Comeback #2 : Born Rich Special

It is easily noticable that a majority of Born Rich's cast consists of veterans making their comebacks. Yep, I'm talking about Ray Lui, Jamie Chik, and Kenix Kwok. There is Gallen Lo and Anita Yuen as well. The second issue of my Comeback feature will focus on these Born Rich cast members...

Two Weak Comebacks

Gallen Lo - When a Dog Loves a Cat

It is still a mystery to everybody to why TVB's #1 brother ever agreed to film this series in the first place. Winner of the Best Actor award 3 times and popular for his dramatic roles, it blows my mind why he took part in this series.

The Script: First off, when a dog loves a cat? Just by looking at the title, you know it's going to be cheesy. This series was obviously targeted for the youngsters. After all, I really doubt grown adults would want to sit around watching talking dogs and cats falling in love with each other.

The Role: I only watched the first three episodes or so over a year ago. I can only recall that Gallen's character was stubborn and hated dogs as it is related to his wife's death. The role wasn't anything challenging for Gallen nor did it allow him to showcase his versatility.

The Performance: As stated above, the role wasn't a challenge for Gallen.

As one of the most loved actors from TVB, Gallen could've done so much better when picking which series to be his comeback. Why did he waste his time on this production? It seems so out of his 'type.' Gallen strikes me as the actor who prefers roles in dramas. Of course, he's had his comedic roles, Old Time Buddies being his most notable one. So why would he want to take part in a lighthearted and weak scripted series like this?

Anita Yuen - Love Exchange

After secretly getting married to fellow TVB actor Julian Cheung, Anita became inactive with TVB for quite a while. In 2007, she made her comeback to TVB with Love Exchange. Though it recieved moderate ratings, it didn't get very good buzz and was quickly forgotten.

The Script: For a series with such a promising sales clip, Love Exchange turned out nothing like it. The plot was draggy and the mystery wasn't cleared up until the last episode. In other words, just a weak script in general. Despite being a rather anticipating series, it disappointed.

The Role: Another typical 'weak, housewife' role. TVB, enough of these!

The Performance: Like always though, Anita delievers a solid performance despite the bad characterization (and hairstyle).

A year later though, Gallen and Anita returned to the screen in 2009's grand production Born Rich. That turned out to have it's good sides...and it's bad sides.

Gallen Lo - Born Rich

Role: A conman named Sa Fu Loi, he takes up the identity of Cheuk Yat Ming to be rich. Although he is at first a lovable villain for his humor and principle that he will not hurt women and children, he later becomes a dispicable man. He does not let anyting or anyone stand in his way, which inadvertantly almost causes his little brother's death. however, the sudden change in character and heart was too sudden. Although it is inferred his actions were a result of a newfound greediness, his "greediness" was never justified.

Performance: As always, Gallen delivers a solid performance. He is charming and funny as the humorous and compassionate man at the beginning. After Sa Fu Loi's sudden "greediness" takes over, Gallen gives evil stares and cold expressions that managed to send chills down my spine. Even though character developement was sloppy, Gallen was able to showcase his versatility. Unfortunately, he didn't manage to get into the top 5 for Best Actor. It looks like winning this award a fourth time is not in this "big brother's" future.

Anita Yuen- Born Rich

Role: Cheuk Yat Sum is the tough and clever PR person of her family's bank business. She is met with the struggle of being in love with someone who she thinks is her step brother. At the same time, fellow collegue and former playboy Topman makes wholehearted and sweet efforts into courting her, resulting in the business woman being stuck in between the two men she loves.

Performance: Perhaps tough but kind women are the characters Anita portrays best. Not only did she give a lovable and realistic performance, she had wonderful chemistry with co stars Gallen and Joe.

And then, we've got our other three leads...

Ray Lui

Role: At first a smart businessman and good husband, he becomes a weak, indecisive, (don't forget annoying!) main protagonist after his kidnap. From the even more annoying love triangle with Angie (Kenix Kwok) to all the hard ship he brought on to his family and loved ones, he is deemed my most disliked main protagonist of the year, right after Chung Yau Shing.

Performance: Average performance. Solid, but nothing special. Then again, I have the tendency to not pay attention to the performance of characters I hate and get irritated by.

Kenix Kwok

Role: I've never seen a 3rd party as determined (mentally unstable is more like it) than Angie. She stopped at nothing for love and to get Marcus (Ray Lui). That did not make her evil and conniving. Instead, she just looked plain desperate. She had the potential to be a villain, but our wonderful script writers decided to turn her into a lunatic instead.

Performance: For such a versatile and natural actress as Kenix, Angie was a complete waste of the actress' talent. Why Kenix even accepted the role in the first place puzzles me. I think it's safe to say Kenix's comeback is the worst of the year, if not ever.

Jamie Chik

Role: I'm pleased to see that the same oh so wonderful script writers who created Angie's character decided to give returning actress Jamie more than just a housewife role. Although her only job is being a house wife and mom, she is intelligent and clever. She stands up for what she believes in, even if it means angering somebody. Jamie's "Connie" is easily one of my fav characters.

Performance: While not a breakthrough, Jamie was convincing and elegant as the rich but clever woman. Two thumbs up from me.

Characterization for the series was not perfect (obviously). There were quite a few lovable characters but they couldn't make up for those annoying ones who dominated the screen, *coughcoughMarcusandAngiecough*. The ensemble's acting is one of the strongest of the year, but acting can never make up for a terrible script...

Script: The script is the typical 'starts off strong but goes downhill FAST' kind. While the first 10-15 episodes are a joy to watch, it becomes unbearable in the second half. The length of 41 episodes was definitely too long. It dragged on and on and it never seemed to end. What's there more to say?

