Results of Casual TVB Awards 2012

First of all, I'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! It's a new year, new beginning. May 2013 be prosperous and fulfilling to everyone.

After voting all throughout December, the results are in for the Casual TVB Awards 2012!

Favourite Couple


It's been a fruitful year for both Kenneth Ma and Tavia Yeung. After 13 years in the industry, Tavia was finally rewarded with the Best Actress title, while her partner, Kenneth, took home the Favourite Male Character award. The pair collaborated in three dramas this year, most memorably winning the hearts of the audience in The Hippocratic Crush. They were met with a tragic ending in Three Kingdoms RPG and many fans wished they were together in Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles.


Best Theme Song


Having "Cantopop Queen" Joey Yung perform the theme song for The Hippocratic Crush adds a beautiful touch to the series. I, for one, fell in love with the song as soon as I heard Joey's powerful voice along with the captivating melody. A fine composition by Tang Chi Wai.


Most Surprising Success


Before, most people did not know who Koo Ming Wah was, but "So Gay" shot to fame with Divas in Distress to be the most surprising success story of the year. Almost giving up his acting career at one point, Koo Ming Wah finally achieved recognition after 18 years at TVB and earned the Best Supporting Actor award.


Favourite Portrayal of Historical Character


Despite history's often negative depiction of the eunuch Li Lianying, Wayne Lai demonstrated a more favourable side of this famed historical figure. Wayne showed the character's compassionate side and unwavering loyalty to his master, successfully cementing his own place in TVB history by capturing his third TV King title.


Most Improved Cantonese


Since winning Miss Hong Kong Pageant in 2006, Aimee Chan quickly gained heavy supporting roles and is now on the fast track to popularity with several series scheduled to be released in 2013. While her language skills still leaves much to be desired, fans see her Cantonese as the most improved among a number of linguistically-challenged artists. Perhaps Moses Chan can help her improve her Chinese even further.


Worst Ending


In a year where fans are frustrated by the questionable endings of several series, Three Kingdoms RPG proved to be the worst offender of all. The abrupt, tragic ending was completely unexpected from the comedic series and leaves many unanswered questions about the fate of the rest of the characters. Luckily, there's this article.


Best Villain


Taking a departure from his good guy roles, Kenneth Ma shaved his head and transformed into a sneering, throat-cutting, red-head loving "King of Thieves" with a neck tattoo. Guest-starring as a cold-blooded killer in Tiger Cubs, fans loved him as much as they despised of his deeds. Kenneth was a formidable opponent to the SDU team and added lots of action and excitement to the series.


Funniest Villain


Despite being a bitchy, pain-in-the-backside superior in No Good Either Way, it was hard to hate Florence Kwok's character. Although she rarely cracked a smile and tried to make life miserable for her workers, her antics brought plenty of laughter to the audience.


Best Comedy


Daddy Good Deeds is a heart-warming family drama that exceeded expectations. There were a few pleasant surprises from the cast and many pop culture references that gave the audience a good laugh. Most viewers found it to be an enjoyable break from serious dramas.


Most Interesting Historical Context Post


The historical backdrop for The Confidant was the late-Qing Dynasty during the beginning of Empress Dowager Cixi's reign. I compiled a brief profile of all the true historical figures in the series  to give readers a sense of who these people were and what they did. "The Confidant Characters" proved to be quite a popular post with 1600+ page views, ranking an all-time third in my blog's short history.


See full results.

Thank you to everyone for participating in the Casual TVB Awards 2012 and I hope you will continue to find interest in my posts in 2013!

Overview - Inbound Troubles

Roger Kwok has always dreamed of opening up a travel agency with his girlfriend, Angela Tong. Unfortunately, they fell into a scam and accumulated huge debts, driving them into bankruptcy. Roger hopes to peacefully pass by the last few months of bankruptcy, then get married with Angela and start anew. He is hit hard when he discovers that Angela has hooked with her pal Bob Lam. Things change when he meets a newly-immigrated social worker (Joey Meng), his cousin (Wong Cho Lam) who came from Mainland aspiring to be a singer and an old-time entertainer (Mimi Chu). In addition, his sister (Ivana Wong) returns from Taiwan with a lie that she has completed her Masters degree. All these events combine with the cultural differences between Mainland and Hong Kong to produce a comedic family drama and make Roger finally understand that his ultimate life goal is…

Comment: Some new faces and Wong Cho Lam's first time as scriptwriter. But the storyline isn't very appealing, especially since I (living in Canada) can't relate to the Hong Kong-Mainland issues. Probably a skip for me...


