Joe Ma’s “Stranger Anniversary” Premieres to Weak Ratings
Starring Joe Ma (馬德鐘), Alice Chan (陳煒), Roxanne Tong (湯洛雯), Winki Lai (賴慰玲), Tsui Wing (徐榮), and Matthew Ho (何廣沛), TVB drama Stranger Anniversary <雙生陌生人> opens with dismal viewership ratings of 13.5 percent and was watched by nearly 880,000 viewers. Due to the disappointing numbers, Stranger Anniversary is TVB’s lowest rated drama this year occupying the non-prime time slot.
The drama revolves around strangers who look exactly the same but have very different life experiences. When law firm partner Ko Sau Shin (Joe) is matched on a doppelganger website with freelancer Mo Kei Nam (Joe), they agree to swap identity for two weeks and get entangled in various complications.
The recent episode focuses on the shenanigans of swapping identities. Ko Sau Shin reconnects with his old flame Chin Fung (Roxanne) and he skips out on his wedding anniversary with his wife (Alice) to spend time with Ching Fung. To make this work, Mo Kei Nam steps in to replace Ko Sau Shin’s absence.
Meanwhile Ko Sau Shin’s cousin Otis (Mathew) begins to suspect that Ko Sau Shin and Mo Kei Nam have an agreement together. However, Otis does not wish to go against his cousin and is in on the duo’s secret.
While Joe is being challenged to play two different roles, Mathew is being noticed for showing a wide range of emotions that compliments his witty character. Although Mathew was criticized in the past for his acting and vocal tone, Mathew has been making steady improvement after appearing in variety program Dub of War <好聲好戲>.
Sranger Anniversary is not the only TVB drama this week with low and declining ratings. Barrack O’karma 2<金宵大廈2> aired its finale with a viewership rating of 15.6 percent down from its high of 18.6 percent, while Story of Zom-B <食腦喪B> saw its viewership rating decreased from last week’s 16.6 percent to this week’s 15.8 percent.
Source: Mingpao
This article is written by Sammi for JayneStars.com.
Wow all these ratings are so low..
just the plot alone does not sound interesting. typical brainless tvb soap opera.
I’d try watching but gave up after the 2nd eps there noting to watch anymore the only drama i still chase is 愛．回家之開心速遞 …I went back to to re-watch the 90’s dramas and just finished watching 殭屍道長-Vampire Expert
I actually don’t mind this drama. You know there will be a twist from the first episode. Albert, sophisticated version of Joe Ma, thinks he’s in control of the situation because he hired his less sophisticated version, Nam, to switch places with him for 2 weeks. It ends up the whole thing is ruse and Nam was been orchestrating the whole ordeal either from the beginning or switched gears half way through. Honorable mentions: Winky Lai, Angel Chiang, and Matthew Ho as supporting characters. Matthew Ho is shining! Underwhelmed by Joe Ma. Casting Alice as a gentle housewife is a disservice to her acting talent. There’s something about Roxanne that just doesn’t sit right as female lead here (and in Tofu War). She’s pretty and capable but her character is poorly written here (and in Tofu War). She was great as the deceased girlfriend of Kenneth Ma and the law intern to Ben Wong in Between Love and Desire but there’s something off when she’s female lead even though she’s comfortable to watch. …..
i just finished OPM where she plays lead and i really agree with you!
Something seems off when she leads….
The dismal ratings are widely expected given the lack of chemistry between the lead actors and convoluted plot. Roxanne and Joe just didn’t fit in due to the wide age gap. For me, Roxanne isn’t ready to lead a series as she neither has the charisma nor the charm to engage the audience. On the other hand, Joe Ma wasn’t versatile enough to portray two distinct characters. It was a far cry from his previous works where he had good chemistry with his co-stars like Maggie & Charmaine. Matthew showed good improvement in acting while the veteran actors were there to support the lead actors. In short, it is best to skip this series.
I was just thinking about how good Joe Ma was and his chemistry with Charmaine and Maggie in Maidens Vow & Beauty Know No Pain.