The top 5 nominees this year were just ridiculous. Some were random, some were undeserved, and a couple were snubbed. While there were other people who arguably deserved to win more, this year's winners were reasonable and acceptable.
Lifetime Achievement Award: Lee Heung Kam
Congratulations to Kam Jeh! She should've received this award last year. I didn't know she has been in the industry for so long (since she was 14 or 15 years old). Although "Moonlight Resonance" was ridiculously overrated and loud, Lee Heung Kam shined there!
Most Improved Actor: MC Jin
TOP 5
MC Jin
Jazz Lam
King Kong
Jason Chan
Matt Yeung
I was cheering for Jazz to win as he is the true Most Improved Actor of 2011. His casting as the lawyer in "Ghetto Justice" could've been a huge mistake, but he pleasantly surprised viewers by pulling off the role with heart and comedic timing. However, I can see why TVB would want to reward MC Jin since he's filmed so much for them recently. If someone had to win besides Jazz, I'm glad it was MC. He never fails to be fun with his great rapping and improvisation skills, including in his acceptance speech. Better luck next year, Jazz? The only actor who didn't deserve to be here was Matt, since he didn't have any significant or memorable roles this year.
Most Improved Actress: Sire Ma
TOP 5
Sire Ma
Mandy Wong
Samantha Ko
Katy Kung
Cilla Kung
No, poor Mandy! It's no surprise Sire won, but I'm still very disappointed and this is probably the award I'm most unhappy about. I have mixed feelings about almost every other category. Mandy's acting is more consistent and has improved more. Out of all the newer young actresses, she has the most potential. However, TVB is keen on promoting Sire. She was in more series than the rest of the nominees, but wasn't the most memorable. It's silly Samantha was even here since all she did was host programs and a short guest appearance in FH3. Katy is adorable with potential, but her roles in series right now aren't too significant. Cilla is a decent newcomer, but has yet to prove she can play something besides a school girl.
Best Supporting Actor: Ben Wong
TOP 5
Ben Wong (Lives of Omission)
Jazz Lam (Ghetto Justice)
Derek Kwok (LOO)
Ngo Ka Nin (River of Wine)
Lee Kwok Lun (Forensic Heroes III)
Although I did not watch all of "Lives of Omission", Ben Wong has been a solid supporting actor for nearly 20 years and the recognition is greatly deserved. Jazz and Ngo Ka Nin earned their spots here as well. It's a shame to see that when Derek is able to get into the top 5 again, it's for a series where he had a forgettable and small role. Lee Kwok Lun deserved to win this award back in 2009 for his performance in "Beyond the Realm of Conscience". But for his guest appearance in FH3? Definitely not. Since when did such short guest appearances even qualify you for the Best Supporting categories? This year apparently. Would've liked to see Patrick place.
Best Supporting Actress: Sharon Chan
TOP 5
Sharon Chan (GJ)
Nancy Wu (FH3)
Aimee Chan (The Other Truth)
Helen Ma (TOT)
Natalie Tong (TOT)
The amazingly talented and lovely Elena Kong is the most offensive snub of the year. After all that buzz about her possibly winning this award, she couldn't even get in the top 5? What the hell, TVB? However, Sharon truly deserved to win this award. Yes, Elena and Nancy delivered stronger performances, but Sharon has worked so hard without recognition for so long. It's about time for Sharon to finally shine. Her speech, along with Myolie's for Best Actress, was the most touching of the night. She broke into tears as soon as her name was announced as the winner. Close friend Christine Ng did as well! She said when nobody wanted her, TVB was there for her. It was sweet and funny to see an incredibly emotional and touched Sharon remove her heels per Felix Wong's request, even though he was only kidding. Speaking of Felix Wong, after his rant about TVB last year, it was a huge surprise to see him present. It was also nice, and his words and handing of the tissue for Sharon were very sweet and subtlety comedic. I couldn't stop smiling for the actress. Aimee's top 5 nomination for her mediocre three episode guest appearance in TOT is the worst and most undeserving this year. Helen Ma always delivers as the bitchy (excuse my language) mother, but it was random for her to finally place this year.
My Favorite Male Character: Kevin Cheng
TOP 5
Kevin Cheng (GJ)
Ruco Chan (TOT)
Michael Tse (LOO)
Bosco Wong (LOO)
Wayne Lai (FH3)
Was it surprising that Kevin won this award instead of Michael or Bosco? Yes. However, the character of "Laughing Gor" has been tired out, so I'm glad "Law Ba" won over him. I can't put too much input on Bosco since I didn't watch all of LOO, but having him win for more variety would've been nice. Although it was expected, I was crushed black horse Ruco didn't win. After getting so much hype that Ruco would take home an award this year, he finally left home empty handed and was neglected at the show as well.
