"Will Power" Review

After skipping the series when it aired in 2013, I recently went back to watch "Will Power" after reading some good reviews.

I originally didn't have an interest in watching "Will Power" because of leads Wayne Lai and Moses Chan, which sounds silly since they are TV Kings. I was tired of seeing Wayne in his usual yelling roles at the time and was never a fan of Moses save for a few enjoyable performances here and there. However, they both deliver superb performances here and anchor the series.

Wayne Lai was finally able to play a character here where he doesn't have to constantly be screaming since being promoted to leading actor. Wilson Yu is a very smart, sharp, and confident lawyer who can command attention in the courtroom while still overall being someone who is calm and mild-mannered (except when it comes to Sheila sometimes anyway), allowing Wayne to be much more at ease here. His personal life, particularly his health, is somewhat of a hot mess in the first third of the series, and he plays a convincing stroke victim before Wilson is able to move past his psychological obstacles and get back into the courtroom.

In pure comedies, Moses Chan easily becomes over the top and annoying (though I do suspect it is mostly under the command of the director and people behind the scenes), and in dramas, he can become boring. However, he excels at roles such as "Morris Lee" where his character gets to be comical, charming, light, and playful, while still showing that he's serious and can get the job done.

However, Wayne and Moses are better together than apart and play off each other very well. They will make you laugh out loud, particularly in the early scenes they share together with their rivalry, even if they do act childish. The banter they engage in later on remains hilarious, perhaps even more so because the audience knows these two lawyers have grown to greatly respect and even like each other despite what they may say. Although the ladies' characters here are a complete disappointment, the mens' behavior because of them or towards them could become pretty darn funny, showing how Wilson and Morris are serious lawyers, but silly and jealous little boys at heart when it comes to the women they love.

Unfortunately, similar praise cannot be said for the female leads. Christine Ng gets to sit and act all judge-like, and Fala Chen gets to box a little, but other than that, they are there mostly to serve as the love interests of our leading men. As a result, they perform adequately but simply do not have much material to work with. There was potential for us to witness Fala's "Eugene" become a better lawyer, but she was later moved to the sidelines. Wayne and Christine look compatible as husband and wife, while I enjoyed Fala and Moses much more as close friends, and thought they looked more like brother and sister when they became a couple.

Jason Chan's acting here remains rather unnatural, but he is helped by having a relatively likable character. Sire Ma does quite well in her street-smart role, but her performance becomes more unstable when "Nana" is raped, going from being strangely calm to overly hysterical from scene to scene.

The MVP award goes to Vincent Wong, whose "Gilbert Sung" may not be the main character, but certainly a central one that moves the story along. In his early days, Vincent always appeared incredibly unnatural when portraying characters who are pompous rich guys, perhaps because it is far away from his real-life personality. Yet, although he slightly overacts at times, Vincent is able to really step into the shoes of Gilbert, an arrogant, immature, pill-popping rapist who got by on his daddy's money. By the end of the series, I became convinced that Vincent was a jerk in real life like his character. Also, kudos to him for yet again taking so many slaps from a veteran like a pro.

The veterans in the series get the job done, as always. Chung King-Fai is convincing in his scenes as a much more manipulative character than he usually plays. However, I couldn't help but notice and be annoyed by scenes where he is watching trials in the background of the courtroom, and how he always wears an angry facial expression that makes him look like he's sucking on a sour lemon. Power Chan is endearing and sympathetic as the autistic but kindhearted "Sung Ka Cheung," but unfortunately does not have too much to do.

As a law drama, "Will Power" fares much better than TVB's last few efforts, and this is despite the fact that Christine, for whatever reason, is the judge on all the cases shown in the series despite being Wayne's ex-wife and Moses' ex-girlfriend. Conflict of interest may not exist in the universe of this series, but the probate cases are surprisingly quite interesting, and I was relieved that while the series incorporates a lot of humorous moments, the courtroom scenes were kept serious.

