Roger Kwok Defends Quality of TVB Dramas

With viewers criticizing the quality in recent dramas and subsequent declining ratings, TVB decided to broadcast its old classics and Mainland’s popular dramas. However, Roger Kwok (郭晉安) defended the evolving content and style of current dramas, noting that it is unfair to compare them with older series from a different era.

After reruns of The Greed of Man <大時代> broke ten-year ratings records in the midnight broadcasting slot, veteran actor Kenneth Tsang (曾江) commented that current Hong Kong dramas no longer retain the glory they once had in previous decades. Many are in agreement with Kenneth’s assessment.

TV King Roger Kwok immediately defended TVB and its recent drama productions. He commented, “Personally, I believe that dramas evolve according to the changes of an era. It’s hard to determine and measure anything – the ideas, quality, and the productions have improved over the years. The way stories are told differ and it depends on what you personally prefer. For example, Old Time Buddies <難兄難弟> may bring a sense of nostalgia to older adults, but it doesn’t mean children will be fans. The productions nowadays have to match with what the audience wants.”

Roger stressed the importance of moving forward, and urged viewers to not always focus on looking in the past.

Source: Ming Pao

This article is written by Su for JayneStars.com.

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  1. I agree on what he says but the current status of TVB drama is lacking actors and actress they gotta fix that issue beforehand… we often see the same leads.

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    1. @freedalas While it’s true that TVB is starting to come out with “better” dramas now (and I use the word “better” only in comparisons to TVB’s own series from the past decade or so), unfortunately it’s too little, too late. The way I see it — after feeding us (audiences) trash for more than a decade, now they [TVB] try to upgrade to porridge, but it’s too late — we’ve got abalone now [HKTV]). Like sodi said below, the advent of HKTV has drastically changed the playing field as there is physical proof now that HKTV’s series are levels above TVB in almost every aspect (casting, script, acting, filming method, production values, etc.). To be honest, TVB’s problem isn’t just that they lack talent — yes, that’s a contributing factor, but everything else counts as well: all the above, plus attitude and sincerity, with the latter 2 (attitude and sincerity) being the areas where TVB has had the most problems in recent years. And even though TVB has made a few improvements the past 2 to 3 years, the heart of the problem is still there — their arrogant attitude, antiquated / restrictive policies, and overly conservative way of doing things all have not changed….unless they are willing to change in these areas, they will never make real progress. Oh and no, throwing money at the issue isn’t the answer – that is, unless they do what Ricky Wong did, which is not just throw money but also put heart and sincerity into it as well.

      1. @llwy12 Just to play the devil’s advocate here:

        I always hear people keep complaining about the decline of quality of TVB dramas and comparing them to classics like ‘the Greed of man’ but the crappy 70’s 80’s and 90’s series never get mentioned? Surely those exists?

        I honestly believe that some people are way too blinded by nostalgia, my father for example never liked ‘the greed of man’ and always say how 70’s and 80’s series are better.

        I’d even argue that dramas such as ‘War and beauty’ and ‘Rosy business’ will be remembered as classics twenty years down the road and people will say how those are one of the best tvb dramas.

        It’s not even like that TVB haven’t tried what HKTV is doing now (high production value, great storyline): look at ‘When heaven burns’ but look at what happened: average to bad ratings. I’m a fan of HKTV dramas and I hope they’ll succeed but I still fear for their survival constantly in HK.

        I even listed some TVB series of the past decade that I liked (but of course this list is all personal opinion as I didn’t include super popular series like for example ‘wars of in-laws’ or ‘beyond the realm of conscience’ because I find those drama bad):