My Favorite Female Character: Myolie Wu
TOP 5
Myolie Wu (GJ)
Fala Chen (LOO)
Linda Chung (Yes Sir, Sorry Sir)
Maggie Cheung (FH3)
Aimee Chan (FH3)
It was clear Myolie wasn't too happy to win this award as she thought it meant she would lose out on Best Actress. While Myolie deserves to win as her character genuinely was the most memorable and entertaining of the year, this award should've gone to Fala or Linda who probably would've appreciated it more. I was expecting Fala to get this as consolation or Linda since she received the most buzz for her character "Ms. Cool". Now, what in the world is Aimee doing here? Does she have some weird guarantee that she makes it into the top 5 of every category she's nominated in? Surprised Tavia didn't get in.
Best Actor: Kevin Cheng
TOP 5
Kevin Cheng (GJ)
Michael Tse (LOO)
Bosco Wong (LOO)
Wayne Lai (FH3)
Moses Chan (YSSS)
Why is Moses here instead of Ruco?! I knew Ruco wasn't going to win, but he deserved a top 5 nomination more than anyone! Poor guy. Most certainly more than Moses, who was simply over the top in Yes Sir, Sorry Sir. My anger and disappointment aside, I am genuinely happy Kevin won. He finally relaxed and learned to be more laid back this year, resulting in a memorable and fantastic performance in "Ghetto Justice". He was very honest and humble in his acceptance speech. He himself admits that he didn't really deserve Best Actor back in 2006, but he definitely does this time!
Best Actress: Myolie Wu
TOP 5
Myolie Wu (Curse of the Royal Harem)
Fala Chen (LOO)
Maggie Cheung (FH3)
Linda Chung (YSSS)
Liza Wang (Home Troopers)
There is no other young leading actress more deserving of this award than Myolie. It was still a mistake for TVB to nominate her for "Curse" though. Unlike her speech for My Favorite Character, her speech for Best Actress was very touching. Having just completed "Triumph in the Skies" myself, it was an extra special treat to have her award presented by former co-star Francis Ng. Her proclamation of love for Bosco, her real life boyfriend of 7 years, was the most memorable moment of the night. Myolie has always been more secretive and closed off in talking about her relationship with Bosco, but finally opened up last night. An excerpt from her speech: “There is one more person. He has always been very strict towards me. When we were filming War of In-Laws, he cared very much for me. I do not know what to say…anyhow we had a little argument last night. He told reporters that when I receive the award tonight, he will go to the restroom! However, he did not go to the restroom. I know that I have many flaws and that I am difficult to get along with. But you (Bosco Wong) also have many flaws and you are difficult to get along with as well. I hope that we will continue to support each other!” Bosco and Myolie are so sweet and are now my favorite TVB couple ever. I truly do hope they get married someday!
Best Drama: Lives of Omission
TOP 5
Lives of Omission
Ghetto Justice
The Other Truth
Forensic Heroes III
Yes Sir, Sorry Sir
Despite sweeping a majority of the awards, "Ghetto Justice" failed to grab Best Drama. I would've preferred GJ to win Best Drama and have the Favorite Character awards divided. LOO was more hype with high ratings while GJ had the best writing, characters, acting, and was overall a more creative and entertaining series.
tvb.com Weibo Popularity Award: Kevin Cheng
Was hoping Ruco to at least take home this award since "The Other Truth" resulted in Ruco becoming the #1 artiste on tvb.com for months as well as a significant increase in Weibo followers and Facebook friends on his official account. Kevin experienced a huge popularity spike in the Mainland this year though, so this is once again no surprise.
It was too cute to have both of them win together! The two were so shy to go accept the award together!
I would like to give a special shout out to both Ruco and Roger Kwok, who failed to place in the top 5 for Best Actor or even be nominated for Favorite Character in "Wax and Wane". While everybody was obsessing over Law Ba and Laughing Gor, I was in love with Keith Lau and the extremely underrated Yee Chun. My like for Roger had gradually started to decrease after seeing him in boring roles like in "The Threshold of a Persona" and exaggerated comedic roles. Although "Wax and Wane" was not great, it was not given a fair chance by viewers. Roger's performance as "Yee Chun" finally won me over again. His tough-exterior and soft-exterior character was intriguing and lovable as was his character's love for Peace (Kate Tsui). Roger Kwok's performance and character in "Wax and Wane" is the most underrated lead performance of the year.
