Chilam Cheung and Fala Chen’s Daring Love Scene is Cut
With Francis Ng (吳鎮宇) and Chilam Cheung’s (張智霖) presence, Triumph in the Skies 2’s <衝上雲霄Ⅱ> ratings continue to keep up positive momentum. Among the characters, Chilam’s Captain Cool role is highly popular and in turn, even his 6-year-old son, Morton Cheung (張慕童), is a big fan.
Throughout the years, Chilam’s on screen characters have left deep impressions on viewers, including his roles in The Legend of the Condor Heroes <射鵰英雄傳> and Return of the Cuckoo <十月初五的月光>. With both series garnering high ratings, TVB executives have persistently pursued Chilam. He had previously rejected the filming for Triumph in the Skies 2 but because of his close friendship with TVB executive, Tommy Leung (梁家樹), Chilam finally accepted.
No Thoughts On Becoming TV King
“Before filming started, the producers and script writers all gathered to talk about what kind of image we’d create for me. I felt as though there should be a contrast between my role and Sam’s (Francis Ng), where one should be laid-back and one should be serious. So my character was born from Sam’s exact opposite.” Despite being the flirtatious and popular pilot on screen, Chilam voiced his challenges with filming. He explained that since he is rather low-key in real life, playing such a high-profile playboy has its difficulties.
Chilam also has a lot of romantic scenes with Holiday (Fala Chen 陳法拉). However, to prevent further complaints from audience members, TVB decided to cut out a rather risky scene the pair has filmed in England. In that scene, Jayden (Chilam) and Holiday were seen freely riding a motorcycle and stole wine from an ancient museum. And while drinking, Holiday teases Jayden by sitting on his lap and covering his eyes with a scarf. Then Fala further pushes Chilam’s buttons by taking off their clothes. However, the scene will remain in the overseas broadcast version.
It was rumored that because the scene was too bold for Hong Kong viewer standards, it was eventually taken out. Chilam explained that no one really knows the editing process because it is up to the management team and the station to decide, and regardless of what is cut, everyone put in their best work.
Despite his widespread popularity, Chilam did not give the TV King title a second thought. The experience with working with Francis and participating in the production was rewarding enough for him.
Morton Is Captain Cool’s Number 1 Fan
Chilam revealed that his son Morton is a big fan of Triumph in the Skies 2.“He watches it every night and pretends he’s Captain Cool! He would also play with airplane models and get me to film him.” Morton would often times refer to himself as a Mini Captain and look up to Chilam as a role model. Besides his son, Anita Yuen (袁詠儀) also anticipates every episode and would urge Chilam to not spoil the plot for her. Receiving such encouragement from family members, Chilam made a good decision in accepting Captain Cool’s role.
Source: ihktv.com
This article is written by Su for JayneStars.com.
Lol it’s tvb what love scene
If its pivotal to their storyline and characterisation.. I don’t think they should cut it out.
Yeah agree! I just think TVB has lost the plots, the unnecessary rape scenes, responding to silly si lai complains and over using/ exposing beauty pageants contestants (with poor Cantonese).
Grrr… complaining housewives ruin everything… at least we can see it in the overseas version…
good god. At least it wasnt cut for me. Is it just me that think that it’s because tvb has to worry about these complaining housewives all the time that their dramas’ quality are going downhill?
Where will they show it on the oversea version
Ahhh!!! Wish Malaysia will get to watch it!!!
Why does TVB sell sexy scene these days. I see bunch of bed scenes, kissing and many many more in their late series. And im in Thailand so i only get to watch 2009-2010 series this year. Series like Mysteries of love also have many bed scene and kissing scene between Kenneth and Bernice. Its just not really have anything to effect the main plot. I dont like it.
You like the sex scene though
LOL doubt anything b shown further than dat! Bet viewers rather watch dat than many of ur rape scenes TVB!
Lol agreed! I would pick this over rape scenes!
lol, maybe someone can share the overseas version.
What??..why…?? That’s suck!!
HK is a modern country and yet the HK viewers thinking are so narrow minded. For god sake, this is a TV drama, how daring will the sex or teasing scene going to be??? Sometimes I really find those viewers action laughable!!! Hahahaha!!
arrghh bloody HK viewers lol hope I can see the uncut version here in australia.
