i give up

After watching ten episodes, I've decided to give up on Face to Fate. I've heard that the second half (episodes 16-30) is not as "good" as the first half. Well, I'm 67% done with the first half and I still don't find the series any "good," so I don't see how it can get any "better" if I continue.

This is the first time I've quit on a series. No matter how much I disliked a series in the past, I always managed to finish them. However, this time, I really cannot take any more. I don't find much enjoyment from Fate. I knew from the costume fitting, filming news, and synopsis that I wouldn't like this series. I just knew it. It's not my cup of tea. As I've said before, I was going to skip this series, but it was the praise that this series got that made me want to give it a chance to prove itself.

So, I gave it a chance. I wanted to like it, but I couldn't bring myself to. There's nothing in Fate that attracts me to it. There's no intriguing plot [whether there is even one is questionable to me] and the supporting characters annoy me. I like watching the four leads, but everything else is so typical and uninteresting. I must say the subsong by Frankie Lam and Tavia Yeung is good and I really like clips they used to make the closing video, but I can't endure any more of this series to watch those scenes. The costumes are atrocious - especially those of the "black clan." It's as if TVB thinks we're too dumb to know that they're "bad" so they dress them in the most ridiculous costumes. I really can't stand wuxia series these days because of poor, overused, typical plots and horrid special effects. I'm sorry, but Fate does nothing for me. It is such a big turn-off for me.

Fate further proves to me that Producer Kwan is the worst TVB producer. I will be avoiding all of his productions from now on (unless he casts Linda Chung and I pray that he never does).

I am highly disappointed and upset that it's airing in Hong Kong in February. It's taking up 6 weeks that could be used to air a new series. I believe ratings will be low. It's not because HK "dislikes" wuxia. That's not true. The Savior of the Soul (mainland China's 2006 adaptation of Return of Condor Heroes) did quite well in terms of ratings. I believe ratings will be low because the series just isn't that good. I don't believe the cast will be able to attract ratings either. Lethal Weapons of Love and Passion had Charmaine Sheh and yet the ratings were so low.

I think I will give Maidens' Vow a chance. The series impressed me when I translated the synopsis. It was surprisingly intriguing. When I saw clips from the series, it unfortunately disappointed me. It felt so clichéd and typical. Somehow, seeing how it was executed, it felt so flat and unappealing. Furthermore, Charmaine and Joe Ma aren't exactly my favorite people, so I'm not sure if I can take watching them as eight different characters... However, I will give it a shot. First, though, I will watch Land of Wealth and The Conquest. I heard both are great, so I have hope I will enjoy them.

It is so difficult to find a good series to watch these days... I hate being so picky. Oh well... back to Virtues of Harmony re-runs for now.

the dry spell/at the lowest point

Since Love Guaranteed released in July, something happened to TVB. What started out as a relatively breakthrough year for TVB turned bland and sour quickly. The buzz wore off. TVB became mediocre and uneventful again. TVB is currently in a state of dry spell and has been so for the last six months.

TVB is so drab and uninteresting right now. Big hits of quality like The Dance of Passion, La Femme Desperado, and Forensic Heroes that dominated the first half of the year are nowhere to be found. Instead, TVB keeps releasing one "filler" series after another. Ratings and series discussions have also been stale, reflecting the dry spell.

The 2006 "anniversary" series selections have been the worst in years. In the past, series such as Country Spirit and A Step Into The Past were given the prestigious "anniversary series" title. They were truly special grand productions with plenty of merit. This year, sadly, TVB picked To Grow With Love and Glittering Days. Two comedies? You have to be kidding me. Glittering was an understandable selection because it is a grand production, musical-based series with Liza Wang, Roger Kwok, and Charmaine Sheh leading, but Grow? The series was half-baked to begin with, but with TVB rushing it to release it as an "anniversary series" made matters even worse. I really hated the two series that TVB picked to represent its 39th year and for the first time, I'm not going to be watching either anniversary series. [Last year, among the anniversary series, I skipped Life Made Simple and Real Kung Fu and only watched The Charm Beneath - which was also arguably 2005's best series.]

