"The Last Steep Ascent" Review (by Lynne)

The story behind it all
"The Last Steep Ascent" is based off of a true story of a couple who eloped to the mountains. The man is 10 years the woman's junior and to add onto that, she was also a widow with children. This was not accepted by society back then. Then up in the mountains, the man spent 50 years to carve a trail of steps for his wife. This is a truly inspirational love story that touches all it's readers.

TVB's remake, "The Last Steep Ascent"
No doubt Lee Tim Shing successfully brought back another couple that managed to make my heart ache for them again. It was indeed a touching love story between Sun Yuet (Maggie Cheung) and Miu Tin (Moses Chan), yet it didn't fulfill what I expected it to. Of course as a remake, I will forgive that, and won't link it to much of the original story.  Besides the idea of a younger man loving an older woman and the stone steps from the original, it's a typical TVB series.

So let's talk more about the series!

Maggie Cheung as Sun Yuet
There's a reason why Lee Tim Shing insisted to use Maggie Cheung for the role and nobody else, since she fitted into the role perfectly. She has the elegance that suits the pre-modern period and her eyes delivered the emotions of Sun Yuet perfectly, especially the scene in episode 19, where she walked away from Miu Tin. That scene teared me up there.

 As for the role of Sun Yuet, I like how she endured everything with a smile. I wouldn't describe her as a "strong/independent" woman though, as I feel that she's rather weak and trusts too easily. Overall, not the type that is career-minded or with the capability to resolve issues that I had initially suspected her to be, but rather an ordinary woman who only wants a simple life with children and a partner.  That's why I found it easy to connect to her character: not much complications.

Moses Chan as Miu Tin
Once again, not a role that shines or that interesting to watch as these characters are the typical main leads. What saved Miu Tin's character from becoming incredibly boring is his dedication and faithfulness and care for Sun Yuet that spanned for over 20 years. As for the portrayal by Moses Chan, it's the usual Moses Chan we see...nothing outstanding.

***Oh!  One scene that cracked me up:  Sun Yuet climbed up the hill in order to find Miu Tin.  And when she did...haha the expression on Moses face.  I know that it's suppose to be touching and all but I couldn't help but laugh!  Maybe it's just me?  Moses expression was really odd haha.


Miu Tin and Sun Yuet
Their relationship took a smoother turn than I had expected.  Of course there were obstacles, but they were not as "dramatic" since Sun Yuet got a loving mother-in-law behind her.  As far as the issue of age, it wasn't the talk among the people but rather an internal conflict within Sun Yuet's.  I am surprise that "society" didn't get more involved with this, since age difference like that between a man and a woman would have been a big deal right?  Not to mention she's from a well-known family, so things should've been more intense....leading into why they had decided to live in seclusion.  Let's just say, "The Last Steep Ascent" turned out much happier than I initially thought.

 Overall, I really enjoyed seeing them together.  Their relationship was bitter at times, but in the bitterness there was also some sweetness.

 ***In the original story, Moses character is ten years younger than Maggie's but the age difference is nowhere noticeable at all.  I personally think that they should've replaced Moses with someone else.  BUT then in one episode, Miu Tin said something related to that and it cracked me up.

Sun Yuet was wondering how the boy (Miu Tin) that she touched the teeth of on her wedding day grew up to be like, and was thinking of how old he may be now compared to her (she also kept on referring to what an "old" lady she was).  In reply to that,  Miu Tin told her that, maybe she's not as old as she thinks.  Since she lives in a wealthy family, he said that the guy may also look as old as her since he had to work on a farm...therefor aging more than he should (in terms of looks).

 So that's how TVB explained that!  I like how they put that part in though, because it does make sense when you think about it....?

 

Kenny Wong as Cheung Kiu 

Cheung Kiu is just like his friend, Miu Tin, a guy who will whole-heartedly love one girl and would do anything for her.  At first, Cheung Kiu was rather hot-headed and I did not like that as it is a similar characteristic to Kenny's roles.  But of course, he's still a good guy and therefor is quite likable, especially how protective he was of Oi Tai.  I am not particularly a fan of Kenny's but I still like to watch him.

