Gallen Harbour

This is not a news article.

2008 has been bittersweet!  Very much so.

The year started out looking promising, with anticipation of a long-awaited TVB-home-coming.  But just before that, disaster struck.

• May 12th, 2008 came and claimed so many lives.  It also brought community together.  Each and everyone reached out, joined in, and helped in anyway they could.  After all, “Sichuan do not cry!”
• In retrospect, we should all have gotten the clue when Gallen said the following during an interview in Hangzhou: “Filming this ["Seven Days that Shocked the World"] has left some very strong feelings. Maybe I should not be so uptight with certain matters… Let nature take its course.”
• Mere days later, he broke hearts and shattered dreams by publicly announcing his divorce.
• How he felt and scoped with the situation?  Gallen bared his heart and soul in Be My Guest, a talk show hosted by TVB’s Stephen Chan.
• In this same talk show, he also addressed his joking remark regarding Jessica Hsuan, the utterly unexpected, singularly unreserved, and dangerously misinterpretable  “Why him?  Why not me?”.
• Meanwhile, the audience was greatly polarized with opinions spanning across the whole spectrum, from detest to adore, when it came to his TVB romantic tragi-comedy “When a Dog loves a Cat”.  However, one point has remained common:  Gallen’s ability to act out any role given to him, “MC” or not.  Bonus point for his fans and/or pet-lovers:  the simply adorable interactions among Gallen, Can Can the cat, and Siu Ba the dog.  Extra bonus point for his hardcore fans:  the silly but heart-warming themesong.
• And then there is something ahead for all of us.  For those who love (Gallen in) TVB dramas, “Grand Entrepreneur” seems enticing.  That, if all real-life financial and economical crises will have passed by the time “Grand” is aired!
• For those who love Gallen just about anywhere and/or are willing to venture, remember to catch “Zheng He”, “Perfect Ending”, and possibly even “Invisible Target” this coming year.
• Before we leave 2008, let’s congratulate Gallen again on his Outstanding Charitable Artist Award 2008.  May 2009 come with more exciting dramas.  Onscreen dramas only, please!

That, of course, was only the ninth bullet.  Gallen Harbour would like to reserve the tenth to mention a few special friends who have sailed by and helped GH to grow in many ways.  Sere, TkN, and Lavendar_Bluez, for your tireless endorsements, or should I say, for re-discovering GH.  TkN, Aeris, and MetalAZNWarrior, for your witty and creative works which have been my source of inspiration.  Rea, for touching my life (so briefly?  I sincerely hope not) in quite a special way.  Sehseh and TVB4ever, for setting great examples of perseverance.  Mouse and Piglet, for always being there for me.  [Timer beeps]  I know, I know, I’m running out of time, but to all GH’s friends and frequent readers, thank you and to you a Happy New Year.

See you in 2009!

This is not a news article. Please do not re-post elsewhere. Thanks.

I don’t mean to wonder what to expect from US President-elect Obama, or from the US economy. I’m taking a break from all of those issues and now seeking refuge here. So of course, I’m talking about Gallen’s next TVB drama.

We might expect the sale presentation clip as soon as next week on November 11th. It’s a fun time for speculation and to let your imagination run wild.

I bet 10:1 that the current roller-coaster ride in Wall Street will definitely be featured as a key plot twist similar to the way the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s nosediving following Kobe 1995 Earthquake was mentioned in “Cold Blood Warm Heart”, or the post-911 financial crisis featured in “Golden Faith”.

In both of the above-mentioned instances, the events were integrated into the plots to neutralize the antagonists (term used loosely) and lead them to their self-destruction (Tsui Ka Lup) or self-destruction followed by redemption (Oscar).

Little was known so far about Gallen’s character this time, except that he’s “not just simply a bad guy!” That leaves room for plenty! Is he cunning and ruthless in business but protective and considerate to loved ones? Is he hot-headed, selfish and unintentionally destructive to both himself and others? Or has he a knack for always falling for the wrong things, be it love or business interests?

Care to guess? We’ll see whose prediction turns out to be most accurate when the series airs sometimes next year.

Of course, there is always the risk of the drama never been filmed, considering the kind of harsh economic climate we’re all weathering. Just kidding!

