Sources: MingPao – Weekly / TVB / Marketing-Interactive / Headline*
Last week’s TV ratings report is out, and coverage on the Olympics Torch Relay is the focal point. Rivals TVB & aTV both received OK ratings since many residents turned out to watch on the streets. TVB disrupted the torch relay of Eason Chan 陳奕迅 with commercials and caused dissatisfaction among viewers.

For prime time shows, first week telecast of “The Silver Chamber of Sorrows 銀樓金粉” averaged at 29 points, down 3 points from last week’s series with the same time slot, of about 1.8 million viewers. “Catch Me Now 原來愛上賊” with Idy Chan 陳玉蓮 as the strong fighter, gained 1 point at 32 points average of over 2 million viewers and was at the highest of 34 points*. Sunday night’s Japanese drama “Hanazakari no Kimitachi e Ikemen Paradise 花樣少年少女” dropped 8 points to 15 points average. aTV’s “Flaming Butterfly” made only 4 points, down 1 from last week.

[I know idolizing artists is the big culture in HK, but it’s just totally weird that many singers were chosen to be the bearers of the sacred flame when it reached HK last week. Anyhow, enjoy this funny and silly clip of Idy in episode 11, Damian 劉松仁 is so right, Idy did so well on portraying the clumsy housewife. Idy sure has clear and smooth skin at her age and with “Catch” is aired in HD format, I can’t even spot anything from her face. I need facial skin transplant from babies’ smooth butts haha!]

Sources: MingPao – Weekly / TakungPao / WeiWenPo / TheSun / SingPao / OrientalDaily / Headline

AppleDaily 男 女 主 角 玩 失 蹤 馬 德 鐘 最 想 松 哥 死

無 劇 集 《 原 來 愛 上 賊 》 一 班 演 員 昨 日 現 身 奧 海 城 宣 傳 ， 雖 然 男 女 主 角 劉 松 仁 和 陳 玉 蓮 均 缺 席 ， 但 大 會 安 排 他 們 以 長 途 電 話 與 現 場 演 員 對 話 。 馬 德 鐘 就 大 爆 該 劇 拍 了 三 個 不 同 的 結 局 ， 他 則 最 喜 歡 松 哥 死 掉 的 那 個 版 本 。

馬 德 鐘 、 陳 法 拉 和 陳 茵 媺 等 《 原 來 愛 上 賊 》 演 員 ， 昨 日 在 奧 海 城 出 席 宣 傳 活 動 ， 因 母 親 節 將 至 ， 眾 演 員 一 起 繪 畫 母 親 節 卡 ， 劇 中 兩 位 男 女 主 角 劉 松 仁 和 陳 玉 蓮 則 分 別 透 過 長 途 電 話 與 眾 演 員 對 話 ， 蓮 妹 現 身 在 加 拿 大 ， 松 哥 則 在 內 地 。

拍 下 三 結 局 蓮 妹 知 道 劇 集 收 視 好 ， 表 示 是 大 家 的 努 力 ， 又 謂 仍 未 決 定 何 時 回 港 ， 但 希 望 能 返 港 與 大 家 一 起 欣 賞 大 結 局 。 問 到 她 有 否 掛 住 松 哥 ？ 蓮 妹 笑 說 ： 「 我 掛 住 大 家 ， 恭 喜 松 哥 演 得 好 好 ， 我 朋 友 個 個 都 讚 松 哥 好 靚 仔 同 後 生 。 」 松 哥 聽 後 哈 哈 大 笑 ， 表 現 得 非 常 開 心 ， 他 說 ： 「 我 都 想 盡 量 安 排 返 香 港 睇 大 結 局 ， 我 家 就 同 媽 咪 遊 山 玩 水 ， 我 真 係 唔 知 套 劇 呢 段 時 間 播 出 ， 我 知 一 定 會 留 香 港 睇 ， 希 望 再 有 機 會 同 蓮 妹 合 作 ， 好 成 功 轉 到 型 ， 做 一 個 師 奶 ， 做 得 好 好 。 」
馬 德 鐘 大 爆 無 早 已 拍 下 三 個 版 本 的 結 局 ， 松 哥 可 能 會 死 、 變 植 物 人 或 者 大 團 圓 結 局 ， 他 說 ： 「 我 比 較 鍾 意 松 哥 死 結 局 ， 因 為 通 常 一 個 咁 多 人 鍾 意 人 死 ， 都 會 令 人 留 下 深 刻 印 象 。 」

