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November 27, 2008

Posted at 12:38 AM

TVB’s 41st Anniversary Extravaganza was held on Wednesday November 19th, 2008. I have been rewatching the show for the past week. Actually, it’s been awhile since an Anniversary Extravaganza was attractive enough to make me rewatch it. This year’s Anniversary Extravaganza reminded me of some of the “old days”.


At the very beginning, Sir Shaw Run Run (Uncle Six), accompanied by Liza Wang and Dodo Cheng at his sides, helped kick off the night by inserting a happy face coin into a box shaped like the TVB logo. That officially initiated the start of the show. A round of dances quickly followed.


This year, the theme of the opening was “Western and Chinese Dances”. Attending artists divided into different groups in displaying their dance moves. Bosco Wong and Joyce Cheng led the first group. Second group consisted of Charmaine Sheh, Ron Ng, Sammul Chan, and many others; third group had Susanna Kwan, Michelle Yim, Wayne Lai, etc. (with a brief showcase of TVB veterans), and the fourth group had Ha Yu, Kevin Cheng, Raymond Lam, and others. The dances then combined into a big group dance at the TVB’s outdoor area.

This year’s emcees only consisted of six members, including Liza Wang, Eric Tsang, Dodo (Carol) Cheng, Nat Chan, Sharon Chan, and Amigo Chiu. It’s a bit odd to me that there were only six of them. I would have thought TVB like to have at least eight emcees (as eight is a lucky number). And I did notice that Anna Yau, who is a usual emcee for the past years, was not there. And what about Tang Chi Fung?


The first performance of the night was “生日彈高GO GO GOAL” (Birthday Jump High Go Go Goal). The first four Chinese characters also share the same sounding as “Birthday Cake”. The performers included Timmy Hung, Francois Huynh, Stephen Huynh, Charles Szeto, Sharon Luk, Elaine Yiu, Vin Choi, and several others. The entire performance was done on two trampolines. First, the girls and Vin did some simple tricks on the trampolines, with acts such as rope jumping and somersault. Then, four guys (with Timmy Hung as the lead) bounced off the trampolines using their backs while “painting” Chinese words on the wall. They wrote “如日中天”, which meant “like the sun at noon”. At the end, Eric Tsang concluded the performance by placing a missing “fire” to a non-lighted candle of a birthday cake on the wall.


The second performance was “街頭熱啡雨中舞” (Hot Coffee Street Dance in the Rain). The song “Hot Coffee” is one of Liza’s famous songs. In TVB’s 27th Anniversary Extravaganza, Liza had done a memorable “Hot Coffee” Dance. This year, she led a group of dance talents for a wet hip-hop dance. The first song used for the background music of the dance was “Hot Coffee”. It was a refreshing performance to watch, and Liza Jie and everyone else did a great job. The floor got a bit too slippery though after the performance.


The performance afterwards was “金鑽情歌忘不了” (The Unforgettable Golden Love Songs). Four “onscreen” couples were brought together to sing golden love songs. Kevin Cheng and Charmaine Sheh sang two songs 難得有情人 and 只有情永在 together. Afterwards, three pairs of “onscreen” couples from different eras came out to sing the theme/sub-theme songs of their respective past shows/series. Shek Sau and Maggie Li sang the theme song of their old series “心有千千結”. Ng Wai Kwok and Lui Yau Wai performed 巫山盟’s subtheme 田園春夢. They are followed by Wu Fung and Ng Kwun Lai’s 青青河邊草. The four couples then sang 愛在心內暖 to conclude the segment.


The next one ”扮嘢天王福祿壽” (The Three "Impersonating" Kings) was favored by many. The three great impersonators Louis Yuen, Wong Cho Lam, and Johnson Lee are back with another round of fun and laughs. Last year, they transformed into Rain, Jolin Tsai, Chris Wong and others. This year, they incorporated different elements to combine into an interesting show.

The performance could be divided into four parts. In the first part, the three of them transformed into 四朵金花 – TVB’s Four Golden Flowers singing their traditional theme song (Louis as Lydia Shum, Johnson as Liza Wang, Wong Cho Lam as Teresa Cheung, “Fake Person” as Wong Oi Ming). Louis mentioned in the Scoop interview that he wanted to pay tribute to Fei Jie. One thing to also note is that they incorporated names of TVB’s executives into the song.

The second part of the show involved Johnson Lee as Andy Lau singing 神鵰大俠 and 世間始終你好 (songs from The Return of the Condor Heroes 1983 and The Legend of the Condor Heroes 1983). Johnson’s voice really resembled Andy’s voice. As for Wong Cho Lam, he appeared as a super chubby Condor, flapping his wings and imitating a shouting sound of the bird. As for Louis, he became a hunter aiming an arrow at the Condor Cho Lam. The scene was quite hilarious.

