Six months ago, four main leads from Moonlight Resonance — Ha Yu, Louise Lee See Kei, Raymond Lam, and Linda Chung — came over to the US for a Christmas concert entitled Christmas Spectacular Live in Concert at the Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey on December 21, 2008.

Luckily for me, my friend’s uncle happens to have connections with the concert people (I think he works as a promotions manager or something… not sure) so I was able to attend the show for free. Leading up to and even on December 21, I actually didn’t know for sure whether or not I could go since my friend wasn’t very certain that we could get tickets. Why didn’t I just buy the tickets like others? Because no one really buys tickets to these shows, most of them go for free anyways I’m a poor college student. If it was Linda’s solo concert, then perhaps I’d be more willing to fork out the money to see the show, but when I was only really interested in seeing 1/2 of the show (love Louise & Ha Yu’s acting, but seeing them in concert?), it didn’t seem “worth” it to pay. Thus I was willing to risk not being able to attend Linda’s first US concert.

The show was supposed to start at 1:00 AM. My friend & I got there around 12:30 AM, still without tickets. 1 AM was fast approaching and her uncle was still nowhere in sight. I was getting really worried. At 10 minutes or so to 1:00 AM, her uncle finally showed up and gave us the tickets. I was really happy and relieved. We excitedly went down to the concert hall to enter the auditorium.

It was my first time at a Chinese concert, let alone a TVB one. There were tons of people in attendance. With the popularity of Moonlight and the cast, I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised. Anyhow, I was shocked to see that we had really good seats. I sat around 15 rows from the stage in the left front area of seats. I could see the stage quite well, so I was pleased with my seat. I did not have my camera with me and pictures my friend took were really bad (extremely blurry), so the following pictures from the concert are courtesy of forbiddenwaffles.

The concert was supposed to begin at 1 AM, but in the true Asian fashion, it didn’t start until after 1:30 AM.

“Hor Ma” Louise came out first, followed by “Jo Bao” Ha Yu, then “Goon Ga Jai” Ray (the crowd went crazy!), and finally “Yu So Chau” Linda.

I didn’t realize Louise was on stage until I heard music playing. All of Louise’s songs were in Mandarin, if I’m not recalling incorrectly. Ha Yu sang a bunch of old Cantonese songs. Sitting through Louise and Ha Yu’s performances felt really long since I wanted to see Linda & Ray. They weren’t terrible singers or anything and I liked the parts when they talked to the audience. It’s just that their performances weren’t my “cup of tea”. I would much rather see them act.

All hell broke loose when Raymond came out. People ran to the stage, cameras started coming out. There were flashes everywhere. Clearly most people had come to see Ray. I enjoyed Ray’s performance. His voice was fantastic and it was nice to hear songs I actually knew and liked. I was actually kind of “falling asleep” before he came out since it was late and I was rather tired. Ray was funny. He kept asking the audience whether or not he should come off the stage. To this, everyone screamed, “Yes!” He laughed and said that he wanted to, but couldn’t because the security people would yell at him. Whenever he was on stage, he would always “tease” about coming off (which would drive all the fan girls crazy). One time, someone shouted out (in English) “I love you!” and Ray responded back in English, “I love you, too”. Raymond’s introduction before singing “Fond of Searching for You in Memories” [愛在記憶中找你] was funny; I believe he said something along the lines of “All guys should sing this for their girls. It’s a break-up song!”

I felt really nervous for Linda knowing that she would have to go on after Ray. She’s easily nervous and self-conscious, so I was concerned that the stress of going after Ray would get to her and hurt her performance. I actually wanted Linda to go on stage before Ray so that she wouldn’t have to go on after someone so popular. Ray ended and the big moment I was waiting for came…

Linda opened with “Two People World” [二人世界], her debut single. She sang the English song “Hero” which she says she listens to every time she’s really sad (it makes her feel better). She also sang Shirley Kwan’s “Hard to Find a Lover” [難得有情人]. Linda interacted very nicely with the crowd and didn’t look nervous at all (maybe a little in the beginning of “Two People World” though), which was great. She was charismatic and quite charming, which I was pleased with. I was worried that she’d be stiff and anxious so she wouldn’t be able to talk to the crowd much, but this was far from the case. Since 2004, Linda has definitely opened up and become more extroverted — what a transformation! She seemed relaxed, confident, and really nailed her performances. Her vocals were the best live ones from her that I’ve heard yet. She has improved a great deal in terms of singing live since 2006. Before I used to semi-cringe and avoid seeing her live performances, but now it’s quite acceptable and getting better. Linda said it was her first time in the US.

Linda talked a bit about her entry into the music industry and how her album had released. She asked if everyone would support her [as a singer] and the crowd yelled, “Yes!” Linda looked very happy with how receptive the audience was towards her (I think she was pleasantly surprised by how much support she has in the US). She seemed really “into” her performances and loved the energy and being on stage.

Ha Yu took the stage again, followed by Louise. Louise was very nice to Linda and praised her a lot. Like Ha Yu, Louise said that she is fond of Linda’s talents. She said that in her heart, Linda is a “Princess” and that she’s a very good girl. She praised Linda’s hard work, acting, and crying. She said that Linda’s smile is very pretty and that her crying is also pretty too. She mentioned how certain people can do really heart-wrenching crying scenes but look ugly while Linda manages to cry beautifully. That’s why she says she enjoys watching Linda do crying scenes. She says when Linda’s on, she can’t help but watch [her performance] — very, very sweet.

For her 2nd appearance, Linda changed into the outfit she wore at Jade Solid Gold (when her song was announced as the #1 song of the week). She sang her hit single “Actually I’m Not Happy” [其實我不快樂] from her debut album and shared the good news with everyone that the song won the Jade Solid Gold “Golden Song” award. She went on to thank Louise for her kind words and shared a personal story. She said that during filming of Heart of Greed, she wasn’t very acquainted with Louise because their scenes didn’t overlap. Linda says it was very tiring to film Heart and that when she was in the make-up room looking exhausted, Louise would ask her how she was doing, offer her encouragement, and gave her her phone number, telling her to call if she needed anything. She thought Louise was very caring and is grateful for having gotten to know her.

Afterwards Linda sang another Shirley Kwan song and then Joey Yung’s “Don’t Know Yet” [未知] because she felt it was time for a fast song. She was dancing a little bit. Linda then expressed that she wanted to sing a duet but wasn’t sure who to do it with. She was cheeky when asking. The crowd went crazy screaming “Lam Fung!”… and so Ray appeared on stage again! Out of all four, he was the only one who did not change outfits.

The two of them wondered if they should address Linda by her character name in Heart — Seung Joi Sum — or Moonlight — Yu So Chau. Linda said something like, “I think Seung Joi Sum because I don’t think the audience knows the name Yu So Chau yet.” Ray corrected her and said that they knew. The audience confirmed. It was very funny seeing how “confused” Linda was. I guess Linda thinks that US fans are a year behind Hong Kong. She probably assumes so since she’s from Canada (and their series are a year behind) and maybe doesn’t know that people can rent/download series nowadays.

Ray & Linda sang their much-overused (they need a new song!) duet “Appreciated” [心領] from Heart. The crowd went crazy when they held hands during the performance. They were really cute! Honestly, it was probably the best rendition of the song I heard them do yet. After finishing, they thanked each other (kept bowing to one another, which was cute) and Linda left the stage to Ray. He sang a few more songs, including the most popular/anticipated song that night — “Love Without Regrets” [愛不疚] from Moonlight.

At the very end, all 4 came out again and sang George Lam’s “Needing You Every Minute” [分分鐘需要你] (aka Fala Chen’s favorite song from Moonlight) and the show ended at around 3:30 AM. In total, it was a 2 hour show with all 4 singing a total of 6 songs each.

It was a great experience and I am very proud of Linda for doing an amazing job! She sang really well (her vocals have improved so much) and has come a long way in terms of her live singing as I’ve stated previously. She actually messed up on 2 songs because she forgot/messed up the lyrics, but it was okay. She just laughed it off and no one really cared. I loved her interactions with the crowd the most.

After the concert, my friends and I waited outside of a restaurant — Dynasty — in the casino. Our reasoning was that they (the Moonlight stars) would be hungry and go eat (also, a few weeks ago, Fala had a concert there and ended up eating at the same restaurant). After waiting for like 20-30 minutes, we heard screaming. Linda was walking quickly towards the restaurant entrance. I ran up to her and was like “Linda! Linda!” Linda walked really, really fast (she was being held/escorted by some lady) and looked scared because of the big crowd surrounding/following her.

I didn’t manage to get her attention (her eyes were focusing away from the crowd because she was too scared to look at anyone), but I was standing like only a few inches away from her and managed to touch her hand. So for now I can say that I have Linda’s autograph with a personal message and have seen her in real life.

Ha Yu, Louise, and Ray came together in a crowd with a bunch of security. I managed to shake hands with Ha Yu. I was like “Jo Bao!” He saw me and shook my hand and smiled. He was really friendly. I wanted to yell “Hor Ma” (Louise was standing next to him), but didn’t. Ray was literally surrounded on all corners by security since they didn’t want to risk any of the many fan girls pouncing on Ray.

The 4 of them went into the restaurant to eat and we (along with other fans) waited to see them come back out. We waited for an hour only to learn that they had left through the back, which was disappointing but not unexpected. Some lucky fans had connections with people working in the restaurant and were able to get in and meet the stars. One of my friends knew someone who worked as a waitress in the restaurant and she was able to get pictures taken with all four! Another girl walked in with Linda’s CD’s and walked out with them signed.

It wasn’t until later that I learned I could have been one of the “lucky fans” and meet the stars due to my friend’s uncle’s (the one who got us tickets in the first place) connections. I felt disappointed after hearing that, but at least now I know for next time.

Overall, it was a great concert. I had a lot of fun. I was extremely tired at the end of it, but it was well-worth staying up until 5 AM.

I probably would have enjoyed the show a lot more if it was just Ray & Linda (I was bored when they weren’t on stage), but I understand the reasoning for them having Ha Yu & Louise. This way both the “old” and the “young” crowd could be satisfied. It was definitely amusing to observe how “dead” the crowd mostly was whenever Ray & Linda weren’t on and how instantly everyone would wake up and a million flashes would go off when one of them was on.

It was quite a surreal experience seeing all four of them “live” in person on stage singing and talking. I’m so used to them being just on TV or in pictures that it’s hard to imagine that I would see them with my own eyes and ears in “real life”. Furthermore, standing inches away from all of them and being able to make physical contact with 2 of them? Quite a Moonlight experience!

The editing and direction matters
I did not feel for Ah Chau (Linda Chung) and Chi Shun (Bosco Wong) when I watched Moonlight Resonance. In fact, I was rather annoyed and frustrated with their repetitive and tiring scenes. I wished Chi Shun never existed and that the writers had just worked on developing the relationship between Ah Ho (Raymond Lam) and Ah Chau, which would have been so much more interesting and coherent to the main story. However, what’s done is done.

I was very shocked when I watched the following music videos created by GeLiGuoLu (whose MV’s are all amazing and extremely well-produced by the way — totally worth watching).

Ling Chi Shun: Yu So Sum, I’m Not the One You Want……
[凌至信：于素心，你要的不是我……]

Yu So Sum: Ling Chi Shun, My Love, My Fate
[于素心：凌至信, My Love, My Fate]

What was shocking was the fact that I actually felt something from and for the couple when I watched those music videos. “I’m Not the One You Want” shows the relationship from Ling B’s perspective while “My Love, My Fate” shows Ah Chau’s perspective. These videos are so well-produced and the scenes used all give such a different “feel” and “meaning” compared to when shown in Moonlight.



These MV’s are proof that good directing, editing, and above all writing are crucial to making something “work”. It further shows that acting cannot save a bad script. Linda and Bosco’s performances in Moonlight are often criticized, but by looking at these scenes alone, I see nothing wrong with their performances. In fact, their scenes were acted fine. I especially love the delivery of the lines in “I’m Not the One You Want” — quite emotional and touching. It’s a shame how people criticized them solely because of their bad characters and even more poorly-written storyline. They did their jobs and successfully acted out what was written in the script given to them.

If I only watched those MV’s and had no prior knowledge of Moonlight, I’d think that their love story was great. But of course, we all know that isn’t the case… Further proof that Moonlight has many great, well-acted scenes (which makes it hard for me to “hate” the series and totally write it off as trash) but these same scenes are poorly strung together in a bad script — unfortunate, really.

Deleted scene from Moonlight Resonance
I was extremely unhappy with the execution and development of Ah Ho and Ah Chau’s relationship in Moonlight. Raymond & Linda’s chemistry improved a lot from Heart of Greed and they shared lots of great scenes in Moonlight, but unfortunately their love story didn’t make the cut because they spent far too little time together as a couple. Ah Chau wasted too much of her time [and thus our time] crying over her stupid Dr. Ling. Thus, Ah Ho & Ah Chau as a couple felt shallow and rushed. I would have loved to see them date, deal with their conflicting “statuses” and family interests, and face all of the issues of them being together. That would have been really interesting and touching to see them fight through it all because of their love for each other and would have gone perfectly with the “family” theme of Moonlight. Instead, we get a dumb and “painful” [for us to watch] love triangle.