Overall, "Will Power" is a much more mature series than TVB's usual offerings these days. There's plenty of laughs and chuckles to go around, but there's no fooling around when these lawyers get to work, and thankfully, no overly messy relationships. The main characters here, for the most part, actually act like adults. For once, the scriptwriters decided to avoid a love triangle between the two leads, and the only "love triangle" in the series involves Wayne and Patrick Tang pining over Christine, but the handling of this situation is done decently with no immature fighting.

The series is appropriately paced, funny, and interesting, making this 32-episode drama an entertaining one that takes little effort to finish. The female leads leave much to be desired, but are mostly balanced out by our dynamic male leads. Not bad, TVB. Not bad at all.

Rating: 4 stars

Happy 6th Anniversary, TVB Interaction! What's changed in 6 years...

TVB Interaction turns 6 years old today! Happy 6th Anniversary TVB Interaction! I had first started watching TVB the summer of 2008 and this blog was first created on June 13, 2009. To celebrate 6 years on the web (some years more active than others), I wanted to reflect back on how things have changed with TVB, my relationship with it, and my own life since I first got sucked into the world of TVB. I apologize in advance if it gets more boring going down.

So over the last 6 years, what has changed...

...with TVB?

Oh how I miss that adorable face.

If the TVB fan in me in 2008 saw what it is like now, it would've started screaming "Where is everyone?!" The most obvious change over the last 7 years is the major exodus of artists (and that's an understatement). The young leading actors I saw when first getting into this fandom have since left or look like they're about to do so. Sammul Chan and Raymond Lam were my favorite actors when I first started watching TVB series, and not long after Sammul left, and Raymond started boring me with his idol roles before finally parting ways with the station last year. The familiar faces I came to love and recognize left or significantly reduced their work load with TVB, including Charmaine, Steven, Fala, and soon, Myolie. Now we're seeing TVB trying to take chances and quickly giving newbie actors leading roles as the cast of series get increasingly weaker.

However, a good thing that has happened over the years is that all four of the actors who started out in supporting roles I took a great liking to and pegged as potential stars ultimately became lead actors.

Guys, it's Ruco with a puppy. *dies from the cuteness*

Ruco Chan, who I first noticed in a slew of small semi-villain supporting roles in 2009 such as "The Threshold of a Persona" and "Burning Flame 3" and still remains my favorite, may have meandered in the entertainment industry for a long time before rejoining TVB, but quickly hit the big time starring in 2011's "The Other Truth."

Raymond Wong also experienced a breakthrough after 2009's "Sweetness in the Salt," going on to costar with Ruco in "The Other Truth," a casting move that literally had me jumping for joy when it was first announced.

Edwin Siu quietly returned to TVB in 2008 after a music career cut short and stint in China with likable small supporting roles such as "Ken" in "Forensic Heroes 3" before impressing people with his comedic timing as the adorable "Ah Yap" in 2012's "Daddy Good Deeds."

It is not Vincent, it's Gilbert, the pill-popping, arrogant, rich heir
begging for a shovel to the head (Oh wait that's exactly what he got).

Finally, I first started liking Vincent Wong in 2010's "Gun Metal Grey," more for his affability and likability than his acting skill. By 2012, I noticed how natural he had become in "Tiger Cubs." I was officially sold on the fact that Vincent is a genuinely talented actor who could add subtle touches after 2013's "A Change of Heart" and hoped TVB would promote him more. I recently watched him as a villain in "Will Power" and was impressed and taken aback by how convincing he was as "Gilbert" in contrast to his previous performances as spoiled rich guys where he looked unnatural and uncomfortable. After a second lead role in last year's "Tomorrow is Another Day," Vincent is now also receiving lead roles in upcoming series.

Four actors who I pegged as potential stars that came true! *pats self on back* Louis Cheung also kind of counts, but the audience was smart in seeing his acting talent very quickly and he shot up the ranks to leads in a year due to the current lack of leading actors. Now either my eye is now not working, or there are currently no new actors with a lot of potential...

...with my relationship with TVB?

As we all know, the TVB blogosphere has greatly quieted down. There were still many blogs that emerged after MetalAZNWarrior's TVB Musings signed off the web. Now, you can count the remaining active blogs on one hand, and it's sad. The TVB fandom isn't what it once was. Thankfully, there's still Twitter for those of us who want to share our thoughts on the series we're watching but don't have the time or motivation to write full-length blog posts.