        Life Made Simple (2005)
        Shades of truth (2005)
        Misleading track (2005)
        The Academy (2005)
        Revolving Doors of Vengeance (2005)
        La Femme Desperado (2006)
        The Dance of Passion (2006)
        Land of Wealth (2006)
        Net Deception (2006)
        Dicey Business (2006)
        Fathers and sons (2007)
        Heart of Greed (2007)
        D.I.E. (2008)
        Catch me Now (2008)
        A Journey called life (2008)
        The Four (2008)
        Rosy business (2009)
        You’re hired (2009)
        E.U. (2009)
        A Chip off the old block (2009)
        Sweetness in the salt (2009)
        A Great way to care (2009)
        No Regrets (2010)
        When Lanes merge (2010)
        Every Move you make (2010)
        Ghost Writer (2010)
        A Fistful of Stances (2010)
        Twilight Investigation (2010)
        Beauty know no pain (2010)
        Gun Metal Grey (2010)
        Lives of Omission (2011)
        Ghetto Justice (2011)
        The Other Truth (2011)
        7 Days in Life (2011)
        Bottled Passion (2011)
        When Heaven Burns (2011)
        The confidant (2012)
        The hippocratic crush (2012)
        Highs and lows (2012)
        Gloves come off (2012)
        L’Escargot (2012)
        Tiger Cubs (2012)
        Bounty Lady (2013)
        A change of heart (2013)
        Always and ever (2013)
        Inbound troubles (2013)
        Line Walker (2014)
        Black Heart White soul (2014)
        Come on, cousin (2014)
        Never dance alone (2014)
        Ruse of Engagement (2014)
        Tomorrow is another day (2014)
        Shades of Life (2014)
        Raising the bar (2015)
        TBC

        I’m not arguing against the fact that TVB had a way more glorious period in the past and that may or may not be due to their passion towards their dramas but we have to remember these things: it’s a different time, young people have more options (a lot of HK youth watch US television shows online) so of course TVB needs to cling on to and pander to their housewife demographic, it’s a business after all.

      2. @peanutbutterjelly Of course there are ‘crappy’ series from the 70s/80s/90s eras as well – no one is saying that ALL the series from those eras were good and there was nothing bad….just because those series aren’t mentioned as often doesn’t mean they don’t exist. By the same token, no one is saying that ALL the series from the after 2000s period were bad either – in fact there were quite a few gems that came out of that era (if we want to go the ‘list’ route, I have a list of favorite series from that era as well). But there is no denying the fact that from an overall ratio perspective, the number of ‘good’ series (memorable, influential, high caliber, great script, great acting, etc. etc.) was definitely higher back in the old days compared to now (or, to borrow from sodi’s comment below, the number of ‘hits’ was greater than the number of ‘misses’) – that’s really the point that most of us are trying to make. It’s not really a ‘bashing match’ of TVB’s series per se, but rather the stating of facts that refute Roger’s denial of the quality of TVB’s series going down. Of course, at the end of the day, just like with everything else, it comes down to a matter of personal preference and taste – everyone relates to series differently depending on their experiences….what I like may be different from what you like and vice versa, just like how some of us may disagree with Roger and agree with Kenneth while others may feel opposite.

        In terms of ratings – I’ve always been opposed to using ratings to determine a series’ quality (or lack thereof) – of course, that’s a personal sentiment of mine only, as I am not blind to the fact that as much as I may not like it or agree with it, the ‘end all, be all’ measurement to a program’s success in the TV industry will always be ratings, just like box office sales will always be the determining measurement for movies. By the way, back when The Greed of Man first aired in the early 90s, the ratings were bad as well and there were tons of criticism / complaints over the ‘dark’ nature of the series (in fact, that’s one reason why Wai Kar Fai had to cut some of the more ‘disturbing’ scenes from the series, such as the part where the Fong siblings are thrown to their deaths from the top of the building). The fact that ratings can be affected by numerous external factors that may not have anything to do with the series itself makes it an ineffective measurement source in my book.

  3. Before HKTV aired it might still squeeze by with a grain of truth. After watching the big three from HKTV, it more or less solidifies the argument that TVB has dropped the ball on an epic level.

    Their strategy to retain the see lai crowd is crumbling and their solution of popular mainland drama / film foray is nothing more than wool over your eyes by showing a nicer production budget but same old rehash. Wu Zetian is a perfect example of the same thing done for the millionth time, her character is so Mary Sue and aside from a few historical events they can’t ignore the rest is just average at best. In short, it’s not Wu Zetian, its just a fantasy of what producers want her to be mixed in with very little history and an average draggy script selling itself based on the name alone.

