nominees are just not up to par with Wayne's -- instead of whining about Wayne getting the award, they should see him as an example of how true acting SHOULD be done, learn from him, and bring their own acting up to his level so they can fairly compete.

Also, from TVB’s perspective, looks like the competition this year is really between Moses and Wayne (based on their positions for the group picture) – if that’s the case, I would rather they give it to Wayne.


> Steven: I guess technically Steven has 2 series in contention (AWT and GW), but honestly, AWT was aired so early in the year that no one is going to remember the series come awards time -- so I only considered GW for the purposes of this analysis. Steven's performance in GW was actually very good and had the same high quality that his previous roles had. Perhaps it may not be his 'representative work' and there was more 'hype' over Fala Chen's performance than his, but regardless, still a better job than most of the other nominees (except probably Wayne, though can’t really compare in terms of series since Wayne’s series just started airing today ). Plus GW did pretty well in terms of ratings and was well-received by audiences. Like Wayne back in his supporting actor days, Steven has always been one of those actors who is very underrated and often 'overlooked' by TVB -- which I don't understand since he definitely falls into the 'good-looking' category, which seems to be one of the 'pre-requisites' for those whom the management choose to promote. I can only conclude that TVB management doesn't really favor him because of his straightforward and direct personality, as I have seen several instances in which he 'spoke out' on issues that painted TVB in an unfavorable light (which they hate). Therefore, even though he will most likely get into the top 5, I consider him a 'dark horse' when it comes to winning the award.

Also, I noticed that in the Lighting Ceremony group picture, his placement was right next to Susanna Kwan (the second male on the left – so it’s Liza, then Wayne, then Sheren, then Louise Lee, then Susanna, then Steven)

What I think: I've always enjoyed Steven's performances, even if I hated the series itself (i.e.: Perish in the Name of Love -- I hated that series and almost every character in it except for his). There is a certain 'natural' quality to Steven's acting that makes his performances easily endearing to audiences. I would actually really like to see him win the award partly because he did a good job in GW, but also because he has always been consistently good in his other series, but rarely ever gets recognized by TVB. I think it's about time that he got rewarded for his many years of hard work. One thing I will say for sure -- if Steven does win it, I think I will probably cry tears of joy -- not because I'm a fan, but because someone who worked so hard and is more deserving of the award than some of the other nominees will finally get recognized for his efforts. (Sidenote: The ONLY other time that I cried when an artist won the TV King/Queen award was back in 2003 when Roger Kwok won it for the first time -- that was definitely a very emotional moment).


> Kevin: People may be wondering why I threw him into the top 5 prediction when he only has one series in the running this year, FOS, in which he was overshadowed by Kenneth Ma's excellent performance. I agree that with a lackluster performance and not much 'hype' this year, of course there is no justification for Kevin to make it in the top 5. However, let's not forget that he is Virginia Lok's favorite and it's pretty much guaranteed that she will try to get him into the Top 5 somehow, even if he has ZERO chance at winning the award this year -- it's pretty much so that TVB can 1) save face, since they have always touted Kevin as an 'awesome actor' (gag!) and 2) continued justification for why they gave him the TV King award back in 2006.

What I think: Ok, everyone knows how I feel about Kevin's acting ('he can't act' is an understatement). And he absolutely does NOT deserve any nomination this year -- but seeing how TVB likes to heavily (and shamelessly) promote their favorites, they definitely wouldn't leave Kevin out. Oh, and by the way, for those who say I'm biased against TVB -- I am just going to say that I would love nothing more than for me to be wrong this time around and someone else gets the spot other than Kevin.

So who do I WANT to get into Top 5? There’s actually no point in talking about it because I know it will NEVER happen.