John Cho is too good to be playing the
token Asian guy in your Hollywood movie.

I'm not as into TVB as I used to be, and I don't watch as many series a year as I used to, but I don't think I'll ever completely stop watching their dramas, even if it comes down to watching just one or two a year. First off, as long as my favorite actors are around, I'll be checking out the dramas of theirs that interest me. The second is a sentimental attachment and the connection to Asian culture and community it and this blog gave me. I also like being able to hearing Cantonese (and can understand a whole lot more since 2008).

However, a different reason to appreciate TVB that I've developed in the last few years as I've become more and more into American TV, is being able to see Hong Kong actors play such a wide array of roles. Sure, they can be subject to typecasts, but those typecasts aren't structured by racial stereotypes the way it is in Hollywood where the under representation and misrepresentation is rampant. Just ask Korean American actor John Cho, who has experienced racism in Hollywood, and was asked to do an accent for 2002's "Big Fat Liar" (he refused). There is a reason why some popular Asian actors, such as Taiwan's Mark Chao, have declined opportunities to appear in Hollywood movies. While American TV shows overall tend to have better writing, it's still satisfying to shut off the TV, get on my laptop, and watch Asians killing it in a diverse range of roles (possible since the whole cast is Asian).

...with me?

I'm still here aren't I? Despite the many random and long breaks I take, I have continually returned to blog for TVB Interaction even if it's just to cover the anniversary awards for a month because I still enjoy it. At the beginning of the year, I tried to give myself a quota where I would write a blog post once a month, whether on TVB Interaction or AE Experience, and that lasted for that whole first month. However, I will continue to write (knowing me, probably in spurts of multiple blog posts published closely together and taking year-long breaks) until the day I decide I don't enjoy doing it anymore. For those times in between, I am still on Twitter sharing (and venting) thoughts on TVB matters.

In honor of my reflection on the last 6 years today,
here's a picture I took of the reflecting pool during my senior prom.

I started TVB Interaction when I was in 8th grade, and I've now finished my first year of college in D.C. I'm majoring in psychology and intend on going to law school.

I've also become an even more avid fan of television. Movies just don't do it for me since I love following a set of characters and seeing them grow over episodes and seasons. My favorite TV dramas are "Once Upon a Time" and "Nashville," but my biggest love is definitely sitcoms that make me laugh out loud and relax after a long day. The 90s classic "Boy Meets World" along with "30 Rock" and "How I Met Your Mother" are my ultimate favorites and watching episodes of them during breaks from studying were definitely how I managed to stay sane during finals. If you like TVB and any of these shows, you should definitely comment or tweet at me (or request to follow me on Twitter if you aren't already since I leave my account protected).

I hope you've managed to read to this point, and if you have, don't be a stranger and leave a comment, whether it's about your own relationship with TVB over the years, or just to say "hi" and say you're still around blogging or tweeting. As random as my updates can be, I hope you keep checking back at TVB Interaction for another 6 years.

"Eye in the Sky" Review

The time seems to have passed for me to write a review on this series (I was already pretty late in starting and finishing it), but it's summer and I've got a lot of free time and no other TVB series from this year that I've watched.

"Eye in the Sky" becomes yet another series that generated moderate Best Actor buzz for lead Ruco Chan but is ultimately too weak of a series on its own to do Ruco any real chance (see 2013's "Brother's Keeper" and 2014's "Ruse of Engagement"). The series picks up quickly, and the first ten or so episodes are intriguing and appropriately paced. Unfortunately (but unsurprisingly), "Eye" could not have lost momentum any faster than it did once Kevin's character found out Ruco is his long-lost twin. The plot fizzles, then crashes and burns as we go around in twists and turns I can no longer remember since I was on the fence about writing this review for so long for the remaining two thirds of the series.

Kevin Cheng does both outgoing, laid back and cocky type characters ("Ghetto Justice") and the quiet, cool, introverted ones well, but when acting alongside Ruco, it quickly becomes apparent that Ruco is the more versatile and natural actor. Although I got a kick out of the scene in the first episode where "Szeto Shun" saves Tavia Yeung's character, catches a criminal, then calmly proceeds to whip out his phone and finish his sudoku puzzle, Kevin's character still left much to be desired. In particular, I totally missed the part where Kevin started to fall for Tavia... Oh wait, the script just neglected to show that. Doh.

