programme highlights '07 - issue ii

The second TVB Programme Highlights for 2007 is out! Much thanks to Ron Online for the great, high-quality scans! Now, let's go through the series included in this quarter's installment...

Legend of the Demigods
(Linda Chung, Benny Chan, Sunny Chan, Nancy Wu, etc.)
This is my most anticipated series of 2007. TVB hasn't done a mythical series in so long! I enjoy watching series of this genre. With such a strong producer and a nice cast, I am very confident about Legend. It seems fun and interesting. I'm glad it's 22 episodes and not 20.

Linda's role is fascinating. Her character is very cute and happy-go-lucky, but there's a twist. Aside from the traits of her character, Linda also has a variety of personalities and ages to portray. She acts as a 20, 30, 40, 50, and 70 year old - yes, becoming a hot granny. I've heard that she also acts as flirting twins as well as ugly in some parts. Linda is very positive about this series and feels grateful to have been chosen to act out this challenging role. I love Linda's image for this series - very cute and "Sailormoon" inspired. I hope this is another breakthrough for Linda as this is her first costume drama and her role sounds awesome. She filmed Legend before her breakthrough(s) in Heart of Greed and Best Bet, but after Heavenly In-Laws.

Swear is such an amazingly beautiful song too - I can't wait to hear it as the subsong playing at the end of episodes as the credits roll.

Although I'm dying to watch Legend, I'm praying that TVB doesn't release it until some time in the fall. Linda has had 80 episodes released so far this year (and it's only June). She needs a break from the TVB scene for a few months. Besides, Legend is her last release until 2008's blockbuster The Gem of Life is out, so I want to delay it as long as possible so the waiting time for Gem is less.



The Seventh Day
(Kevin Cheng, Niki Chow, Bosco Wong, Natalie Tong, etc.)
What a gorgeous poster! Well, at least half of it anyways. This is the "sad version" of 2006's hit Under the Canopy of Love - which I loved. I'm very excited about watching this series. I'm all for tragic series. I hope Seventh will be as beautiful, meaningful, and touching as TVB is promoting it to be. I'm glad everyone from the original Canopy cast is back. Although I don't like Kevin, I must say he and Niki are a good couple. Niki is a great actress. She just oozes with charisma and is very natural on-screen. Good for Natalie for having for first true second lead! I've been fond of her since her debut in Hearts of Fencing - such a cute girl! Bosco seriously needs to change his look. How many series has he had this particular haircut for now? The themesong to Seventh is dreadfully boring, but I really hope the series isn't. It would be such a pity if it is. This series has scenes filmed in Japan (which should be very beautiful with all of the snow and sights of Japan) and is also filmed in a special HD lens. Canopy used a soft lens to film, giving the series a very dreamy feel, so I hope Seventh also has a special appearance. I can't wait to watch this series!



The Drive of Life
(Damien Lau, Michael Miu, Raymond Lam, Joe Ma,
Charmaine Sheh, Jessica Hsuan, Myolie Wu, Sheren Tang, etc.)
Wow... poor Jessica. It seems TVB has truly dethroned her from the #1 TVB Sister spot simply because she won't renew her contract with them and replaced the spot with Charmaine. A previous Programme Highlights issue released at the beginning of the year credited Jessica as the female lead, but I guess Charmaine was the true lead all along. I honestly hope that the official poster is better than this. It is way too ugly and crowded. If TVB is willing to spend so much money on Drive, why spend short on the poster? Drive is the most expensive TVB series to date with $60 million HKD being spent on production and $1 million on promotional fees. This series celebrates the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong's hand-over back to China. Drive is super-hyped and heavily promoted... I wonder if it will live up to all of the expectations people have of it and its performance. Frankly, I'm not interested in this series, but it seems way too grand to miss.



Tai Chi
(Vincent Zhao, Raymond Lam, Melissa Ng, Myolie Wu, etc.)
TVB decided to shorten the English title and make it succinct like the Chinese title as well as simplify the poster. I think I liked the name The Master of Tai Chi better as well as the fuller poster. Having just Vincent and Raymond (although I know the series will be carried on their shoulders) feels really empty. If TVB adds the other cast members to the poster, I think it would look really good. I am definitely looking forward to watching this series as I expressed earlier. People say that this series may be one of TVB's 2007 Anniversary series... if so, I think it's a good choice. It's a grand production with a nice cast, filmed in the mainland, and also the first TVB series in HDTV. Hopefully the script is good because Tai Chi really has everything else going for it.



Phoenix Rising
(Louisa So, Krystal Tin, Leila Tong, Sunny Chan, etc.)
I am interested in this series. I like the cast and it seems like a potentially intriguing and phenomenal series. Louisa is a superb actress and Krystal is quite good, so these two will carry the series very well. I hope Sunny will have another great role in this series like he did in War and Destiny. He is a very underrated actor.

