TVB Anniversary Awards 2018: Results + Comments

Lifetime Achievement Award: Nancy Sit

TVB usually hits the nail on the head with these (unfortunately I can't say that for much else they do). Nancy is a TVB fixture with a career that has spanned more than 60 years, so of course this was deserved.

Professional Actor Award: Angelina Lo, Timothy Cheng, Jimmy Au

All three are spot on. Angelina Lo is TVB's best bitchy mother-in-law, while also great at playing loving mothers, or bitchy mothers who have a soft side. Timothy Cheng still gets tasked with villain roles a majority of the time, but always delivers. Joel ended up winning Best Supporting Actor last year over Jimmy for "The Unholy Alliance," which just made more sense because as solid as Jimmy was, his character was still relatively minor. This gives him acknowledgment for his years of playing everything from villain roles to loyal and strong ones to comedic ones.

Most Improved Actor: Matthew Ho
Matthew was obviously going to win since Owen was only in variety series this year, and the rest of the competition was pretty trash (sorry Hubert, still loved you as Shek Kam Dong). I didn't watch "Life on the Line," but this award seems warranted, especially since he was already the hot favorite to win for his performance as "Siu Tung" last year, though TVB decided to finally award Mat Yeung instead.

Most Improved Actress: Crystal Fung
You know TVB really pulled a fast one when even the winner herself is visibly completely befuddled as to how she won the award. Crystal has literally acted in one series so far ("Apple-colada"), therefore she has nothing to improve on. I was particularly surprised Crystal won considering TVB seemed itching to give this to Louisa Mak. I'm not even sure which winner would be worse, but from a logistical standpoint, it is definitely worse to give it to someone who has had no opportunity to even try to improve yet. I'm glad Crystal acknowledged this in her speech though, and that she said she'd work hard to improve to actually earn this award.

Most Popular TV Partnership: Edwin Siu and Raymond Cho for "Two Men in a Kitchen"
You don't need to look any further than the pair's matching red suits and going up to get their award hand-in-hand to know these two are best buddies. Their friendship is so apparent, TVB even gave him this award two years in a row even though they had no incentive to!

The highlight of the night though was Edwin dropping a bombshell and thanking his wife Priscilla in his acceptance speech! He was so awkward and nervous about it, and while some found it cringeworthy, I found it hilarious - clearly, Priscilla is the more eloquent in this relationship. ;) I'm surprised they managed to keep it a secret since April! These two don't get much press since people just don't seem to care, but they have long been one of my favorite real-life TVB couples. They are very low-profile yet seem so genuinely sweet and fun (as evidenced by Edwin's first failed proposal on a roller coaster, and Priscilla proposing the second time).

Most Popular Series Song: Hana Kuk's theme song for "Life on the Line"
I'm SHOCKED! Nah, just kidding.

My Favorite TVB Drama (Singapore and Malaysia): "Threesome"
Glad that "Threesome" got some acknowledgment! Clearly, Singapore and Malaysia appreciated this series that TVB cast aside, cut down, and then banished to weekends much more than Hong Kong.

Best Supporting Actor: Oscar Leung for "OMG, Your Honor"
This was slightly surprising given that he was not a buzzed-about nominee (but then again, who was in this category?). Given his years of solid performances and what sounded like a more major character in "OMG, Your Honor" though, it was still deserved. Despite hitting a surge in popularity in 2012 and 2013's "L'Escargot" and "Tiger Cubs," TVB has seemed to have cast him aside into minor supporting and gangster roles again in the last few years, so I'm sure this unexpected win was encouraging for Oscar. And you know Oscar genuinely did not expect this, since he wore sneakers and said he would've put more effort into his look had he known he would win.

Best Supporting Actress: Mandy Lam for "Come Home Love: Lo and Behold"
Probably the most deserved award of the night (minus the veteran honorees)? Mandy was a hot favorite to win last year, and in one of the biggest "WTF" moments in recent anniversary award memory, Rebecca Zhu won instead. I have usually liked Mandy despite playing very small roles, and am happy she has been gaining recognition. Of all the winners of the night, Mandy seemed the most balanced, looking genuinely grateful while also being very well-composed and eloquent in her acceptance speech, despite a turbulent career that included fighting (and winning!) a battle against cancer seven years ago.

My Favorite Male Character: Kenneth Ma for "Deep in the Realm of Conscience"
Kenneth's expression when his name was announced, as well as his acceptance speech, was the most unintentionally hilarious moment of the night. While his colleagues, including Ruco and Ben, looked genuinely happy for him, Kenneth looked visibly in disbelief that he was winning this award for the third time. I usually hate when actors wear a "black face" when giving acceptance speeches, but this win was so absurd that Kenneth's complete failure to hide his sassiness in his speech, which included remarks such as how he did not pay anyone for the award, cracked. me. up. I think Kenneth himself knew he didn't have much of a chance for Best Actor this year, but was even more annoyed that TVB wanted to stroke his ego with this award again and just felt mocked instead. Once in a while this award really can mean something, and that you played a memorable character audiences loved. Most of the time, it's a pork award, and Kenneth's win was the epitome of that. Poor guy probably would've dropped TVB like a hot potato years ago, but knows his worth is in Hong Kong and that he would not fare well in Mainland China like his former more idol-faced colleagues like Ron and Bosco.