Can we get to see it in New York
Maybe there’s some other reason behind it. If TVB really cared about complaints, then the themesong would have been changed. Ehh
Wait that’s daring?! Lol
Their “daring” love scenes are very mild compared to others lol and I don’t get why some audiences have to be shocked at some scenes I mean most of me are mature adults and its not like we don’t know what sex is or having experiences with the act of love. I think they’re just too shy.
Actually Hong Kon viewers are getting more narrow-minded. I heard back in the late 70s and 80s, HK movies (and tv, to a lesser extent), was way more liberal about showing intimate scenes in a natural way. The late Leslie Cheung also commented that HK society seems to have regressed where sex scenes are concerned. If you’ve seen some of Chow Yun Fat’s older movies with Dodo Cheng and Cherrie Chung, they acted quite natural in their love scenes and wore quite revealing clothing in some of those scenes. But HK society was more accepting and mature back then in viewing love/intimate relations as part of life, unlike now where housewives complain over every little thing that is a little risque. TVB is also to blame because sex and rape scenes are only used to create a talking point to attract more viewers as a lame plot device.
I don’t know if the audience is really getting more conservative, or if it’s just gotten too easy to complain? I think of especially social media being a tool that brings production and audience closer together – for better and worse.
Good point about social media changing society, for better or worse. The anonymous nature of the internet makes it the perfect platform for trolls, perverts and cyber-bullies to harass people and also for viewers to complain over minor issues and poor acting on tv shows (lol, sort of what we’re doing here at this website). That said, I believe TVB audiences back in the day used the telephone to lodge their dissatisfaction over TVB programming and the phone is still the being used these days to complain officially to TVB, alongside social media, TVB message boards and email.
Well, can’t really compare the movie industry to the TV industry because the rules are very very different. There are a lot of things you can do in a movie that are not allowed on television because of broadcasting rules and limitations – especially free-to-air broadcasting, which is aimed at all audiences since it’s free. The audience pool for television and movies is different as well – in HK, the TV audiences are likely to be housewives because TVB is a free station that is available in every household that has a TV set so there’s widespread easy access….whereas with movies, audiences actually have to make a conscious effort to go to a movie theater to watch and also pay money for movie tickets (housewives don’t have time to go watch movies as often, since they need to stay home to take care of the household and the kids, so majority audience pool of HK movies is definitely not housewives…).
With all that said….though I’m not surprised that TVB would cut out a daring love scene due to fear of complaints, I also feel that there might be another reason behind it as well. I mean, come on – with the limitations of television, especially in HK, it’s not like that scene will have much ‘substance’ to it anyway, so cutting it due to fear of complaints is a bit silly.
I don’t know about you guys, but to me, this whole thing smells like a publicity stunt to hype the series and draw even more attention to it. The reason why I think this is because I didn’t hear anything about the post-production work still being done on this series (unlike other series where they rush to air the series before post-production is done so the production team scrambles to edit as the series airs)….as far as I understand, the post production work on Trimph2 was completed awhile back ago, so why this whole last minute hoopla about cutting out a daring love scene (especially since the overseas version is uncut). Sounds way too fishy to me…
Right, I am aware of the very different set of rules for the tv medium and the movie industry – which is why I was really making a comparison between the HK movie industry in the 70s-80s and the present movie industry. The pop-idol type of leading ladies in HK movies these days (Sammi Cheng, Charlene Choi, Miriam Yueng) and their dumbed down, very anime and perky type of characters in HK movies cannot compare to the true leading ladies of the 80s HK movie industry who portray human beings with depth and subtlety (of which human sexuality is only one facet). I have not not watched a good HK movie in the last decade which depicts a realistic and complicated relationship between a couple. The last good love story in HK that I’ve seen is ‘In The Mood For Love’ and that was made in 2000. Anyway, I’ve veered off into a whole other topic.
As far as tv censorship goes, yes, tv shows have to be suitable for the general viewing audience, especially a prime-time drama. Is there a rating system for tv programs in HK? In many countries, the programs with mature content are shown later at night and have a ‘Restricted to 18 and above’ or some similar rating to warn viewers beforehand.
Back to tonight’s ‘sexy’ episode of TITS 2 – You could be right that this was all a publicity stunt hatched by TVB. It is obvious that TVB was never going to air a hot make-out scene that was too racy or suggestive because of the strict tv guidelines. Also, they know who their core viewers are – housewives who get offended easily. Still, TVB wasn’t going to waste the footage of Fala putting the moves on Chilam because of the huge popularity of Captain Cool – so they used that footage to tease the audience, knowing that many viewers (especially fans of Captain Cool) will be glued to every episode waiting in anticipation for the scene. Well played, TVB.
