Status Update

So I'm done with The Hippocratic Crush, now what? I'm still watching Bottled Passion and Let It Be Love. Both are only 20 episodes long but surprisingly took me so long to finish O_o. Anyways, I decided to stop Queens of Diamonds and Hearts 3 weeks ago. I watched the 1st episode of Daddy Good Deeds, skipped 5 episodes, then watched the 6th one (don't ask me why :P) and that's about it. DGD...hm... I don't know. It's funny.... but I think I want something more serious at the moment. And plus, I'm so annoyed with everyone in there except for Nancy Wu, Edwin Siu and Steven Ma. And too bad that this is Steven's last series with TVB :(

I think I will have to take a short break from TVB now, and wait until The Greatness of a Hero and Gloves Come Off to air. I watched TGOAH already but I really want to watch GCO. I hope it won't disappoint!! In the mean time, I'll try to finish up BP and LIBL, then start watching some mainland series to brush up my Mando and get myself ready for the mega mainland production which will air this summer............. and that is Legend of Yuan Empire Founder. Ok the reason I want to watch this is because Charmaine and Steven are in it, and plus the trailer looks awesome. The battle scenes are so breath-taking. However, the downside is that both Charmaine and Steven are dubbed, which sucks because I really want to hear their own voices. And they seriously need to replace whoever is dubbing Charmaine in the trailer because she sounds horrible. She doesn't sound authoritative at all but like a little kid trying to act tough!! Anyways, I was almost cheering when Charmaine and Steven appeared and yah, I totally need to watch that :P

Credit to Sehseh

There is actually another series that caught my attention and that is Strangers 6. This series is a collaboration between China, Japan and Korea, and Bowie is in it. I got a chance to watch a few minutes of the first episode and I think it was great already. But more importantly, no one is dubbed. NO ONE. Everyone is speaking using their own voice, in their own language. You'll have to read the sub if you don't understand. So far, I only found Japanese sub and Chinese sub for it, no Eng sub yet. I'm fine with Chinese sub but I prefer English so I think I might wait, unless someone found it and tell me where I can watch it. Thank you in advance :D

[TVB2012] The Hippocratic Crush 《On Call 36小時》 Review

Genre: Modern, medical, romance
# of Episodes: 25
Producer: Poon Ka Tak
Casts:
- Kenneth Ma as Cheung Yat Kin (Yat Kin Tau)
- Tavia Yeung as Fan Chi Yu (Yu Jai)
- Him Law as Yeung Pui Chung
- Mandy Wong as Hung Mei Suet
- Benjamin Yuen as Lau Bing Chan (Benjamin)
- Candy Chang as Kan Jing Jing
- Ben Wong as John Chong
- Nathan Ngai as Cheung Yat Hong
- Derek Kwok as Lui Siu Yik
- Paisley Hu as To Ka Man

What's It About?
Housemen, trainees, doctors, surgeons, nurses and patients for the characters; illness, surgery, rivalry, family, friendship and romance for the plot. And lots of newbies, lots...

- Spoilers Alert -

THC has all the elements of an addictive and popular TVB series, and was made to be accepted by the audience of all ages. I want to first clarify that I never watch Healing Hands so this is my first time watching a TVB medical series. I heard some people said that the Healing Hands series focused too much on the relationship stuff and neglected the medical aspect of it. Well, to be honest, THC did great in the first half by focusing alot in the professions and the setting was mostly in the hospital. However, the number of these scenes slowly decreased as it went on, starting with the Tavia-Mandy sister plot. Ok, the fact that they were not half-sisters may be surprising but if you look at it as a whole, it really was a pain in the neck, for me at least. From then on, this series seemed to have diverted from its main theme and focused more on the relationships.

THC has some tear-jerking moments, but I think that was largely due to the script-writing and how everything was put together, rather than the actings of individuals. Now I'm not saying that they acted badly, I just want to point out that the execution was effective here. In every episode, there's always something that keeps you watching and wanting for more. I think it was successful in capturing the audience hearts and attention.

