《女兒紅》 prelude

In two weeks, TVB will release the long-anticipated Lui Yi Hung CD, a female version to the successful All About Men album released last year. The ten singers on this album are Miriam Yeung, Stephy Tang, Kary Ng, Myolie Wu, Charmaine Sheh, Linda Chung, Bernice Liu, Shirley Yeung, Sharon Chan, and Vivien Yeo.

Of course, the actual singers in this CD can sing, but the big question is... can TVB's actresses (at least the ones they chose for the album) sing? Or should these actresses just stick to acting (or for some of them - improving their acting and actually becoming competant actresses before trying to move on and become a singer)? Let's take a look and sample their singing...

Note: All the clips are located on my server, so just right click and Save Target As! Please do not directly link any downloads should you choose to post it at another site. Thanks!

Bernice Liu
With a few awards already in her belt for singing and making her singing debut 3 years ago with Virtues of Harmony's original soundtrack, Happy Together, Bernice is not as "new" a newcomer in the singing business as most people think. While it might have been Truth (the themesong from Into Thin Air) that launched her career, Bernice certainly has experience with singing. Bernice has two (or was it three?) songs on this CD.

Listen to Bernice's award-winning song in her first music video.

DOWNLOAD THE TRUTH MV

Linda Chung
Linda made her debut performing Sandy Lam's Honesty at TVB Extravaganza a few months ago. She received lots of applauses and shocked people with her singing voice (myself included). Her song for this CD is supposedly the themesong to her new series, 搜神傳 (an ancient mythical series about gods).

DOWNLOAD LINDA'S COVER OF HONESTY

And just for fun... download the actual Honesty song. How does Linda's performance compare to the original?

Charmaine Sheh
Charmaine took a stab at singing three years ago, doing a duet with Steven Ma for the themesong to Perish In The Name of Love. She also lends her voice for the subsong to this year's huge production - Dance of Passion.

DOWNLOAD THE PERISH IN THE NAME OF LOVE THEMESONG

Myolie Wu
Having conquered the acting department and rising and establishing herself much farther than any other young actress, Myolie has come a long way since her subordinate days to Michelle Ye. Is she ready to take on the singing department now? Myolie has recorded a few songs, but most wide-spread is probably her duet with Ron Ng for the themesong of Lost In The Chamber of Love.

DOWNLOAD THE LOST IN THE CHAMBER OF LOVE THEMESONG

Shirley Yeung
Shirley isn't an unfamiliar singer for TVB's programs targetted for kids. Last month was her debut to a much more mature audience as she sang the themesong to The Biter Bitten. Is she cut for seranding us... or is she more suitable to sing lullabies?

DOWNLOAD THE BITER BITTEN THEMESONG

Sharon Chan
Sharon promoted herself heavily at TVB Extravaganza a few months ago. According to her, her talents include acting, singing, and modelling. Quite an impressive resume, but was she exaggerating or does she have the actual talents to back-up her claims?

DOWNLOAD A CLIP OF SHARON SINGING
Credits: Ah Yi

Vivien Yeo
A lot of you probably don't even know who she is. Luckily for those of you who aren't aware of Vivien, there's an excellent site for her here. Vivien came from Miss Chinese International 2004 pageant (she didn't place, but she was a finalist) and has starred in a few series, such as Sunshine Heartbeat, Into Thin Air, and the recent Under the Canopy of Love. Vivien has yet to establish herself as an actress at TVB, but if the executives like you, you'll go a far way.

DOWNLOAD A CLIP OF VIVIEN SINGING
Credits: Agnes @ www.vivien-yeo.com

Personal Comments: I'm so looking forward to hearing this CD! I know a lot of people complain about the people involved with the CD, but personally, as a whole, I'm pleased with the artists involved. My biggest complaint is why was Gigi Lai cut?! How dare they choose someone with a "chicken voice" over her? Haha, Charmaine fans - I'm just kidding! Actually, I just want the full-length version of The Charm Beneath's themesong... I just love that song. Hopefully they will release that soon. Hopefully this will be a good album.

