Sze U Tonight (今晚睇李 note ) is a Hong Kong Late Night Talk Show produced and created by TVB. Hosted by actor and impressionist Johnson Lee (李思捷), the show first aired in early 2015.
The show also has a house band led by Pal Sinn (单立文) called Palwerful Band. Kiu Bobo (喬寶寶) serves as show announcer, and Coco is the resident bartender. There is also a member of staff called Jackie Chen with whom Johnson has an on-going beef.
Each show features two main guests, and a musical guest to close the show. Before the main guest leaves, they are asked to participate in a game. Most episodes also feature at least one sketch.
Sze U Tonight contains examples of:
- And Your Reward Is Clothes: In most episodes, Johnson will give away a prize - usually punny ones relevant to a guest's (nick)name or project they're well known for - to his main guest after completing the game. In a case of Early-Installment Weirdness, the first few episodes saw him give gold-plated prizes.
- Birthday Episode: Johnson recorded one episode the day after his birthday. That episode saw 14 additional guests join the set, and several surprises for him.
- Call-Back: One of the very early episodes saw a skit in which Johnson runs to Tony Hung's house, and steals his TVB award for best host. Around three months later, Tony comes to claim his award back.
- Character Tics:
- Johnson always flings his arm towards the band whenever he makes a joke that gets a Sting, or whenever he wants the band to perform one.
- When Johnson first walks on set, he will almost always have his right hand in his pocket, and his left hand pointing at the audience or the band.
- Chick Magnet: Johnson constantly makes fun of this trope, due to the fact that the Hong Kong paparazzi keep romantically pairing him with female stars.
- Chivalrous Pervert: Johnson and Pal, although this trope is played up more with Pal.
- Comically Missing the Point: This sketch
, which also relies quite a bit on the Fun with Homophones trope. - Continuity Nod: In epiodes 15 and 16, Johnson mentions that the show needs a new studio, and asks any viewers to contact them if they have one large enough to accompany around 200 people. The start of episode 17 sees the show being hosted in a small flat, until they're informed that Studio Four is free for them to use.
- Drinking Game: The games they play often involves the loser(s) having to down shots.
- The Faceless: Jackie Chen always wears a mask that covers his whole head. Lampshaded in one episode, when Johnson goes on a mission to find out if Jackie is male or female, and what he looks like under the mask. Subverted in that Jackie wears a mask underneath his mask.
- Fun with Homophones: The show really loves this trope. For a start, the title counts as one.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Johnson and Pal.
- In one episode, Johnson couldn't attend his good friend Wong Cho Lam's wedding banquet, due to the recording happening at the same time. So Cho Lam and his wife Leanne Li turned up for a drink, and then had to run off for the banquet.
- My Friends... and Zoidberg: One episode ended with a surprise birthday bash for Pal. To celebrate, they were joined by six actresses, Pal's wife Paisley ... and Raymond Cho.
- Named After Somebody Famous: Jackie Chen, anyone?
- Non-Nude Bathing: Jackie Chen bathes in a wetsuit, apparently.
- Not in Front of the Kid: In one episode, Johnson and Pal are playing a quiz against a team of school children. Pal is asked the question "name three of the twelve Chinese Zodiacs". He starts with "Tiger, dragon-" before Johnson covers his mouth, and finishes the question for him. note
- Number Two: Pal.
- The Oner: Used for the start of episode 17, and follows the cast walking through backstage until they reach the TV studio.
- The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Jackie Chen. He has a role in the show's production team but rarely turns up to work, and yet somehow has the backing of TVB's executive chairman.
- Pixellation: Happens in several of the Jackie Chen sketches. Before a colleague allows Johnson to interview him on camera, he requests the use of pixellation. The first time, they pixellate his body; and the second time, Johnson's face is pixellated.
- Punny Name: Palwerful Band.
- Also the main idea behind the school sketch.
- Also the main idea behind the school sketch
- Self-Deprecation: Constantly used by everyone on the show.
- Set Behind the Scenes: The main location for the on-going sub-plot between Johnson and Jackie Chen.
- Sincerest Form of Flattery: In the first episode, Johnson mentions that he is inspired by American talk shows, and that he wants to re-create it for Hong Kong audiences. That said, the show has since developed its own quirks and style.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Johnson.
- Shout-Out: Some of the sketches are straight-up spoofs of other TVB shows.
- Sophisticated as Hell: Johnson.
- Squee: The audience do this in one episode when a blindfolded and handcuffed Johnson kisses another male actor.
- Stealth Pun: Happens in one of Johnson's opening monologues. He explains the show will soon have a new, later time slot by 30 minutes, but reassures his audience that it's not as bad as, say, delaying the show by six months ... and then he really hopes that Mrs Sinn isn't late by six months either.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: The interview between Johnson and his sketch troupe partners, Wong Cho Lam and Louis Yuen.Johnson: Sorry, my EQ's really low tonight-
Cho Lam: It's not just tonight that your EQ's been this low.