Tavia fell out of favor with me a long time ago, and not only did this series and character "Jan" do nothing to
help that, it possibly made it worse. The nerdy glasses and bad wardrobe of the character were the least of my problems. She was supposed to be this very clever and sneaky private investigator but scenes of her following people she was investigating showed otherwise. Also, she was WHINY. She's a grown woman, but for over 18 months after sleeping with Ruco's character (who she thought was Kevin), she moped around and half-assed her work? I don't have complaints for Tavia's performance. I just have complaints that she received such a terrible character that didn't flatter her at all. 

Ruco does all that he can with what he's given in "Cheng Nik Hang," like he does with all his performances. For this reason, I was still able to sympathize with Ah Nik and see how his spite emerged from such a tough past instead of hating him the last few episodes. By then, I had gotten fed up with his stubbornness and his increased blindness and inability to see things from another perspective. And yet, until the last two episodes, his behavior still mostly made sense. Episodes 19 and 20 throw any hint of rationality the series had left to the dogs by turning Lik from an insecure, hurt person driven to act with manipulation and spite into a ridiculous cartoonish, mentally unstable, drug-injecting villain. Notice the character also undergoes a drastic wardrobe change these last two episodes that sees Ruco going from wearing lots of colored plaid shirts with t-shirts to lots of grungy black and gray pieces. Because TVB clearly thinks we're idiots and we have to SEE a physical change in appearance to know Ruco's a full-on villain now. Ruco draws sympathy from the audience until a certain point with his performance, and is able to bring his creep on in the finale. He deserves praise for being able to do quite a bit with a sloppily written character, but I'm still waiting for a series after "The Other Truth" where he is able to be boosted by a strong script and character, instead of trying to lift up a lackluster one.

Despite loving Ruco and Tavia in "The Other Truth," I dreaded seeing them here. In fact, I think "Eye" can just be summed up as the series where I kept yelling at the screen "Why do two such attractive and cool guys (until Ruco lost his marbles) like such a plain and annoying girl?!" for 20 episodes. But I rest my case. 

While a flirty womanizer, Tony Hung as "Terry" ends up becoming the voice of reason in the second half of the series, constantly trying to talk some sense into Ah Nik. By the end of the series, he is the only character I liked and cared for and I kept worrying he'd die when Ah Nik begged Terry to help him one last time. Since I'm used to seeing Tony playing more dorky characters, I couldn't help but laugh in the scenes Tony was trying to be suave and flirty, where he came off as trying too hard. However, he's still very likable and more natural in other scenes, particularly in playful friendship scenes with Ruco.

Samantha Ko has the least to work with of all the characters but "Ah Ling"'s upbeat and youthful personality was a nice and welcome contrast to Jan's mopey one. She and Tony make a cute couple, but their relationship was unimportant and unnecessary to the overall story other than to give the guy who has supported and put up with Ah Nik's increasing nonsense over the years a happy ending.

Vivian Yeo seems to be the new go to girl for these mastermind, hit man type roles, which at the least is an interesting thing to be typecast in. She can certainly look cold and detached.

I'm sick of saying this for TVB series these days, but it had potential and could have been so much better. Instead it became increasingly unrealistic, draggy, and prone to driving around in circles. It's yet another typical case of the cast not being able to save a bad script (and certainly not with the characters they had).

Rating: 3 stars

FILMART 2015 Commentary

FILMART was today, and you can watch the clips now on Casual TVB! Keep reading for the thoughts that went through my head as I watched the clips...

"Vampire": Uh... If I want to watch a vampire drama, I think I'll just rewatch the first two seasons of "The Vampire Diaries" before the show started going downhill. I like Kevin and Kay, but this looks cheesy and like there is way too much going on here. Joel's look here is very creepy.