***Whenever I see Kenny, I think of Moses.  Whenever I see Moses, Kenny pops up!  Lols  They've had so many series together! 

Aimee Chan as Oi Tai 

Oi Tai is indeed a very, very tragic character and you can say that Aimee improved in here.  She gave a decent performance.  Still, even though she's improving in her emotional scenes, I don't think it's up to the level where such a tragic character like Oi Tai is meant to be at yet. 

Something else that I'd like to talk about is Oi Tai's miscarriage.  Her pregnancy is brought upon by the rapist, so I can understand why Oi Tai may not...how should I put this...want to think of the baby too much?  So maybe that's why there was not much talk about the miscarriage?  Honestly, I really wished that TVB could've shown how Oi Tai felt about that miscarriage.  Afterall, it was still her baby....

Cheung Kiu and Oi Tai

I like the pair but their relationship seems more like friendship than anything else.  Still think that the person Cheung Kiu loves the most is his wife.  Overall though, I was very happy that they got a happy ending.

Edwin Siu as Sai Ho
Edwin plays the main antagonist of the series, who wanted to destroy Ho Ching Tong.  Surprisingly, Edwin did not have much screentime since the series was pretty focused on the couples (especially Cheung Kiu and Oi Tai).  Anyways, after this performance, I would love to see Edwin in another evil role.  He has this charming smile that he often shows in his sweet and nice roles, but he can also use them in this evil role!  Very nice!

  ***Yvonne Ho plays as Edwin's wife.  I really like the actress, but just found it odd how she played as Sai Ho's wife since she looked abit older than him.  Look wise, it's not Moses and Maggie who have the age difference, but Yvonne and Edwin.

Joel Chan as Boss Chai
I'll say that this role can represent as Joel's breakthrough role, as it was the most eye-catching of the whole cast!  Boss Chai is neither a good or bad guy, but likable in a sense because he's got a dictating yet loving personality.  When he cares about someone, he does not tell them because he wants "face".  That is his greatest fault, but I think his sense of "brotherhood" can make up for that.  Whenever Miu Tin was in trouble, Boss Chai was willing to let go of his pride to help him out and that's what very sweet of him.  Boss Chai can be arrogant, but towards the ones he cares about, he cares for them whole-heartedly.

  ****There are rumours of Joel taking a "break" from acting for awhile since he's getting married soon.  Such a pity, because I enjoy watching him onscreen alot....

Samantha Ko as Madame Yim
Madame Yim is Boss Chai's third wife.  Even though she still has to work on her crying scenes, Samantha definitely surprised me as Madame Yim.  Not to mention she also rocks her attire!  I like Madame Yim alot because she's not the "traditional" kind of woman you'd see, so we get to see the fun side of her, but at the same time she's not the kind of woman that goes after men for money.

Boss Chai and Madame Yim
They're going into my top 10 couple list of 2012!  Unlike the others, they're not so serious but rather funny though still sweet.  Then there's this mutual understanding between the two, making them an even lovlier couple.  As I stated before, Madame Yim likes to flirt but Boss Chai never gets mad, not because he doesn't care, but because he knew that it's her personality, and that she's faithful to him.  On the other hand, Madame Yim reads Boss Chai like a book, understanding when he's upset, etc.

I personally found them to be quite a touching pair, especially towards the end where they continued to support each other through the roughest time when Boss Chai went blind.  With Boss Chai's bad attitude at that time, I honestly wouldn't blame her for leaving, but she didn't.  She stood by him the whole time and endured his attitudes.  My eyes got teary when he finally gave her a ring and told her to be his wife (I'm guessing that she was just a mistress before?  I don't know, but don't care either.  Just know that it was a very sweet scene).

 
Helena Law as Granny Ho
I've been wondering why Helena Law came back to TVB (starting in The Hippocratic Crush)?  For whatever reason though, it's TVB's fortune to have a veteran like her back!  She pulled off the role of Granny Ho effortlessly, and was great in her emotional scenes.  As for Granny Ho, she's also a great and fun character to watch onscreen!  Unlike the usual arrogant mother-in-laws we see, Granny Ho was very understanding and considerate towards her daughter-in-law, Sun Yuet.  I admire her complete trust for Sun Yuet despite the negative rumours, and the interactions the two shared.  If only I could have a mother-in-law like Granny Ho, I would be very happy.

