May-June Variety Shows

It’s time for another round-up of TVB’s variety shows under the direction of Eric Tsang and Wong Cho Lam. Through May and June, it felt like TVB was producing variety shows at a breakneck pace and ended up giving short shrift to its shows. Many of the concepts have potential, but was not given enough time to develop. 

• Dub of War (好聲好戲): The show shined a spotlight on the unseen voice actors at TVB. It was amazing to learn about how dubbing works and all the skills it takes to do a good job. I was genuinely surprised by the excellent performances from some of the participants. Rating: 9/10. 

My top five most impressive performances: 

5. Yuki Law and Marktwo Lee - For newbies, this was an impressive performance. Especially when Marktwo says his first line, I thought they were using Ron Ng’s voice.

4. Moon Lau and Tedford Wong - Moon and Tedford were better at dubbing characters outside of their age range than the three finalists. 

3. Sisley Choi and Owen Cheung - They sounded as if they were playing the original clip. The chip goes through a lot of emotions and both of them were handled it well. Owen Cheung has always been more impressive doing imitations than using his own voice. 

2. Yoyo Chen - Yoyo was able to speak in another dialect as if she was fluent and no one even taught her!

1. Joey Thye - I was most surprised by Joey’s performance. She sounds just like Grace Chan and even timed her breathing and crying perfectly with the clip. 

Bonus: Coty Wong and Tinson Lung - They are instructors for a reason. Their performance was at the next level. 

• Case Unclosed (死因有可疑): In the first head-to-head battle with ViuTV, TVB brought a knife to a gunfight. The show looked like an amateur production next to ViuTV’s serious efforts. It is disappointing because I really like the concept of a murder-mystery show. Rating: 5/10. [Full review here]

• Top Sales (識貨): This was essentially an advertising spot disguised as a show. Zero interest from me when I couldn’t (and wouldn’t, even if I could) buy the products they were selling. But Yoyo Chen is on a hot streak. Rating: 2/10. 

• Prelude to TVB All Star Games: The Ring (明星運動會前哨戰: Fight盡): The show suffered from some major cutting issues. Training, interview and competition clips were haphazardly thrown together like a tossed salad. The show also makes a lacklustre effort to introduce the fighters to the audience. The audience can’t feel like they are part of the fighters’ journeys when they only see them for seconds at a time and barely know who they are. Rating: 4/10. 

• Mean Talk: I loved the juicy gossip that was being spilled on the show! Six episodes was definitely too short. There’s plenty more tea to be spilled. Rating: 7/10.

TV Wars: Battle of the LARP

TVB and ViuTV recently had their first direct battle. Both stations produced a variety show that involves "live action role playing" (LARP), where players role play as characters in a scenario and solve mysteries. To intensify things, the twin shows debuted on the same day, in the same time slot. 

Let's see how the stations fared in the "Battle of the LARP"!

Participants:

TVB's Case Unclosed was hosted by Alex Fong, Sammi Cheung, Arnold Kwok and Kayan Yau. Matthew Ho, Moon Lau, Pakho Chau and Stephanie Cheng appeared as guests. 

ViuTV's All Suspicious featured a rotating cast of players, headlined by Justin Cheung and Hedwig Tam, and included Yatho Wong, George Au, Tang Lai Ying, Jace Chan and others. 

Verdict: Tie. Unless you are a fan of a particular artist, it is unlikely that the line-up for either show had much effect on the average viewer. 

Format: 

Case Unclosed had two cases over five episodes. Each case featured six players, led by “Detective Soap” Alex Fong. Each case began with the players introducing themselves and their timeline. It was followed by two rounds of investigation and discussion. Detective Soap also got a chance to question two players alone. Afterwards, the players made closing statements and then voted on the culprit. The truth was revealed through a narrated reenactment. 

All Suspicious had six cases over 15 episodes. Each case had between 6-8 players. A brief description of each player’s role was shown to the audience using title cards. The players then jumped straight into investigation. The players were free to talk with each other and form alliances. They may also have individual side missions to perform. There were generally two rounds of investigation and discussion before the players voted on the culprit. The truth was revealed in an epilogue. 

