I've been watching some old TVB-series now and notice something.

There is always one REALLY bad guy, and one REALLY good guy. You can tell in a splitsecond who's the bad guy.

But nowadays it seems much more grey. The bad guy is more human, there usually is a reason why he/she is so bad. Sometimes, the bad guy might even turns out to be a good guy (and the good guy bad (like in hard fate)).

So which type do you like more? The old theme where it's obvious who's gonna get a bad ending or the newer ones, where you can never be sure.


Actually I like the even newer concepts more. Where there are NO bad guys at all. Like Men's Best Friend, or Triumph In The Skies. It feels much more carefree and lifelike.


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i like the bad guy thats really the good guy. like in net deception u know? where wong hei wasnt really the bad guy but he is. then there's the cop who is the good buy but actually he dunt care about others llike the spy. i hope this dont sound confusing to u but anyways, i like it wen you couldnt figure out who will do wat.

Back in the days all the "bad guys" were all evil villains. They were all of the same type though, greedy and full of vegence. And, as much as I remember enjoying all these classic characters back then, I must say I like today's "bad guys" more.

Like you said, nowadays it seems much more grey. The "bad guy" is often so due to a flawed character, and that just seems more realistic than how the "bad guy" of the older series were portrayed.

I must say too that there are times when I don't need a "bad guy" in a series at all to enjoy it. It's nice to just watch a series for it's loving human interactions instead.

yeah i agree with tuoihong, u don't really need a bad guy to make the show good in every story line.........it jus really differs

but i like this new grey character, because it jus makes things more interesting because sometimes they're good sometimes they're bad......this interchange also changes ur mind and not knowing whether or not they r good or bad......

however, old villian characters were played soo good by actors back then that made such a convincing part in the story.........

I like the bad guy, who become to good guy. Is more interesting.
Because the other one, (Good guy to bad guy) is almost died in the end of the series.
In addition, there are exceptions. It depends on the actor. If the actor can play it really badly, then that is fantastic.
But the best bad guy was "Mr. Ding" in TVB-Series "THE GREED MAN"...

Well, having a good and bad guy is one of the main characteristics of a melodrama. Melodrama can be frowned upon by the intelligent community, but it sure attracts mass audiences. For years, Brazil have used this concept to operate in their telenovellas (Brazillian counterpart of TVB series, but much more successful and internationally recognized). It's not very realistic, melodrama concepts, but it makes you want to see, and it heightens the drama, creating more anticipations. Taking away this concept of melodrama is taking away a huge chunk out of a good TV show that usually aims at stay-at-home mothers/"see lai," seniors, and children.

These TVB series have become incredibly contradictory. On the one hand TVB toned down the good vs. bad plot, on the other, they created these ridiculous romances that are probably not realistic, or even if the romances are real, it's overused, and the situations are so scripted, not sincere.

I still prefer the old-fashioned "good vs. bad" guy like we often see in the 80s and early 90s. I don't want to watch real situations when I am living in one, I want to see more drama that are done with class and skill like TVB series always did before they began to mass produced everything.

well, i dont like the olden days ones, wher you can tell who's bad and who's right away..
i like Summer Heats theme of villian..where it was suspenseful and everyone was suspected..

i dont really like wen u kno hoo the villain is rite away either. but the new ways r kinda kool too...like wen u dont kno. i liked how in AOM...i didnt really kno whether stephen was a bad guy or not. but it was great to kno that he wasnt. and i liked the bay guy /good guy thing they did in net deception too. but i agree...the ones like man's best friend and triumph in the skies with NO villains r really good. i enjoyed these two series a lot...2of my favorites. so i guess thats the type i like the most. lol .

whether it's bad guy turned good, or good guy turned bad, i think what's most important is that actor/actress..
depending on how convincing an actor can be will prolly the key factor on whether the series is good or not..
my all time favourite cad guy would be gallen lo, potraying tsui ka lap in COLD BLOOD WARM HEART

hehhe... guess I'm gonna be the only one that like the older version better... I still like the version nowaday but mostly nowaday character, they tend to harm their enemy by did thing behind their back... like this series I just watch, "Dream of Colors".... the girl in there.. she did all this evil thing and no one knew...

I like the bad guy where its more 'grey.' It's more realistic when the bad guy is not entirely bad and the audience can sympathize and pity him. It's just better that way to me, and makes the story much more interesting because you're torn between the characters and the situations.

I like "grey" theme where the viewers cannot tell who is the bad guy and who is good. To me, this theme is more interesting b/c it makes you think more on who's the villain. Besides, I like the element of surprises. One GOOD guy and one BAD guy theme is so predictable. We'll all know that the bad guy gonna died later on anyway.

i like series with conflicting characters....characters who are like always on the edge....u can never really find out whether theyre good or bad until the end...series like ATE have Gallen, Louis, and Sunny who play these rolls....fighting between good and evil

yeh now series seem to have guys who u think that they are the bad guys but at the end they arent bad guys n then u find out theres another bad guy but it keeps us guessing so i like that in a serie

lol, in real life there is never a good or bad, there are only shoulds and wants

I like the way they make the audience guess who the bad guy is. It's more fun that way.

yea...
i enjoy the new "deceptive" bad guys...
it makes the show more realistic....
and much more interesting....

the show actually intrigues u to think...and get involved more...
i like that...

I like the bad guys who are really the deceptive guys, they make the series much more interesting to watch.

i guess i like the grey theme, it gives you the mystery feel at guessing who the bad and who the good guy

^ Agree...it makes me anticipated to watch the series even more although i do prefer both types. =D

Theres more suspense in the Grey theme xD!! A lot entertaining and interesting than the ones who are guessed easily if they are bad or good! And I like to be kept at the edge of my seat figuring it out from time to time!!

I'm actually ok with both (the old-school version of good versus bad as well as the "grey" theme) as long as the actors/actresses who portray them are convincing. To me, it's all about how the character is played by the actor/actress.

I also agree that there doesn't always have to be a villian in a series -- there are alot of great series out there that don't have villians (like the ones mentioned in this forum and alot of the family comedies)....