Overall Thoughts
There has been a lot of talk about how TVB didn't "divide the pork" this year by offering consolation prizes to Michael, Fala, Linda, and others. While I'm glad TVB decided to give the awards to the people they thought deserved it instead of giving out consolations, I would've liked more variety. It's one thing if there was nobody else deserving, but TVB could've easily rewarded more hardworking and deserving artistes. Three awards each for both Kevin and Myolie was a bit much though I would've been fine with two. Then again, you can't ever count on TVB to be fair. Congratulations to this year's winners!
I love reading your analysis. Seriously till now, I can't believe someone your age has this maturity!
ReplyDeleteJust a note on your comment for Most Improved Actor Matt Yeung. He's not exactly insignificant this year as he was in the long sitcom (Be Home For Dinner)with a relatively likable role.So in that sense, I think he has the exposure.
Best supporting actor: regarding what u said about Derek, yah, how ironic right?!
Best supporting actress: precisely! why were helen ma and aimee in there? Besides Elena, who else do you think should be placed into Top 5?
My fav character is Law Ba! but when is Wayne's character in FH3 in there? Seriously? Of so many male characters out there, what's so great about Pro Sir??? Despite not finishing W&W, I wld prefer Roger's character to Pro Sir too. Come one, if not Roger's character, then definitely Julian's character in RB has more appeal than the middle-aged forensic hero who has no personality, isn't it?! ;p
My fav female character: I dont agree with Fala and Aimee in there. but i know Fala will be in there cos of all the hype of LOO. I like Kristal Tin's character in Be Home but of course, she has no chance.
Best actor: Agree that Moses shouldn't be there, BUT i think the most undeserving one is Wayne Lai. WHY is he there? What did he do in FH3 that deserve this???
Best actress: Ok, eventually I did finish COTRH, albeit with fast-forwarding during boring stupid emperor scenes. While Myolie's character is more likable in GJ, I thought she did a better job in acting for her role in COTRH as it's also a much more challenging role as compared to the one in GJ. I thought she did fairly well here as the so-called 'evil empress', which is different from Tavia's evil concubine role. Her evil empress is supposed to be the more willful kind & the kind that was influenced by her mum whom she was really close to and loved. rather than from the kind that's evil from the heart. I thought she portrayed this very well as I could see her willfulness in her evilness since the beginning.
Finally, what exactly does "extraordinarily elegant male and female artistes" mean??? Haha... I guess it's just an additional award to for promoting tvb artistes.
queen_owl - Haha, I'm once again flattered. Thank you! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the note. I watched a couple episodes of Be Home With Dinner with my mom but didn't get too far. TVB sitcoms are too ordinary for my taste. Nothing really happens and it's more of something to watch while you're eating dinner to relax. I remember Matt now though!
Derek did make it into the top 5 back in 2008 and 2009 for "War of In-Laws II" and "D.I.E. Again", so I'm happy about that. It'd be ridiculous if this was the only time he got into the top 5. After his acting in the finale of FH3, I'm annoyed Edwin didn't get a nomination for Best Supporting or Most Improved Actor. I can't wait to see him in more series! :) He's cute, is a lively actor, has potential, and has improved vastly.
My other choices for top 5 for Best Supporting Actress would be Elena, Nancy, and Mannor Chan. She did a great job in "Wax and Wane" as Roger's mom. Her character was very sad. She lived with 20 years of guilt thinking she was responsible for the death of someone, struggled for a short time with Alzheimer's, and tragically died. Her death scene was heartbreaking. Mannor portrayed the role very well and I felt so sorry for her.
I think Wayne getting into the top 5 of both categories is simply due to the series' success and out of respect for him.
Good to hear some positive reception to Myolie's performance. Her character seems interesting, but I don't have the will to try to watch COTRH.
The "Extraordinarily Elegant Male and Female Artistes" is basically an award for the most stylish artistes I think. I don't always agree with their fashion sense, but Myolie and Bosco's fashion sense is definitely one of the most interesting and unique!
What did you think of the show itself? :)
Haha, tonight is actually the first night for as long as I can remember to actually have time to leave a comment on your posts.