***The scene where Granny Ho asked Sun Yuet to leave.
I think this was one of the most touching scenes of the story, and I'm glad that the two got to share this one last scene together.

After the family got back their business (thanks to Miu Tin), Granny Ho decided to pass on the business to her son-in-law (Matt Yeung) and move out to live with her son (Benjamin Yuen) at a different place.  She did all that though because of Sun Yuet.  Granny Ho wanted Sun Yuet to go live a life she wanted (with Miu Tin) and be happy.  The most touching part of the speech was when she told Sun Yuet to take her children with her too.  It's obvious that Granny Ho loves her grandchildren alot, but at the same time...she knew that they had to be with their mother (Sun Yuet).  It as heart breaking to see her leave Sun Yuet and the grand children.  Despite how much she loved them, she was willing to let go in order for Sun Yuet to find true happiness.

Sze Hang's POV
I'm glad that the later generation (Sun Yuet's kids) got a say in what they think of their parents' relationship.  I thought it was really cute how Sze Hang (little Raymond Wong) complained how his "parents" (Miu Tin and Sun Yuet) always looked lovingly at each other.  "I mean...what is there to look at?" -Sze Hang

Then there's how Sze Hang grew up (Raymond Wong appears as a guest star).  Like his "dad" (Miu Tin), he thought he could love one woman for his entire life but instead his relationships failed one after another.  That's when he realized how hard it was to keep on loving someone.

I particularly like these scenes very much because they reflected on how loving someone is not as simple as one may think.

The Ending
What Miu Tin said to Sun Yuet before he died was touching, but the scene could've been better if Moses actually sounded like a dying man.  Honestly, his voice was the same as the other scenes he was in...

Overall
This series was nice to watch, even though you may have to be a bit patient with it.  Recommended for fans of Maggie Cheung, Law Lan, Joel Chan and Samantha Ko.  Maybe Edwin Siu's fans too since you get to see an evil side of him, but I thought there were just too little screentime of him.

"Ghetto Justice" Review (By Iris)

"Ghetto Justice" unexpectedly became the sleeper hit of the year when it was released in 2011, becoming a critical and fan favorite.  Since then, many people had anticipated the sequel, including myself.

"Ghetto Justice 2" was set up very nicely.  It was one of the few sequels that truly felt like a continuation from the original.  All the principle cast members had returned, the ones who did not were heard from and had explained absences (Eddie Kwan and Joyce Tang), and the new characters (Raymond Cho, JJ Jia, and Crystal Li) were introduced well.

It all goes downhill from there though. The cases were weak, forgetful, and overall just uninteresting.  They failed to command attention, and with the excessive family related cases settled out of court, it strayed from the fact "Ghetto Justice" is a law series.  There were no captivating court scenes here.  Even the cases that had potential, such as the building collapse, were written poorly and ended abruptly. 


The heart and soul of "Ghetto Justice", embodied in the character of Law Ba made infamous by Kevin Cheng, lost his touch.  His ego seems to have inflated since the original, making him go from lovably cocky to just plain obnoxious at times.  His laziness and playfulness has elevated, and the brilliant lawyer failed to be exhibited much.  All of the subtle characteristics and flaws that made him special and likable in the first one were unnecessarily magnified.  He's still a likable enough character, but just not the same Law Ba that the audience came to love.

Myolie Wu delivers a repeat performance.  She reprises the role and shows small improvements, but doesn't present anything too new or impressive.  She and Kevin still have a great amount of chemistry together, and appear very natural.

