Sunday, October 28, 2018

TVB Awards 2018 meet and greet (万千星辉颁奖典礼-2018马来西亚造势&拉票活动)-黎诺懿、Benjamin袁伟豪、Shaun谭俊彦、Nancy胡定欣、Mandy黄智雯、Selena李施嬅、Alice陈炜- Sunway Velocity (October 28, 2018)

















































































The writing is on the wall since the past few months. Bleeding from a significant dip in their net profit, TVB resorted to retrenchment drive (the casualties are mostly from their international division), shutting down TVB8 channel and slashing the annual TVB award ceremonies in this region. TVB also embarked on their e-commerce venture via their “Big Big Channel” app, to boost their revenue. Some diehard supporters kept their fingers crossed and prayed hard that the inevitable does not happen. The wishful thinking was finally put to rest when TVB officially announced that Malaysian and Singaporean could still vote on-line for 3 categories (Malaysia and Singapore’s Fave Drama, Fave TV Actor and Actress in a Leading Role)….. BUT the award presentation will be in HK. As a consolation, TVB will continue the practice of having the artistes promote the event and fish for votes in Singapore and Malaysia.

I believe many may not be aware that TVB pulled the very same stunt in 2010. The local TVB award thingy actually started in year 2004 and was known as “Astro Wah Loi Toi Drama awards”. 
TVB then suddenly switched the venue from Malaysia to HK in 2010. It was resurrected in 2011 and the name was altered to “My AOD (Astro On Demand) Favourites Awards”.  TVB took over from Astro in 2013 and replaced it with “TVB Star Awards Malaysia”, introducing the on-line voting concept. I have had the good fortune of attending all the 12 shows here (none in 2009-2010).   You can run through my blog to read about my coverage over the years.  Personally, I have mixed emotions about the whole thing. It’s no secret that TVB’s popularity had plunged  in recent years and let’s not kid ourselves, it’s just a matter of time before TVB comes to this painful decision.  Still, despite my constant ramblings, deep down, I look forward to participating in the voting frenzy and be part of the studio audience. Would TVB reverse its decision later on ? Not likely, unless their revenue returns to the good old days, which is a pretty tall order for now. 

This time around, TVB roped-in seven celebs for the meet & greet sessions in Ipoh & KL.  Shaun is TVB’s new blue-eyed  boy and filming one drama after another. His acting is decent but the hot-headed emperor role (Succession War drama) is an overkill for me. He got too carried away with the growling and menacing expression.  I don’t think he will walk away with the TV King award this year…too soon..afterall, he is still a rookie in TVB.  I honestly can’t think of any outstanding characters this year. If it’s me, my choice would be Kenneth Ma or Selena Lee. TVB might just hand the award to Benjamin but frankly, his acting skills is still a hit and miss. Sometimes good, sometimes mediocre.   Selena actually acted well in “Succession War” but the drama had appalling ratings in HK. Her chances are not high but I still hope TVB accords Selena with some form of recognition. Or TVB might just lose Selena soon.  Her  contract is almost up, if I’m not wrong.
 I don’t mind Alice Chan winning the TV female leading role, too. She has the looks and is a very capable actress.  Rumours abounded that Mandy is a strong contender for the TV queen honour this year….again, Mandy’s acting is solid but her drama characters are hardly a breakthrough.  Sadly, I guess this year’s winners would have to rely on luck, rather than acting abilities. 

Alice was visibly delighted to be in Malaysia, especially seeing a bunch of placards-bearing fans turning up to support her in KL.  This is the first time she took part in TVB's voting campaign here.  Same goes for Shaun.  Shaun was in the latest "Wellness On The Go - Season 5" but had not appeared in any public functions organized by TVB before.  Benjamin performed his usual Lee Hom song-爱的就是你.  It was a real eye-opener when Mandy gave a snazzy performance of Joey Yung's 另眼相看.  To everyone's astonishment, Mandy can sing and dance very well. Selena sang Beyond's classic 喜歡你, in a private function before this and took selfie with fans.  Selena mentioned that she was just in KL two months ago, for "All Things Girls" program and professed her love for durians. She also shared her experience shooting "Succession War" with Shaun. Shaun almost accidentally strangled  Selena, which reminded her of BJJ (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) choke technique. Nancy seems pretty at ease.  Somehow, I sensed that she is more relax about the whole award thingy this year.  Nancy sang in Ipoh but not in KL.  Nevertheless, Nancy still urged fans to vote despite it not being held in Malaysia anymore and shared that selected lucky voters might get a chance to attend the live show in HK.  Alice chimed in and said the voting process is akin to taking medicine every 4 hours because fans can vote five times a day. Benjamin and Mandy acted a scene from "Threesome".  Coincidently, Benjamin's gf, Bowie is also in Malaysia to shoot a segment of "Sidewalk Scientist".  You can always count on Lai Lok Yee to entertain the crowd with his funny banters and always give the best fan service, without fail.