Character Map:

2013 Forecast

Get Used to Seeing...

Sequels

The creatively-challenged TVB has resorted to producing sequels or spin-offs of well-received dramas. Not only does it require less novelty, sequels almost always have tons of hype and grab high ratings. While some fans are excited for a continuation of their favourite series, others may be less eager to see a reboot with different characters and inconsistent scripting. Can the sequels prove to be as successful as the original production?

Upcoming Sequels: Beauty at War, Triumph in the Skies II, A Great Way to Care II, The Hippocratic Crush II, Rosy Business 3

The “Cantonese-Challenged” Trio

Like it or not, Aimee Chan, Eliza Sam and Christine Kuo will continue to be heavily promoted by TVB. There will likely be at least one of them in every upcoming series. Aimee currently has the most dramas lined up among all of TVB’s fadans and even has the chance to co-lead in some of them. Meanwhile, Christine and Eliza will appear in some of those anticipated sequels. There is no shortage of opportunities for the trio, but can they win the hearts of the audience?

Upcoming Dramas:

Aimee – Ruse of Engagement, Love Exceeds the Coastline, A Great Way to Care II, Unrequited Love in Twin Cities, Cold Mountain Hidden Dragon

Eliza – Triumph in the Skies II, The Hippocratic Crush II, Sniper Attack 2013

Christine – Beauty at War, A Great Way to Care II, Three Lifetimes of Fate

The “Chan-Chan” Pairing

It’s Moses and Aimee Chan off-screen, but on-screen, it will be Ruco and Aimee Chan. They share three series together in 2013, playing a couple in two of them. Their relationship will be put to the test in Ruse of Engagement and Unrequited Love in Twin Cities. Can their on-screen love story be as sweet as the real-life “Double Chan” relationship?

Upcoming Dramas: Ruse of Engagement, Love Exceeds the Coastline, Unrequited Love in Twin Cities

Breakthroughs?

Ruco Chan

Ruco became popular with his role in The Other Truth, but had a quiet year in 2012. He will be looking to make more noise in 2013, where he stars in five dramas. Among them, his roles in Ruse of Engagement and Big Wheel seem to be the most promising. In both, he is a semi-good, semi-villainous police officer, a type that tends to attract lots of fanfare.

Upcoming Dramas: Heart Road GPS, Ruse of Engagement, Love Exceeds the Coastline, Big Wheel, Unrequited Love in Twin Cities

Edwin Siu

Edwin is coming off a great year that saw him nominated for the Most Improved and Best Supporting Actor awards. He will continue to feature in several big productions, such as in Detective Columbo and Rosy Business 3, both alongside TV King Wayne Lai . He gets his chance to co-lead a series (with Ruco) in Big Wheel. He may very well be a strong contender again for next year's Most Improved award.

Upcoming Dramas: Detective Columbo, A Great Way to Care II, Big Wheel, Rosy Business 3

Natalie Tong

Natalie already had plenty of screen time in 2012, but this year will see her finally attain lead actress status in Detective Columbo, where she will act out two roles. She is also part of the highly anticipated Rosy Business 3, where she is the second female lead after Myolie Wu. She must enjoy working with Wayne Lai since Rosy Business 3 will be her fourth consecutive series with him.

Upcoming Dramas: Detective Columbo, Rosy Business 3

Tavia Yeung

Hard to imagine why the reigning TV Queen will have a “breakthrough”, but Tavia’s role as a schizophrenic in A Great Way to Care II sounds exactly like the type of role that will win over her naysayers.