@felicity: Sorry if I read your comment wrong — the sudden reference to movies threw me off – but in that regard, I do agree with you to some extent about the value system of society in general shifting the types of things that many viewers watch/want to watch…though I also agree with advo’s point about the influence of social media and the role it plays in all this (I’m trying to imagine what it would have been like if we’d had Weibo back when I grew up in the 80s…lol)…..it’s definitely easier to lodge a complaint via social media than to call by phone and wait for someone to pick up (or, as was more common back then, leave a message on some answering machine and hope that it gets listened to…).
I’m actually not sure if they have a rating system for TV programs in HK, but if they do, it’s probably not enforced. I’ve seen some programs that do go out of their way to give ‘viewer discretion advised’ messages at the beginning of the program as a means of warning audiences about suggestive content in upcoming programs, but it doesn’t seem to be consistently done across the board. TVB has always been known as a ‘family friendly’ network and since their target is housewife audiences (and families in general) and most of their main TV series (not talking about re-runs or anything like that) air in ‘family friendly’ timeslots, it’s not surprising that series which stray from the ‘family friendly’ theme (i.e. ones that focus too much on sex and/or violence) will garner complaints (of course, the conservative nature of HK audiences in general doesn’t help either).
Yup…the ‘publicity stunt’ thing is the most logical explanation to me at this point…otherwise, why make such a big fuss over one particular cut scene when editing and piecing together scenes is such a common part of the post-production process? I’m pretty sure if was never mentioned, no one would have realized anything was cut in that particular episode (unless the editing was so horribly done that it’s impossible not to notice – i.e. what TVB did with the HKFA awards several years back, which is also what caused them to lose broadcasting rights to the awards for a few years…).
@llwy12:
That’s interesting to ponder…if we had social media in the 80s (I grew up in the 80s too), I reckon the bitter rivalry between Alan Tam and Leslie Cheung fans would reach a whole other level, lol. The 5 tigers of TVB would have been even more popular with fan factions united amongst themselves, and I guess the golden age of HK movies and TVB series would have reached even further and wider around the world, with online subbing communities helping to spread the popularity if TVB dramas to non-chinese speaking viewers overseas – pretty much like the Hallyu wave was helped by buzz created by social media and online subbing communities. Korean dramas would not have caught on like wildfire without the help of the internet.
Exactly, no one would really spot the difference if TVB had not revealed that much of the scene was censored. Well, the editing for that scene wasn’t done that smoothly (it was quite obvious that they cut the scene right after Fala blindfolds Chilam) but it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for TVB’s standards either.
@ Felicity
The antics of crazy fans on Twitter regularly embarrasses me so I’m glad that we didn’t have it in the past. And I wonder if the silly girls and boys who have no impulse control will live to regret their stupid tweets in the future. Not unlike how celebrities regularly put their foot in their mouth (figuratively speaking) on social media too.
Just think of the recent 1D fans who started throwing insanely, violent threats just because their idols – in their opinion – didn’t get a flattering portrayal. It’s funny that you mention the rivalry between Alan Tam and Leslie because it reminds me of Jay Chou/Anthony Wong and Show Luo fans going at war just because Anthony said he didn’t know who Show Luo was, lol.
Because Hongkese sex life is going downhill as well. They don’t want to be provoked and yet cannot do it freely due to the little space and privacy they have- all due to the close blocks of building. Cannot even have pleasure freely lest people hear them ha ha ha …
Which means Malaysia will never get to see also. Knowing Fala, I doubt it will be sexy. I mean she herself can be sexy but she is also too self conscious so I doubt she can turn on the seduction.
And TVB’s idea of a sex scene is really just the base before make out.
That being said, this TV people. Old people, young people, prime time – can’t be that bold. Some do wince at even just kissing. Or maybe that wince is for the bad kissing technique.
Oh TVB, always so conservative! You already kept in those “daring” scenes with Chilam and his many ladies so why cut out this in anticipation of complaints? There must be another reason, because despite complaints they still make a ton of shows with rape plot devices.
I thought chinese is backward thinker
Just watched this scene from Episode 16 in Malaysia. It was so badly edited i dont even!
Complain, complain, complain, go and produce your own drama.
