"Virtues of Harmony II" has many spoofs and references to social issues, people, and other series. However, not everyone is informed of the implied
jokes. I will explain most of the references that were perhaps missed by the general audience.
Nancy Sit actually asked TVB to premiere "Virtues of Harmony II" early (May 2003) so that the show can cheer Hong Kong up. In 2003, HK faced
many tragedies ranging from SARS to the suicide of big-time idol Leslie Cheung.
The Kams love watching a series called "Gai Dai Foon Siu" (Everyone Laughs) that airs every night at 9:00 PM. "Gai Dai Foon Siu" is
actually "Virtues of Harmony II" and when they talk about the series, they are actually referring to their own series. Although most of the time they praise the series, at
other times they make fun of themselves and criticise the series.
"Point of No Return" was heavily acclaimed by the characters and it's title was spoofed from "Sai Kwan Dai Siu" (West Chamber Young Master)
to "Sai Kwa Dai Siu", which means "Young Watermelon Master." In Cantonese, "sai kwa" means "watermelon" and sounds slight similar to "sai kwan."
"Hello Mimi" is a spoof of the popular Japanese Sanrio icon "Hello Kitty" which is loved by girls all around the world.
Joey came back to Hong Kong after studying overseas in England. This information about her character was written so that Joey's western ideas
and accent would be acceptable to audiences. Bernice Liu was living in overseas Canada before she came to Hong Kong to act for TVB series. It was only through this
that she improved her Cantonese and lessened her western accent while speaking.
Some of the magazines that the characters read are issues of TVB's weekly periodical, "TVB Weekly."
Some of the background musics used in the show are modern remakes of bakcground musics from the ancient version of "Virtues of Harmony II."
Those who are familiar with the ancient version will find it delightful to hear the classic background musics used again in the modern version, only with a modern-
sounding twist to them played with more modern instruments.
Joey and Ah Lam were both called the "beauties" of "Ka Yan" company. This correlates with the fact that Linda Chung and Bernice Liu were Miss
Vancouver(s) and Miss Chinese International(s) in their respective years!
"Producer Tsui" refers to Tsui Yu On, the producer of "Virtues of Harmony II!"
"Dai Lui Fa" refers to the famous Chinese opera about the ill-fated lovers, Princess Cheung Ping and scholar Chow Sai Hing, of the Ming dynasty.
Cheung Ping was the favorite daughter of the last Ming emperor, Sung Jing and she was deeply in love with Sai Hing. However, because they lived in the time prior to
the fall of the Ming, their love was doomed. After the Manchurians set up their own dynasty, the Ching, they sent for Cheung Ping and Sai Hing and arranged a grand
marriage for them. They wanted the Han Chinese people to see that they were going to treat them nicely since they were rewarding the last dynasty's princess. On
their wedding night, Cheung Ping and Sai Hing drink poison wine and die under the cherry blossom tree along with their fallen country. This tragedy was the basis for
2003 TVB series "Perish in the Name of Love" starring Charmaine Sheh and Steven Ma.
In the episodes filmed in 2003, several of the female cast members had bangs. This was because bangs was a huge trend in Hong Kong then.
Throughout "Virtues of Harmony II," the characters are always obsessed about being slim and/or losing weight. This is because slimming is a huge trend in Hong
Kong and a big part of their society.
The frequent allusions to "Brother Wah" and "Brother Fat" refer to Andy Lau Tak Wah and Chow Yun Fat respectively. Both are the biggest stars in Hong Kong's entertainment industry and the biggest ones to grow from TVB's series. Producer Tsui knows Chow Yun Fat.
During much of the early episodes, there were numerous references to SARS. Not only that, but during outdoor scenes people could be seen
walking with masks on. At the time of filming (March 2003-June 2003) those episodes, SARS was still prominent in Hong Kong. It wasn't until late June 2003 that Hong
Kong was declared SARS-free.
In episode 4, the restaurant that the characters go to is called "Hor Ying Kwok." This is a tease at Kenix Kwok, whose name is Kwok Hor Ying!
Frankie Lam mimicked the speaking style of Roger Kwok Chun On's "Ah Wong" from 2003's "Square Pegs" in several dreams
When Nim Chi first hears her family talking about Joey, she asks if they're discussing "the singer Yung Cho Yee" (Joey Yung). Joey Yung is a Hong
Kong popular music star. She is mainly a singer, but also takes part in acting and has done several TVB series. Joey Yung is a fan of "VOH" and wanted to guest star
in the show.
Lau Gam's entry into "Ka Yan" company is associated in a dream to the fall of the Ming dynasty.
Ah Lo and Ah Yuet fear that they are going to be fired from "Ka Yan," so they imagine themselves as Fung Ching Ching and Hui Man Keung and
Wong Sheung as Fung Ging Yiu. In this particular daydream, Wong Sheung wants to kill Ah Yuet. Ah Lo steps in and tells her dad that she will die in place of Ah Yuet.
She holds the gun to hear head and is about to shoot, but nothing fires. Ah Yuet grabs it away and wants to die in place of her. The two battle for the "bullet", but
neither die. Abruptly, they hear a shot and it turns out that they killed Wong Sheung by accident. This segment is a spoof of "The Bund." Interestingly, Lau Dan played
the actual role of Fung Ging Yiu in "The Bund." In the actual story, Hui Man Keung (Chow Yun Fat) and Fung Ging Yiu (Lau Dan) were the ones who battled for
the "single bullet" that would take away one of their lives. Fung Ging Yiu did die in the original, as shown in the dream, but Fung Ching Ching (Angie Chiu) didn't
appear at the scene until her father was dead.
Episode 19 has a dream spoof on "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre." Ah Yat sees the 1979 version starring Adam Cheng, Angie Chiu, and Liza
Wang on the TV at "Tung Mat Yuen" in the scene in which Chiu Ming interrupts the wedding of Cheung Mo Kei and Chow Chi Yuerk. Ah Yat reflects on her friendship
with Ah Mei and Ah Lo and realizes that it's similar to the situational love triangle of Mo Kei, Chiu Ming, and Chi Yuerk. She imagines Ah Mei as Mo Kei and she as Chi
Yuerk and Ah Lo as Chiu Ming, fighting for Ah Mei's friendship (as opposed to love in the actual "Heaven Sword").
Mandy has a Japanese teacher. Myolie Wu is part Japanese and knows a little bit of Japanese herself.
When Ah Lo, Ah Yat, and Ah Mei were trying out wedding dresses for Ying Gei when she thought she was going to marry Alex, Ah Yat had on a
western white wedding dress. Ah Yat asks if she looks like a princess. Ah Mei answers that she looks like Diana. Ah Lo replies that she's fine as long as she doesn't
look like she's been hit by a car. Princess Diana, of Wales, tragically died from a horrible car accident. She was being hounded in her car by a gang of paparazzi who
wanted to take her pictures.
The friend that Ah Lo loaned $200,000 to is called "Bo Yin." Her character is said to be "honest, quiet, and shy." "Bo Yin" may be a reference to the
character that Maggie Cheung played in the 2001 TVB series, "Police Station No. 7." Maggie's character was called "Bo Yin" and she was very timid.
Ah Lo imagines that Ah Yuet is shot to death outside of a nightclub in 1930's Shanghai and in this daydream, she calls him "Man Keung." This
segment is a spoof on the shocking and tragic conclusion to the 1980's series "The Bund" in which Chow Yun Fat's "Man Keung" is murdered by French triads. Ah Yuet
mimicks the acting of Chow Yun Fat. The difference between this spoof and the actual story is that Ching Ching (the character that Ah Lo is spoofing) never appeared
besides Man Keung when he died, there were no doctor or nurse around, and Man Keung wanted to go to Paris with Ching Ching, not the Caribbean Islands.
Ah Yuet dreams that one of his guardian "6 Gods" is "Michael Jackson." "Sun" in Cantonese means "god" and it sounds like the "son" in "Jackson."
Johnny Tang dresses up like the infamous, controversial American pop icon in the dream.
Ah Yat says that she lost her "mei siu lui" watch. "Mei siu lui" refers to "Mei Siu Lui Cheen Si Sailormoon," the Chinese title for the ever-popular Japanese
anime/manga series "Pretty Soldier Sailormoon" (Bishojou Senshi Sera Muun).