Myolie Wu - Very sweet voice! I hope that her themesong to War and Destiny will sound nice. Myolie has a voice that's suitable for ballads. Didn't like her "singing" in War of In-Laws themesong though. But then again, I didn't like In-Laws much anyways.

Charmaine Sheh - Charmaine's singing is quite good in the Perish themesong and I also liked her cover of Flower World at TVB Extravaganza. However, she seemed to run out of air and went a bit flat in the second verse of the Perish themesong. I'm really looking forward to hearing Charmaine's song though.

Linda Chung - I am eagerly anticipating Linda's song because she sounded very good in her cover of Honesty. Such a sweet voice and I think she sounds a bit like Sandy Lam.

Bernice Liu - Since 2003, I've prayed that Bernice would venture into singing and now, she is! I was impressed with how cute her voice sounded in the Happy Together CD and have liked her singing since then. Her part in the Love Bond subsong was sweet. However, I think she needs to work on singing live a bit more! Can't wait to hear her songs.

Shirley Yeung - The themesong to The Biter Bitten is very catchy and I quite like it. Shirley did okay, but somehow, her voice sounds a bit... childish? She's not bad, but nothing too special.

Sharon Chan - She seemed a bit full of herself and over-the-top during her promo at the TVB Extravaganza. Needless to say, her singing was far from what she advertised. Off-key and flat, Sharon's performance hurt my ears. Maybe she was just trying too hard.

Vivien Yeo - Vivien has a nice voice, but will she be able to sing a Cantonese song as well? Her Cantonese has definitely improved, but will she be able to handle singing a full-length song? Hopefully the melody in her voice will carry over.

What do you think? Can they sing? Whose song are you most looking forward to? Who should be cut and who should have been included in this CD?

desperate widow no. 5

Belle - Flora Chan from Triumph In The Skies

Character Introduction: Belle is a flight attendant who strongly believes in fate and as a result, finds herself in a complicated love triangle between two men. By chance, she meets Sam (Francis Ng) and has a passionate relationship with him. However, because of a huge misunderstanding, they separate and she ends up dating Vincent (Joe Ma) instead, who turns out to be his best friend. The two meet again later, but constant, deeper misunderstandings continue to drive Sam and Belle apart, so she decides to marry Vincent. When the misunderstandings are finally cleared, it is too late. Belle has already married Vincent, so they do not want to hurt him and decide to bury their feelings. However, Vincent becomes suspicious of the two when he sees them spending so much time together. He becomes convinced that she doesn't love him, despite Belle's explanations and pleads. Once again, misunderstandings drive another man from her life. Vincent leaves Hong Kong for a long business trip on bad terms with her. Belle is devastated, especially when news come that Vincent died from of an accident while in Italy. Belle's life, marriage, and anticipated future all come to a sudden, crashing end.

What is she desperate for?
Belle wants closure with Vincent and their relationship.

Why is she desperate?
Vincent left her thinking that she didn't love him. They didn't get a chance to fully talk things through and he died too abruptly, leaving their marriage on bad terms. Also, it isn't until he has died that she realizes that he is her true love - not Sam.

What acts of desperation does she commit?
She develops a pyschological disorder and even attempts to commit suicide. Belle starts having hallucinations, imagining that Vincent is still alive and by her side.

Is her desperation satisfied?
Yes. Belle realizes that although she has lost her true love, she still has her friends and family. She is able to accept that Vincent has passed away and is happy knowing that he died still loving her and not upset with her (he left a message on her phone before his accident, saying that he was sorry and was going to start over with her). Although they weren't able to mend and she didn't have any last words with him, Belle knows that had he lived, they would have been able to work things through and be together. This gives her the closure that she needs to move on, instead of holding onto regrets. No longer desperate... this widow is able to continue with her life.

Additional Comments: I think that for the widows whose husband dies unexpectedly (no forewarning - i.e., illness), the biggest desire that they want is closure. Unlike other widows, they don't have the chance to prepare to say "goodbye" and say final words. Closure is very important because without it, it's very hard to move on. We all want a sense of knowing that something has "ended" and to have a "proper conclusion." Thus, for Belle and other widows like her, the biggest desperation that they feel comes from a need for closure - a sense that they can accept the situation, let go, and move on.

intro: desperate widows

Newly released series La Femme Desperado declares that it's hard to be a daughter, a girlfriend, a wife, and an unmarried mother. But, it fails to focus on a whole other side of hardships for women. 寡婦唔易做 - a widow isn't easy to be.