Photo: Peace Bird

This is not a news article, so please do not repost elsewhere. Thanks.

May contain spoilers!

Terms of Endearment

Gallen’s “When a Dog loves a Cat” concluded last night, Friday August 15th, on a note much deviated from that of a “light-hearted comedy” it had started out with. Despite some inevitable shortcomings defaulted by the genre, I found myself enjoyed the series more than I had anticipated (which, quite frankly, was nothing much except for the cute short-hair British cat and the rather curious idea of seeing Gallen interacting with pets).

As expected, WADLAC lacks of a gripping story-telling power, but that isn’t necessary a bad thing. By leaving its characters alone and aimless, the series stages a level playing field for fine acting (or lack thereof) to be showcased.

MC, all things considered, isn’t too shallow a character. Quite unexpectedly, MC does have layers. He even has a drama or two to tell despite the simple overall plot, and Gallen told them so effortlessly that one started to wonder if the actor’s real life drama had had something to do with the on-screen vivid agonies and heartfelt desolations. (Are we still talking about a comedy?)

Has Gallen successfully endeared MC? While WADLAC itself may not make it to any favorite list, MC certainly wins hearts. The outer anti-social, cold and rude MC was refreshingly amusing without being obnoxious, while the revelation of the inner loving and attentive MC was allowed to take place quite naturally.

It wouldn’t be fair if one doesn’t mention his special canine costar, Siu Ba. This talented four-legged star jogged faithfully alongside Gallen from the start to the end of the series, doggedly aided in twisting and untwisting the storyline. And talking about powerful eyes! Those dark, smart, expressive eyes took the spotlight away from Siu Ba’s costars, Gallen included, many a time.

Back to Gallen, audience who appreciate the subtle flickers in his eyes might be delighted to note the fact that along the length of 20 episodes, scenes heavily flavored with Gallen’s signature are abundant.

Purely my thoughts. Please do not repost elsewhere.

I am referring to those comedies which make you laugh at one moment, and weep the next.

There have been at least two of those during Gallen’s career, “Old Time Buddy” (OTB) and “Feminine Masculinity” (FM). Both times when the concepts were first introduced, the audience looked at one another and asked themselves whether TVB had gone out of its mind.

Then everyone laughed, and cried.

My favourite scene in OTB must be the one when Lei Kei (Gallen Lo) was backstage lending his voice to Tse Yuen (Francis Ng), who lip-synced under the spotlight and received all the glory. In FM, it was when Bing Kuen (Gallen Lo) and Christine (Flora Chan) played “Green Light Red Light” for the last time before she vanished, supposedly to reincarnate.

The fact that Lei Kei was not Gallen’s first comedic role did not help in quieting the skeptical chuckles. Before being branded a drama actor with his solid performances in series such as “Vengeance” and “Cold Blood Warm Heart”, Gallen was once the hilarious cop Lei Sei Kei of “Yang’s Women Warriors” acting opposite Maggie Siu. Curious how the two character names were so similar! And if anyone ever remembered, the cute and silly Lei Sei Kei only made the audience laugh. It was Lei Kei who cause the burning sensation in the back of our eyes, pitying him for all the misfortunes he faced.

Bing Kuen did not have the kind of luck Lei Kei had, but much worse. He wasn’t even dealing with people. His misfortune came in the form of a… ghost. While Lei Kei’s life only went up and down, Bing Kuen’s life was swinging confusingly between the two genders. And how the mere idea of having Gallen Lo dressed up as a woman had frightened us all!

Up to date, Lei Kei and Bing Kuen remain two of the toughest acting roles on Gallen’s own list. The former marks his most memorable working experience, and the latter most stressful one. While the audience laughed at Mr. Diana on screen, the actor was struggling to break free of the role and at some point even forced to consult his psychologist.

Now comes his third time, and many wince at the idea of a TV series based on pets…

Against all odds, will Gallen once again be able to endear his character?

This is not a news article. Purely my thought. Prereqs: “Legend of the Condor Heroes”, TVB 1994, Athena Chu, Julian Cheung, Gallen Lo; “Golden Faith”, TVB 2002, Jessica Hsuan, Gallen Lo, Deric Wan, Raymond Lam.