"Ghetto Justice 2" wins the award for bringing in the most unnecessary plot device for its story ever: the love triangle.  The sequel saw challenges for Law Ba and Wong Sze Fu through Law Ba's ex-wife Lynette, played by Christine Kuo, who somehow managed to remain unknown to any of the other characters for so long.  The idea already seemed bad in theory, and its execution was no better.  Lynette was irritating, and almost singlehandedly makes the series a long draggy, mess.  There were some redeeming traits in the character, such as her wish to truly help people as a doctor, but her foolish love for Law Ba masks her potential likability.  Christine gives a mediocre performance with jumbled Cantonese and unnatural crying scenes, but the scene where she challenges Myolie to fight for Kevin showed she can be pretty fierce. 

Between the weak cases and overall storyline, the decline in Law Ba's level of likability, and the addition of Lynette, it was the supporting cast that kept me watching (that, and I didn't want to just drop the series since I enjoyed the original so much).

"Ah Dan" (Sam Lee) was already likable in the original, and continues to be.  In fact, I held a higher appreciation of the character of Ah Dan and Sam's subtle yet real portrayal of him this time around.  He is kindhearted and concerned of the well being of society to a fault, but has a tendency to neglect family.  Regardless of how small the appearance, it was also great that Sharon Chan was able to make a cameo as Ching Ching through the form of Ah Dan's memory and mind. 

I had major doubts of the pairing of Sam Lee and JJ Jia, but they turned out to be the pair I enjoyed watching most, from their initial dislike and misconceptions of each other, to their friendship and mutual understanding, to their eventual realization of their love of each other.  At first, JJ Jia's character Ah Sum seemed like she'd be very annoying, but she turned out to be a sweet, kind, caring, but smart girl.  JJ performed quite well, bringing out the heart and wisdom in Ah Sum.  She knew to remember the memories forever, but not let the past keep her from being happy in the present and future.  Her unwavering care of Ah Dan and willingness to help him through thick and thin was touching, particularly when she steered him to learn to accept his mother's death and mend his relationship with his father.  It was a plot line that could have been draggy to watch, but one of few things that were executed well in the series. 

Jazz Lam reprises his endearing performance as the adorable and gentlemanly MJ with ease, and it continues to shock me how he emerged into the character so naturally with his record of playing more rough and immature, younger characters.  Raymond Cho as "Leung Bao" was an appropriate replacement for Eddie Kwan, and had no trouble filling the void left in Law Ba's gang of friends.  Crystal Li did not have much development or screen time to work with as "Grace", but was very likable and shows potential as well as a certain aura of sweetness and intelligence to her.  However, the oddest character and casting decision was Elena Kong, who is pictured on the poster and initially appears to be a main cast member.  Her character had potential for development and another storyline.  Yet, she disappears after her divorce case and is never heard from again.

"Ghetto Justice 2" is deceiving.  It looks the same and as good as the original the outside with the return of its original cast and smooth entrance of new characters, but it's not.  The overall vision and point of the series did not mirror up to the first one.  It tried to expand on what made the original so beloved, but along the way ruined itself.  The sequel holds little novelty and things to praise about, but is full of weak and sloppy writing.  Perhaps it would have been better if the original producer Tong Kei Ming had returned, as he was replaced by newly promoted producer Joe Chan after announcing retirement.

Overall

"Ghetto Justice 2" feels more like a chore to watch than a pleasure, and definitely does not live up to the hype or the original.  With the exception of Christine Kuo, the series does boost solid acting.  However, the point that good acting can not save a bad script has been made and beaten to death by TVB a thousand times over, and "Ghetto Justice 2" is just another example.  The story is not engaging and sloppily written and should not be linked to the original.  There were some entertaining moments and I enjoyed watching the cast (mostly Sam and JJ), but the bad and weak outweighs the good.  Now that this review is written and done, I can now pretend there was never a sequel made for "Ghetto Justice".

Rating: 2 stars

"Ghetto Justice 2" Review (By Lynne)

Lynne - I am a new contributor here at AE-Experience and this is my first post!

Synopsis:

After releasing from jail, LAW LIK-AH (Kevin Cheng) wants to start anew and he joins hand with his comrade WONG SZ-FU (Myolie Wu) to fight against injustice.