For most wives, the absence of their husband due to death shatters their world. Everything crumbles down and falls apart. From their social network to their daily lives, everything changes. There once was a happy and ideal life for these women, with everything in place and with their husband to depend on. Now, they're lost and confused, trying to put things back into place and to rebuild their lives. The impact of a deceased husband is not easy for wives. These new widows face many troubles and ultimately become desperate.

They all want something... something to ease their desperation. Their desperation makes for great television and their characters offer much intrigue and insight into the lives of women as widows. This is a new feature examining TVB's five most desperate widows, the characters that grip the auidence's attention and emotions. Who will make the cut and why are they so desperate? Read the upcoming feature to find out!

fun with titles #1

We all know that TVB comes up with the most... peculiar English titles - some are plain cheesy while others are just bizarre. But, did you know that these very titles also reveal something about the series? It's true! The following is the first segment of a new multi-feature at TVB Musings. Having been recently bitten by the teeveebee bug again, the Fun With Titles feature is a satirical outlook on TVB's English titles.

Virtues of Harmony - The only harmony you're getting is when you turn off the TV and stop listening to all of the nonsensical bickering and petty arguments - which are the only things that this series has to offer.

Point of No Return - You bet there's no return after Damien Lau's character dies! It's all downhill from there...

Always Ready - I'm always ready to sleep when watching this series!

Summer Heat - Maybe the summer heat was to blame for this half-baked series with the ludicrous plot twist and "mystery."

tits - triumph in the shame

A special reposting of an article I wrote nearly two years ago, requested by my 阿女 (Diana). From the archives of teeveebee...

Warning: The following is a satire, so if you're a fan of the series or any of the cast members, take everything with a grain of salt and a sense of humor. It's all in good fun! If you're hypersensitive and easily offended, please don't read the following article. Everyone else, prepare for a good laugh!

Series Evaluation
Triumph In The Skies - The draggy 40 episodes of reused plotlines and characters and pointless romances, but with its grand production aspect, "hot young cast", TVB's cheap special effects, and beautiful scenaries, everyone is declaring it the best of the best, a must-watch, and so refreshing. Perhaps they've mistaken it to be a travel's guide video. In any case, according to everyone, TITS is the best, right?! Or maybe they don't realize TITS is an acronym for "Triumph In The Skies"....

Character Analysis
Sam (Francis Ng) - The man with the weird haircut and terrible English who amazing landed a job as a pilot despite lacking clear communication skills.

Vincent (Joe Ma) - The one who died.

Belle (Flora Chan) - The old hag who still thinks she's 20 with an innocent mind and determined to believe in fate. Yet she can't make up her mind and cries all the time and even goes crazy because she's so annoying and can't squeeze any tears out in her numerous crying scenes.

Zoe (Myolie Wu) - The girl who has nothing better to do than stick her nose into everyone's business, despite having a heart disease that she should be worrying about. She likes to fall in love with men who are her dad's age because she confuses love with paternal care.

Zita (Michelle Ye) - The masculine and expressionless girl with an out-of-the-world name who has two guys after her only because she's the only girl around.

Issac (Ron Ng) - The boy who messes around and studies in a weird way with a ball and yet manages to get a 100.

Donald (Sammul Chan) - The mama's boy who is stereotypically rich and tries to shake off his feminine image by loving Zita, the masculine girl who wants to be a pilot.

Chris (Bosco Wong) - The one who got an award just because it would be too predictable to give it to Issac.

Roy (Kenneth Ma) - The 30+ actor who tries to be young and act like a newcomer and eats all the time when he's on screen and fails to have any importance besides being a member of "S4."

Who wouldn't love TITS?!

recasting hk "sex and the city"

Inspired by Asia's recasting articles...

