“Triumph in the Skies 2” Producers’ Talk
Will Triumph in the Skies 2 <衝上雲宵 II> be able to re-create the magic from ten years ago? The long-awaited sequel of the hit pilot drama is set to premiere on Monday, July 15, 2013 on the TVB Jade network.
The original series, which aired during the fall season of 2003, was not only cited as one of Hong Kong’s most popular dramas in recent years, but it was also acclaimed to be one of Hong Kong’s most critically successful dramas of the new century.
Touted as a television legend, Triumph in the Skies was credited for sparking an interest in Hong Kong’s aviation industry. Francis Ng (吳鎮宇) also popularized the “airplane hairdo” a fly-away haircut that is still popular among many males today. The love triangle shared by Sam (Francis Ng), Belle (Flora Chan 陳慧珊), and Vincent (Joe Ma 馬德鐘) in the story was deemed as one of TVB’s most classic love stories of all time. Triumph in the Skies also successfully boosted newcomers Michelle Ye (葉璇), Myolie Wu (胡杏兒), Ron Ng (吳卓羲), Sammul Chan (陳鍵鋒), Bosco Wong (黃宗澤), and Kenneth Ma (馬國明) to leading stars.
Though a sequel was planned in 2006, TVB’s failed negotiations with airline sponsors forced the sequel to fall into development hell. Many of the drama’s main cast members, such as Michelle Ye, Sammul Chan, and Shek Sau (石修), have moved onto new stages in their careers, making it more difficult for the producers to recruit the original cast for the sequel. Setting up a shooting schedule was also difficult, as the Hong Kong International Airport became increasingly more populated through the years.
Producers Au Koon Ying (歐冠英) and Joe Chan (陳維冠) recalled the drama’s stressful production period and laborious filming experience, also revealing the challenges that they had to face and sacrifices they had to make.
“There was some pressure. Everyone had expectations; plus it has been ten years since Triumph in the Skies last aired on TV,” said producer and scriptwriter Au Koon Ying. “In these ten years, we have been repeatedly trying out new things, and we hoped to be able to shoot a sequel. A lot of obstacles got in our way, but now the sequel is finally done. It has been finally settled. Now, we’re just waiting for the audience to grade it.”
Joe Chan added, “The sequel was a lot harder to make than the first one. First, there were less people at the airport ten years ago compared to now. Back then, we were able to block out certain areas in the airport and was allowed to shoot wherever and whenever we wanted. Now, technically speaking, they could not allow us to shoot in the airport all day. We could only shoot at those locations in the middle of the night. If we needed to do daylight shoots, we typically had to quickly do them around 5 to 6 a.m. We had to complete our shoots by 7 a.m. Second, we also came across some hardships when we did our overseas location shooting. There were climate and culture differences.”
In terms of the drama’s storyline, both Au Koon Ying and Joe Chan expressed their utmost confidence. Joe Chan said, “Whether it was the production itself, the machinery, the lighting, the cinematography, the actors, or even the technology itself, it is an obvious improvement. I am already relieved from my stress, because I am sure Triumph in the Skies 2 will not disappoint the audience.”
To give Triumph in the Skies 2 a spice of uniqueness, Au Koon Ying revealed that she incorporated a few “disagreeable” relationships in the story. “We’ve added some modern, urban, and international themes to our characters’ relationship lines. Everyone may or may not feel a sense of familiarity when watching their stories. We tried to incorporate as many different kinds of relationships arcs as we could. Some audiences may agree, some may find them distasteful, but that is how the world works. I believe that [the story] will be even more bountiful than the first one. We have a much larger cast this time, with many more stories to tell.”
Au Koon Ying and Joe Chan thanked Francis Ng for giving his television comeback to TVB. Au Koon Ying expressed, “Francis Ng was very busy, and he thought about [the comeback] for a long time. Everyone pestered him to come back, and many people were hoping to see Francis Ng back on TV. For the audience and the fans, Francis agreed to film this. He has kept his humor, and I’m sure the girls will like his character! Chilam, on the other hand, will not be playing an obedient role anymore. It’s a new character for him. The role is very solid and dimensional.”
Source: Apple Daily via ihktv.com
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
Can’t wait for the debut! I will have an open mind for the sequel.
I’m very excited for the sequel and all the main storylines.
excited for all storylines except the triangle between fala, francis and chilam. sounds boring compared to other storylines.