LIK-AH and SZ-FU soon become the “Condor Heroes” of Sham Shui Po but they have conflicting views on things all the time. To make the situation worse, LIK-AH’s ex-wife KING LING-LEI (Christine Kuo) suddenly returns from the USA and the relationship is put to the test. Meanwhile, they have offended the wealthy property developer by handling a building collapse case and LIK-AH’s life is in danger. Even his good friend TING KA-FU (Sam Lee), GEORGE MIKE JR. (Lam Chi Sin) and the newly-arrived policeman LEUNG PAU-SING (Raymond Cho) are embroiled in the legal battle. Will they be able to fight for the disadvantaged people with law in the end? -credits ktvb

Let's start talking:

- First of all, let me ask where did Elena Kong disappear to? After her case, she kind of evaporated? I wouldn't find that abnormal if she was just an ordinary character for a sub-story but she wasn't....was she? Sure, she got her own sub-story but she's also a lawyer. I had expected more of her later in court but sadly she was no where to be found later on. Such a pity, because I thought she was the most interesting lawyer to watch.

 - A praise I'd like to give to the producers/scriptwriters is how they effectively connected GJ to GJ2. Let's be honest, I was totally impressed watching the first few episodes because I felt that they did great linking it to GJ! Unlike other sequels, I could feel GJ in GJ2 and it seems like a continuation where nothing was cut. Of course, it helped a lot with the majority of the casts staying, including the mini supporting characters. Even with the new characters, I loved how they were introduced into the original GJ family (JJ Jia, Raymond Cho and Crystal Li). A smooth transition :)

- Love triangle between Law Ba (Kevin Cheng), Sze Fu (Myolie Wu) and Lynnette (Christine Kuo). What was the point of this triangle? I thought there were going to be cat fights, drama and tears but in the end...nothing. A disappointment? Not really because I hate love triangle's drama. Thank goodness Law Ba was decisive and knew who he loves. Unless written well, I hate it when characters can't choose who they love because it gets irritating. I'd also like to thank Sze Fu, for not get overly suspicious, but instead trusting Law Ba (in the beginning anyways....near the end, I supported her for not believing Law Ba though, because he was). A third thanks for not making Lynnette a clingy person. Why? Because they made Christine's character terribly clingy in Tiger Cubs! (Still can't get over that....)

There is one complaint I'd like to address to Law Ba though. I can see that he's a friendly guy but omg....keep your distance AWAY from Lynette when you don't like her! Seriously! This is why she can't get over you! I know he told Lynette straight out that he only likes Sze Fu but his actions (eating Lynette's left overs etc) are.....confusing. Not only is he doing himself no good, he's also doing Lynnette no good.

Another complaint! Why didn't Law Ba and Lynnette get a divorce? I don't get it....were they planning to keep the "married" status forever? Law Ba, you should know the law better than that....it's polygamy if you ever plan to marry Sze Fu later on. Wait, is it still consider polygamy....since he married Lynnette in the Canada? So marrying Sze Fu in HK....would be technically legal? I don't even know....

 *sigh* Now that I've done talking about that, what is my overall thoughts on this love triangle? Pointless.

-I really liked that case about the pregnant lady. I thought that was pretty interesting and the actress did surprisingly well in some of her emotional scenes. Anybody know her name?

 - The case where the lady was trialed for cheating the government's money. That case was rather little but I just want to complain about the outcome. It's stupid that she was charged guilty.

 - The last case, I felt a sense of deja vu and I think everybody felt that too? In GJ, LA took the conviction for Sze Fu and now in GJ2, Sze Fu was a step ahead of LA and took the conviction for him. In the end though, LA still admitted his guilt in court and stuff....and had to go to trial for murder. I personally don't get why it's self-defense. Even though he did not intend to kill, he still should be held liable in some sort of way shouldn't he? Not charge with murder but something else? But the series never showed any of that later....

 I would also like to add...this case had so much potential. A building collapsing? That's an exciting case! In the end though, it was rushed and so therefore....poorly written.

 - Oh...one scene where Law Ba and Sze Fu were forcing the pregnant lady's boyfriend to serve as their witness (or something along that line). Were they allowed to do that!? I understand that Law Ba usually uses some tricks to get their info but what they did then....I felt it was over the line since it seems like they were threatening the guy.