I once asked myself, if Yang Kang had not been born into the Sung dynasty, what would have happened? What if the setting for “Legend of the Condor Heroes” had been moved a few hundred years later where the Jin-Sung conflict might have come in some other form, such as in the case of a big bad greedy corporation being battled by a few good men who stand by the law, what would we have had, then?

Taken the character out of his social and historical backdrop, and what do you see? We see a son and a foster home. We see a devoted foster father to whom the son looks up with respect and admiration. We see, in the mind of the son, the idealization (or rather, the idolization) of how a man should be, stemming directly from the father.

Would that description fit quite a few others such as, say, Ivan Ding of “Golden Faith”?

In Ivan, we also see a son who is torn between his foster home and what are defined by the society as being the right things to do. Just like Yang Kang assumes the risk of becoming a traitor to his country, Ivan assumes the risk of becoming a criminal by sticking by his foster family. The moments the two break away from the only thing they have known in their lives so far as families, they become miserable in quite many ways. One being the inability to soar with their strengths. The foster homes provide them the much needed platform where their talents, in both cases here the ability to strategically lead, could be powerfully displayed. Regardless of whether it is the present Ding Fung or the Sung’s Jin, there our characters feel the need for their presences the strongest. Their “homes” give them somewhat a sense of being appreciated.

But that’s where the parallel lines diverge. While Ivan comes back to Ding Fung with an almost impossible, self-assumed mission on his shoulder, Yang Kang comes back to Jin for comfort and because of greed. The equivalent of Ivan’s mission to straighten Ding Fung’s business would be for Yang Kang to be true to his promise he makes to his lady Nianci, to persuade the Jin to stop invading Sung’s land, and to lead Jin the right way.

Aside from the lack of integrity in Yang Kang, other factors which force Yang Kang’s path to stray so far away from Ivan’s might include their significant others. While both Rachel and Mu Nianci hold their principles absolutely rigid, they execute them much differently. Rachel, though still loves Ivan dearly, cuts short their relationship and hence makes a very strong statement. Nianci, on the other hand, fools herself into believing Yang Kang’s excuses (read: lies) every time without failing. Nianci, in a way, greatly encourages the “duality” in Yang Kang’s personality. She is truly the lifeboat for his creative lies. This is a confusing analogy since removing this lifeboat and this Yang Kang who is willing to lead Jin the right way will drown and die. That’s true, but one never knows. He might keep trying to survive on his own and hence kill his alternate, evil persona - the Yang Kang we know. Oh well, it is just wishful thinking on my part. Afterall, the biggest problem with Yang Kang is still his lack of integrity, and we do need an antagonist for “Legend”.

Now for the sake of completeness, we can also think of some ways to turn Ivan into a baddie. But wait, isn’t he already one? Remember, Ivan kills (or thinks he kills) his foster father’s long-time business partner. If Ivan’s action can be justified and redeemed by saying he is forced to pull the trigger because his younger foster sister’s life is on the line, then Yang Kang’s killing rage toward Ouyang Ke after the later insults Nianci may as well be sympathized. Ivan also lies. He lies under oath, obstructs justice and inadvertently helps tossing Rachel’s career out of the window. Ivan’s lies, however, are for the purpose of saving other people’s reputations and lives but never his own. And I guess that makes all the differences.

Still, I want to wonder what kind of fate Ivan would have faced had he been adopted into not the Ding, but the Jin royal family, almost a thousand years ago.

This is not a news article.

- A trip to Hong Kong -

I finally got this item on my personal to-do list checked. The trip was so short that we barely had any time for jet-lag. But then again, stay longer and we’ll be absolutely broke. One word for Hong Kong: chic. Two words for Hong Kong: chic and … expensive!