I started to watch a Sex and the City re-run airing on a local channel while flipping through the TV one day, over two years after it concluded. I had heard about it before and always had this idea that the series was trashy, but curiosity got to me, so I decided to watch it. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it. The dialogues were zingy and witty - a hilarious and smart series! What if, 10 years from now, TVB's 20-something actresses are still unmarried, which is crazy, but, what if? We'd have a group of very hot 30-something single women - perfect for an HK version of the American sitcom, Sex and the City.

TVB tried to do an HK version of Sex with their failed 2005 sitcom Women On The Run, but that series didn't do Sex justice at all. TVB got the "image" of the ladies in the themvideo and the casting of Christine Ng right, but everything else was wrong, but I won't go into that. Even if TVB can't get the comedy and drama exactly right, we can at least have an attractive cast to look at for eye candy!

Myolie Wu as Carrie Bradshaw

Clearly the leader of the younger actresses, Myolie would do a great job as the main character of Carrie. She can be fun, smart, sexy, and not afraid to speak her mind. Plus, Myolie looks like she could be a writer to me. The role of Mr. Big, who Carrie ultimately ends up with, should go to Ron Ng. While Ron's acting is questionable, he looks convincing as a businessman (ala Revolving Doors of Vengeance) and I think Mr. Big's personality (somewhat of a jerk, indecisive, cocky, and jealous) could be played by Ron adequetely. Ron & Myolie look like a nice couple too, so it's an added bonus.

Bernice Liu as Samantha Jones

Out of all the younger actresses, Bernice has the most sex appeal. She's pretty, flirty, and fun - a definite Samantha. Bernice has this perfect balance between being sexual and sensual, which would work well for acting as Samantha. Samantha ends up having a relationship with someone younger than her, so perhaps Raymond Lam would make the cut? Although Raymond and Bernice are around the same age, I think that Bernice looks more mature than Raymond, so he could pass for being "younger" than she. Smith, the name of the character Samantha ends up with, is an actor and he has a passion for acting, so I think Raymond would fit the role nicely seeing how he takes acting most seriously out of all the young actors.

Linda Chung as Charlotte York

Pure and sweet, Linda could pull off Charlotte very well. In fact, I think Charlotte's personality matches Linda's. Linda strikes me as the optimistic, romantic, dreamy, naiive, elegant, and traditional girl - characteristics that make up Charlotte's character. Steven Ma would make a perfect choice to play Charlotte's first husband, the doctor and seemingly perfect Trey. Steven played a doctor in Healing Hands and he looks charming and intelligent. Plus, everyone knows that Steven and Linda have great chemistry. They look like a picture-perfect couple, which is the whole point of the Trey & Charlotte marriage. Charlotte's second husband (who she ultimately ends up with) is someone who looks unlike what she's looking for physically, but is everything she wants emotionally. As of right now, I don't have anyone in mind.

Tavia Yeung as Miranda Hobbes

Miranda's character is somewhat of a tomboy, so Tavia matches the role best. We hardly see Tavia dress up and she herself says she's a tomboy. Sarcastic, pessimistic, and career-oriented, Miranda is usually the one to talk sense into the other girls. I think Tavia would do a nice job with the role and she would portray the transition and growth of Miranda's character into a compassionate mother and wife smoothly. Miranda eventually ends up and has a baby with Steve, who is somewhat goofy. Bosco Wong would be the best choice for this role and a Bosco & Tavia pairing would be refreshing.

These four would do very well together as the Hong Kong version of the Sex and the City ladies. They are all friends in real life, so chemistry shouldn't be a problem. They look nice together - their looks compliment one another. Plus, who could resist a series with TVB's top four young leading ladies together?! Too bad this series could never become a reality and with TVB's family-oriented state, we could never have a true Sex and the City series, but it's still fun to image "what if."

Picture credits: Kat, Tanya, TBS, Linda Garden, Kimbo

modern versions - the new sequel?

It all started with one long-running classic, but the concept of a modern version is quickly becoming a new trend recently for TVB. In the past, a sequel was the only option if TVB wanted to do another series with the same cast as a previous series. These days, sequels are not the preferred choice. Rather, TVB has banked on a new option, one pioneered and created by Virtues of Harmony.