The filming methods and style of the American movie "The Matrix" was mimicked by Gam. In the part where he thought that Joey liked him, he
wanted to change his image to match her. Ah Yat handed him a poster of "The Matrix" and he dressed accordingly. In the scene where he was going to meet Joey, a
bunch of hot fish balls from a frying pan came flying at him. The movement was slow and he dodged them by bending under, just as a character in "The Matrix"
movie did, only he was trying to avoid bullets.
In episode 47, everyone at "Tung Mat Yuen" is entraced by "The Greed of Man" (Dai See Doi). Its cast includes Adam Cheng, Damian Lau, Sean
Lau, Vivian Chow, Amy Kwok, Yammie Lam, Bowie Lam, and many other stars. It is an immense hit, earning high ratings and rave reviews. The scene shown on the
TV in "Tung Mat Yuen" is the part where Yammie Lam dies accidentally trying to kill Adam Cheng. She dies in Sean Lau's arms while fetching for the wedding ring that
Damian Lau gave her because he was the true love of her life. Adam cries while watching this sight.
Ah Nin says that Nim Chi won't settle for a man who isn't handsome as (Damian) Lau Chung Yan. Ah Yat adds that he also has to be honorable like
(Adam) Cheng Siu Chow and manly like Sek Sau.
Sugar and GiGi's hairstyles might be an imitation of HK pop group's 2R hairstyle during summer 2003. Sugar's hair is long and parted to the side
with a braid going down the other side (similar to Race Wong's hairstyle) while GiGi's hair is shoulder-length with bangs (like Rosanne Wong's hair).
In episode 50, Sa Sa says that rumors are deadly and it was because of rumors that Yuen Ling Yuk committed suicide. Her statement was a
reference to the popular 1930's silent movie actress, Yuen Ling Yuk. The press's rumors towards her personal life was so great that she was under too much pressure
and was pushed towards suicide. Her funeral memorial was a grand one with many fans gathering and several fans committing suicide as a result of her death.
In episode 52, the Kams were discussing which character in Jin Yong's "Return of the Condor Heroes" novel is the most viscious.
In discussing the rivalry between Ying Gei and Sa Sa in episode 52, Ah Nin, Ah Yuet, and Ah Yat make a reference to the 1984 American
movie, "The Terminator", starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ah Nin comments that the situation is similar to "The Terminator" while Ah Yuet immitates Arnold
Schwarzenegger's signature "I am back" line from the end of the movie. Ah Yat declares that there will definitely be a sequel. "The Terminator" would go on to have
more than one sequel and was quite a successful blockbuster.
In a dream, Ah Nin plays the "Six-finger demon" while Ah Yuet plays "James Bond" with Lily as the woman by his side (signature of "James Bond"
movies).
When Nim Chi mistakened Ah Nin for liking an African woman, she was afraid of becoming a "long-necked giraffe." In some African cultures, the
women are forced to adorn numerous necklaces to elongate their necks. To their culture, a long neck is considered beautiful.
In episode 57, Ah Nin dreams that he is Sai Moon Hing, Joey is Poon Kam Lin, and Gam is Mo Dai Long. He dreams this dream because he feels that
Joey and Gam are not fitted to be together. Poon Kam Lin was a great beauty and forced to marry the dwarf Mo Dai Long. People referred to their relationship as "a
flower in a pile of dung." Poon Kam Lin had an adultery with Sai Moon Hing, her town's handsome playboy. In the actual story, she teamed with Sai Moon Hing to kill
Mo Dai Long, but in the dream, she teams with her husband to kill Sai Moon Hing. Poon Kam Lin says she is more suited with Mo Dai Long because her legs were fake
and that she was a dwarf as well!
Ah Nin pretends to be the infamous Justice Pao in a dream with the signature crescent moon on his forehead.
Ah Mei's good luck charm is a gold pendant that she won because she says that it's the only award she ever received. She says that she's not
talented, so the medal is the only thing that she ever won. Like her character, Cutie Mui has never been exceptional at anything or won any impressive awards when
she was young.
During Ah Mei's three-year flashback, GiGi and Sugar were big (Nicholas Tse) Ting Fung fans. Everyone in "Ka Yan" praised him for his talent in
music and looks. Ah Lo says she doesn't like guys like him but prefers a more mature and serious man. They teased her and said that Ting Fung's father was more
suited for her. They said that Ah Yuet's style looked like Ting Fung's and he pretended to be him by playing an air guitar. Bondy Chiu used to date Nicholas Tse.
Incidentally, their dating period coincided with the flashback's time period. Although they've broken up, Bondy and Nicholas are still friends and she says that he
understands her well.
Ah Mei dreams that she's in a cooking contest with Ah Lo. This dream was a spoof on the movie "God of Cookery."
Ah Yuet and Ah Lo dream that they are Romeo and Juliet. The couple imagine that they are the ill-fated lovers from the classic Shakespearean
play. They sing about their love and the tragic situation that they must face because of their feuding families. In the actual story, Juliet fakes her death so that she
can escape her family and be with Romeo. It was a good plan, but fate wasn't on their side and Romeo doesn't know that Juliet isn't really dead. He believes he's
dead and kills himself by her side. When Juliet awakens, she is stricken with grief and also commits suicide. In the dream, "Juliet" Ah Lo and "Romeo" Ah Yuet decide
to kill themselves because that's the only way to escape the hatred between their families. Their mothers see the sight and sob, wishing that they had acted
differently. Suddenly, they wake up from their fake deaths and tell them it's not too late if they really agree to let them marry. However, like in the real story, both of
them die, but this time because their lover's mother poisoned them.
When Ah Yuet sings to Ah Lo, his voice is really bad. Michael Tse does this on purpose. In fact, he is a good singer and used to be in a pop group
with Jordan Chan until the group broke up and Michael decided to further his acting career.
Ah Mei dreams that she barges into Ah Lo and Ah Yuet's wedding. The setting of the dream is the 1930's and in the church. This dream spoofs the
1980 series "The Bund" and its infamous wedding scene. Ching Ching agrees to marry Ding Lik, which hurts Hui Man Keung who loves Ching Ching deeply but doesn't
let her know because he has to seek revenge on her father. He barges into the church on her wedding day and hopes that she will leave with him, but she doesn't and
goes through with the wedding. In the dream, Ah Yuet's attire is reminiscent of Ding Lik's look, which is ironic because he's symbolic of Ching Ching in the dream. Ah
Lo's characterization is similar to Ding Lik while Ah Mei is representative of Man Keung. Ah Lo points a gun at Ah Mei for interrupting her wedding. Ah Mei explains that
she was late and that Ah Lo had asked her to be her bridesmaid. Abruptly, Ah Mei is shot by Ah Yat. Ah Yat tells her, "You love him and yet you don't say anything.
You deserve to be shot and dead!" This is a reference to Man Keung, who loved Ching Ching deeply but doesn't let her know the extent of his love.
Ah Lo and Ah Yuet dream that they are Yan Soh Soh and Cheung Chiu San from Jin Yong's story "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre." They are
happy that they're finally able to escape mainland China, the land of trouble, and float to Fire-Ice Island. They can be free and happy together there, nothing having
to worry about any problems due to belonging to different sects. In the novel, Fire-Ice Island represented an escape for characters from all the tension,
misunderstanding, and trouble that they had in the mainland.
Ah Lo and Ah Yuet relate the financial difficulties of being a newly married couple living on their own through a dream inspired from Jin
Yong's "Return of the Condor Heroes." Ah Yuet acts as Yeung Guo while Ah Lo is Siu Lung Lui. Their costumes are based on the 1983 version made by TVB starring
Andy Lau and Idy Chan. Siu Lung Lui complains that Yeung Guo wastes money because he has to have a specific barber and has to dye specific spots of his hair
white. He nags that she uses too much bleach because she likes wearing clothes that are pure white. Siu Lung Lui only wears white and Yeung Guo (when he turns
old) has specifically two bunches of white hair while the other places are black. These are jokes about the flaws of the character designs and hairstyles of the two
characters in relation to ancient times and how they could look the way that they do.
Ah Lo compares the family's situation if she and Ah Yuet move out to the plot of 1980 series "Yesterday's Glitter" starring Liza Wang and Damian
Lau. Ah Lo even sings a part of the themesong to express her grief and sorrow. This classic song was originally sung by Liza Wang.
