So another Golden Bell is over.

Just as I suspected, an idol will win this year.

And it’s Wilber Pan as best actor for Endless Love.

Too bad Pan Shuai was not at the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall but he left this tearful photo and a message on his Weibo account @潘瑋柏:

昨晚拍了照但來不及謝謝大家 睡前也還是沒法回神 好想在現場 真的謝謝大家的祝福與支持 謝謝我的粉絲 謝謝所有愛無限的朋友 ..thank u thank u thank u dad mom ben i love u! 謝謝所有愛護我的人 今天還是繼續努力工作！

I like Pan Shuai, I think he’s a cool guy. Shuai, OK? And he’s funny. And I bet he works hard just like everyone else does. But I was still surprised that he won.

(This article says Wilber was shocked and one of the first people he called was Rainie. I find this sweet. I like the guy because he never took advantage of her by creating unnecessary scandals when they were doing Miss No Good.)

Anyway, Wilber winning meant Sonia Sui won’t win. Otherwise, there would have been two “idols” winning in this year’s Golden Bell. Well, Sonia isn’t really an idol like in the same category as the other previous winners, but she’s not “serious actress” category either. Too bad, I was rooting for her because I found her really good in The Fierce Wife. Saying that, however, I haven’t watched Tian Xin in Who’s The One  but I was really touched by her speech. You can see how surprised she was and how nervous over her unexpected win. Matilda Tao even came forward to congratulate her.

But the most awkward moment would have to be baldy donkey–OK, I shan’t call you any of that today in deference to your loss although the state of your hairline couldn’t have been more obvious last night–Joseph Chang presenting the best actress award together with Rainie Yang.

Obviously, GBA was gunning for… RATINGS by having the “rumored couple” present together. Pass the barf bag please.

Backstage after the best actor was announced, there was the Most. Awkward. Moment. Ever.

Who was that brilliant reporter who asked Rainie to comfort Joseph for not winning best actor when they got backstage (where they denied the rumors about them—hear that?!). I mean… EQ please. That’s not the way to comfort someone, seriously. Let the guy have his private moment to absorb things. Not with cameras clicking in front of his face. He’ll be comforted all right.

And for those rejoicing that Rainie didn’t “cry” for him the way she did for pig, oh please, get over it. She cried because she knew that pig wanted it so badly more than she did. And between the two of them, the money was on him to win, not on her. And being the team player that she is, she knew that her victory was partly thanks to the pig’s performance. So she did not cry out of anything else but professional obligation. And what’s worse is, he won’t let her forget for the rest of her life that she won the gong because of that drama with him.

But I digress.

Back to an idol a year…

Last year, it was Rainie who won.

I still believe that she deserved the gong more for either Miss No Good or ToGetHer (I still prefer the original title, Superstar Express) than Hi! My Sweetheart. Miss No Good was physical comedy and it was not a joke doing what she did. TGH, on the other hand, was more internal acting and she used her eyes to the maximum there. But well, just like in the Oscars, they won’t let you win for a work so deserving so they reward you another year to make up for it.

And yeah, Rainie winning meant the pig didn’t stand a chance. The one idol a year quota has been reached.

In 2009, the idol who won also created the biggest upset for another idol. Mark Chao, who won for Black & White, over his co-star, Vic Chou.

It was such a major upset that ruined the “brotherly” ties between the two and now I wonder what happened to the movie version that’s been in the making for two years now. Some people claimed that Mark’s win was due to his father Allen’s influence. He was good in B&W but I agree that Vic’s role was more complex. Ah well, one idol goes up the stage, another idol bites the dust. Such is life.

In 2008, Ariel Lin won for They Kiss Again, and her co-star Joe Cheng, kissed her onstage. How showbiz. I mean, how sweet.

Let’s recap the winners of the best actor and best actress since 2008:

2008: Lei Hong (A Place Called Home)/Ariel Lin (They Kiss Again)

2009: Mark Chao (Black & White)/Liu Ruiqi (Marriage of Three Daughters)

2010: Wu Cheng Di (Moonlight of Brotherhood)/Rainie Yang (Hi! My Sweetheart)

2011: Wilber Pan (Endless Love)/Tian Xin (Who’s The One)

Isn’t it interesting that there’s a pattern? Actress, actor, actress, actor. So next year, does this mean an idol actress will get the bell?

This could be a strategy to rope in the fans. Let’s face it, if GBA lets “boring” and “serious” actorswin all the time, no one will bother watch their show so how can they get sponsors? When I say boring or serious, though, I don’t mean that these actors are not good. It’s just that, they don’t have the fame and the pull of idols. The politics and business of entertainment. Suck it.

So just like anything else in life, there will be losers and winners. It doesn’t mean that those who didn’t win are not any good. Awards are still handed out by people with their own biases. It can’t be helped that the bell will toll for someone else.

Until the next gong!

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