Legal Strongman - Liu Kai-chi and Alex Fong return to TVB in this legal thriller.
Alex Fong is well-known inside and outside of the courtroom as an undefeated lawyer. In order to reap greater benefits, he joins Hong Kong's largest Chinese-owned firm. The reserved and introverted Liu Kai-chi is the managing partner of the firm. He faithfully fulfills his responsibilities while secretly cultivating power with an aim for the firm's highest position. With the firm's chairman position open, the two of them fight over life and death to fill the position.
Interest Level: 4.5/5. Big fan of legal thrillers. Some of the trailer sounds eerily similar to HKTV's The Election.
Triad Leader Under the Line of Fire - Kent Cheng and Kingdom Yuen have been lured back by Producer Leung Choi-Yuen. The three of them last collaborated in King Maker.
The underworld is a battleground for gangsters... A former triad boss has stepped down and is operating a neighbourhood restaurant, but his buddies want to make a comeback! I want to sell tofu pork-belly rice, but you want me to fight again. Brotherhood in this day and age, is there still a say?
Interest Level: 2/5. Looks like a lame gangster comedy. Wished TVB could have used the star power for a harder-hitting drama.
Obligatory Police Series
K9 Cop
He is a police officer who abhors evil and protects the weak. He is a police dog who is loyal, courageous and obedient. He helps him, once a guard dog for the triads, turn over a new leaf. Human and dog become the police force's best team.
Interest Level: 2.5/5. Not the thriller type of police series.
EU Overtime Mission
The EU's new female sergeant has discovered a portal to travel through time. She thought she could save lives, fight crime, repair her relationship and rewrite history. But history becomes more and more messed up and the situation spins out of control. In the end, how can she reverse the situation?
Interest Level: 3.5/5. Interesting twist to the time-travelling plot that TVB has used too often lately. Reminds me of the film "Edge of Tomorrow".
Misrepresented History
The Last Healer in Forbidden City - Empress Dowager Cixi was obviously a kind, loving woman, right?
The death of the Guangxu Emperor is one of China's historical mysteries. Did Cixi poison him? Was is Yuan Shiki's plot? An act of the Revolutionary Party? Or did he die from purely natural causes? Guangxu's most trusted imperial physician will unravel one of China's greatest mysteries!
Interest Level: 5/5. Excited to delve into the rich historical context of this series!
Omg, the cast...
Love as a Predatory Affair - No, you are not looking at the variety show section.
Love is like the food chain. At the top, there are the "tall, rich, handsome" and "white, rich, beautiful" who sweep the playing field in the competition for love. At the bottom, there are the "leftover ladies", "poison males" and "poor, short, ugly" who are secretly planning a revolt! This openly secret battle is both ridiculous and hilarious, and also reflective of reality.
Interest Level: 0/5. Zip.
Fashion War - A chance to learn who all the third-tier actresses at TVB are.
A top fashion magazine editor, a god within the fashion industry, has pegged a MK girl as his successor?! The fashion industry appears to be glamorous, but behind the glamour is a dark and ugly arena that is full of schemes. To survive, everyone puts on a fake mask and has ulterior motives.
Interest Level: 1/5. Moses Chan has been so terrible lately.
Peculiar Taste - Someone certainly had a peculiar taste in choosing the cast.
The golden lotus flower, awarded by the imperial court, is a symbol for a top restaurant. Having it equals to having money, fame and status. He is a food critic from hell who naturally possesses a golden tongue. He is a rising celebrity chef. The two of them are both rivals and friends, competing with their cooking and using taste to determine who is better.
Interest Level: 0/5. Can't decide if the cast is worse or the costumes.
TVB Ran Out of New Ideas
Brother's Keeper II - How much money do you need to give for TVB to make a series about you? Ask Ko Kei Bakery.
"When buying souvenirs in Macau, I only buy from Lo Shun Kei." Edwin Siu and Kristal Tin travel to Japan to find quality ingredients. Facing malicious attacks from their competitors, Edwin and Kristal must make choices. Will they stick to their principles? Or will they take measures to survive in the face of adversity? The challenges start once again...
Interest Level: 3/5. Ruco Chan was the main appeal in the original.
You From Kitty Star - A spin-off with the original cast of Ghost of Relativity.
