@elizabeth The educational system is very different in UK from the ones in North America (USA and Canada). In UK, Hong Kong, Australia and maybe some other Commonwealth countries, you get admitted to any university programs from the Advanced Level of GCE (matriculation graduated). In North America, you need to get your first degree (B.A. or B.Sc.) first before you can get admitted to any professional programs, such as Medicine, Dentistry, Law, Optometry, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, etc., and 1 to 2 years to get a Master's degree after the Bachelor's degree. Students in the UK are luckier than the ones in North America. They don't need to go to university for such a long time and have more time to make money.

@elizabeth the focus is different because it’s happen in the high ranking official’s household instead of being inside the palace??? To me, it’s still pretty much ancient series with schemings. Princess Wei-young is basically the same plot as Ming Lan, and to me, that series in every sense of it was all about schemings! Are you saying Ruyi was cheaply made? Or Yanxi was? Because I thought those two are far from the definition of cheaply made? Pretty sure everyone thinks so of Yu MaMa before Yanxi, however, Hao Lan cemented that he’s still as bad as before Yanxi. He will continue producing the rubbish he does before, and now and then you get a Yanxi lol My main problem with China’s governing body of drama is that while they are doing the censorship, did they not see how the audience got tricked? Start the story with 1 pair, and about 1/3 way through, derailed the whole story with second pair, it likes advertising and promoting the upcoming actors and actresses and killing the drama for the sake of promoting! Ban that!

@elizabeth TSOML is exactly Hao lan and Lu Zhen, except it's happening very slowly. After you watched like what...about 20 episodes, then everything finally cumulates up to what already happened in the first episode of Hao Lan. Instead of fixing things by banning issues such as slow pace dramas, they are going to get rid of everything.

@hohliu Argh! I have to do 5 years for Masters! Not fair! =(

I hope he takes care of his health so he can spend more time with his family.

@littlefish TSOML is actually not a palace drama. It has palace scenes but it does not revolve around the royals. There is scheming but the focus is different. I think the ban does not suggest that stopping all ancient dramas but instead filtering out cheap investments that have little quality or value that keep getting churned out in bulk. The plots are repetitive and predictable (I have watched the first 10 eps of Hao Lan, and the back story seems a lot similar to Lu Zhen. I worry about Yu Zheng dramas because he is more out to create hype rather than produce something nice. Occasionally he will make something good but most of the time, it is like watching three series in one with bad editing). I recently had the misfortune of watching the latest adaptation of A Step In the Past and it was horrible from acting, casting, costumes, hairstyles, sets, dialogue, etc.. I think that China is just trying to control the quality of dramas being produced without it being swamped by masses of cheap projects that may or may not be related to money laundering activities. There has been a lot of IP projects but they don't even follow the original story except for the names of characters. I am not against China for banning palace catfight dramas as long as they review what they ban. I doubt they would ban ancient court or battle dramas. I just hope they leave web series alone because some good creative stuff has been released online.

Not interested in watching Wong Jing act. Wish Donnie can make more original movies than remakes and to stay away from Wong Jing.

@elizabeth wasn't the series' choreography team affiliated with Phillip one way or another?? I rather him put more effort in his actual job, which is acting. He should let the choreograpbt do the job they're paying to do instead being unneeded gentleman. I'm a bit bitter bc I did look forward to that series but dropped a few eps in bc Phillip was annoying af. That Fala-look-like chic didn't help either; she added another layer of annoyance, lol.

@elizabeth Id rather TVB didnt take him back. A cheater and slacker, just a lowlife trying to claw his way back. In terms of his relationship with rich heiress, she said herself that he saw love in money, he must have relied on her for all his expenditures

@jjwong You can have a look at her when she first came out in ROCH and "Schemes of A Beauty". She has lost a bit of baby fat from the face since then. In series, she looks pretty much the same, but in photos, she can look different depending on makeup, lighting and hairstyles (and also photoshop).

I hope everything goes well for Cherie's pregnancy. Having a kid after 40 can be really dangerous.