Which Grand Production? Beyond or Born Rich? Poll Results

2009's two grand productions Beyond the Realm of Conscience and Born Rich have finally finished airing. I've put up a poll asking readers which series they've enjoyed more the whole time they were both airing. It's time I put up the results...

What series are you enjoying more?

Beyond the Realm of Conscience --> 55% (16 Votes) ***WINNER***

Born Rich --> 45% (13 Votes)


My Opinion

Honestly, both grand productions disappointed me. I can't pick which one I liked more. Born Rich started off great, but it got to the point where it was draggy, boring, and cliched. Beyond started off slow, and gradually got better. Unfortunately, it still did not live up to my high expectations. In the end, both are mediocre series. I can almost guarantee I will enjoy The Beauty of the Game more.

Randomness (1)

There have been many things I wanted to say about TVB that I felt didn't fit into any specific post. That's why I was inspired by MetalAZNWarrior's 'randomness' posts. Remember reading those? So here we go...

Beyond the Realm of Conscience and Born Rich are out!

Initially the wait for these two grand productions felt endless. Now that it's finally here, it feels like just yesterday when we first watched the sales presentation clips for the two series! I know that I'll get addicted to these two series. I also like to watch a lot in one sitting as opposed to an episode or two a night. That's why, I'm going to wait another week or two before I start to watch. That is...if I manage to wait that long.

During the time Beyond and Born Rich were filming, I felt myself anticipate Beyond more. I couldn't wait to watch Tavia portray a villain for the first time, and I loved the female cast. As to Born Rich, I was simply looking forward to it as it was a grand production with a great cast. In the couple weeks before the release though, I felt myself anticipating Born Rich more. I don't know why, I just did. Was it the intense looking trailers? Or the addictive theme song?

Almost Done With Watching The Stew of Life


Recently, the only series I've been watching properly is The Stew of Life. It's a mediocre series and something you'd watch to past the time. I found myself enjoying it though. The first episode is very boring, as it is too 'simple.' Eventually though, I started to chuckle. Cheung King Fai is hilarious with all of his amusing lines! Lee Sze Kei's character is very different from that of Hor Ma from Moonlight Resonance. She is much more 'loose' and sweet in this series, making her enjoyable to watch. I'm still not convinced of her versatility though. 30 episodes is too long for a series like this though. It started to drag towards the middle, and at that point, I was only interested in Fala and Timmy's storyline. Ah, Fala and Timmy! They seem like a random couple, but it turns out they have great chemistry! They make the cutest couple, and I loved the development of their relationship as it's different from the usual 'rival haters' plot. I love Fala more with each series I watch. She has great potential, and I'm so glad she's been given a lead role. Christine looks great in this series! While her character is another example of the 'HK material girl,' she is still fun to watch. However, I felt myself getting annoyed at her for her superficiality at times. Her plot with Ken Wong was boring too.

The Stew of Life is getting pushed down my playlist though. One, I haven't finished downloading it. Silly me. Two, like I said, it's getting draggy. I'll definitely finish it sometime though, because I hear Timmy proposes to Fala!

Fala's 'Bra' Scene

Lately, there's been a lot of discussion over Fala's 'bra' scene. Actually, it's more of a bunch of unreasonable angry viewers complaining again. As usual, I think they're overexaggerating something that's not a big deal. The 'bra' scene ties into the plot of Fala thinking Timmy is gay, meaning he wouldn't care if she changed in front of him. It is part of the plot, as well as part of generating laughter. It really isn't that big of a deal. If the viewers think so, then obviously they haven't been watching American primetime TV.

Ella Koon's Performance of 'Endless Love'

Lately, Ella's been gaining attention and praise for her amazing performance of 'Endless Love.' I couldn't be more happier for her. I've always thought she was a great singer with a beautiful voice. Unfortunately, her chance of getting majorly popular was blocked by all the rumors around her. Ella has everything it takes to be an entertainment queen: She's beautiful, she can act, and she can sing. All to a high degree too! She is a very beautiful model. Despite being a singer turned actress, she can act better than half of today's pageant winners. As for her voice, it's a great thing to listen to. She's had more than her fair share of rumors though. The TVB sexual harassment case that surrounded TVB a couple months ago also affected her. Quite frankly, I'm by her side on this. She had said everything she said not because she was a big mouth, but because she wanted to raise awareness. Also, she's had that incident where she was taken advantage of when a fan grabbed her and kissed her at an event. It's no surprise that she's sensitive and outspoken on the subject of sexual harassment. Best wishes to Ella and I hope she'll gain success!

Sammul Chan and Natalie Tong--The Next Cute Couple?

About a week ago, this picture surfaced on the web accompanied by a short article, and I am officially in love with it. The picture is from the filming of The Comeback Family. Initially, I wasn't looking forward to the series except to see Sammul again. (By the way, I miss him dearly!) Now, I can't wait to see it. Sammul will be paired with Natalie Tong in the series. They sound like another 'random' couple, and their outer appearances don't match that well. However, I get this 'sweet' feeling from them. Also, they seem to have a good friendship off screen. Natalie complains that Sammul always tries to prank her, such as one time where he didn't like her hair and go up to her and say 'your hair....' then run off in a flash. Aw, that sounds adorable! Speaking of which, Sammul looks adorable in that bunny suit! Can't wait to see their relationship!

So that's my first 'randomness' post. Haha, that was a fun way to get out all my thoughts! I'll probably use this method a lot in the future. :) Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it!