(Why I Love) Michael Tse

Michael Tse is one of my favorite male actors in TVB. I think he is also one of the best actors they have and he has incredible range in the type of roles he plays. He is convincing in everything from a nerdy father to a gang member.


The first role that I remember seeing him in is La Femme Desperado. When he first appeared on screen, I hated his character. Who was this weird looking guy cheating on Melissa Ng? Then something weird happened- by the end of the movie, he was my favorite character! He had some many layers to his performance because he was able to show his mean streak, his sensitive side, and his caring side easily in such a believable way. Through his actions and emotions, he was able to portray why his character is the way he is and you begin to sympathize more for him. I think one of my favorite things about him was how he loved his daughter unconditionally even though he thought that she was not his own. Without his great acting skills, I don't think I would have changed my mind about the character in the end. I love Raymond Lam, but Michael stole the show. It's no wonder that he soon had leading or 2nd lead roles after this series.

I think Michael is able to play a variety of roles because he's a chameleon- a simple haircut can make him look quite handsome while putting on buck teeth in Legal Entanglement makes him a believable nerdy lawyer. His look is also very ambigious since he can play good and evil. I think he's also a good asset to TVB since they don't seem to have as many (good) male actors since the number of female actresses greatly outnumber them. He has great chemistry with both veterans such as Sheren Teng and younger fadans such as Linda Chung. I even went out to a rental store to buy Virtues of Harmony, since I heard good things about the series and it was also a good chance for me to see his performances in those hundreds of episodes! I love his love triangle with Bondy Chiu and Cutie Miu. (By the way, I wish Bondy comes back to TVB and do some acting! In the meantime, you can support her by buying her new cd called Ting!)


He is currently in E.U. which i think is great for him because this is a more popular series and I think this is a good way for him to get more exposure. I think he's greatly underrated since I think that if he was a bigger "name", he would have won Best Actor for his role in La Femme Desperado. Damn TVB politics! =) Anyways, the ratings are off to a slow start but this is a great series and I'm sure the positive reviews will bring the viewers in. He gained a lot of popularity by winning Strictly Come Dancing, but TVB rarely gives him any big roles in any grand productions. That's why I was excited to see him in E.U. since he's already a scene stealer in this series as well!

As a person, he seems like such a cool guy. In all these clips I see of him, he's always kidding around and making people laugh. I think my favorite episodes of Super Supreme Trio includes him because I like the way Eric Tsang makes fun of him.

Favorite Modern Character: Man in La Femme Desperado
Favorite Ancient Character: Kam Yuet in Virtues of Harmony
Favorite Modern Love Chemistry: Sheren Teng in La Femme Desperado
Favorite Ancient Love Chemistry: I actually liked him with Charmaine Sheh in Word Twisters' Adventure
Michael with Bondy or Cutie? I liked him with Cutie more even though I liked him and Bondy too.

I love Michael Tse!

TVB Blog

Every once in a while, I like to go to the TVB blogs and look at the rankings and see how popular people are at the moment. I'm nosy like that since I like to peek at all the new pictures, since I can't read chinese. Maybe that's why I like reading Bernice's- some of hers are in English. Here's a screencap of the rankings for 2/25/09.


In general, Raymond, Myolie, Bosco, and Linda are always near the top. Ron was missing from the top 10 for a while but he recently made a resurgence, due to him being on E.U. Charmaine and Nancy are usually in the top 10, as is Tavia but she's missing for the day- but she'll probably be back on soon. I'm not sure who the other girls are but I think there is some type of advertisement to go see their blogs.

Currently Watching

I'm currently watching a few series right now, some new and others old. There are 4 series that I started- Off Pedder, E.U., Greatness of a Hero, and A Herbalist Affair.



Off Pedder- I'm not sure what episode I'm on- maybe around episode 60? This series resembles Best Selling Secrets since it has most of the same cast and is cast against a work environment. The series started off a little slow but some of the episodes are pretty good. My favorite storylines involve Wayne Lai since his character's motives are a little more mysterious and the relationships between Stephen Au, Teresa Mo, and Florence Kwok. Some of the episodes are a little boring but it makes a good background when I'm writing up some posts. =) The thing I like about these type of series is that it gives some supporting actors a lot more screen time than they might normally get in regular series. Tsui Wing is one of the main actors in this series, but before this (and Best Selling Secrets), he barely had anything more than a line in any given series. I also like Jim Tang as Gary and Gary Chiu as Marco, but especially Jim Tang since he has a lot of potential and he's cute! Other cast members include Wong Cho Lam, Aimee Chan, and Joyce Cheng and this opportunity gives them a chance to improve on their acting.