"Brother's Keeper II": For the sake of supporting Edwin and Kristal, I'll probably at least give this a try when it comes out. However, a sequel, even if it is indirect, seems redundant and bound to flop. Looks like it'll be another drama claiming to be full of business wars to end up becoming underwhelming ala "Overachievers." Grace's scenes provide a strange contrast to the clips of Edwin and Kristal. 

"Limelight Years": I like veteran actors Damien and Liza, but this looks like another cheesy family drama and none of the rest of the cast draws me in. Don't have anything against Alex Fong, but his incorporation of English lines already has me cringing as well as his and Linda's messy looking relationship. The only thing that looks refreshing is the filming of the series. It looks like they did a lot of outdoor and location shooting.

"Lord of Shanghai": I've never liked premodern dramas and probably never will, save for a few exceptions ("Bottled Passion" and "A Fistful of Stances" come to mind). It has a good male veteran cast but uh...Anthony Wong and Myolie Wu?  I'm also not interested in seeing Wayne Lai in another screaming match.

"Captain of Destiny": Oh Tony... I love you, but still don't think you're ready for a leading role, never mind in a role like this (maybe in a lighthearted modern series). If I watch this series, it'll be a constant struggle for me to not laugh out loud at his mustache and pirate get up. This clip does nothing to further sell me on the series. Grace appears in three out of six of these clips. And the year of getting her shoved down our throats continues...

"Under the Veil": It's amusing how I'm seeing this clip now, as Niki and I were just talking the other day about TVB hasn't done a mythical/fantasy ancient series since 2008's "Legend of the Demigods." I feel like this series will remind me of why... But hey, Sonija's back and she's looking lovely.

Side note: I hope fans will start subbing TVB series again soon. While I understand enough to still follow the plot without subtitles, they're helpful and let me pay more attention to the story as opposed to comprehending the words.  Ancient series are also much harder to understand, so I usually skip them altogether if there are no subs.

Most anticipated: None.

Least anticipated: Pretty much all of them.

This is a time TVB gets HK audiences excited for what series are coming. So did TVB pick the worst of the crop or is just telling of how bleak the future is looking for them?

"Raising the Bar" Review

I knew going in "Raising the Bar" would not be case-driven, which allowed me to enjoy it a lot more. However, as a heavily character-driven series, there was very little character growth despite the great potential for it.

First, let's look at the titular "four girls"…

After having experienced sexual harassment by her former mentor, Giselle Tong gave up the year of training she already completed to pursue her ultimate dream of being a barrister. Of all the girls, the real female lead Grace Chan had most potential for a dynamic storyline. I had looked forward to see the intelligent, sweet, ever hardworking, but somewhat reserved Giselle mature and become a great lawyer throughout the series. However, after the first few episodes which heavily focus on Marcus (played by Ben Wong) teaching new pupils Giselle and Quinton (played by Louis Cheung), this storyline is thrown into the background and largely implied. By the end, we don't necessarily feel like she hasn't grown as a person or lawyer, but that we had just missed out on seeing it, and that is a shame.

As an actress, I did not find Grace to be bad in her debut performance in "Overachievers. Yet, she and the character left a sour taste in my mouth and I dreaded seeing her here, especially as she was paired up with one of my favorite actors. Thankfully though, I liked her much more here and only had one major problem with her performance. Giselle did not learn English until she was in 8th grade, yet her English is perfect. I have a lot of trouble believing she could learn at such a stage without even a hint of an accent.

Coming in second in terms of screen time is Brittany Fok, played by Jeannie Chan, who surprisingly went from my most disliked character to one of my favorites. This is mainly because in the episodes that focus on her, Brittany is really the only one who goes through any substantial character development. This is rather ironic as she is the only girl already practicing at the start of the series. Starting off as a spoiled rich girl who treated her friends like dirt (especially Yiu Chui-Fa), midway through the series she matures to become a much sweeter and considerate person while still being assertive and confident. It is quick, but still happens reasonably. I absolutely hated watching Brittany in the early episodes, but enjoyed seeing her become humbled at work, and having that spread to her personal life as well.

Jeannie comes off heavily pretentious in her performance early on (then again, it is in-character) but becomes likable and more natural in the second half. I also loved the character's fun but still professional wardrobe the times her outfits weren't dominated by huge bows.

