TVB Anniversary Awards 2019: Predictions and Picks

Another year, another disappointing list of nominations and lack of competition...

Best Actor

Top 5: Philip Keung, Benjamin Yuen, Kenneth Ma, Vincent Wong, Joel Chan
Predicted Winner: Kenneth
Most Deserving: Philip
Personal Choice: N/A

Will Kenneth finally win or will Philip pull an upset as the dark-horse candidate? Kenneth's character was disappointingly uncomplicated and unchallenging in an otherwise relatively solid series so watching him win for this series will not be as rewarding, but there is no doubt that he has been passed over for Best Actor time and time again. If Philip does pull an upset, Kenneth will have "The Exorcist's Meter 2.0" next year and "Ma Kwai" is a much stronger character though not particularly challenging to play either. Just please don't give the poor guy "Favorite Character" again.

Best Actress

Top 5: Kara Wai, Miriam Yeung, Selena Li, Natalie Tong, Nancy Wu
Predicted Winner: Miriam Yeung
Most Deserving: Did not watch The Defected and have not finished Barrack O'Karma, so hard to say
Personal Choice: N/A

It's Kara v. Miriam v. Selena, which is quite an interesting frontrunner list given that none of these artists are TVB managed artists (or in Selena's case, not TVB managed anymore), so the typical TVB politics/favorites game will not help you guess the winner. Kara is disadvantaged from "The Defected" having aired so much earlier in the year, so it's likely between Miriam and Selena. Miriam likely has the edge.

Favorite Male Character

Top 5: Benjamin, Kenneth, Joel, Vincent, Pakho Chau
Predicted Winner: Joel
Most Deserving: Joel?
Personal Choice: Pakho

Pakho's "Ho Tin" is my favorite character of the year. He is arguably too good to be true, but works as a better developed twist on the rich second-generation archetype that Pakho plays with charisma and likability. Benjamin may be rewarded for losing 20 pounds for his character in "The Defected," but has won this award before and like with Kara, is disadvantaged by the series' early air date. Given the critical acclaim of "Barrack O'Karma," Joel could likely inch out the others for this award.

Favorite Female Character

Top 5: Natalie, Selena, Miriam, Mandy Lam, Koni Lui
Predicted Winner: Selena
Most Deserving: Selena
Personal Choice: Mandy

If Selena does not win Best Actress, it will feel like a slap in the face for her to not win this award. Then again, I said something similar about Mandy Wong for "Threesome" last year, and look what happened there...

Mandy is not as much of a screen stealer in "Lo and Behold" this year since her character has left the company and become the lady boss at her and Jack's bar, but remains one of my favorite characters to watch.

Best Supporting Actor

Top 5: Tsui Wing, Matthew Ho, Eric Li, Stanley Cheung, Tony Hung
Predicted Winner: Eric
Most Deserving: Eric
Personal Choice: Eric

I actually have no idea who will win. This is a rehash for those who follow me on Twitter, but while I’m indifferent to all the other categories this year, I do feel passionately Eric should win. TVB has long typecast him into minor villain supporting roles but he has always performed well with the material given to him. He played a villain again in “The Man Who Kills Trouble,” but this time as the first supporting male in a meaty character who gets a redemption arc. He has great screen presence as the triad leader, and while his redemption arc is quite condensed, he gives a subtle performance in the last few episodes that prevents his redemption from feeling abrupt. What was abrupt though was Eric’s departure from TVB after receiving his largest role to date. He likely would have had a good chance at winning given he has received positive reception and attention for the series had he not left, but no longer a managed artist, TVB has nothing to gain. It’s anyone’s game now considering no other candidate who has generated much buzz, so I’ll hold onto hope Eric can emerge victorious.

I am pleasantly surprised though at the number of nominations long-running sitcom “Lo and Behold” received, particularly in this category. While the quality TVB’s dramas has left much to be desired for years, the sitcom has consistently been entertaining and fun.

Best Supporting Actress

Top 5: Moon Lau, Katy Kung, Jeannie Chan, Samantha Ko, Zoie Tam
Predicted Winner: Moon
Most Deserving: N/A
Personal Choice: Koni
Snub: Koni and Joyce Tang for “Lo and Behold”

Andrea So gets a nomination, but not Koni? Joyce has at least been previously nominated. The sitcom is now in its third year and Koni has yet to receive an acting nomination (though she is nominated for Favorite Character). She has improved significantly as an actress and is natural and entertaining.

