A Fistful of Stances
Trailer 2
From what the main leads have said, I’m going to take a stab at the chronology of the script’s outline. Bobby meets Tavia and falls in love with her, but she dies 3 years later in a car accident that he either witnesses or gets shocked at seeing her at the emergency room. At that point, he will probably meet Raymond and asks Raymond, the almighty "devil" or Satan or Grim Reaper (whoever–some guy with red eyes and a vampiric/powerful aura (LOL!)) to revive Tavia. They make a deal and Bobby will exchange something "important" to him, most likely his own life. However, Bobby doesn’t want to die yet and Raymond chases after him to seal the contract. Through their many obstacles, the understanding between Bobby and Raymond grows deeper and they develop a strong bond. These feelings make Raymond more "human" and prevent him from killing Bobby. Raymond allows Bobby to live for an extra amount of time or revive him but alas, after X years, Bobby dies and meets Raymond again in Hell. Okay, that was a load of my fantasical trash but I think that’s the gist of it. I also think the apple, although it can represent many things, will be the forbidden fruit of Raymond’s actions–breaking the circle of life in a way.
Fate, it is a philosophical concept and no proof exists to support or defy its existence. Yet, the majority of us believe in it. We believe there is an invisible thread tying our paths together. We believe there is someone out there meant only for us. Nevertheless, because we cannot control what is in store for us, we look for ways to tell us what to expect, to foresee our fortune, search for our success, and find our love. Depending on your culture and exposure, you can choose to believe in the zodiac, horoscopes, tarot cards, numerological signs, or fortune cookies. Personally, I’m not one to hunt for my daily horoscope or lucky number, but the romantic side of me does take interest in zodiac readings and astrology, and I do believe in fate, which I think Cupid Stupid uses implicitly well to build up its background story and budding relationships.
In a nutshell, Cupid is a refreshing cliché. I know it’s a contradiction, but let me explain. I say it’s a cliché because well, the premise of the show is a destined love triangle involving one woman and two men. How many times have we seen that before? Maybe not as the spotlighted central story in a TVB series but often enough, right? However, Cupid stands on its own (so far). The script manages to carefully lead one character to know another without making it appear forceful. The directing gives Cupid a nice atmosphere, and the three main characters are all very likeable. Albeit my praises, I don’t think Cupid will be any sort of long-living masterpiece or addicting drama drug. But it will probably serve as good lighthearted entertainment.
English Title: Cupid Stupid
Previous Title: The Stars of Love
Chinese Title: 恋爱星球人
Cantonese Title: Lyun Ngoi Sing Kau Yan
Producer: Tsui Yue On
Screenwriters: Chan Ching Yee, Lau Chi Wah
Cast: Steven Ma, Tavia Yeung, Michael Tse, Mandy Cho, Law Lok Lam, Jack Wu, Ruco Chan, Lau Dan, Lo Hou Gai, Ram Tseung, Lee Kwok Lun, Iris Wong, Fred Cheng, Benjamin Yuen, Helen Ma, Shermon Tang, etc.
Length: 20 Episodes
Broadcast: Warehoused
Genre: Modern, Romance, Astrology
Official Site: Link
Opening Theme: Heard (聽說) by Steven Ma

Many forms of entertainment are judged on the foundation laid by other similar forms of entertainment simply because there has to be a baseline, a scale of sorts. You don’t know how good something is until you’ve seen something worse, just as you wouldn’t know how bad something is until you’ve seen something better. There are exceptions. Certain dramas are so uniquely good, they shouldn’t be compared to anything else. Similarly, obscenely bad dramas don’t deserve to be compared either. Beyond the Realm of Conscience is one of those exceptions and it, unfortunately, falls into the latter category.
I jumped onto the bandwagon back when Beyond first started filming because I firmly believed I would one day witness a glorious, fascinating, poignant, outstanding hybrid of two magnificent hit productions–War and Beauty and Dae Jang Geum. What I failed to remember is that this is TVB. What I failed to notice is Choi Ting Ting. Choi has done her fair share of scriptwriting, some of which include Last One Standing, Forensic Heroes II, Burning Flame II, To Catch the Uncatchable, Slim Chances, Hard Fate, Always Ready, and soon-to-be-aired A Watchdog’s Tale. Most of her scripts are decent and I had enjoyed some of them. However, I overlooked the fact that she wrote The Threshold of a Persona. And guess what? I feel the same indifference for Beyond as I did Persona. Seriously, I don’t get why TVB didn’t pull Cheung Wah Biu (Heart of Greed, Moonlight Resonance, Rosy Business) over to write the script for Beyond? Why? Beyond has everything! EVERYTHING!! All but a golden script …
Issue 650 of TVB Weekly features the winners of this year’s TVB 42nd Annivesary Awards, specifically highlighting the lovely trio Wayne Lai, Sheren Tang, and Tavia Yeung sharing their happiness as they hold onto their uno, dos, tres–a total of six trophies!! Wayne had posted some of the studio shots on his blog too. Other winners including Michael Tse, Susan Tse, Ngo Ka Nin, Aimee Chan, and Lee Tim Sing also have a page to themselves. There is then a spread on fashion and other tidbits that had occurred on awards night. Looking back, Angie Chiu was stunning as well.
The cover of TVB Life has Koni Lui posing to promote a skincare product. Her legs are seriously just as beautiful as those of Joey Meng. Finally, on the TVB Beauty Queen cover is Aimee. This issue is a keeper!
How many words are there to describe satisfaction? I’m content, pleased, happy, fulfilled (?), and wholeheartedly accept winners from this year’s exciting TVB 42nd Anniversary Awards. That was all I needed to make me smile on my special day. Now, read on to see what happened and who won!
Spreading the Tavia Yeung love!
While I’m procrastinating from finishing my take-home exam and browsing YouTube instead, I chanced upon a beautiful video sketch by darwin9090 of Tavia as Kam Ling in Beyond the Realm of Conscience. Although I think the sketch could use more work, the resemblance to Tavia is about 85-90% and the accessories are very well drawn. There is also a video sketch of Charmaine Sheh as Sam Ho as well as other TVB artists.
Take a look. You will be amazed and possibly inspired, as I am to take out my own sketchbook.