Repeats from Issue I...


On The First Beat (Ron Ng, Sammul Chan, Joey Yung, Michael Tao, etc.) - I was unsure of this series at first and feared it may tarnish The Academy's great name, but positive reviews for this series thus far has really assuaged my fears. I'm definitely going to be watching this.

The Ultimate Crime Fighter (Yuen Biao, Moses Chan, Gigi Lai, Yoyo Mung, etc.) - There are rumors circulating that TVB wants to air this as one of 2007's Anniversary series... could this be why this series still hasn't released? I am still not interested in watching though.

The Family Link (Sheren Tang, Kiki Sheung, Cecilia Yip, Kenneth Ma, etc.) - This is the highest rated series of 2007 to date with a basis on one of my favorite American shows, Desperate Housewives, and led by the brilliant Sheren, of course I am going to watch this. I heard it's funny and enjoyable, so I look forward to watching it.

Devil's Disciples (Bosco Wong, Kevin Cheng, Bernice Liu, Shirley Yeung, etc.) - TVB must love wasting their ink and reprinting a series that was released at the beginning of the year already over and over again. Or are they trying to push this series again? I honestly hope that TVB doesn't air it come July. What a waste of a time slot that will be! I hope it's true that it's only airing on TVB's pay channel.

What series are you guys looking forward to?

series 411: "on the first beat"

Title: On The First Beat (Hok Ging Chut Gang)
Casts: Michael Tao, Sonija Kwok, Ron Ng, Sammul Chan, etc.
Length: 30 episodes (Cantonese) // 22 tapes (Vietnamese)
Release Date: June 2007 (Canto) // July 2007 (Viet)
Genre: Modern Drama/Police/Crime/Educational

Note: Please credit "MetalAZNWarrior" and/or this site if you should use my translation of the series' plot! I worked hard to translate it, so please don't just steal or use it for another site without my permission and/or credit. Thank you!

Synopsis:
The truth is a reality, true PTU
Leaving the academy, stepping in front of the firing line
The sequel to "The Academy,"
True feelings demonstrated teach the team through the process

After going through the excruciating training of the academy, Chung Lap Man (Ron Ng Cheuk Hei) and Li Pak Kiu (Sammul Chan Gin Fung) finally become official police officers and are assigned into the same branch. One operation causes Kiu's girlfriend to die a violent death. Furthermore, it causes Kiu and Man, this pair of good brothers, to separate from one another. Newly-appointed police chief Cheung Ging Fung (Michael Tao Dai Yue) turns out to be the crime leader of last time's operation. Kiu further discovers that there's an inside story to his girlfriend's death...

The feelings between Man and his colleague Cheung Nim Yan (Joey Yung Jo Yi) gradually develop. However, his cousin Man Jing (Kate Tsui Tsz San), like before, pursues him. On the other hand, Kiu loves Fung's ex-wife, Yuen Wai Nei (Sonija Kwok Sin Nei). However, the old feelings between Fung and Nei still haven't ended. Facing the impact of career, friendship, and love, how will the two new officers deal with it all?

My thoughts: I really liked The Academy. I'm iffy about this sequel because I don't like the cast changes. The storyline, however, seems promising. Besides, I mentioned previously that I like Academy's characters and want to see what the "future" has in store for them.

I'm so disappointed that Michelle Yim is not involved in the sequel. I loved her scenes in Academy (especially with Michael Miu - the highlight and star of Academy) - I wonder what happened to "Man"'s family in the sequel?!

Poor Ron... In Academy, Sammul's acting clearly outshone his and it looks like Sammul's acting and storyline will outshine him in Beat too. Honestly speaking, "Man" only has a seemingly typical and uninteresting love triangle whereas "Kiu" not only suffers the death of his beloved girlfriend, but has a brother/sister relationship and he's involved with a central mystery as well. How interesting do the scenes involving "Kiu" sound compared to "Man" already?

I'm going to hold out for reviews on Beat and then decide whether or not I want to watch it. I hope it's good and doesn't tarnish the good name Academy built.

programme highlights '07 - issue i

The first TVB Programme Highlights for this year is out! (The last Programme Highlights post actually wasn't the first issue, but just a booklet with an overview of most of the 2007 series.) Much thanks to Ron Online for the great, high-quality scans! Now, let's go through the nine series included in this quarter's installment...

Without-a-doubt diamonds...


