What's the top 10 best acted TVB series?

[jinpok1978]

There are some other great series but 10 is definitely cutting it too narrow

[rokko99]

There are some other great series but 10 is definitely cutting it too narrow

you should try catch the uncatcheable , unstuck in time , armed reaction , and King of yesterday and tommorrow .

these will suit younger viewers more since they are not so heavy and require less concentration.

[jinpok1978]

you should try catch the uncatcheable , unstuck in time , armed reaction , and King of yesterday and tommorrow .

these will suit younger viewers more since they are not so heavy and require less concentration.

Seen all of them except To Catch The Uncatcheable. Of all those you recommended, my favorite was King of Yesterday and Tomorrow. Kong Wah was great fun to watch. But it still has its weaknesses especially the ending part. Armed Reaction 1 and 2 was good too but then it all went downhill from there (for me at least) for 3 and 4. They keep on churning unnecessary sequel to milk the series for all its worth when it should have ended already. Imho of course

Unstuck In Time started out good but became a total mess for me when Roger's character succeeded in tricking his father (the always good to watch Hui Siu Hung) into changing Flora's past and Flora was able to walk again in the present and turned a bit bad. Not my favorite series by a mile.

Will be watching Catch The Uncatcheable this weekend. Just rented it. Have heard lots of good things about it, but also heard that people were having problems with the ending. But will be watching it and form my own opinion nevertheless. Thanks for the recommendations.

And fyi, I enjoy the heavier series which can be derived from my list of TVB faves in this thread. But the problem is TVB just haven't churn out many heavy series that are highly watchable at the same time nowadays compared to the 1980's and early 1990's. Again, jmho

And btw, have you checked your PM rokko99? My rather long explanation for why I like PC 85 so much is there

[rokko99]

Hi jinpok,

I agree it was KWs best performance in ' King ' , but i have been dissappointed in him previous and since that series .

thought he was OK in Riches but it became worse after he tried to tackle Anne Heung again and again , maybe it was the script .

in 7 sisters his acting was good but the story sucked .

in crimson sabre and conquerors story , i was not impressed at all , in crimson , he just came across as sleazy rather than macho .

and in cs , he is kind of ridiccolous with that stare of his and his loud but squeeky voice .

I feel he is a OK actor but over rated .

you didnt like AR4 ? i though that was great especially the pretty angie cheong .


i really enjoyed ' unstuck ' . i thought flora was great and the story was pretty good too , it really got the point across - never try to change fate , accpet the consequences if you do .

it was really heartfelt how hurt roger was when flora didnt remember him anymore but his memory of her was too great and he willing to wait for her .

very good story.

glad to hear you like heavier series , most people here i find - do not .

you can also try - the partner , time after time , the big family , shell game 1 & 2 . down memory lane , against the blade of honour ( Louis Koos greatest series imo ) , blood of good and evil , greed of man and of course recently - the highly unexepected success SPLIT second ( I completely loved it ) .

I read your report on PC85 and I did find it very interesting and fresh as you say , but i lost interest about 1/3 way through because the plot became kind of dull . perhaps i should give it a 2nd chance.

great to see a young tony and maggie , i forget what she looked like back then, like a different person .
youre right it was very nostalgic .

and yeah aqua hereos and heartod fencing = yuk ! for braindead kids only .


nice to know there are some serious viewers here .

good chat

[jinpok1978]

Rokko,

Greed of Man is No. 1 on my list of favorite series Please look at the list again

I've seen Down Memory Lane, Blood of Good and Evil, Shell Game 1 & 2 and Big Family.

Love the early parts of DML but came to hate Alex Man in the later part when he kept on pining for his wife and children and try to get them back again and again. I know it is through no fault of his but he still appears pathetic in the later parts. What kept me watching instead was the dynamic of the feud between the two brothers played by Frankie Lam and Lam Ka Wah. Lam Ka Wah was great as the selfish, irresponsible and ultimately evil brother.

Blood of Good and Evil - Love it but can't find a place for it in my list because it was narrowed to just 10. Deric Wan did great and his chemistry with Maggie Siu was excellent. But all in all, it was Kenneth Tsang who stole the show imho. The side story of the two brothers played by Nathan Chan and Lam Lee was fine initially but was then wasted. It seemed like the writers don't know how to wrap this part up and simply throw away the story. I pitied the tragic end to Lam Lee's character of the good brother.

Shell Game 1 - Love it. The veterans Patrick Tse, Lisa Wang, Yeung Kwan and a very young Simon Yam in all their glorious best and also the deliciously campy overacting of Kwok Fung as Hung Pow is unforgettable. But what surprises me was Regina Tsang as the main villain, the manipulative Cheok Li, adopted daughter of Yeung Kwan's character. So very evil and yet so easily deceived in the end. I think in her subconscious she truly loves Tam Seng (Simon Yam) andtheir son was her ultimate weakness although Seng suffers to in the end for not knowing the truth about the kid.