- Ah Teng (Sam Lee) and Sum Sum (JJ Jia). Surprisingly, I loved them together. Especially since they both have lost their loved ones, they got a sense of understanding and connection with each other. While Ah Teng is unwilling to let go of the deceased Ching Ching (Sharon Chan), Sum Sum is someone who knew she had to move on. This is why I like Sum Sum. She's practical, but kind-hearted and knows that they both cannot dwell on the past forever. Instead of trying to stay in the past, she strives forward for a better future, because she knows that her deceased love would want her to do that. Moving on doesn't mean you have to forget, and that is what she taught Ah Teng. I also liked how they stood by each other's side, especially when Ah Teng's mom died. Without her, I don't think Ah Teng could have moved on again.

- LA (Kevin Cheng) and Sze Fu (Myolie Wu). Once again they sparked wonderful chemistry together! I love watching their small interactions with each other, such as LA rubbing his head on Sze Fu's shoulder. They're such a fun couple to watch :) Not to mention they showed a great amount of understanding with each other throughout the series.

 Kevin Cheng as LA? There's something different with LA this time...Even though LA is still a fun character to watch, I thought he's a bit too "loose" in here. I felt this LA missed the sense of "fire", that strong sense of justice that the previous LA had. Maybe it's because he's a bit too laid back in this one? I don't know. I just know that there's a missing spark or should I say, it's just not as strong as before...

 Myolie as Sze Fu? Myolie once again brings the independent and tough character back onscreen! Like what I said before, I'm glad that Sze Fu did not go through a dramatic breakdown or something with LA but instead, dealt with the problem in a cool-headed matter. This makes me like Sze Fu even better than before :) After finishing the series, I also felt that her performance was better than in GJ, especially her emotional scenes.

- Christine Kuo as Lynnette. What can I say? Please put her in smaller roles? I personally don't find her accents terrible...because I don't understand Canto, hehe.  The main problem I have is with her lines within the expressions, etc. She doesn't have much expression on her face and when she says her lines, I can't exactly feel anything in them. Basically, I find Christine's acting rather wooden. I think her recent roles are too big for her to handle. It's better if she starts of with littler and light-hearted roles, which will be easier for her to portray. And since I can't tell TVB to stop promoting her, I wish her the best and hope that she will improve later on.

- Jazz Lam as MJ, Sam Lee as Ah Teng and Raymond Cho as Leung Bao. I don't think I have to talk much about them since I can easily describe them in one word: awesome. I love their friendship with Law Ba! Just like in GJ, they once again managed to make me smile every time they were together.

 - Crystal Li as Grace. You can tell she's a bit stiff but I don't think she's bad for a newbie :) Not much comment on Grace though...Just her "love" triangle with MJ and Leung Bao, she described near the end that MJ is a good man and Leung Bao is a good "friend". Even though she took both of their arms....I'm still going to assume that she chose MJ and that Leung Bao has been "friend-zoned". :P

Overall Thoughts:

Compared to "Ghetto Justice", "Ghetto Justice 2" lacked strong cases and a sense of "focus".  I felt that the series was everywhere, moving from one case to another. Unlike in GJ where law comes into play though, the issues in here were easily resolved.  LA also seems a bit different in here because he's usually convincing Sze Fu and the others to settle the cases in a more "peaceful" way.  Therefore, it does not involve a lot of court work.  I understand that though, because the cases are rather small....and that's the problem.

In the end, GJ2 failed to give the audience a "message" or something to remember about, when GJ did.  So would I recommend GJ2? If you want something for entertainment, try it out because the characters can easily make you smile and laugh.  But if you're looking for a good law series...this is not exactly what you want.  I'd say it's more like a social service series.

Broadening the Horizons: The Start of Interest in Asian Entertainment

Asian Entertainment Experience turns three months old today! :D

In celebration of the three month anniversary of Asian Entertainment Experience, we are writing a special edition of "Broadening the Horizons". Instead of focusing on a specific artist, this time, we will share how we got into Asian entertainment in the first place. Everyone's story is different, including ours. We hope that you will share your story as well!