    TVB also likes to argue that people watch online, except guess what… people who know their way around the Internet are tuning into Korean, Japanese and Western dramas. Even my mom is a lot pickier after being exposed to HKTV, at least she knows why I’m always only half tuning in when we watch TVB at dinnertime.

    The past is something people dwell on because it absolutely destroys anything they have been able to produce in recent years. The best shock value TVB can seem to come up with is a rape scene that last a couple of seconds. To name a few, what happened to great characters like Michael Hui (Sunny Chan / Threshold of an Era – 1999) who turned on everybody in his pursuit of fame and fortune once he lost the struggle between his noble self and the darker aspects of reality or Ben Ding ( Deric Wan – Looking Back in Anger 1989) who killed the woman he calls mother after raising him as her own in order to cover himself up and continue to enjoy high society after going power hungry. They haven’t been able to bring back that character depth, storyline, etc.

    But its not like it doesn’t exist! Former TVB people made The Menu and look how much fame and recognition it brought to the cast. That’s another thing they need to seriously address, the talent. The difference in watching Catherine Chau against someone in her own age group like Kate Tsui or Linda Chung is so staggering I’m wondering if we can make a special award and just give it to her for Fong Ying instead this year at the award ceremony.

    HK Golden Forums conducted an online vote recently and HKTV series alongside actors/actresses took every top spot available.

    Main problem is going to be them losing out on future generations who grew up with the Internet and not TV. Pretty much those of us who are adults from Gen Y (1980+) aren’t tuning anymore because there’s an abundant amount of better material as border constraints are knocked down in the wake of Internet.

    1. @sodi I also agree 100%!

      Catherine Chau is a great example of what is inherently wrong with TVB (and also why it’s so critical to have other options in the form of additional TV stations to generate more opportunities for artists). It’s absolutely ludicrous for TVB to let 17 years go by without recognizing her talent — though I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, since that’s the norm with TVB. Leung Kin Ping is another example — he was with TVB for close to 30 years and continued to be a ‘nobody’ until he ventured out, joining HKTV and also making movies….now he is finally gaining some recognition on an international level (the movie he starred in won an award at the Canadian Film Festival).

    2. @sodi Idk I think the concept of mary sue is pretty sexist. I mean I know there is a male equivalent of the term but let’s face it, that’s exclusively used for describing female characters. Otherwise why is no one calling Yang guo or other jing Yong characters ‘Gary stues’ (they definitely fit the bill) ? Or what about louis koo’ s character in ‘a step into the past’ (handsome, smart, everyone loves him and falls in love with him , has a solution for everything, perfect character all around)?

      1. @peanutbutterjelly I don’t particularly find it sexist, at least not if you apply it correctly and this can swing both ways. If someone goes around throwing the term often then yes, it forms a basis for potential misogyny or misandry if other angles are factored in.

        Wu Zetian being Mary Sue here is because she’s been idealized by the script to the point she pretty much plays out like a fan fiction insert. Aside from the typical traits, you’ve got even more out of place things like her donning on military gear and being on a battlefield. [SPOILER ALERT] They pretty much keep this going till very late into the show and clearly avoid anything to do with her actual rule which is a more entertaining aspect of her actual self [END OF SPOILER]. For a historical figure that has been well documented to the point you can form a believable personality, this character is way off in la la land.

        If you also noticed, I said “the millionth time”? Its because a lot of these things is part of a larger trend that has been affecting adolescent girls. Now that China has opened up, the maturity rate of children has accelerated. This is all well documented and if you look at interviews with authors who primarily focus on Mary Sue type stories like The Legend of Zhen Huan, Magic Imperial Concubine, etc. They’re aware of it but it pays the bills so why not? Some of them have even divulged how at ages as young as 10 that a large portion of their female classmates would write this but they were the ones who kept on writing while the rest gave up.

        As for Gary Stu, they’re there too. Most noticeable was Wesley Crusher from Star Trek: TNG where he played out to be a deus ex machinima before they scrapped him by giving him powers beyond the comprehension of humanity. Yang Guo was three dimensional enough that he wouldn’t count and he couldn’t do everything, it took him a long time before he reached hero status. Louis Koo in ASTIP you will have to dissect carefully, because he actually traveled back in time then it makes sense for him to be the focal point of everybody given his conspicuous way of doing things.