The third part was more of an “a cappella” parody show. They introduced themselves as “The Three Brothers”. Toward the very end of the third part, they imitated the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics theme song “You and Me” rendered by Liu Huan and Sarah Brightman. Wong Cho Lam’s attempted woman voice was very convincing.

The final part showcased TVB’s 2008 series “Moonlight Resonance”. A few clips from the series were showing while the three of them changed clothes behind the scene. Later, the three of them came out, dressed up as Louise Lee’s “Hor Ma” (Louis), Michelle Yim’s “Hong Yee” (Wong Cho Lam), and Susanna Kwan’s “Sa Yee” (Johnson). They did a rap involving the golden phrases from the series, with changes the meaning to some of the phrases to reflect the TVB Anniversary Awards 2008. For example, they mentioned about Ha Yu getting the award and laughing all day now, no one listening to Liza (Ah Jie) anymore, Sonija’s dress, etc. One interesting to note is that their final line (林峰下年又係你 – Raymond next year will be you again) was accompanied by a tune that was similar to the last line of the theme song of “Moonlight Resonance” (原本無心害你). They wrapped up the show by a group tap dancing.


歌舞青春Mega Show (Dancing and Singing Mega Show) came next. I thought TVB has promised a “rumored couple performance” involving Boscolie (Bosco Wong and Myolie Wu) and Rayda (Raymond Lam and Linda Chung). However, it turned out that it was more of a showcase of their (new) talents in the Hong Kong music industry. The show (supposedly) displayed how TVB artists are not only good at acting, but they can be great in dancing and singing as well (as in versatile). The participating artists are Raymond Lam, Myolie Wu, Bosco Wong, Linda Chung, and Patrick Tang. The show began with everyone singing Eason Chan’s 演唱會 (Live Concert). Then, they all did their solo dancing and singing. Raymond’s solo was Jay Chou’s 霍元甲; Myolie’s was Joey Yung’s 跑步機上; Bosco’s was the music group Soft Hard’s 廣播道FANS殺人事件; Linda’s was Kelly Chen’s 花花宇宙; Patrick’s was Alan Tam’s 傲骨 (in the order of their appearances). The show concluded with the five of them singing Eason’s演唱會 (Live Concert) again.


The final show of the night was the annual Anniversary Skit - 台慶劇：家好月圓之店長招募大行動. This year’s theme is “Moonlight Resonance”. The story went like Jo Bao wanted to open the 41st bakery, and Hor Ma, Hong Yee, and Sa Yee accompanied him to look for a place. They have decided to purchase that place, and they needed to hire people. So in coming three candidates: Eric Tsang’s “傻媽 - Saw Ma”, Moses Chan’s “聾姨 - Long Yee”, and Bosco Wong’s “Bo Bee Wong”. All there of them have someone attached to their backs, with those mysterious people as the hands of the three men. Charmaine was behind Eric, Christine Ng was behind Moses, while Myolie was behind Bosco. The three of them were tested by the bosses.

As like previous years, the skit was quickly turned into chaos. People started to throw cakes and cream at each other, and Eric, as always, started to mess with people. He “attacked” Susanna twice and Ha Yu once. At the end, it was a huge mess. Even Nat Chan, not part of the show to start with, came up to “attack” Louise. Overall, they weren’t too many funny spots in the skits. But I did have some laughs here and there. I especially liked the part when Myolie kept hitting Bosco’s chest.

The entire show ended with giving off the final big prizes, cutting the birthday cake, and distributing the champagne. The prizes winners this year are Grace Wong, Shirley Yeung, and Charmaine Sheh. And Nat Chan ended the show by saying “we will see you guys in next year’s anniversary”. I don’t know if it was just me, but I felt like the “goodbye” at the end was a bit abrupt and short.


Overall Comments:

I am quite satisfied with the show this year. At least there were more “real” performances involved, and we could see TVB artists put in effort practicing to celebrate for TVB’s birthday. However, there seemed to be more spots where no one was talking. Perhaps we needed more emcees? Also, Tommy Leung seemed to be quite unhappy the entire night. What’s up with him?

Anyways, now we have entered TVB’s 42nd year. What kind of surprises will be waiting for us?

PS: HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all those who celebrate this holiday!!! =)

Labels: TVB 41st Anniversary

posted by magnolia_sara | |

November 18, 2008

Posted at 12:04 AM

Labels: TVB 41st Anniversary

posted by magnolia_sara | |