Do you think TVB series are getting worse and worse?

[Ken Cheng]

Ken, do you still watch TVB dramas? I thought you only watch oldies.

I don't watch them, but every time I go to visit my parents, they're watching them...and it seems like every time, people are screaming at each other.

[Ronaldo07]

More recent series like War and Beauty and La Femme Desperado featured complex characters and plots that are amongst the best from TVB.

I loved so many series from the 80s and 90s but here are some complaints:

1. Chiu Ngar Chi was memorable in The Bund but her acting wasn't even good. I consider her just a pretty face.

2. Legend of the Condor Heroes (80s version) was great overall but there was this irritating part which featured the love story of Wai Tin Chi and Chan Sau Chi. Their acting was wooden. Also, you can see body doubles in almost all fight scenes involving women. You can see Lau Dan's (Hung Jut Kung's) black moustache along with his white beard. You can also see strings when people fly in the air. Watch out for Barbara Yung wearing different clothes during scenes connecting each other (an example of poor editing).

3. That wig worn by the actor playing Gum Lung Fat Wong in Return of the Condor Heroes (80s version) is featured under close up in so many scenes that they are really laughable. The ending fight scene between Yeong Gor and Gum Lung Fat Wong with those funny special effects was a major disappointment.

4. Many of the plot lines in the 80s do not require viewers to think much (in fact some scenes insult viewers' intelligence). The old aunties who watched the series in the 80s are having difficulties catching up with the more complex story lines in recent years which require viewers to read between the lines and scenes (although being older 20 years may be a factor).

5. The special effects in Luk Chi Kam Mor was terrible and the hairstyles/make-up of so many characters were horrible.

6. Chang Kong was great in Legend of the Condor Heroes and Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre. But in most other series (including his English movie appearances), he was mostly overacting.

7. Chun Wong was a great Low Wan Tung in Legend of the Condor Heroes. But he repeated some of his characteristics in many of his subsequent series. How irritating.

8. The Greed of Man, was a highly rated series but featured many unrealistic scenes with outrageous acting. I would consider them some of the worse I've ever seen by TVB.

9. There was a scene involving Hon Ma Lei and Damian Lau in Yesterday's Glitter after Damian slept at her house. I laughed at the tear in Hon Ma Lei's dress when the camera focused on her back.

10. In swordplay series, the use of human beings to play birds (see ROCH) and wild animals (eg. tiger and panther) was hilarious, even embarrassing. Western audiences would have laughed out loud. The special effects work by TVB is one of the worst ever on TV in the 80s.

11. The make-up work on artistes used in the 80s leaves much to be desired. How can people put so much make-up in bed?

12. I find it amusing that in ancient series, people always wear white when they sleep. And by the way, when people are travelling from place to place, it amazes me how they have so many changes of clothes when they don't carry that many clothes.

13. Before dying, people seem to have an incredible amount of energy to utter so many parting words.

14. Most horrendous of all is the use of music from Western movies and series in ancient series. Examples are love theme from Star Wars (I didn't know if I wanted to laugh or cry when I heard it played), romantic interludes from Dances with Wolves (suddenly I was thinking of Kevin Costner and the Red Indians), and the main theme from the Piano (I was waiting for the mute Holly Hunter and Best Supporting Actress Anna Paquin to come out of the blue).

LOL. Amazing especially number 14. Never really thought about it but these points are pretty worthy. Still, 80's TVB beats 00's TVB!!!

[boscoraymond]

I think plot or story line is boring. actors and actresses are ok.

I guest TVB work on the storyline.

I think HOG was good as the plot is good, and the cast is strong.

OF course, good pairings of Linda + Ray & Taiva + Bosco.

No offense but i find Moses + Linda weird as in reality Mo is more than 10 years older than Linda. They don't look compatible

[girllikeme]

There are a lot of TVB series that are huge let downs, but the two that I am currently watching is pretty good; 'D.I.E.', and 'a Journey Called Life'.

[Tom]

TVB series are hardly the way to go if you're looking for a true "masterpiece". Most series are draggy and boring. However, there are good series once in a while.

Here's some recommendations:

War And Beauty - about backstabbing and scheming

The Conqueror's Story - about the founding of the Han dynasty

Heart Of Greed - I watched 1-24 and the last episode. Why I didn't finish this series? Because I got spoiled when I watched the last episode in China. From what I watched, it was pretty good.

Forensic Heroes - mystery involving high-tech forensic equipments. Worth a watch.

Lethal Weapons Of Love And Passion - a wuxia show depicting the beginning of the Ming dynasty. A series about Mongolians vs. Hans. No real "bad guys" here, but the viewers would probably root for the Hans.

There's still a bunch more that I liked but I can't remember them right now.

[boscoraymond]

Suggestions:

Storyline shd be close to reality

Evidence:
HOG
Family Link
Troblesome Daddy
Achieve high ratings

Cast

Shd involve some veterans in the leading cast with the younger stars

correct pairigs:

Such as Myolie + Bosco, Linda + Raymond, Taiva + Ron, Yoyo + Bobby, & etc.

hilarious

DIE
WOIL1 & 2
achieve high ratings

[WuxiaGem]

I think the modern dramas are getting better (Heart of Greed, Dicey Business, La Femme Desperado) but the ancient dramas are getting worse. It used to be that in the 80s and 90s the better dramas were ancient/pre-modern dramas but now TVB's ancient dramas, with a couple of exceptions, just seem silly and low-budget. Or maybe I'm only feeling this way because it's only recently that China stepped up their ancient dramas with really amazing sets and the comparisons between the two are pretty stark.

[almo89]

I think the modern dramas are getting better (Heart of Greed, Dicey Business, La Femme Desperado) but the ancient dramas are getting worse. It used to be that in the 80s and 90s the better dramas were ancient/pre-modern dramas but now TVB's ancient dramas, with a couple of exceptions, just seem silly and low-budget. Or maybe I'm only feeling this way because it's only recently that China stepped up their ancient dramas with really amazing sets and the comparisons between the two are pretty stark.

Modern dramas are starting to get on the right track, but I still find them annoying at times. Heart of Greed was one of the better dramas that came out in recent years, but too much forced comedy. If the show is not a comedy, the scenes for comic relief should be light and not over the top. I liked La Femme Desperado too.

Ancient shows are just brutal now. For some reason modern hairsytles is the way to go for ancient settings

[LuckyMx]

I don't think TVB series are getting worse. I think they are getting better. Such as D.I.E., its a little bit nutty, but it has a good plot.

Another example is A Journey Called Life, I think this is a really good series.
Also Catch Me Now & The Silver Chamber Of Sorrows. They turn out to be really good.

I think The Money Maker Recipe is the worse of the year though. I don't know why. It seems like everyone loves it. I just think it's dumb.

Now Forensic Heroes 2 is the best series I've seen these past few years. There is so much unnormal stuff. You never see Linda (Ting Ting) dying in any series. It's pretty suprising!

[sunnydayz3]

The modern series are actually getting better and better but the problem is that TVB and Hong Kong overhypes them to the point of ridicule (Heart of Greed is a great example). When you build that much anticipation for a series, it's pretty hard to live up to the hype so it seems that the series are getting worse and worse.

The ancient dramas, though, are really getting worse.