“Raising the Bar” Alternate Ending Leaked, TVB Practicing Self-Censorship?
TVB’s legal drama Raising the Bar <四個女仔三個BAR> aired its final episode on February 27 to a lot of buzz. A hot debate online was started when it was uncovered that TVB originally had a different ending planned for the series.
The final scene aired featured Grace Chan (陳凱琳), Jeannie Chan (陳瀅), Stephanie Ho (何雁詩), and Moon Lau (劉佩玥) meeting with their mentor Ben Wong (黃智賢) in front of the Court of Final Appeal. A voice-over quoted the words of Hong Kong Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma (馬道立): “I’d like to remind the people of Hong Kong, that when facing adversity, do not forget the basic factors that helped Hong Kong in the past.” The scene ends with Grace looking over at the entrance of the Court of Final Appeal, with the song “We Shall Overcome” playing in the background.
Censored Finale to Appeal to Mainland Viewers?
After the finale ended, a netizen discovered that an alternate ending to the series has been circulating online. In this ending, the main characters in the series stand in front of the Court of Final Appeal with their heads down, participating in a silent protest. This is a direct reference to a similar demonstration that happened in June 2014, when 1,800 Hong Kong lawyers and scholars marched from the High Court to the Court of Final Appeal to protest against the Chinese government issuing a “white paper” that jeopardized Hong Kong’s judicial independence.
The alternate ending became a hot topic online, with some netizens claiming that TVB is practicing self-censorship to appease its mainland Chinese viewers. Others supported the current ending TVB chose, and said that the “hidden” ending actually did not make much sense to the storyline. Another set of netizens claimed that there was actually a third ending, which showed the characters marching to the Court of Final Appeal without a voice-over.
Producer’s Response
In response to the debate, Raising the Bar producer Joe Chan (陳維冠) clarified that there was only one official ending for the series, which was the ending TVB chose to broadcast. Overseas broadcasts of the series also showed the same ending.
As to why the alternate ending for Raising the Bar was leaked online, Chan said he would look into it. Regarding that many netizens believe TVB is practicing self-censorship, Joe Chan expressed that the leaked ending was cut off because it did not comply with the original storyline.
According to various sources, the leaked ending actually came from the DVD version of Raising the Bar, which will be released by TVBI in Malaysia.
Source: ihktv.com
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
i watched the censored ending. i thought it was good and an appropriate one. i didn’t know there was another broadcast one until i read the article. not surprised, tvb is so chicken.
where can we watch the censored ending??
Here you go
https://vimeo.com/120930448
Is it just me, the alternate ending is the same one as the TVB ending …
yes. i find them identical too. cant see where is the “alternate”…
For a series so non political and so absorbed in stories that isn’t about justice especially to the story of Li Dan and to end in such way is to me doesn’t gel. Doesn’t make sense.
Fully agreed, the last arc doesn’t make any sense, would be better Marcus fall for Giselle
I expected that and kudos to TVB for not going down that road.
i miss watching this!
Bravo for the alternate ending. It summed it up nicely and staged true to its roots. I’m glad someone has a backbone!
No wonder the censored ending seems a little abrupt to me. I prefer the alternate ending. Makes more sense.
I think the censored ending would bring a lot controversy in Hong Kong. I prefer it! I hope they have a sequel that is focused on cases and Ben Wong! I really liked his character.
Agree. Really enjoyed how calming and how much he wanted to help people. A sequel wouldn’t be too bad focusing on him and Ram or more serious case. This drama wasn’t bad but they focused too much on lovey dovey things and the 4 girls.
@lol, u funny, young people love lovey dovey especially those in love or got broke up or whatever. Those that old already and married of course wont feel any sweet anymore. Then u watch other dramas lo got so much taiwan,china,korea,japan. haha
The series is titled 4 girls, 3 barristers. Surely that will indicate where’s the focus? In fact this series focused too much on other people like the affair that never was and the obsession with Marcus earning big bucks from such small time cases.
@raymond I don’t really know what you’re trying to say lol
@funnlim
but
I never said this drama was a bad drama or anything. I just meant that this would’ve been a bit more interesting drama if they focused more on actual crimes and whatnot and if they do have a sequel it’d be nice if that focused more on fighting for justice.
Apparently I saw the alternate ending without realizing it. I didn’t see anything wrong with it. It’s not really controversial to say the judicial system must be protected.
Of course its controversial, just ask yourself what the judicial system needs protection from.
This answer is Beijing and the mainland.
It kinda makes more sense if there actually was an alternate ending. When I watched the “censored” version, I found it a little bizarre that Moon’s face was cut off entirely when they panned in from the four girl’s faces except for Moon and then zoomed in on Grace’s. Not sure how to describe but it was very bad editing skills.