ReplyDeletePhew, I don't know if I'm going to post anything about the results since the show was kinda lame for me throughout. The only moment I started shaking was the announcement of Best Supporting Actress. At least there was 1/10000000000000 chance Nancy will win, but it was given to Sharon. No surprise, but I was officially crushed for the rest of the day. :( Believe it or not, I forgot to turn off my headlights to my car that day and had to go through some trouble before I could get my car engine started again after work. That's how absentminded Nancy's loss caused me. It's totally TVB's fault. Just kidding, but that was a true story too, btw. ;)
I was amazed by MC Jin's on the spot rapping when Vincent interviewed him. As much as I support Jazz, I can't recall him showing up at the ceremony. The spotlight was totally on MC Jin. Same for Mandy Wong. They interview Sire and Katy and I remember seeing Cilla's horrendous dress, but Mandy was too quiet.
FYI, I think it's called Most Improved Male/Female Artist, so hosts are allowed to get nominated too. I remember Skye was nominated last year as well. Also, if I remember correctly, there's only 5 nominees for the Improved category and there really isn't a top 5.
Haha, indeed it was lame that Helen instead of Elena got in top 5. I didn't even think Helen was attending, but I have to admit she was one of my choices for Best Supporting. It was just weird to see her competing for the award w/ the younger, prettier actresses.
It's funny how I wasn't as excited as usual during the My Favorite Character/Best Actor/Actress segments this year. I wanted Myolie to win, but I wasn't necessarily raving for her as I was for Wayne when he won his first/second year or Nancy when she won Most Improved back in 2008. I nearly shouted in my dorm room that year w/ my sisters, lol!
It was also amazing to see that when Ben and Sharon won, everyone was so happy for them and stood up for hugs. The standing ovation for Myolie and Kevin wasn't as intense.
I would prolly give this year's show a 3/5. Waiting for next year, how many series does Nancy have? Calculating her chances of winning... 1.. 2... 3... :P
i only watched the award show AFTER I have posted the comment.
ReplyDeletethe most glaring thing of the show must be Vincent Wong's nerves. Gosh he was so nervous he couldn't say or do anything else outside of memorized script. either he needs more practice hosting in smaller shows, or this is just not his cup of tea.
i have forgotten what previous year's award was like, but i think it must have been the same, ie male & female being seated separately. i don't like this. just because they have separate categories for male / female doesn't mean the hv to be seated separately. it's like so olden days high school prom. hee. it'd be more interesting if they fix seating by categories in rows, for eg, the 1st rows on both sides for best actor/actress nominees, where male & female artistes are seated alternately, like one male, one female, one male, one female and so on. Then the 2nd row on both sides can be for say nominees of best supporting artistes and so on.
the most funny presenters have to be patrick tse and francis ng.
the most touching speech, yah, has to be myolie that she blabbered more than she intended i suppose. now, based on what she said, i just got a feeling, that Bosco, though supportive, may not be very comfortable with a woman who's very much more successful than him. i hope i'm wrong. well, if myolie continue to big stardom and bosco doesn't, then time will tell. i guess i have met too many men who can't take their partners being more successful than they are, although they always seem confident and supportive in the beginning. some became outright unreasonable over time, some, would become over-sensitive over the slightest thing the partner or friends say and end up always angry and quarrelling over nothing. oops, i digressed. but i wish both of myolie and bosco success, really.
finally, with regards to myolie and bosco's fashion sense, erm.... other than being 'unique' & 'interesting' like you have said, personally, er... i dun think they are elegantly fashionable at all. i suppose anyone can be 'unique' & 'interesting' if they CHOOSE to. cos all one needs to is choose to wear different wacky combinations, if one can put up with it himself/herself. however, to be elegantly fashionable, it's a lot harder to do, cos it's then no longer about just wearing the weirdest and oddest combination one can find, regardless of how odd the look comes together. i don't know what Myolie's dress was, but Bosco was trying to rock Alexander McQueen (one of my fav designers), which, to me, he failed miserably. well, but then, fashion & beauty, to each his own. :) i think myo & bosco won that award cos they look nice to win it together. ;)
all in all, it was a very fast-paced award show. so it was able to hold my attention till the end. for that, i like it.
Chriselle - Thanks for taking the time to comment! ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that after our conversation today, I now know you are at the least happy for Sharon. :) If an older veteran were to be nominated, I would've opted for Mannor than Helen. Like I said to queen_owl, Mannor did a fantastic job with her tragic role. It had more depth and screen time too. Helen always does a solid job but TOT wasn't anything new for her and she had less to do. Btw, Helen and Jazz were both attending the show. In the introduction segment where everyone says something, Helen was with Jason Chan (they were in "Be Home for Dinner" and Jazz was with Sam and Sharon.