Upcoming Dramas: A Great Way to Care II, The Hippocratic Crush II

Miscellaneous Historical Facts in The Confidant

The Yehe Nara Curse

During the late-Ming Dynasty, Nurhaci (努爾哈赤), the leader of the Aisin-Goro clan, was uniting the Jurchen tribes (later known as the Manchu) in Manchuria (northeast China). The last tribe to be conquered was the Yehe Nara, led by a man named Gintaisi (金台石). They opposed the Jurchen union because they were being treated well by the Ming court. However, despite having the help of the Ming army, Nurhaci eventually defeated the Yehe Nara tribe and Gintaisi was either executed or forced to commit suicide. Before his death, Gintaisi allegedly cursed Nurhaci that as long as one of his descendants survived, even if it was a female, they will bring down the Aisin-Goros.

Nurhaci’s descendants went on to defeat the Ming-rebellion leader Li Zicheng and began their rule over China. Whether as a coincidence or because the Aisin-Goros were fearful of the curse, it was not until the reign of the Xianfeng Emperor that a Yehe Nara woman gained a prominent ranking within the imperial harem. That woman would later become known as Empress Dowager Cixi.

There are two ways in which the curse seems to have been fulfilled. The first interpretation is that Cixi’s disastrous rule brought about the Qing Dynasty’s downfall.  Her anti-reformist stance and extravagant spending were reasons why China fell behind in terms of military and technological advancement. The second interpretation is that a Yehe Nara woman – Empress Dowager Longyu (隆裕皇后) – signed the abdication agreement on behalf of Puyi to officially end the Qing Dynasty.

The Making of a Eunuch

In the Qing Dynasty, the castration of eunuchs was performed by government-sanctioned “knifers”. There were two families who specialized in the surgery: “畢五” and “小刀劉”. Anyone who wished to become a eunuch had to first register with one of them. Following a background check, the approved males would need sign a waiver to excuse the knifer of any consequences from the castration. They will also need to bring a gift for the knifer and several items to help them through their recovery. There is a fee of six silver pieces, but since most families could not afford to pay the price, they will sign a promissory note to repay their debts once they enter the palace.

The optimal time for surgery was in late-spring or early summer when it was relatively warm, because the castrated man cannot wear pants for at least one month after the surgery. Before the surgery, the person will rid themselves of poop and urine, then they will be locked in a sealed room for 3-4 days without food or water. Once they are ready, their male parts will be anaesthetized with hot chili sauce or pepper. They will be strapped to a chair and asked, once again, if they are willing to become a eunuch. If there is any hesitation at all, the knifer will not perform the surgery.

Using a curved knife, the knifer will sever the genitals in a single quick slice and then quickly insert a plug to prevent the blockage of the urethra. For the next three days, the patient is kept in a sealed room and forbidden from eating or drinking. The plug is removed after three days and the surgery is considered a success if the patient can urinate properly. The new eunuch will need to wait for the wound to heal, a recovery process that takes approximately 100 days. His “preciouses” will be hung from the ceiling on a red string in hopes of a rapid rise up the palace ranks. Upon the eunuch’s death, his family will reclaim the “preciouses” from the knifer so that the eunuch can be buried as a whole man.

The Use of “Nucai”

The term nucai (奴才) is a self-depreciating term meaning “your servant/slave”. This term is traditionally used by eunuchs to address themselves in the presence of the Emperor. Generally, other court officials would use the term chen (臣) instead, meaning “your subject”. Recall in Curse of the Royal Harem where all the court attendants, including the concubines, referred to themselves as nucai. There is actually historical basis for it. In the Qing Dynasty, Manchu court officials, regardless of rank, would use the term nucai to refer to themselves. Meanwhile, Han court officials, regardless of rank, were only permitted to use the term chen. This is because the Manchu Emperor and officials were considered to be akin to master and servant from the same household, whereas the Han people are not part of the “family” and are only treated as subjects of the Manchu ruler. Such a distinction is so important that the Qianlong Emperor was greatly angered when a Han official referred to himself as nucai when submitting a joint memorial with a Manchu official. The Qianlong Emperor issued a decree that, from then on, Manchu and Han officials who make joint submissions must both refer to themselves as chen. The Emperor would rather have the Manchu “downgrade” to use chen than to allow the Han people the privilege of being a nucai of the Emperor. 

Read The Confidant Review

More Historical Context posts:
The Unequal Treaties
The Confidant Characters
The Empress Dowagers
The Xinyou Coup - How Cixi came to power
The Burning of Yuan Ming Yuan
The Confidant & Curse of the Royal Harem Connection - Relationship Map of Late Qing Emperors