Joe Ma 馬德鐘, Fala Chen 陳法拉, Johnson Lee 李思捷 and other cast of “Catch Me Now 原來愛上賊” attended another promotional function at Olympian City 奧海城 mall. However, the pair of leading man and lady aren’t in Hong Kong for the event, Damian Lau 劉松仁 is on tour with his mother in mainland China and Idy Chan 陳玉蓮 is “enjoying life” in Canada, TVB arranged long-distance teleconference from both Damian & Idy for their support and to inform on the good rating. In response to the critics of Idy’s performance not the same in past, Damian strongly supports Idy that her role of playing the silly housewife “si-lai” is very convincing, it’s totally different from her previous roles, and hopes to have the chance to work with her again. On hearing the good response for the series, Idy is extremely happy and that her outside-the-circle friends praise how Damian looks very handsome and young in the series, and hope he keeps it up. Also, she congratulates Damian on the success of his character, and fully gives credits to other cast. Both Damian & Idy said they will sure arrange to be back in HK for the finale, the two are obviously “the backbone”. Joe revealed that there’s 3 alternative endings for “Catch” and that Damian’s character could be alive, dead or become the vegetable. Joe said “I think the dead ending is the best, definitely will leave deep impression on the audience”. The cast also joined in to draw the big card for Mother’s Day. [Also see translation @Asian Gossip]

[What? Jack will die? Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! I thought BT will die from what I read at Chinese wikipedia. Not sure how’s the rating for second week of “Catch” yet, but episode 10 ended nicely & makes me looking forward to the next.]

Please take the poll, taken straight from TVB.com, the question is Yung (Idy Chan) finds out Jack’s (Damian Lau) true identity 蓉(陳玉蓮飾)赫然發現哲(劉松仁飾)的身份…你認為她應該忠於自己的愛情，或服從社會道德標準而遠離哲？ The choices are, also very self-explanatory from the photos:
1. Stay with him for her own love 忠於愛情，與哲一起
2. Leave him because of her righteous moral 服從社會道德標準，遠離哲

[Since I embedded the poll straight from TVB website, so not sure how long TVB has this poll running. IF you see some other weird photos or not related to Catch Me Now shown up, THEN ignore the poll. Okay?]

[AppleDaily] Catch Me Now 原來愛上賊 , the HK version of “Ocean’s Eleven” 港版盜海豪情, marks the comeback of Idy Chan 陳玉蓮, along with veteran Damian Lau 劉松仁, Johnson Lee 李思捷 [BT – hacker], Eric Li Tin-Cheung 李天翔 [pretty boy – car racer] and detective Joe Ma 馬德鐘, the show finished first week with great response. Of course, Idy is the focal point of the discussion. Many netizens have high expectation from Idy, criticizing her stiff acting with hoarse voice, looking old and playing pitiful role. Yet they highly praise the rookies “Long-leg crab” [shooter] Koni Lui 呂慧儀 and Aimee Chan 陳茵媺 [CID Nana]. There’s fans who are happy to see Idy on screen again, however, the majority disapprove of her performance that doesn’t meet up their expectation of the forever beautiful Little Dragon Girl 小龍女.

[Whatever! From what I’ve seen on the net, I can say that the majority of the viewers are very young and they haven’t seen any of Idy’s work, not even ROCH1983. Can’t blame them. Sure, I do agree that there’s a few scenes Idy didn’t do well at all, but I think it’s still too early to make a conclusion as the series is still in progress. On her voice, I don’t think it’s that bad at all, I was only able to spot 1 or 2 scenes that they used her dubbed voice, but other than that, it’s just the way she sounds. It’s all about the characters here, she’s playing a naive “si-lai” housewife who finds goodness in everyone. You just can’t fault her for the character she portrays. It’s just hard for me to be objective on the negatives about Idy. Anyways, back to “Catch”, it’s funny on how BT refers Yung-Yung as “Gugu” and at the end of episode 6, he’s asking if Jack’s falling for “Gugu”. Haha and cute!]

Face Weekly #49 – Little Dragon Girl is vanishing: This article again criticized Idy on her comeback series “Catch…” Idy played housewife Bao Yung-Yung born in 1968, though she sounds like an old granny and shows forceful signs for playing a 40-year-old. In real life, Idy’s born in 1960, and at 48, losing shape is unavoidable. While 47-year-old “Yeung Gor 楊過” Andy Lau 劉德華 is only a year younger, but keeping himself well and looks much younger in comparison. Perhaps, Idy should consult with Andy for his secrets of keeping the youth.

[All bs, but I just wanted to cover all the news I found on the net.]

Sources: MingPao – Weekly / Oriental / AppleDaily / Headline / TaKungPao: 陳玉蓮仍具吸引力 – 無線昨日公布上周收視，黃金時段三線劇集只有《金石良緣》報升，因為是結局篇關係，平均收視有 32點，最高35點，約有220萬觀眾收看。至於首周播映的《原來愛上賊》平均收視有31點，最高達32點，就首播劇集而言這成績已算高，可見久休復出的「小龍女」陳玉蓮對觀眾仍有一定吸引力！而《一百萬人的故事》平均收視為23點，最高26點. 圖：陳玉蓮與鄭子誠演對手戲
Yesterday TVB released the rating for last week and three prime time shows were reported. “A Journey Called Life 金石良緣” had 32 points average and at the highest of 35 points, approximately about 2.2 million viewers. First week telecast of “Catch Me Now 原來愛上賊” made an average of 31 points, peaking at 32 points or about 1.9 million viewers, which is considered a high score for the first airing. This shows that the comeback of “Little Dragon Girl 小龍女” Idy Chan 陳玉蓮 is still drawing the attraction of the audience. “Poverty Campaign 一百萬人的故事” was only at 23 points and 26 points as the highest.