This series was produced to promote the newbies so we can spot a lot of them here. Everyone got a chance to shine, some had more screen time than others but at least all of them got something to say. Him Law and Mandy Wong, I don't think I should call them newbies anymore because they got a significant amount of screen time here. In fact, they are the second leads. Him was likeable, he has improved but I think he's more natural when he's playful. I just can't take him seriously when he tried to act like a professional. Mandy's role wasn't the greatest here. Her character was annoying and her sulky face just made it worse. However, if I have to say something nice about her, I would say I like her confident look when she was treating the patients (not the time when she almost killed the patient though). Candy Chang did ok for a newbie I guess. She really looks like Bernice Liu here, I think a lot of people noticed that too. She did surprisingly well in the scene where Yat Hong died, but when she defended Him Law in the conference room, her body language just ruined it for me. Nathan Ngai, just like Him, was really likeable here. I think his best scene is when he was by the sea and feeling down, and Yue Jai got him a stand-up wheelchair. However, the biggest surprise here got to be Benjamin Yuen. I never actually like him as an actor before THC but here, he has proved to be capable of acting and was rather natural in his role.

Now move onto the main lead, Kenneth Ma. After watching the whole series, I concluded that Kenneth wasn't consistent in his role. Yes, he can cry, he can yell but he wasn't fierce enough. Just by putting on a straight face doesn't make you look like a boss, Kenneth. I also don't think he blended all the emotions well enough into his role, which made him seem quite bipolar sometimes. But don't worry Kenneth, I still like you!! He has the look and he certainly has room for improvement. This is not his best role imo. The best one is still from A Fistful of Stances.

Next, we have Tavia. I said before that she showed some improvement in her performance here in THC. I also expressed how much I like her character Yu Jai. But Tavia herself is still boring. It's her look, her acting style, the roles she got that make her unflattering. In fact, she has been stagnant ever since Beyond The Realm of Conscience, not that I'm saying she was great there (Really!! She wasn't). Tavia is not a bad actress herself, she definitely can act but her acting has been too formulaic in recent years. I feel like she has become a second Jessica Hsuan. Tavia, if you want to advance further in your acting career, you need to abandon that formula of yours and give us audience something fresh!!

Last but not least, the sequel. I bet everyone was so excited when they announced there would be a sequel for THC. Well, me too, but how it will turn out is still a question. If they are to keep the same characters and develop more on the storyline, they'd better not kill off Yu Jai. And if they are to write a whole new story, I prefer they keep the same cast but make their characters really different this time. Still, it's now too early to say anything but let's keep our fingers crossed.

Nevertheless, THC is definitely one of the better series that aired this year and it's really addictive. I think everyone should give it a try and there's a high chance that you'll get hooked.

The Goods:
- The theme song sung by Joey Yung is still the best here
- Yu Jai (again, I love her character!!)
- All the operation scenes
- All the elevator scenes

The Bads:
- The title - I still don't like the English title
- The sisters plot (urgh!!)
- The childish cartoons for the operations
- All the parts with Ben Wong, his wife and Yat Kin

My Rating: 7.7/10

Worth watching? Yes, definitely. But beware, you'll get hooked.


**Credit: The pictures are taken from tvb.com and just for illustration purpose** 

NEXT TV Awards 2012 Results

Top 10 TV Artistes

1. Moses Chan
2. Charmaine Sheh
3. Myolie Wu
4. Maggie Cheung
5. Linda Chung
6. Bosco Wong
7. Kenneth Ma
8. Tavia Yeung
9. Kevin Cheng
10. Fala Chen

Top 10 TV Programmes

1. When Heaven Burns
2. Forensic Heroes III
3. Ghetto Justice
4. The Other Truth
5. Lives of Omission
6. The Hippocratic Crush
7. L'Escargot
8. Curse of the Royal Harem
9. Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir!
10. Let It Be Love

Most Potential Male Artiste: Stanley Cheung
Most Potential Female Artiste: Cilla Kung

Best Scene-stealing Supporting Actor: Ben Wong
Best Scene-stealing Supporting Actress: Sharon Chan

Sponsors Awards

Cellbone Beautiful Skin Artiste Award: Suki Chui
GlamSmile Best Smile Artiste Award: Charmaine Sheh
MOISELLE Elegant Fashion Artiste Award: Myolie Wu
Toshiba Extraordinary Voice Artiste Award: Linda Chung
Green Star Artiste Award: Moses Chan

**Click here for the official NEXT TV Awards Results page**

Congrats to all the award winners!!

