Return of the Condor Heroes 98

[GuangRong]

Originally posted by fyp
Sometimes, the market is not a good judge. For example, those boy bands are very popular, but are all of them really good? Marketing plays an important part. TVB is a large and rich corporation, whereas Singapore stations are small stations in a tiny country. Naturally, TVB has the power and money to market their products internationally furiously. Moreover, if you are Singaporean, you should know that Singapore's stations are not known to distribute their shows worldwide. They don't even produced VCDs of most of their shows for the local market, much less overseas!

Ahem... it's the other way around , MediaCrap is RICH , ( years of monopoly and freebies/protection from the Gov)
Just see the Asia Televsion Awards to realise it's power(money) and clout(holds the key to the Malaysia/Singapore market)

MediaCrap is BIG , they're not a mere TV station,they got a big stake in radio and are also into publishing and Movie making..


They are the one who's trying furiously to distrubute thier shows. I;m sure you heard about thier taiwan adventures spear-headed by Chris lee and Fann wong.
Then there's all those co-prodcuction with HK /Taiwan/China.. in order to break into the market.

And older series had been airing in parts of China, making some Character Actors here Mega stars in China..


and eh eh they ARE in the VCDs business., but since we have lotsa of re-runs here, only the VCDs of Popular shows are heavily marketed here.

They being selling to limited market overseas since VHS days.., and if you keep you eye peel these also avail in Singapore



I dun think TVB is really furiously marketing thier products, they sell themself b'cos it had simply been way better than others ..in the region for years(though teh gap has close steadily over the years)

IF TVB had been furiously marketing their products, they would have offer more competitive price right ?
NO.. the only reason TCS/MediaCrap had been buying ATV shows is b'cos it's cheaper..
Only with competition from Channal U that we finally get to see TVB shows on free-to air again..

[Guojing]

Like I said, a good test on whether certain shows/serials are popular is to look at the pirate networks.

The fact that you cannot find any Singapore serials in BitTorrent networks is really strong proof that few people find those serials good.

All these arguments about whether TVB is richer than TCS are really barking the wrong tree.

[Lingz13]

Originally posted by Guojing
Most Singaporeans cannot stand Fann Wong and Chris Lee hehe.

I happen to be one of them.


Anyway, Singapore used to produce good ancient dramas (during the SBC days). But ever since mid 90s, the standard dropped drastically. I find ROCH'98 (though I love the themesong. The lyrics, written by Lin Xi are beautiful!) and XAJH, especially the latter unbearable.

[Guo Xiang]

Originally posted by Lingz13
I happen to be one of them.


Anyway, Singapore used to produce good ancient dramas (during the SBC days). But ever since mid 90s, the standard dropped drastically. I find ROCH'98 (though I love the themesong. The lyrics, written by Lin Xi are beautiful!) and XAJH, especially the latter unbearable.

I wonder if it's because the way we do the ancient dramas didn't change a bit? o.O;

[mich]

Originally posted by Lingz13
I happen to be one of them.


Anyway, Singapore used to produce good ancient dramas (during the SBC days). But ever since mid 90s, the standard dropped drastically. I find ROCH'98 (though I love the themesong. The lyrics, written by Lin Xi are beautiful!) and XAJH, especially the latter unbearable.

Hehehhehe...welcome to the club, Lingz..

I really think serials produced by Mediacorp is crap. Very much a bore.

How are you, dear?
Havent had time to have a good chat with you lately.

[GuangRong]

The suckiness began just about time they began to cast IDOLS instead of ACTORS...

During SBC Days, most of the actors actually graduated from SBCs' actor training class, and heh the graduates are really run the full range (Fat,thin young/old, handsome/plain)

Those who dun come from the class have atleast some experience and credibiliy before they came aboard

but then, they begin using Star search finalist who have little or no experience prior to the competition, or just pluck good-looking Models from nowwhere ..

To be fair the standards of the first few star searh are really good, those who actually made it have REAL talent, though a bit raw , most of them eventually became good actors..

But standards have slipped and it became a disguise beauty contest/Idol search..

Most Singaporeans cannot stand Fann Wong and Chris Lee hehe

rather than the Foreign Moon is rounder factor, pple are sick of seeing them on TV...
The amount of chances/breaks they get is insane, nobody would care if they are really good or fit the roles,but they are not mostly and they are depriving more suitable( talented and deserving ) actors of thier roles


That's my gripe with mediacrap , in a bid to increase markability they are try to make stars out of a chosen few at the expense of the majority whom are invaribly better actors...

On one hand, they retrench, reduce the salary of those character actors whom are not so markatable while breaking the bank to promote and woo the few who's lucky to be deem as having that "X" factor.(nothing wrong with that, but often they are wrong about pple..)

guess it's not hard to figure out by now whether I'm with the club ...

[Guojing]

Originally posted by GuangRong
[B]The suckiness began just about time they began to cast IDOLS instead of ACTORS...

This is probably not a significant reason as even Taiwan, HK, China and even US of A realized the importance of good looks above acting ability,

Face it, our early serials were not really good in any sense, full of blatant propaganda like the first Army Series, and the Wu Xuo Nan Yang trilogy.

Anyone remember the Count on Me Singapore and We are Singapore songs? Haha, these songs will never be popular in Singapore now, times have changed.

But I guess we enjoyed those in the 80s because there was not much alternatives, and certainly no Internet.

SBC Monopoly is probably the biggest reason why our drama serials lack quality, but that is the consequence of the need to control the media for political reasons.

Although there are 2 broadcast companies now, no one would actually think they are independent in any sense.

