TVB Anniversary Awards 2020: Predictions and Picks

This year has without a doubt been a complete mess, and it's time for a sense of normalcy (if only for my own sanity) with TVB Interaction's yearly anniversary awards post.

Every year we joke TVB is nominating everyone, but TVB has truly outdone itself by nominating nearly every last person, including many in the wrong category.  Complete newcomers are nominated in the Most Improved category, guest stars who barely registered a blip in their series are nominated in the supporting categories, and supporting actors are competing in the leading actor categories.  

See the full list of nominations here.

Best Actor

Top 5: Moses Chan, Wayne Lai, Raymond Lam, Kenneth Ma, Vincent Wong

Predicted Winner: Raymond Lam

Personal Choice: N/A

Snub: Frankie Lam for "Life After Death" 

Ouch to a petty TVB not even bothering to nominate Frankie, who recently wrapped up a stint as Vice President of ATV, despite a whooping 22 nominees in this category.  Mark Ma, who I was cheering to win Best Supporting Actor, was instead nominated here.  Admittedly, it can be difficult to categorize second lead roles, particularly for series with smaller casts, but Mark would have made for very strong competition in the supporting category.  Moses and Wayne are the perpetual top 5 nominees, but I wouldn't be surprised if Shaun or Joel kicked out one of the TV Kings for their performances in "Brutally Young."  It's hard to see anyone besides Raymond Lam winning to make up for all the years he narrowly lost, though I have heard rumbles of Lau Dan being a black horse.  While it was enjoyable to see remnants of the Raymond of yesteryear who got be more lighthearted and charming, he was severely sidelined and underdeveloped, much like everybody in "Line Walker"'s painfully over bloated cast ensemble.  He did what he could with the material given to him, but it will very much be a delayed win rather than one deserved for the particular series he is nominated for.  And with a lack of competition, I don't particularly care either way.

Best Actress

Top 5: Selena Li, Katy Kung, Mandy Wong, Ali Lee, Sisley Choi

Predicted Winner: Mandy Wong

Personal Choice: Ali 

Alrighty guys, if Katy wins for a clearly supporting role (and more importantly, not even a good one - for the last time, bulging your eyes is not acting!) in "Death by Zero," I will be livid.  I feel like I say this every year, but this is definitely the weakest competition for Best Actress yet.  Even with a lesser 18 nominees here, while no one in the Best Actor category is less than a second male lead, this category is littered with supporting actresses including Crystal Fung and Samantha Ko for "Al Cappuccino."  The "Lo and Behold" actresses arguably should be in the supporting categories still, but I am more forgiving for a sitcom where the focus shifts much more between characters.  

I've heard Mandy is the hot favorite to win after going home empty-handed despite an acclaimed performance in "Threesome" in 2018.  I don't have particular issues with Mandy winning, but she was also clearly a supporting role in "Line Walker" and hardly had room to really display her acting chops.  Mandy is someone who is clearly capable of giving a memorable, strong performance, but in recent years has been relegated to boring, uncomplicated roles (she played a straight-edged cop in both her series this year) and this in turn has also made her performances boring.  Hopefully, a TV Queen win will finally give her meaty roles again. 

Like with Best Actor, there is no one I am supporting to actually win, but if I had to choose, Ali probably gave the best performance of the bunch.  While many current actresses seem to only excel in one type of role, after watching her as "Cash" in "Death by Zero," I am persuaded Ali is the most versatile and chameleon-like, having played villain, dramatic, and comedic roles well.  She is uninhibited in her acting, which allowed Cash's silly and funny side to shine without making her cartoonish or exaggerated.  Though not Best Actress level (then again, who is these days?), I was also impressed with Sisley, who noticeably improved from the first "Legal Mavericks 2" and did much better in her emotional scenes.