Yea i still prefer joe ma , chan wai shan and francis !!!! CHAN WAI SHAN y u make producer angry!!! Nw u cant film TitS 2 T_T
It definitely will be not as successful as Triumph in the Skies.
Originals will always be originals..no need to compare and claim which one will be more successful. Is there even a need to do so..lol.
so quick to judge? watch first!
i dont care if its not going to be successful as the first one lol but i know for sure im realllly excited for this and i will love it ^^
agree! so lame for people to keep compare to the original! what i know is all the previews are making me excited and love the premise and the cast!
Seems lame as chi lam gets chosen over by fala to pick Sam.already know the story
So far, the only things that bug me are the theme song, Zoe’s death, and Fala. Crossing my fingers that the rest does not disappoint me! If it does flop, then the ending should have been left the way it was.
Agreed x3 . The theme song is probably forgivable…, since online viewers are able to skip it. But the death of Zoe really started to send bad vibes on the sequel when they announced that…Second, Chi-Lam, not that I don’t like him but it’s obvious he’s going to be the anti-Sam Tong in the series and a stupid contender for another stupid love triangle. I also crossing my fingers for it to surpass the first one, but I have a good feeling it will disappoint.
Honestly, the themesong is not a big deal to me because we want to see the actual series, not listen to the themesong. It is great to have a good themesong as well but it will not directly affect the series if the song is not good. It is more important to have a good storyline, script and other things. We already have a decent cast, so it is now up to the good storyline and all…
dislike the themesong and how fala suddenly pushed up to pair with both first and second male lead too. but subsong is decent and much better than themesong!
Wow it’s already been 10 years??? I was like 13 back then when I watched it. Time goes by so fast. I also remember the airport being extremely empty, but now it’s extremely crowded lol. I feel bad for the actors who need to wake up early to do the shoot at a certain location. I’m totally going to watch this even if it sucks (sadly, I’m sure it will)
Hope Chilam will have adequate screen time. I’ll watch it for him. Hehe
In the trailers it show chi lam has equal screen time as francis
already fell for chilam’s interesting role! think chilam is more interesting than sam tong in this sequel! don’t get how sam tong can easily get over zoe and fell for fala!
I think chi lam is more for tv then Francis is
The storyline actually sounds more interesting then I originally thought. I really hope that it will not disappoint the audience and will be interesting.
bad movie, mine’s one is the best.
Looking very much forward to Triumph in the Skies.
Hope the series does triumph in the end!
Watched the making of TITS2, what interests me the most is Nancy and Him’s storyline.
I wonder what kind of “cultural differences” they had in production.
It’s not as if HK people have weird habits or do stuff that other ultra modernized nations don’t. In fact I would consider them, on the whole, a bit more civilized and conservative than some other 1st world countries in terms of habits/attitude.
Could it have just been a language barrier thing?
I’m guessing it had to do with filming in a foreign location, especially since they are Asian, many people from that residing country will stop and watch them act, increasing the pressure for the actors. The fact that they are in global iconic locations (such as London, Paris Eiffel Tower) increases the pressure at an all time high, especially if they screw up in a tiny bit, audience members will catch it. The stakes are higher than ever in this drama, because if it busts and disappoints…RIP TVB. In addition to that, language is also a factor, time-zone differences, etc. Just my 2 cents.
“The love triangle shared by Sam (Francis Ng), Belle (Flora Chan 陳慧珊), and Vincent (Joe Ma 馬德鐘) in the story was deemed as one of TVB’s most classic love stories of all time.”
Why is this love triangle one of the most classic love stories of all time? It’s just a normal live triangle.
The plot of the series was actually nothing more than a bunch of love stories linked together. The most interesting aspect of the series was the beautiful travelogue scenes and the guest stars.
This love triangle was a classic because of the deep 3-way relationship. Sam and Belle were linked in fate; Belle and Vincent were linked in marriage; and Sam and Vincent were linked in a lasting friendship and partnership. Each individual cared for the other two in a unique way.
When I first watched the original as a teenager, I was more wrapped up in the story of the “S4” and of Zoe. However, looking back now, I realize that how the Sam-Belle-Vincent love triangle played out actually provided the emotional weight necessary to drive the drama onwards.
I will watch the sequel. But I am almost sad that they made a sequel at all. I would have preferred for the original to stay a solitary classic.
It wasn’t most classic love stories of all time. Or maybe I remember differently how disgusting Belle was and how indecisive and how fate strikes a blow to her in to me a good way when her husband died and he turns out to be her destined other half to so speak. The whole PR thing with these articles kinda twisted how the series, relationships, etc were received when it was first shown.
