Overview - My Commissioned Lover

From jointly operating a subdivided flat to opening their real estate company; from being best partners to a married couple, Matt Yeung and Samantha Ko are partners in work and life. Samantha has had to fare on her own since she was young. For her, starting a family is more risky than starting a business because she must deal with Matt's family, including his brother (Luk Wing), who has low self-esteem, and sister (Roxanne Tong), who is in love with a playboy (Kenny Wong).

Matt loves Samantha deeply and is even willing to admit to a crime and go to jail for her. A crisis emerges at their company. Not wanting Matt to be left with nothing when he is released from jail, Samantha uses her daughter to get close to her ex-boyfriend, Kenny.  Because of her excessive greed, she and Matt ultimately break up their partnership! The deeper the love, the deeper the hate, the two become enemies from then on...

Overview - Dead Wrong

Senior business consultant Roger Kwok cannot let go of the fact that he disappeared for ten years. He decides to go to Vietnam to investigate. He is accompanied by his wife Joey Meng and good friend Kenny Wong, but the local police thwart their investigation. They go through a series of dangerous situations before they can safely return home. Roger discovers that during his absence, Joey married Kenny and he is now the third party in their relationship. He has no choice but to leave his family and focuses on work to numb his pain. Fortunately, he receives support from his former apprentice, Vincent Wong, and makes a comeback in the consulting world. He develops an ambiguous relationship with his boss, Rebecca Zhu. But Roger is still bothered by his disappearance which left him stranded on an island. He decides to re-open his investigation and finally discovers some unexpected clues, leading him down a path for revenge with no turning back...

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Overview - Speed of Life

Kenny Wong, a police inspector on the traffic unit, makes it his personal mission to stop illegal street racing and arrest speeding drivers. He and his subordinates patrol the streets on their motorcycles, ready to prosecute any speeding, dangerous, intoxicated or unlicensed drivers. Kenny has a cold personality and rarely smiles. Of his colleagues, only Benjamin Yuen of the Accident Investigation Unit understands him well. When a rookie with a bubbly personality (Sisley Choi) arrives, everyone thought that she would not be able to withstand Kenny's strict training. But surprisingly, she develops a father-daughter-like mentorship relationship with him. She even helps him find relief from a nagging secret. The envious Benjamin tries to persuade Sisley to transfer to his team because the performance of his subordinate Natalie Tong is unsatisfactory. Benjamin likes to conduct very thorough investigations,which often makes simple cases more complicated than it needs to be. On the other hand, Natalie does things by the books, an attitude which puts her in a tense standoff against Benjamin. Street racing become rampant again and racers are openly provoking the police. As Kenny leads the team to fight back, he pushes himself towards extremely dangerous territory and the dark cloud that had been troubling him for many years re-emerges...

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Overview - The Executioner

Kenny Wong is an executioner who has executed many people. To ensure that his saviour's daughter-in-law (Elaine Yiu) can safely give birth, he arranges for her to live at the home of Maggie Siu, a renowned mid-wife. As a result, he encounters a strange murder case and even uses his executioner's blade to save a young life. Because of this mysterious baby boy, Kenny and Maggie is embroiled into the political battle within the imperial palace. However, this pairing of a cool and a warm personality repeatedly resolve many crisis. They fall in love as they make it through adversity together. Meanwhile, Matt Yeung and Katy Kung, a young couple who grew up together in a brothel house, come to Maggie's home. They beg Kenny to accept Matt as an apprentice executioner. It turns out that Matt has an ulterior motive, which is to escape punishment from a crime. Kenny is undecided. A mysterious magician (Joel Chan) appears and causes everyone's relationships to become complicated. The identity of the baby boy is slowly revealed. At the same time, the death knell has started ringing...

The Executioner Promo Clips

Overview - The Executioner

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Overview - Master of Destiny

Liza Wang is a legendary woman. Her husband (Wayne Lai) committed suicide early on after suffering a business failure. She raised their three sons and an adopted daughter by herself, while single-handedly building a business empire. She is grooming her sons to be her successor, including eldest son Kenny Wong, second son Hawick Lau and youngest son Edwin Siu. Her adopted daughter (Kimmy Tong) has a crush on Hawick, though his heart already belongs to someone else. Unfortunately, the relationship doesn't work out, so he focuses on his career instead. This puts Kenny's position into jeopardy. The ambitious Monica Mok suddenly barges into Kenny's world and they begin to plot against Hawick. As the family faces all kinds of crisis, lawyer Angie Chiu's identity is revealed and Kimmy returns from abroad. How does Liza, a woman who can hold up half the sky, handle these difficulties?