As per usual with this category in the last few years, I'm just making random guesses now. TVB just likes awarding younger actresses it is preparing itself to heavily promote. My gut says the award will go to Moon or Jeannie. Jeannie had the more interesting character in "The Ghetto Fabulous Lady" it seems, but Moon is the better and more charismatic actress.

Most Improved Actor
Predicted Winner: Owen Cheung
Most Deserving: Owen
Personal Choice: Kalok Chow

Will TVB take pity on Owen for shelving all his series? I expected him to win last year so this is probably his year. Kalok Chow has great comedic timing in "Lo and Behold" and seems to have improved considerably since the sitcom first started.

Most Improved Actress
Predicted Winner: Kelly Cheung
Most Deserving: Gloria Tang
Personal Choice: Iris Lam

Kelly is the most heavily promoted of the bunch and has already been cast in leading roles. Gloria has improved a ton since her unwatchable early roles. I thought Iris showed potential in "Lo and Behold," but she got to shine in "Girlie Days" as Kristal Tin's daughter. I usually don't care for the young daughter and son roles, but Iris was incredibly natural, sweet, and charming and the actress herself seems passionate about acting.

Best Partnership
Predicted Winner: Joel and Selena
Most Deserving: Joel and Selena
Personal Choice: N/A

Four nominations for "Lo and Behold"! I do like Koni and Stanley in the sitcom a lot, but don't feel incredibly strongly about anyone. If Joel and Selena somehow manage to not get any major award, they should at the very least get this one since their pairing was so well-loved. Mandy Lam and Jack Hui are another possibility, but the buzz for the pairing has died down since Mandy's win last year.

Best Theme Song
Predicted Winner: "Can You Hear Me" by Kayee Tam for "Big White Duel"
Personal Choice: Theme song by Miriam Yeung for "Wonder Women"

I really like Kayee's voice and glad she has gotten to sing more theme songs, but goodness this song was overplayed and had awkward and cringeworthy English lyrics. Why are TVB's English subtheme songs so bad? How hard is it to have someone check the lyrics for grammar? Meanwhile, I recently watched HKTV's 2015 series "The Menu" for the first time, and thought the English sub theme "Can't Let Go" was absolutely lovely. Amazing how writing decent, grammatically correct English lyrics can help!

Best Drama

Predicted Winner: Big White Duel
Most Deserving: Barrack O'Karma
Personal Choice: Wonder Woman

"Big White Duel" is the safe choice as it was both a heavily-promoted series that was both critically and commercially successful (at least by TVB's standards these days). Barrack O'Karma is the black horse candidate though that could very likely win too.

Possible Breakthroughs of 2012

There are a couple TVB actors each year that reach a breakthrough in their career, whether it's with an outstanding character, performance, or both. As a result, they experience massive jumps in popularity and their career goes to new heights. Here are a couple actors I think will have a breakthrough in 2012...

Mandy Wong
Upcoming Series: Tiger Cubs, The Hippocratic Crush, Policewomen's Battlefield of Love

After losing out on Most Improved Actress at 2011's Anniversary Awards, 2012 looks like it could be a career changing year for the young actress. Arguably the most talented of the new generation, it seems Mandy is getting more diverse and difficult roles to show it.

She will be the second female lead in both "The Hippocratic Crush" and "Policewomen's Battlefield of Love".  In "The Hippocratic Crush", she will play a hot-headed intern who always wants to be better than her older sister, Tavia. Even more interestingly enough, in "Policewomen's Battlefield", she plays a rough female inspector with the nickname "Madam Kill".  Just the nickname catches my attention!

Although I'm not looking forward to the two series themselves much, I can't wait to see her in these roles.  I've always been able to imagine her playing such ambitious and tough characters, and I'm glad she's finally getting the chance to shine!

Oscar Leung

Upcoming Series: Queens of Diamonds and Hearts, Flying Tigers, The Dazzling Dance of Chang'an, The Great Eunuch, Policewomen's Battlefield of Love (Guest star)

Even though he is one of the most solid young supporting actors, Oscar has always been underrated.  He received a much larger role in "The Season of Fate" back in 2010 and was even pegged to win Most Improved Actor,  but ended up not even being nominated. Since then, he's returned to minor supporting roles.