Victoria Harbour - View from the Peak, HK. By Mimosa. Click on image to enlarge

But really, we only have ourselves to blame. Does any of you remember the character Kelly, played by Jessica Hsuan, in TVB’s Secret of the Heart? Well, I remember vividly how I got quite irritated seeing that she was so skeptical about eating on the street and all, then I found myself guilty of having more or less the same knee-jerk reaction. Now if I gave it a little more time, I might learn to feel more comfortable being seated with strangers. For this whole trip, we ventured out to eat at these bustling local Hong Kong cafe only twice. The food is clearly superior to the same (or claimed to be the same) dish you could find inside a hotel’s restaurant or a shopping mall’s food court. Basically, you do have to trade the taste for comfort and cleanliness. Now when I mention cleanliness, I only mean the visual aspect of it. I believe the food is clean since we did try the street food twice and our stomaches didn’t do much of protesting if any. While you trade the taste away, you also trade the as-seen-on-TV…B ambiance of a local Hong Kong street eatery away, and punish your wallet doing that. The way you strike a nice balance? Maybe go as a huge group, so you could be seated together, and remember to bring your own, not beer, paper tissues or handkerchiefs since absolutely no napkin will be provided. We actually learned this no-napkin fact the hard way as we do see Hong Kong people (as seen on TVB, of course) use their handkerchiefs all the time, but thought it’s simply for style.

We also thought the fact that you could miss someone-you-terribly-want-to-meet crossing the same street to be TVB’s unique fictional drama effect. Now I truly believe you could really get lost crossing a street in Mongkok. Think Time Square, New York on Friday night, then multiply it by two. Well, make it three! Mongkok’s streets are busy around the clock, just with slightly different crowds. In the morning you see a lot of men and women in (very stylish) business attires, and a lot of uniformed police officers/cadets. Later in the morning you start seeing many uncles with some light plastic bags in hand, seemingly heading back home to announce “I brought breakfast!”. The aunties are usually busy with much heavier bags - grocery. Around lunch time you see the working crowd again, swamping the MTR station with documents in hand and talking incessantly into their head phones. We spot uniformed students around the clock, in groups or (mostly) in pairs. We can’t tell whether they’re on the way to class, out of class, or… cutting class. But we see them just about anywhere and anytime. The night crowd is the most interesting of all, where you have young people looking like they’ve just stepped out of some pages from a fashion magazine. Overall everyone is very well-dressed. The only exception would be the police officers and cadets in blue uniforms, but what do we expect? They’re no Michael or Ron! The “polices on the road”, however, do look better with all the boots, belts, guns, helmets, and their white motorcycles. As for the undercover agents, we tried to look but of course couldn’t discover any. It’s said they always work in pairs and are available in good number, especially in busy area like Mongkok. We don’t know if that is true, but for the whole 5 days of our trip, we didn’t encounter or witness any sort of crime, even a petty one. My sister Mouse did think of leaving an item of her belonging in the taxi, so that we could experience how Hong Kong police works and see whether it’s just… as seen on TVB. Either that or a handsome charming next taxi rider! Just like the way it’d happen in TVB dramas.

We didn’t really have time to carry that plan out, because very soon our taxi stopped in front of TVB City, in Tseung Kwan O. There we joined the group from TVBVNFC again. It was about 10:30 pm and the Gala inside was about to be wrapped up. We patiently/impatiently paced up and down the impressively neat street from the front to the back gate, admiring the tall solid wall adorned with the red-blue-green strips and name-guessing the festive sounds echoing from the other side. When we got absolutely bored of that, we joined the other fan clubs to situate ourselves at the curb just outside the back gate, and started our version of Jaynestars-style gossips.

TVB City, Front Gate, Tseung Kwan O, HK - Nov 19th, 2007. By Mimosa.

Just about midnight, huge TVB buses started to hum through the gate and spill onto the street. From their tall and warm seats people looked at us as if we’re a crazy bunch. Well, in some effects, we were! It was quite a cold night and none of us had had dinner. We headed straight from the hotel room where we had been following the TVB Anniversary Gala live through the half-way point - the wax museum skit. But we didn’t feel anything but the mounting excitement.

What came next was a little bit of a chaos that I couldn’t remember exactly who was the first actor to speed through the gate into the street. But I remembered Ha Yu to be on the second car. As he saw fans waved at him, he pulled over. I believe he did remain for a good 15 minutes or so. I may be wrong for a lot of things happened within that 15 minutes. Other cars pulled through the gate, names were excitedly shouted out, fans rushed after their chosen “targets”… Next thing I know, I was directly in front of Angela Tong. She was so beautiful, so elegant, so friendly, so petite! I took a lot of pictures for my friends with Angela but forgot to have one myself. Angela stayed for quite a while with her fans, chatting while having her pictures taken and signing away her autographs.