Iris' story: How I got into TVB Dramas, C-Pop, and Korean music

How did I get into TVB dramas? I was not interested in them growing up, like many other kids. The main reason was probably because I spoke and understood no Cantonese at the time. I mostly watched little kid programs when in elementary school and then Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Something happened in 2008 when I was in the 7th grade though. With the downfall of the two networks, I became sick of the increasingly juvenile programming. At 12 years old, I still considered myself too young for prime time TV and was convinced there was too much sex and violence in American shows. I wanted a balance between the two.

With my mom starting to watch TVB dramas again by downloading and exchanging DVDs, I started becoming exposed to them once again. The first TVB series I was sucked into was "Forensic Heroes II". Two of my closest friends and I all followed it and talked about it. There was no turning back from there, as I started watching TVB series in my free time. I enjoyed the characters, plots, etc. My other early TVB series included "Catch Me Now", and "War of In-Laws II", which are still two of my favorites to this day. Since I didn't understand Cantonese, I watched with English subtitles. My selection was limited, and I watched almost everything that was available.

Soon, just watching the series stopped becoming enough. I started researching the series, the actors, and TVB itself. I also wanted to read other people's thoughts, as well as share my own. I fondly followed TVB blogs, particularly the now closed TVB Musings. I was a silent reader and spent hours reading the blogger's in-depth, well written, and witty works relating to TVB. Shortly before he did his last post, I started commenting and we had discussions about the series and his posts. This became inspiration for me to create my own TVB blog. From that, TVB Interaction was born, an outlet for me to share my excessive thoughts. I still credit MetalAZNWarrior of TVB Musings for developing my interest in TVB, blogging, and writing. He is my "si fu"/mentor.

Due to watching TVB series, I naturally started becoming exposed to Cantopop music again. It started with downloading theme songs I liked, to slowly discovering actual Cantopop singers. Singers I first started listening are Eric Suen, G.E.M., Patrick Tang, and Kary Ng. These four are who got me into the genre, and remain my favorites to this day.

The quality of TVB's series continued to decline, and as a result, so did my interest in them. However, my interest in Hong Kong entertainment didn't die as I developed a new fascination: the artists themselves. Not in the gossip and scandals, but the real life personalities of TVB artists. This gave me more reasons to like them. As time elapsed though and the quality of TVB series gets even worse, I become even less interested. It is my favorite artists like Ruco Chan, Raymond Wong, Myolie Wu, Kate Tsui, Fala Chen, etc that retain the interest.

While I continued to listen to Eric, G.E.M., Patrick, and Kary, my interest in Cantopop itself slowed for a while. I listened to them when they came up on my iPod, but stopped actively looking up and downloading new Cantopop music. A couple months ago, the interest suddenly returned upon the release of Eric's album "Never Said Goodbye".  I started downloading new Cantopop music once again.  This time around, I started exploring more.  Instead of just listening to pop, I looked into rock, R&B, blues, etc.  Recently, I've been loving Kelvin Kwan for his experimental nature into different musical styles, Khalil Fong for his R&B and blues music, and the band Mr. for their rock sound.

For the longest time, I was turned off from K-Pop due to all the girl groups and boy bands, whose generally juvenile and cutesy styles were not my cup of tea.  Thanks to Niki and her great recommendations though, I have been slowly opening myself up to Korean music since the beginning of the year.  However, not the stuff that most international K-Pop fans are into.  I've been finding myself much more attracted to the lesser known and under appreciated solo artists Younha, known for her pop rock style, and the soulful ALi.  I also love the hip hop oriented Epik High and now inactive pop rock band Loveholic.  Of course, those who have been reading my posts, know I'm also a big fan of the fierce girl group Miss A.

Of course, my main interest remains Hong Kong entertainment, which includes dramas and music.  With this interest, I'm starting to understand and speak Cantonese (I can now watch TVB dramas without subtitles without getting too lost), and even starting to pick up a little Mandarin.  Being Chinese, I feel a more personal connection with it.  However, at the end of the day, I appreciate and can like anything as long as it's good.  My interest in Asian entertainment has not died, it continues to grow.