Heart of Greed
(Moses Chan, Bosco Wong, Raymond Lam,
Linda Chung, Tavia Yeung, Yoyo Mung)

In my opinion, the best cast of the year. I love all of the main players in Heart. TVB's design for the poster is really nice - very mysterious and it just exudes the whole "grand production," "must-watch" feeling. Everyone looks great! I'm a sucker for family drama. However, I have to say that the soap opera genre with feuds over money and relationships is really getting over-played this year by TVB. I just hope Heart will have something special to make it stand out otherwise it may be forgotten and overshadowed by The Drive of Life and Jewel's Splendor. Nevertheless, I will probably enjoy it more than Drive (if I even decide to watch it) as I'm just much more fonder of everyone in Heart. I'm a little worried about Linda's performance, but she looks amazing in the poster, so I'm sure it won't be too bad. I can't wait for all of the sweet Raymond and Linda scenes. He crushes her and totally breaks her heart, but good thing she will have Moses. I'm not too thrilled that she's officially listed as the female lead, but it all depends on screen time since this is a "huge" 40 episode series, so it doesn't really matter. Tavia looks gorgeous - this girl has really been cleaning up and looking so beautiful since getting "bigger boobs" (not that I'm implying there's a direct correlation between the two events).



Best Bet
(Michael Tse, Linda Chung, Wayne Lai, Anne Heung, etc.)

Great producer, great cast, and just the perfect series for the New Year! From what I've seen, Bet is funny and entertaining and Michael and Linda actually make a good pair - their interactions are so funny and sweet. Hopefully the momentum is maintained throughout and Producer Li will have delivered another classic.

Oh, possibilities...


The Family Link
(Sheren Tang, Kiki Sheung, Cecilia Yip, Kenneth Ma, etc.)

The poster is hilarious! TVB is really taking the "army" in the Chinese title literally, huh? TVB declares this to be their version of Desperate Housewives, so we'll see... Sheren is in this series, so it cannot be too bad. I'm so glad Michael and Sheren get to play husband and wife in this series. Their chemistry from La Femme Desperado was great. I'm skeptical about the storyline and am not that keen on the other cast members, but I will keep Link on my radar.



A Change of Destiny
(Steven Ma, Benny Chan, Shirley Yeung, Selena Li, etc.)

Producer Tsui, Producer Tsui... what am I going to do with you? He just hasn't delivered a great series since ending Virtues of Harmony, so I'm very doubtful that Change is any different than the mediocrity of The Biter Bitten. I have yet to see The Price of Greed, but I don't hold much hope on it judging from the rather poor reviews... I'm just so disappointed in Producer Tsui. However, I wonder if it's the "curse of Shirley" that's causing him to have bad series back-to-back? Seriously - Biter, Price, and Change all have Shirley in them... Haha. He has two male and female leads for all of his series lately and messy love triangles among the four, so it's getting a little tiring and predictable. Nevertheless, I have to compliment whoever made this poster! It looks really good and makes Change seem like a good series. Still, I'm not sold on the series because the theme seems like nothing new (fighting for the throne, messing with fate)... Please improve Producer Tsui! Where did the magic and creativity go? Better yet, just get back to doing the sitcom and then "everyone is happy."



On The First Beat
(Ron Ng, Sammul Chan, Joey Yung, Michael Tao, etc.)

The Academy blew me away. No, it wasn't a spectacular or stunning series. I had absolutely no expectations from it, so when I actually watched it and liked it a lot, I was very impressed. It is much better than Triumph In The Skies. It's kind of like Always Ready; I expected the worst and got much, much better than I could have imagined. I'm very iffy about Beat though. They changed most of the cast on us! Also, the "poster" is horrible. I really doubt this is the final one. If it is, it's really bad... To be honest, Michael Miu was the reason why Academy was so great, so I'm doubtful that I'll enjoy the sequel as much (or if at all). I do like Sonija though and you know, I've seen "Chung Lap Man" and "Li Pak Kiu" go through their 27 weeks of training, so I kind of want to see the next chapter of their lives... I'm sad that Tavia Yeung and Fiona Sit are "written off" in the beginning. We'll see, I guess...



The Slicing of the Demon
(Sunny Chan, Bernice Liu, Michael Tse, Angela Tong, etc.)

The poster makes Demon look appealing. I'm not into horror or supernatural series, but this series has potential to be interesting if it's anything like Dark Tales. [I don't remember much of it since it's been so long and I wasn't allowed to watch a lot of scenes, but I recall vaguely liking it.] I just don't like series that are too "out there." The plot and reviews will seal the deal whether or not I give it a try. I like the leads - and that's always a good start.

Series I'm passing on...


Life Art (Kevin Cheng, Gigi Lai, Natalie Tong, Paul Chun, etc.) - Gigi looks great in this series... but the plot seems way too simplistic and predictable for my taste. I do like the whole "art" and calligraphy theme that this series will focus on, but nope.

The Ultimate Crime Fighter (Yuen Biao, Moses Chan, Gigi Lai, Yoyo Mung, etc.) - This series doesn't interest me at all and 35 episodes is too much (for a series I'm unwilling to watch).

Devil's Disciples (Bosco Wong, Kevin Cheng, Bernice Liu, Sharon Chan, etc.) - Uh...

What series are you guys looking forward to?