Moonlight could have worked. The cast was perfect and the set-up was good. The direction and developments were all unfortunately wrong with choppy and ludicrous writing full of flaws. It just makes me so angry how much of a waste Moonlight was since it had so much potential. Whatever. I ranted enough about Moonlight and don’t want angry fans attacking me again. Moving on…

I was very upset to realize that the scene above was cut. This scene was used in Ah Ho/Ah Chau/Chi Shun love triangle intermission segment. This scene made me anticipate the triangle when I was watching the series during the beginning because the scenes did indeed look very “painful”. Looks are deceiving though…



Judging from the clothes and location of filming, I am 100% certain that it was cut from episode 37 especially since there was a very choppy editing job done in that episode. At 18:26, Ah Chau finished a confrontation with Chi Shun asking him why he was behaving so strangely. In the very next scene, we hear the phone ringing and Ah Ho answering it and learning that his Grandma (Lee Heung Kam) was in the hospital. Ah Chau’s expression seemed very frazzled and the two looked like they were in a middle of a discussion, but were interrupted by the phone call.



I really want to know what they were talking about and why Ah Chau was hugging Ah Ho from the back holding yellow flowers. Who gave her the flowers? I assume that Ah Ho gave her the flowers. I think she was trying to reassure him that she loved him but still cared for Chi Shun as a friend. Ah Chau’s expression as she’s hugging Ah Ho from behind seems quite heartbreaking.

I would have liked to see this scene because it looks like a great one. They should have just cut out one (or 2 or 3… heck, even 10) of Ah Chau’s million crying scenes to make room for this scene.

Why there should not be a sequel to Last One Standing
I love Standing. It was an extraordinary series that was both refreshing and smartly written. It certainly kept me on my toes and the “violence” and “darkness” was a nice change from other series. Over the years, TVB has become less daring like the company’s been castrated or something. If you watch series from the 80’s and 90’s (see Looking Back in Anger and The Greed of Man), you’ll know exactly what I mean.

The ending of the series was open-ended and left the possibility for a sequel. Roger Kwok’s Ah Yin had become paraplegic and was serving time in jail for his evil deeds and was feigning a “redemption”. Kevin Cheng’s Ah Hei and Yoyo Mung’s Carmen (whose characters didn’t end up together) were both fooled by Ah Yin and thought he had changed into a “good” person. Thus, Ah Yin successfully laid the tracks for revenge when he gets released from prison. The ending credits roll with Ah Yin’s spine-chilling and creepy stare and smirk into the camera.

Some fans want a sequel to continue where the open-ended ending left off.

The possibility for Standing having a sequel is slim since ratings weren’t high (although the series built a nice audience near the end thanks to great word of mouth)… and I’m hoping it’s 0%. I don’t want a sequel to Standing because I believe it will ruin the good name of the first series.

The sequel would be extremely frustrating to watch and rather repetitive of the last series since we’ll have to sit through Ah Yin pretending to be “good” and doing nasty things behind everyone’s back and people getting harmed left and right until the end when he’s finally exposed again. It would be tiring to watch. I think my blood pressure would go up way high. Furthermore, much of the cast was killed off in the original series. The number that Ah Yin can target and hurt is much lower and I think the series would feel like a drag consequently.

Even more, we already have such a storyline with the last part of Looking Back in Anger which was already well-done. Ultimate villain Ding Yau Hong (Deric Wan) went to jail after breaking his leg (thus walking with a limp) and came out pretending to be a “good” person who regretted his previous actions and wanted to start a “new life”, fooling his brother Ding Yau Kin (Felix Wong) once again. Under the pretense of redemption, Ah Hong plotted to kill Ah Kin’s whole family for money and revenge. It wasn’t until then that Ah Kin realized Ah Hong had not changed at all and plotted justice.

I really hope TVB doesn’t produce Last One Standing II. I think it’s better not to see what happens after Ah Yin gets out of jail since we can pretty much guess the plot already.

Will The Gem of Life be a success years later?
People love to make fun of Gem for being a flop and criticize it for being a “bad” series. While it’s true that it failed to win ratings (very embarrassing ratings for a grand production actually) and is indeed a “flop”, I don’t think it’s a “bad” series at all. I was recently re-watching various scenes/episodes of the series when my mom was watching it and somehow I appreciated it more the second time around. Of course, the earlier parts of the series was still bad but after episode 20 the series began to pick up and it got good after episode 50 and was great after 60 and became increasingly excellent afterwards. I really enjoyed re-watching it.

Gem’s situation slightly mirrors that of another really long TVB grand production.

Nearly a decade ago, Producer Chik helmed the 105-episode At the Threshold of an Era (which was divided into 2 parts — something that fans of Gem thought Gem should have done too). It was an extremely big and hyped production with the biggest TVB stars around boasting Gallen Lo, Louis Koo, Roger Kwok, Sunny Chan, Flora Chan, Kenix Kwok, Liza Wang, Ada Choi, Maggie Shiu, and many others.

Despite the high production value and hype, the series had mediocre, disappointing ratings (like Gem).

Back in 2005, TVB re-aired Era during its midnight timeslot of old series re-runs. Surprisingly, Era got really good ratings (much higher than when it first aired) and praise. Thus, from a ratings “flop” Era emerged a few years later as a “success” with people appreciating the series. Some fans of Gem wonder whether or not Gem will be a repeat of Era’s success when it re-airs years later. Some people suggest that Gem was released at a bad time because of the economy and the focus on the rich turned some people off. Will people appreciate the series then when the world is hopefully not in such an economic downer?

Time will reveal the answer.

I have not watched Era so I cannot make any comments on whether or not it was surprising that it became a success years later. What I can comment on is that I think many people unfairly wrote Gem off and gave up too early in the series. I’m not defending it as a great series because it isn’t one. It has a bad reputation and I feel really bad for it since I do like the series overall. The pace was often too slow and it had many boring and dragging scenes, but as a whole, it wasn’t a poorly-constructed series. Watching it the second time made me not mind the scenes I previously disliked as much (maybe because I knew what purpose they held). I think that if people had given Gem more patience and a second look, they’d be able to appreciate it.

I’m crossing my fingers that Gem will receive some recognition years later like Era. It deserves some credit.

Review for A Taste of Love
Watching A Taste of Love makes me realize how much I’ve matured, especially in terms of what I expect from a TVB series.

Before I watched TVB to pass time and for entertainment. Nowadays, I watch not to “pass time” (because I have no time to waste) but solely for entertainment. I’m really picky these days. “Mediocre” is no longer acceptable. I think my standards have increased even more than before.

If I had watched Taste 8 years ago when it was released in 2001, I probably would have enjoyed it. It’s a light-hearted comedy/drama with a good leading cast consisting of Lawrence Ng, Raymond Lam, Joe Ma, Flora Chan, Miriam Yeung, and Joyce Tang.

Unfortunately, after many years of watching TVB, Taste was all too familiar. It was extremely predictable and used all of the conventional TVB clichés in its storytelling. Nothing was surprising. Everything played exactly like a recycled series made from plots from past series. After less than 5 episodes, I already knew how the series would develop and end. It was very tiring and boring for me to watch Taste’s 25 episodes. I didn’t laugh despite the numerous “comedic” scenes. I didn’t feel anything for the series and wasn’t interested at all. I basically let the series play in the background when I “watched” it just to finish it because it wasn’t worth my attention.

I probably enjoyed watching Lawrence & Flora the most. They made a good couple. Raymond & Miriam had no chemistry and were unbelievable as a couple. Raymond looked really different in Taste and his acting has certainly come a long way since back then. Miriam’s acting wasn’t bad, but I think she was too “old” for her role and I much prefer her as a singer. I love Miriam’s subsong for the series. Joe & Joyce were annoying (I don’t like characters like theirs).

Maybe I wasn’t in the right “mood” when I was watching Taste so I just couldn’t be bothered with it. Maybe I’m being too critical. Maybe my taste has changed so I no longer like series like Taste with its light-hearted nature and simple plot full of clichés. Maybe it really is just a “bad” series. In any case, I regret wasting my time with A Taste of Love. I’m not even going to bother giving it a rating.

Raymond & Linda galore!
I love this couple! Ah Ho & Ah Chau failed them but they are still successful.

Who knew that Alfred and Seung Joi Sum would become a golden TVB couple? Advertisers love pairing them up and Raymond and Linda have both made lots of money from their appearances as a couple at numerous functions. They have great chemistry and compatibility.

I loved watching the opening for the Astro Drama Award Presentation 2008 (back in February 2009) in which Linda and Raymond reprised their beloved roles as Seung Joi Sum and Alfred.

Seung Joi Sum: Alfred, I really want to tell you that I’m with Dak Dak Dei (Moses Chan) now. He treats me really well. You don’t have to worry about me. If I could, I would tell you that actually — I’ve already forgiven you.

Alfred: Seung Joi Sum. Seung Joi Sum.

Seung Joi Sum: (gasps) How come?

Alfred: I also don’t know why, but knowing that you and Dak Dak Dei are together, I’m really happy. Congratulations to you two! Actually if we are willing to believe, “hope” will always appear before our eyes.

Seung Joi Sum: Exactly. Hey! Look! There’s a shooting star!

Alfred: Yeah! Lots of stars!

Seung Joi Sum: If there are more stars tonight, then that would be great.

Watch the clip here!

What a cute opening monologue featuring Seung Joi Sum meeting Alfred again after his death! It makes me miss Heart and want to re-watch it. I’m really happy to see Heart sweep the awards at Astro; it was expected and deserved. Susanna Kwan should have won Favorite Villain though — what a rob to give it to Shirley Yeung for The Brink of Law (improved and surprising performance from Shirley, yes, but to beat Sai Kai?!)! I’m really happy that Raymond & Linda won Favorite Couple; they deserved it and it is obvious that their pairing is very popular with the Malaysian fans. I’m not upset that they didn’t win On-Screen Kiss because their kissing scene in Heart was not-well done (Linda’s fault). Their kissing looked hesitant, awkward, and unconvincing. Moonlight’s kissing scenes were much, much better.

I love Astro for giving Raymond & Linda so much “focus” and love for their characters and pairing in Heart.

As if I wasn’t spoiled enough with all of the Raymond & Linda from Astro, I was treated to a radio drama starring them less than 2 months later. Although the script was again not good, it was nice to hear their chemistry through just their voices.

Last month TVB aired a special on Raymond to highlight his background and career. Of course, Linda was asked to express her thoughts on Raymond and record a message for him. Although it was a short segment, it was a really cute clip and totally worth watching to hear what they think of each other (not that the information was new though). Watch the clip here!

Linda: He always tells me how he’s ill, has a weak body, needs to take medications, that he can’t take it anymore, and after 10 years he’s not going to do it [the entertainment industry] anymore… things like that. Gradually in these last 2 years, he has more and more work. It turns out he can handle it and can do it so well too! Ah! It turns out that Ah Fung, you lied to me! You faked everything, pretended to be sick! I think that Ah Fung would be a good boyfriend because usually when we work, he would always take care of others. Sometimes to make everyone happy he would treat us to meals. That’s why I think that to be his girlfriend, he would always take you out to eat; I think it would be quite happy!

Raymond: If she was my girlfriend… eh… I think she… I think she would be an appropriate girl to be my girlfriend. But we… actually we get along because our characters are… a bit… a bit… similar. However, I think she will fit being my “good friend” instead, a really close female friend. It’s because she’s a very honest, straight-forward, and innocent girl.

I hope Raymond & Linda can pair up again in another TVB series.

Issue #11 featuring Moonlight Resonance

I loved Heart of Greed. I felt excited watching it and cried and laughed along with the characters. I felt for the characters and storyline (particularly in the second half). The cast is my most favorite ensemble TVB put together since Virtues of Harmony. This series entered my heart because it had a lot of “heart”.

I expected the same from Moonlight Resonance.

Disappointingly, Moonlight is basically Heart without “heart”. It’s pretentious and forced. It tried too hard to “climax” in every episode. There were too many arguments. The storyline did not flow and was ridiculously “developed”. Furthermore, while I felt for the Heart characters, I did not feel for a single character in Moonlight. I shed no tears. I was not moved by any one scene nor does any one scene stand out to me as being “powerful” or “memorable”. I was not particularly happy when something “good” happened. My heartstrings were not pulled at all — and that is a very bad sign when a series cannot make me “connect”.

The main problem with the series is that Moonlight’s script is flawed and poorly written. I don’t think it’s the worst script that TVB has ever written (far from it in fact), but it is definitely not good. For this I blame TVB for rushing the production so much. All of the characters are one-dimensional with no development (with perhaps the exception of Ha Yu’s Jo Bao and Susanna Kwan’s Auntie Sa). Even the storyline feels undeveloped and just made up of random “sensational scenes”. Many aspects of the storyline are quite illogical and unrealistic.