Greatness of a Hero- I'm on episode 6 so far and I'm liking it a lot, especially Sunny Chan and Bernice Liu. They make a really cute couple! It's very interesting in watching an ancient series where females actually have a lot of power instead of the regular dismissive roles so that's already a good change. I'm excited to see what else is going to happen in this series.

E.U.- I'm on episode 4 and loving this most of all! I think it combines the best of the first 2 series to make a great sequel (the teaching and lessons of the first one combined with the action of the second one). All the acting is pretty good so far and Elanne Kong is even not that bad. I think I was just expecting the worst but she's actually okay and she's really pretty and has big eyes! The beginning is off to a great start!

A Herbalist Affair- This is an older series with Roger Kwok, Charmaine Sheh, and Melissa Ng. Let me just say that Charmaine has the ugliest haircut in this series- She looks a lot prettier and younger now. You can also see how greatly her acting has improved from then to now. However, this series is so boring! I'm taking forever to finish it. I'm on episode 13 right now and I want to give up. The storyline is so slow and nothing seems to really happen. The only thing I like is the theme song which is sung by Andy Hui and Flora Chan.

Beyond The Realm of Conscience

There was a costume fitting for Beyond The Realm of Conscience today and the costumes look really pretty! I'm excited for this series but I don't want to build my hopes so high up.

Mandy Cho, Edwin Siu, and Tracy Ip

Tavia Yeung

Selina Li and Vin Choi- I wonder if they're going to be a couple in this series...

Moses Chan and Tavia Yeung

Kevin Cheng- He doesn't look that bad with this hair. I was expecting the worst since I barely see him in ancienct series.

Part of the Emperor's Court?

Charmaine Sheh and Kevin Cheng- I like them as a couple!

They play the four different bosses that bully Charmaine and Tavia. I can't tell who the second lady is but the others are Mary Hon, Susanna Kwan, and Michelle Yim. I kinda wish that Christine Ng was in here (as shown in the preview clips).

Gem Of Life

Spoilers! Beware...

So I finally finished watching this series (82 episodes and about 4 months later) and what did I think of this series? Ugh.. I can't believe I wasted my time on this. Maybe my expectations were too high for this big of a cast, but I was disappointed! I know some of you guys may disagree since some of my friends really like the series, well until they watched the end that is, but there are very few parts of this series that I actually enjoyed. Here are some questions and comments I have on this series. I'll try and gather all my thoughts but I hardly remember the beginning of the series!

• The Low Ratings: I think it's because of the financial crisis and people were not in the mood to watch a bunch of spoiled brats who are rich and still complain about life and wanting more money, when there are so many other people struggling. Also, it's a long series which is confusing at parts which makes it harder to start watching later on and get into the series.
• Did Ada ever really like her older husband? It never really shows the moment she really fell in love with him since it's obvious she got together with him for the money. And did she let him die or what?
• How come Maggie never changed her hairstyle? Her sisters have a few different ones but not her.
• Ieww, Rocky as Gigi's first husband?
  
• I wonder if they changed the title screen of the DVD to Louise Lee instead of Maggie because of her popularity in Heart of Greed and Moonlight Resonance.
  
  
  
• There were some emotional moments that involved the family and the mom but I never cried because I just didn't care about any of the characters anymore!
  
• Nice guys finish last? The 2 really good guys, Kenny and Wong Hei, got bad endings although they were good people. However, the other characters were either directly or indirectly involved in someone's death but they have happier endings with no retribution? Boo!
• I'd rather have Wong Hei and Linda together. They had really good chemistry (with the very little screen time they had). So when did Linda start liking Bosco? and why did Bosco like her in the very beginning anyways? Wasn't it just for the money?
  
• I thought Linda rapes some guy? Was it the one she framed for raping her?
  
• How long can someone really be in love with someone that doesn't like you? Eddie for Gigi, Kenny for Bowie, Wong Hei for Ada, etc. The moral of the story is that you should not have a crush on someone for so long or else something bad will happen to you. So if you don't want to end up blind, in a coma, or dead, please learn to let go.
• I liked one of the scenes at the end when Gigi (finally!) stands up for herself and wins the argument against Ada.
  
  
  
• I did like the subtheme songs more than the opening theme. There were 3- Linda, Moses, and Gigi and Bowie. I think it was originally supposed to be Moses and Gigi, which would have made more sense, but there was a scheduling conflict so they changed it around.
• I wish Wong Hei, Bosco, and Linda had more screen time!
  