        Words themselves aren’t offensive, if our aim is for them to be hurtful towards someone than yes, that would fit the bill. As long as they’re backed up when it’s murky or if something is blantently obvious that it fits then I see no problem with saying what it is for what it is.

      2. @sodi “Mary Sue type stories like The Legend of Zhen Huan”

        Zhen Huan was hardly Mary Sue. Wu Zetian is not quite Mary Sue. All these characters started out innocent and learn their way of the worlds when deceived again and again. Sticking to ones principle of being good isn’t Mary Sue although I will say Dae Janggeum is Mary Sue in a way. The stories have to progress and characters have to progress and so they must start somewhere and end somewhere else. The only characters that never change is in K Drama and I don’t see anyone ever complaining about the one line progression.

        By the way I am surprised how everyone is claiming Greed Of Men is such a great classic, etc. When I first watched it the story was OTT and it still is. Time dulls minds I suppose.

        Old Time Buddies came from the golden revival of TVB. Anyone dissing OTB has no idea what they’re talking about.

        And I saw Age Of Ultron twice. Apart from Captain America I will say Avengers movies were enjoyable because the individuals actors were well cast. I will worry more for that superman/batman franchise.

        TVB is not dying. Hardly. They’re trying to change unfortunately still same old formula. They think adding controversial scenes and more kissing and sex is the way but it is just temporary.

        As for HKTV, I have read so much praises for The Menu. But perhaps these same group are ones who want to grab at something anti TVB that is good enough that they praise it sky high. Nevertheless I am watching Beyond The Rainbow and Episode 1 was typical TVB sort of mess except nicer camera quality and I recognise all the actors except if the same actors were to be in a TVB production, you will hear criticisms like same old same old. Frankly it is not fresh or new but the actors maketh the story right now. The story itself is atypical. Am hoping for a breakthrough.

        As for Wuzetian, still watching but I am under no illusion this is an Idol drama version with better actors.

      3. @funnlim You do realize that blurb you pulled out was directed towards specific stories that have them when they were Internet novels, right? If I’m unclear on that, I’ll clear that up with that and mention once more that authors themselves realize this too but since it’s a means of living, they don’t mind it. Though it’s important to mention that Zhen Huan got a lot of flak for the first half of the show from critics and Internet users.

        I agree that sticking to one’s principles isn’t Mary Sue but overly being stuck to being good is because of the obvious of whom she is. The generalized modern definition is ‘fan fiction’ as the first part followed by typical traits that make for poor character development and too perfect to be real. Perhaps you’re agreeing with me in a different way, but an idol itself is a tailored perfect image for followers to worship. Wu Zetian in the show is, as I said, a fan fiction (tailored image of her) insert because none of her personality is anything near her real self. We’re talking about a historical figure well documented to have willingly wanting to seduce the emperor and not a starry-eyed lost girl whom the emperor suddenly felt a connection to. The first part with Li shimin already borders fantasy whereas she was kept at a distance in reality though praised (there was a sexual relationship too). Not too much to ask for a bit more three dimensional personality and a little creativity.

        I’m not sure what they will cut in the TVB ver, since it’s 70 episodes? compared to the 96 episodes but you’re looking for at least 80% of the episodes to be the same with next to no development and her suddenly becoming brilliant enough to enter battle, practically skilled in everything imaginable, doing things that make you question the logic of the show, etc.

        TVB won’t die, I’m not even sure how some people can think that unless they get ATV level management. The government has also ensured its survival but they will be ditching HK soon anyway as a monopoly will lead them down a dark tunnel so targeting China alone makes good business sense, HKTV has too much political undertone in their dramas puts doubt into approval for a license. Not really sure where anti-tvb came from but I do remember you posting something similar before iirc. I’ll be one to admit HKTV has had average dramas to date as well, Beyond the Rainbow won’t be a great story/script but will have fine acting from the cast similar to how TBONTB cast really brought itself to life.