The series was disjointed and lacked continuity as each succeeding episode focused on a different plot. Things from previous episode(s) were often forgotten. It sometimes felt as if the characters fought for the sake of arguing intensely (thus gaining more eyeballs). Time and time again, Yan Hung (Michelle Yim) was proven to be a wicked lady and yet nothing was ever done. They would fight for a whole episode and then Hor Ma (Lee See Kei) would come in with her all-knowing, never-wrong wisdom and expose it all to save the day. Each episode felt formulaic and repetitive.

Unlike with Heart, I often felt like Moonlight was a drag. This feeling was especially bad during the second half of the series. Whereas Heart started off poorly and ended spectacularly, Moonlight is the opposite. Moonlight began with much promise — it looked like it could be a very touching and heart-warming drama about family and relationships. The premises were interesting and it “hooked” faster than Heart. In fact, the pace of Moonlight appeared to be much better than Heart and this was a good thing since Heart spent too much time setting up in its first half. While Heart started slow and paid off in the end with the brilliant drama of the second half that really tugged at my heart, Moonlight never reaches such a state. The initial joy and excitement I felt watching the series faded by the episode. The storyline became more and more ridiculous. It wasn’t until the last few episodes that the series “regained” some momentum, but even then, it wasn’t that great.

The following are some flaws that I spotted while watching the series that dumbfounded me and really made me question how absurd the series was.

I lost count of how many times Jo Bao “promised” never to see Hor Ma again. He would promise Hung that he won’t go to her place again and see her and then in the next scene he would be over at Hor Ma’s place as if nothing ever happened. I was completely flabbergasted when he agreed to go on a trip around the world with Hung. One minute he was making fun of her with his kids and the next minute he was trying to “save” their relationship. What the heck?!

At the beginning of the series, Ah Yuet (Tavia Yeung) hated the name “lor lui” (naked girl; meaning that she’s “adopted”). This name led to many fights with Auntie Sa and even caused Ah Yuet to run away from home. Hor Ma made Auntie Sa promise to never call Ah Yuet this name again. Ah Yuet was then welcomed back home with the promise that Auntie Sa won’t call her “lor lui” again. In the very next scene, Auntie Sa goes about calling Ah Yuet “lor lui” again. Not only that, but this name sticks with her for the rest of the series and she appears to not mind at all. It was as if Ah Yuet forgot how much she hated the name and embraced it — absolutely ridiculous.

Ah Ka (Moses Chan) was seen as someone aloof in the beginning of the series. He looked like an irresponsible big brother who did not care about his family or his siblings. All he cared about was stocks. Then in a “twist” (revealed at a dramatic moment near the end of an episode of course), it was revealed that he had been watching everything and knew what was up with his brothers and family. After this moment, he became a “family man”. What the heck? Ah Ka’s characterization was very inconsistent. I actually did not like Ah Ka at first and dreaded his scenes because they were so over-the-top and tried too hard to be “funny”. Moses’ acting was exaggerated and made me really miss Dak Dak Dei. Thankfully, Ah Ka becomes much more likable and toned down in the later part of the series.

Perhaps Ah Ka takes after Hor Ma. I thought it was so incredulous how Hor Ma revealed that she knew of Hung’s evil plots (spoiling Chung jai (Vincent Wan) to be exact). If she knew, why didn’t she do something back then to stop it? Why wait until so many years later? What purpose would it serve to say something after the fact? Oh, right… because that would take away intense, heated confrontations for Hor Ma to chant her “golden words” — those magical phrases that the Moonlight writers are so proud of and preach so generously in every episode.

Ah Yuen (Lai Lok Yi) is the worst character [with a "purpose"] in the series. He often “disappeared” and had the least screentime out of all 7 children. Even Ah Chau (Linda Chung) appeared with Hor Ma’s family more than he did. When it was revealed that Hung had tricked him into loving her as a “mom”, I thought this would be the first step towards the reparation of Ah Yuen and Hor Ma’s relationship. In fact, there was a “big” and “touching” scene in the end of the episode with Ah Yuen apologizing and Hor Ma’s 6 children huddling around her. What do you know? The next time Ah Yuen appears (whenever that is), he addresses Hung as “mom” once more and acts as if nothing happened. He remains distant towards Hor Ma. I have to admit that I was kind of glad that I didn’t have to see Lai Lok Yi too much because his acting remains terrible and he ruins the character, but I do think it hurts the storyline with how inconsistent, badly written, and undeveloped Ah Yuen was.

Louis Yuen’s character was stupid and useless. For someone who won Best Supporting Actor at the 2007 TVB Anniversary, you would think TVB would give him a better role. Louis’ character was basically crap and added nothing but annoyance to the series. He and Susanna had no chemistry. I won’t even talk about their so-called “relationship”.

Another so-called “relationship” was the one between Ah Yuen and Ka Mei (Kate Tsui). Putting the “no chemistry” factor aside, this “relationship” is the worst of all. There was no love and no development (they had but a few scenes together before getting married). Ka Mei pursued Ah Yuen simply because of money. Not once did I feel she loved him. Then, in the very end, the betrayals and deceits by Ka Mei were all forgotten and they became a “loving” couple “again” after Ka Mei turned “good”. It was as if Ah Yuen and Ka Mei’s coupling was simply so they could be a couple for the “happy” ending.

Ka Mei is another character I have to pick a bone with. Her turn to “good” was not surprising (I predicted it) and felt contrived for the sake of moving the plot forward. Ka Mei was used by the writers to “spice” the series and to create more drama and trouble. I did not think much of the character and Kate didn’t do anything to intrigue me.

The most nonsensical turn to “good” was that of the big bad villain Hung. Wong Sau Kam’s (Susanna’s role in Heart) repent at the end of Heart was actually logical (she realized the people who had been “supporting” her were only there for money). In the case of Hung, who is much more evil than Kam, I cannot accept it. While it was refreshing to see Michelle without that horrendous wig on, the “twist” to good is simply nonsense. Not once did she apologize for her wrongs. It can be argued that Jo Bao’s urging her to “let go” and her long days in jail made her “repent”, but I don’t accept it. I thought it was atrocious writing by the writers just so that Moonlight could have a “happy” ending.

Some people complained that there wasn’t enough “family scenes” in Heart. Well, TVB scoops out family scenes like there’s no tomorrow with Moonlight. Even I, who loves family scenes, felt it was too much. Furthermore, the family scenes were not touching or endearing to me. They felt fake, repetitive, and unnecessary. What was with all of the stupid games? What’s up with all of the whistling? What was with all of the singing and dancing? It was all very silly.

Towards the end of the series, I started to feel like it was a joke. The characters were all making fun of themselves like it was a satire or something. While I do agree that being able to poke humor means that things are “okay” and that you’re truly over something, I thought it was just too much — too unbelievable.

My biggest complaint of all is that the relationships in Moonlight were terrible (like I mentioned briefly above). They all felt empty, unreal, and unmoving.

TVB promised a custom-made love story for Raymond Lam and Linda after their successful pairing in Heart. They promised a “painful” and moving love triangle for Raymond, Linda, and Bosco Wong. They lied — and I feel so cheated.

Raymond and Linda’s chemistry improved in Moonlight compared to Heart. While they were good in Heart, they are much more natural and comfortable together in Moonlight. Their chemistry went up a notch. I loved watching them together. I thought they were very cute and believable as a couple. Their kissing scenes were much, much better than Heart’s. There wasn’t any of the relationship drama of Alfred and Seung Joi Sum for Ah Ho and Ah Chau. Perhaps that explains why this relationship was rather ineffective. First of all, they got together way too late (episode 36!) and shared too little scenes as a couple. Most of their scenes were very repetitive (it was a cycle of Ah Ho picking up Ah Chau from work, eating a late dinner, Ah Ho cheering Ah Chau up, and so on in every episode).

Furthermore, their relationship felt very shallow and one-sided. Ah Ho was always seen doing things for Ah Chau, but it was never the other way around. I cringed when Ah Chau kept calling him because she couldn’t sleep. How insensitive and absurd! The journal/diary entries of The Days Without Seung Joi Sum and The Days Without Ching Leung were often touching and well-written, but the “medical reports” that Ah Chau typed and sent to Ah Ho telling him how she was dealing with her heartbreak were torturous. They felt long-winded, excessive, and unnecessary — not to mention repetitive.

Instead of developing Ah Ho and Ah Chau’s relationship (for example addressing their dissimilarities, family conflicts, and so on), TVB had to drag their relationship out by introducing Ling Chi Shun (Bosco).

I have to admit that I enjoyed watching Bosco and Linda initially. Their chemistry was surprising and a breath of fresh air. I look forward to their “real” pairing in The Gem of Life where they will hopefully have a “true” story. I thought Chi Shun and Ah Chau were cute at first although their scenes were slightly too saccharine and mushy (but that, again I blame bad writing).

The initial fondness faded after it was revealed that Chi Shun already had a girlfriend. I became bothered when they carried on a relationship despite the existence of Wing Lam (Claire Yiu). Gradually, episode by episode, I hated and became annoyed with this “relationship”. Any respect I had left for Chi Shun disappeared when he kept lying to Ah Chau and making it difficult for her. He is no Alfred by any means. He’s fickle and a cheater and liar. Bosco’s acting was also uninspiring. Where is the acting potential that I know Bosco has?

It was so cheap how the writers made Wing Lam have cancer (thus breaking up Chi Shun and Ah Chau) and then conveniently killing her off so that Chi Shun could come back the moment Ah Ho and Ah Chau are together. It was just a whole dragging, clichéd mess that was unpleasant.

Yu So Chau — your birth name is Sum and Ah Ho likes to call you by your full name, but don’t you dare compare yourself to Seung Joi Sum! Yes, you and Seung Joi Sum both cry a lot, but Seung Joi Sum cries because of things that are relatable and understandable whereas your tears drop like no tomorrow over every little thing. Ah Chau is a truly weak and flat character who has no personality. Seung Joi Sum, although she shed tears, had inner strength and worked hard for her family and friends. She stumbled in her relationship with Alfred, but she was decisive and had clear morals, dignity, and strength. This made the character admirable and likable. Ah Chau is spoiled; not once in the series (save the end) did she do anything besides cry.

The most ridiculous thing is that her love for Chi Shun shouldn’t be that deep. The only reason she decided to stop loving Ah Ho was because she thought he only saw her as a “little sister” and she didn’t want to complicate matters [for them]. This is why she went to Chi Shun — he had no strings attached [or so she thought] and could love her “freely”.

Ah Chau could have been a good character, if only the writers had done their job. Being a “third party” already makes a character unlikable and Ah Chau certainly didn’t win any sympathy when she willingly agreed to be “the other woman”. The point of this “plot development” was so that Ah Chau would be in the same shoes as her mom, but because Ah Chau could not gain the audience’s sympathy (on what grounds would she deserve any?), the character was hated. I didn’t like how she was so aloof with the family affairs. All she did was “work” and cry over relationship problems. She was often disconnected from the other characters. She didn’t appear often and when she did, her scenes added little to the series.

When Linda was saying how she had to cry every day she went to work to film Moonlight, I thought she was exaggerating. It turns out that she wasn’t. I feel sorry for her because crying is not easy, especially when 90% of her scenes had Ah Chau in tears. She said she cried so much that she had headaches. Crying is definitely Linda’s forte as I think she can cry beautifully, but for some reason, most of her crying scenes in Moonlight weren’t so “beautiful”. It felt repetitive, ineffective, and a little over-the-top. I guess this is what happens when all of your scenes are the same.

I don’t think Linda’s performance was bad — not the least bit. It’s simply that her character was horribly written and not developed at all. The role did not offer her much to do despite having the most screentime for a female character behind the veterans. She did the best she could and acted out her character as was written. I thought she was convincing as the “third party” (the fear in her eyes when Wing Lam appeared at the hospital looking for her was realistic) and I thought she did very well in episode 40 when she betrayed and confronted her mom (this scene scored Moonlight its peak rating of 50 pts). Her crying in Moonlight showed improvement, but because her crying scenes were excessive and “empty” [the script's fault], they do not move — which is a true pity as Linda cried her heart out.

I am very disappointed in Yu So Chau and rank it as Linda’s worst character. If it wasn’t because Linda acted as Ah Chau, I would not enjoy the character’s scenes at all. I managed to “like” (and I use that word loosely) Ah Chau simply because of Linda. If it had been someone else, I would have cared less about the character since it was so bad.

I’m against the center part, so I wasn’t pleased initially with Linda’s look for the series. While I still think it takes away from her looks, as the series progressed, I thought she looked decent and I think her hairstyle (especially when it was tied fancily in the back) was quite pretty. I liked how Linda designed her hairstyle with a center part because it matches her character’s ambiguity in terms of which side she was on (in the center). At the very end, she changed her hairstyle to have no bangs. This represents that she’s no longer in the middle of any side.

Ah Ho suffers the same fate as Ah Chau in being flat and rather “boring”. There aren’t any layers to this character and he is just too good to be true. He is far too selfless and giving. He’s a nice guy and I do like him, but there just wasn’t much to him. Raymond’s performance was great and he definitely transformed into the character. At times he was slightly over-acting and somewhat fake, but he did a nice job. I really hope Ray doesn’t win Best Actor for this particular role and performance because he is capable of much more.