What I disliked about it apart from the fact that he cheated on his wife who stayed by his side all these years, he also disrespected his profession as an actor. He was cast as Suen Kuen in that series and everyone else had confirmed their schedules so they can get filming going, and he decided he wasn't going to film that series because his GF wanted to go on a holiday. He not only disrespected his company, himself and also his colleagues. Same with Carina who many years ago decided to call a sickie and got caught at the racetracks with Julian Hui by the paparazzi. Joel, though talented, seemed that he did not care much for his job. You hear of all the veterans who turn up for work with just a few lines, but stay for hours on set help the other colleagues prepare their emotions. Chun Pui is noted for his professionalism where he would still cry and act even if his face was not supposed to be in the shot, as he feels it can bring out the emotions and drama of the scene from his colleagues. You can even see Phillip Ng who has lots of room for improvement in the acting department, stay back behind the scenes and help other colleagues out with action scenes. It is not as if he gets credited or paid extra for doing it. And also to cut ties with Christine Ng who was his longtime friend as well. It had seemed to me at the time, Joel had decided that Florinda was more important than his acting, his marriage and his friends. Some argue that he was madly and blindly in love. I don't find it romantic. I find it stupid. He was not a lovesick teen but a very mature adult. I do hope that Joel has changed for the better and that he will treat Apple properly this time. I am not opposed to seeing Joel on screen as he can really act, but I just don't personally like him or hate him.

@elizabeth i think they had a shotgun marriage so the baby came as a suprise. so perhaps they never planned it hence it turned out the way it did.

Was "the fan" visually impaired?

@msxie0714 I am not against either father or mother being career-minded, but as long as the family works out a plan so that everyone is sacrificing a little to make it work. I don't see a need for both parents to be working all the time unless they need to to make ends meet. I disagree with people who argue that they still want a life and full career after kids and marriage but fails to discuss it with their partner before getting married and having kids. These things are very serious and need time to consider and discuss. Both parties need to know clearly what is expected so everyone is heading in the same direction for the family. I have friends where the mother is main breadwinner and the dad works part-time and takes care of the kids. I also have friends where the mother takes a few initial years off after the baby is born and then once the kid goes to school, then she goes back to work. It can also happen for the father if he wants to take time off and the work. But my friends are happy because they know what to do and what the plan is. They are happy to sacrifice because they know what they get in return is much better - the happiness and priceless memories with their child. The unhappiness and bitterness stems from a lack of discussion and a misunderstanding of what the other spouse wants and needs. Then any sacrifice will feel forced and resentful. I won't comment on whether Yang Mi or Hawick should be working or spending time with Naomi because I don't know the whole story. Good luck to Yang Mi and Hawick on their divorce.

@elizabeth I agree. if julian was still married to pansy, he would not have put all his billions in a trust. pansy is the daughter of Stanley ho...a wonderful match of the rich families.

@nomad822 Hey! Why I mentioned Pansy Ho is that she has a wonderful relationship with her ex-in-laws and has shown herself to be a capable and ambitious businesswoman. I always feel that if a son is not up to expectations, the daughter-in-law can compensate for his deficiencies with her influence. I wonder if Mr. Hui senior would have reconsidered his financial arrangements if his daughter-n-law was a capable businesswoman rather than an ex-actress with a trail of scandals. In a way, I feel that Carina is not suited for marrying into the upper class. I just don't think she has the personality and patience to deal with the secret hardships of surviving in the upper class. It was kind of a blessing in disguise since she now found Tony.

@elizabeth His marriage with Pansy Ho was probably a convenient union between 2 influential families. Afterall the Hui family is one of the Big 4 Wealthy Families in HK - the late dad is on Forbes list. During the time prior to marriage with Pansy Ho = Carina Lau Kar-Leng was also in the picture dating Julian Ho. This was maybe early 90s? Back then, Carina was a 大陆妹 aka 'China girl ' from Suzhou. And Carina didn't play her cards right. She counted her eggs before they were hatched and declared they were 'engaged' - forcing his hand, in a way,. Caina was dropped like a hot potato - no way the Hui elders would have accepted her.

Congratulations!

Reminds me of Anita Mui's mum and her trust fund arrangements. It shows that Julian has not convinced his father that he is not capable to handle the family business. 2 million per month is OK enough, they don't have to pay rent or Julian will still get a salary of he doesn't to go work. It is not that bad an arrangement and they won't starve. But just embarrassing for the trio. Trust funds are not a bad idea if a whole board is in charge of it. I heard that other Hui family members are in on the trust fund board. I guess Mr. Hui senior feels that his fortunes and assets belong to the whole family and not just his own bloodline. I applaud him for that. It's like an emperor not passing his throne to an incapable heir for the sake of the empire. I wonder if it would still turn out like this if Julian was still married to Pansy Ho.