• How is it possible that I came to hate almost all the characters? They are all so unlikable. I liked Maggie and Bowie in the beginning but they got annoying at the end. I like Gigi but she's too gullible. Ada let her mom go to jail for her! Boo! Louise Lee as the mom was overbearing and maybe that's why I was never too sad for her when she had Alzheimer's. Kenny was a good guy, but he's not that great of an actor. The other minor characters were all bad guys. I did like Rebecca Chan, Bosco, Linda, and Wong Hei- the ones with the little screen time.
  
• The storyline- with all the different businesses- was a little confusing and boring. So all business people are unscruptulous and would do anything to get what they want?
  
• The title led me to think that the series was going to revolve around gems and diamonds.
• I loved the ring that Gigi "created"- the 2 rings which form a heart. They really sell that at the MaBelle stores and online- super expensive though!
• I wish they had one main villian so it would be a more climatic ending instead of a bunch of them. It would have made for a more climatic ending that makes all of them join together to take someone down or something.
• So what happens in the end? I know it's supposed to be an open ending for everyone and I have to use my imagination, but sorry, I did NOT just waste that much time on this series to think of an ending myself. It was 82 episodes long! How did the sisters come to forgive each other? Just by the mom saying that they are family? Did they not think that they could squeeze in a couple minutes in there for a more complete ending?
• Okay, the Moses and Gigi part was kinda cute when they joined their gum together to pick up the ring and I will just assume that they will get together again.
• Bowie and Maggie had the best chemistry between all the couples. I also like Moses and Gigi together.
• I realize that Moses gets a lot of really good roles. People cast him in both comedy and drama in both modern and ancient series. That's good since a lot of other actors usually get type cast into certain roles.
  
• Is it mean that I wished that Jessica died? Or at least one of the other main characters? That way, it'd end with more of a bang.
  
• I'll miss Gigi! That's sad that this is her last series. I wish her happiness and maybe one day, she'll return to TVB!
  
• There's so much more I can nitpik at but I figure I'll stop and end on a good note. I like Wong Hei!

Do I recommend this series? Not really unless you really do have a lot of time to watch this series or you are a big fan of the main leads. Maybe it's better to watch it now since the whole series is now released and you can skip through episodes and you don't have to wait a few months to watch the whole thing.

Also, I found the scene that people are talking about that didn't actually happen on the show. It was in one of the preview clips for the show, even though they claimed they never filmed it! It's the scene of Ada in a pool of blood. It's a little fuzzy since it's from a youtube clip though. I wonder what this is about...

E.U.

Also known as part 3 of The Acadamy, E.U. stands for Emergency Unit. I am super excited for this series! I really liked the first 2 parts of the series and this one looks even better! Just from watching the little clips and opening sequence so far, it looks like the males will steal the show. I hope this is a breakthrough for both Sammul Chan and Ron Ng because it looks like their acting has improved over time and I hope they get recognized for it. The person that looks like a scene stealer is Michael Tse though since his role looks very interesting (and he's a great actor!). I'm a little dissapointed in the younger female leads since I was kinda hoping for some biggern names but hopefully their acting doesn't suck.

By the way, Sammul and Ron both look really good in this series!

The Greatness of A Hero

I've only watched the first 2 episodes so far and I'm very happy to see Bernice and Leila again! It looks pretty good so far and I'm actually pretty surprised that this series got warehoused instead of Big White Gourd. One one hand, they actually seem pretty similar since they are both ancient series with Sunny Chan (and Wayne Lai?) in it, but The Greatness of a Hero seems to have the better cast. I wonder how they decide what series to warehouse...



When I first saw the pictures for this series, I thought the hair was a little ridiculous (and big!) on the ladies, but when watching the series, it actually doesn't look that bad. The costumes are very pretty and the series has a grand production type feeling because of it. I'm loving Bernice so far, and her Chinese has improved so much from when I remember watching her from Virtues of Harmony. She still has a little bit of an accent but this time, she actually knows which part to enunciate and show some emotion. Sunny Chan also just showed up in episode 2 and that makes me giddy since he is one of my favorite actors! Even though he gets stereotyped in these easygoing, joking roles, I don't mind since it just makes me have even more of a crush on him! Sonjia Kwok plays Kent's wife, and I think she acts really well in ancient series because she can play someone sophisticated, and she looks really pretty here as well! I also like they theme song, sung by Hins Cheung. I wonder if Bernice or anyone else sings a subtheme?

The first 2 episodes are basically a set up for what will happen for the rest of the series so I can't really tell if the series is going to be any good, but it is very promising so far!