MC Jin is an "ABC"! American Born Chinese, haha. Yet he is so awesome and talented in improvising. I wouldn't say Mandy was quiet, but it's the hosts who approach people to interview. Ruco for example, was only asked to speak once. My friend also noted that he was neglected, being seated all the way to the side. King Kong was focused on more than him! Heh.
I know it's technically Most Improved Artiste (TVB used that excuse after criticism following Amigo's win in 2007), but Samantha seems too new and it didn't seem like she did anything special hosting wise. Oh, I didn't mean to write "Top 5" as if it meant anything, I just did that for every category.
Myolie's win wasn't expected since she was the obvious choice for Best Actress and it was assumed Fala would get consolation. Thinking back, it really is a loss that after all the hype, Michael didn't get anything. Then again, like my dad said, awards don't mean too much. Sure you get recognition, but at the end of the day they would pick money and better opportunities over awards any day. Michael's been more lucky than anyone, portraying such a popular character that's created a successful franchise.
Yeah, I told you in our chat my friend brought that up too. Ben and Sharon's awards were given partly due to the success of their characters/series but also for overall career/work recognition. Their colleagues have obviously known they've been working so hard and were clearly proud of them. Did you catch Christine crying for Sharon? Aren't they godsisters or something? :)
This year's show really wasn't that bad. It was so cool to see Francis present Myolie her Best Actress award!
queen_owl - It did seem like he was simply reading the script. Unlike Dodo, who jokes around and adds remarks. Vincent used to host small music shows and stuff when he first started his entertainment career as a singer. It's been a long time since he's done so I think, so he was probably just nervous at such a big responsibility. He can improve though. While Amigo spoke clearly, I did not like him (his eyes seemed unfriendly and "dead" to me). I'm welcome in other people training to host.
ReplyDeleteI've been watching the Anniversary Awards since 2008, and every show I've watched the guys and girls are seated separately. I thought it was always that way but I might be wrong. I agree that it should be co-ed or by category though, as it would probably create more fun interaction! It could allow the couples to sit together too, hehe. ;)
Having just finished TITS, it was cool to see Francis of all people present Best Actress to Myolie! :D
Both Myolie and Bosco have suffered setbacks/dark times in their careers. Myolie after To Grow With Love and Bosco during Growing With Life. I honestly don't think Bosco cares too much, nowadays anyway. In an article I recently read, Bosco said he's good friends with Michael Miu and would like to follow his footsteps and work in business. He just opened a restaurant in Malaysia and will be opening an eyeglass shop (just like Michael) too, I think. It seems that business is his first interest now while acting is something he does on the side. He's becoming a younger Michael Miu! Unlike other siu sangs, he doesn't have much interest in winning TV King anymore. However, I do agree that guys tend to be uncomfortable with their female partners being more successful than them. It's a common problem, but I hope that's not the case with Bosco and Myo.
It's a random award that was created at the last minute. It probably won't show up at next year's award show, just like how the Best Performance award wasn't given this year. I think it was simply a "just for fun" award to tease Myo and Bosco a bit. :)
Yep, agree, was a decent and entertaining show.
I was never upset over Sharon's win, but my love for Nancy's acting/talent overwhelmed Sharon's hard work (for me). Maybe next time I have to tone down that support for Nancy to not appear that I support Sharon too. Thanks for pointing it out. I didn't know I will get judged for supporting Nancy too much to the point of congratulating the actual winner. I've always acknowledged Sharon's hard work and I absolutely love her sister relationship w/ Christine. Yes, I caught Christine crying for her win. :)
ReplyDeleteCall me mean if necessary, but I found Michael's arrogant personality unpleasant in some replies to the press regarding Steven's incident before the awards ceremony. I don't feel as bad if he didn't win anything since his Laughing Gor character is milked the fullest already. He has another movie at hand and besides Laughing Gor, his other roles weren't memorable. Kevin was very thankful for both awards and I absolutely love that about him even though I wish he had chosen a different color tux. ;)
*To the point of forgetting to congratulate the actual winner.
ReplyDeleteChriselle - Lol, you used your Blogger account to correct yourself! Makes you look like two different people!
ReplyDeleteI wasn't too surprised, I know how worked up you get whenever Nancy is nominated for Best Supporting. ;) But it's good that you clarified you support Sharon too, hehe. Was so touching to see Christine cry for her win!
That's the main thing about Michael that makes me dislike him. He seems arrogant. Yeah, I didn't feel bad either (tho it was a bit surprising) since he got an even more precious opportunities (tho a bit undeserving, heh). Yes, Kevin has become a lot more likable in my book this year. :)