The themesong to the 1978 version of "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre" sung by Adam Cheng could be heard in the background of a dream
also spoofing that series's story as Ah Lo plays Yan Soh Soh and Ah Yuet plays Cheung Chiu San. The dreams talks about how Yan Soh Soh wants to murder an
entire family when Cheung Chiu San stops her by controlling her.
Ah Yuet's ex-girlfriend was named "Sze Man." This is a poke at Charmaine Sheh, whose Chinese name is Sheh Sze Man.
Ah Hong says wishes during the wedding tea ceremony of Ah Yuet and Ah Lo's wedding. He says "Drinking the tea will make you more famous than
Ah Gui and Ah Sa." This line is making fun of Twins, a very popular Hong Kong music duo consisting of Charlene Choi and Gillian Chung. "Ah Gui" and "Ah Sa" are
their nicknames.
Yuk Gong says he was watching 1998 series "Secret of the Heart" the other day in a scene where some characters plot to push a pregnant
character down the stairs and succeed in causing her to lose her baby.
In episode 67, the Kams discover the identities of their past selves through a program on the computer. The pictures of their ancient selves are
shown as well as a description of their lives. Nim Chi was a bandit until she decided to change her life and became the owner of a prosperous noodle restaurant,
earned a Widow Virginity award, and later earned a title from the Emperor! Nim Chi laughs that her past life is more exciting than a TV series. Sa Sa was the
Emperor's sister and married a fortune teller. Sa Sa says if that's the case, she doesn't want to marry. Ah Nin was a parent official for a village and became the
Princess's huband. Ah Nin laughs that he must try harder to find a Princess so that he won't have to work as hard. Ah Yuet was a sickly child, so he knew a lot about
medicines. Later he became a doctor in the Imperial Pharmacy and had two wives and two sons. Ah Lo gets jealous, but Ah Yuet assures her that she'll be his only
wife. Ah Yat suggests that he might divorce Ah Lo and marry someone else. Ah Yat reads that she was the daughter of a rich family and married the Prince, later
becoming the Empress. Gam was an expert noodle maker and became a chef for the Imperial Kitchen. Ah Nin says that his mother opened a noodle restaurant in the
past and wonders if they had a relationship in the past. Gam's wife in the past was an older woman and extremely stupid. Gam says that no woman besides the "Four
Big Beauties" or Poon Kam Lin would fit with him. This segment was of course a reflection of the ancient version and foreshadowing for the modern version's storyline.
The characterizations and pictures of the casts shown are all taken from the ancient version. Ironically, Gam is wrong; his wife, Ying Gei, was part of the "Four Big
Beauties" along with Ah Lo, Ah Mei, and Ah Yat. Part of the disgust that Sa Sa might hold towards her past husband, the fortune teller, besides his profession, is the
fact that she doesn't personally like the actor in real life.
The set of stickers that was stolen at the mall was from the Japanese anime "Digital Monsters" (Digimon).
Lily asks Gam and Ying Gei if they ever saw TVB's medical drama "Healing Hands." Gam says, "Of course. (Lawrence) Ng Kai Wah plays Doctor
Ching Ji Mei in it." Lily is relieved to hear their responses because she was going to give birth in an elevator and only they were around!
Gam says that his ideal woman has to have (Michelle Reis/Lee) Ka Yan's eyes, (Cecilia Cheung) Bak Chi's nose, and (Maggie Cheung) Man Yuk's
beauty.
Alex gave Ying Gei a "Hello Kitty" keychain while Gam gives her a "Hello Kitty" plushie with a life jacket (float) on.
"E4" is a spoof on the name of popular Taiwanese boy band "F4."
Ah Yat tricks 11th brother by telling him that he's wanted to star "Titanic II" by Hollywood. This is a spoof-sequel on the 1997 American
movie "Titanic" starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. It was very popular and won 11, out of 14 nominations, Academy Awards, including "Best Picture," and
also garnered solid reviews by critic. The movie's theme song "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion was also a memorable hit.
Ying Gei comments that Ah Nin could be a "kam pai bing yan" (golden ice person) for his efforts in matchmaking Joey and Sam. This is a reference
to the 2003 TVB series "Better Halves" (Kam Pai Bing Yan) starring Steven Ma, Maggie Cheung, Joyce Coi, and Moses Chan. The background music to the series could
also be heard in an earlier episode in Kam family's living room TV set. The Kams were probably watching the series on TV since it was aired at the time of filming of
that episode.
The nicknames for the two Sams is a reference to two sister Taiwan actresses whose actual nicknames are "Big S" and "Small S."
"Jade Solid Gold" is TVB's actual music program with artists appearing on the show to perform to the audience.
Ah Yuet finds a piece of paper in his mooncake and Ah Yat says "Overthrow the Ching, reinstate the Ming!" This is a reference to a practice in which
rebels during the Ching dynasty would insert pieces of paper inside cakes to promote their mission and to get news across. The Ming dynasty was the last dynasty in
China in which Han Chinese people ruled the country. The Chinese were very against the Manchurians who invaded the country at the end of the Ming and started the
Ching.
In response to the rumor that Gam might be Wong Sheung's son, Sa Sa is so shocked that she exclaims, "This means that (Frankie) Lam Man Lung
would also turn into (Michael) Tong Man Lung."
Nim Chi compares the mess that Gam created upon the Kams' apartment to the destruction of Iraq by the United States.
Ah Yat goes to try out for roles in a production for Jin Yong's novel "The Legend of Condor Heroes." At first she wanted to audition as the lead role,
Wong Yung, but then she decided that it didn't matter what role she got because she was happy just to act. "Wong Yung" was acted by Barbara Yung in the classic
1982 version. Barbara's portrayal is well-loved and remains a favorite "Wong Yung" in the hearts of many. Athena Chu took on the role in the 1994 version.
Eventually, Ah Yat was casted as the role of the "crazy lady."
Sugar says that she's no longer a soccer fan and that she doesn't care much for Beckham. She says that she would rather stay at home and watch
basketball because her new idol is Yao Ming. Yao Ming is a rising and popular Chinese basketball star. He plays for the NBA Houston Rockets team. He is especially
popular among Asians because he's bringing honor by being a rare Chinese player on a professional NBA team. Beckham is the international soccer star, David
Beckham (who is also constantly referred to whenever the series talks about soccer).
When Ah Hong confesses his love for her, Ah Yat lists names of heroes from several Jin Yong's stories and says that she can like any of them
besides Lam Ping Chi. She doesn't like men who are half masculine and half feminine. Lam Ping Chi is a character in Jin Yong's "State of Divinity" ("The Smiling Proud
Wanderer") novel who sacrificed his manhood to learn a powerful kung fu.
Ah Yat says that she is doing so well in "The Legend of Condor Heroes" production that the producer promised her a role in the next remake
of "Return of Condor Heroes." Ah Hong is worried because this means that she will have some scenes with Ko Tin Lok because he's such a playboy and a flirt. Ah Yat
tells him not to worry because it's all an act and that Ko Tin Lok is actually gay. "Return of Condor Heroes" is the sequel story to "The Legend of Condor Heroes" and
usually if one is remade, the other is not far behind. Ko Tin Lok is a tease on Louis Koo Tin Lok; the writers changed his name from 'koo' (antique) to 'ko' (high/tall).
The surname change was most likely due to the writers fearing a lawsuit from Louis for slander and perhaps because Ah Hong's last name is 'Ko.' Louis's role
as "Yeung Gwoh" in the 1995 remake of "Return of Condor Heroes" propelled his career into a big star and he and Carmen Lee are remembered and loved as "Yeung
Gwoh" and "Siu Lung Lui." As for the gay joke, they are making fun of the rumors that Louis is gay.
When the power goes out of the house, everyone rushes to the rooftop to fix it. When it comes back on, Ah Yat happily declares that she's going
downstairs to watch "Juk Sai Ching Jan." This is a plug for "Seed of Hope," which had aired after "VOH II" at the time.
In an episode where Joey enters a fashion designing contest, everyone is sure that she would win and hold a party for her. However, she loses and
only makes it as a finalist. Nevertheless, she is still "happy" and walks around graciously and smiling as if she was the winner and thanks everyone for their support.