[mich]

Originally posted by Guojing
This is probably not a significant reason as even Taiwan, HK, China and even US of A realized the importance of good looks above acting ability,

Face it, our early serials were not really good in any sense, full of blatant propaganda like the first Army Series, and the Wu Xuo Nan Yang trilogy.

But I guess we enjoyed those in the 80s because there was not much alternatives, and certainly no Internet.

Well...everyone loves eye-candy stuff. But when you keep getting bombarded by such beautiful woods, you feel nauseasus.....

I think the Wu Suo NanYang series was well made eversince I visited the heritage center. Didnt think it was propanganda but more like a series reminding us, of how our forefathers tolled in singapore, where latter generations called home.

Not much alternatives? TVB and ATV already existed in the 80s. There was even japanese serials in the 80s on TV. Let's face it, Mediacorp and TCS couldnt be bothered, they just think we would swallow any serial they produced just because they got the biggest share of the pie in singapore.

[Guo Xiang]

I wouldn't swallow. The two TV stations are getting irritating.

One thing about Mediacorp or Mediacrap (whichever you guys like) is that they tend to only use the actors and actresses they intend to groom. So it's just like what GuangRong said. If Mediacorp doesn't like you or has no intention, it just means you don't stand a single chance to become famous or anything. Even the Star Awards is nothing but mostly just a sham of glory.

That's one idea for people who wonders why we keep seeing the same people on Mediacorp's works. Where did so many of those people they signed up from the StarSearch? After one or two dramas they simply disappeared. That's very annoying. Think of what happened to people like Chang Lufeng. In Mediacorp, talent isn't everything. o.O;

[alecforever815]

my own creation, just started with photoshop two days ago, so still experimenting with that, doesnt' look that good, sry guys

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[Guojing]

Not much alternatives? TVB and ATV already existed in the 80s. There was even japanese serials in the 80s on TV. Let's face it, Mediacorp and TCS couldnt be bothered, they just think we would swallow any serial they produced just because they got the biggest share of the pie in singapore. [/B]

Yes, but we had to rely on SBC to purchase those dramas and then watch them as and when they broadcast. SBC acts as gatekeepers.

If u wanna rent, I dunno how hard it is but I am sure u will be stuck in trying to understand Cantonese.

Look at now. The Internet changes everything. You have fans who even sub Cantonese dramas with English subtitles, VCDs are selling like hot cakes, and of coz, Peer-to-Peer is everywhere.

We no longer need to rely on SBC as gatekeepers. That is what I mean by alternatives. That is why many people are pissed at having to pay an annual TV licence fee; I do not even bother to watch any SBC TV 8 dramas anymore hehe.

[ChocoBubble]

I went to borrow the novels to read coz of this show and discovered that the tv version really did injustice to jin yong's novel. Seriously guys, go borrow the novel, the tv version is crap. Not saying that the actors all suck, but i felt that they were let down by a not so competent script, dizzying fight scenes and funny looking hairstyles (wat;s with all the crossiants and buns?). Maybe the one excuse for all this could be that this was the first major adaptation of a classic and supposed big scale period drama production? Still, I dun see how having buns in one's fringe would bring out the exquisite beauty of ancient swordswomen and swinging the camera ard wildly would signify a great fight scene. Check out the fight scenes for the HK period dramas, such a big difference in standard.

[khang_gurl]

really I low this tv series.....like the guy............yang Guo...I think he very very very cute...............

[hkopinions]

Chris did do a good job as Yang Guo considering the rest of the cast really sucked. At least they used real sceneries unlike TVB fake ones such as the snow/mountains.

[convoy]

Even though the two leading characters are not really good, especially Fann with her wooden expression, I do not think this show is bad. Most of the supporting characters are rather excellent.

I do not think the TVB's 1995(?) version with Louis Koo is good either. The actings are at best average. The castings, for the most parts, are miscasted. I like the version's XLN though.

I have not seen Taiwan's ROCH, but judging from most people's reaction who have watched this series, I do not think I want to watch it.

[ChocoBubble]

I don't really think Fann's acting sucked. Again i blame the script, and maybe the director. Anyway i thought her character wasnt supposed to show a range of emotions, only with regards to matters concerning Yang Guo then will she show reaction. To the rest of the ppl, cold expression>>blank face. That's what's required.

[gerine]

i will blame it on the script too. actually the show was pretty enjoyable in the beginning as it had followed the story faithfully. you just need to ignore the horrendous hairdo of various actresses. then the show began its downfall when those "brilliant" scriptwriters decided to change certain parts of the story, for example, Jin Lun Fa Wang learning Yu Nu Xin Jin and Jiu Yin Zhen Jin. i was speechless when i saw that scene.

the scenary wasn't that bad, i do like snowy mountains. lol. at least the tv station had made an effort. fann wong and christopher lee were compatible, i had to admit that i did secretly enjoy christopher lee as yang guo.

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louis koo and carmen lee's acting skills were, yes at most average, in this show. this is how i feel after watching it again recently. they were so young then... anyway louis koo was still new to acting when he starred in this drama. i adore him in Xun Qin Ji and he had a better performance in there instead. carmen lee is so pretty as Xiao Long Nu.

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[hkopinions]

the scenary wasn't that bad, i do like snowy mountains. lol. at least the tv station had made an effort. fann wong and christopher lee were compatible, i had to admit that i did secretly enjoy christopher lee as yang guo.

I second that. Guess Im not the only one who thought Chris did a good job in this series.

[alyssafan]

i like this version better than Louis and carman verions!!! chris and fann r better with relationship more than TVB version!!
I have all them screen capture if one who want feel free to email me at [email protected]

[James Ko]

I haven't seen a decent Return of Condor Heroes yet... hopefully the CCTV version would be good....