Favorite Male Character

Top 5: Joel Chan, Moses Chan, Vincent Wong, Raymond Lam, Michael Miu

Predicted Winner: Joel

Personal Choice: Joel

I am surprised how much I have come to genuinely enjoy Joel's acting in recent years and how much screen presence he now has, especially in "Brutally Young" as the charismatic gangster with a good heart.  Vincent could possibly win again, but given Joel went unrecognized last year for "Barrack O'Karma," hopefully he will be able to go home with something this year.  Moses' "Zero" is also Moses at his best, playing a suave, confident, and clever yet humorous assassin but just restrained enough he was not over the top and annoying (the same cannot be said for his performance in "Beauty and the Boss").  

Favorite Female Character

Top 5: Selena, Sisley, Mandy, Ali, Katy 

Predicted Winner: Katy

Personal Choice: Ali

I'm throwing stones a little here, as Selena, Sisley, and Ali have all won this award already.  Mandy could win if someone else pulls an upset for Best Actress, but after that, Katy is probably next in line.  She garnered buzz for "Death by Zero" (admittedly, not the good kind), and she is nominated for "Hong Kong Love Stories," which has been receiving praise despite its bad time slot.

Best Supporting Actor

Top 5: Brian Tse, Tsui Wing, Benz Hui, Bowie Wu, Kent Tong 

Predicted Winner: Brian

Personal Choice: N/A

Snub: Anthony Ho for "Brutally Young"

While he certainly effectively creeped me out in "Death by Zero," I'm still not convinced Brian Tse is a strong actor.  With the moderate buzz he received for the series, and the excessive amount he was hounded by the press this year because of the Ashley Chu and Jackson Lai scandal, TVB may be looking to give him some encouragement.  

Although not a nominee in this category, I would have supported Mark.  I always get nervous when TVB dramas portray characters with any kind of disorder, but Mark clearly took great care in portraying a doctor with autism spectrum disorder, nailing subtle mannerisms while making the character lovable and realistic.  It was particularly impressive after watching him as the guy next door in "Lo and Behold," and I look forward to seeing him in more roles.  I was not a fan of Tsui Wing's character in "Al Cappuccino" at all, but he is always a solid supporting actor so I'd love to see him win one year.  

Anthony got to play a very substantial and meaty role in "Brutally Young" compared to his usual characters and was sympathetic and likable, so it's surprising he did not even get a nomination.  

Best Supporting Actress

Top 5: Moon Lau, Yoyo Chen, Angel Chiang, Winki Lai, Suet Nei 

Predicted Winner: Winki

Personal Choice: Winki

Snub: Vivien Yeo for "Brutally Young"

There's actually some competition in this category!  It's a difficult toss-up for my personal choice between Moon and Winki, but Winki edges out for me.  Moon's sweet and affable "Bei Bei" character admittedly has a special place in my heart and her passing over storyline in "The Exorcist's Second Meter" was touching thanks in large part to Moon's performance.  Similar to Yoyo, Winki showed in "Al Cappuccino" she is capable of playing far more than the "leng mui" characters she started off in.  She played the tough-as-nails big sister character well while conveying the character's more tender side who just wanted to a regular OL.  And of course, she had wonderful chemistry with Owen.  Winki is probably my favorite of the more up and coming actresses and I'd be more than happy for her to win.  

Yoyo is a black horse, having received good buzz for "Life After Death," and based on merit of performance alone I wouldn't go with Yoyo as she had a rather small supporting role where she mostly got to play the loyal, flirty, and fun friend.  However, she has gone from mostly only believably playing cute, young girl characters to naturally playing a charming and sexy mature young woman here.  With her focus on being a mother, TVB has put her on the sidelines for years, and if she does win, I hope it will propel her to be promoted and receive major roles, much like this award has done for previous winners. 

Although she received a Favorite Female Character nomination despite departing TVB this year, Vivien was snubbed for her performance in "Brutally Young" in this category.  This is the most emotive Vivien has been, having needed to communicate without speaking, and it is sad her best performance came just as she decided to move on from TVB.  