Shell Game 2 - Hate it. Even Chow Yun Fatt couldn't save the show. Nuff said

Big Family - Alex Man again. He is very popular then. But imho, this is not his best series. Feud Between Two Brothers remains the quintessential Alex Man series for me. I would also recommend The Key Man and Edge of Righteousness over Big Family for Alex Man fans.

Will try out the other series you mentioned. Btw, speaking of heavy dramas, there's another one that I like very much called Change of Time (the Chinese title can be directly translated as Sky of the Dragon). Have u seen it? It stars Frankie Lam and Francis Ng as half brothers. Francis character started out as an innocent bumpkin from China who turns evil and betrayed Frankie out of jealousy and materialistic gain. Maggie Siu, Gigi Lai and Lee Sze Kei (of A Kindred Spirit fame) also stars. This one really shows Francis in his element. The potentials are for all to see and it was no surprise that he made it big on the big screen some time after.

If you have any more series pls let me know here or PM me. Nice chatting with you too

Hi jinpok,

you can also try - the partner , time after time , the big family , shell game 1 & 2 . down memory lane , against the blade of honour ( Louis Koos greatest series imo ) , blood of good and evil , greed of man and of course recently - the highly unexepected success SPLIT second ( I completely loved it ) .
nice to know there are some serious viewers here .

good chat

[rokko99]

Jinpok ,

Hi , now i know i'm talking to a serious viewer - GOOD ! makes a change i can tell you that .

Funny , my view of DML is the other way around from you .

To me Alex's stubborness in not giving up on his family was really admirable - he could have so easy just settled down with the rich girl ( name i dont know ) . perhaps a bit unrealistic , but it fitted his character very well and i though contributed to the story very well .

what was so good was that it gave the rich girl the chance to show how she REALLY loved him and was willing to scarifice so much to help him . thats what true love is to me , and she played the part really well.

But thanks i look out for the other Alex series . and yes im a fan of his , think he is excellent actor.

about the SG2 , yes you are right to a degree , i thought the 1st half sucked .

but to me the 2nd part was quite brilliant , when the gambling started the show really took off then .

and to me the best part was the villian Chow Tai Chi - WOW , what a fantastic chracter and so well played by the guy ( Lee something ? ).

I would say he is probably the best character i have seen on chinese TV .

part gambler , part mafia boss , part kung fu fighter - outstanding ! the way he handled those cruel amputation scenes , the general gambling scenes and the finale was incredible to me .

I havent seen cahnge of time but i will certainly keep an eye out.

I forgot to add Blade heart , but guess you have already seen it .

others would be - blood stained intrigue , tin long kip , romatic swordsman , happy ever after .

a word on time after time - its not really a heavy series but a romance comedy . what i really like about it is KATHY CHOW HOI MEI , my favourite actress , made the show .

she was just fantastic , her acting , her expression ,everything and we get a unexpected bonus - she sings the lead song and she has an OUTSTANDING voice , something i never expected .


where are you BTW ?

[jinpok1978]

Jinpok ,

about the SG2 , yes you are right to a degree , i thought the 1st half sucked .

but to me the 2nd part was quite brilliant , when the gambling started the show really took off then .

and to me the best part was the villian Chow Tai Chi - WOW , what a fantastic chracter and so well played by the guy ( Lee something ? ).

I would say he is probably the best character i have seen on chinese TV .

part gambler , part mafia boss , part kung fu fighter - outstanding ! the way he handled those cruel amputation scenes , the general gambling scenes and the finale was incredible to me .

The villain in Shell Game 2, if I'm not mistaken, is played by Lau Siu Ming. A veteran actor whose most memorable turn in recent times is as Louis Koo's real father in At The Threshold Of An Era 2.

I always have a problem with his voice though. Couldn't make out clearly what he is saying some times.

The rich girl in DML is played by Candy Lo Lam (if my memory serves me well). Not acting anymore as far as I know.

[rokko99]

yes lau something sounds right .

and yeah his Canto is not really up to mark because he is from the north , but thats what made his character in SG2 so good - a faulty but still interesting voice .

thanks for the info on Candy , i havent seen her for ages.

and i am in Malaysia , KL !

anyway GOM is going to rerun on xinghe 34 , and TITS on tv3 , both starting around this weekend .

the CS is playing right now on Astro 30 , its OK so far , but im not sure that it will live up to the star billing that some people give it .

KW is in it and overacting a bit - he cannot cut the macho / warrior type .

his voice is so poor especially when he shouts it becomes a high pitched whine , because he natural voice is low and soft .


poor melissa ng , always match with this geekish guy , shes too pretty for him in my view .

[chelsea_fan]

For me, its gonna be war n beauty, the last breakthrough,cold blood warm heart, xing shang hai tan, golden faith, wel and most gallen n adam series.

[jinpok1978]

and i am in Malaysia , KL !

anyway GOM is going to rerun on xinghe 34 , and TITS on tv3 , both starting around this weekend .

the CS is playing right now on Astro 30 , its OK so far , but im not sure that it will live up to the star billing that some people give it .