Credit to Charmaine's Baidu Forum

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YAY!! Finally!! When Heaven Burns got the recognition it deserves. Congrats to the WHB production team and casts!!
I can't believe Kevin ranked 9th only after how popular he got last year.
If The Hippocratic Crush was aired a little bit earlier, I bet it will get into top 5. And I'm so surprised to see Let It Be Love up there... O_o Totally unexpected!!
I'm also surprised that Bottled Passion didn't make it to top 10. I thought it was really popular O_o Did the ending alone have that big of an effect?!

The Hippocratic Crush: Episode 21-25

For the comment, I will be brief here since I want to do a proper review for this one. Recap:

- Yat Hong (Nathan Ngai) got hit in the head by a bottle. Yat Kin (Kenneth) and Ben Wong tried to save him but it was too late. He passed away.
- Mei Suet (Mandy) finally let go of Yat Kin and her rivalry with Yu Jai (Tavia), thanks to Benjamin. She told Yat Kin about Yu Jai's sickness.
- Yat Kin proposed to Yu Jai. After rejecting him for so many times, she finally accepted him.
- Yu Jai got her tumour removed by her dad and Yat Kin.
- Mei Suet ended up with Benjamin. Yeung Chung (Him) ended up with Jing Jing (Candy Chang), and of course, Yat Kin and Yu Jai are married and...

----- THE END -----

 I feel so bad for the short-lived relationship between Yat Hong and Jing Jing...

 I think Kenneth did great in this scene because he only gets to use his eyes to show his emotions, though he could have done a little better in the last pic.

This is one of the best scenes in THC!! Watching Kenneth cried like this is just so heart-breaking!! Kenneth can really cry. He looked so tired, worn, and seemed to have aged a lot in the above pic. And that is what I expected Yat Kin to be after Yat Hong's death. Good job, Kenneth!!

The whole episode 22 was just so sad. Even though I knew beforehand that Yat Hong would die, I still cried when I watched it. I felt so emotional afterward. This episode alone needs to be rewatched!!

 

R.I.P. Yat Hong

 Thank you Benjamin for knocking some sense into this girl!!

 I feel that these two couples got together too fast, and too forced!!

The pier, Kenneth, Tavia crying/shouting... what does this remind you of?

That's right, The Mysteries of Love!! O_o BUT, before you panic, let me first show you something...

 ... see the difference?? Tavia didn't just go straight ahead and cried but her expressions changed slowly. First she pretended to be all happy and carefree. Then when Kenneth spoke her mind, she turned scared and speechless. And finally when she couldn't take it anymore, she got frustrated and burst into tears. That is a sign of improvement!! Everything was perfect until she screamed... O_o

 Another touching scene!! Everything was great except for the settings.

I would be pissed if I were Tong Yuen or Wing!!

 Yu Jai and Yat Kin's first date!! You could feel the happiness already!!

 Proposal scene... they look so sweet!!

 ... and THE END!!

I'm not surprised anymore that the series did not peak at 40 or above. Although it was a happy ending and I'm satisfied with it, it was really just a normal happy ending, nothing special. The last episode was not the best episode (the best ones are 22 and 24!!) and it got aired on a normal Friday night. Usually for a big production, the finale is 2-episode long and gets aired on Saturday or Sunday to gain higher ratings. Nevertheless, for a smaller budget series like THC, the rating is not bad.

By the way, I was browsing on Wikipedia the other day to check the ratings and this is what I found:

In case you couldn't make out the words, here's what it says: "You are really gullible if you think this series peaked at 58." That made my day!! :D

Kenneth Ma「一件頭」

I still have 5 more episodes to go for THC. I like it so far. TVB definitely started off great this year. I heard that the highest peak for THC finale is 39, not bad but I expected it to get at least a 40. But oh well...

Here's Kenneth Ma's Yat Kin Tau. I finished drawing this a few days ago but my scanner was broken so I can't post it (it's still broken~~). I have to use my camera to take a picture of it and post it so it's a bit blurry. Since his coat is white, it saved me a lot of time ^_^

The Hippocratic Crush: Episode 16-20

These few episodes had some really touching moments.