Most Improved Actor

Predicted Winner: Mark Ma

Personal Choice: Mark Ma

In a more ideal situation (for me at least), Mark could win Best Supporting Actor and Brian Tse could win Most Improved, as this is more reflective of their acting progress and experience.  Hopefully, Mark has this in the bag.  Of all the categories, this is probably the only one I'd genuinely be a bit upset about if my personal choice didn't win, especially if it went to one of the much more green actors I can barely remember the name of. 

Most Improved Actress

Predicted Winner: Moon Lau

Personal Choice: Gloria Tang 

If we're talking about actual improvement, Gloria has easily improved the most, having been unwatchable during her debut but becoming much more natural and likable in recent series such as "The Exorcist's 2nd Meter."  Moon is a relatively heavily promoted actress that has yet to win this award, but Angel Chiang may very well pull a win for "Al Cappuccino," though I still don't find her very believable as the sexy, flirty triad boss. 

Best Partnership

Predicted Winner: Vincent Wong, Owen Cheung, and Brian Chu in "Al Cappuccino" 

Personal Choice: Vincent Wong, Owen Cheung, and Brian Chu in "Al Cappuccino" 

While Vincent's romantic storylines with all four females in "Al Cappuccino" were haphazard and undeveloped (and overall just plain confusing), Vincent and Owen once again pulled off a great bromance and Brian was a welcome added dynamic.  Vincent and Owen are probably my favorite male partnership overall, as they are unafraid to get physical with each other while also being great banter partners.  I'm also a big fan of Kenneth and Hubert's partnership, but much more so in the original than in this year's sequel given their characters were often more at odds with each other. 

Best Theme Song

Predicted Winner: Raymond Lam and HANA's subtheme for "Line Walker"

Personal Choice: Man, I don't care. 

Best Drama

Predicted Winner: Line Walker 3: Bull Fight

Personal Choice: Death By Zero

"Line Walker 3" is the big anniversary production with the big cast and overall just part of a major franchise (that I wish would end).  While it started off promising, the series already had obvious difficulties integrating characters from the original and the prequel, particularly Benjamin and Priscilla's characters.  With the addition of numerous new characters, there was always too much going on and no individual character could be fully developed, leading to a mostly convoluted and disjointed storyline.  I was looking forward to watching Kenneth as a villain, but he mostly bulged his eyes.  

The dark comedy vibe where a heavy and rather violent subject matter is balanced with witty humor is common in American media such as superhero shows, but not at all with TVB, so I was very hesitant about "Death by Zero."  While the tone takes getting used to because of its novelty for a TVB series, it is executed well.  This tone and style is of course not everyone's cup of tea, especially much of TVB's target audience, but is very much up my alley so I was pleased with the freshness.  While I wish some characters such as Samantha's were better utilized and some minimized, Moses and Ali in particular shined, along with supporting players like Timothy Cheng.  Sure, it gets a bit absurd at times and some of our assassins seemingly just kill in plain sight, but it's a hell of a fun and fresh ride and more than deserving of "Best Drama." 

"Two Steps From Heaven" Review

*MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!

Anniversary series "Two Steps in Heaven" tries to have a little of everything, from drama through fights for power and office politics, to romance, to sitcom-like comedy, to some outrageous plot twists. The result is that there should be something you'll enjoy, however small, but the series is disjointed and lacks a cohesive plot or direction.

Bosco Wong leads out the cast of this effort to be everything as what has got to be the most unlikable main protagonist in years. "Sheldon" is ambitious and manipulative, to a point where he is willing to betray his friends and leave his family to the dust, even though he already has a pretty darn good job (especially after Priscilla/Edwin become the boss of Rainmakers).