In 2015, Ghost of Relativity used brainwaves to explain the existence of ghosts. Through its witty and humorous style, the story of a love triangle between humans and a ghost became popular among the HK audience. Now, the original cast and production team of Ghost of Relativity will make a brand new comedy "You From Kitty Star". It will use a half-scientific theory to explain cat-aliens who come to Earth. Their contact with people on Earth will lead to many surprising stories.
Interest Level: 1.5/5. Ghost of Relativity was aptly named. It was good relative to the other crap series. That doesn't mean it needs a spin-off.
House of Spirits - A remake of 1980 TVB drama Don't Look Now.
Using supernatural and fantasy in a relaxed way, this series conveys how modern people are focused on their jobs and forget about the value of family. A pair of happy ghosts who love helping people lend their superpowers to help a big brother who strives to protect his younger siblings and link the family together with love. A heart-warming comedy with surprises, joy, laughter and tears.
Interest Level: 2/5. The trailer looks really stupid.
Now I've Ran Out of Creative Category Titles
Presumed Accidents - Presumably the Lawrence Ng-Sisley Choi pairing is an accident?
An "accident" causes a father to be separated from his daughter, but through another series of "accidents", their fates are brought back together. Are "accidents" purely coincidences or a carefully arranged conspiracy?
Interest Level: 4/5. I like the dark and shady feel.
A Fist Within Four Walls
The Kowloon Walled City in the 1950s was an unpoliced area and a source for crime. "Eight Extremities Fist" is a powerful style that forces close-range attacks which are rapid in succession and able to change quickly. Two youths who are trained in martial arts search for the truth of their father's murder, while carrying out his last wish to drive out evil from the Walled City!
Interest Level: 3.5/5. Only for Ruco Chan and Nancy Wu. Grace Wong and Moon Lau look so out of place in the trailer.
3 of Honour - A TVB-Mainland collaboration, featuring Wong Cho Lam and Linda Chung. Wong Jing is the producer, so be ready for god-awful dubbing again.
Interest Level: 1/5. We all know how Wong Jing's last production turned out to be.
Not looking forward to any of these dramas – they all sound like garbage to me and a total waste of talent.
ReplyDeleteLegal Strongman does sound like a ripoff of The Election (which I wouldn’t put it past TVB to do) and despite how much I love Liu Kai Chi and usually will watch anything that he is in, I’m not sure how much of TVB’s ‘been there, done that’ formulaic torture I’d be able to sit through (if this year was any indication, I couldn’t bear sitting through any of TVB’s series and pretty much stopped watching after the first few episodes – that is, IF I even attempted to watch at all).
Oh, by the way – did you know that the Fashion War series is penned by The Election’s scriptwriter Benny Wong? That’s the first series he will be participating in after returning to TVB. Such a shame! After seeing what Benny was able to do with The Election, he now has to downgrade himself back down to writing lame, silly, ‘why is this even being made’ scripts for TVB. Argh!
And TVB, please STOP remaking classic dramas! The remake of Double Fantasies sucked, I have a feeling the still unaired Misadventure of Zoo remake is going to suck too (based on cast alone I have no confidence) and even though the cast for House of Spirits is one of the better ones I’ve seen from the past few years, the trailer was so dumb and silly that it totally turned me off to wanting to watch, even if it’s purely out of curiosity to see how badly TVB butchers the original series.
Oh, so Mr. ‘I’m a bajillion-dollar big-shot director so all of you critics need to STFU’ Wong Jing has yet another series next year? Damn! But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, as, according to him, Master of Destiny was a huge success! Sure, continue to be delusional, Mr. Wong – I’m not going to watch your poor excuse for a series even if you paid me a million dollars, LOL!
Interesting... but disappointed to see so many Sisley dramas. She better improve a lot since young charioteers, otherwise I gonna fast forward her scenes.
ReplyDeleteI am surprised Ali has so many dramas. Her acting was really impressive in Overachievers. Definitely looking forward to Nancy's dramas.
I miss series from two other great actors; Louis Cheung & Ben Wong. And where's Kenneth ma?
Only "Presumed Accidents" seem interesting. Kinda reminds me of the 2009 film "Accident."
ReplyDeleteI was eager to see Tony Hung in another drama. His acting's been improving, and I really wanna watch his skills grow. But looking at the cast of Peculiar Taste, I feel like it's going to be Angel in the Making all over again. The drama itself wasn't total crap, but there was a lot I had to put up with just to watch the drama for Tony lol. Hopefully Peculiar Taste won't be as bad as Angel in the Making. Watching Eliza Sam in the first few eps was like watching Grace Chan in Captain of Destiny.
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