My Favorite Female Character: Alice Chan for "Deep in the Realm of Conscience"
I love Bobby so much, but wanted to slap him off the screen when he was presenting the leading female categories. The bit would have been fine and worth a chuckle if Bobby simply stated Jessica Hsuan yelled at him for forgetting to thank Tommy Leung 18 years ago, and he wanted to do so now. But like with most things, Bobby had to keep dragging it out and going on and on as if this was his time to give an acceptance speech. I'm assuming this was TVB's idea of humor and not completely Bobby's doing, and he was just responsible for rambling, but it was incredibly stupid, even more so with the cramped time.

I realize "Deep in the Realm of Conscience" was a grand production, but I'm kinda surprised Alice wasn't nominated in this category for "Apple-colada" instead where she played a strong and sassy female protagonist instead of a villain. The Best Actress and Fave Female Character competition was clearly a race between Alice, Ali, and Mandy this year, and I was betting that if it was anyone that was the most likely to go home empty-handed, it would have been Alice. I've always liked Alice though, and did not see her winning Best Actress, so I'm glad she still received recognition.

Best Actor: Joe Ma for "Life on the Line"
This was another one of the head scratchers of the night, but probably the one I was most indifferent to. Joe has never been a great actor, nor is he a bad actor. He's just kind of...meh. But I guess it was his time. I can only be so offended when the rest of the competition besides Dicky was trash, and Dicky's series was shoved to the end of the year.

Best Actress: Ali Lee for "Who Wants a Baby?"
And TVB stabs Mandy in the back and throws her to the wayside. I can't believe TVB gave Mandy nothing. I have liked Ali since her debut, and she has quickly become my favorite new leading actress out of the lukewarm bunch we have. Indeed, she has rapidly improved, and if Mandy and Alice weren't contenders, people probably wouldn't care. Unlike most other newer generation actresses, Ali has won quite a bit of both not only TVB's favor, but the audience's favor. Unfortunately, by giving Ali this award so soon (just two years after winning Most Improved!) in a year with competition, TVB is unfortunately opening her up to be criticized and disliked for something that is not her fault, much like Natalie Tong when she won this award last year. And the sad thing is, her career did not need such a boost with this award. She is already popular and in-demand because her other similarly-experienced female colleagues suck. I still love you though Ali.

Best Drama: "Life on the Line"
The only category I predicted correctly this year - yikes. I'm glad "Beyond the Realm of Conscience" did not win this though, and that what seems like a deserving series did.

"Tiger Cubs" Review

"Tiger Cubs", with its high budget and quality of production as well as its cast ensemble, is easily the best series of the year hands down.

The series seemingly flies by with its straightforward plot and quick pace.  It has viewers hooked from beginning to end, without ever wavering in quality or consistency too much like typical TVB series do. From the first episode, it is clear the effort that was put into the series.   From the cinematic-like filming style, to the thrilling and well shot action sequences, to the wonderful ensemble of characters, "Tiger Cubs" is the most quality production of the year.

Cast and Characters

"Tiger Cubs" is easily most beloved for its young SDU boys, which consist of Oscar Leung, Him Law, Vincent Wong, William Chak, and Benjamin Yuen.


Oscar Leung receives the best character of his career with "Chong Chuk Yuen", as the role allowed him to shine and show his charisma and potential as a future leading actor.  Unlike his usual more rough and comic relief-type roles, Oscar is a gentlemanly, calm, mature, and sweet young man with a romantic side here, something we've never been able to see much of before.  Despite the age difference, he realistically portrays the brotherly friendship between him and Joe with ease as well as the sibling chemistry with Jessica.  And of course, his signature wink was adorable.

The fabulous acting by the young cast does not stop at Oscar though.  Him Law portrays the confident, cocky, rash, and impulsive "Yu Hok Lai" naturally and without a problem.  He matures and develops a close friendship with the team's technician So Man Keung (portrayed by Mandy Wong) as he helps her get over her fear of heights and achieve her goal of becoming the first female SDU member.  I can not deny he is one of the best actors of his generation and has what it takes to be a lead actor.

Vincent Wong delivers his most natural performance to date as "Yau Chun Hin".  In contrast to his best buddy Ah Lai, Hin Jai is humble and patient, but is insecure and lacks self esteem due to the pressure he feels from his family, which is full of heroic and accomplished cops.  Ah Hin was the character with the most potential, and I had looked forward to seeing him mature and become more confident as the series progressed.  Unfortunately, the script did not seem to have any intentions of focusing in on Vincent (notice he's the only one of the main SDU guys to not have any love interest), as he had the least screen time.  His character development was executed in a disappointingly abrupt and brief fashion.  Regardless, Vincent did wonderfully with what he was given.  In the early episodes, you could see the hesitation in his eyes as he started SDU training.    He also finally shed his habit of adding in English words and phrases to his lines.