The reason why they cut that scene overseas or hongkong is because of the netizens complaining . so freaking annoying. if you peoplewanna complain, then don’t watch larh…
Oh just saw this scene and sorta half censored!!
Curious to see what was cut since part of it still aired in HK? The scene was like what the article described?
I just thought it was a weird jump to see their relationship advance so quickly.
oh, i found it. It’s just a little longer at the end and you can see more of fala’s back
http://www.56.com/u68/v_OTQ4NDcyNDk.html/1030_xl-17553442.html
It’s a bit more than just showing more of her back, it’s much more suggestive. Honestly, it’s not a big deal in comparison to cable tv but it’s quite racy for network tv, I think. Though, cutting it was dumb because the editing was so choppily executed. If it’s too racy, why film it in the first place?
Hmm, maybe I saw a different version since I didn’t think they edited it that badly?
I’m thinking that they edited it because they didn’t want it to affect ratings? They probably thought the steamy scenes would bring in more viewers, but their ratings dropped in that episode where it had Chilam with all those different ladies and they also had complaints so they probably just decided to cut it last minute? It’s kinda stupid since I bet they will still get complaints from what they aired.
IDK? The version I saw, they kept cutting in a very choppy way. Aside from not showing her back as much, they didn’t show her taking his hands up to her face and then down her front/chest which is probably the most racy part.
Even though their ratings dropped during the past Chilam scene, it’s not for certain it was because of the suggestive nature of them. IMO, either you commit to filming and airing them, or just don’t film to begin with, which waste resources and leads to bad editing.
Maybe the editing was already bad to begin with? haha
Yeah, the version I saw stopped right after Fala lifted her shirt and took off Chilam’s neck scarf. I thought Chilam’s hands on her face was kinda awkward looking so I didn’t really care that they edited that. There’s usually a lot of stuff that gets edited out, but they probably leaked this on purpose to get more buzz for the series.
Call me a prude but I am ok with our censored version which cuts out the revealing the back and the whole straddling and rubbing thing. It is prime time, it is TVB and it is inappropriate for whole family unless shown late night.
And I feel this is Fala’s very bold acting except she sucks. Seriously, she just not good.
I’m not really a prude, but I preferred the censored version more too. TVB and sexy scenes are not a good fit. lol
Also, I think Fala’s better in scenes with anyone but Francis.
@ AC
They definitely leaked it on purpose. Although, the editing was sloppy, who would know that it had been cut if they hadn’t “leaked” the information to begin with. Usually, people just watch whichever version is available to them and don’t think about any differences.
Pretty tame.
Why did they film that racy scene knowing full well that it would not be fit to air on tv, but we hear Chilam and Fala talking about it to the media, and we get to peek at the leaked footage of that scene? To create buzz, of course. It’s all a big publicity gimmick by TVB.
As for the scene itself, it was poorly constructed and seemed out of character for Holiday to be suddenly so sexually aggressive with Jayden (who, at the end of the day, was still her flying instructor and might be her future colleague – and not some handsome stranger she happen to meet on a vacation to have a whirlwind romance with). That daring love scene just rang false to me. We’ve seen that Jayden was always flirtatious with Holiday – but you sense that he was only half serious about seducing Holiday and did it more to get a reaction from her. But Holiday seducing Jayden in the wine cellar just after they hooked up for barely a few days? It did not flow with the rest of the scenes nor what we know about their characters thus far. Jayden is the alpha male, always in control. There’s no way that a young, relatively sexually inexperienced girl (if we assume that Holiday had only one previous serious relationship, with Daniel) would be the one who led the seduction scene and make him blush – straddling him and pulling his hands over to touch her body. That scene was trying too hard and looked awkwardly amateurish to watch (and the choppy editing by TVB also seems to suggest that they know that scene did not belong). Have to agree with Fun here about Fala not pulling it off convincingly.
Ok. That scene didn’t fit in with the episode. It just seemed so rushed. I would expect Jayden and Holly to be intimate later on. I guess this only means their relationship will be short.
@ Felicity
I have to disagree that it’s out of character for Holiday. I mean, maybe it is, but I see no particular reason for why it is. No where have we seen Holiday as a young inexperienced girl. She is 29, not 21. Personally, I think it’s a stretch to say she’s sexually inexperienced even if she’s only had one serious relationship – which we do not know either. She says she met Daniel in uni, I believe. Lots of Western-raised girls are already sexually experienced before they are even legal adults. I actually see Holiday as a pretty bold type so I can easily see it extend to other aspects of her life. What I struggle with, is whether Holiday would accept Jayden so soon. But I guess, the point of their rushed relationship IS to support how they eventually fall apart.