Recap first:
- Andy's grandma finally passed away. She got to see Andy graduated, but he wasn't back in time to see her one last time.
- Yat Kin (Kenneth) finally realized his feeling for Yu Jai (Tavia). He decided to tell her but before he could do so, Mei Suet (Mandy) stopped him.
- Mei Suet confessed to Yat Kin and purposedly kissed him in front of Yu Jai. Yat Kin rejected her and tried to explain to Yu Jai but Yu Jai decided that she would let Mei Suet have Yat Kin so she coldly turned him down.
- Yu Jai was diagnosed with spinal cord tumour. She was scared to get it removed because the risk was high. Yu Jai tried to hide this from everyone but Yeung Chung (Him) found out.

-----------------------------------------------

- This series is approaching the end and Tavia has finally come down with a disease, as expected. I don't know how that will affect her character but I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I really like Yu Jai and I hope the tumour doesn't ruin the character for me, at least in these last episodes.

- Like I said before, these few episodes had some really touching moments. Andy's case has come to an end. I felt sorry for him for not able to see his grandma one last time before she died. But at least she got to see him graduated. The actor who played Andy (I still don't know his real name) did a good job. I can actually feel his pain.

- Then we have the case of Yat Kin's brother, Yat Hong (Nathan Ngai). He likes Jing Jing (Candy Chang) but feels that he doesn't match her because of his disability. While he was feeling all depressed, Yu Jai got him a stand-up wheelchair.

- It was indeed a very touching scene. Yat Hong was so happy that he can finally stand up. Everyone was so happy for him too. And Yat Kin Tau, this is one of a hundred reasons why you should choose Yu Jai over Mei Suet.

- Speaking of Mei Suet, I hate her character more as the series goes on. She does nothing to gain her love besides scheming. I can't believe she actually uses her sisterhood with Yu Jai to steal Yat Kin.

- She purposedly called Yu Jai 'big sister' so that Yu Jai would feel she should let her have Yat Kin. Arghhh..... that got me so mad!!
- Then she even forced a kiss on Yat Kin Tau in front of Yu Jai. This girl seriously doesn't deserve anyone in the end!!

- I was so happy when Yat Kin Tau yelled at her in the elevator. She totally deserved that. Benjamin also knocked some sense into her. I really like his speech to her. Does she actually like Yat Kin Tau or just want to win over Yu Jai?

- She even failed as a doctor. That's right, I'm totally against her now!! But I do feel that she's too aggressive to be a doctor. She put the patient's life at risk just to show that she's better.

- Performance wise, I guess Mandy has successfully made her character Mei Suet so despicable. Or is it that Mei Suet is supposed to be less despicable but Mandy's sulky face just killed it? Who knows? And I may have said this a hundred times already but I'm still bored with Tavia's look, though I find her crying skill has some improvement. There's still nothing special coming from Kenneth Ma. Maybe in the last few episodes there will be but so far, Kenneth is still Kenneth. Him Law was barely shown here so no comment. Benjamin Yuen and Nathan Ngai were great.

Another touching scene...

After bickering for 19 episodes, these two are finally together!!

Funny elevator scene. And of course, no Mei Suet!!

The Hippocratic Crush: Episode 11-15

This series is so addictive!! Anyways recap first:

- Yat Kin Tau (Kenneth) is finally allowed to do operations again. He also successfully gets Yu Jai (Tavia) to choose Cardiothoracic for her specialist. Yu Jai is grateful to Yat Kin and she also likes him so she decides to confess. However, Yat Kin suggests that they should be friends for now. Yu Jai doesn't give up and is trying her best to make Yat Kin change his mind.
- Mei Suet (Mandy) tries to get along with Yu Jai. But when they just begin to be nice to each other, Mei Suet discovers that she and Yu Jai both like Yat Kin (Yu Jai doesn't know though). She decides not to lose to her sister in winning Yat Kin's love.
- After getting rejected by Yu Jai, Yeung Chung (Him) helps Yu Jai approach Yat Kin.

-----------------------------------------------------

- One thing I like about this series is its pace. I think the pace is just right, not so draggy, not so rushed. Let's hope that it can maintain this pace till the end. I also want to take back what I said earlier about having too many newcomers in one series. I now find them very fresh, and some can really act too. Kudos to Producer Poon.
- Tavia is growing on me too. She can be really hilarious at times, like the confession scene in the restaurant. I'm still bored with her look though.