The background music used in this segment is the theme for "Miss Hong Kong" and Joey's lines and movements were imitating those of a Miss Hong Kong winner. In
her "speech," Joey says she's happy to have made it as a finalist, winning is not as important as the battle, the experience is most important, and promises to use all
that she has learned to improve her designs and make a good name for Hong Kong.
Joey is teased for being chubby. This is a reference to the fact that some people think that Bernice Liu is overweight.
7th sister watches the 2000 TVB series "Colourful Life" on TV. However, the storyline is completely changed and the lines are dubbed. The scene
that is shown is the part where Frankie Lam's character leaves for the capital to take the imperial test to become an official. Annie Man's character chases after the
boat to bid farewell to him because she had finally developed feelings for him. This scene is changed to being the "grand finale" and the situation is also changed.
The "version" that 7th sister and Joey watch has Frankie's character leaving because Annie's character kept repudiating him and his love.
7th sister says to Wong Sheung that his daughter is prettier than a Miss Hong Kong. Bernice Liu defeated MHK 2000 Vivian Lau for the crown of Miss
Chinese International.
In episode 136, Lam Sin walks into his house to see his wife watching a show on TV. On the screen is a group of women playing mah- jong. The
footage is from an early part in "Virtues of Harmony I" in which Bernice Liu engages in a mah-jong game for the first time ever.
The 1980 series "The Shell Game" is spoofed in a flashback that depicts Lam Sin as the "Mah-jong God."
Yuk Gong sings the themesong to the 1980 series "The Bund."
Gam had the ringtone of the themesong for "Virtues of Harmony II" for his cell phone.
"Coco" refers to the pop singer Coco Lee.
11th brother and Ah Yat dress up as Hui Man Keung and Fung Ching Ching from the 1980 series "The Bund" and ask whether TVB is planning on
shooting a remake for 2004. A famous background music piece from the series is played during the scene.
Sa Sa threatens Ah Yat by putting feminine medicine in Ah Hong's food and drink. She says, "In a few days Ah Hong will be a complete girl and you
can take him to Thailand to become a drag." One of the attractions of Thailand is its drag queens and their shows.
Ah Yuet watches a late-night re-run of an episode of the series "War of Genders." In this particular episode, Dayo Wong and Dodo Cheng share a
kiss.
During the episodes where Ah Yat, 11th brother, and co-stars were afraid of getting fired by TVB, at that time, in actuality there was a big scare
going around TVB artists about being getting sacked.
Ah Yat is accused of wanting to go to the "TV station next door" and trying to fit their image of a modern "Wong Chiu Gwan." The "TV station next door" refers to
TVB's rival, (the other TV station in Hong Kong) ATV. "Wong Chiu Gwan" is one of the historical "Four Great Beauties" of China. She was famous for playing the
ancient Chinese guitar. The story with her is that she was given away as a "political marriage." She was lovely and talented, but because she refused to bribe the
court artist, the emperor never discovered her. The emperor didn't realize he had such a beautiful wife until the day she set to go off and marry beyond the Great
Wall of China. Unfortunately, it was too late and she sadly died in the distant barbarous land.
In one episode, the producer tells Ah Yat that "Sister Yin Hang" cannot make it to the costume fitting, so she is given her role instead. Ah Yat praises Yin Hang for
being responsible and talented. "Yin Hang" refers to Joyce Chen (Chen Yin Hang) herself.
In episode 166, the series that Ah Yat was filming for is called "Dong Ha Foo Cho Bo Do Gon Sui Si." This is a spoof at TVB's 2003 teen
series, "Hearts of Fencing"'s Chinese title "Dong Sei Yip Cho Pung Seung Gim Jim Si." Instead of being a series about a group of male fencing members, it is about a
group of female karate students. Nevertheless, it is still also about a group of teens.
11th brother's hit movie "Kill John" is a parody on the American movie "Kill Bill" (Vol. 1).
Ah Nin is said to be very handsome and looks exactly like (Frankie) Lam Man Lung.
The 1984 series "The Foundation" starring Michael Miu Kiu Wai, Felix Wong, and Barbara Yung is shown on television in the episodes where Ah Nin and Ah Yuet have
their brotherly duo. "The Foundation" was a series about brotherly relationships and how one set of brothers fought for a dynasty.
The fight between Ah Nin and Ah Yuet is compared to the Chor-Hon War. The Chor-Hon War was fought between two sworn brothers over domination of China. The
Chor-Hon War can be seen in the 2004 series "The Conqueror's Story."
When the grandchildren of the Kams' great aunt comes to visit, they see Ah Yuet and shout, "(Michael) Tse Tin Wah?!" Ah Yuet laughs and is
flattered, but then they said "No, he is the gay version of Tse Tin Wah!"
In episode 188, Ah Yuet comments that his father (Kam Wah) looks exactly like (Andy) Lau Tak Wah when he was younger and that is mother (Nim
Chi) was as pretty as one of the "7 Princesses." Nancy Sit was indeed part of the "7 Princesses" in the 1970s!
Ah Yuet says that all of his friends these days are busy flying like Sam and Issac. "Sam" is Francis Ng's character while "Issac" is Ron Ng in the
airplane-based drama, "Triumph In The Skies."
Gam mimicks the American movie "The Ring" when he pretends to be the ghost of his sister, Law Bing. Like in the movie, he "crawls" out of a TV
set and gives Nim Chi and Sa Sa a scare!
In episode 189, the line that Kam Wah sings when he proposes to Nim Chi is from a song sung by Law Ka Ying.
Ah Mei says that a baby's crying is scarier than the "Six Finger Demon."
When everyone finds out that Ah Yat and Ah Hong have been secretly dating, they think that everyone is going to freak out and be nosy and ask them questions. On the contrary, no one seems interested! This stuns Ah Yat and Ah Hong. Ah Yat asks Nim Chi if she's not afraid that she and Ah Hong would run off to Las Vegas and get married. Nim Chi scoffs that Ah Yat doesn't have a US VISA, so she has nothing to worry about. Ah Yat's question is derived from Britney Spears's infamous Las Vegas wedding to Jason Alexander in January 2004. The episode was aired in February, so it was most likely filmed during the Britney's wedding scandal. Supposedly, Britney had gotten drunk and married on a whim. She got her wedding annuled the morning after.
The mask that Kiu wears when she pretends to be a ghost to scare 11th brother is a famous one from the American thriller movie, "Scream." In this movie, someone dresses up in the same mask and outfit that Kiu wore and evokes chills.
Dai Chuen and 11th brother travel to Apliu Street and they comment that you can buy all sorts of gadgets and "unusual" items there. The 2004 series "Hidden Treasures" with Bobby Au-yeung, Sonija Kwok, and Anne Heung is based on this famous "Apliu Street" in Hong Kong.
Ah Yat comments in one episode that she can't talk for long because she wants to see "Life Begins At Forty," which was the TVB drama that aired at the time the episode was being filmed.
The Kams end up trapped in Ah Hong and 11th brother's bedroom because they want to see the "family" bird. "Ka yin," which is the name of the bird, sounds like Nancy Sit's name "Ka Yin."
When Gam is looking for someone to play an extremely ugly "extra" role, Nim Chi refutes his offer and says she's "pretty like (Nancy) Sit Ka Yin."
During Sa's entaglement in TVB as an actress, the series they were filming was a title-spoof on 2001's "Gods of Honour"
NEW!!!
In the episode where Kei Sam thought that she was pregnant again, she says she wants to have a baby that looks like "(Louis) Koo Tin Lok."
NEW!!!
Ah Lo was pissed that Ah Yuet (and his family) could be so happy with out her (she was forced to go back home to care for her mother while she was supposedly "pregnant" again), so she took her mother back to the Kams' home to live with them. Ah Yuet pleads her to take her back to her house, but Ah Lo resists and says she's like "Ng Sam Gwai," letting the foreigner invade their house. Ng Sam Gwai is the historical figure who betrayed the Ming dynasty (and his people) and opened the capital doors fo the Manchurians to invade.
Gam asks Ah Mei, "Do you look like (Myolie) Wu Hang Yee or (Flora) Chan Wai Shan? No, right? Then how do you expect to marry a pilot?" Later,
Gwai appears in front of Ah Mei as a pilot and she squeals, "(Francis) Ng Chun Yu?" He's perplexed and comments, "(Francis) Ng Chun Yu? Don't I look like (Joe) Ma
Tak Chung instead?" All lines are in direct reference to hit TVB 2003 anniversary series, "Triumph In The Skies."