Virtues of Harmony II marked the first modern version-type series for TVB, spinning-off on the storyline and characters of the highly-rated ancient Virtues of Harmony. With the same cast and premises, Virtues of Harmony II became just a successful as its predecessor. Without realizing it, the Virtues crew had inspired a new concept for TVB - the idea of a modern version instead of a traditional sequel.

A modern version is basically a remake of an original series that took place in an ancient setting, reusing a similar cast and storyline. Life Made Simple was the first series to "borrow" the modern version idea from Virtues, being a modern remake of the hit Square Pegs. "Lo por jai" Jessica Hsuan and "Ah Wong" Roger Kwok got together again to show their unique relationship and chemistry in contemporary times, once again bringing high ratings for TVB.

2006 has more series using the modern version concept. There was heavy talk about whether War and Beauty would do a sequel (or prequel) to continue its massive success. Instead, War opted for a pseudo-modern version. Dance of Passion is not a modern War, but uses the same cast and a similar idea of revenge and plotting, exposing the dark sides and pain of humanity. Forensic Heroes (Bobby Au-Yeung, Yoyo Mung, Frankie Lam, Linda Chung) is deemed the modern version of Witness to a Prosecution (Bobby Au-Yeung, Jessica Hsuan, Mariane Chan, Frankie Lam), which was a series that dealt with cases revolving around the inspection of corpses to reveal the true culprit behind murders. Forensic follows a team of forensic scientists as they investigate dead bodies for clues involving murder cases with Bobby's character being called the "modern" Sung Chi (the name of Bobby's title character in Witness).

With sequels, TVB had to create fresh storylines, but with modern versions, TVB only needs to translate an ancient-day storyline into a contemporary one. All the while, they can use the same characterizations and make modifications as needed. The work for creating modern versions is much less and quicker than creating a sequel, which is perhaps why TVB has favored this idea as opposed to a traditional continuation series. Are modern versions TVB's creative new sequels? Or are they "cheap" remakes that show that TVB is losing creativity?

Personally, I think that modern versions breathe fresh air into old favorites and it's interesting to see the translations of the ancient storyline into modern times. I prefer them to sequels because I feel sometimes TVB tries too hard when producing sequels that they end up disappointing the audience and ruining the name of the original. Witness to a Prosecution II paled terribly in comparison to Witness. TVB was smart not to try to do a sequel to War and Beauty because it definitely could not be on par with the original and let's face it, the ending of War was perfect and nothing else needs to be said. Before Life Made Simple, TVB was considering doing Square Pegs II with the addition of Myolie Wu into the cast as another slow character and a new love interest for Roger Kwok. However, a problem existed because Roger's character became normal at the end of Square, thus the idea was terminated and it wasn't until Virtues launched the modern version idea that another Square was thought of. It's true that modern versions resell ideas and are less "creative" than new series, or sequels for that matter, but they are fun.

I feel that War of In-Laws has a high chance of being made into the next modern version. What other series do you think can be made into a modern version? What do you think of the concept of a modern version? Would you prefer TVB to do the traditional sequel instead?

"love is beautiful" - ahead of its time?

Who can forget the poignant 2001 ancient series that addressed humanity's value and definition of beauty? Love is Beautiful starred the brilliant (and missed!) Mariane Chan and Anne Heung, who gave one of her best performances to date. The series took place during the Sung dynasty and its premise revolved around two girls, Ling Wan and Chor Chor, both of whom are deemed the "ugliest" girls in a village renowned for beauties; Ling Wan has unsightly acne while Chor Chor has a massive birthmark on half of her face. Because of their common fate of being "ugly," Ling Wan and Chor Chor became sisters since childhood, growing up and facing the ridicules and discrimination from their fellow townspeople for their physical appearances together.

Ling Wan takes everything with stride while Chor Chor is extremely bitter. Chor Chor associates beauty with prosperity. She believes that "beautiful" people get everything that they want just because of their beauty, so she longs day and night to have this good fate. While Ling Wan is also "ugly," people are much more receptive towards her because of her kind heart. As it turns out, Ling Wan was feigning her unattractiveness because she wants people to see her inner beauty foremost. However, Chor Chor is convinced that Ling Wan's physical beauty is the reason why people like her. Her beliefs are furthermore confirmed when she meets Siu To (played by Marco Ngai), who can "magically" change someone's appearance temporarily by using a dough to form a new face. Chor Chor is able to live as a "beauty" (a refreshing Charmaine Sheh loaned her beauty to Mariane in her short cameo!) for a very short while and this experience makes her even more desperate for beauty as she begs Siu To to make the change permanent.