Flashbacks show that he used to be a paparazzi reporter who was seriously beat up and subsequently went into PR, but dead set on more. Despite the flashbacks, viewers are left still unsure of how Sheldon became the way he did. It also still remains unclear why he carried on an affair with "Emma" for over two years. What should have been a complex character was missing layers. In fact, a few scenes seemed to hint he was suffering from PTSD or some kind of mental disorder (such as when he severely assaults a drunk man who threw up on him, and throws away the birthday cake his daughter gives him), but in typical TVB fashion, this potential storyline is thrown under the bus to just make Sheldon despicable and unreasonably ruthless.

With that said, Bosco gives one of the best performances of his career, bringing out all the not so flattering and glamorous traits of Sheldon. Of course, this is just as he announces he is officially leaving TVB.

If there is something the writers really deserve props for though, is killing off Sheldon, and in one of the most cruel and slow ways I have seen for a protagonist. It was incredibly bold, unexpected, and satisfying, but his death-bed redemption was a total cop out. It's as if the writers realized at the last minute they had made Sheldon too bad and unsympathetic, so they tried to claim he actually did love his wife and daughter all along, but it certainly did not fool anyone. I guess every smart writing move has to be balanced out with a bad one.

Similar to "Sheldon," Priscilla Wong's "Sing Seung" leaves the audience still unsure abo
ut how she became so scheming and aggressive. The backstory with her ex-boyfriend does little to explain this, and instead acts as an annoying plot point brought up every once in a while. At a length of 35 episodes, you would think the writers would have actually utilized the length to properly show character development.

Priscilla actually performs relatively well in her most mature role to date and first villain role. I did not originally see her in this kind of role at all. While she is too calm in her portrayal at times, it does reaffirm my belief that she is not as bad of an actress as a lot of people claim she is. At times she left me scared or uncomfortable, which I never thought I'd say about the fun and happy-go-lucky Priscilla. Comedy remains her strength, but I liked seeing her in a more "adult" role for a change.

Meanwhile, Edwin Siu proves that just being one of the main characters in an anniversary drama does not mean you need to be interesting or have any story of your own. He's an all-around too good and nice guy who marries Priscilla and realizes she is not the person he knew her as. He also wears a lot of turtle necks. That's about it. Surely Edwin has been bored at work lately?

Louis Cheung rounds out our trio of male leads as a balance of Bosco and Edwin's character's overly bad and overly good qualities. The sometimes foul-mouthed and sassy "Tim Siu," who is actually a really great guy who would do anything for his friends, is a type of character that Louis has perfected, and gave audiences at least one character to root for. Louis has always excelled at bringing out subtleties and layers in his characters, even if he does not have much to work with, just by nature of his acting. He really showed how "Tim," despite the humor of his character that could suggest otherwise, was such a caring  and genuinely good person. The actor has truly been a gift for TVB.

A news article released shortly before the series started airing suggested that there would be breakthroughs to look for in our three leading men. Perhaps the real breakthrough though was Luk Wing, as "Ted." The introduction of his typical spoiled rich boy character makes it seem like he'll be one of the most annoying characters you will have ever laid eyes on. Yet, as the focus starts to shift to him, and he discovers his passions and how to apply himself, he becomes the heart of the series. As a result, it is heartbreaking when Ted is driven to death, and a void is left for the remainder of the series.

Luk Wing is hilarious and lovable as Ted, stealing the screen in all his scenes without goi
ng too over the top. Instead, he's just entertaining and gives the audience something to laugh about while Bosco and Priscilla are running around doing...whatever it is they were doing, to his complete oblivion. He also proves he can do drama as well, showing Ted's increased frustration and hopelessness before he finally decides to plummet to his death. His top 3 nomination for best supporting actor is well-deserved and I hope TVB will continue to give him meaty roles such as this.

As mentioned earlier, "Two Steps" tries to be a little of everything, and this meant at times it felt like a sitcom, especially in the scenes Louis and Luk Wing shared together. Perhaps one of the writers should have pitched a sitcom with these two instead, because some of the series' best moments is when they are just bickering or horsing around with each other. Gloria Tang's "Maple" throws in some fun to their dynamic as well, but her acting is unnatural and at times awkward. It also annoyed me that despite being his best friend, she seemed to have no reaction to Ted's death and gotten over it in five seconds.