Ah Mei walks home and sees wedding props and the costume matchmaking series, "Better Halves" on the TV.
When confronted with Gwai, "Gai Dai Foon Siu" comes on and he comments how good and funny it is, Ah Mei refutes and argues that it's "nonsensical
and uneducation" and that she hates it. This line was tease at the criticism that "VOH" generally receives.
NEW!!!
Ah Sing's singing voice is praised and is claimed to sound like Andy Lau and Leon Lai. Hawick Lau was (is) in fact a singer and many people praised his voice after hearing him sing in the 2005 series "My Family." Hawick released several albums in the past and he also sang on the VOH soundtrack, but, sadly, his singing career never took off.
NEW!!!
The karaoke version to the "Virtues of Harmony I" themesong was seen in an episode where the characters visited a karaoke bar. Gam even sings the beginning verses of the familiar ancient themesong! Continuing with the "Gai Dai Foon Siu" joke, the karaoke was said to be from "Gai Dai Foon Siu."
NEW!!!
Ah Sing is said to look like a young version of Damian Lau.
Nim Chi gets into a stick-up and ends up twist her ankle. Ah Sing has to carry her to the hospital and she says "I'm too heavy." Ah Sing reassures
her that he "works out" so he can carry her. Hawick Lau was a spokesperson for a gym.
When Sa Sa is pondering about why 11th brother doesn't like her, she looks into her mirror and says, "My eyes are like (Sonija) Kwok Sin Nei's,
my nose is like (Charmaine) Sheh Sze Man's, and my mouth is exactly like (Maggie) Cheung Ho Yee's. Put together I'm identical to (Kingdom) Yuen King Dan." A
direct reference to her actress.
In episode 261 when Ah Yat asks Nim Chi to partake in a plot devised by Ah Yuet and the others, she says "In the past an agent said I looked like
(Nancy) Sit Ka Yin and asked me if I wanted to enter the entertainment business when I was 18." In fact, Nancy Sit did enter acting when she was 18.
Ah Wong falls for Ah Lam after he catches sight of her swimming. Although Ah Lam's character likes to swim, Linda Chung doesn't know how to
swim! When it was required of her to film swimming scenes, she stayed in the shallow ends and it seems the person Ah Wong saw swimming that day wasn't Ah Lam
(just like the second time he goes to see her and brings Gam and Ah Sing with him) but a replacement for Linda.
Nim Chi is a big fan of the "Armed Reaction" series because she can relate to it since she was a policewoman in the past. They often mention the
series and even put an advertisement for "Armed Reaction IV" when it was airing. Ah Lam purchased the VCD set for "Armed Reaction I" in one episode.
In episode 271, Ah Hong goes to get a tan so that he will be "manlier" but ends up with the work "jaam" (execute) on his cheek. Kids laugh at him
and says he looks like (Adam) Cheung Siu Chow's Yuman Fung (from 2004's "Blade Heart"). Ah Hong is confused and wonders why they don't say he looks like
(Louis) Koo Tin Lok instead. In the series "Blade Heart," Adam Cheng (and eventually Raymond Lam) has the word "execute" on his cheek.
GiGi says her greatest wish is to win "Miss Hong Kong." In actuality, Josephine Shum came from the MHK pageant. She was a failed MHK 2000
contestant and although she didn't make it into the Semi-Finals, she did win the "Media's Favorite" award.
In order to scare Jiu Choi away, the Kams pretend to be possessed by the ghosts of characters from 1980's hit "Yesterday's Glitters." Jiu Choi sees
the series on TV and comments that his grandfather used to rent it a lot and exclaims how good it is.
Nim Chi devises a plot to get rid of Jiu Choi's chainsaw based on the series "The Romantic Swordsman." The story tells of an infamous fighter
known as "Siu Lei Fei Do" who was very powerful because of his small dagger.
Ah Yat gets a chance to go to the Amazon to film a series. Gam gives her a volleyball so that if she gets lost, she won't be bored. This is a
reference to the American movie starring Tom Hanks, "Castaway" in which he gets stranded on an island and his ball is his only companion that keeps him sane.
Gam and Gei go see the movie "2046" and he comments "And I thought we would have to wait until 2046 before we could see this movie." "2046"
is an actual Hong Kong movie that was filmed, re-filmed, and editted many times since 1999 before it's final release in 2004. The director, Wong Kar Wai, is a
perfectionist and wasn't happy with the production, so he kept refilming it. Many people in Hong Kong joked that the director was waiting until 2046 to release the
movie.
Nim Chi criticizes Gam's friends as being "bad" and urges him to get better friends. He says, "I would like to be best friends with (Nancy) Sit Ka Yin
too, but how can I meet her?" Nancy Sit has a really good motherly image in Hong Kong.
In a dream during episode 296, Nim Chi imagines herself to be Lui Sei Leung and Ng Sau as Emperor Yung Ching (Yong Zheng). Lui Sei Leung
hated the Ching (Qing) emperor and wanted more than anything to kill him so that her Ming dynasty could be restored and China brought back into the hands of the
Chinese Hans. TVB's 2003 series "King of Yesterday and Tomorrow" touched on this issue with Kwong Wah as Emperor Yung Ching and Maggie Cheung Ho Yee as Lui
Sei Leung.
Ah Yuet's new image designed by Gam in episode 303 is of course designed from TVB's 1980 hit "The Bund I." His new look is Chow Yun Fat's "Hui
Man Keung" character with the suit, scarf, and hat. Gam even plays the instrumental version of the show's themesong. Ah Yat thinks that her brother is trying to be
like Ray Lui's "Ding Lik" while Sa suspects it's the image of "Jeung Cheung Gwai" instead. Gam asks why their guesses are getting cheaper. Ding Lik and Jeung
Cheung Gwai are supporting characters to the male lead, Hui Man Keung.
11th brother receives a veteran appreciation award for being in the entertainment industry since the 1970s. Like his character, Lee Kwok Lun has
been acting for 30 years!
Sa Sa asks 11th brother why he turned down a series from TVB called "Yat Tai Leung Faw Sam Gor Po." This title is a spoof at "A Handful of Love"'s
Cantonese title, "Yat Uk Leung Ga Sam Sing Yan."
The favorite series of Sa Sa is "Gai Dai Foon Siu" because (Nancy) Sit Ka Yin leads the cast.
The thought-to-be affair of Gam and Kei Sam is linked with the story of Poon Kam Lin (Pan Jinlian) and Sai Moon Hing's fictional love affair. Poon
Kam Lin is a very controversial woman in Chinese literature because of her flirtatious nature and adulterous affair in a time where Chinese women were supposed to
be reserved and conservative, accepting their fate. She had great beauty and was wedded to a dwarf. She was terribly unhappy and had an affair with Sai Moon Hing,
a handsome and wealthy man. This led to the murder of her husband and her own execution for her adulterous crime. The views of Kei Sam are similar to others who
examine the story from Poon Kam Lin's perspective. Gigi Lai plays the modern reincarnation of Poon Kam Lin in TVB's 2005 series "Shades of Truth."
In episode 315, Ah Lam is afraid that her uncle has suffered from a heat stroke after playing basketball with Nim Chi for an hour. In real life, Nancy
Sit really did suffer from a heat stroke due to the intensive heat of Hong Kong during filming that day, including the filming of that particular basketball scene!
"Blade Heart" is once again made reference to in episode 322. Kiu writes the word "lose" on Dai Chuen's left cheek as opposed to the "execute" on
Adam Cheng and Raymond Lam's cheeks in "Blade Heart." However, it appears that the bronze metal mask that 11th brother loaned Dai Chuen may have been an
actual prop from the series.
In episode 323 when everyone is thinking of ways for Dai Chuen to get his wife back, they catch sight of TVB's 1988 series "Looking Back In Anger"
that is airing on the TV. The particular scene is when Ding Wing Sing (Felix Wong) is folding paper stars as a sign of his love. From this scene, they devise a plot for
Dai Chuen to make a bottle of paper stars to offer his wife and wishes of luck for Kiu, just as Ding Wing Sing had done in "Looking Back In Anger." Also worthy of
note is that paper stars and folding them became popular after viewers watched "Looking Back In Anger."
