|
| Sunday, March 26, 2006 |
| LWOLAP vs. UTCOL, Why the Ratings? |
Submitted by Sidney
Inspired by your post “HK Audience: What’s Up” I have decided to do a little bit of comparisons between LWOLAP and UTCOL, mostly for 2 reasons: 1) I’m bored out of my mind in my Organic Chemistry class and 2) just because I want to know, too. hehe…=D
 VS. 
LWOLAP vs. UTCOL
Lethal Weapons of Love and Passion. One of TVB’s most talked about and anticipating series ever! So why are the ratings so bad? Is it because of the storyline? the cast? the genre? I don’t know. What’s the most surprising is that a series like Under the Canopy of Love could way surpass them, getting a peak of 37 pts for their finale! That’s crazy ratings, when I found the ending just average! Here is what I’ve compared between the two:
The Love Triangle:
*Charmaine + Raymond + Sonija*
The deceitful Sonija; playing with Raymond’s heart to the end. Raymond, oblivious to Sonija’s lies and blinded from Charmaine’s love. Charmaine, naïve but faithful; giving so much, but receiving so little. A typical love triangle that have the audience hating one side (Sonija) and loves the other (Charmaine). Who should Raymond go with? Does it matter? Obviously not! Since the ratings have been so horrible.
*Bosco + Niki + Kevin*
Kevin, a wonderful guy; smart and successful, but not cherishing what he had until it’s too late. Niki, a very naïve girl that thinks of others before herself; gives her full trust to people without expecting it to be returned. Bosco, a very sensitive guy, who’s loyalty to his friends and family is beyond limits. An absolute classic with a very original storyline. With fresh chemistry, and a little humor to added to it, it’s understandable that the ratings are good. Even I can’t decide whom TVB should pair whom: Niki w/ Bosco or Niki w/ Kevin. hmm…
The Chemistry:
I don’t know how others view this, but I find the chemistry between Sonija, Raymond, and Charmaine in LWOLAP so awkward! The age difference is getting into me the most. No matter how young and beautiful Sonija and Charmaine looks, they’re just so much older than Raymond! Especially when they have to call him 大哥, it makes no sense! Don’t think me wrong, I’m a diehard Raymond and Charmaine fan (Sonija? ehh…) but for them as a couple…not good. Bad call from TVB to expect great chemistry from them. Like TVBsquare once said, “Hydrogen plus Oxygen equals water, it is the concept of chemistry.” I say, chemistry should not only encompass hydrogen and oxygen, but other elements as well. Making H2O = TNT (a bomb!), leaving lasting impressions on the viewers. TVB did just that, but did H2O + TNT = a diffuse unit, unable to spark an interest among us viewers.
UTCOL, on the other hand, is very simple production, with no exciting fight scenes or dramatic sound effects. Yet the chemistry of the cast is what draws us on along with it; wanting to continue to share the laughter, share the moment, and share the love in watching the series. The chemistry between Niki, Bosco, and Kevin is not just a regular H20 chem, but a bomb! (TNT). No way can it be great with just Kevin and Niki or Niki and Bosco or Bosco and Kevin. It has to encompass all 3 for it to make it work! It doesn’t have to be all about love (but it’s better since it did! hehe…), but also had friendship, family, and many laughs that made us like it more and more. A complete success! Never in a million years, will I find such chemistry! I guess as TVBGeneration once said “TVB is home to several underdogs who are waiting to bite back.” I say, Under the Canopy of Love proves her theory right. They do bite back! With vengeance!