Also worth mentioning is Kandy Wong as "Da Jie," who becomes an unlikely couple with Ted. It was enjoyable seeing her in a mature role despite her babyface and height, and also proves perhaps TVB shouldn't always put their youthful and petite actresses into a box where they're always playing the little sister.

Bosco, Louis, Luk Wing, and Kandy may have turned in some solid performances, but apparently TVB thinks otherwise, as the only person who received recognition for their performance is Katy Kung. Also a victim of the little sister typecast, Katy gets to play a wife and mother here, and a good chunk of performance is adequate and sympathetic. However, her crying scenes are incredibly cringeworthy and show she was trying way too hard. While I'm glad Katy is finally getting some acknowledgement for her work over the years, it's unfortunate that it had to be for a performance where she was actually a weaker link.

No character is weaker than Moon Lau's "Emma" though, who went from the mistress who didn't want to give up, to disappearing, to returning as someone who was just plain crazy. Moon's popularity spiked this year after an endearing performance in "A Fist Within Four Walls," but "Emma" exposes just how many weaknesses she still has an actress. Her emotional scenes are unnatural, and the character itself is hard to have any sympathy for. She should have stayed gone after Sheldon dumped her, but I guess someone had to kill Sing Seung? While that move was also unexpected, it just felt like overboard and one last ditch attempt to shock the audience. I'm just really glad the writers did not have her end up with Louis.

As mentioned earlier, the series tries to be a little of everything, then makes poor attempts to string it all together. While I greatly enjoyed Louis and Luk Wing's comedic scenes, it was always bizarre to remember that this was part of the same series where Bosco beats the lights out of a drunk man, Luk Wing eventually jumps off a building, Priscilla slowly poisons Bosco to death, and Moon stabs Priscilla multiple times with a huge knife out in the middle of the street. To reach the 35-episode length, they also gave random moments to supporting characters, such as Snow Suen's mummy-fetus and Claire Yiu finding out William Chan is a fan of hers from her modeling days. Instead, they could have used this time to better explain how Bosco and Priscilla became the way they did, and oh, I don't know, give poor Edwin a personality.

Overall

Some may disagree with me, but I still found "Two Steps From Heaven" to be quite entertaining at times, if only in a soapy, mindless way. With better execution, it had the potential to be a very compelling series balanced out with elements of comedy. Instead, when looked at objectively, we're left with a bunch of strings that weren't tied together. However, for fans of Bosco (if you're fine with spending 35 episodes hating his guts that is), Louis, and Luk Wing, the series was not a complete waste of time and has its moments.

Rating: 3 stars

TVB 50th Anniversary Awards: Results + Comments

This year's award show, if you haven't already realized, was unsurprisingly a sweep for this year's hit "A Fist Within Four Walls." Overall, the show had its entertaining moments with deserving winners as well as a few surprises. I watched the show as I wrote my post this year (after skimming it the day of so I could find out the results before class), so I hope you enjoy the commentary and screen caps.

Here is the full list of winners.

Most Improved Actress: Ali Lee

I totally should have seen it coming that TVB would make Tony and Edwin present Most Improved Actor and Priscilla and Natalie Most Improved Actress. As predictable as that move was though, their banter was actually entertaining and funny instead of the usual forced presenting of awards. I loved all the jokes they made about each other, starting when Tony replied to Edwin saying he has won awards too...to realize Edwin actually has not (for acting). Poor Tony looked completely blind-sided though when Edwin joked that Kenneth was the one who told him Natalie has a good figure and can cook. The banter level between Priscilla and Tony was also high as always, which was shown by this imitation of what Tony thinks Priscilla looks like in all of her series:

But anyway...Tracy gets robbed again. Ali is far from the least deserving winner in the history of this award, but Tracy is now two years overdue for this award after a critically-acclaimed performance in sleeper hit "Over Run Over." I have loved Ali in her villain and semi-villain roles, especially in "Fashion War," but her first turn as a leading protagonist in "Law Disorder," while partially the fault of a dull and poorly-written character, showed she still has a way to go and lacks the charisma Tracy has. Ali's acting is already at a better level than some of her colleagues at this point in her career, and her win is expected given how heavily she's being promoted. I do like Ali, but this was admittedly, pretty darn disappointing.

