Vincent Wong Responds to “Murder Diary’s” Low Ratings
Breaking away from standard TVB crime dramas, Murder Diary’s<刑偵日記> plot and characterizations are more intricate and layered. However, the drama has been met with low viewership ratings in Hong Kong and criticism that the storyline is difficult to follow. However, Vincent Wong (王浩信) believes the viewership levels do not necessarily
Drama Finds Greater Success in China
In response to the drama’s meager viewership ratings, Vincent Wong (王浩信) expressed, “I think people have a lot of different ways to watch dramas now. This drama has already been aired on different platforms a month ago” which he believes may have affected the traditional viewership measurement.
“When the drama was aired earlier, it received a lot of positive feedback, so I feel assured. I hope everyone will continue to support [the drama]!” Admitting that Murder Diary is heavy and dark, he “felt expended” during filming and admits “This is not a feel-good series to be played in the background during dinner. That’s why I think a lot of people watch it online during weekends.”
Despite the disappointing local ratings, Murder Diary is in the top ten trending dramas in China. It is rare for a Hong Kong production to trend so prominently in China, and viewers have praised it for its fast-paced and unconventional plot.
Enjoys His Birthday Cake
Currently filming another crime drama, ICAC Attack<廉政狙擊>, Vincent had already celebrated his 38th birthday with family in advance. When asked what his wife, Yoyo Chen (陳自瑤), planned for his birthday, Vincent diverted from answering and said, “Let’s promote the drama instead! My fans want to celebrate with me too, but it’s best to avoid gatherings because of the pandemic. We will instead get together on Zoom.”
As filming is a bit delayed, Vincent can actually enjoy his birthday cake. The actor usually “takes a whiff and not actually tastes it” due to his strict diet during filming projects.
Source: On.cc
This article is written by Huynh for JayneStars.com.
I find it pretty hard to follow to be honest. Sure, the acting is top notched but the storyline is quite complicated. There’s the flashbacks, the group of serial killers (not just one), the story in the novel, multiple back stories etc. Plus was it realistic for them to trust a convicted serial killer (Ben’s character) to advise them on their investigations? He could have manipulated the police or do a number of other things to mess around with the investigation. And all the effort in getting Vincent Wong’s various personalities to appear, it just got a bit repetitive after a while.
Yeah I agree the story is a bit convoluted and hard to follow at times. Plus it was even more unrealistic for an EOD officer (Mandy’s character) to suddenly work on a crime case where she has absolutely no relevance or expertise on the case at all. The one thing that really kept me watching is Kara Wai’s struggle with her own mental health, that part is really great to watch.
Wait, I thought it’s because they don’t know that he is the serial killer… The only one that does is Vincent’s other personality..
The way the drama is editted makes the storyline choppy and hard to follow at times
Ben was part of the team investigating the series of murders. AFTER they discovered he was the serial killer AND convicted him, they re-drafted him back into the team as an adviser….bizarre… to have a serial killer in the team…..
Did anyone else notice EEG promoting their usual line-up of talents? It’s always the same group. You know what I mean, Shiga Lin, Joey Thye, Hana Kuk etc. It’s always the same group, plus and minus a few. The same group appears in talk shows, promotional events, charity events etc.
They are all managed by tvb, so tvb will put them in every show possible lol
I really enjoyed the drama up till the arc where they discovered the true murderer was Ben. I felt like that climax was building, but then it got resolved, and then the drama kept going. It’s hard to create more momentum after that. What I dislike the most about these dramas is that it’s so easy to tell who the culprit is when they film these flashback scenes featuring the actual crime taking place – I could tell it was Ben from his lips! It would’ve been better if they only used his eyes or some other generic feature that’s hard to discern. I also felt like they utilized deus ex machina a little too often. Whenever Vincent was in trouble, his alter ego appears and saves the day. Not only that, I hated how easily Vincent forgave his mom for trying to poison him when he was young. Like, he never even asked her why. That makes no logical sense. And whenever anyone committed any crimes, it was always due to some troubling mental illness. This person has XX and this person has YY. This person has ZZ. So easily explained and the root of the problem diagnosed.