        The main problem I see, again, is that the fight for the next generation isn’t swinging in their favor because of the status quo they keep maintaining in their productions and its been clear its not what the audience has been wanting. The hits versus misses so far though is definitely in HKTV’s favor, quick look at HK Golden and the insane amount of coverage for The Menu (who also have ties to their other critically well received dramas) cast more or less proves that.

        Why would anyone diss OTB, that series was so good. Even if it wasn’t top notch memorable, it was definitely good enough to be up among some of the best stuff.

      4. @funnlim Frankly, Im not a fan of HKTV. I dont like its two hits Borderline and Election. I also quit To be or not to be half way. However I think The menu is different to other HKTV. It is the only HKTV series that I enjoy so much. The color and storyline is much better to the standard of a HK current TVB series. So Im not falling into the group of anti TVB to praise The menu to sky high in order to pull down TVB. I think you should give it a try to see why it gets that much of praises for acting and script.

        I personally think TVB is running out of scripts. They are continuously making sequels even to a not-successful-enough series like Big Wheel (I dont even rmb its English name) just because one character is loved in it. They are trying to make movie version from the successful series for the same commercial purposes but cant make their own movie scripts. At the same time, they copy from other series (including Korean, Chinese, Japanese, US, etc. series). They also lack artists but it is still a not-so-big matter comparing with the demand of script. I watched 3 series of 2015 and they are just in meh standard. Only good to kill time when there is nothing else to watch. Watching Limelight years and feeling it is like a rip off series of some other series with a script with flaws.

        Site discussion: Comparing Marvel and DC Comics style is like comparing apple and orange. Although they are both super power movies, the concepts that Marvel and DC comics are running are like black and white. Marvel wants a large, rapid and bright universal with humors. DC comics aims a darker world where the characters have dark past. So you cant mix those two in one way.

        I only agree that Zhen Huan is far from a Mary Sue.

      5. @funnlim Yes, The Greed of Man’s story is OTT, there’s no doubt about that — in fact, both the producer and scriptwriters of the series have acknowledged this point (I remember the scriptwriter Tsang Kan Cheung himself using the words “crazy” and “over-the-top” to describe the script, especially the sections that Wai Kar Fai himself wrote). WKF is known for pushing the limits and exploring the dark side of human nature with his series, so of course we’re not going to expect anything tame from him — The Final Verdict was a crazy series too and so was War of the Dragon, yet both are also great classics from the 80s. Oh and how about Looking Back in Anger, which is widely considered as one of TVB’s greatest series of all time (deservedly so and absolutely agree, of course) – there was some ‘crazy’ stuff in there too (typical of WKF’s productions), yet no one will refute that series is an absolute classic! Perhaps it boils down to one’s definition of “classic” – personally, I don’t see how the story being OTT and unconventional kicks it out of the “classic” category….but then again, it’s subjective, I guess.

      6. @sodi I will say I agree that there are a lot of the same type of wishfullfilment characters and a little more diversity in characterization wouldn’t hurt. However, being a wishfullfilment characater or ‘mary sue’ doesn’t automatically make it a bad or one dimensional character . I stand by my point that most male Jing Yong protagonists are so-called ‘mary sues’ -especially yang guo- who have the “super handsome, super good, super talented moral compass of the show, super pool of love interests, ultimately becoming the super wu lin superhero” characteristics. Being idealized doesn’t necessary mean one dimensional, you can be a threedimensional mary sue. Same goes for Louis Koo’s character in ASITP.

        However, I’m not here to argue wether or not these male characters are so-called mary sues or not but I just want you to see that it’s pretty evident that the term is almost exclusively aimed towards female characters, very rarely do people think twice about male characters being sues (I’ve seen your male examples and I know there are male characters that are classified as such but there are still more male characters that ‘get a way with it’ so to speak, such as my examples above). It’s as if only when women have their idealized or wishfullfilment characters in fiction it becomes a problem.