Jayden is indeed the alpha male but it’s exactly because he isn’t in control like he usually is, which is why he’s going to genuinely fall for her. Cliché yes, but that’s TVB for you.
@advo:
That’s the problem I have with Holly – she’s 29 but behaves like an immature and directionless post-adolescent girl who still doesn’t know what she wants in life and is just drifting around. Yes, many westernized girls are sexually experienced very early on in life, but we can’t say for sure whether Holly is liberal or not based on where she grew up. Depends on whether her mother Manna instilled traditional asian values on her or not, and as far as I know, many BBC (british born chinese) are still very much influenced by their parents and own culture, and they do not behave as openly as westerners. But that ‘s beside the point though – whether Holly was sexually experienced or not, I did not buy that scene. Period. For a woman to be sexually confident and secure in her ability to attract any man (and not come off as cheap or desperate like the bunch of females throwing themselves and swooning at Roy and Jayden), she has to know herself well and know what she wants. Usually, that requires the woman to have some level of maturity and only an actress who can fully exude that womanliness can pull off this type of character. Flora Chan has it, she is completely womanly and that is why I believe her one night stand with Francis Ng in TITS. Even though Belle was probably even younger than Holiday in TITS (27 or 28), she carries herself like a dignified woman, not an unruly bratty teen. Elena Kong can pull it off too, so I have no protest about Heather’s upcoming lustful relationship with Roy. But Holiday’s short lived romance with Jayden is just too sudden and unconvincing to me. I have nothing against Fala Chan and don’t blame her totally for her inconsistent characterisation (from being absolutely heartbroken and wistfully missing her dead bf, to running off in euphoria with Jayden to France and acting like she’s sooo into him after he unlocks her bangle – sorry, don’t buy it.). It’s poor and clumsy writing and the fault lies with the script, but Fala herself doesn’t help sell the scene because her Holly is too girlish and immature. If TVB had cast someone who is more womanly and worldly to play Holly, that scene might have gone down better. Just my opinion, ymmv.
More like a body double to me!!!
The body is quite “meaty” and such a BRODE SHOULDER whereas Fala is so thin!!
A guy body double!!!
But wow, look at Chilam expression when Fala’s taking his hands and touching her body..LORRR..those expression seems so real xD
@ Felicity
I actually see a lot of evidence that Holiday was raised with free reigns and therefore Holiday resembles a Westerner more than Chinese. So far, we have only seen her mother, Manna who has a very lax relationship with her daughter. That in itself is already an indication of how much freedom Holiday has always had. We have seen how Holiday does what she likes whenever she wants, and Manna has absolutely no say in it. Normally, that probably wouldn’t raise an eyebrow since Holiday is 29, but given how immature she is, then it actually doesn’t make sense that Manna isn’t more strict… Unless Manna simply has no control and is used to not having control. See how she tells her mother she got a fancy job with NASA and takes off for a year, only leaving a note. We have never heard or even seen Manna object to her punk-emo look. I don’t know many Chinese – traditional – mothers who would be that accepting. Just last episode (15), Holiday declined washing dishes because she “dislikes” dishwashing and Manna had no problem with it. Again, not something typical of a traditional Chinese mom. Also, remember how we met Holiday? She was basically backpack traveling alone, sleeping on an available bench like a homeless. Furthermore, she frequently met up with total strangers to sell her collectable items to make a living. IF Manna ever tried to install Chinese/Asian values, it did not take in Holiday.
The second object of discussion is whether it’s believable that Holiday would be so forward. First of, Holiday might be bratty and immature, but plenty of bratty and immature girls have had sexual experience. That’s why we have teen mothers! Second, I disagree that you need to be a mature, self-confident woman to be sexually forward. I think you would need to be quite self-confident to pull off Holiday’s stunt confidently but Holiday didn’t pull it off confidently. She was hilariously awkward and cheesy in her dance, which is far more realistic for most people imo, than being a total sex kitten. Compare Holiday’s dance with Elena Kong’s seduction of Damian in SSSS? That’s the difference between a woman who is completely confident in her skin and her ability to seduce and a girl who decides to “seduce” on a whim.