- Her expression was priceless!! Also very brave of Yu Jai!! I really like her character. After being rejected by Yat Kin, she didn't avoid him but took a step further in pursuing him. Yes, it's Yu Jai who's pursuing Yat Kin Tau right now. How amazing that is!! Yat Kin also didn't avoid Yu Jai. I guess he's trying to get to know more about her right now, as we can see he's reading and keeping all the letters Yu Jai sent him. Aww... how sweet of him!!

- We don't get to see Him and Mandy as doctors many more. Mandy's Mei Suet is busy thinking how to steal Yat Kin from Yu Jai, while Yeung Chung is being too nice by helping Yu Jai pursue Yat Kin. Yeung Chung is really a nice guy, and a very good friend. Yu Jai is really lucky to have an admirer like him. I don't have anything to say about Him and Mandy actings, they have little to do here. Basically, these episodes are all about love.

- Benjamin is also growing on me. This guy can also be funny. I remember I used to hate dislike him so much last year in Relics of an Emissary. I love the elevator scene of him and Kenneth. However, I want to see him more as a doctor, rather than just a comedic relief here.

Relax... Kenneth can't be that scary!!

- The part with Yat Kin, Ben and his wife (aka Yat Kin's ex) was terrible!! Too cliche, too forced, too..... stupidly done!! But thanks to this, Ben may look at Yat Kin differently now. But still, it was too terrible for me to take, and it ruined a couple of episodes of THC for me. Skip it at all cost!!

- Luckily, episode 15 was a lifesaver. I think it's really well done, that episode alone, by having everyone reflecting on what they're doing. The mood was really sad, and Tavia's voice over also helped. I must give credits to the actor who played Andy and the veteran actress Law Lan (who played the granny). They made this series more enjoyable to watch. I almost cried when Andy and the granny cried, so sad!! And the part with the girl playing air violin on the rooftop... Arghhh, it's just too sad!!

 

I love how everyone gathered just to watch the operation

The Hippocratic Crush: Episode 6-10

The story thus far:

- Yu Jai (Tavia) and Mei Suet (Mandy) found out that they are sisters, not half-sisters, but full-blood sisters, as in they have the same mom and dad. Yu Jai still acted all nice to Mei Suet but Mei Suet just brushed her off.
- Yat Kin (Kenneth) is banned from doing operations for 6 months because he refused to follow rules. He now has to take care of the outpatients, from which he learned the true meaning of being a doctor.
- After his turning point, Yeung Chung (Him) is more serious in work now, though sometimes he's still slacking off. He is infatuated with Yu Jai and trying his best to impress her.
- Yu Jai and Yeung Chung are now being trained in Cardiothoracic with Raymond Cho. He seems like a nice boss. He also realized Yu Jai's talent in Cardio.
- The previous misunderstanding between Yat Kin and Yu Jai is now clear. She seems to like him now.

--------------------------------------------

I'm catching up with this series as I was busy last week. I started a bunch of drama but never get to finish any one of them. I still haven't finished Bottled Passion, which is quite sad :( but knowing how it ends just discourages me to watch it. I skimmed through L'Escargot, which was painful enough for me so I don't plan to properly watch it again. And I'm only half way through Let It Be Love... *sigh* Anyways, back to The Hippocratic Crush:

- Kenneth Ma is so dynamic. In one scene, he was crying his eyes out; then turn around, in another scene, he was yelling at others like he never got to yell before. I don't know if this is just inconsistency in his acting or the script required him to do so. However, I do like his Yat Kin Tau character. I admire his work ethics, his protective manner and his warm personality. Apart from the confusion I had regarding the inconsistency, I think Kenneth has done a good job so far, though this is not something earth-shattering. He still needs to impress me like he did in A Fistful of Stances.

- OK, it turns out that Tavia isn't that bad, though I still think she's boring. As the misunderstanding between her and Yat Kin is now cleared, her character is rather nice to watch in these few episodes. However, the whole sisters and family reunion part is just dragging this series down. It also makes Mandy look like a villain from now on. What a way to ruin a character eh?? I seriously wish that they had removed this part from the drama. I don't know how to judge Mandy anymore, is it her or is it her character that's bad? or both?? I'll leave this till the end. On the other hand, Tavia does look good in professional roles.