No one had expected Hin Jai to be the one to die.  (Thanks to a prank by Jessica, who had "confessed" her character died early on during its airing.  This turned out to be a stunt by Jessica and Vincent to keep the actual ending under wraps.  Very clever, Jess...)  Hin died in such a tragic, graphic, and gruesome way.  Huge props to him for giving such a memorable performance in his last scene.  His death already had me in tears, and seeing the character try to utter one last smile to the world before he passed made my heart break.  Fantastic acting touch.  Previously, I already loved Vincent for his real life down to earth personality but thought his acting left much to be desired.  He shows he has what it takes to be a solid actor here, and I will be cheering for him all the way.  If a sequel does happen, I will greatly miss his presence.

Mandy Wong, like usual, delivers solidly and is perhaps the only female of the male dominated cast that is likable and interesting.  Christine Kuo gives what was hands down the weakest performance with her scattered Cantonese and English and bimbo-like character.  William Chak did well in the one episode he had the spotlight (the tour bus storyline), and I look forward to seeing more of him.


Although our lead actors perform adequately, they fail to shine and instead are overshadowed by the bright group of youngsters I mentioned above (excluding Christine).  Joe Ma, as our leading man, anchors the SDU team as their leader, but fails to leave an impression like the others.  He is likable as the hardworking "Chin Sir" who cared deeply for his subordinates.  As a character with not much of a dynamic though, he was easily outshined.

Jessica Hsuan portrays a different type of police officer here as the depressed and suicidal "Madam Chong".  While she delivers, it is hard to make this type of character likable as the depressed and suicidal state (understandably) of Madam Chong rid her of her personality and livelihood.  When she recovered though, she lost the only major dynamic she had.  However, as Joe and Jessica's relationship finally started to fall for each other, they did get some smiles out of me.  The scene where they are both sitting at the dining table stealing glances at each other was awkwardly adorable.


Other Notable Performances

This review would not be complete without mentioning the series' resident ultimate villains Kenneth Ma and JJ Jia, who made their debut in the first episode and returned in the last for a nail biting finale. Kenneth is chilling, frightening, and convincing as "To Tin Yau".  JJ Jia gives a decent performance as well.  However, they have already received endless praise for their roles, and I would like to mention others too.

Kenny Wong appeared in what was an underrated guest star role.  While I'm not usually fond of the actor, he gives a heartbreaking performance as the loving father forced into committing crime to get money for his sick son's surgery.  You could see the guilt in his eyes and that he genuinely did not wish to hurt anyone, especially in his last confrontational scene with Mandy.  Despite doing a bad thing, he sparked sympathy through the portrayal of all the emotions the character felt while doing it.  Jazz Lam was adorable, pitiful, and convincing as (autistic?) young boy whose life long dream is to be a cop and take care of his mom.  He is such a valuable and rare actor.

Lastly, a shout out to my favorite "underdog" artist, Patrick Tang.  He appeared in the series as a regular under Jessica's team.  Though "Ben" is Patrick's smallest role yet (I smell demotion), he makes the most out of the very minor but likable character.  It was nice to see Patrick in a more professional and mature role.  I loved the character's loyalty to Jessica as well as his subtle touches of humor.


The Series in General

The plot isn't one that sparks thinking or deep meaning, but the writing is above average for TVB's shoddy scripts these days.  The change in format was refreshing and proved to work well.  Since it clocked in with slightly longer episodes, but a shorter overall episode count at just 13, this made "Tiger Cubs" more consistent and less prone to cliches and filler material.  In fact, by the series' end, there is still a lot of potential for further development.  A majority of the scenes served a purpose, and unlike most TVB series today, doesn't stray from the point.  Additionally, the cinematic like filming style and high budget makes it look much more presentable, professional, and more attractive to look at.  It is the rare instance that they try something new and different and succeeded.  Quality isn't compensated, it's even better.  I appreciate how it still has the familiar feel of a TVB series, but attempts new things and actually executes it well.

Highlights

• The brotherhood, friendship, and chemistry between the characters.  The SDU team truly felt like a team, and I'll miss them!
• The action sequences/climaxes.  The cases themselves were fine, but not overly intriguing.  However, the climaxes always had me sitting at the edge of my seat!
• The finale.  Never has the finale of a TVB series had me so nervous, stressed, and thrilled!  My heart was probably pounding by the second half of the finale. 

Overall

You don't break what's not broken.  However, recent TVB series have indeed been broken - in other words they've mostly sucked.  "Tiger Cubs" takes a familiar formula but improves upon it with outstanding acting, cinematography, style, and action.  The script is no masterpiece, but it is through its execution that "Tiger Cubs" shines like a diamond.  

Rating: 4.5 stars