Much like Ka Mei & Ah Yuen, Auntie Sa & Yan Chi, I’m sorry but I did not feel for Ah Ka & Ah Yuet either. I don’t even know when their “relationship” started. I thought Ah Ka only saw Ah Yuet as his little sister. I don’t even know when Ah Yuet fell for Ah Ka. Spending a lot of time together does not constitute a relationship, TVB. They were somewhat cute at times (especially at the end) and were a better couple than the other ridiculous pairings Moonlight churned out, but that doesn’t mean much.

Ah Hing (Fala Chen) is a very cute and lovable character. Although flat and mostly uninteresting besides her being mute, I enjoyed watching her because Fala’s performance was fresh and natural. Her romance with Dexter Yeung could have been a touching love story, but it was so rushed and undeveloped that I wasn’t touched at all. Furthermore, Dexter and Fala is the worst pair in recent TVB history. They have no chemistry and don’t look compatible at all. In this aspect, I was much relieved I didn’t have to sit through too many scenes of them together.

Dexter’s mother may be Connie Chan, but he cannot act. Another actor I didn’t like was Vincent. It is his first series so I have to cut him some slack, but this doesn’t change the fact that he gave the worst performance in the series. He was fake, expressionless, and wooden. I’m really glad Chung jai had no story of his own (save that one episode that focused on him) because I definitely could not bear watching him.

Despite all of the criticism I have towards Moonlight, I do not hate this series. I certainly don’t love it and I don’t “like” it, but I have to say that I enjoyed it. It was often entertaining to watch and I was interested in watching more. Sole credit for this goes to the amazing cast which I love. This cast has so much chemistry together and I really love watching everyone.

The veterans really outshone all of the younger generation actors. I can’t praise them enough. Their scenes were most interesting and exquisitely acted.

Welcome back, Lee Heung Kam! I am so glad Helena Law rejected this role because Lee Heung Kam fits it perfectly. At first I was very annoyed with how barbaric and unreasonable the Grandma was and Lee Heung Kam’s scratchy voice was hard to hear and her acting was over-the-top, but I grew to love this character as the series went on. She is so adorable! I love how she takes pride of her “meanness”. Her arguments with Auntie Sa were hilarious (You go Grandma!). Her love for her family was endearing. I really warmed up to the character. Lee Heung Kam’s performance was magnificent. I’m really happy TVB has regained this veteran.

Susanna is a very natural and brilliant actress. Her lines were very long and difficult, but she nailed them all with ease. Auntie Sa is a very “loud” character and a troublemaker. She can be very annoying and tedious to watch, but Susanna’s performance makes her so “cute”. She provided a lot of laughs and I really enjoyed watching her, especially after she turned good. In fact, Auntie Sa’s surprising character growth saved the series in the middle when it felt like it was going down the drain.

I hated Jo Bao at first. What a heartless man who abandoned his wife and children! Eventually, I really warmed up to him and saw his good qualities. He is not a bad man or a bad father. He loves his kids. I really like how he repented and wanted to make up for his mistakes. He realized how terribly wrong and misled he was and wanted to make amends. Ha Yu’s acting was stellar. I definitely think he deserves a Best Actor award.

Louise’s performance wasn’t captivating like in Heart. It was “new” to see Louise tell “lousy gags”, but this becomes slightly tedious and feels like unnecessary time fillers after the first few “gags”. Although I don’t dispute her fine acting, I wasn’t impressed with her in this series as the role is too familiar of a territory for Louise.

Michelle’s performance was phenomenal. Although she also acted as a villain in The Brink of Law, her two performances were noticeably different. Her horrendous wig took away from her youthful beauty, but Michelle still shined. Her scenes were interesting and she was a smart villain.

I really, really love the musical selection of Moonlight, especially the themesong by Susanna and subsong by Raymond. “Unintentionally Hurt You” is an excellent song (I love the climax in the middle) that is full of emotions. It’s too bad the series could not live up to the heightened emotions and “power” of the themesong. Initially I wasn’t impressed with “Love With No Regrets” because I thought it sounded too much like Tai Chi’s subsong and was somewhat boring, but after hearing it played throughout the series, I grew to like it a lot.

Final thoughts
Moonlight Resonance is an overrated series that tries way too hard. The writers tried too hard to churn out “golden words”, “powerful” scenes, and climaxes in every episode. It often feels staged, pretentious, insincere, and unconvincing. It also has an element of feeling dragged out. In the course of shooting for high ratings, Moonlight loses the critical piece that makes an audience root for the characters and be indulged in the storyline — which is heart.

Despite all of the tears and supposedly “heartwarming” and “touching” moments, I was not moved one bit. I did not drop a single tear nor did I feel any sensations in my heart watching this series. Bad and ineffective writing comprises the fractured Moonlight script that is full of flaws and plot holes.

It may have gotten higher ratings than Heart and some people may think it’s “better” than Heart, but in my heart, Moonlight has no position. I think it is inferior to Heart. Despite being over a year since I last watched Heart, certain scenes still stick out to me. Furthermore, I still remember the characters that I rooted for and loved back then. It’s only been a few weeks since I finished Moonlight, but the series feels fuzzy already. To me Heart is superior because it has a tighter, stronger, and much more effective script with good writing in relationships and characterizations.

Nevertheless, Moonlight is far from a bad series. It is actually quite entertaining. It’s somewhat illogical, fluffy, and forgettable, but the extraordinary cast (especially the veterans) save the series from ever being unbearable. It is worth watching only because of the cast and for superficial reasons. This series won’t be forgotten because of the high ratings and hype and I will only remember it because of its cast and “image”. It is a “classic” only in name because of its massive success and hype. The repeated dialogues consisting of the phrase “ka ho yuet yuen hing chung chau” has sadly been engraved into my long-term memory. Beyond that, the bad plot with its flat characters and lack of development has already begun to fade from my mind.

Rating:

New banner

How can I be back without a new look?

Although I really liked the banner I used for the past two months with its dreamy look, it was time for a new look. If you read the explanation behind this new banner, you will know why I love this particular banner so much. It may not be my best work nor is it that great of a banner, but its meaning makes it stand out.

No more Heart of Greed

When it was revealed that Moonlight Resonance’s ratings peaked at 50 pts in the finale, I thought for sure that TVB would milk their latest cash cow some more and produce a third installment in the Heart of Greed franchise for 2009. However, TVB’s general manager Stephan Chan declared that there would be no more “installments” to Heart. It will just be the original Heart and its even higher-rated “sister series” Moonlight.

I was shocked to hear the news. The TVB that we have all come to know loves to monopolize on a successful formula. They love milking their cash cow(s) for all that they’re worth. I thought that there would be a new Heart installment as long as each successive series continued to do “well”. How could it be that they willingly said “no” to more?

I have to commend TVB for coming to this decision. Although I love the Heart cast, I think a third series would be “over-kill” and ruin the Heart franchise. The cast suffered a lot for Moonlight and I am glad that their hard work paid off and that the series did what Heart could not do — steal the #1 spot of being the TVB series with the highest ratings peak ever.

Would I have watched another installment of Heart? Yes.

Do I want another installment? No.

Moonlight did what most sequels can never do and that is to surpass its predecessor. Although it’s an “original” series, it borrowed a great deal from the original Heart. If there was a third series, it would feel even more repetitive. There’s only so much family drama that can be created. There’s only so many pairings that can be formed. Even if the third series had a different setting (be it a costume drama or a period drama), even if everyone had “new” roles and relationships, it would not be fresh.

I love family-oriented series, but I would much rather TVB produce entirely new series without the Heart brand attached. Therefore, I have to say that I am happy that there won’t be another Heart. The cast and crew cannot handle any more pressure or stress and I believe the audience wouldn’t be as receptive. It is a wise decision for everyone. Kudos, TVB.

What do you guys think about TVB’s decision to not produce any more Heart?

Lots of thoughts coming up
It’s been two months since I last posted any “real” thoughts on series and even longer since I wrote a review. I’ve watched a lot of series in the past few months. Normally I would write full-length reviews, but there’s just too many series and it’s been too long. I’ll just briefly comment on everything that I’ve watched lately. What series are they?

ATV’s 105-episode The Good Old Days & I Have a Date with Spring; Taiwan’s Princess Returning Pearl I (Huan Zhu Ge Ge); TVB’s Journey to the West I & On The Track or Off… and maybe a small comment on TVB’s 1993 The Edge of Righteousness (which I dropped).

On what I’m currently watching
It’s been 15 months since I started watching A Kindred Spirit. After 705 episodes, I’ve gone through a lot watching the series. It’s a constant wave of up and down, love and indifference. I’ve said this about the series months ago — when the series is great, it is excellent but when it sucks, it is ridiculous and almost unbearable. It remains true. Through it all, I’ve never regretted watching the series. The cast is great and I really love the family drama, relationships, and storylines.

Kindred is the series I enjoy watching the most these days. It’s been mostly great (the quality is comparable to the first 300 episodes that I love… perhaps even better) in the past 150-200 episodes or so. I love all of the characters now and all of the storylines are very well-written lately. The series is focused and just really enjoyable. I’m actually a little sad to think that I only have a little over 400 episodes left before I finish the series. I can’t wait to start blogging about my opinions on episodes 652-705. I have so much to say! I’m dying to watch more, but I cannot until I blog on those episodes.

I’m currently on episode 36 of Moonlight Resonance. I hope to finish the series by the weekend. I will not comment anything on the series until after I finish it. I want to make sure that what I say reflects my true opinion of the series. There are times in which I love it. There are times in which I’m not so crazy about it. Let’s just say that I “enjoy” watching it because of the Heart cast. I won’t comment on the script or anything like that until next week.

I’m struggling to watch The Demi-Gods & Semi-Devils 1996. I can’t seem to get into it. I’m only on episode 14 (out of 45) and it feels like I’m never going to finish. The series has always been rather “confusing” for me to watch because sometimes I just don’t know what’s going on. I have no idea what the series is about. The relationships, characters, motives, and so on are hard for me to grasp. Unlike Legend of Condor Heroes 1994 and Return of Condor Heroes 1995 (both of which I loved), for me Demi-Gods isn’t as easy to understand and get into. I will definitely finish the series because it’s rather interesting and I do believe it is a worthwhile series as many people have praised it. I would appreciate it a lot if someone could tell me what the series is about.

Last but certainly not least, I finally started watching the series I waited for since 2006 — Legend of the Demigods. I have to confess that I was “turned off” by the series when I saw the themevideo. The computer graphics were excessive and badly done. The series didn’t look that “great” anymore. Luckily, the series turned out to be quite pleasant to watch. In fact, it is very enjoyable. It is a cute series. I’m only on episode 5, but I’ll definitely be watching more soon. I can’t wait!

Moonlight Resonance Themevideo
View SCREENSHOTS

In the latest set of promotional pictures released, the ending to Moonlight Resonance seems to be given away.

Moonlight is a warmer, “happier” version of 2007’s Heart of Greed. Although Moonlight has its share of dramatic moments (perhaps even more than Heart?), the series will have a better ending for everyone. Because the series is made to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival, which is a time for unity and happiness, it would be highly inappropriate if Moonlight had a sad ending. As Mid-Autumn approaches, in the series, Hor Ma (Lee See Kei) will be placing her stormy and shattered family back together.

The picture below appears to be from the ending of the series.

‘Moonlight Resonance’ is finally a happy family celebrating Mid-Autumn

Judging from the appearance of the cast, the ending takes place a few years into the future. Pretty much everyone has a mature and “changed” look compared to the rest of the series. Also, all of the children (besides Chung jai (Vincent Wan)) are paired up. From left to right, we see Ah Hing (Fala Chen) & Cheng Ga Lok (Dexter Yeung), Gam Wing Yuen (Lai Lok Yi) & Lo Ka Mei (Kate Tsui), Ah Yuet (Tavia Yeung) & Ah Ga (Moses Chan), main parents Hor Ma & Joe Bau (Ha Yu), Auntie Sa (Susanna Kwan) & Yuen Yan Chi (Louis Yuen), and finally childhood lovers Ah Ho (Raymond Lam) & Ah Chau (Linda Chung). The entire family is together at long last.

Lee See Kei says that the villains this time around get their “just desserts”, unlike in the last series. The troublemaking, greedy, vain, manipulative, and conniving mother and daughter pair Auntie Sa and Lo Ka Mei are no doubt “villains” (or “semi-villains”), but their heart is not “evil”. Therefore, they will wake up before the end of the series and turn good, getting a happy ending. However, the true big bad villain Yan Hung (Michelle Yim) will get what’s coming to her… whatever that is.

After all of the suffering, the good people will get rewards and the bad people will get punished. Moonlight is a family drama about morals, love, relationships, and life’s stormy days and ups and downs.

I’m glad the ending is a happy one with everyone on-screen together!