Newcomer Moon Lau is the most pitiful - and by pitiful, I mean I feel bad that Moon got a character that has no personality for her debut performance. Holly Tsang is nice, is said to be diligent at work, and seems to be a pretty good friend. However, there's really not much else to her. She is bland and boring, and though Moon was decent for a newcomer and neither wooden or exaggerative, there isn't much anyone could do to save the dull character.

The wedding storyline with her and Jayden is the most jarring of the series.  Holly already knew Jayden was cheating. Even more confusing was Jayden's perspective. He did not get Holly pregnant, is a self-proclaimed player, and was not a rich son being pressured to get married by his parents. Why marry her then? What gives guys? I am however vey relieved the writers did not put her into the love triangle with Grace and Louis, instead opting for her to be the friend who observes the obvious attraction the two had for each other and trying to push them together.

The most underused female character is Stephanie Ho's Yiu Chui-Fa, who is mostly around for comic relief. Following her and Lincoln (King Lam) becoming a couple, her screen time becomes virtually nonexistent (Apparently in this series, once you had a storyline that focused heavily on you, you got banished to the sidelines). While Ah Fa may have been irritating played by another actress, Stephanie is absolutely adorable and hilarious, shining in her few scenes. I loved any scenes or interactions that featured her with her mentor Duncan (Timothy Cheng) and love interest Lincoln. Unfortunately, she has absolutely zero development, especially as a lawyer. She's just the funny and cute short girl that fades into the background the second half. My favorite part about the series though is her ridiculously catchy and fun theme song, which is reminiscent of those for older warm and lighthearted TVB series from the 2000s.

Now the titular "Three Bars"...

The three bars refer to the three law firms, headed by mentors Ben, Elaine Yiu and Ram Chiang, and Timothy. All have minimal screen time, and unfortunately the one with the most is also the most irritating and unnecessary to watch.

Ben surprisingly has a few very comical moments in the series, but for the most part has little to do. I did like the balance between him being shown to be very professional and intelligent at work, yet still rather laid back with friends and at home.

Portraying the funny and charming Duncan Yam, Timothy's character and performance was a nice change of pace for an actor who is usually stuck in evil roles. He had great comedic timing in the few scenes that allowed him to show it. On his own, he is great. Yet his and Natalie Tong's storyline is left mostly vague only to be suddenly put together in the end. Natalie is given too "cool" and mature of a character here, and the result is that the usually youthful and natural actress comes off as pretentious and cold instead of professional and reserved due to her tough childhood.

No complaints on Ram's character and performance as the kind and lighthearted solicitor Woody Lam here, other than he does not get enough screen time. But then there's his firm partner Elaine Yiu…

Elaine wins the award for least likable lead. On paper, the character is already hard to warm up to, always giving everyone including her own husband the stink eye, except bookstore owner Don. Vivian is unsympathetic, cold, and treats an otherwise great and understanding husband unfairly. Their affair was incredibly unnecessary and a waste of time that could have been allocated to the development of the four girls instead. Performance-wise, she perpetually gives everyone the resting bitch face and like Natalie, seems to think acting professional means acting cold and pretentious.

And finally, the two guys…

It would have been amusing if the Chinese title was translated to "Four Girls, Three Bars, and Two Boys." It is not, which does not seem fair to Louis and King's characters, but I digress.

Aside from Giselle, Louis' "Quinton Chow" also had the most potential for great character growth. He is implied to be around 30 years old and having already worked in the construction and engineering field for several years. Despite this, he gives up what he already has worked for in favor of pursuing his dream of becoming a barrister. It sounds like the story of considerable sacrifice, hardship, and questions of whether Quinton made the right choice. He breaks down once early on as he starts to follow Marcus and becomes overwhelmed with his new path. However, afterwards, he seems to easily float through. By the time he becomes a barrister, we are under the impression his career change was a piece of cake. I didn't want a bunch of emotional scenes, but I did want to see Quinton grow as a student of the law and eventual barrister and feel at least a little rewarded at the end when he is finally shown in the wig and gown.