        Of course I know you have no malicious or sexist intent but do see why this term can be seen as problematic, this is an interesting read if you’re interested:

        http://ladyloveandjustice.tumblr.com/post/13913540194/mary-sue-what-are-you-or-why-the-concept-of-sue

      7. @peanutbutterjelly I always think of a random discussion as me meeting someone with a thought that peaks my curiosity and pulling up a seat to casually discuss over a drink. The internet sucks at conveying tone so please don’t feel like I’m being defensive or offensive in any way, I edit to a more neutral tone because of how easy the message gets jitter on the interweb.

        After reading that article, Superman would fit more as being all perfect for Gary Stu. That same discussion happened years ago and Batman is so emotionally broken and the only pure thing about him is no guns and no killing, what makes Batman so compelling was that he’s close to being one but never is. Batman never wins if you think about it, he wins individual fights but Gotham only gets worse and as time progresses, it all results in a net loss for him albeit a slower rate. Disregarding the fact that he can never have a normal life, he also alieniates friends and foes alike the more time goes on. He has his admirers and allies, some like him but the majority respect and fear him, that’s far from saying he’s a likeable guy, its just better to be his friend rather than his enemy. Superman on the flip side actually has godlike powers, pretty much everyone likes him as a poster boy for good, etc. and even develops new powers when needed courtesy of our yellow sun and does no wrong. The rare times he’s ever near bad or downright evil is either a passing moment of weakness or in the alternate universe, surprisingly Batman jumps on board without much of a debate whereas the others go through some moral conflict which is part of the analysis made by Joker that Batman and him are only a thread apart showing just how deeply scarred he really is. Did I mention Superman is also smarter than Batman?

        I see what you mean though by it being problematic through that article, but I think the bigger problem at hand is how ingrained people are in trying to be politically correct. It reminds me of the Ellen Pao case that businesses need to market itself as politically correct and be presentable at the cost of promoting people who aren’t nearly qualified. Society has become too sensitive to issues like sexism, racism and feminism and everyone wants to be on the right side of things so the whip comes out cracking when anything perceived incorrect is immediately stamped out. Except this has also given rise to the victim mentality and other things for people to exploit and hide behind which completely changes the original meaning and what the leaders had fought for.

        I also agree that being Mary Sue doesn’t make it automatically bad or one dimensional, I’m merely focusing on the point that it is what it is and there’s nothing wrong with it. We shouldn’t let a negative connotation or stigma surrounding the word refrain us from using it, as long as there’s sound support as to why you use it then no one can really fault you for having an opinion.

      8. @sodi

        “but I think the bigger problem at hand is how ingrained people are in trying to be politically correct. ”

        “Society has become too sensitive to issues like sexism, racism and feminism and everyone wants to be on the right side of things so the whip comes out cracking when anything perceived incorrect is immediately stamped out. Except this has also given rise to the victim mentality and other things for people to exploit and hide behind which completely changes the original meaning and what the leaders had fought for.”

        100% agree with your comment.

      9. “this is an interesting read if you’re interested:

        http://ladyloveandjustice.tumblr.com/post/13913540194/mary-sue-what-are-you-or-why-the-concept-of-sue

        That writer has a huge chip on her shoulder about women being victimised, treated unfairly etc in the big bad patriarchal world.

        “The good guys tend to win, get the girl and have everything fall into place for them. It’s only when women started doing it that it became a problem.

        All the Disney heroines got the guy and has everything fall into place for them at the end. No one called them Mary Sue. But, I bet the writer will dislike them for being damsel in distress and need a guy to save which discredit feminism.

        Mary Sue became the default term to define ‘character in a fanfic who obviously serves as an idealized version of the author mainly for the purpose of Wish Fulfillment ‘ because the first person who made fun of such character chose this name and it caught on. Nothing sinister.

        “So when women dominate a genre, that means people are on close watch, ready to scorn any wish fulfillment they may engage in. This term could only originate if the default was female.”

        No. People don’t watch closely looking in women dominated genre for things to scorn. The more logical reason would be people reading a lot of fanfictions notice such a trend and someone decide to point it out and others agree.

        The reason the term first came out is because fanfic writers wrote original (badly written) wish fulfillment character in a fanfiction and has them dominated the fiction, and it annoyed the fans who wants to read about the canon characters instead of the author self-insert. And it most probably aimed at extreme example like characters who has special color hair, special power, exceptional skill and beauty and won over the main guy who in canon is in love with the main girl.
        The term later evolve to become terms for idealised characters in general.