Verdict: Case Unclosed. The format of the game is actually pretty similar on both shows, but Case Unclosed wins by making the case and characters easier to follow. The chief complaint from netizens of All Suspicious was how it had too many characters and confusing relationships between them, which made the cases hard to follow.

Content: 

Both of Case Unclosed’s cases were murder mysteries. The stories seem acceptable for this type of game, as each character had a plausible motive and opportunity to commit the crime. However, the evidence and characters were thinly developed. There was sparse evidence for each case and it only weakly supported the supposed truth. The characters lacked background besides the basics and their timelines. 

All Suspicious had more variety of cases aside from murder, such an art heist and bomb threat. Some of the cases also incorporated side missions and secondary plots. The character backgrounds were sketched out and they each had secrets or hidden relationships with other characters. There was an abundance of evidence to sort through and most had an explainable purpose to the plot. 

Verdict: All Suspicious. The cases, evidence and characters were richer and added interesting layers to the show. The show improved after the first case, as the audience became more familiar with the players and game. The players also broke the fourth wall more to explain to the audience what was going on.

Aesthetics: 

Case Unclosed looked like an amateur production. The rooms were set up in a studio next to each other and labelled with paper signs. Walls and ceilings were missing. Players have to walk along a marked path on the ground to avoid walking through "walls." The set felt crowded as the players and crew moved around the space. Cameras and areas outside of the set frequently appeared in shots. 

All Suspicious looked much more professional. The show was filmed in real locations, but did not suffer from the lightning issues that seem to plague non-TVB shows. The room set-ups were more realistic and spacious. 

Verdict: All Suspicious. The production values looked better than expected and overall, looked more professional than Case Unclosed.

Overall: All Suspicious

ViuTV clearly took the more serious approach to producing their show and put together an all-around professional production. Meanwhile, TVB seems to have hastily clobbered together a show. You know you've lost the battle when you have to add a disclaimer that the show was made on a low budget to preempt criticism. 

Mean Talk Gossip

I love juicy gossip about the entertainment circle and Mean Talk has plenty of it! 

Mean Talk is a talk show hosted by Elena Kong and Bob Lam where they make guests share their juiciest, “meanest” stories from the industry. Let’s see if we can guess who the guests are talking about!

Actress who leaked to paparazzi:

In episode 2, Dickson Yu revealed that an actress he worked with secretly invited the paparazzi to their filming location and purposely acted intimately with him. Here were the clues he gave:

• This was a few years ago. Both of them were relatively new.
• A short article was published about them and included photos of the girl’s arm in his arm.
• The girl is still in the industry. Her fame is similar to Dickson. He said people would recognize her, but she is not super famous. 

Could he be talking about Kamen Kong? This article was published in 2018 when Dickson and Kamen were filming The Ghetto-Fabulous Lady. At that time, both of them were relative newcomers (the article even mentioned Kamen had just joined the industry for three years). The article says that they received “reliable intel” (from the source directly?) that Dickson and Kamen had been secretly dating for three months. It also describes how Dickson would drive Kamen home every night. (Dickson said that the girl asked him for a ride, but he refused because he knew what was up.)  The only clue that doesn’t match is the photos with the girl’s arm in his arm, but the article does include photos of Kamen hitting him playfully and massaging his leg. 

Actor who asked Lee Ka Ding for "more acting":

In episode 3, Stephanie Ho revealed that an actor once asked veteran actor Lee Ka Ding to give him "more acting." She said they were filming a wedding scene where actor had to shake hands with Lee Ka Ding. The actor was also slapped in the face in the same scene. 

Netizens quickly identified the actor was Hinson Chou. Here he is in Raising the Bar with Lee Ka Ding and Stephanie:

Tiger Cubs actor who tried to pursue M Club actress

In episode 3, Winki Lai revealed that while they were filming Never Dance Alone, an actor from the neighboring Tiger Cubs set would often come to their dressing room to talk to one of the actresses.  Winki said:

• The actress had an ugly wig that looked like William So. 
• The actor's last name is Ho. 
• He has left TVB already.

Quick-working netizens discovered the Tiger Cubs actor was Quinn Ho, who left TVB in 2018 and now runs a business in Mongolia. The M Club actress is believed to be Cheronna Ng, who was the only one of the young actresses who had to wear a short wig. 