[I just finished watching episode 6, which started off really well with another great coordination of Jack (Damian Lau 劉松仁) and his team. The caught-off-guard interactions between Jack & Yung-Yung (Idy) were well-done and really fun. I can see a little fire between them by criticizing each other (watch clip below haha!) but also clearing up their misunderstanding. Idy’s getting more comfortable with the camera and that makes me to understand the character Yung-Yung better. I’m loving this series.]

《金石良緣》結局最高收35點
【16:36】2008年04月28日 【on.cc 專訊】 TVB劇集《原來愛上賊》播出一星期，雖然比《古靈精探》下跌五點，但平均收視為卅一點，成績亦算不錯，而《金石良緣》結局篇收視上升兩點，平均收視卅二 點，最高收視卅五點，而新推出之《了解．關懷　一百萬人的故事》平均收視廿三點，至於亞視所謂重頭之作《火蝴蝶》，平均收視只得五點，而周日晚之《鐵甲無 敵獎門人》平均收卅一點，下跌一點。/ Marketing-Interactive

TVB “Catch Me Now” had the average rating of 31 points for its first week broadcast, even though it’s 5 points lower than “D.I.E“, but the results are quite good. The finale of “A Journey Called Life” rose up 2 with the average of 32, and peak of 35 points. The newly promoted programme “Poverty Campaign” received the average of 23 points. ATV’s grand production “Flaming Butterfly” fell short at only 5 points. And Sunday’s night TVB’s Super Trio Supreme made an average of 31 points, dropped 1 point.

[I’m not too familiar with all the TV ratings in HK and even right here in the US, it’s just irrelevant on how I like the shows. Anyways, I’ve been enjoying the first 5 episodes of “Catch…” a lot, esp. the character Jack (Damian Lau 劉松仁) and his team. There’s a few awkward moments on Idy Chan’s 陳玉蓮 acting, so far I haven’t yet understood the character Bao Yung-Yung. I haven’t seen any sparks between Jack and Yung, but I hope it’ll change as I continue to follow up on the series. Kong Sir (Joe Ma 馬德鐘) seems OK to watch with his serious demeanor to capture the thief that killed his mentor and to find a fault in Jack, whose coolness and calmness have been the key that makes the show quite interesting, so far…]

2008.04.25 Another gossip article on Idy in Sudden Weekly #665, just in case you want to read.

馬德鐘望郭晉安帶挈拉高收視
【14:56】2008年04月20日 【on.cc 專訊】 馬德鐘出席主演劇集《原來愛上賊》宣傳活動，對於同劇兩位主角劉松仁、陳玉蓮將不能為劇集做宣傳，馬德鐘說：「係唔係由我『孭羂飛』宣傳？當然唔係啦！套 劇仲有好多演員。（對收視可有信心？）有！對警匪片有信心，加上會緊接《古靈精探》，希望郭晉安會帶挈。」 Sources: Mingpao – Weekly / TaKungPao / WenWeiPo / Oriental / AppleDaily

Another promotional function for “Catch Me Now”, however, this time both leading man Damian Lau and leading lady Idy Chan aren’t in HK to attend, leaving the promotional duty on the younger generation of the cast. Joe Ma was asked if he’s feeling pressure, he said “It’s not just me to do the promotion, credits to many other actors as well. (Are you confident with the ratings?) Yes, I have confidence with police theme, plus it’s following right after D.I.E , hope it’s able to compete with Roger Kwok’s.”

2008.04.18 Sudden Weekly #664: Another tabloid article on Idy’s returning to screen and her “Three No’s” rules. AppleDaily: Sharon Chan 陳敏之 praised Idy, who keeps herself very well at her age, and that Idy’s really pretty in person and she would never think that she’s able to work with Idy.

[I guess I never get tired to hearing people praising Idy. Just in case you don’t understand Cantonese, the first video posted in previous entry, both Fala and Joe shared their thoughts on working with Idy. Joe felt nervous because he think Idy’s an idol of many, including himself, that Idy is very nice. Fala expressed that Idy didn’t act like a senior and that Idy was friendly to everyone. And that Idy even shared her stories working with Andy Lau. Damian said even though he wasn’t able to persuade on holding hands, kissing in the series, but Idy is very cute in her own way. Asked on how they two able to express love without these acts, Damian laughed that he used all of his emotions and facial and eye expressions to show. Haha! ]