- Now onto Him Law: more exaggerating stuff coming from his character. If one day I ever go to a hospital, I definitely wouldn't want to be treated by someone like him. What kind of doctor falls asleep during an operation?? Like seriously?? This is just too much!! And I rather have the script not making him show off his bare chest anymore, one or two scenes are good enough already. I admit that he's cute though, and his character is likeable too.

TVB should stop using these 'jumping-off-building' suicidal scenes. It's not working for me anymore. All talks and no actions!!

Ok, that's enough for now. Anymore of this and it will be painful to read. Stay tuned for the next post.

PS. Must say this again: I love the theme song! Cheers!!

[TVB2005] Yummy Yummy (Food for Life) Review

Genre: Modern, light-hearted romance, friendship
# of Episodes: 30
Producer: Amy Wong
Casts:
- Kevin Cheng as Chan Ka Lok (Gai Jai)
- Charmaine Sheh as Chow Man Hei (Mandy)
- Raymond Lam as Yau Hok Lai (Daniel / Ngor Siu)
- Tavia Yeung as Chow Chi Yan (Yan / Lemon)
- Ben Yeo as Wong Fuk Sang (Terry)
- Natalie Tong as Chan Ka Bo
- Michelle Chia as Yuko Leong

What's It About?
Five people, after a food contest, become friends. Together they try to open a restaurant while maintaining their friendship. Lots of quarrelings, love triangles, misunderstandings and of course heart-warming moments. Attractive casts but failed script. Enough said!!

- Spoilers Alert -

This series is rather choppy. The script is so poorly written because everything seems so incoherent and the events are forgettable. There are also a lot of unnecessary moments, draggy moments of uninteresting events that make you wonder when it's gonna end. This series is technically a collection of many subplots, and a lot of them end within 2-3 episodes. 30 episodes are also too long for this because that means they are just stretching the story out without making it any better. IMO, 20 episodes would be the perfect length for this.

Some of the subplots are so pointless and redundant, like the case of Gai Jai's mom. Why make him an adopted child in the first place? That has nothing to do with the story. And in the end, his mom just left like that, without coming back? What's the point of that then? Raymond's part of the story is a bit better because it's more developed. It's actually stretched from beginning to end, slowly showed how a spoiled, useless brat became a more responsible man. However, his relationship with Yuko is ridiculous. At first, it was just her admiring him. Then, he rejected her. Then, she got mad and pretended to go out with a bunch of guys just to get him jealous. And finally, they got together....... one word: LAME!!!

The half-sisters story of Charmaine and Tavia is not original, but I like it. I like how they were best friends even before they knew they were related. Mandy is a strong character so she stood up for Yan many times. But then, when Mandy found out that they're sisters, she turned cold and kept ignoring Yan, reason being Mandy really hated her dad. I felt really sorry for Yan, getting blamed by Mandy even though it's not her fault. It's good to see that she can finally let go of her past and be nice to Yan again at the end.

But then they just have to kill the story one more time by adding the love triangle story of Mandy-Yan-Gai Jai. So draggy!! Gai Jai, can you make up your mind already? Go for the one you like, no need to hesitate. I was technically yelling at him the whole time!! It's all his fault, he made both of them unhappy!! And this whole time, I again felt sorry for Yan. It's so sad watching her crying alone while the ignorant Gai Jai knew nothing about Yan liking him. And then it's Mandy's turn to cry and I felt sorry for her as well. I myself was rooting for Mandy and Gai Jai all this time so I'm happy that they got together at the end. However, the ending was rushed.

Terry's part of the story is repetitive and rather boring. Throughout the whole series, he had to deal with his strict mom, who wanted him to attend university but he didn't want to. And then when he was at HK, we see him running around looking for his girlfriend. It dragged for so long that I felt asleep each time he's on screen. Though I must say that he and Natalie Tong together were cute.

Now thinking back, I would say the only good part of the whole series is probably the beginning, when they were competing in the Yummy Yummy Food Contest. I like how everyone came to know each other, realizing each others strength, covering each others weaknesses. They didn't get along well at first, but slowly accepting each other, and together they worked their way to the finals.