2008 TVB Series Moonlight Resonance – 98 HQ Pictures

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English Title: Moonlight Resonance
Chinese Title: 溏心風暴之家好月圓
Cantonese Title: Tong Sum Fung Bo Chi Ga Ho Yuet Yuen
Vietnamese Title: Trăng Rằm Dậy Sóng
Casts: Lee See Kei, Ha Yu, Michelle Yim, Susanna Kwan,
Moses Chan, Raymond Lam, Linda Chung, Tavia Yeung, etc.
Length: 40 episodes (Cantonese) // 30 tapes (Vietnamese)
Release Date: July 2008 (Canto) // September 2008 (Viet)
Genre: Modern Drama/Grand Production/Family

Synopsis:
Generations come and go,
but the “love” remains forever

Chung Siu Hor (Lee See Kei) and her husband Gam Tai Jo (Ha Yu) have been working hard for many years to establish a famous reputation for their Moonlight Cake Shop. However, Hor discovers that Jo committed adultery with her best friend Yan Hung (Michelle Yim Mai Suet) and she breaks up with him miserably. Hor brings along her children Gam Wing Ho (Raymond Lam Fung), Gam Wing Hing (Fala Chen Faat Lai), and her adopted daughter Suen Ho Yuet (Tavia Yeung Yi) and sets up another cake shop for a living.

Hung moves in to live with Jo and she starts playing tricks in the family. She tries pleasing her mother-in-law Sheh Kwan Lai (Lee Heung Kam) in every way while disuniting her stepsons and Jo. Outside the family, Hung starts expanding their business rapidly. Hor’s younger sister Chung Siu Sa (Susanna Kwan Kuk Ying) is displeased. Sa decides to fight for the ownership of their cake shop’s brand name in court with Hung. Their relationship with Hung further deteriorates.

Apart from the cake shop business, Hor also spends a lot of efforts on her children. Her oldest son Gam Wing Ga (Moses Chan Ho) is not interested in managing the cake shop at all and he indulges himself on stock trading. He also develops an entangling relationship with his cousin Lo Ga Mei (Kate Tsui Tsz Shan) and Yuet at the same time. On the other hand, Hor’s younger son Wing Ho takes up the role of a father in the family and he works hard all of the time to earn a living. Wing Ho loves his childhood friend Chau (Linda Chung Ka Yan) whole-heartedly, but Chau is in love with the doctor Ling Chi Shun (Bosco Wong Chung Chak).

Hor works hard unconditionally to strive for the well being of her family members. Hung, on the other hand, is a very mean person who values her own benefits only. Jo is caught between the two women all of the time and he feels helpless. One day, a disaster happens at the cake shop. Here comes a time when human nature, family bonds, and love are brought to a trail…

Credits: Astro On Demand

My thoughts: Moonlight Resonance is pretty much everyone’s most anticipated release of 2008. The top-notch cast and production value cannot be beat. Furthermore, it can ride on the fame that Heart of Greed earned last year. Most sequels are disappointing and can never compare because there’s just too much hype and anticipation, but I believe Moonlight will be different. I have strong faith in the cast and crew. The trailers are enticing and the storyline sounds interesting.

Like Heart, it is a balance between family and love drama (this time more spread out). There should be a little something for everyone to watch.

If series could talk, I bet Moonlight would be the most stressed-out series ever. It has so much riding on it on top of audience anticipation. Furthermore, TVB rushed the production so much. I feel bad for the cast and crew since everyone had to work around-the-clock to ensure a promised summer release date. I really hope Moonlight does well. Everyone worked so hard on it!

In preliminary comparisons, I prefer Heart’s poster and songs more. “Speechless” was such a powerful song. “Unintentionally Hurt You” (Moonlight’s themesong) is good, but doesn’t leave a lasting impact like Heart’s themesong did. Moonlight’s poster would be so much better if TVB didn’t photoshop a fake purple sunset sky. Personally, I hate the color purple, so I’m already not pleased about TVB’s color choice for Heart. I think the Moonlight poster would be so much classier looking if it was a pitch black sky that illuminates the moon. The black background would also give the series a more “mysterious” and dramatic feel. Beyond that, I don’t much fancy the facial expressions of some of the cast members. It’s doesn’t look too flattering.

I can’t wait to start watching Moonlight! I hope it illuminates the dull TVB world as of late. I’m really looking forward to seeing the cast and watching the series.

Themevideo

Please credit “MetalAZNWarrior” and this site (TVB Musings) with a link if you use the following translations at any other site. Thank you!

Ha Yu – Gam Tai Jo

Characteristics: He is easy-going, indecisive, and has his own opinions. He often receives troubles instigated by others. By nature he is filial; he has upmost respect for his mother Lai (Lee Heung Kam). With his wife Hung (Michelle Yim), he is also obedient. His life is controlled by these two women; he doesn’t dare to rebel. With his former wife Hor (Lee See Kei), he forgets their love and is ungrateful. To outsiders, he is someone who is thick-skinned and shameless, a declining “man” who has abandoned his wife and children. In truth, he feels sorry for Hor and doesn’t know where to begin to compensate for her woes. He cares a great deal for his sons and daughters, but doesn’t know how to raise them. He will only put on the appearance of a father.

Lee See Kei – Chung Siu Hor

Characteristics: Her manner is to endure hardships. She deeply loves her family and is affectionate and righteous. After divorcing from Jo (Ha Yu), as a single mother, she had to raise three children and also fill in the role of a “father”. She single-handedly opens up “Ga Ho Yuet Yuen Classic Bakery”, managing everything well and supporting her family. She whole-heartedly wants to maintain a neat and harmonious family. Hor can be seen as a strong and resolute model female.

Michelle Yim – Yan Hung

Characteristics: On the outside she seems gentle and beautiful; in fact, she is a venomous beautiful woman. Her methods are cruel and biting. In the business world she is an out-and-out capable woman. She’s good at concealing her evil thoughts. On the surface she is a good wife and loving mother, but her personality is sinister. Everything is inside of her calculating hands. She’s good at winning people with her deception. Her manner is ungrateful and selfish. For her own benefits she will repay good with evil. She always hates Jo’s (Ha Yu) former wife Hor (Lee See Kei) the most, hating her to the bones.

Susanna Kwan – Chung Siu Sa

Characteristics: Her personality is straight-forward, liking to gossip; she is the classic “evil character”. Her heart is wicked. She especially likes to expose people’s scars. She hates the filthy rich and dislikes the impoverished. Her manner is calculating. She forgets righteousness at the sight of benefits. For the sake of her own benefits, she can betray the most intimate relative beside her. She was born selfish and all of her troubles are caused by her own selfishness. Thick-skinned and shameless, she’s accustomed to displacing her wrongs on others.

Louis Yuen – Yuen Yan Chi

Characteristics: He idles about, eating well and being lazy. He loves to gamble, is greedy for money, greedy for small gains, and greedy to accept undeserved credit. However, he has a sweet tongue and speaks exquisitely and is able to make people happy. He does not have a proper career and fantasizes all day long about being rich.

Moses Chan – Gam Wing Ga

Characteristics: On the surface he is frivolous, boastful, eloquent, business-oriented, always fixated on the stock market, has the countenance of a stock broker, and is careless towards family affairs. In truth, his character is cold on the outside, hot on the inside. He cares deeply about love and has clear distinction between love and hate. He’s full of pride and doesn’t want to depend on Jo (Ha Yu) and Hung’s (Michelle Yim) help. He wants to be self-reliant. His life is heavy on love, but he loves blindly, so he was used by Mei (Kate Tsui). Luckily, in the end he can leave this relationship.

Raymond Lam – Gam Wing Ho

Characteristics: Naturally bright, he is smart and clever. He is deeply loved by Jo (Ha Yu), Hor (Lee See Kei), Lai (Lee Heung Kam), and so on. After Jo and Hor divorced, he became the family’s “Manager Boy”. He dares to undertake burdens and is hot on the outside and inside. He understands that he is the only male in the family and has the responsibility to maintain the family’s integrity.

Tavia Yeung – Suen Ho Yuet

Characteristics: On the outside she is strong, but her heart is actually quite frail; she is a girl who is hard on the outside and soft inside. Hor (Lee See Kei) isn’t Yuet’s birth mother, but the mother who nurtured is bigger than the biological mother. Therefore Yuet is especially grateful to Hor for taking care of her. However, in Yuet’s heart, she cannot bury her “Not a Gam family member” inferior thinking. That is why Yuet whole-heartedly looks for someone who can bring her happiness. She wants to build a true two people world with her boyfriend.

Lai Lok Yi – Gam Wing Yuen

Characteristics: He is competitive, egotistic, and was spoiled since he was little. He is the family’s most educated person. In his family member’s eyes, he is a capable youth. He is dedicated to work. Hung (Michelle Yim) has great aspirations towards him. He helps Hung handle business affairs and is her primary assistant. He is preparing to take over the “Ga Ho Yuet Yuen Bakery” business in the future. He hopes to have big achievements.

Fala Chen – Gam Wing Hing

Characteristics: Kind-hearted, glad to help people, and treats people truthfully. Because she has to use sign language to speak, it’s inconvenient for her to communicate with others. Therefore, she’s introverted and feels inferior. Because she has this disability, Hing is the subject of her family’s loving affections, growing up in a very warm house.

Vincent Wan – Gam Wing Chung

Characteristics: He was spoiled since he was little. He is representative of today’s youth; he has a life goal. He’s afraid of getting into trouble. He’s often unhappy and constantly lives life under Yuen’s (Lai Lok Yi) shadow. He fears being compared with him and this causes him great stress. He’s desolate towards family affairs and his love for his family is weak.

Linda Chung – Yu So Chau

Characteristics: Kind-hearted and treats people genuinely. Since she was young, her feelings with Ho (Raymond Lam) have been good. However, her mother Hung (Michelle) enters into Jo (Ha Yu) and Hor’s (Lee See Kei) marriage, causing them to divorce. Consequently, she was forced to part with Ho. Nevertheless, the two still hold very important positions in each other’s hearts.

Kate Tsui – Lo Ka Mei

Characteristics: She appears gentle, honest, and innocent. Her true character is sinister. She has a scheming heart and is skilled at calculating everything she does and everyone she loves. Every step she takes has passed through careful consideration and planning. In order to meet her goals, she will resort to any measure. She is someone who can even be surpass Hung (Michelle Yim) as a manipulative and conniving woman.

Bosco Wong – Ling Chi Shun

Characteristics: Filled with vitality, has great working manner, and doesn’t adhere to small matters. He is heavy on feelings and righteousness. In love he is single-minded. He is happy to help people. In the hospital he is a model doctor loved by patients and welcomed by colleagues.

Wayne Lai – Nin Tsz Yung

Characteristics: On the surface he is someone who doesn’t have a mind of his own. He is snobby. For money he can be ungrateful. He even ignores the boss/worker feelings he built with Hor (Lee See Kei) for many years and changes his “nest”, going to help Jo (Ha Yu). However, it turns out that the reason Yung does all of this is to provide for his younger sister, who is studying abroad in Britain.

Lee Heung Kam – Sheh Kwan Lai

Characteristics: As the Gam family’s oldest elder, she is subject to respect. She often takes advantage of her seniority. Jo (Ha Yu) doesn’t dare to disobey Lai’s wishes. She doesn’t pay attention to right and wrong, black and white. She holds strong resentments and is petty. She bears a grudge against Hor (Lee See Kei). Towards her grandchildren, she has a gentle side.

2008 TVB Series Moonlight Resonance – 251 Pictures

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Finally…
2 years after it was done filming and after many “false alarm” release news, the 22-episode (now 44 episodes for Hong Kong) mythical fantasy costume drama Legend of the Demigods is at last going to be released officially in August 2008. This time it’s for real and 100% confirmed. Honestly speaking, I was scared that TVB might never release it and it would become the first “never released” series since TVB kept on releasing newer series filmed later than Legend.

Beginning August 25, 2008 TVB will air Legend in the the 8:00-8:30 PM time slot (the time slot for TVB’s weeknight sitcom). Thus, each episode will only be 21-22 minutes (half the length of a typical TVB episode) and thus in Hong Kong, the series will total at 44 episodes. I am not sure whether TVB will release the overseas version as 22 episodes or 44 episodes. I have a feeling that TVB may release it as 44 overseas as well simply to save them from doing multiple editing and ending credits.

I’m so happy! I’ve been waiting for this series for 2 years now for reasons stated here and here. I have a lot of faith it will be a good and entertaining series.

I’m not hoping it will be a “hit” like past mythical series such as Journey to the West or Gods of Honour. I just want it to be a good series since it’s been way too long since TVB has done this genre. I’m very excited to see Linda’s performance. It won’t be as great as her acting is now ala A Journey Called Life, but it should be decent.

27 days until the Moonlight
It is always a possibility that Moonlight Resonance will disappoint. It is always a possibility that it will not live up to Heart of Greed in terms of popularity and success. However, I have faith in this production. I believe in the cast, the writer, and the producer. This series is by far the most attractive grand production TVB has done since The Gem of Life. The cast cannot be beat and it has the makings to be a classic.

It will be a few weeks before we see the finalized official poster, but thanks to Vincent Wan’s blog (he acts as the youngest brother Gam Wing Chung in Moonlight) we have a glimpse at what to expect. I really like how it is reminiscent of the Heart poster (which was very well-done). It looks so grand. Check out his blog for more exclusive, never-before-seen behind-the-scenes pictures.