I really wanted to have a chance to say hi to Wu Fung, but since we’re busy, we didn’t stop him in time and he sped away. I did manage to shake hand and say Congrats to Roger just before he got back into his white Odyssey. I couldn’t help but think of Gallen as I stood there looking at Roger. They both carry around them a fine polite air, highlighted with very cute, almost “timid” way of smiling. After Roger, I ran into Kevin and made a fool out of myself when I completely forgot that Kevin speaks perfect English. It was quite embarrassing and I just hope Kevin wouldn’t mind. It was very nice of him to get out of his car again so that I could have a photo. We also spotted Bosco and Ron on the way back to our “post”.

Random photos of TVB artists, TVB City, outside the back gate - Nov 19th, 2007. By Mimosa

Later we waved at Charmaine, Myolie, Ray, Tavia and many more. Charmaine and Myolie were so nice off-screen. Charmaine was very friendly while Myolie was really cute. Charmaine chatted with us in English and Cantonese, while Myolie even attempted to speak Vietnamese. She joined us as we counted 1…2…3 in Viet before each snap. Very playful of Myolie! Gallen must have had a nice time working with her on their WDLC.

Since Ray’s fan club wasn’t present that night, he only hesitated his car ever so briefly for a snapshot. The same happened with Tavia. Luckily the TVBVNFC did have some very cute photos of Ray and Tavia (separately, mind you!) taken on the 17th (following TVB 40th Anniversary Awards Show). You might need to register and have a minimum of 10 posts before you could see these pictures in their website. Beside Ray and Tavia, I believe the group also met with Ron, Shirley, Sheren (Tang), Michelle (Yim), Michael (Tse), Sonija (Kwok), and Bosco, among others. Do check it out when you have time.

This little episode at the TVB City’s back gate was not something we have seen on TV, but I thought it was too sweet a surprise to keep from you. It would have been even sweeter if beloved names such as Ada, Flora or Gallen had also been shouted out that night…

Back to those as-seen-on-TV…B items, we’ve visited the Avenue of Stars on TST (think Ivan, Rachel and their breakups); Cafe Deco on the Peak (think Felix and Amy in SOH); Victoria Garden (think Ivan, Rachel, and Sabrina… the episode when Rachel misunderstood Ivan to be an abusive, unfaithful boyfriend when she witnessed him hitting another man and dragged Sabrina away). We tried the midnight snack at a (modified) Dai Pai Dong (think ATE and the brothers’ favourite street eatery), the fish-balls (but couldn’t find the different sauces so that we could wish for luck like Louis’ character in ATE did). I almost tried the smelly tofu (think Flora in UE) but at the end backed out… Mouse is probably still laughing at me for being such a chicken! We also visited Wong Tai Sin Temple to get ourselves the lucky paper windmills, just like the one Flora and Bowie played with in UE2.

We have done a good number of fun things, but also left out a great deal… Top of the list: I missed Gallen by a mere 4-hr window. My plane touched down at 7:55 pm and his function was done at 3:55 the same afternoon. Tough luck!

In a slightly more positive light, I guess that leaves room for … another Hong Kong trip, yes?

This is not a news article, so please do not repost elsewhere. Thank you.

:::

Someone who “isn’t into computers and games” and prefers “not to use SMS and emails” now disregards his personal preference just to “comply” with his fans’ wishes.

Yes, Gallen’s finally activated his blog today with an ultra short, cozy, personal, long-awaited entry completed with photo and scanned handwritten note.

See for yourself here: Gallen Lo’s Sina Blog

Image courtesy of Oriental, 10/01/2007

As much as I understand how busy Gallen is and how blogging might never be named one of his hobbies, I couldn’t help but selfishly hope this is only the beginning of many nice entries to come. After all, Gallen is known for his persistence. He wouldn’t have been the Gallen we know (and love) today if he gave up singing, gave up acting, or even… had a change of heart. Let us see. I’m particularly anticipating the first glimpse into his calligraphy and painting works which he once promised to share with all of us, but a tiny “Hello” entry would make my day just as splendidly.

Gallen, thanks!