Most Improved Actor: Jonathan Cheung 

"Anybody could win and he'd be better than last year's winner!" *camera pans to Tony* Oh Priscilla, even you have to admit that other than Jonathan, Tony was still a stronger nominee than any of the other nominees this year. You knew Jonathan was obviously going to win when literally all the other guys were pointing in his direction when Priscilla and Natalie were about to announce it.

This may have been one of the more obvious winners of the night. I'm still so happy Jonathan won, and he had a sweet and concise acceptance speech. There's really not much to be said other than that, since I've already gone on and on about how he deserves this recognition in my predictions post and "House of Spirits" review.

That performance of "Stand By Me" wasn't great, but for once they sang a song and it didn't make my ears want to bleed and was even quite nice, so that's an improvement. Wasn't exactly acapella, but they're lucky I have a soft spot for this song.

Best Onscreen Partnership: Tracy Chu and Vincent Wong for "Over Run Over"

It was nice to see a mini "Virtues of Harmony" reunion! But yeesh, it looks like Joyce Chen has barely aged since the sitcom.

Neither Tracy or Vincent took home a favorite character award, ruining my prediction that Vincent would win Favorite Male Character. I'm glad they were able to take home SOMETHING, especially considering they were only one of two nominees in this category that actually made sense.

Best Supporting Actor: Raymond Cho for "Short End of the Stick"
Top 3: Raymond Cho, Hugo Ng for "Brother's Keeper II," and Luk Wing for "Two Steps in Heaven"

There are always several solid supporting male performances every year, so I'm glad they've brought back a short-list of nominees after announcing all darn 20 nominees for the past year or two.

Luk Wing became my last minute personal choice for this category after loving him in "Two Steps." I don't think anyone expected him to place in the top 3 though, including Luk Wing himself, as evidenced by the sheer look of shock and excitement on his face when he heard his name called from backstage. I literally jumped up from my seat from excitement for him when they said his name! It's so refreshing of TVB to give acknowledgement, even if just in the form of a top 3 nominee, to someone who is not a TVB managed artist (to my knowledge?) or an acclaimed non-TVB managed veteran.

The announcement of the winner of this category is always fun and heartwarming, with standing ovations for the unappreciated veteran supporting actors who usually take home this award, and this year was not an exception. I did not watch "Short End of the Stick" so I cannot give much personal comment, but I have always enjoyed Raymond Cho's performances and glad he finally got his recognition this year.

On a side note, Louis looked like he was getting his creep on while petting Luk Wing here.

Best Theme Song: Ruco Chan and Nancy Wu's sub theme for "A Fist Within Four Walls"

No surprise, but since "Dead Wrong" went home completely empty-handed and "Fist" made such a major sweep, I would have wanted Stephanie Ho's sub theme for "Dead Wrong" to win. Not just because "Dead Wrong" absolutely deserved to get something, but also because it's a beautiful song in its own right that adds to the emotional factor of the series.

Best Supporting Actress: Katy Kung for "Two Steps in Heaven"
Top 3: Katy Kung, Joyce Tang for "House of Spirits," and Grace Wong for "A Fist Within Four Walls"

This is the one award I really cannot wrap my head around. I was so looking forward to finally seeing Joyce getting acknowledgment for her strong acting. Instead, I'm just left here bitter and confused.