The Performance:
*Niki Chow (UTCOL) vs. Charmaine Sheh + Sonija Kwok (LWOLAP)*
Ok, I’m pretty sure, many of you will automatically think that Charmaine’s acting (& Sonija? ehh…) would beat Niki’s hands down; mostly because of their experience in the industry for so many years. BUT, I found Niki’s character very enjoyable in UTCOL. Not great, but good. Improving slowly with every series she does. (This is Niki’s 3rd series with TVB.) What I found in Charmaine and Sonija’s acting in LWOLAP is that it is so similar to Perish in the Name of Love’s character! But besides the point that they both know kung-fu in this one, (hee yah!) and were sisters in the other, their performance is only so-so. Charmaine’s acting is good. I love her, but there’s no improvement. Nothing “wow” or “Oh my god!” about it. Just good, as usual. Sonija? Ehh…I’m not even going to waste my time with her. (if you guys don’t know by now, I’m not a Sonija Kwok fan; especially not since she stole part of Louis Koo from Jessica Hsuan in ASITP!) I don’t know if it’s a curse on Charmaine right now or not, but her series are just not doing so well when aired. For example: her series, Yummy Yummy, average performance, average ratings; Always Ready, cute character, but gets draggy, again, bad ratings!; Leathal Weapons of Love and Passion, good acting, but nothing special, bad bad ratings. I guess the audiences are waiting, just as I am, for something special coming out of Charmaine’s performance. Niki?...she’s doing pretty good in ratings. Most of her series are really fresh and funny. For example: The Gentle Crackdown; so funny! First time I’ve seen her, okay acting, w/ very high ratings! Under the Canopy of Love, improved on acting, 30+ pts in ratings (average!). I’m beginning to think if TVB really did give the right award to the right person (most-improved actress)! hmm…nope, I don’t think so (not yet, that is).
*Raymond Lam + Bosco Wong (LWOLAP) vs. Kevin Cheng + Bosco Wong (UTCOL)*
This is a definite, hard one to compare; with both sides having TVB’s most promoted young actors (Raymond, Bosco, and Kevin) and both sides having Bosco Wong in it! (hehe… =D )making it real hard for me to compare without getting some fans mad! But as Toomanysidesofme once said, “We all have our own views, our own thoughts. I just like to share mine and to inform you guys recent Stuff about TVB!” I agree with what she said, so I’m saying, I’m going to go on typing and not caring what you think! (Please don’t “bash” me!) In LWOLAP, Raymond did an okay job. Not great, not bad, and not much excitement goes on around him. I’m just not interested in his series, like I used to. I don’t know if it’s his fault or is it TVB’s fault for having cast him in such poor storylines, but I do find him having the same curse as Charmaine: Yummy Yummy and LWOLAP. *Hint to TVB: if you guys want better ratings and make more money, don’t cast them together for anymore series. Failed in both modern and ancient!* Will he improve? I would hope so, since I’m a fan of his, but it all depends on HK audience to support him and decide. Kevin Cheng, in my opinion, is not the greatest actor nor is he the cutest or youngest out of the bunch, but acceptable. I find his acting just average, not much difference from his other series I’ve seen in the past. But have to agree with the other Niki-Kevin fans out there; they’re just so cute on-screen! Without Niki and Bosco, supporting him in UTCOL, making him look great, I would have just skipped Kevin in this review! Bosco…Bosco…Bosco. Got 3 words for him: You the man! I’m beginning to like him more and more. Since he was in both LWOLAP and UTCOL, I guess it’s not his fault that the ratings are so good in one and not good in the other; mostly because his character is about the same: funny and innocent at the beginning, and got more serious towards the end. But just look at his performance lately! Besides counting LWOLAP, all his others series are in top ratings! War of In-Laws, Life Made Simple, Under the Canopy of Love, etc. Every series is different, every character is different, and every cast is different, but he’s still does an amazing job. I know, I know, you’re probably thinking that other actor/actresses are affecting the ratings, too, besides Bosco, but I’m talking about Bosco right now, so needed something to back my theories, making him look good! (excuse this one time please! Thanks! =D)
Overall, here is what I think HK audience likes:
They like comedy. (Who wouldn’t?!) They like drama. (Who wouldn’t?!) They like Bosco. (I’m assuming he’s a good reason for high ratings, but Who wouldn’t?!) They like something simple and enjoyable, that’s easy to understand without using any brain juice (UTCOL + simple storyline = high ratings; LWOLAP + complicated storyline = low ratings). I don’t know if my analysis is right or wrong, but it’s all my opinion. There maybe no curse on Charmaine or Raymond. And maybe I’m just over thinking everything I said earlier! I don’t know! But what I do know is that Lethal Weapons of Love and Passion, a much anticipated series, has been a flop, while an underrated, “underdog” Under the Canopy of Love has been a HUGE success. Life is forever full of wonders and surprises, and TVB ratings/series are no different. Here’s one more advice to TVB: keep it real, keep it simple, keep it fresh. That’s the key to “keep” us, fans, coming back. |
posted by toomanysidesofme @ 6:21 PM  |
|
|
|
|
|