Chan Jeuk See tells his daughter, "You should watch quality-programming with intelligence like "ER." Stop watching that ridiculous and
uneducational show "Gai Dai Foon Siu" that airs on TVB." "ER" is an American series about the work and lives of a group of emergency room doctors in a hospital. It
has been running for 10 years and still going and is a critically acclaimed drama. Again, the writers are poking fun at their own series with this line.
The "chipao" (Chinese dress) that Ah Yat wears during the "Goodbye Yuen Ling Yuk" competition was made for the 2004 series "Riches and
Stitches." The series was primarily about the "chipao" and how it came about and became so popular. The specific dress that Ah Yat had on was first adorned by
Eileen Yeow.
"Goodbye Yuen Ling Yuk" is supposedly a memorial movie for the 1930's silent movie actress, Yuen Ling Yuk (Ruan Lingyu). Despite the glamour
and fame she received, she led a really tragic life. Her two lovers were unfaithful to her and the press was harsh towards her. She couldn't take it anymore and
committed suicide in 1935. In 1991, Maggie Cheung Man Yuk acted as Yuen Ling Yuk in a biographical movie dedicated to her life known as "Center Stage."
Ah Wong mentions that Dai Chuen and Kiu tease him for being Mo Dai Long and that he sells hot cakes after the secret is exposed that he is
actually short and stuffs his shoes. Mo Dai Long is the dwarf that Poon Kam Lin was married to and he sold hot cakes for a living.
The series "Love Story in Bali" that Ah Yat and 11th brother was filming in episodes 336 and discussing in episode 335 seem to be a reference to
the Korean drama "What Happened In Bali."
The series "04 Yi Tin" in episode 335 is a remake of Jin Yong's novel "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre" (Yi Tin Do Lung Kei).
In episode 340, Gam mentions comments that Ah Sing resembles Lau Dan. Hawick Lau is actually his son in real life!
Ah Sing's wife "Princess Fiona" is perhaps a name reference to the "Princess Fiona" in the American movies "Shrek" I & II. The fact that Ah
Sing marries a "princess" might be a tease at Hawick Lau's rumored romance with "Princess" Bernice Liu. Ever since "Virtues of Harmony I," Bernice has gained the
nickname of "Princess" in Hong Kong. Although Hawick and Bernice both deny such a relationship, the press continues to accuse them of dating. Even the "Virtues"
casts tease the two of them about this issue, so it wouldn't be a surprise if in fact the reason why Ah Sing married a "princess" is an inside joke.
For most of episode 340, TVB's 1988 anniversary series "Yi Bat Yung Ching" (Looking Back In Anger) was heavily promoted and discussed. In fact
practically the entire episode was filmed as a spoof based on that series. Ah Sing was looking for ways to get his family to hate him and a reason to leave them. Ah
Lam loans him the VCD set for "Looking Back In Anger" and tells him if he wants to learn how to be evil, then he should watch that. Ah Sing follows the storylines
shown in the series and the particular scenes that his schemes were based on were shown as well. These scenes included the tragic scenes of Deric Wan pushing a
pregnant Maggie Siu off a train, his killing of the lady who raised him after his birthmother died, and even poisoning his entire family, including his brother Felix Wong.
When Ah Sing was going to compete in a basketball competition against his father-in-law in episode 342, Nim Chi wants to help him. Sa pulls her
away and warns that she might get a sunstroke and urges her to sit by the side and watch. This is a reference to Nancy Sit's basketball scene with Albert Lo in
episode 316 in which she suffers from a sunstroke after filming that scene.
For many episodes, in the background of almost ever setting of "VOH," there was a poster advertising 912. Finally in episode 345, it is revealed that
912 is actually advertising for a prominent election on September 12, 2004. That date marks the Hong Kong Legislative Council Election. For several minutes, the cast
stressed how important voting is and urged everyone to go vote. Ah Yuet, Ah Lo, Gam, and Sa Sa even explained in detail how to vote. Ah Yat says she has to work
and can't vote that day. Gam scolds her to not use any excuses because the polls are opened everywhere and at very accommodable times for the public. The show
declares that voting is a responsibility of every citizen and that they must be smart in choosing who to vote for. They also gave out the number to dial in case
someone knows of any corruption issue in regards to the election and people's votes and stated what corruption is and its grave effects. It's not likely that the
government paid "VOH" to advertise for it, so most likely the cast and crew is doing the advertisement on their own goodwill as good citizens to get people to vote.
This particular episode aired in Hong Kong a few days before the 9/12 election. Interestingly, this particular election had the largest voter turnout in the history of
elections in Hong Kong. I dare not imply that "VOH" had such a big influence, but perhaps its advertisement(s) for the election had some effect.
Ng Sau comments that Ah Sing's story with Princess Fiona about being stuck on an island together with only a volleyball to save them and prove
their love is similar to the premise of the American movie "Castaway" starring Tom Hanks.
Ah Yuet says that he purposely went home early to have time to vote. Lam Sin asks, "What election? The Miss Hong Kong Pageant is over already!"
Miss Hong Kong 2004 took place weeks ago with Kate Tsui as the new crowned MHK winner.
11th brother has two dreams after suspecting that Sa Sa wants to rape him and "steal his seeds" to have a child. The initial dream symbolized his fear of Sa Sa's "evil plan"; in this dream, he's an ancient scholar and Sa Sa is a ghost in a wedding dress about to get married the next day. She sucks the life out of 11th brother. In the dream following this, Sa Sa comes to get a kung-fu booklet from 11th brother, but discovers that he's no longer "manly" and praticed some feminine martial arts! These dreams spoof a movie called "A Chinese Ghost Story" starring Leslie Cheung and Joey Wong. In the movie, Leslie plays a taxcollector who meets Joey, a ghost who sucks up men's life force. There's also a scene where Leslie attempts to lure out Joey so that a priest could catch her, which is similar to a scene in the dream.
Sa Sa teases Wong Sheung by saying that 20 years ago he resembled "(Hawick) Lau Hoi Wai," but now he looks like "Lau Dan."
Suki says that her acting is as good as (Cecilia) Cheung Bak Chi's. Cecilia Cheung is a very popular and successful HK movie star. She won
the "Best New Actor/Actress" award in 1999 and took home "Best Actress" award in 2004.
Gam hums the "Miss Hong Kong Pageant" themesong after Sa Sa's make-over and declares that she's as beautiful as a Ms. HK.
The song that Ah Yuet sings to Ah Lo upon the request of Fa Kei Sam in episode 358 is the main themesong to 2004 TVB series, "To Catch The
Uncatchable," originally sung and written by Dayo Wong.
Fa Kei Sam criticizes her daughter by saying that Ah Lo is not as pretty as "Ka Yan," so she shouldn't try to overestimate her capabilites. The
person she was talking about is 1988 Miss Hong Kong Pageant winner, Michele Reis (Lee Ka Yan). She is the only Miss Hong Kong along with Sonija Kwok to win both
the Miss Hong Kong and Miss Chinese International pageants. Michele is acclaimed by many as the best Miss HK and one of the most beautiful woman in the world.
Incidentally, Linda Chung's name is also "Ka Yan."
Ah Lo threatens Man Gwai Fei with her pregnancy. In Hong Kong, it's against the law for an employer to fire a pregnant employee. Pregnant
employees are given special privileges and treatment.
The "Hello Mimi Land" that Ah Yuet and Ah Lo wanted to sign their child up for in episode 362 is a spoof on the HK Disneyworld that will be opened
in 2005 or 2006.
During the time where Ah Yuet has to suck up to Man Gwai Fei to keep his job, she walks like a royal concubine and he bends down and escorts her
by the hand. This is a reference to Man Gwai Fei's name, "gwai fei," which sounds like "royal concubine."
Gam dreams that he loses his manliness in episode 371. The ancient dream features three feminine men called Ngwoh Buk Kwan, Lam Ping Chi,
and Dung Fong Bat Pai. They are characters from Jin Yong's novel, "Siu Ngo Gong Woo." The story has been remade by TVB in 1984 with the English title "Smiling
Proud Wanderer" starring Chow Yun Fat, Rebecca Chan, and Jamie Chik and the 1996 version entitled "State of Divinity" stars Jackie Liu, Fiona Leung, and Cherrie
Chan. The reason the men are feminine is because they sacrificed their manhoods to master a special type of martial arts.