      10. @peanutbutterjelly

        Otherwise why is no one calling Yang guo or other jing Yong characters ‘Gary stues’.

        I know at least 2 people who has called Yang Guo a Gary Stu.

    3. Just watch episode 1 of The Menu. I like Kate Yeung. She got too little credit for her role in the series (overshadowed by Catherine Chau and Noel Leong). She portrayed the rookie reporter very well. Anyone who has seen both ‘Once Upon A Song’ and ‘The Menu’ would see what a versatile actress she is. She gave a totally different portrayal for her 2 characters in these dramas.

      I like this series. I tried to watch episode 1 twice before but didn’t get pass the first 10 minutes. To me the car chase was confusing and everything was so rush. But, I finally sat down and watch the whole episode 1 and was hooked by the end. I find this series very realistic, from the set to the overall portrayal of the workings of the news office. People are actually working and going after news, and you get to see how reporters really work and the newsroom really look like a newsroom.

      1. @kidd That’s because that newsroom IS a real newsroom – it’s HKTV’s newsroom….Ricky Wong had his news department clear out their offices for The Menu’s crew to film (of course, the crew “personalized” the offices by turning it into Gwing Po newsroom, but most of the office equipment was already there). If you get a chance to watch some of the news clips about the TV license thing where they show pictures of HKTV’s offices, look closely and I’m sure you’ll recognize both the exterior of the building and the inside corridor / entrance area…talk about realistic set! 🙂

  4. I may disagree with what he said. For example, Im definitely not a fan of Gallen Lo but I enjoy Old Time Buddies so so much. I watched it after years since its first air but its quality still met my standard of a good series. On the other hand, the current series have low quality scripts. The dialogues are not as interesting and memorable as before. When I first started with TVB and until 2000s, I can remember quotes in many series. Now? I even dont bother to remember any quotes as they dont fit the current social.

    1. @alluka,”the current series have low quality scripts. The dialogues are not as interesting and memorable as before.”

      absolutely true,not only script but also the story and new actors are not that interesting and memorable as before. not that tvb cant produce good drama’s but its not that top quality as before such as the greed of man and many other classics. i dont believe tvb can ever produce a drama with the level of a greed of man again.

      1. @kolo “i dont believe tvb can ever produce a drama with the level of a greed of man again.”

        Very true. Not only the high caliber actors/actresses and the script, also the collaborative effort is no longer there. Excerpts from TGOM’s script were recently published and one of the scriptwriters who had participated in writing the script back then (currently still employed by TVB, now promoted to script supervisor) commented how the director filmed the scenes almost verbatim the way it was written (plus the acting was very meticulous too) and the result was powerful. She questioned whether the directors nowadays don’t have the ability / experience to interpret the script properly or perhaps don’t care as much, as there have been times when the scriptwriters would write a powerful scene in great detail, yet when the director tries to film it, the end result is entirely different.

        This is one reason why I’m so opposed to the rumored movie re-make of TGOM that TVB/Shaw Bros supposedly has plans for — there’s no way that they’ll be able to “re-create” the same success, especially if the original behind-the-scenes crew (producer / director / scriptwriter) won’t be involved with the project.

    2. @alluka Yup. As much as I love Roger, I have to disagree with him on the Old Time Buddies thing too. I also enjoyed that series immensely despite not being a fan of the cast and not being from the Shaw Brothers era. Though he’s correct on the piece about productions having to match what audiences want, the problem is that TVB DOESN’T listen to audiences, so that comment doesn’t really apply.

      I echo everyone’s sentiments about the nostalgia toward series from the old days (70s/80s/90s). The older series are indeed more memorable and higher quality in terms of script, acting, seriousness of production, etc. If TVB can’t even outdo their own series from the past and instead continue to take steps backwards, they are in serious danger of becoming obsolete.

  5. Tvb had already lost its glory. Now many artistes/writers that was popular and groomed by tvb ventured to China instead. No more loyalty. I think that breaks tvb too.

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