Niki's Story: How I got  into all things Asian Entertainment.

I grew up exposed to dramas from Hong Kong and Mainland China. Being Viet I watched them dubbed and for the longest time thought they were Vietnamese (despite the obvious contrast in the dialogue and mouthing). I was particularly fond of ancient series and loved the cool fighting and powers the characters had. Knowing that the series were set in China (even though I still thought it was a Viet product xP), I developed an interest in Chinese. After growing up realized that the dramas weren't originally in Vietnamese, so I did some research and found out about english subtitle.

By that time, I was mesmerized by Taiwanese dramas so I spent the summer of 6th grade clearing out all the dramas that were available to me. Soon I had gone through most (if not all) Taiwanese dramas available at that time. I moved forward to something new and found out about TVB. I found out by searching up my old dramas that I loved when I was a kid. At first, I wasn't used to Cantonese, being more exposed to Mandarin, so I felt awkward with the change. As a result, I trailed away from TVB for a while and tried watching Japanese dramas. I watched several dramas, but didn't get too into it, so I ended up going back to TVB. Only then did I get hooked onto TVB. Same as Iris, one of the first TVB dramas I had watch (subbed) was FOH2. I had watched the first one dubbed and fell in love, when I saw the second one I was immediately hooked again. From then on I continued in my TVB marathon and once again was running out of dramas to watch.

Because of the lack of dramas I turned to music. I became involved with Taiwanese music first, most of the songs came from the dramas I had watched. Slowly I discovered the artists and learned more about them. From there I was addicted to Fahrenheit and later S.H.E., the two bands that til this day are my favorites.

Also as a supplement I picked up on mangas. My first series was Sakura Card captor. I remember going to the library every week and checking out several book, making sure that I didn't skip any volume. As my interest in mangas grew I started watching animes and picked up on Japanese music along the wa. Most of the music, again, came from the shows.

At this point I had no interest in K-pop or K- dramas, but a trip to Viet Nam quickly changed that. My two cousins were both very interested in k-pop and they soon pulled me into the K-pop world. They first showed me Big Bang's "Haru Haru," Super Junior's "Sorry Sorry" and "It's You", and SNSD's "Gee." I found myself completely addicted by the catchy melodies. I spent the entire summer reasearching and learing more about the artists. That was in early 2009, and I soon learned all there was to learn about K-pop. I also found myself getting more and more disappointed by the new groups.

During freshman year I met Iris and found out our mutual interest in TVB. As we got to know each other better she introduced me to her blog, TVB Interaction. Seeing Iris' blog made me want to start a blog of my own. However, I was hesitant in doing so. After starting the Korean Entertainment Club with Dani and Pinki at our school, I decided to ask Iris to help me create the blog for our club.

Through the blog, Iris and I got to know each other even better. We started to talk about music and exchanged the artists we like to one another. As a result I got into Canto-pop. From Iris' recommendations I  got to know G.E.M., Eric Suen, Kary Ng, and several other artists as well. On the other hand I introduced Iris to Epik High, Younha, and ALi. As I introduced her to Epik High I found myself mesmerized by their music. Iris and I continued to research other types of music and found an interest in something other than pop. (Iris: I also got her into Kelvin, Khalil, and Mr.'s music as well! ;))

Throughout my life I was surrounded by Asian Entertainment and culture, so there's no surprise that it would become a big part of my life. The interest has definitively grown in the past years and will continue to grow.

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Author's Note: I hope I did not bore everybody with the story of how I got into Asian entertainment!  Niki and I have been meaning to do something like this for a while, and thought our three month anniversary would be a good time to do so.  For those wondering why we're celebrating our three month anniversary...it's because for the previous month milestones, we either forgot or could not remember in time to do anything.  So congratulations to AE Experience for making it to a quarter of a year!  In our opinion, this blog is only getting started and continues to develop!

Niki's Note: Thank you for supporting AEE this far and as Iris has said, our blog is still starting out and has a long road ahead.We have many things planned for the future so stay tuned! ;D