Sweetness in the Salt Review

*Warning: Spoilers*

I'm not good with writing storyline summaries so I'll just give you a quick review of what I thought of the series. Please be warned that there are spoilers and if you're anything like me, I don't like things ruined for me. =)

To me, this series was almost perfect.

Stuff I liked:

• The Cast- I thought that the actors were mostly all perfectly cast in their roles since they all had worked with each other. The Wu family was so cute, especially the father (Kwok Fung) who's so adorable as the bumbling dad but loves and cares for his son, Raymond Wong. The character development was also really good because you actually know why each character acts the way they do. No one is purely good/evil for no good reason; you can actually see their motivations.

• Raymond Wong! He is so cute and he has a really big role! I think he even has more screen time than Steven Ma, and of course, he can really act!

• One of the Best Love Triangles ever! I might be slightly exaggerating but I do believe that Tavia, Raymond, and Steven were perfect in their roles and Tavia had equally good chemistry with the 2 guys. It starts off with Tavia and Steven as a couple but Steven was just using her to catch their family since they are salt smugglers. Tavia escapes and is rescued by Raymond who is weak from diabetes, but still does everything to try and help her. Raymond feels useless and wants to jump off a cliff but Tavia tries and stop him by reasoning with him and cooking him sweet potatoes. Raymond decides to live his life even though death can still happen at anytime and begins to form a crush on her. His dad is relieved that she saved him and believes that she is his savior so he hopes for a love connection between the 2 as well, so he's happy to take her back home with them. When they go home, she sees Steven and basically wants to kill him even if it kills her first. Raymond saves her life this time by convincing her to move on. Tavia and Raymond grow closer and she begins to feel more comfortable around him since he makes her happy with simple gestures such as showing her firelies. In the meantime, Steven still likes Tavia and does everything to try and protect her. Tavia ends up marrying Raymond to help him take over the salt business (dad's in jail but that's a different story...) but it's in name only. Tavia tries to make it a real marriage but Raymond lies to her and says he never liked her because he knows he will die soon. After the family situation is resolved, Raymond divorces Tavia even though at this time he is fully healed. He wants Tavia to go back to Steven because he thinks that Tavia is still in love with him. In reality, she is confused because she feels that she loves them both and can not let either go.
  
  
  I loved this triangle because there are reasons to support each couple. Steven and Tavia's relationship is more tragic since he deceived her in the beginning and caused the death of her family. Raymond and Tavia are more sweet because they do a lot of things and sacrifice for each other. It was really hard to tell who she would actually choose. To me, I was rooting for Raymond and Tavia to end up together because they made each other happy and you see her smile more when she's with him. I liked how she was also the one to bring the Wu family together. My favorite part is when it was the 3 of them and Tavia was kidding and saying that she doesn't mind what other people think- that's why she should marry them both! The reaction on the guys' faces were really funny! Also, in love triangles, they usually end up making one person turn a little villainous since the producers obviously wants the audience to root for a certain couple, but I'm glad that they didn't take the easy way out. The only thing I didn't like was the ending because I'd rather have Tavia really have to make a choice.
  

• Halina Tam and Cheung Chi Kwon: I like Cheung Chi Kwon in his funnier roles because I think he's a really good character actor. They make a cute couple because of their bickering and how they eventually get together.

• The theme song

• The ending of Pierre Ngo's love triangle- It wasn't something totally shocking but I just didn't expect it. I know the girl on the left is Devily Leung but I don't know who the other girl is. She looks familiar though.
  

• The story line in general was very good with enough twists to keep it interesting
  

Stuff I did not like:

Since I mainly liked the series, I'll just nitpik on a few things. haha

• The Villian's eyebrows. Do they have to make it that obvious?

• Kara Hui called Lok Ying Kwan Big Brother, and silly me, I really thought that they were siblings! So, it shocked and disgusted me for a second when Kara wanted to be queen to his king but then I realized that women called close guy friends Big Brother.

• Let's just say that it ends with Tavia in the snow (weird!) and I had flashbacks of her and Steven in Land of Wealth!

• I think the main thing that the main thing that made this series less than perfect is the ending. It was 25 episodes long but they could have cut it down to 20, or 23, or 24. The last few episodes seemed a little more draggy and the plot twists and drama at the end seemed too fake. The ending is reminiscent of When Easterly Showers Fall on the Sunny West, and I don't like endings like those!
  

I truly recommend this series because the overall story was superb. It sucks that TVB had to warehouse this series but now I'm looking forward to the next Steven and Tavia series. If you liked Safe Guards, or any of the main actors, you will love this series!

Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?

I recently saw the episode with Myolie Wu in it.. man those questions are hard! Below is the episode if you want to watch- they like to tease her and Bosco!