Susanna Kwan is singing the themesong and for now, only Raymond Lam is confirmed to be singing a subsong, but there is a rumor that Moonlight will have four subsongs. One sung by Raymond, Linda Chung, Moses Chan, and a duet by Ha Yu & Lee See Kei. I really, really hope the rumor is true. More subsongs are always better!

A new road, a new chapter
In 2007, Linda announced her interest and plans to break into the music industry. This year, she is realizing this dream. Linda wants to be a multi-talented artist. She has already found success in TVB and movies and established herself as a credible actress. Her next step is the music industry. Linda has a musical background; her music teacher is ex-Hong Kong pop diva Lau Fung Ping.

Linda’s CD will hit stores on August 20, 2008 [my birthday!]. There will be 10 songs.

Linda has already recorded 3 songs and she says that she’ll plug a new song at her official blog some time next week. She’s hard at work recording for her album and in the past few weeks in-between filming Moonlight, she was undergoing vocal training to strengthen her voice.

The next two months should be a very exciting time for Linda as Moonlight releases (followed by Legend) and she breaks into the music industry. I can’t wait! I should have plenty to update on and lots to be excited and happy about. Linda probably won’t be filming any new TVB series for a while since she wants to focus on her music career. However, Linda has stated that TVB will remain her #1 priority — she’s not going anywhere. The poor girl has been filming non-stop since 2004, so it’s a good thing for her to “slow down”, take a break from acting, and recuperate.

More news to come in the upcoming weeks!

What I’m watching, what I’m gonna watch
I’m up to episode 640 of A Kindred Spirit now and I’m loving the series all over again [I watched 39 episodes in just a few days!]. I will most likely blog about episodes 601-650 next week. I have so much to say — so much to praise.

I’m on episode 88 of ATV’s classic epic of a drama The Good Old Days. There are only 17 episodes left (the series ends on episode 105)… and I’m kind of sad. It’s been a long, long ride, but a very fruitful and entertaining ride. I can’t wait to blog about it. It is probably my most favorite 1920’s drama. I’m going to miss this series. Hopefully there are some ATV/Days fans and/or people who have watched this excellent series around.

I haven’t watched any more of Forensic Heroes II since the last time I blogged about it (episode 10). As I’ve said, I have no interest to continue yet. I will probably watch it again next week. I am not giving up on it and will definitely finish it. Hopefully my “break” from it will give me a “refreshing” feeling when I pick up the series again.

I’m rewatching TVB’s classic Journey to the West (part 1 with Dicky Cheung). I’m on episode 20 [10 episodes to go!]. I probably won’t rewatch part 2 immediately afterwards. It is such a classic with an awesome cast and great acting. It is a very fun series to watch.

Reviews for The Silver Chamber of Sorrows and A Recipe for the Heart are coming up.

Since some of you are curious about my “pending” playlist, here’s a glimpse…

ATV’s classic 40-episode 1995 grand production I Have a Date with Spring starring Sheren Tang, Kwong Wah, Joey Meng, Kiki Sheung, etc. It is based on an award-winning stage play, which was then adapted into a movie. ATV’s series is the third adaptation of this famous story. It’s a nostalgic look at the HK music world in the past. Apparently it’s a great show and received a lot of acclaim.

TVB’s 45-episode classic 1996 adaptation of Jin Yong’s The Demi-Gods & Semi-Devils with a very big and impressive cast consisting of Felix Wong, Benny Chan, Carmen Lee, and so on. I actually don’t really know what the story is about, but many people praise this series.

TVB’s 20-episode classic 1995 production Plain Love starring Kathy Chow and Gallen Lo. I absolutely love these type of series and I am a big fan of Plain Love II (with the amazing Maggie Cheung and Gordon Lam) and Country Spirit (Charmaine Sheh’s breakthrough work with Gordon). It’s kind of funny how I watched the franchise in reverse. In general, people say that in a franchise, the original piece is always the “best”… let’s see if that still applies if one watches the “sequels” first.

24-episode massively successful epic drama Princess Returning Pearl (aka Huan Zhu Ge Ge) that spawned many new stars and a very successful franchise. A joint production between Taiwan and mainland China, this classic series stars Vicki Zhao, Ruby Lin, Alec Su, etc. I watched this series 10 years back and loved it, but I didn’t really understand or appreciate it much. Hopefully I will love the series all over again!

TVB’s 40-episode 2001 grand production On The Track or Off from producer Amy Wong (Under the Canopy of Love, Burning Flames) starring Steven Ma, Ada Choi, Bondy Chiu, Frankie Lam, Shek Sau, etc. I’m not a fan of horse racing series and I heard this series is somewhat dragging, but I want to watch this series for Bondy’s [love Ah Lo!] excellent performance as a villain. Plus, I’m a fan of Steven & Ada. I hope it will be a good one. Minus Ada, it’s a pre-Virtues of Harmony reunion.

I’ve said I’m going to watch The Gentle Crackdown II and I will watch it — I just don’t know when yet. I have too many other series I’d rather watch before it. I’m not going to watch Once Upon a Time in Shanghai yet simply because I’m sick of 1930’s drama at the moment and the series is also long (at 40 episodes). Also, I’m not too “excited” about watching it anymore for some reason. However, I will watch it some time in the future because the cast is far too grand and contains so many people that I like.

ATV’s Coincidentally has also been pushed back on my pending playlist.

After these batch of series, I have other series I’m going to watch, but as to not overwhelm you guys (and myself), I won’t list them yet.

Of course, I will be watching Moonlight Resonance and Legend of the Demigods and continue with watching A Kindred Spirit.

For those who have seen the above-mentioned series, any particular recommendations on the order of which I should watch the series? Which series did you like the best? Which one did you like the least? Although I’m going to watch all of them, reviews and opinions would be greatly appreciated!

The 2008 grand production fueled by 2007’s hit Heart of Greed will no longer be living in its predecessor’s shadow. Not only is it dropping its Chinese title of [溏心風暴之家好月圓] and is only officially known as [家好月圓] in Chinese, it is also losing the English title that everyone has come to know as Heart of Greed II.

The official English title for [家好月圓] is Moonlight Resonance.

Now there will be no more confusion and questions about how Alfred came back to life or why the relationships are so “messed up” in this series and not related to the last series. Despite knowing that the two series are not related, the “II” makes people think it is a sequel. I think it’s a very smart idea that TVB is dropping the Heart label that was so attached to this series. The two series are not related, so why keep any traces of the last series in the title?

It will be another month and a half before we can watch Moonlight, but TVB has already begun promoting the series (as if they ever stopped promoting the Heart franchise). Recently in Shanghai, an official trailer lasting 1.5 minutes was shown. Netizen Siu D from Kuangai TVB recorded the trailer and uploaded it for everyone to see.

The clip’s quality is poor and it’s not very audible, but beggars cannot be choosers. At least it offers an idea of what we can expect when we watch the series. It seems Moonlight will have its share of verbal fights, “golden words”, family conflicts, internal struggles, evil plots, and messy love relationships as Heart did last year.

A piece of her
I received an autographed photograph with a personal message from Linda Chung recently, so I wanted to share it with you guys.

(Click for larger image)

It makes me really happy to know that Linda recognizes and remembers me and that she has seen my websites. I really love the picture that Linda autographed; she looks really pretty. Hopefully one day I will have a chance to meet Linda! For now, an autograph and a personal message is good enough for me.

Updates on Heart of Greed II
If you haven’t heard it by now or read it on my site, then here’s the “official” announcement in a post: According to Linda, Heart of Greed II will be releasing in 4 months – that’s right, in August 2008. They are quickly filming so that the series can air in time. I’m so excited to watch this series! Linda says the script is really good.

The biggest buzz about the series right now is the following “spoiler” – Moses Chan’s character will die in episode 32 (out of 40).

Many people are worried and upset over this.

I personally believe that this is false and misleading information leaked by TVB to trick the audience and create buzz for Heart II. I don’t think Moses will die. Although Heart II is also a family drama filled with conflicts and pain, this time around, I think they will keep the family intact. The main theme of the series [as I see it] is about union and “coming together” to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival. All 7 children have to be together otherwise there won’t be a “happy family” (ga ho) with a “full moon” (yuet yuen) to “celebrate Mid-Autumn” (hing chung chau).

I have a feeling that episode 32 may have a storyline that puts Moses’ character in danger [and could cause him to die], but he will survive.

I really don’t believe this “spoiler”.

The opening themevideo?
The news mentioned the other day that the entire Heart II cast dressed up in traditional Chinese wedding attire in order to film a fashion show scene, which would double as scenes for the “opening”. I think it’s referring to the themevideo. The participation of Jack Wu and Shirley Yeung [who play the younger Ha Yu and Lee See Kei and thus are not in the "modern" story] make it impossible for the footage with Shirley and Jack to be used anywhere else.



In the original Heart, the cast filmed some special footage for the themevideo as well. Locations included the family shop, outside of “Seung Joi Sum’s” (Linda) house, and inside of the “Tong” family’s mansion featuring the entire Heart cast.



I really like the “look” for the themevideo from pictures released so far. The theme is eye-catching and everyone looks really good. However, I think it looks a little bit too “Chinese New Year” more than “Mid-Autumn”. Nevertheless, I’m not complaining. I’m happy Heart II filmed custom scenes to be used as footage in the themevideo.

“Yu So Chau” (于素秋) = “Yu So Sum” (于素心)
There was a lot of confusion initially about Linda’s character name in Heart II. It turns out that she has two names. Her original birth name is “Yu So Sum”. According to a reader of this blog, Raymond Lam’s character gave her the nickname “Yu So Chau” – which I think she adopts as her “main” name. I think it’s really sweet if this is true. I hope it is. Raymond and Linda’s relationship stems from childhood (they grew up together).

“Yu So Chau” is a very calm and intelligent girl. She’s similar to “Seung Joi Sum”, but not as emotional and will not have so many excessive crying scenes (this time, Tavia Yeung – whose character name is actually “Suen Ho Yuet” – gets to do many big emotional scenes). Linda hopes to give the audience another fresh performance with this role.

How to choose between two “Dak Dak Dei’s”?
In Heart, “Dak Dak Dei” (Moses) and “Alfred” (Raymond) were indirectly fighting for “Seung Joi Sum” (Linda). These two characters were completely different. One was someone who was always there for her but she had no romantic feelings for while the other was someone she loved but hurt her time and time again. One was rather outdated while the other was cool. One would always appreciate and yearn for her company while the other criticized her as “stupid” and “annoying”. One would always tell her his feelings while the other kept everything to himself. Thus, “Alfred” and “Dak Dak Dei” clearly had distinct personalities. While “Seung Joi Sum” never had to make a true “decision” between the two, the audience could decide who they liked better.

This time around, it’s much trickier to choose…

Linda says Raymond’s character – “Ah Ho” – reminds her of “Dak Dak Dei” but with an “Alfred” feeling. Raymond’s role is a 100% good person with no flaws. He cares very much about his family. What I find interesting is the fact that he’s “Dak Dak Dei” but with an “‘Alfred’ twist” of sorts. Linda says their relationship is complicated and blurry because they are “siblings” [but not blood-related of course]. It also doesn’t help that Linda’s mom is evil and hurts and plots against Raymond’s mom over and over again. Their romance will be painful and full of drama indeed. Raymond and Linda both hope to take their chemistry to another level and promise to bring something “new” to the audience.

Linda describes Bosco Wong’s character as being just like “Dak Dak Dei”. He stands by her side whether she’s happy or sad – it doesn’t matter… he’s there whenever she needs him. She shares her problems with him and he’s willing to do anything for her. I really like Bosco after Wars of In-Laws II and The Seventh Day. His character is only a guest star in Heart II, but I’m looking forward to watching his scenes with Linda.

Although Bosco and Linda will also be a couple in 80-episode blockbuster The Gem of Life, I doubt their relationship will be very cute or sweet since Linda’s role is a manipulative bad girl. I hope this couple will have chemistry.

Obviously, Linda will end up with Raymond since Heart II was made for them to be a couple. However, it will be interesting to see how this “painful” love story develops and is resolved. I’m highly anticipating this love triangle and all of the love scenes.

Fala Chen’s mute role



I really like Fala Chen. I think she has a lot of potential and is improving with each series. She’s also a very attractive girl. I think her role and performance will be very adorable and charming based on some of the pictures that have been released from filming. I also think that she will do voice-overs to “translate” her dialogues in sign language to the audience ala Julian Cheung’s phenomenal performance in Return of the Cuckoo and Shirley Yeung’s performance in The Price of Greed.

After so many roles lately as some not-very-nice girls, I think this cute role will help Fala gain some female fans. It will also be very fresh to watch her I think. I hope Fala does a good job and continues to improve.

The cast’s appearance…
Heart II the series has a very “grand” appearance. TVB put a lot of effort in packaging the series. The main family, after all, has a fortune of HK $1 billion.

Unfortunately, I think the chosen “character look” for several of the main cast members is truly unflattering.