Now, in this post-anniversary period, where TVB expects ratings to be low, what do they air? Two long series! Dicey Business has 35 episodes and The Conquest has 42 episodes. Dicey won't finish airing until January and Conquest doesn't conclude until February. I don't have anything against these two series, but the fact that they won't finish airing for a "long time" just makes me groan. It makes the wait even longer for series that I'm anticipating.

Right now, my interest in TVB is at its lowest point ever. I find myself being so bored with TVB. It's not exciting anymore and I'm not engrossed in any series. I'm watching War and Destiny and Face to Fate, but I'm not enjoying either very much. I suppose it's because I'm not crazy about any of the cast members of either series. I'm so unimpressed by TVB as of late. Perhaps I'm being too cynical and demanding... but TVB is not pushing the right buttons for me at this point.

War started off quite good and interesting. However, the novelty wore off. I find it to be dragging. I have a little more than ten episodes to go and it is a little better now with everyone returning to Nanjing. The war scenes were disappointing. They just showed a bunch of people getting killed and attacked without really explaining what was going on. The scenes with the "Koo" family in the village were so boring and clichéd. In fact, War in itself is predictable. I don't find anything really surprising.

I am so sick of Ron Ng declaring over and over again about how he's not Japanese and for extra effect, he's always destroying something. The role could have proved to be interesting if only someone more competent had acted it. Instead, we have Ron who can't seem to make any expressions at all. Is he even alive? He looks so stoned and dead all the time. His limited expressions are so predictable and unnatural and his character is frustrating because it's once again a hot-tempered, immature one. Then we have Myolie Wu, who is acting so mechanically and insincerely. She cries over and over again - we get it, you can cry. I dislike her character as well. She's way too nice and self-sacrificing that it's fake. I also find it absurd how she is so against Sunny Chan's character and yet expects him to help her over and over again. It is so frustrating watching her. TVB claims that "Ping On" is their version of "Jang-geum" (from Korean mega-drama Jewel in the Palace)... please. It doesn't even come close. "Jang-geum" was someone you could root for and love because she was genuinely human; "Ping On" is someone you want to slap and tell her to wake up and live in reality. Mandy Cho tries to be all "mysterious" that I can't help but laugh. Her singing scenes are a joke. She looks pretty in those Japanese costumes, though. She has improved, but...

The only good people in War are Sunny, Angelina Lo, Lau Dan, Leila Tong, and Charmaine Li. Sunny is so good in War. I love his character. He's someone that's real and fascinating. It is so refreshing to see Angelina play an "evil" role and she does it just as well as her warm, funny motherly roles. It's great that they gave her more layers as the series progressed. Lau Dan is perhaps my favorite veteran actor. No matter if it's as an antagonist or a protagonist, he continues to be great. I used to love Leila when she had those small roles in series. I remember seeing her in Good Against Evil as Deric Wan's little sister. I was thinking how incredibly cute she was and was happy when she got bigger roles in series. However, the love died and I became neutral. War has made me like her again. She is quite pretty in this and her role is interesting as well. Charmaine Li really impressed me since she made her first appearance in War. I was shocked to see that she really does resemble Sheren Tang at certain angles. She is quite good and I definitely like her role. She acts out as a plead for attention and love.

I don't even know why I'm watching Fate. I made it very clear that I was going to "skip" it many times because I am appalled by the atrocious costumes and I've made up my mind to skip all wuxia series from TVB. However, I kept reading how everyone thinks it's so good, so I had to watch it and see what the hype was all about. I may be stubborn, but I won't let a series get away if it really is good. I don't like Fate. I'm up to episode 5 now and it still hasn't clicked with me. The costumes are so appalling and the storyline doesn't interest me. However, I find Frankie Lam's "future foreseeing" ability to be quite cool and fascinating. Sadly, his performance has reverted to being "boring" and "scholarly" again. Raymond Lam's character and his "miracle healing" skills are also cool. I'm not into fantasy and the costumes make the series look so unattractive and ridiculous. However, I will continue to watch because I have the whole series already even though I'm not exactly liking it. Hopefully it will get better now that Selena Li's character has appeared...

