[Sing Pao]

"Point of No Return", "Virtues of Harmony 2" and "Triumph in the Skies" have all gained good results in the anniversary week and the celebration gala performance itself achieved a record 37 points with 2.4 million viewers for the variety show with the highest ratings for the year. TVB is currently planning a celebration for this.

TVB's ratings have taken a turn for the better lately with last weeks anniversary extravaganza gaining an average of 34 points and peaking at 37 points when Liza Wang led a group of artistes in their song and dance item and when the Miss Hong Kong winners did their wireworking piece. This was not only the highest rating for any show last week, but also the highest ratings for a variety show this year.

Of the prime time series, "Point of No Return" did the best with a rise in the average ratings up three points to 34 and peaking at 39 points attracting 2.53 million viewers. Damian Lau's magnificent talent has attracted many viewers to tune in, but the figures are expected to drop this week with the death of Damian's character. In a telephone interview, Damian said: "In 'The Greed of Man' when my character died, the ratings still went up , so I am not worried they will fall. Of course I am happy to have made so many great shows for TVB over the years."

Sitcom "Virtues of Harmony" also had an average of 34 points and peaked at 35 points, the highest rating since the new series began airing on 5th May. Also "Triumph in the Skies" rose by one point to 33 points. The prime time ratings for the week Monday to Friday averaged 30 points altogether, making it the best week for ratings this year.

Frankie Lam, Louis Yuen and Michael Tse were excited about their record breaking achievement yesterday and Frankie described it as "outstanding". When asked how they would be celebrating, he said: "We'll have to ask Chun Jer (Catherine Tsang), but the best thing would be to finish work early and go for shark's fin and crab. Actually I am not too keen on the crab, give me the shark's fin and I will be fine, any shark's fin will do from the cheap bowls to expensive ones I will be just as happy. The most practical thing would be to raise my salary!" Recently, he has been preparing for his wedding arrangements with Kenix Kwok and he already has sponsors for their wedding outfits and their cakes. Frankie insists that he will pay for the engagement ring and banquet to show his sincerity and he plans to spend $500,000 on a diamond engagement ring for Kenix.

http://www.singpao.com/20031125/gossip/482106.html



Joe Ma and Sammul Chan took part in a radio interview yesterday and with their series "Triumph in the Skies" peaking at 37 points and averaging at 33 points, they are pleased with the results. Joe says: "The story has only reached half way and the climax has not yet arrived, so I think it will keep going up and I am confident it will reach 40 points." Joe laughs that he has already taken everyone out for dinner several times as he says: "We have already arranged to go for another meal towards the end of the show's airing and we think that the company will be taking us out as well."

http://orientaldaily.com.hk/ent/ent_a23cnt.html