Michelle Yim’s wig needs to be burned. It’s really upsetting that she’s hiding her very pretty natural hair underneath this horrendous wig. It’s distracting and makes her look old and scary. I know she’s a villain and all, but does her evilness have to be embodied physically? It’s not convincing to me that a rich woman would opt for such a look.

It seems that Moses went from “Dak Dak Dei” to “Gwai Gwai Dei”. For a very rich stock genius, “Ah Ga” looks strange, nerdy, and outdated with his big glasses. He kind of scares me actually. Although Moses’ outfits were quite “interesting” and old-fashioned in Heart, at least he didn’t look creepy and in the end changed to more “modern” clothes (although it was weird how all he wore in the last 10 episodes was formal suits).

Oh, Linda… In 2007 she had unflattering bangs all year for her 2 movies Love is Not All Around and Playboy Cops and her “bad girl” roles in The Gem of Life and A Journey Called Life. I was waiting and waiting for her to lose the bangs. She tries so hard to create a distinct image for each of her roles to keep her image “fresh”, but I think she failed “Yu So Chau”. Her hairstyle looks pretty from the back, but her center part in the front does nothing but deducts from her looks. I think it makes her face look weird. I hope that she changes her hair later on in the series like “Seung Joi Sum” did. The fact that she parts her hair to the side in the fashion show/opening sequence gives me some hope… she looks so much better.

Based on a true story?
The first episode of 1997 TVB classic Time Before Time mentioned that the story of “Gwong Cheong Lung” being haunted by a female ghost was a famous urban legend for the people in the city. I read from a review that the storyline was indeed actually based on a true story. Does anyone have any more details on this? Can anyone confirm that this is actually the case?

I don’t think that Time’s story is original [meaning that TVB wrote it] because there are several Chinese opera as well as movie versions that existed way before the TVB series was produced.

Here’s the plot from the 1993 movie version (same Chinese title of [大鬧廣昌隆] but English title Finale in Blood): Cheng Ming Pao (Lawrence Cheng – Inspector Pink Dragon) works at a radio station that has gained popularity via its ghost stories. Society is breaking down though and Cheng grabs an opportunity given to him by low-grade criminal Chen Chi (Peter Lai) to earn some extra bucks. Deal turns sour and Cheng ends up in the sea. About to drown, he is rescued by an umbrella, containing the spirit of Fong Yan (Tiu Gwan-Mei) who is looking for her lover Ma Kuang Shen (David Ng). She proceeds to lay down her tragic romance together with Cheng at the radio station. Thus creating another hit story and getting the message across to Ma…and his mistress (Chikako Aoyama)… – Credits to So Good Hong Kong DVD Movie Reviews

I’m not sure what the storyline of the opera is, but it seems like the basic story is that there’s a female ghost – who was mysteriously murdered some years ago – trapped in an umbrella who wants to find her old lover and discover the truth behind her death. I’m really curious to find out the history behind Time’s story and what the “real” story of “Siu Foo Yung” is.

Please share if you have any information!

You heard it here first once again! The following are the latest details revealed about the upcoming 2008 grand production Heart of Greed II.

Please credit “MetalAZNWarrior” and this site if you use the following information at any other site. Thank you!

The family has a fortune of $1 billion with a mooncake pastry shop.

Ha Yu has seven children – Moses Chan, Raymond Lam, Tavia Yeung, Lai Lok Yi, Fala Chen, Wan Ka Hang, and Linda Chung. Linda is not Ha Yu’s birth daughter, but is Michelle Yim’s daughter with another man. Tavia is an adopted daughter.

Lee Heung Kam joins to act as Ha Yu’s mother, who uses schemes to arrive at justice. She doesn’t like Lee See Kei, so she frequently scolds her. Everyone in the family listens to her. Her nature is almost like a little kid. She says her role is heavy; she appears in every episode.

Ha Yu and Lee See Kei are again a husband and wife, but from the start they are divorced. Each have custody of three children; Moses, Lai Lok Yi, and Wan Ka Hang are with Ha Yu while Raymond, Tavia, and Fala are with Lee See Kei. At the very end, the family will be reunited.

Lee See Kei’s role this time is a carefree, good person. She frequently tells gags to make people laugh. However, when she lectures, she will still speak “golden words”. She is often teased as being “fat” by Susanna Kwan.

Lee See Kei and Susanna are sisters this time, but they will frequently cause trouble for their father. Susanna’s nature is radical and likes doing what she wants. It is another evil role. However, her evilness is also loveable. It’s because of her good heart that she does bad. Luckily, her father and elder sister are there to mend things for her.

Wayne Lai and Susanna will have a “brother/sister” relationship. Wayne’s role is a pastry master.

Michelle is the new villain. Her character was a worker at the cake factory, but schemed to steal Lee See Kei’s husband. Furthermore, she sent Ha Yu’s children overseas to study, not letting them stay by their father’s side. She spoils them on purpose.

Moses’ character this time around is a player and spoiled. He will be involved with many women, including his supervisor [in the series] played by Astrid Chan, but his main romantic storyline is a love triangle with Tavia and Kate Tsui.

Tavia’s role is similar to her role in the last series. She will be someone whose life is suppressed, but her nature is still happy. She has quite a lot of scenes where she will be taunted by Susanna.

Raymond’s character cares very much about his family. He says his role is heavy, so he has a lot of stress. He’s going to go to a pastry shop to learn how to make cakes.

Linda’s character is a physician. Her role is similar to “‘Seung Joi Sum” in the last series, however, she will not cry as much. Her relationships with Raymond and Bosco is a painful love story. Linda says that her role is almost like “Seung Joi Sum” – they are both kind people – but the way she portrays this new role has to be different from last time.

Bosco will not appear until after the 10th episode. His character is a doctor in the gynecology department. This time, Bosco’s character is unrelated to Ha Yu’s family, so his scenes will be less. However, Bosco is not worried because last time Raymond’s character was also an “outsider”, but the response to his role was very good. Because he has to fight with Raymond for Linda, he is worried that he will be called a girlfriend snatcher.

Kate plays Susanna’s daughter; she herself is also a troublemaker. Because of her greed for money, she pursues Moses’ character. The story says that Kate and Susanna returned from Portugal, so they have to speak Portuguese and English.

In the very end, Tavia will end up with Moses

Fala’s character is a mute, so she is learning sign language. Fala will be paired up with Yeung Tin Ging. Tavia and Fala have a lot of scenes together, so Tavia also has to learn sign language.

Shirley Yeung and Jack Wu act as the young Lee See Kei and Ha Yu.






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Much thanks to Anime Master 179002 @ TVB Index for providing these scans!

The Gem of Life
(Ada Choi, Gigi Lai, Maggie Shiu, Moses Chan, Bowie Lam,
Bosco Wong, Linda Chung, Wong Hei, Eddie Kwan, Kenny Wong,
Lee See Kei, John Chiang, Ngok Wah, Rebecca Chan, Chan Hung Lit, etc.)

This series looks to be simply splendid and amazing. I believe The Gem of Life will dominate 2008 like Heart of Greed did with 2007, spark numerous discussions and controversy, and it will go down as a TVB classic. 80 compelling, gripping, entertaining, and well-scripted and produced episodes here we come…

Heart of Greed II
(Lee See Kei, Ha Yu, Michelle Yim, Susanna Kwan,
Moses Chan, Raymond Lam, Bosco Wong,
Linda Chung, Tavia Yeung, Fala Chen, etc.)

I’m praying that TVB keeps the original plotline for this series because I really liked what I read. I definitely can’t wait for this series. It’s going to be exciting once production begins and we finally get to see what the series will look like. It will be the perfect series to watch during Mid-Autumn Festival and the focus on mooncakes is refreshing and no doubt, the series will utilize this theme to make intriguing metaphors. For those of you who are worried, don’t be – Raymond Lam has confirmed many times that he will be a part of this series (as did Kate Tsui).

A Journey Called Life
(Steven Ma, Linda Chung, Kent Cheng, Fala Chen, etc.)

I’m really anticipating this series because of Linda Chung’s character and performance and because Steven Ma and Linda reunite three years after their popular pairing in Virtues of Harmony II. Her character – “Sze Ka Ka” – starts out as a bad and vulgar girl who gradually undergoes a transformation (thanks to Steven’s character) and becomes good. This series reflects that the reason some youngsters turn bad is because society has given up on them and it hopes to send the optimistic message that with attention and care, those individuals can turn good and return to the right path. I actually really like Linda’s images and her transformation from bad to good looks to be interesting. I’m very happy that 2008 will bring a new side to Linda and help her develop versatility in her acting.

It’s rumored that Steven and Linda are singing the themesong for this series together. I really hope it’s true! They are compatible and very cute together. I’m confident that they can reignite [with this series] the sparks that made “Ah San” and “Ah Lam” so lovable. Steven praised Linda and said that he was pleasantly surprised by how greatly improved Linda was [now] when he worked with her again this time. He also wrote on his blog that he thinks that she [and Fala Chen] has a bright future ahead of her and has lots of potential.

Aside from Linda’s character, the series will also focus on running, so you can expect TVB to preach about how life is like a marathon. The producer for this series is a little sketchy because his series can be duds (i.e. Life Art) or boring albeit intriguing (i.e. Land of Wealth), but with his recently rather well-received, refreshing, and entertaining Steps, I have hopes for this series.

Forensic Heroes II
(Bobby Au-Yeung, Charmaine Sheh, Kevin Cheng,
Frankie Lam, Yoyo Mung, Linda Chung, etc.)

I’m dying to see the supposedly beautiful and moving “Sam” and “Ding Ding” tragedy. Aside from that, I’m generally anticipating the series for its cases. Hopefully Producer Mui can continue and recapture the magic that was part 1 with this sequel. I feel very positive about this series.

The Seventh Day
(Kevin Cheng, Niki Chow, Bosco Wong, Natalie Tong, etc.)

This series looks tragically beautiful and captivating. No doubt I’m watching it.

Last One Standing
(Roger Kwok, Kevin Cheng, Yoyo Mung, Kiki Sheung, etc.)

I like the English title actually. This series seems gripping.

Wasabi Mon Amour
(Michael Tao, Louisa So, Paul Chun, Bernice Liu, etc.)

I love series about food! It’s been a long time since TVB has done a culinary-centered series. I quite like the cast and the producer is quite good (he produced some favorites of mine such as the delicious Happy Ever After, the excellent and classic series that is A Step Into the Past, and entertaining Love and Again), so I just may watch this series.

Survivor’s Law II
(Sammul Chan, Kenneth Ma, Ella Koon, Selena Li, etc.)

The cast for the original (Raymond Lam, Myolie Wu, Sammul Chan, and Bernice Liu) were perfect and irreplaceable. It’s pointless to do a sequel with 3/4 of the cast replaced. This series is just riding on the coattails of the success of the original. I’m glad to see that Sammul is leading and not Kenneth as was previously reported. Ella’s character sounds interesting and entertaining. The role was “somewhat” based off of Reese Witherspoon’s memorable role from Legally Blonde. I think Ella is pretty and quite cute (she was one of the better things about Revolving Doors of Vengeance). I probably won’t watch this series though.

The Four
(Raymond Lam, Ron Ng, Kenneth Ma, Sammul Chan, etc.)

When I first heard about this series, I wrote it off and said I wouldn’t watch it. However, after looking at pictures and seeing how stunning Kate Tsui looks in her costume, I’m surprisingly interested in trying it. It looks to be interesting and I’m glad it’s only 25 episodes.

The Gentle Crackdown II
(Steven Ma, Yumiko Cheng, Ha Yu, Wayne Lai, etc.)

Just no! I didn’t even think the original was that great. Moses Chan and Niki Chow were great, but the series as a whole was rather typical to me. I really dislike the choice of using Yumiko Cheng as the new female lead. Steven Ma, Wayne Lai, and Ha Yu are great, but sorry… skipping it for sure.

When a Dog Loves a Cat
(Gallen Lo, Myolie Wu, Raymond Wong, Margie Tsang, etc.)

I’m absolutely against this series.

Catch Me Now
(Damian Lau, Idy Chan, Joe Ma, Fala Chen, etc.)

For the time being, I’m just not interested in this series. On a completely unrelated note, I just wanted to say that I hope Idy Chan and Linda Chung will get to work together some day. The two had dinner recently at TVB’s canteen and discussed many things. It turns out that Idy is one of Linda’s favorite veterans and that Idy has watched some of Linda’s series. Idy said she really liked Linda’s performance in Best Bet (as did Lee See Kei). Linda was very surprised and happy to hear the praise.

War of In-Laws II
(Liza Wang, Myolie Wu, Bosco Wong, Benz Hui, etc.)

Oh god! I hated the original, over-hyped ancient version. I am boycotting this modern version. The Devil Wears Prada [of which this series was "loosely" based on] wasn’t even that great. This series looks to be exaggerated, ridiculous, and nonsense. On another unrelated note, I hope Linda Chung will have the opportunity to work one-on-one with Liza Wang some day as Liza feels very positive about her. In a recent interview with a Singapore magazine, Liza specially stated that Linda was her choice newcomer with potential. She said Linda is a good girl, hard-working, and doesn’t have any negative rumors; she believes Linda will have a bright future.