If there was anyone who I heard a lot of buzz about who deserved recognition for their performances in "Two Steps," it would have been Bosco, Louis, and/or Luk Wing. Katy certainly got a different role this time, playing the wife and mother instead of the little sister, and I do usually like her, but she tried too hard here. She supposedly won for her crying scenes, but those were her most cringeworthy and unnatural. She also received a big standing ovation though, so I guess I'm missing something. I never thought TVB would give this award to her, and even now that she has, I honestly don't see them being serious about promoting her like they usually do with winners of this award...

And for the second year in the row, we interrupt this broadcast so the actors can chow down on some chicken. Looks like they didn't secure a sponsorship with KFC this year though, because this time it's homemade.

Rosina Lam doesn't mind that she did not get into the top 3 of Best Supporting Actress because she now has food.

My Favorite Female Character: Grace Wong for "A Fist Within Four Walls"
Top 5: Grace Wong and Nancy Wu for "A Fist Within Four Walls," Natalie Tong for "Speed of Life," Tracy Chu for "Over Run Over," and Joyce Tang for "House of Spirits"

Grace was completely shocked when her name was called, responding with an expression of disbelief that mirrors when Nancy's name was called for Best Actress last year. Like us, she thought this award could only go to lead characters! I guess TVB decided they didn't want anyone pulling double wins. I wasn't ecstatic about the results of this, but I'm not mad either. It was heartwarming yet quite funny watching her get her thanks out in between sniffling and trying to stay calm, which made her voice go up and down. I burst out laughing when she realized she almost forgot to thank her fiancee and let out a very deep "Hi." All other top 5 nominees were not a surprise except for Natalie in "Speed of Life," which was little-watched and talked-about.

Best Actress: Nancy Wu for "A Fist Within Four Walls"
Top 5: Nancy Wu, Maggie Shiu for "The Executioner," Tracy Chu for "Over Run Over," Kristal Tin for "Brother's Keeper II," and Priscilla Wong for "Two Steps From Heaven

I knew Nancy had won for sure when Jessica said she had voted for the winner! Ah, the "Gun Metal Grey" days. She was incredibly calm (but still very gracious) this time, since we all knew it was just too obvious. It was too cute when she asked Frankie to give her a kiss on the cheek. Also, yay for Maggie getting into the top 5!

My Favorite Male Character: Benjamin Yuen for "A Fist Within Four Walls"
Top 5: Benjamin Yuen and Ruco Chan for "A Fist Within Four Walls," Vincent Wong for "Over Run Over," Bobby Au-Yeung for "House of Spirits," and Louis Cheung for "Two Steps in Heaven"

Yeah...I saw this coming after Grace won. But while I'm okay with Grace's win, I am just not into this at all. "Duen Yiu Fung" was a pretty dull character, and was only made interesting when acting alongside Ruco, Nancy, or Grace. But, Benjamin's speech was touching. It was nice to hear him thank Jennifer even though they've broken up for supporting him for three years despite him being so busy with work. However, this award should have been Vincent's.

Best Actor: Ruco Chan for "A Fist Within Four Walls"
Top 5: Ruco Chan and Benjamin Yuen for "A Fist Within Four Walls," Vincent Wong for "Over Run Over," Bosco Wong for "Two Steps in Heaven," and Roger Kwok for "Dead Wrong" 

The moment I've been waiting to see since Ruco became a leading man in 2011. Oh man, was I grinning from ear to ear when his name was called. I shouldn't be surprised that even though he was teary-eyed and emotional, he was very calm and eloquent in his acceptance speech. It was too sweet when he thanked his mom and the camera panned to his mom blowing kisses at him from the audience behind tears. Congratulations, Ruco. <3

Best Drama: "A Fist Within Four Walls"

Oooh, Wayne's burns about TVB executives never willing to talk about money in negotiations and their grueling hours were too good. I was holding out on the hope "Dead Wrong" could go home with Best Drama, but alas, this really was the year of "Fist." But hey, I hope the success of the series will teach TVB to put more effort into their action series like they did with this in the future.

What are your thoughts on the winners? 

"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