After getting a moderate amount of attention from "L'Escargot", it's starting to seem likely this will finally be his breakout year.  He has a whooping five other series slated to air this year.  In "The Great Eunuch", he will be portraying the emperor.  While I think he doesn't look the role, his acting chops and talent lets me know it will be interesting.

You are truly not a good actor unless each of your performances leaves a good impression, no matter what the character.  Oscar always manages to turn in a great and memorable performance.  He can provide wonderful comic relief as well as do emotional scenes.  I hope that 2012 will be the breakthrough he and fans have been waiting for!

Nancy Wu
Upcoming Series: Boxing Champion, Daddy Good Deeds, The Great Eunuch

Nancy is another talented and young supporting actress who always leaves a good impression.  She always manages to shine in her roles, no matter how small.  While she has portrayed many interesting and memorable characters ("Ah Sze" in Gun Metal Grey and "Eva" in "Forensic Heroes 3" are recent examples), 2012 looks like it will bring yet another breakthrough for her as an actress.

Portraying a mute and deaf professional boxer in "Boxing Champion", the role has "potential breakthrough" written all over it.  She is the second female lead in the series as well.  If "Boxing Champion" is successful and her performance gets positive reception, perhaps she will finally be promoted to leading actress?  My only reservation about this is that she may lose her appeal if this happens.

Tavia Yeung gave countless memorable performances as a supporting actress, but became dull and received very boring roles after being promoted to lead.  As one of my favorite actresses, I'd hate Nancy to go down that road and prefer to see her in these supporting roles that allow her to shine.

Eric Li
Upcoming Series: Dangerous Protection, The Great Eunuch

I'm not sure what Eric's role in "Dangerous Protection" and "The Great Eunuch" is, as he's once again only has a small supporting role.  However, he reached a breakthrough as the funny and loyal "Lo Yat" in "Bottled Passion" as the character and performance garnered him praise and recognition.

Like Oscar, Eric leaves a good impression with each of his performances.  From the creepy bald rapist in "A Fistful of Stances" to the driver and robber in "Catch Me Now" to the hilariously mean hotel manager in "7 Days in Life", whether it's playing good or bad, he is always memorable.

While it is too early in the year and "Lo Yat" was too small of a role for him to win Best Supporting Actor, Eric's future looks a little brighter. I think now, he will be cast in more series. Perhaps if Producer Lee Tim Sing wasn't retiring, he could promote Eric the way he promoted Raymond Wong. Considering they play buddies in his production "Bottled Passion", wouldn't that just be amazing?

Edwin Siu
Upcoming Series: Boxing Champion, Daddy Good Deeds, Steps to Heaven, The Great Eunuch
Edwin has improved greatly since his "Aqua Heroes" days, while retaining his cuteness. He is lively and enjoyable to watch onscreen, and it seems he is slowly being more promoted. One day, I think he will be first supporting actor. Overtime, he could even be a lead.

Unfortunately, his only more major role from his four upcoming series is "Daddy Good Deeds", which looks cheesy and ridiculous. Perhaps his pairing with Linda will be fun and make some noise? I'm hoping he gets a decent amount of screen time in the other three series. Saying he will get a breakthrough this year is a bit of a stretch, but I'm too fond of him to put him on this list and hope for the best anyway.

Him Law
Upcoming Series: Tiger Cubs, The Hippocratic Crush

Following "Your Class or Mine", I started really liking Him and thought he had a lot of potential. Unfortunately, the story of him hitting girlfriend Theresa Fu was exposed permanently damaged my impression of him. His personal life aside, I'm not too fond of his recent "muscle man" image and much prefer him when he exerts more cute and boyish charm. I guess that contradicts his real life personality too much?

While his real life personality seems a little worrying, his acting career seems to be improving. He is second male lead in "The Hippocratic Crush", and his character actually seems interesting. Seeing him in a professional role will be new. The press has also been blowing Him and Tavia's real life friendship out of proportion, so it will be interesting to see how they will play out onscreen. I still like him as solely an actor and still believe he has potential.  However, Him is the only actor here who I don't also like in real life.

These six are the ones I think are most likely to reach a breakthrough in their career this year. Overall, I think Mandy is most likely to reach new career heights, and I couldn't be happier. I will be keeping a close eye on these six! Let's hope for the best for this talented bunch!