Meanwhile, Ling Wan meets and saves the emperor and she's set on becoming a royal concubine! Chor Chor gets into more trouble and even kills someone! Chor Chor's life is quickly going down the drain and she relates her failure to her unattractiveness and Ling Wan's good fate with her beauty... Siu To had mentioned to Chor Chor that Ling Wan had the same facial structure as her and was the perfect candidate for her face change. Chor Chor does the unthinkable and abuses Ling Wan's friendship with her. She abducts Ling Wan and begs Siu To to change her appearance forever.

Siu To performs his magic and then holds the faces of Ling Wan and Chor Chor in his hands. He switches the two girls' faces, changing their lives. Ling Wan now has Chor Chor's bad situations and Chor Chor now thrives in Ling Wan's seemingly perfect life...

The whole idea of switching faces and transplanting someone else's face onto another person seems all too fantastic, which is why this storyline takes place in ancient times. After all, the past is a big mystery to all of us. Sure, there are historical accounts, but really, who knows what really went on back then? The possibilities of the unknown are endless.

Recently, while sitting in my anatomy class, my professor mentioned a procedure called facial transplant. As he described the process, the first image that popped into my head was the scene in Love in which Siu To peeled off Ling Wan and Chor Chor's faces, switched them, and then placed them back on. (Odd how something from TVB was the first to come into my mind as I sat there in my sophomore-level class, huh?) Now, before you start thinking that this relatively new procedure is similar to the face transplant that Chor Chor received, let me state that it's not.

Facial transplant is basically a skin graft to the face. The surgeon takes the facial epiderms of a donor, reconnects all of the blood vessels, and then stitches the face back together. This procedure is useful for people who suffer from severe facial deformation (burns, cuts, and so on) in which cosmetic surgery can't help. Thus, the person has a chance to have a somewhat normal face again. The first partial face transplant was done in November 27, 2005 in France, in which they transplanted a nose and mouth onto the face of a woman who got ravaged by her dog. Full facial transplants have been done experimentally on dead bodies, but not yet on a living person. The first full facial transplant is planned for the near future; they are currently searching for a patient. Apparently, the surgery could take up to 20 hours and the success factor is only 50%.

Up until my anatomy professor mentioned face transplants, I had no idea that faces could be separated from the anterior portion of the fleshy head. Sure, I knew about masks and everything, but I always believed that "faces" were transfixed into the tissues that formed them. Since Love was fantasy, when I watched it, I thought the face removal was just as unreal as the whole face switching scene. Now that I know that the "face" can be removed, I have to say, TVB did an exquisite job with producing the "faces" of Mariane and Anne, very lifelike and detailed!

Did the ancient-setting Love is Beautiful predict a future before its time? Can the fantasy of Love become a reality? It's a relieving "no." Even if the surgery is successful, the recipient will not look like the donor whose face he or she received because facial bone structures do not match up exactly. Also, the donor has passed away, so there's no "switching." However, what if medical skills and technology advance so much in the future that scars will not be so evident and the face will look more "natural?" What if the surgery will always be successful? Will this prompt people who lust for beauty, like Chor Chor, to kill for a beautiful face?

debut

I've been inspired to make my own blog after reading and checking out all of the great blogs dedicated to TVB and/or its stars out there. It seemed like so much fun, so I decided to make my own and publish my thoughts for the world to see.

TVB Musings was born to showcase my random thoughts on things related to TVB. While I will try to keep this blog TVB-related, I might digress and talk about non-TVB things. If you found your way to my small blog, I hope you will stick around. Feel free to speak up. Anyone who knows me know that I love comments.

Be sure to visit my representative work, timeless: the VIRTUES OF HARMONY network. I shall start posting soon and you will get into the mind and musings of MetalAZNWarrior shortly...