Master of Destiny Promo Clips

Master of Destiny Promo Clips

Overview - Master of Destiny

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Overview - Tomorrow Is Another Day

Senior correctional officer Lawrence Ng is stationed at the Stanley Prison and is in charge of prisoner discipline. Clashing with prisoners every day, he is under heavy pressure and must act carefully every step of the way. In contrast, his subordinate Vincent Wong frequently ignores the rules and has close contact with the prisoners, even developing a relationship with one of them. This causes a lot of tension between him and Lawrence.

Kate Tsui, who works at the Lo Wu Correctional Institution, has known Lawrence for many years. Despite their ten year age gap, she bravely expresses her love for him, but is met with his swift rejection. Lawrence's friend and colleague, Kenny Wong, who works in the Rehabilitation Division, knows that Lawrence is only using his sister (Jacqueline Wong) as an excuse to avoid new relationships because of his previous failed marriage. But Kenny is too busy with his own family problems to offer much help. Luckily, Kenny has the support of Lawrence's ex-wife (Jade Leung) and his colleague Tracy Chu.

The ordeals inside and outside the prison cell lead to complicated stories that most people cannot understand. With a large riot waiting to break out, Lawrence and his colleagues' lives are put into danger. In the end, can they overcome the challenges and complete their mission?


Tomorrow Is Another Day Promo Clips

Tomorrow Is Another Day Promo Clips

Overview - Tomorrow Is Another Day

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Beauty At War Promo Clips

See Overview - Beauty At War, Official Poster for Beauty At War

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Official Poster for Beauty At War

Comment: Notice the bird and the cage. I suppose it's an analogy for how the people in the palace wish to be freed from the cage that is Forbidden City. Pretty subtle.

So excited!!! I hope it will be as good as the original. The best thing about the original is the unpredictability and quick pace. I will have at least one Historical Context post, so look out for that!

Read Overview - Beauty At War

Overview - Beauty At War

Christine Ng purposely spreads rumours in the palace to vent out her displeasure of her sister Sheren Tang. Ada Choi, a wet nurse, uses the opportunity to make money by helping others investigate the truth to the rumours. She becomes Sheren’s most trusted confidant and the two share a sisterly bond, until the arrival of a Kunqu troupe. The performers, Moses Chan and Eddie Kwan, move the hearts of many within the harem, including the lonely Christine. Worried that Christine will make a grave error in judgement, Sheren devises a fool-proof plan. But instead, it causes her to become entangled in the complicated relationship between Ada and Moses. To get back at Sheren, Christine allies with diviner Kenny Wong. Outsiders may see Kenny as a lunatic, but those involved know that what really drives people crazy is Forbidden City itself…

Comment: War and Beauty is one of my all-time favourite dramas. I remember finishing it in 3 days. I hope the sequel lives up to the name. Everyone has different characters in the sequel except for Sheren. She reprises her role as Yu Fei, but according to her interviews, Yu Fei is more peace-loving this time around. 

Watch Promo Clips here




Character Map:

Screen Time Hoggers

**Word cloud idea was inspired by another TVB blog (but I can't remember where)**

Oscar Leung

This year is most certainly a breakthrough year for Oscar. He went from a small-time actor to being a household name and has a high chance to take home the Most Improved Award at this year’s awards ceremony. His popularity rose with the role of “Kwan Yi Gor” in L’Escargot. He followed up with strong performances as the official historian in Queens of Diamonds and Hearts and Linda Chung’s dance-loving brother in House of Harmony and Vengeance. Oscar captured the hearts of the audience with his portrayal of the winking sniper “Chong Cheuk-yuen” in Tiger Cubs. His character even made a special guest appearance in Highs and Lows. In the anniversary series The Confidant, Oscar has lots of room to show his acting chops as the Tongzhi Emperor.

Raymond Cho

2012 has been Raymond Cho's most fruitful year to date, being featured in 6 series. He started the year off playing Niki Chow’s brother in Bottled Passion. Then he had the role of a heart surgeon in The Hippocratic Crush. Next, he was the ex-lover of Sharon Chan in Queens of Diamonds and Hearts. He was the disposed king "Lee Hin", son of Wu Zetian (Rebecca Chan) in The Greatness of a Hero. He joined the cast of Ghetto Justice 2 to replace Eddie Kwan as the silly policeman in the series. Finally, he has a highly prominent role of "An Dehai" in the anniversary series The Confidant.