Wong Sheung is dared by his friends to finish watching a 50 1-hour episode series. They are skeptical because it's so long and doubts he will finish
it. The series turns out to be "Gai Dai Foon Siu." This is a spoof at the people who think that "Virtues" is too long and makes fun of others by saying that they'll never
finish the show.
The bra that Ah Lam bought in episode 374 is called "juet sai ho bra," meaning the greatest bra. This name is a reference to the 2001 HK movie "La
Brassiere" (Juet Sai Ho Bra) starring Louis Koo, Sean Lau, Carina Lau, and Gigi Leung. The plot of the movie is to create the ultimate bra, which is the bra that Ah
Lam purchased.
The series "Hak Chut Yue Bak" that Ah Yat and 11th brother were promoting in episode 374 and that 11th brother was praised for his acting for in
episode 377 is a spoorf on the 2004 TVB series, "Shine On You" with Kenix Kwok, Michael Tao, and Bobby Au-Yeung. The Chinese title for "Shine" is "Ching Chut Yue
Lam." The original title means "from blue grows green" (a saying that students will be better than their teachers) while "Virtues" pokes fun of the title and makes
it "from white grows black." A spoofed poster on "Shine" can be seen in episode 374 during the function for "Hak Chut Yue Bak." Lee Kwok Lun also starred in "Shine"
as Kenix Kwok's husband, the father of Roy Chow, who died from leukemia.
The movie that 11th brother and Ching Yan go to see is an actual movie. The 2004 movie is called "Three ... Extreme" and is composed of three
different movies directed by different countries called "Cut", "Box," and "Dumpling." The segment that is of most interest in regards to the movie that 11th brother
and Ching Yan saw is "Dumpling - Three Extremes" produced by Hong Kong and stars Tony Leung, Miriam Yeung, and Bai Ling. It is a horror movie displaying the
extent that people will go to to retain youth and beauty. In the movie, Bai Ling is a woman who makes dumplings from aborted human fetuses taken from mainland
China. Miriam Yeung eats the dumpling because she is afraid of aging and wants to retain her youth and beauty. 11th brother can't get dumplings after watching the
movie and he even mistakens Ching Yan for wanting to eat dumplings made of human fetuses after she feels a pregnant woman's stomach and hears that it is 5-
months old. In the movie, a 5-month old fetus is supposedly the most effective and beneficial fetus to eat.
Gam says that although he is "H5N1," he pleads that he hasn't done any wrong because chickens are healthy and people can still eat them these
days. This is a reference to his nickname, given by Ah Yat in episode 2. "H5N1" is the chemical formula for a deadly bird virus. The Chinese name for this disease
sounds like his name (Lau Gam), so that is why Ah Yat gave him the nickname.
The Indian person shown in episode 380 that buys Ying Gei's curry complains that the meal is not like that of his native country's. Indian curry is
much different from Chinese curry.
The girl whose funeral that Gam and Ying Gei go to in episode 381 died from watching "Gai Dai Foon Siu." Gam says that "She watched "Gai Dai
Foon Siu" and didn't think it was funny at all. She thought it was ridiculous and had cheap humor. She couldn't stop complaining at how horrible it was and laughed to
her death." This reference pokes fun at "Virtues" by acknowleding the complaints and ridicules against the show.
Man Gwai Fei is part of the "Four Ghosts," a spoof at the "Four Beauties" of "Virtues"'s ancient version. Gwai Fei's group consists of young, beautiful
women who use their beauty to seduce men and ruin families. They take pride in marrying numerous times, breaking up families, and causing men to have affairs.
The fashion employees contest discussed in episode 382 is a spoof on the Olympic. Like the Olympics, it takes place every 4 years and only the
best employees of each fashion position get to attend and compete. Gam dreams that he wins the award and receives a gold medal and a wreath, signature of the
Greek wreath that were awarded to the winners at the summer Olympics 2004 because it took place in Athens, Greece. They even raised the flags of the companies,
had the winners stand on podiums, and Gam runs around with the "Ka Yan" flag, reminiscent of the Olympics.
Man Gwai Fei is bored and doesn't know where to go or what to do. She's at the movies and the emplyee introduces her to the movie "4026." Gwai
Fei complains that she has already seen it already. The movie is a spoof at the 2004 movie, "2046" starring Tony Leung, Gong Li, Faye Wong, Zhang Ziyi, and Maggie
Cheung Man Yuk. The poster for "4026" is a modified version of the actual poster for "2046." "Virtues" blurs the image and rearranges the title to read "4026" instead
of "2046."
In episode 391, Ah San tells Ah Lam that he rode a horse when he was still rich. The name of the horse is the same name of the lovable horse that
Steven Ma had in the 2000 TVB series "On The Track Or Off," which also stars Ada Choi, Bondy Chiu, and Frankie Lam, which was about horse racing.
In episode 394, the Chinese title for 2004 TVB anniversary series "The Conquerer's Story," which stars Adam Cheng, Kwong Wah, Maggie Cheung,
and Melissa Ng, is spoofed. The original "Chor Hon Ju Hung" title means "proud heroes of Chor and Hon." The "ju hung" words are replaced with "ju hung," which
sounds like the original two words, but has a totally different meaning. The spoofed title means "coagulated pigs blood of Chor and Hon." "The Conquerer's Story" was
airing when the time this episode was first aired in Hong Kong. Another thing to note is that "Virtues" stated that the series has 40 episodes and aired after "Gai Dai
Foon Siu." In actuality, "The Conquerer's Story" aired before "Virtues" at 8:00 PM and had only 30 episodes.
The spoofed title for the hit, grand production 2004 TVB series "War and Beauty" is "Cho Jee Dai Yip." The original Chinese title of "War and
Beauty" is "Kam Chi Yuk Yip" which can be translated to mean "palatial sins," but it sounds like another "kam chi yuk yip" (golden branch jade leaves), which is a
reference to rich people. "Virtues" was spoofing the latter for the double-meaning "War and Beauty" title. "Cho jee dai yip" means "thick stems big leaves." It might
also be a pun to refer to someone who is big and clumsy, which would be a total ridicule on the proper beauties and royalists of "War and Beauty."
In episode 395, Ah Yat says she was cut from working on the sequel to "Cho Jee Dai Yip." After the success of "War and Beauty," there have been
a lot of talks about a sequel. Joyce Chen was seen at a promotional event for "War and Beauty" and mistakened for being in the production. Ah Yat is scolded for her
incorrect pronounciation of words in the clip of "Cho Jee Dai Yip." One of the numerous merits for "War and Beauty" is its proper usage of ancient speech and
movements by the casts.
Ah Lo's twin pregnancy is given the nickname "dai tong seung lung" (twin/double dragons of the Tang Dynasty) by Choi Ting Ting. Basically, she
means that Ah Lo's twins would be like the "seung lung" Raymond Lam and Ron Ng from the TVB 2004 series "Twin of Brothers" because they brought her good luck.
Ron Ng and Raymond Lam are dubbed the "twin dragons." These "brothers" always stick together, helping each other out and capable of strong powers when united.
Ah Lam's suitor in episode 398 is nicknamed "Spiderman" because he hanged outside the windows of "Ka Yan" on a rope with a banner declaring
his love for her. "Spiderman" is of course the infamous American super hero from the pages of the Marvel comic books. "Spiderman" was bitten by a spider and
became a fighter for justice, using his web silks to travel rapidly through the air. Unlike the actual "Spiderman" who can hang from buildings with ease due to his
strong spider web silk, the "Spiderman" that pursues Ah Lam uses a mountain rope and nearly falls!
Ah Lam comments that the plot of the "Ka Yan" employees to get her and Ah San back on "good terms" must have been copied from the
nonsensical "Gai Dai Foon Siu" because it is so cliched and predictable.
The game from the magazine that they played in episode 407 is based on the characters from TVB's 2005 series, "Shades of Truth." Gam is Mo Dai
Long, Ah San is Sai Moon Hing, and Ah Yat is Poon Kam Lin. Ah Yuet comments that the series is too violent for pregnant Ah Lo to be reading. Although at the time of
the episode's airing "Shades of Truth" was not yet released, it was an early advertisement for series.