What is essential, is how Holiday IS a bold, impulsive girl. Then given she’s had similar sexual experiences with her Western peers, I completely buy that she would – under the influence of alcohol – be bold enough to be so forward. Holiday guiding Jayden’s hands down her body is racy – but the scene itself didn’t read as OMG Holiday is so sexy!!! And I also didn’t see Jayden blush like an inexperienced school boy, something I would definitely have found OOC. I saw him amused and intrigued, which I think is an appropriately enough reaction even for a guy who’s probably tried a bit of everything.
Obviously, we read the scenes differently and a lot can probably be contributed to a) the inconsistency of Holiday’s characterisation and b) Fala’s even more inconsistent acting.
I also agree that Holiday’s sex (intimate relationship) scene with Jayden is not justified. There is too much a rush and very awkward. Holiday should have more dating scenes with Jayden before they go for a relationship. The flow is very awkward.
Oh, I also just remember some other details:
I also think Holiday is sexually experienced, because we have seen how freely she gives her kisses. The first time, we can handwave that the jacket really means the world to her, but the second time? Giving out kisses (even on the cheek) for tips? I think most Asian girls raised with strict traditional values would not be so nonchalant about it. She was basically more outraged that she was cheated out of her tip, then being deceived into kissing a stranger. Finally, I think it’s significant that Holiday also took the first initiative to give Jayden their first real kiss. It pretty much shows that once she’s decided to do something (accept Jayden), she can be forward.
Here is how i understand the whole scene after watching episode 16.
Holiday saw the key that unlock her bracelet, she see it as a sign that she has to move on. The fact that Jayden is the one who has the key, she sees him as the person that she can move on to. I don’t think they have a very developed relation, hence it does not matter that their scene feel rushed, because i believe it is meant to be rushed.
@advo:
Of course, any immature and bratty teen can be sexually active too – but do you really think TVB is trying to make Holly into a promiscuous and immature leading lady? That makes for a rather unconventional TVB heroine, it’s a risky gamble for TVB to make Holly so unlikable and flaky in her character, as a replacement for the very popular leads Zoe and Belle in TITS – to become the object of our 2 main heroes’ affection. As it is, I don’t see what an experienced playboy like Jayden – who has his pick of fine woman – would see in Holly. Is Holly pretty? Yes, but there are prettier air hostesses around. Is Holly smart? Yes, but not particularly. Holly is nothing special to make Jayden fall in love with her (unless you count their fate through her bangle key that fell into Jayden’s pocket to show that they’re meant to be – TITS has always been heavy on the corny symbolisms, after all). I disagree with you that he was attracted to her mainly because he could not control her, as she is not the first female he met whom he cannot control and dares to stand up to him (What about that confident reporter lady played by Sharon Chan? She can hold her own very well, is independent and has a career, so why doesn’t Jayden fall for her?). His own sister, Summer has a lot more character and is much more mature than Holiday. So what is the big deal about Holiday? She’s wilful, impish, likes to have fun and is rebellious. She’s childish but sad. Okay, but it’s not enough to make her a strong enough heroine to hold her own against her much older partners, Sam and Jayden. Even though Holiday is not supposed to be a hopeless romantic and feminine like Belle, or sweetly lovable and cheerful like Zoe, I don’t think TVB intended to make Holiday an such an inconsistently written heroine. So, what other characteristics does Holiday have to endear her to viewers and make it believable that not one – but 2 fine men (Sam and Jayden) would fall for her? Fala’s Holiday just fails to connect with the viewers, at least for this viewer (up to now, she might turn out better later) and her poor acting is partly to blame for it. Yet, she is not that bad as I think Fala has a defiant free spirit and westernized outlook that suits the character of Holiday. She nails some scenes but mostly underwhelms.
Which brings me to my second point – perception is key. What I perceive to be a poorly acted scene by Fala of a sexually confident and seductive woman, you perceive as her playing that scene deliberately clumsily. Therein lies our difference – I just don’t Fala meant to act that scene as hilariously awkward and cheesy. lol. To me, it’s a failed attempt at playing a confident woman who is secure in her own skin and is a go-getter, despite acting like a lost rebellious teen up to that point. The characterisation for Holiday is just all over the place. She was seducing a much older and more experienced man knowing that he is intensely attracted to her (Holiday knows since Jayden was always hitting on her and paying her special attention)… so why shouldn’t she be confident in that scene? Jayden was amused but he also looked a bit stunned by her fowardness. I definitely see Jayden tense up as Holiday put her leg over him. No way was he merely amused, the man was flushed in the face, lol.