Kenny Wong

Kenny has always been a reliable supporting actor. He was one of the main characters in When Heaven Burns and even tried his hand at singing the sub-theme song. He was paired with Elvina Kong in Let It Be Love. He was the gym owner in Gloves Come Off and the personification of Moses Chan’s evil in Master of Play. In Tiger Cubs, he was a loving father and in The Last Steep Ascent, he was the ever-supportive friend of Moses Chan and husband of Aimee Chan.  

Kenneth Ma

Kenneth has successfully established himself as a first-line siu-sang at TVB. He gained legions of fans with his role of “Yat Kin” in The Hippocratic Crush. He shaved his head to be the “King of Thieves” in Tiger Cubs, then travelled back in time in Three Kingdoms RPG. In the anniversary series Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles, he is the son of Damien Lau. Recently, Kenneth captured the Favourite Actor award at the Astro Awards and has a chance to do so again at the upcoming TVB awards. 

Linda Chung

Linda topped TVB’s first-line actresses with the most productions this year. She took a departure from her normal good girl roles in L’Escargot, where her character was unfavourable for her relationship with the married Michael Tse. But she came back with a positive role in Daddy Good Deeds. She played a semi-villain in House of Harmony and Vengeance while displaying her elegant dancing. Her role as the depressed “Hailey” in Witness Insecurity was her representative work of the year.

Moses Chan

4 series, 4 different roles for Moses. Coming off comedic roles from previous years, Moses was once again serious in When Heaven Burns opposite of Bowie Lam. In Let It Be Love, he plays an ordinary Mongkok guy in love with an international superstar. In Master of Play, he was a serial killer battling against his own five personifications. In The Last Steep Ascent, he was a caring, romantic man who always stood by Maggie Cheung’s side. Recently, he won an award at the Asian Television Awards, gaining international recognition for his acting abilities. 

Ben Wong

Fresh off being named Best Supporting Actor last year, Ben Wong was looking for another stellar year. He had lesser roles in When Heaven Burns as Charmaine Sheh’s ex-husband and The Greatness of a Hero as the leader of the Turk tribe. In The Hippocratic Crush, he was Kenneth Ma’s superior. In Queens of Diamonds and Hearts, he played a comedic villain trying to usurp the throne. His portrayal of the ultimate evil “Poon Sir” in Highs and Lows was greatly praised by the audience. He followed that with a performance as the sentimental ex-lover of Idy Chan in Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles. With a strong year like that, it is a wonder why Ben was not nominated for any TVB awards. 

Florence Kwok

Florence has been a constant presence on screen this year in the sitcom Come Home Love. Besides sitcoms, she was Charmaine Sheh’s manager in Let It Be Love and Katy Kung’s sister in Gloves Come Off. The role of a ruthless office executive is no stranger to her, but in No Good Either Way, she pulled it off in an entertaining way. Finally, she was the evil concubine in King Maker, plotting to install her son Chris Lai onto the throne. 


Mandy Wong

Mandy is being touted as the next top fadan. She dropped her image of the shy, glasses girl from her early career to be the loud housewife “Kwan Yi So” in L’Escargot. She portrayed successive strong career-oriented roles as an ambitious doctor-trainee in The Hippocratic Crush and the first female SDU team member in Tiger Cubs. Her pairing with Him Law in Divas in Distress was well-liked by audience. Her year would end off perfectly if she can win an award at this year’s awards ceremony.

Natalie Tong

Natalie has had increasingly more opportunities since winning the Most Improved Award in 2010. In Gloves Come Off, she was partnered with Raymond Wong. She developed a relationship with Jason Chan in No Good Either Way. The role of a crazed psychologist in Tiger Cubs was a refreshing experience for Natalie. In King Maker, she was Wayne Lai’s long-lost sister and later became Pierre Ngo’s concubine. She upgraded from concubine to Empress in The Confidant.

JJ Jia

Despite JJ's accent when speaking Cantonese, it certainly hasn’t hindered her acting career. She was able to win over Ron Ng in L’Escargot. In House of Harmony and Vengeance, she was a semi-villain and conspired with her L’Escargot love opponent Linda Chung. She was quite noticeable with her red wig in Tiger Cubs as the wife of the “King of Thieves” Kenneth Ma. She transformed into a nice girl again in Ghetto Justice 2 and was Sam Lee’s caring girlfriend. In Silver Spoon, Sterling Shackles, she is the 5^th woman in Damien Lau’s life. 

Vote in the Casual TVB Awards 2012!