"Bottled Passion" Review

Premodern dramas and romance dramas are my two least favorite genres.  Just by the genre, I should've hated "Bottled Passion".  However, due to great pacing, script, and acting, "Bottled Passion" ended up not only being an exception, but one of my favorite series of the year.

The Acting

Raymond Wong delivers the most captivating performance of the year as "Tung Boon-Sin".  He was charming in his scenes wooing the Ko sisters.  Unlike many other female viewers though, I didn't feel swooned by his magic tricks and odd antics in courting them.  Perhaps it's because I prefer sincerity over charm, but I was much more moved by his earnest love for Tsui Sum.  His subtlety yet realism in portraying his emotional and crying scenes made me want to tear up myself.  They proved that less is indeed more.  On a more superficial note, Raymond looked very handsome here in his long jackets and suits.

I don't understand the criticism for Niki Chow being the worst actress ever.  She has a limited amount of facial expressions, but exerts a very endearing innocence and sweetness.  The character of Tsui Sum also called for her to cry a lot.  Due to the sad nature of the drama, she probably had to cry at least once an episode.  While Niki doesn't shed many tears, she shows the appropriate amount of sadness and pain.  In this case, this was good enough for me.  If I had to watch someone like Tavia Yeung cry as much as Tsui Sum did, I'd probably go nuts, no matter how realistic and emotional her crying is.

Elaine Yiu did a great job with the staring and sneering, but still wasn't too likable.  Katy Kung has a lot of potential as an actress, but her character was extremely irritating to watch.

Other notable performances include Eric Li, Claire Yiu, and Jack Wu.

Eric Li is one of those actors who is capable of giving a memorable performance no matter how unlikable his character is.  Lucky for him, this underrated actor was able to portray a likable and funny character here.  I enjoyed watching the friendship between him and Raymond.  Sadly, I don't think he'll be getting promoted anytime soon.

Claire Yiu has been stuck playing some terrible roles lately, but I surprisingly loved her here.  She was hilarious as the talkative and loud mouthed wife.  She could've easily been annoying, but Claire somehow makes her an entertaining character to watch.

Although boring at times, Jack Wu does well as the kind hearted doctor who loved Tsui Sum.  A decent actor who can emote, I'm surprised Jack has been stuck playing small roles for so long.  This is the most significant role of his I've seen in a while.

Rebecca Chan also showed some vicious acting here as the villain.

The Script
The first two episodes start off quite slow, but fast paced afterwards.  Almost each episode ends with a cliffhanger.  It is entertaining to watch and I found myself surprised at how fast each episode seemed to pass.  For once, the tragic love story was done right.

The Ending
I didn't expect a happy ending for Tsui Sum and Boon-Sin, but Raymond and Niki had so much chemistry I wished it would work out.  They were so passionate and sweet.  After watching 20 episodes of the two trying to find their way back to each other, I couldn't help but hold onto the hope that Boon-Sin was still alive all the way until the end credits started to roll.  Despite that, Tung Boon-Sin's death is fitting due to the nature and genre of the drama and makes their tragic love story memorable.

However, I still have many complaints about how his death was executed.   First off, why was the city square, which is usually bustling with people, completely empty except for one passerby in broad daylight?  Second, if Boon-Sin had enough energy to hobble all the way to the river and get on a boat, surely he could've walked to the hospital.  Silly Boon-Sin.  You could've easily lived happily ever after with Tsui Sum.

Overall
After the first two episodes, "Bottled Passion" is a captivating and entertaining drama about two lovers. I normally turn away anything premodern or romance driven, but this was a wonderful exception due to the acting, script, and pacing.  It deserves all the glowing praise it's been getting and Raymond Wong is already one of my picks my Best Actor this year.  I am very satisfied with the ratings it raked in for the finale despite its terrible time slot.  Unlike many other series I watched or tried to watch this year, this is one of the few that didn't make me feel like I wasted my time.  The highlights of the series however are still definitely Raymond and Niki.

Rating: 4 stars

"7 Days in Life" Review

The end and beginning of the year is always the worst time for TVB because it is during this time that all the mediocre series are aired.  After months of being suffocated with bad series, TVB exhales its first breath of fresh air with "7 Days", a series about many different people getting quarantined into Wonderful Hotel for seven days after an outbreak of H1N1 (aka "Swine Flu") is reported there.