^ Don’t know if there are prettier girls, but Holly is supposed to be one. I remembered Issac and Roy saying she’s pretty and the PPP guys said it too. So, maybe she’s the prettiest girl on the show.
We have yet to see why Jayden and Sam will genuinely fall for Holly. I’m guessig she’ll show some major changes. Or maybe not. Her character is poorly written and inconsistent.
@ Felicity
You are jumping way ahead. I don’t see Jayden as in love with Holiday so far. She’s a pretty face that has resisted his charms and he finally got her. I have to disagree that Sharon portrayed a similarly hard to get woman because we saw that she wasn’t the least hard to get for him since she “succumbed” to his charms twice even after she swore she wouldn’t again. Frankly, if Holiday wasn’t so heartbroken about Daniel she might not have resisted Jayden at all to begin with, they would have hoped up and Jayden wouldn’t look twice at her again.
Furthermore, Jayden and Holiday are rushed… but it’s an intentional writing choice to show exactly why their relationship will fail.
OK, as far as whether TVB intented Holiday to be unlikable. No, definitely not. Holiday is the type of character that if portrayed by a truly cute actress, you would find her endearing despite her crazy antics. Unfortunately, this is where Fala fails for many (besides her inability to connect with Holiday’s grief for Daniel). However, don’t discounted her eventual changes in maturity so she’ll be a better fit for the very serious Sam. The audience will see Holiday’s development in a positive light, because she’ll mature into a worthy person of the great Sam Tong! Yes, my eyes are rolling as I type.
Is Holiday promiscious because she hooked up with Jayden? To the conservative housewives, probably. But as usual people will judge women with a different standard then men. For me the girl hasn’t had any action for at least over a year and Jayden is hot and into her!
“She’s wilful, impish, likes to have fun and is rebellious”
I actually think you just described why he would be into her! Holiday is quite similar to Jayden, they are both free spirits, rebels and have a wanderlust. If Holiday hadn’t been saddled with her sob story to make her more appropriate for Sam, the better story would have to show how Jayden has met his match!
In all honestly, I don’t know why Sam will fall for her. Not only do I think him completely unsuitable for her – I don’t see her appeal for him either. So I’ll leave it and that.
Haha, indeed perception is key. What you argue isn’t unreasonable at all, I only feel that the seeds for my interpretation are actually in the show. Only you don’t buy it because Fala failed and probably the script too. I wouldn’t say that Fala made an conscious choice to play the scene awkwardly – she is not quite an actress of such calibre imo. However, the choice of music and exaggerated dance moves just read awkward/clumsy to me in a deliberate way. It seemed directed to me more than just Fala being a bad dancer – which I find hard to believe since she danced quite well in Steps. In any case, I felt that the scene worked for me, because I didn’t read it as Holiday showing her sexual prowness. Sure Holiday is confident of Jayden attraction to her -however, that doesn’t turn you into a sexy vixen who can dance. Even though Holiday is bold, I do not think it’s standard practice for her to give (practically) a stranger a little sexy dance if she wasn’t rather drunk. Which leads me to my final point, I also read Jayden’s red face as being the effects of alcohol and not embarrassment, lol.
I figured they had cut something because the HK version had very choppy editing!
Yes, their relationship is advancing fast… but that’s the point I guess.
So I just watched the uncut version because I had to watch the episode on my laptop, (I missed the show on TV last night), and I actually thought it was a lag on my computer’s part…
Very badly done! BUT I do think that it was supposed to be funny, I mean look at the music choice. I laughed out loud when the song came up. It was so appropriate for a pilot. And she can dance so I just thought it was her drunk courage giving her that extra boost of confidence.
I feel like people forget that they had been drinking. Thus, Jayden’s red face. I personally thought he looked amused, which is exactly the expected reaction from Holiday’s behaviour. Also she is very white washed, she was in a serious relationship so I thought she is sexually experienced.
However, I was quite surprised to discover on this forum that she is 29! WHAT?! She is that old? I thought she was 23-26, which was why I gave her such a leeway with her childish behaviour and even that was a stretch.