Characters/Performances

Gai Jai - Kevin Cheng

Kevin didn't do too well here. Even though his character is supposed to be all nice and likeable, I find him rather annoying, especially towards the end. Other than that, I don't think his character requires much acting, and still he didn't do too well~~

Mandy - Charmaine Sheh

Same old, same old~~ Strong, determined character with a 'sad' past and is emotionally weak. I don't find Charmaine's character that outstanding, and most of the time, she just sinks into the background. Charmaine portrayed this kind of character millions of times already so she shouldn't have troubles doing it again. I don't have much to say, except that she has good crying skill!

Daniel / Ngor Siu - Raymond Lam

Raymond is in his rich boy character again. Acting wise, I find Raymond acted better than Kevin here, probably because his character has more development. The part where Ngor Siu had a crush on  Mandy was hilarious. He cornered her and even had a perverted look on his face. So funny!! I like how his character slowly changed for the better.

Yan - Tavia Yeung

This is the Tavia I like to see, not the Tavia now!! I miss her already, so sad!! I like Tavia's character Yan. I really pity her, throughout the whole series. She had to deal with her dad's sickness, her sister, her family business and her love for Gai Jai. However, it's really nice seeing her turning from someone who's so shy and lacks self-confidence to someone who's very supportive of her family, sister and friends. You can say that she has matured by the end of the series. Her acting could still be improved but I think she had good chemistry with Kevin and Charmaine.

Terry - Ben Yeo

Do Singaporeans actually speak like him? I'm sorry but I really hate the way he spoke. It's like a big bowl of salad where he just technically throws everything in, English, Cantonese, Mandarin and sometimes even Malay. Other than that, I think Ben Yeo is cute himself, though he can't really act. I don't like his Terry character, so annoying with his constant "Yes, yes"

My rating: 6.3/10

Worth watching? Only if you like the cast, or have time to waste. Certainly not a must-watch. Both the opening and sub themes are nice to listen though.

Queens of Diamonds and Hearts: Episode 1-5

- This series is an exaggerating comedy, you can tell from episode 1, or even the trailer. This is probably just another Can't Buy Me Love, and I don't expect it to be any better. I admit that I enjoyed watching CBML, so I'll probably enjoy watching this too. Even though I do think it's stupid and lame, I still watch it haha, just for entertainment.
- The opening theme is too long. Fala's singing is not that great either. I skipped the whole song everytime I watched.
- As much as I like Roger, I hate him in stupid roles and in comedy like this, just like the case of Moses Chan. Next time he should really pick up some serious role. This is killing his image!! His acting is just OTT. The emperor character is so useless and perverted that I wanted to smack him several times already. And thank you Fala for doing so.
- I read somewhere that said Fala is too pretty for her role as Chung Mo Yim. Well, I don't know the actual story about Chung Mo Yim so I won't comment on her look. I must say that Fala is pretty cute playing a tomboy like this. Her action and expression are just really funny. But I still like her more in CBML, where she and Kenneth Ma had more chemistry together. Fala and Roger just don't match imo. Fala seems to overact in some scenes, but overall likeable. And I like watching Fala and Koni Lui together. It seems like Koni has improved in her acting. Her role is also likeable.
- It sucks that Sharon's character Ha Ying Chun will turn evil/bad later on cuz I really pity her at the beginning, not so anymore after she became queen but still, I enjoy Sharon performance so far. Ha Ying Chun seems like a scheming woman already... Who is the mysterious woman that Sharon kept seeing?? Some enemy of Mo Yim's master??
- And who am I most impressed with so far? It's Oscar Leung!!!!!! He cracked me up with his lines, and I love how he said them with a straight face, so hilarious. And this is exactly what I want to see in comedy, not just someone distorting their faces and trying too hard to be funny.
- The tension is building up between Fala and Sharon by the end of episode 5. Get ready for some scheming!! Excited? NO!!
- How come the palace is so empty?? Where's everyone?
- Not a great series, but funny so far. Let's wait and see how it develops!!

Never expected this series to be magical O_o

Roger with his 80% distorted face!! 囧

Fala is too manly!!

Poor Sharon~~

 

Oscar is funny without trying to be funny

Ben's character will turn evil?!