I never liked the whole Sam-Belle-Vincent thing. I find it such a chore to watch, in part because I can’t stand Flora Chan and Joe Ma. I liked Zoe and Sam which was a more genuine pair.
“Will Triumph in the Skies 2 be able to re-create the magic from ten years ago? ”
No it won’t. Because I never knew the first series was that.. legendary. It wasn’t. What I recall was an enjoyable series with some of the worst English dialogue ever and the joke that is the gibberish. It was vomit inducing. But it was like I said enjoyable.
As for the new magic with spicy relationships etc, read carefully and they sound like every TVB series these days. I see nothing new.
I am however hoping the acting is at least good with a story that doesn’t go off all of a sudden into some time space anomaly known as huge plot holes for the sake of huge plot whatever.
I don’t have much hope for the fact Myolie is in this series. Not because she is a bad actress (well, she is these days) but because any story that utilises the lookalike character plot is to me unimaginative. Why not just kill her off and kill her off for good? OR better yet, don’t kill her off, let her have children with her husband and have a sort of sequel to their very popular pairing?
And I am sick of older woman sexually repressed with younger man sexually active storyline. Why not go beyond it? Let them marry and have children or debate about children? Why does all TVB relationships stop short of the next chapter?
stop prejudice on myolie. not her fault that tvb killed zoe so that francis can have a new relationship with fala! just enjoy myolie’s acting showdown when she need to act as both zoe and summer who are polar opposites! zoe is the gentle and feminine bubbly girl while summer is the quiet introvert tomboy! looking forward for myolie’s chemistry with chilam, ron, francis and adrian chau!
Then why are you so prejudice against others?? Now you know how others feel when the ones that they like are attacked by you.
I’m really looking forward to this! I never told many people because it would sound like such a joke, but the original series was why I wanted to become a pilot in the firts place. I watched the drama when I was young and was blown away by the responsibilities and possibilities has in store for a pilot. What’s more, how awesome did Flora Chan (葉璇) look in the uniform? I remember thinking, man, I wish I can grow up and be like her character one time – a female pilot. This was one of the sole reasons why I applied to become a pilot. The original started and built my interest towards aircraft. Unfortunately I couldn’t pass the physical exams due to the various health conditions I’ve had with me since I was young, but nevertheless! The series will always hold a special spot inside of me.
I can’t believe it’s been ten years already… Wow, time flies doesn’t it? Anyway, the original was amazing – absolutely no doubt about it. It has a great, stable, strong and engaging plot, awesome cast and the theme was new and fresh. As the audience we’ve got to keep in mind a lot of things have changed since 2002. However, this doesn’t mean I’m not willing to give this new sequel a try. Sure, my expectations will be high but I won’t expect it to create the trends like it did a decade ago.
I am excited as ever about the sequel. I cannot wait!! I was so inspired by the original in that it was a break through series for TVB. The location shoots, informative trivia about airlines, pilots, hostesses made me feel so in awe of the travellers lifestyle. I have since harboured a secret desire to be an air hostess. In my dreams! I just loved Sam and Zoe. Their on screen chemistry was swoon worthy. I can’t wait for it to go on DVD so I can buy it and watch it and watch it again and again. Yes, I’m a die hard fan 🙂
looking forward to the series very much! people need to stop comparing with the original and complain about the many love relationships! the original was also about the triangle between francis flora joe and myolie and another triangle between ron sammuel and michelle!
I’m not really digging Ron’s hairstyle in this, it doesn’t really look too natural lol too much gel.
I don’t think people are really that bothered by the many love triangles I mean grand productions tend to do that often it’s just that on almost all the promo clips and news it’s all they mention about. There is hardly any mention on the aircraft part of the story, I just don’t want this to be another romance series. The first series was much more than that and everyone is having high expectations for this to carry on in the sequel.
I don’t consider the Sam-Belle-Vincent-Zoe a classic pairing, in fact it was quite exhausting to watch but then again the S4 relationships were much more appealing at least for me.
I’m looking forward to this, hope the story will be fast paced. Some of the characters sound interesting.
i dont even dig the first part and this sequel is supposed to be eagerly awaited? I root for more series like Rosy Business or Safe Guard. Those type which required you to be glued to your seat.
HALLELUJAH!! Episode 1 was great! Yeah! Finally something to watch!
I am confused with Karma Rider though.