recasting hk "desperate housewives"

New series See Lai Bing Tuen (師奶兵團 - literally translated as "Housewive Army") is said to be based on the American hit Desperate Housewives. The American TV shows stars Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, and Eva Longoria. Who are the HK counterparts to these four hot housewives? They are Sheren Tang, Cecilia Yip, Kiki Sheung, and Leila Tong. From casting alone, you already know that the "hotness" that the American show has to offer is gone, which is a good thing because who really wants to see Kiki Sheung do a bed scene?! But nope, TVB is still going to try to put some "hotness" into the series - the very first scene will have all four (yes, all of them) housewives in bikinis. Erm...

I highly doubt See Lai will be anything like the original Housewives. Gone are all the delicious affairs, murders, mystery, intimate scenes, skin, and so on. Instead, we're definitely going to get very common stories about real Hong Kong housewives dealing with their daily struggles in life, marriage, and family. It will not be a crafty dramedy like Housewives, but another TVB series focusing this time on the lives of housewives. As much as I love Sheren, she's the only one out of all four who is worth watching to me. Kiki is a good actress, but I'm not all that excited about watching her scenes and Leila seems out-of-place. I've never seen Cecilia before, so no comment on her. I suppose the cast is suitable for a series about real HK housewives, but what bothers me is that TVB specifically stated that this is their version of Desperate Housewives. It's just... not.

It's a real shame that TVB didn't want to do a truer version of Housewives with all of its glamour because they have the perfect set of actresses for the roles. The following are my choices for an HK rendition series of Desperate Housewives.

Kenix Kwok as Susan Mayer

Susan is a very vulnerable and klutzy character. She's also very immature and senseless at times. She always finds herself in bad case scenarios and bad luck seems to follow her. She divorced her husband when she found out that he was cheating on her, so now Susan is a single mother. Kenix was very funny in Love Bond, so I'm sure she can pull off the ditzy and cute physical comedy that is required for the role of Susan. In some ways, Kenix resembles Teri Hatcher (partly because both are way too skinny!). The two most important men in Susan's life are her ex-husband, Karl, and her main love interest, Mike Delfino. I'm going to go with Michael Tao for Karl and Frankie Lam for Mike. Karl and Susan have very nice chemistry together and it's funny because they're divorced and yet they're in a much better place than when they were married. Karl's character is somewhat of a jerk and really immature and playful, so I think Michael would do nicely with the role. Michael and Kenix would do this love/hate "pairing" nicely. Mike and Susan have an on-again off-again relationship, but it's magical when they're together. Being a real-life married couple, the two have great chemistry and look so nice together. I think they would do the Mike and Susan romance well. Frankie can carry a mysterious and rugged aura, which is needed for Mike's character.

Melissa Ng as Lynette Scavo

As the mother of four children all under the age of six, Lynette is a crazed mother desperate to have a little peace. Lynette used to be a very successful businesswoman until she met her husband and decided to leave it all to become a housewife. At first, they were only going to have one child, but she kept getting pregnant and they ended up having four. Lynette is often frustrated because she finds motherhood so impossible. She's sarcastic, controlling, and a bit insecure. I think Melissa would do well as Lynette. She has the right look for both mother and working woman. For the role of Lynette's husband, Tom, I'd pick Sunny Chan. While I have yet to see Melissa and Sunny together, they look nice in the pictures from Love Guaranteed. Tom's character is somewhat like a big kid and I think Sunny can be pretty goofy.

Maggie Cheung as Bree Van De Kamp

The role of Bree requires a very competant actress because she's so complex and has many layers. She's very tense and likes to keep a facade of perfection. She wants everything to appear "perfect," but her life and marriage is far from ideal. She's anal retentive and hides the imperfections and problems of her life with domestic chores and perfection, sacrificing the interior for the exterior. Bree's character has a lot of issues and goes through many issues - from her husband wanting a divorce to her son hating her guts. Maggie is a superb actress with both dramatic and comedic talent that would do Bree justice. I think Maggie also looks a little "icy," which is great because Bree is supposed to be cold. I think Maggie would portray Bree's mental problems and gradual breakdown well. Steven Ma would be excellent for the role of Bree's husband, Rex. Rex is very laid-back and intelligent and I think Steven would do so well with the role although I couldn't imagine Steven having a fetish like Rex's character does! Maggie and Steven have nice chemistry, which is an added bonus.

Gigi Lai as Gabrielle Solis

Standing in a very Gabrielle-like pose in this picture, Gigi proves she is perfect to play Gabrielle. Gabby is very self-centered, materialistic, and bossy. She's full of spunk and attitude. She rose from poverty after having been raped by her stepfather and became a very successful runway model. She tries to hide her loneliness, problems, and sadness through materialism. By having a lot of stuff, she wants to prove to the world that she is "happy," but she doesn't really know what it is that she wants. I think Gigi would portray Gabrielle's selfish and materialistic character well but also would be able to show her hidden sadness. For the role of Gabrielle's husband, Carlos, I'll probably go with Bowie Lam. Carlos is very protective, impulsive, and jealous. I think it would be a new role for Bowie. Bowie and Gigi would do nicely as a husband and wife. I'd pick Raymond Lam to play Gabrielle's under-age lover, John, who she has an affair to fill in the void of her loneliness. Raymond seems to have chemistry with almost everyone that he pairs with, so I think Raymond and Gigi should be able to pull off the sparks between John and Gabrielle.

Sonija Kwok as Edie Britt

Sonija is gorgeous and in this very sexy photo, she shows she has what it takes to pull off Edie. Edie is Wisteria Lane's most infamous "slut" and arch nemesis/rival of Susan. She's confident, sexy, very upfront, and frank about everything. She's bitchy and can get real nasty when someone pisses her off. To me, Sonija is very sweet and beautiful, but I think she could do bitchy well. Susan and Edie have many bickering scenes and I think (hope) Kenix and Sonija would have good chemistry fighting with each other.