I completely agree that her character development is terrible and the acting is not much better. But I have always liked her. I guess it’s because I relate so much to her in the sense of the white-wash-ness. I do like how TVB are including more of these characters in their shows. (Granted I have only been back for a couple of months and seen only a couple of series, but that’s just my opinion.)
Anyways, back to the episode, I felt like it was the right thing to do. I saw it as her finally moving on, him kind of as the rebound. And can I point out that him removing the bracelet was super cute, if a little cheesy. And the scene on the bridge, was significant.
The footage of the car ride in Paris, I thought was well done. But that was probably because neither was talking… It really captured the light hearted-ness of the moment. I thought that was a great build-up to the night.
Since I don’t watch the show every night, did I miss something previously about Sam and Holiday? (And when did Holly become Holiday. We were introduced to her as Holly and she suddenly become Holiday without a refer back to Holly?) Because I see Sam more of a father figure to her. And him and Manna together. Or maybe that is just me. But Sam is MUCH older than Holiday, whereas Jayden is younger.
Ooo we got to see it online. But it’s really nothing so…what’s the big doowoop, HK viewers?
Yes, HK viewers… show that scene in North America and it’ll barely register a ripple.
HK viewers really are too conservative.
Watched the censored part!!
More like a body double to me!!!
The body is quite “meaty” and such a BRODE SHOULDER whereas Fala is so thin!!
A guy body double!!!
The bed scene wasn’t tasteful enough. There was mo chemistry between Fala and Chilam.
^no
Personally, I think that this drama showed all of Fala’s flaws in acting from the beginning of her career.
the uncut version obviously looks like a (Fala) body double. Thought the scene kind of spoke volumes that maybe Holiday is just not Jayden’s type. Jayden is too experienced and mature to fall for such an eager-to-seduce-and-not-so-confident Holiday…
It wasn’t even that bad. It’s basically a nakey back and the indirect telling that they slept together.
Woopty risque.
Lets hope little Morton won’t adopt Captain Cool’s womanising ways. :p
Haha, but TVB already censored it so it’s not too inappropriate for little Morton!
Just watched that scene tonight in Australia. Fala was topless but you only see her bare back. I don’t think the scene was completely necessary and it went on for a while.
I think it was the right decision to cut this scene. It just about is too much for something you could happily sit through with Mum and Dad in the lounge.
As far as whether Holiday’s character should be clambered into bed so soon…it’s only sex, geez. He’s hot, they’re having a great time, what is the problem?!
This is why the Asian model of airing tv series is flawed. Only two primetime series are ever aired at once in HK and they always have to cater to the middle. If they adopted the western way of airing tv series with one episode a week TVB can air 10 different series at any one time and audiences can choose for themselves what they want to watch.
Ric,
Given how small the population in HK is, they want to make shows that can appeal to wide percentage of demographics. The best time slots are during meal times when everyone is gathered at home eating together. The size of the population doesn’t support the greater expense of making multiple series to appeal to niche demographics.
With approximately 7 million residents in Hong Kong, TVB is already under pressure to produce shows that rise above the magical 30 points. Anything less apparently is not optimal.
I’m curious about other locations with similar population size, such as Singapore. Which broadcast format do Singaporean dramas adopt? Weekly? Monday to Friday? Many acquired programs from overseas are aired?
With the size of the mainland population, it is already very lucrative for local stations to capture only a small percentage of viewers, thus allowing them to increasingly produce dramas/variety programs that cater to niche markets.
I wonder sometimes whether it is the lack of good writers left in the TVB department or perhaps several writers taking over writing Fala’s character…. or one writer with schizophrenia!!
Personally, I can think of many better actresses to play the part; but at the same time, we just have to accept what TVB have decided. Who knows, Fala may surprise us with the future episodes… it is suppose to be a long series afterall.
I understand why tvb cut it for the sake of younger audiences; but here in Australia, people wouldn’t bat an eyelid as most (even asians) are so westernized out here. the culture of someone whom has grown up overseas and then gone back to HK is definitely different – Fala portrays that in her character (and i suppose it fits with the rebellious streak as well).
I also wonder whether Fala’s sex scenes/poor kissing may be partly due to a lack of ‘good’ personal experience lol. Not saying Daniel Sit was a bad partner lol; but Fala doesn’t really ever have love/sex scenes in her other films/tv series to help ease her into it.
Perhaps she should go find herself a kissing coach lol… i’m sure there’d be a lot of guys will to take that role? 😛