Overview - The Last Steep Ascent

A young Moses Chan meets a soon-to-be married Maggie Cheung, leaving him with a lasting impression. Twenty years later, the two meet again when Moses works for a pharmacy owned by Maggie’s husband, KK Cheung. Maggie discovers that KK developed a relationship with his maid (Aimee Chan) while he was in San Francisco. But to protect the family’s honour, Maggie quietly turns a blind eye up until KK passes away from illness. Believing that Aimee was pregnant with KK’s child, Maggie even invites Aimee to live with her and treats her like a sister. The only person knowing the truth is Kenny Wong…

Meanwhile, Maggie takes control of the family business and faces heavy pressure from her brother-in-law and his son (Edwin Siu). Despite all criticisms, Moses steps out to help her navigate the challenges. In the past, Maggie was afraid to express her feelings due to traditional societal views and the relationship with her mother-in-law. Now, she is finally moved by Moses’ sincerity and they decide to move into the mountains to lead a peaceful life. Moses uses 50 years to complete a 6000 step stairway to heaven, signifying their cross-all-barriers love.


Original article

"Master of Play" Review

Contains Major Spoilers!

 

Producer: Jonathan Chik
Genre: Crime, thriller
Cast: Adam Cheng, Moses Chan, Maggie Shiu, Aimee Chan, Rebecca Chan, Kenny Wong, Rachel Kan

Plot Summary: Adam is obsessed with finding his kidnapped daughter. Maggie’s hand was chopped off by a psycho killer. Moses is controlled by four weird people who don’t even exist. Aimee runs around crying and yelling and being annoying. People die.

Review: I was looking forward to this series. So what if Producer Chik’s previous dramas set records for lowest ratings? This is different! Right and wrong! Yeah, it’s a new theme, new setting, but a very Jonathan Chik feel. Dim lighting? Check. Long-winded dialogue? Present. Ambivalent meaning? Yes. Moses and Kenny? Definitely.

This series is supposed to talk about humanity and consequences of falling into bad habits. If the thesis is that humans are psycho, then I’d say it was portrayed pretty well. Moses imagines psycho people, Adam becomes psycho, Maggie is a psycho killer, Aimee can see the tree change colours. I’m surprised I didn’t go crazy myself after watching this. 

Not everything you see is real. A lot of things are constructed in the minds of Moses and Adam. I like the technique they used. It cuts from one thing to another, mixing two unrelated scenes together to evoke your imagination. It also keeps you constantly guessing. But at the same time, you might feel really lost about what’s happening. The audience is led to believe many things and then there’s a big twist. For the majority of the series, the set-up is that Aimee is Adam’s long-lost daughter. When she admits to this, you’re like “Yes! I’m right!” and then she goes “Haha, just kidding! I’m not his daughter.” Then as he’s dying, Moses declares “You’ll never know what happens to your daughter.” Huh? Same situation when Maggie turned out to be the Wednesday killer. The audience is left in a daze. I find this both brilliant and frustrating.

The story leaves a lot of room for guessing. Some things are supposed to be implied and some things you have to think really hard to understand. The lingering questions: Does Adam die in the end? Is Aimee his daughter or not? Did Kenny & Co. ever exist in real life? Is Maggie the real Wednesday killer as she claims? Why did she hook up with Adam if she still loves Moses? And what’s up with Aimee’s ability to see the tree change colours?   

The setting, like I said, is really Jonathan Chik – as in dark. It’s as if none of his productions ever have a lighting crew. The characters speak in circles; they never just say things directly. Very similar to his previous dramas where the long dialogue brings out some kind of deep meaning if you can actually stay awake to hear the whole thing. No wonder the housewives in Hong Kong didn’t like it. The costumes and make-up are plain weird for the people at the Jekyll bar, especially Kenny and Rachel. But I guess this is fitting because they’re weird people to begin with. The sand paintings at the end of each episode is very unique.

For me, it’s always plot over acting. Plus the veteran cast had no problems with acting anyways. Special compliments go to Adam, since he had to portray so many different personalities when his character immersed himself into the mentality of other people. Adam expertly handled everything thrown at him. The only glaring exception was Aimee. She sounded like she had a stuffed nose when she talked. Not helping things is her pronunciation and sometimes she slurred the words together, so it makes it hard to hear what she’s saying.

Last thing I want to say is that this series received a lot of complaints for being bloody and terrifying. I find them unwarranted. There weren’t many bloody scenes after the opening ten minutes. And this series was hardly terrifying. It was being branded as such, but it turned out to be mostly talking. Probably should have been less than 30 episodes so things can move along faster.

Recommendation:  Watchable. 2.5/5