Ah San tells Lily that the chance of winning the lottery is very slim. It's like encountering an alien and going back with him on a spaceship. He'll then
take you back in time to the Ching dynasty where you can meet Lady Yu Fei, become a concubine candidate, and eventually be promoted to "gwai yan" (worthy lady).
The probability is zero. His sentence is a reference to 2004 series "War and Beauty." "Yu fei leung leung" is of course the popular Sheren Tang and "shih lui"
and "gwai yan" are concubine ranks. Charmaine Sheh and Gigi Lai were concubine candidates before being promoted to "Shun Gwai Yan" and "Wah Gwai Yan"
respectively. Maggie Cheung was also in the "gwai yan" rank and called "On Gwai Yan."
Ah San folding a bottle of paper stars for Ah Lam is an idea inspired from the TVB series "Looking Back in Anger."
When Ah San goes to deliever pizza at the Sze mansion, the butler doesn't understand and thinks he says "Liza" and tells him to go to TVB studios
to find her. "Liza" is a reference to the veteran actress, Liza Wang.
Ah Lam doesn't want Ah San to live a useless and meaningless life because he has a lot of talent that she doesn't want to go to the waste. If he
keeps on living the way he does, he will just work day-by-day at "Ka Yan" and go home and watch the ridiculous "Gai Dai Foon Siu" on TV.
Ah Lam relates her situation with Ah San to the romance of Siu Lung Lui and Yeung Guo from Jin Yong's "Return of the Condor Heroes" novel. She
explains that if the two were not separated for 16 years, then Yeung Guo would have become a man who did house chores and took care of his kids. He wouldn't have
been motivated to master his martial arts and become such a powerful hero. Ah San dresses up as Yeung Guo in the dream.
11th brother's friend, Li Lin Ying, from his days of acting school broke into Hollywood with the hit movie "Anna and the Eunuch." His role is a spoof
on Chow Yun Fat. Chow Yun Fat broke into Hollywood and has starred in many hit movies. One of these movies is "The King and I" in which Chow Yun Fat plays the
king. "Anna" is the character name of the lead role in the movie, the main actress who pairs up with Chow Yun Fat.
11th brother's birthday is in November and TVB held a party for him and other stars whose birthday is in November. 11th brother finds it touching
that the company is so thoughtful. TVB really does hold parties each month for all of the respective birthdays of their stars. All of the stars whose birthday is in that
month gathers together and share a cake and party sponsored by TVB.
Sa Sa accidentally blurts out "sup yat gor" (11th brother) and the person tells her that he's not "sup yat gor" but is "sup yat long." "Sup Yat Long" is
the name for the protagonist in Gu Long's novel "Treasure Raiders" (Siu Sup Yat Long). TVB made the novel into the series in 2002 with Felix Wong, Anne Heung,
Maggie Siu, Mark Kwok, and Halina Tam.
In episode 422, 2004 TVB series "Split Second" is spoofed. The signature time and location displayed at the bottom of the screen during "Split
Second" is imitated during the episode because Gam had only 8 hours to find where Foon Foon was. The time stated where Gam was and how many hours he had left
to investigate and search.
TVB's "Journey to the West" could be seen on the TV in episode 423.
Gam not appearing in any of the wedding pictures that he took with Ying Gei is an allusion to TVB 2004 series "To Catch the Uncatchable." Dayo
Wong and Ada Choi were having their wedding pictorials taken, but Dayo died and Ada, adorning a beautiful wedding dress, was alone in the picture. Gam's face (and
body) was always covered up or not in the pictures at all.
Ah Lo wants Foon Foon and Hei Hei to watch "Healing Hands" so that they'll become doctors when they grow up while Nim Chi puts on "Armed
Reaction" in hopes that they will be policemen. "Healing Hands" is TVB's representative medical drama about doctors while "Armed Reaction" is the representative
series about the police, although it focuses more on the female cops!
Nim Chi's ideal man is "Wong Fei Hung" because it is heroic, brave, honest, and righteous. Wong Fei Hung is the legendary kung fu master,
champion of justice, and physician. His name and persona has been immortalized in numerous movies, series, and stories. Incidentally, Bosco Wong's portrayal
of "Wong Fei Hung" in the 2005 TVB series, "Wong Fei Hung - Master of Kung Fu" would air 2 weeks after Nim Chi promoted Wong Fei Hung as her ideal man.
NEW!!!
In episode 431, Ah Yat's friends are named Gigi and Man Lui. The fact that the two were named together implies significance. In this case, it's a subtle reference to the "War and Beauty" actresses, Gigi Lai and Sheren Tang. "Gigi" is of course the English name of "Yuk Ying" Lai Chi while "Man Lui" is the nickname of the "Yu Fei" Tang Shui Man.
Nim Chi is shown dancing in various scenes because Nancy Sit likes to dance and does it as a part of her musical performances.
The fact that Nim Chi values her "widow virginity" title is a reference to her ancient character, who won the award for the town's "widow virgin."
The series that Ah Yat and 11th brother were filming in episode 432 is a title-spoof on the Chinese title, "Tin Ngai Hap Yi," of the 2004 TVB
anniversary series, "The Last Breakthrough" starring Nick Cheung, Sonija Kwok, Raymond Lam, and Leila Tong.
The reason why episode 434 had a lecture against smoking was because the "Tobacco Control Office" for Hong Kong's Department of Health had
paid the show to advertise against smoking! This explains the rather lengthy discussion on why smoking is bad, emphasis on the fact that no one in "Ka Yan" company
smokes, and how all companies should support anti-smoking in the office, just like "Ka Yan" does. The fact that the government is using the show to advertise is quite
a declaration on how popular "Virtues" is and its influence.
Alex Fong Lik Sun is mentioned in episode 435 in several references to swimming. Alex Fong represented Hong Kong at the 2000 Summer Olympic
games in Sydney, Australia. He holds numerous swimming records in Hong Kong.
Ah Yat not knowing how to swim and being scared of water is an ironic comparison/foil to Ah Lam, who is supposedly an "expert" swimmer. Linda
Chung is the one who doesn't know how to swim and has to remain in the shallow ends of the water!
When Gam and Ah Yuet plot to ruin Vivian and Ah San's wedding cake, Ah Yuet suggests that Gam climbs through the vent and crawl down via a
rope and destroy the cake. He says that Gam could be like Tom Cruise, an allusion to the American movie "Mission Impossible."
Everyone discusses how the situation between Ah Lam and Vivian will be solved by imagining how a TV series would end it. Ah Yat says that
because Ah Lam is the admirable "female lead," she will be sacrifice herself and leave. Ah Yuet disagrees and says that the leading role could change and Vivian will
be the bigger person and secretly return to South America. Ah Lo suggests that it could end like a Korean drama. The two make arrangements to meet each other
and the storyline takes an abrupt turn when the two discover that they are actually sisters and got lost when they were young. Kiu agrees with Ah Lo and further adds
that Ah Lam could have cancer in its final stages and Vivian gets into a car accident and loses her memories. Because of this, the two of them get closer and can only
cry. This discussion exams the possible ways for a love triangle to usually end in a series. What's most hilarious is the statement on Korean dramas because usually
they have similar plotlines and conclusions (and the ones that Kiu and Ah Lo states are the most commonly used).
Gam jokes that if Ah San can't make a decision, then he can take the 'Wai Siu Bo' method and marry both girls. This is an allusion to Jin Yong's
final novel "The Duke of Mount Deer." In this story, Wai Siu Bo lives out every man's dream of having numerous wives. Not only does he have more than one
beautiful wife, but seven!
"War and Beauty" is spoofed in episode 442 in a dream. Linda Chung plays Yee Shun (originally acted by Charmaine Sheh), Halina Tam is Yuk Ying
(originally by Gigi Lai), and Steven Ma is acting as Suen Dai Yan (originally played by Bowie Lam). In the dream, Yee Shun and Yuk Ying poison each other out of
their love for Doctor Suen and hate for each other. When he comes into the room, it is too late and they die in his arms. The background music to "War and Beauty"
was played throughout the dream and the costumes worn by the casts are the real ones worn by Charmaine, Gigi, and Bowie, making the spoof seem almost
authentic. In the real story, Yee Shun loves Doctor Suen, but he refuses her and only has eyes for Yuk Ying, who treats him badly but loves him at the same time.
The hit ancient Korean drama "Jewel in the Palace" is bluntly advertised in the "Special" that after the grand finale.
