worst "safe guards" actress

Many people believe that Safe Guards has only one really bad actress, but in fact, it has two terrible actresses. Yes, I'm talking about no other than Elaine Yiu and Suet Nei. The first is a newcomer while the latter is an old-timer. The former is regarded with hatred by many in the TVB community while the other is the source of many's annoyance in series. Who's worse?

Elaine Yiu versus Suet Nei

Bad Actress #1 - Elaine Yiu

Newcomers (especially actresses) always face much prejudice and hatred for getting big roles... particularily leads. Elaine took the leading lady spot in Safe - and found herself at gunpoint with critics and haters ready to fire at her.

The hate for Elaine started because of Revolving Doors of Vengeance. She had acted in Hearts of Fencing before, but it was Revolving that caught everyone's eyes - in a very bad way. She was ridiculed for being fake and her crying scenes were beyond bad. Worse, she got to pretty much "molest" Ron Ng - and those fans sure weren't happy! Her role as "Chloe" is a girl who seems very kind and pretty, but is wicked and will pull out all stops to get what she wants. She uses her looks (especially pity through "tears") to accomplish her evil plots. It's a mix of the role and her performance that made everyone hate "Chloe" (and Elaine) to death. Since then, Elaine has been on many people's black list.

It didn't help one bit once people "realized" that she was the leading actress in Safe. The criticism started even before the series was released. How can an actress with so little experience lead such a production already? It's because of this that expecations from Safe were almost none and some people were going to skip the series because of her.

The role of "Lei Cheung Fung" targets Elaine's weakness and makes it a primary focus - her crying. Because the character is very tragic and pitiful, she often cries. Elaine is passable in other scenes, but when it comes to crying, the world crashes. She admits herself that she finds her emotional scenes most difficult because she cannot cry on cue. Elaine was embarrassed when all of her co-stars could cry so readily, but she couldn't. She knows she's not experienced or good enough yet, but she tried.

I don't hate Elaine. In fact, I'm pretty neutral towards her. I actually wasn't bothered by her at all. I liked her role and Elaine is pretty cute at times. I was just uncomfortable with her crying and her lack of screen presence. I also don't like the way that Elaine talks. There's something unnatural about the way she delivers her lines. Still, I loved the character because it was nicely written.

Bad Actress #2 - Suet Nei

There's a myth that older actors are all good. That is far from true - Suet Nei is a prime example.

Suet Nei pretty much is the same in every series that she's in. Whether her character is supposed to be high-class, lower-class, sane, or crazy, she has the same facial expressions and acts each role like the previous one - which was bad to begin with. For some reason to me, she is always looking so crazed and confused (and it's not because of her insane roles in series like Country Spirit). There's just something about her facial expressions that's so unnatural. When she acts, her expressions, actions, and the way she delievers her lines are so exaggerated and fake! I cannot stand it when she pouts as well! Her overall performance is just very annoying and unrealistic.

I laughed when I saw that she was Charmaine Sheh and Sonija Kwok's sect leader in Lethal Weapons of Love and Passion - this lady as a respected and powerful sect leader? Give me a break! I just do not like Suet Nei because of her lack of charm and constantly bad and unnatural performances.

It didn't help that her role in Safe was tedious too. Yes, I understand that she wants the best for her son and to preserve the family's honor and business, but why can't she trust "Chi" (Steven Ma) after he proved himself loyal and capable so many times?! I hated how she was so stubborn and ignorant and my blood pressure went up whenever she was proved to be "wrong" and tried to act like the kind, loving mother again. Needless to say, her role and dreadful performance (as usual) made her unbearable for me to watch. Still, at least she can cry - better than Elaine.

And the winner is...

TVB Musings' award for Worst Actress In Safe Guards goes to Suet Nei. Even though Elaine may have been worse overall in regards to her performance, Suet Nei takes home the trophy because of several reasons. First, she's old and like her character in Safe - she's stubborn. She won't change. Her acting is consistently bad. She shows no improvement whatsover and like I've said previously, she acts every role that she gets in the same manner. Furthermore, who would have the guts to tell an old-timer who feigns veteran status (without the skills of one), to "improve?" Elaine is young. She has time and if she wants to last in the entertainment industry, she will make sure she improves because there are plenty of other newcomers around to replace her. For Suet Nei, there's no incentive. She already has "status" because of her age and she'll get to film for as long as she chooses because TVB needs people to fill in the "granny" roles.

It's a shame that Elaine gets so much flack while Suet Nei is pretty much scorn-free. Viewers tend to disregard the older actors and not pay them much mind. Even if they think their acting is bad or really good, they will only make small comments about it. There's no on-going discussion on how bad or good they are. For the younger stars, it's totally different. Every minute performance is scrutinized. It is really unfair.

However, today, she's getting her deserved criticism. Suet Nei, please do us all a favor and improve! Better yet, just retire! I really can't stand her and her bad acting.