Mr. W who favored females over Vincent Wong

In the Have a Big Laugh edition of Mean Talk, Vincent Wong revealed that while filming Murder Diary, a male colleague was always more friendly while talking to female colleagues than males. Vincent said the male colleague's English name started with "W".  

Looking at the cast list, Willie Wai is a possibility. However, Vincent did not say if the male colleague was an actor or other crew member. Do you have any guesses?

April Variety Shows

With Eric Tsang at the helm, TVB released a full line-up of new variety shows in April. Here are my thoughts on them:

• Big Big Old World (尋人記): I watched two episodes of this and it was not as boring as I thought it would be. It was interesting to see what has changed and what hasn't for the subjects of the old news clips. Rating: 5/10.

• Stars Academy (聲夢傳奇): The format of the competition is what makes this show thrilling. The staged totally coincidental twists and turns has me at the edge of my seat each week. The singing talent is good for the most part, but not as great as JW's expressions. Rating: 9/10.

• Mamas' Day (日日媽媽聲): This show is unexpectedly hilarious with the three hosts badgering male guests. It is probably borderline male-hating, but women go through enough with pregnancy and childbirth that they should be allowed to have some fun at the expense of men. Rating: 7/10.

• Have a Big Laugh (開心大綜藝): Many people say this show is just a revival of Enjoy Yourself Tonight (EYT), but I don't mind that. The first episode was way too loud and chaotic, which they thankfully fixed in more recent episodes. The segments range from unfunny to mildly entertaining. Rating: 5/10.

• Prankenstein (大整蠱): This show is a straight-up copy of Johnson Lee's Office of Practical Jokes, except with more immature and juvenile pranks. The only watchable part was the "big" prank of each episode and even most of those fell flat. However, the show gave us this cute segment that basically made me an instant fan of Ali Lee, so I will forgive its shortcomings. Rating: 2/10. 

Even though I don’t love all of the shows, it’s great to see TVB finally putting the “variety” back in its variety shows, rather than just travel and cooking shows! 

After School by Flora Chan

I recently discovered After School, a self-produced show by Flora Chan, where she invited guest stars to visit their alma maters and share their personal stories about their school days.

In this episode, Flora accompanies Carman Lee as Carman returns to her high school for the first time in thirty years. Flora has always been one of my favourite actresses and I've loved Carman since Never Dance Alone. I am thrilled to see them share the screen again. This episode is genuine, meaningful and sincere. I especially love Flora's soothing voice as narrator.

Where in the World is Tony Hung?

As a travelogue host, Tony Hung has visited many places in the world. From the war-torn Middle East to the reclusive North Korea to the southern most continent, Antarctica, Tony has been there.

Here's a look at where in the world Tony has travelled to:

Antarctica, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Brunei, China, Costa Rica, France, Gaza, Georgia, Germany, Guam (USA), Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Macau, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, North Korea, Norway, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vietnam

Last updated: July 20, 2018.

Magic Revealed!

In episode 7 of Street Sorcerers 3, magician Louis Yan performed a magic trick in which he appeared to "refill" an empty bowl of cup noodles.

Warning: High-pitched noises ahead! (courtesy of Jinny Ng)



Recently, a netizen exposed how the trick was performed. While Louis was holding the empty cup up for a close camera shot, he held his other hand back and a staff member quickly placed another cup into his hand. Louis then slotted that cup into the empty cup to make it look like he had "refilled" the cup.


Credits to Youtube user HK Funny Video

The Voice: Celebrity Edition

The celebrity edition of The Voice will begin airing tomorrow night. Here's a quick preview of the contestants in the first episode (except Caret Cheung - can't find clip of her singing).

Fred Cheng - 天意 (original by Ronald Cheng)




Stanley Cheung - 年少無知 (original by Bowie Lam, Moses Chan, Kenny Wong)




Ronald Law - 春風化雨 (original by Moses Chan, Ron Ng)




Oscar Leung & Mandy Wong - 祇有情永在 (original by Jacky Cheung & Cally Kwong)




Benjamin Yuen - 加價熱潮2012 (parody of Sam Hui)