The Thirteen Protectors
(Ron Ng, Michael Tse, Shirley Yeung, Chan San Chung, etc.)

Is TVB for real in filming this series? I hope not! It looks like trash.

2008 seems to be another under-performing year with only a few good series. The majority of productions seem uninteresting or filler-ish. Thankfully, The Gem of Life, Heart of Greed II, and Forensic Heroes II are long, meaty series. How do you guys think 2008 will fare compared with 2007 and how boring and disappointing things got over mid-way into the year [as did 2006]? Will 2008 continue with the trend of strings of great series at the beginning of the year and duds from mid-point to the end or can TVB finally regain some consistency and give us year-long entertainment… or am I asking too much? What series are you guys looking forward to?

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What I look forward to most each year from TVB is not the Anniversary celebration and rigged awards that they give. Rather, it is the annual showcasing of the upcoming year’s productions in their traditional “Sales Presentation”. I anticipate it so much because it gives me a sense of what the coming year is going to be like. More importantly, it’s a chance for me to be hopeful and see whether or not TVB will improve in the coming year.

It seems that these days the sense that TVB is best at stimulating is that of disappointment. After viewing the 11 clips that TVB offered this year, I left feeling disappointed once again. The first let down was that there were only 11 clips shown (out of a reported 22 series). I really wanted to watch the clips for “Golden Destiny” [金石良緣] and Forensic Heroes II. The second let down was the overall quality of the series for the new year. There were but a few good-looking series. The rest of the lot was filler or crap.

I made a post a few months back saying how I felt TVB was getting more daring and provocative sexually. Nothing could prepare me for what I saw from the clips. The most shocking of all was The Gem of Life’s clip; it makes all of the TVB series from the last 10 years look like child’s play. The amount and level of violence and sexuality was beyond anything that I think TVB has done in recent times. It felt very “R-rated” and adult-oriented. “Suspicious Love” revolves around adultery and violence. The gore and violence in “Walking with the Enemy” was crazy.

Gone are the days of wholesome, family-oriented entertainment. TVB is starting to look a lot like Hollywood and American TV. Thinking back, I think Heart of Greed was the tamest and cleanest grand production ever. The violence was kept at a minimum and often was only verbal. There were no bed or seduction scenes. Even “Alfred” and “Shui Mak Mak” never did anything “inappropriate” on-screen despite him having cheated on “Seung Joi Sum”.

Some people probably applaud TVB for becoming so open and daring, but how well will all of the sex and violence be perceived? Not well, I think. Like I’ve said before, TVB is a family-based station and most series are watched as a whole family. Kids grow up on TVB and some even learn about their culture and language from TVB. With TVB becoming so “mature”, I think less and less parents will be prone to allowing their children to watch series. I’m not too comfortable with the direction that TVB is heading because it just feels weird to me. Whatever.

Moving on… let’s talk about the clips featured in TVB’s 2008 Sales Presentation.

The Gem of Life is stunning, daring, and absolutely amazing! Producer Chik is definitely taking advantage of being the first blockbuster drama filmed in HD to give the audience a visually gratifying and eye-opening experience. The explosions, stunts, and fights look very well-filmed. The scenes of glamour (the ball room, foreign sights, etc) are breath-taking. I definitely feel like I’ve entered a very rich and lavish world watching Gem. The cast all look great. Everything is top-notch; it’s truly captivating.

This series really doesn’t hold back. Like I’ve said before, I’m shocked by the amount of fluidity in which this series showcases sexually and violence-wise. There’s nothing that it doesn’t dare to do. I think there will be complaints as a result and I’m afraid that it might affect ratings… In any case, I think it will be a really good series and will have a place as a TVB classic.



I like how the clip teased us and gave us a glimpse of what the series would be like without giving anything away. This will be a crazy 80-episode ride full of twists and turns for sure, exploring the “gray” area of humanity. Hopefully it will drop jaws and grip the audience.



I thought Lee See Kei’s monologue at the end was really sad. Her character is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. “The doctor said I will quickly forget things in the present. I don’t want to forget these days. Even more, I don’t want the three sisters to forget they once had such days.” I believe this is the point where the three sisters – Ada Choi, Gigi Lai, and Maggie Shiu are enemies. John Chiang expresses his disappointment in them and regrets having given birth to such “stupid daughters”. Ada’s character chooses money and business before she’d even choose her family members. Maggie’s character gets betrayed by Gigi’s and her husband wants a divorce.



“Sung Tsz Ling” (Linda Chung) is deliciously bad. Although it was only one line, I thought Linda acted quite well. I loved her expression and tone. It was very spoiled and bratty. I definitely can’t wait to watch this character and how Linda executes her scenes. In tradition with the rest of Gem, Linda will also have numerous scenes where she courts and seduces men – that should be interesting. I also want to see her “catfights” with Gigi and Ada. This is a very fresh change and from the looks of it, she seems to do it quite adequately. I am also thankful that she looks much better on-screen than in pictures. Her look isn’t that unflattering after all.

Heart of Greed II’s clip was very disappointing. I know they haven’t filmed anything yet, so there were no “scenes” to show us. However, I hated it. It was tacky how they just “talked” about Heart. I guess TVB just wanted to let everyone know that the new series was in the works… I did like how the clip was symbolic, hinting at some of the storylines for the new series.

Michelle Yim destroying the mooncakes was symbolic of her destroying the family as she takes on the role of the “big villain”. Susanna Kwan calling Lee See Kei “sister” and Lee See Kei doubting her alluded to the two of them being sisters in the new series as well as foreshadowing Susanna’s character’s later turn to evil (despite her claim that “people change, the moon [becomes] full”). Linda interlocking her arms into Lee See Kei’s and sharing her concerns about the family show that they are going to have an intimate relationship (adopted daughter/mother as reported). More family drama was evident in the new series, along with the revelation of the new mooncake business.



TVB also assured everyone that the entire cast would be back and that the new series would be excellent. I hope so, too!



The Master of Tai Chi – This is the second time that Tai Chi has been included as part of TVB’s sales presentation. When are they going to release it?! I already provided my thoughts on the series several times in the past. I still think it looks like a swell series. One thing I’m shocked about – Raymond Lam and Myolie Wu’s bed scene. Oh boy, even period dramas aren’t safe from TVB’s sexual revolution. It’s no wonder the news made a big deal over it. It was very Grey’s Anatomy of TVB to have Myolie start crying in midst of it.



“Suspicious Love” [疑情別戀] – This series seems interesting because of the twists. Anita Yuen looks so pretty and is definitely a refreshing welcome. The series is currently filming right now… I wonder how much TVB will change of the plot that was shown in the sales presentation.



“Ha Xue Yan’s Lady Chef” [胡雪岩的廚娘] – Not interested. It seems like rehashing of past costume comedies.



“When a Dog Loves a Cat” [當狗愛上貓] – I still cannot find a reason why Gallen Lo agreed to film this series. I absolutely despise Producer Kwan’s productions. Once again, his series looks (and probably is) stupid. What’s with the talking dog and cat? It’s so cheesy! Continuing with his inconsistency (he doesn’t know whether he wants to make his series a drama or comedy), the ending sounds ridiculous. Gallen’s character gets diagnosed with cancer and it ends with him reflecting on his life. Everyone knows I am not watching this series.



Last One Standing – This series seems very late 80’s/early 90’s-ish because of the violence and characterizations. It seems very intense and thrilling with all of the plotting, back-stabbing, prison-breaking, and blood. Roger Kwok looks so scary! Kevin Cheng finally has a new role as well.



“Hidden Master” [幕後大老爺] – It pains me to think that Producer Li produced this series. It seems silly, ridiculous, and lame. I’m not watching it at all. I dislike the terrible cast.

Burning Flame III – I’ve never seen part 1 or 2, but I’m planning on watching them some time in the future. The male cast to this third installment is really good. The stunts and scenes in the clip were really fake and cheap, so I personally wish TVB didn’t make this clip and left the spot open for another series instead. It was a waste of time since everyone knows what Burning is about. If TVB wanted to film Burning III, they just needed to announce it through the news… no need to produce this below-par representation of the actual series [that they're going to film].

“Thieves Also Have Principles” [盜亦有道] – This series is Idy Chan’s comeback to TVB after 20 years or so. It doesn’t interest me, however.

“Li Hak Yung and the Thirteen Protectors” [李克用與十三太保] – I regard this series as 2009’s Devil’s Disciples. Need I say anymore about my disgust for it? I hate how TVB is treating their wuxia series without any respect. It’s not that the audience doesn’t like the genre; mainland’s 2006 adaptation of Return of Condor Heroes was highly rated when it aired in Hong Kong. It’s the sheer fact that TVB doesn’t even try. The costumes are atrocious and the fantastical elements and special effects are sickening. It still astounds me that TVB even aired Devil’s.

What about the “older” productions?
I’m so mad at TVB for releasing series that just finished production (The Building Blocks of Life, Survivor’s Law II, Word Twisters’ Adventures, etc) as opposed to series that have been completed much earlier. To be exact, I’m talking about Legend of the Demigods and The Seventh Day. Man, my neck is growing long waiting for these two series to release! I don’t understand why TVB keeps postponing their release date.

I know already that Demigods will be warehoused… so can TVB please just release it for overseas audience to watch then?! I have a feeling that TVB is saving Seventh for a winter/Valentine’s Day release. I’m really sick of the crap that TVB keeps releasing… and they wonder why ratings are low right now. I’m pretty much skipping all of the series that TVB has released since Phoenix Rising. [I may pick up Steps and The Ultimate Crime Fighter at a later date.]

But anyways… going back to the 2008 Sales Presentation, what series entices your interest? What are you looking forward to?

The Gem of Life
(Gigi Lai, Ada Choi, Maggie Shiu, Moses Chan, Bowie Lam,
Bosco Wong, Linda Chung, Wong Hei, Eddie Kwan, Kenny Wong,
Lee See Kei, John Chiang, Ngok Wah, Rebecca Chan, Chan Hung Lit, etc.)

溏心風暴之家好月圓 – “Heart of Greed – Happy Family Full Moon”
(Lee See Kei, Ha Yu, Michelle Yim, Susanna Kwan,
Moses Chan, Raymond Lam, Bosco Wong,
Linda Chung, Tavia Yeung, Fala Chen, etc.)

The Master of Tai Chi
(Vincent Zhao, Raymond Lam,
Melissa Ng, Myolie Wu, etc.)

疑情別戀 – “Suspicious Love”
(Anita Yuen, Michael Miu, etc.)

胡雪岩的廚娘 – “Hu Xue Yan’s Lady Chef”
(Bobby Au-Yeung, Charmaine Sheh, Wayne Lai, Joyce Tang, etc.)

當狗愛上貓 – “When a Dog Loves a Cat”
(Gallen Lo, Myolie Wu, Lui Fong, Margie Tsang, etc.)

Last One Standing
(Roger Kwok, Kevin Cheng, Yoyo Mung, Kiki Sheung, etc.)

幕後大老爺 – “Hidden Master”
(Kenneth Ma, Kate Tsui, Leila Tong, Matthew Ko, etc.)

Burning Flame III
(Wong He, Steven Ma, Bosco Wong, David Chiang,
Sunny Chan, Astrid Chan, Anne Heung, etc.)

盜亦有道 – “Thieves Also Have Principles”
(Damian Lau, Idy Chan, Joe Ma, Fala Chen, etc.)

李克用與十三太保 – “Li Hak Yung and the Thirteen Protectors”
(Ron Ng, Michael Tse, Raymond Wong, Shirley Yeung, etc.)

You heard it here first! The following are the very first details revealed about the upcoming 2008 grand production “sequel” to 2007’s phenomenal monster hit Heart of Greed which everyone is anticipating.

Please credit “MetalAZNWarrior” and this site if you use the following information at any other site. Thank you!

First details about the new Heart of Greed

The series will begin filming in January 2008

Although the storyline will be brand new and totally unrelated to the original Heart, the series’ tentative Chinese title is still Tong Sum Fung Bo II. The backbone of the series will still be about family rivals and conflicts, but the family business is no longer abalone.

The new series will revolve around the Moon Cake industry; the family runs and owns a Moon Cake pastry shop

The series will release during Mid-Autumn Festival

In Heart of Greed II, the “disliked” [star from the original series] Yoyo Mung is kicked out and replaced by Kate Tsui

Kate and Tavia Yeung will develop a love triangle with Moses Chan

Bosco Wong and Raymond Lam fight for Linda Chung

Moses and Raymond are brothers in the new series; Ha Yu and Lee See Kei play their parents

Linda is Lee See Kei’s adopted daughter

This time around, Susanna Kwan acts as Lee See Kei’s sister

In Heart II, Michelle Yim is the second wife of Ha Yu and becomes the new series’ big villain. In order to marry Michelle, Ha Yu doesn’t hesitate and divorces Lee See Kei. Michelle devises a plot to make Lee See Kei lose custody of her children. Poor Lee See Kei has to then survive on her own…

Originally, they wanted veteran Lo Lan to join the series and play Ha Yu’s mother, but she wasn’t satisfied with the role, so she turned it down

Original article in Chinese can be found here.