Between War and Fate, I enjoy War more. However, the pace at which I'm watching both are so slow. I can't bring myself to watch them simply because I'm not intrigued by either. I feel like my time is better spent rewatching episodes of Virtues of Harmony that I've seen a million times already.

Perhaps I'm feeling so iffy about TVB now because I'm genuinely not very interested in anything that it has to offer lately. A big part of this lies in the fact that none of the series that have released have any of my favorites in them - in particular Linda Chung. I miss her so much. Out of all the series that have released from July to now, I'm skipping all of them besides War and Destiny, Face to Fate, Land of Wealth, and Dicey Business. That's four series out of ten. Everything else feels so "filler" and bland to me, so I won't be wasting my time or money. [Actually, I'm thinking twice about Wealth right now. The reviews aren't that great and ratings were low. The series just looks so attractive and "grand" to me that it would be a shame if I end up skipping it since I anticipated it so much. However, I really don't want to watch a dragging and not-so-good series. Any thoughts, anyone?]

I feel so dispassionate about watching TVB these days. 2007 - please come quickly and save TVB from its dry spell. I have a lot of faith in many series that will release next year. Brink of Law is slated to be the first release of 2007, so I think it will be able to rescue TVB and make it luscious and vibrant again. Until then, I will continue to find myself feeling so disappointed and indifferent towards TVB. I feel like giving a big "sigh" when it comes to TVB right now.

Does anyone else feel the drab heat of TVB's excessively long dry spell?

series 411: "face to fate"

English Title: Face To Fate
Cantonese Title: Bo Yee Sun Seung
Vietnamese Title: Than Tuong Dieu Huyen
Casts: Frankie Lam, Raymond Lam, Tavia Yeung, Selena Li, etc.
Length: 30 episodes (Cantonese) // 24 tapes (Vietnamese)
Release Date: August 2006 (Canto) // October 2006 (Viet)
Genre: Costume Drama/Martial Arts/Fantasy

Synopsis:
According to the practice in the martial world, a duel between the virtuous sects and the evil cults is to be arranged every five years, in which five representatives from each side are involved and the winning party will be appointed the leader of the martial world for the coming five years. A number of kung-fu masters from the virtuous sects have been mysteriously assassinated before the upcoming duel. Li Bo Yee (Frankie Lam Man Lung), who is an expert in martial arts and physiognomy reading, is to look for some other potential representatives.

Lai Yeuk Yee (Raymond Lam Fung), a gifted physician hired by the evil cults, has been trying to put a spoke in Bo Yee's wheel. As instructed by his master, Ko Shu Tin (Felix Lok Ying Kwan), he attempts to kill Bo Yee. Tin is actually Bo Yee's long-lost apprentice brother. When he was younger, Tin believed that the evil side would prevail as prophesied and therefore went over to the Heavenly Desired Palace. For the sake of Peace and the virtuous sects, Bo Yee is already gearing up for a fight with Yeuk Yee!

Credits: TVFE Drama Warehouse

programme highlights '06 - issue iii

The third issue of TVB's Programme Highlights for 2006 has been released and BES has been so kind to have scanned it. To view the scans of the eight series slated for release soon, visit her blog here. Out of the eight, I'm definitely going to rent and have high expectations for four of the series.

Land of Wealth
(Moses Chan, Steven Ma, Sonija Kwok, Tavia Yeung, etc)

I'm disappointed that Wealth isn't going to be an anniversary series because it seems very promising. TVB put a lot of money into the production and I definitely like what I see from pictures and news. The costumes and scenery are lovely and the cast is very strong. I love all four leads. The storyline sounds quite interesting and I am an avid fan of this genre! I think there will be a lot of memorable moments.