"7 Days" showed promise and potential since the series was first unveiled at the sales presentation last year.  Despite major cast and script changes, its potential did not go to waste.  Its storyline was new, different, and taken from a true event.  The humor is completely unlike TVB.  When you laugh, you laugh out loud.  If you're looking for a comedy, "7 Days" is right for you, although there are dramatic twists.

Perhaps one of the most anticipated things about the originally proposed series was its star-studded cast, which would've consisted of Bobby Au-Yeung, Yoyo Mung, Bowie Lam, Krystal Tin, Sammul Chan, Myolie Wu, and others.  Unfortunately, it was later announced there would be a new cast.  Fortunately, the new cast did a superb job although they did not boost the biggest names.  The supporting characters shined in their fun and lovable roles characters, eventually proving to be more entertaining than our two leads.

Patrick Tang and Mimi Lo, whose roles originally belonged to Sammul and Myolie, delivered the biggest surprise of all.  Appearance wise, the two initially seemed incompatible.  Patrick is older than Mimi, but still has a kid-like look while Mimi looks more mature.  From Mimi constantly referring to Patrick as "Fei Chai" to the two of them looking after the kidnapped kid (played by Coleman Tam), their interactions were hilarious and adorable.  I would've loved to see Sammul and Myolie pair up again (and still do), but Patrick and Mimi brought something fresh to the screen.  They are unexpectedly my first favorite couple of the year.

Lately, Bosco Wong seems to have been demoted to second lead roles.  This is best for him, because he is still not able to carry a series by himself.  While I doubt Bosco's versatility in portraying something besides a cop, he looks the part.  Other than that, Bosco needs to work on getting into his characters.

Joyce Cheng may not have been blessed with beauty or exceptional talent, but she works hard.  Her hard work pays off because she has improved since her "Off Pedder" days.  Joyce gave a decent performance and actually became quite endearing and fun to watch.  I hope she gets more diverse roles in the future (this is her second time playing a blundering reporter, and she's only been in two series!).  She and Bosco were cute as brother and sister like friends, so I'm glad it never developed into anything more than that.

Yuen Wah was comedic when it was called for.  Other than that, his character added an extra layer of mystery that kept things interesting.

Many of the minor characters contributed to the fun atmosphere of "7 Days".  Oceanne Zhu was cute and shows potential.  It was nice to see Koni Lui in a different role, although "Karen" was quite silly and naive.  Eric Li was hilarious as the mean manager who yelled at all his employees but constantly kissed up to his rich guests.

Unfortunately, the biggest drag of "7 Days" were the relationship between our two leads, played by Steven Ma and Sonija Kwok.  The premise of a couple who are both thiefs sounded fun, but TVB decided to go in a different direction and make their relationship as rocky as possible.  Mistake?  Yes.  "Calvin" and "Christy" were attempts to create complex characters that ended up backfiring.  In the end, they were a chore to watch.  It was an even bigger chore because they were our main characters.  I don't necessarily dislike Calvin and Christy, complicated love stories are not TVB's thing.

Steven Ma gives his all in portraying his first semi-villain/villain role.  He brought the coolness needed for the character and even brought out Calvin's arrogance.  While some scenes seem forced, I think it had more to do with my positive impression of Steven's real life character and his countless righteous roles from the past than his unconvincing performance.  An even bigger factor was Calvin's complex characterization, which ended up turning into inconsistent characterization.  The transition from an arrogant thief to a man dying from illness who just wanted to be with the one he loved was sudden and abrupt.

Christy was betrayed in love and decided to become a thief with Calvin to toughen up herself.  Unfortunately, she ends up falling in love with him resulting in some unfortunate events, misunderstandings, and more heartbreak.  Sonija is likable to watch, but I fail to see her as a good actress.  The way she speaks her lines still feels unnatural.  While she wore too much make up here, Sonija Kwok looked beautiful with her long curls and feminine wardrobe.

Like all TVB series these days, "7 Days" quality was not always consistent.  It hit a snag around the middle (focus on Steven and Sonija's drama), it quickly overcame it and became more addictive than ever.  Comedy, drama, romance, and even some mystery, "7 Days" has something to offer for everyone.  It is a joy to watch and by the end, you'll feel like the series flew by.

"7 Days in Life" is the best TVB series that's released since TVB's anniversary.  While it has some cliches we've come to expect from TVB, it is refreshing and the most original thing they've come up with since "You're Hired".  I definitely recommend it!

Rating: 4 stars