I am in Setapak But I don't have Astro here where I am currently based I am not originally from KL. So renting a condo with my friends It's good to have Astro with those old TVB series reruns especially on Xing he

Which part of KL are u from?

[rokko99]

jinpok ,


I am in Ampang jaya .

Hey , want to ask you - have you seen smiling proud wanderer and the good the bad the ugly , both starring CYF ?

and if so , what is your commentary on them ?

cheers .

[rokko99]

For me, its gonna be war n beauty, the last breakthrough,cold blood warm heart, xing shang hai tan, golden faith, wel and most gallen n adam series.

sen seing hoi tan is interesting but would not be in my top list .

Though i agree about Gallen - MR TVB for so long and underrated acting talent .

[Jirehmy]

Did some rethinking:

Revised top 10 list:

Legend of the Condor Heroes - 80s
Man in the Net 80s
Shell Game 1
Shell Game 2
Yesterday's Glitter (Keng Wah Choon Mung)
Demi-God, Semi-Devils
War of the Dragon
The Brothers (Jun Cheng)
Conscience
Heart of Greed

[komawong]

definitely jackie lui and fiona leung in state of divinity 96

then wong hei and chin kar lok in burning flame 1

tony leung and andy lau in duke of mount deer

michael miu and barbara yung in chor lau heung

the most recent one is catch me now (minus idy chan) - damien and crew tops it

[BearBearNweather]

then wong hei and chin kar lok in burning flame 1

Oh yes, the acting in BF 1 is really good. Others include:

1. Legend of the Condor Heroes (Felix Wong's version) - great leading and supporting

2. Greed of Man - again, great leading and supporting, probably with the only exceptional of Rachel Lee

3. Looking Back in Anger - I don't recall everyone's acting but the main characters are very good. To this date, Derek's role remains one of my most hated TV character

4. Blood of the Good and Evil - as mentioned by jinpok1978, Derek's chemistry with Maggie is awesome. Kenneth is good (as usual )

5. DIF 1 - again, I don't remember everyone but the few important characters are good

6. Plain Love 1

Would want to pick Green Hope because Bowie's portrayal is impressive but I don't recall others acting.

[limdavid]

I noticed that a lot of people rated "Return of the Condor Heroes 84" staring Idy Chan and Andy Lau in the top 5 of TVB's best acted series.

I have to admit that the series was pretty good and can be considered to be a classic. But one cannot say the acting was that good. Sure Andy Lau did pull off the handsome, cheeky nature and personality well. Idy did a good job as well. I don't intend to flame here but just wanted to point a few things out.

I have this series on VCD's so it is one of my favorites despite what people may think from the comments below.

I'll use a few examples from the series of bad acting in that series:

Example 1. Towards the end you had Gum Ling Fat Wong being hit squarely in the chest with a Yat Yeung Chi. Readers would know this type of kung fu is powerful and would probably hurt. All he did was sit there without moving, and didn't even say "ouch", or show signs of pain. He casually said, "Oh! Yat Yeung Chi? You must be Reverend Yat Dung Dai Si". He didn't appear to be in pain at all. There were parts in the series when other characters took blows to the chest and just said casually, "Oh! Great kung fu - you must be...." without showing signs of pain. In most other series people would at least grab thier chest or something to acknowledge that they've been hit.

Example 2. Yeung Gor (Andy) goes to pick up the 'heavy sword'. He says "Oh! What a heavy sword!". Yet in that scene he was swinging the sword around as if it was made of paper. It hardly seemed heavy at all. So what he was saying contradicted the action being depicted on the screen.

Example 3. Kwok Jing was trying to tell off his daughter after she chopped Yeung Gor's arm off. That line and the emotionless manner in which it was said, I couldn't help but laugh a little (no offence intended). He said, "Eh! Fu Yer You just can't going around like that and chop penceople's arms off as you wish!".

These are just a few examples and I know there are some instances of bad acting in other 80's, 90's, and 2000 series. I had to laughed hard everytime I saw the ending of the "Foundation" when Felix (my favorite actor) said in a very weird tone "I'll here for revenge!". The way he said it just sounded plain bad.

The point to this is that I'm not trying to flame. But I thought, in my own view that far too much of that going on in the 84 series were the words used by the actors contradicted what was being shown on the screen. I don't think it was a well acted series.

I am an 80's fan at heart, and think ROCH 84 should be in the top 10 of great series. It was a popular series. However in terms of acting, there were better acted series than this one.

In example #1, Jing Lun Fa Wang did not exhibit any sign of pain/suffering from a direct Yi Yang finger hit was done according to the novel by Jing Yong. Jing Lun is a proud man who will 'endure' anything to prove this point. Remember his first encounter with Guo Jing? Guo Jing and Jing Lun exchanged palm hits, whilst the former fell back several somersaults to mitigate the devastating effects, Jing Lun stood his ground without any sign of strain. He suffered, albeit in silence, sustaining much serious internal injuries as a result of his pride.