The Price of Greed
(Bosco Wong, Sammul Chan, Shirley Yeung, Kate Tsui, etc)

Producer Tsui's second series since Virtues of Harmony II! First of all, I'm shocked at how quickly this series is releasing. Second of all, I want to ask Producer Tsui what is it with him and Shirley?! He casted Shirley in both The Biter Bitten and now this series. I really don't understand why. The female cast is quite weak. Shirley, Kate, and Vivien Yeo? Shirley has experience, but still not the talent. Kate and Vivien are still green. However, I do admit that they look quite nice in their costumes. I hope Kingdom Yuen will have a more serious role in this series. I'm disappointed that she gotten comedic roles after comedic roles. I like Sammul now and Bosco is quite good, so hopefully the guys will make up for what the girls lack in acting.

Greed looks very cool and I'm stoked reading the premises of the series. Sammul is super evil, Kate has a split personality, and Shirley is a mute and musical prodigy. I think this series will focus on the minds of people, so I'm quite intrigued. It should prove to be engaging and I know Producer Tsui won't let me down. To be honest, I'm surprised by his series since Virtues. Bitten was a mystery and now Greed is a suspense. I'm all for diversity and think he's a talented producer, but I hope his next series will be more signature of VOH because I think he's the best at doing those funny, warm, light-hearted family dramas.

Heavenly In-Laws
(Nancy Sit, Linda Chung, Joey Leung, Yuen Wah, etc)

The return of "Ma Chi!" I miss my Virtues of Harmony family dearly and I'm thrilled that each of them is making a comeback one-by-one. (Michael Tse had a big break with La Femme Desperado and Frankie Lam recently with Forensic Heroes.) I can't wait to see Nancy and Linda playing mother & daughter because I know they will have chemistry. I loved their scenes in VOH II. Linda looks quite adorable in this series too. The mythical/mortal idea seems a bit overplayed, but I hope Nancy and Linda will make the series worth-while and enjoyable.

The producer of this series has had big hits for TVB, most renowned are Square Pegs and Life Made Simple, so I hope this series will also be a hit. However, I'm not much of a fan of his series though. Actually, I don't like the genre of Heavenly much either. Period comedies can be/get pretty ridiculous and idiotic with the comedy. I'm a bit turned off by the Linda and Joey pairing too... Honestly, I don't expect much from this series because of the producer and genre, but I will watch it for Nancy and Linda.

War and Destiny
(Myolie Wu, Ron Ng, Sunny Chan, Leila Tong, etc)

I love these type of series. I anticipated it since I saw news of its production. The Chinese title is very lovely (Luen Sai Gai Yan - translated as "Turbulent Times of a Beauty") and the cast is good. Myolie says that her role is like Jang-geum (from the Korean mega-hit Jewel in the Palace). I really liked Jang-geum and I know that Myolie will do a great job with the portrayal. The costumes are nice and I adore tragic series. The only setback is Mandy Cho. However, I still think this series will be very good from production pictures and news. TVB has also invested a lot into this series and they haven't done a war-based drama in this time period for some time.

Series I'm passing on


Face to Fate (Frankie Lam, Raymond Lam, Tavia Yeung, Selena Li) - Another good versus evil costume series. (Yawns.) I hate the over-the-top special effects too. Although the cast is nice, I don't like the genre. TVB isn't good at making these type of series anymore and the storyline seems like nothing new.

Love Guaranteed (Sunny Chan, Melissa Ng, Paul Chun, Kenneth Ma) - Too typical and I don't like any of the cast members.

At Home With Love (Lawrence Ng, Yoyo Mung, Chung King Fai, Raymond Cho) - I will not listen to Sharon Chan's singing for twenty episodes! Besides, the storyline seems like the same old thing again and the cast isn't appealing.

CIB (Bowie Lam, Wong He, Maggie Siu, Christine Ng) - I know a lot of people are anticipating this series because the cast is very strong, but I'm just not interested at all. It's not my cup of tea.