With that said, Quinton is still perfectly lovable enough. Having portrayed many heavy semi-vilain roles lately, Louis appears very comfortable and laid back here. It was nice to see a quirky and playful side of him, especially when he would lovingly talk to his plants and speak about aliens to his parents. I enjoyed his scenes with Grace. The friendship turned mutual romantic feelings came about rather organically. I loved when he playfully pushed Grace to admit she is "Black Angel" with the stuffed bear (which ended up in hilarious awkwardness for him when she gives it to Brittany). Louis makes Quinton a very endearing character to watch even though the writing of the character leaves much to be desired.

"The Voice" alumni King Lam is a surprising treat to watch as the slightly goofy but goodhearted and
blunt lawyer with a crush on Ah Fa. I loved whenever he wasn't afraid to speak his mind in situations even when not exactly appropriate. (For example, the scene where he suddenly yells at the girl who flushed her baby down the toilet that she had given birth to a kid, not a piece of BBQ pork honestly had me laughing so hard). I was sad to see his screen time was significantly reduced by the final episodes.

Louis and King round out the dominantly female friend group well, and make the friendship aspect more dynamic. I loved the scenes the two shared together, especially whenever they would make fun of each other about the girls they had feelings for.

Overall Thoughts

The few cases that the series manages to churn out are either boring, convenient (such as the case of Brittany's family friend getting acquitted of assault against his mistress with CCTV footage), or sloppily concluded (such as the compensated dating and rape case). As a result, I'm still looking for another great legal drama from TVB.

As for the series itself, the script apparently decides they want to focus on the friendship of the four girls and to a lesser extent, the two guys. I would have been welcoming of that, only this focus on friendship is largely on superficial things like them going on trips together (Do pupils and trainee lawyers have that much free time?). I don't doubt they are all great friends, but it is all skin deep and fails to show any deep connections. This is not necessary for a series in general, but I believe this is necessary for a series that decides to be so character and friendship-driven, or else you have little of any substance.

"Raising the Bar" ends up being the stringing together of some entertaining and fun scenes between the core friend group and some bad story lines. The cast is too large, which led to a strange allocation of screen time. After 23 episodes of not doing much, the finale also strangely decides to shove in a large rape case against a main character, a parent's death, another parent dying of illness, a wedding, and two surprise cameos from Tony Hung and William Chak. Other than that, the series is easy to watch while easily forgettable. This is the norm for TVB lately, but what makes it disappointing in this case is that it could have been something much more.

Rating: 3 stars

"Officer Geomancer" Review

Series aired in TVB's "death slot" over the holidays are not always bad. In fact, they can be pretty darn entertaining, and "Officer Geomancer" is an example of this.

With TVB's recycling of onscreen pairings, you will be hard pressed to find a more refreshing pairing in the last year or so than Johnson Lee and Joey Meng. Although I like both actors, I will admit I did not expect anything much from this pair. However, the two have so much romantic and sweet chemistry, and play off each other extremely well.

Always a charming and funny supporting actor, Johnson thankfully does not lose these qualities as a lead. I had my reservations on how he would fare in holding up a series on his own shoulders, but was pleasantly surprised at the results. He brings over the qualities that make him an enjoyable actor to watch, which is perhaps more impressive here as he plays a more humble and grounded yet still playful character than his usual more flirty and upbeat ones. Would I mind seeing him in more leading roles? As long as the character is likable, definitely not.


After seeing Joey in a weak and timid role in "Come On, Cousin," it is a relief to see her in a strong role again. With her acting capabilities and tall, fit stature, it's no surprise she is able to both look and naturally act the part of a madam, unlike certain female actresses (I won't name names), while also giving her some vulnerability and sweetness.

The two's interactions are filled with tension and chemistry, and some of their moments are so funny yet sweet and cute at the same time. One of my favorite scenes is when Johnson foresees him and Joey getting into a car accident, so he brings along a helmet to wear when riding with her, then seeing the car chase is about come to a screeching halt, proceeds to put the helmet onto her head right before they crash.

As a procedural drama though, "Officer Geomancer" falls somewhere between average and below average. Most of the cases are not overly boring, but also not very engaging, and the incorporation of the geomancy themes often just felt odd. The cases operate better as background to the development of its lead characters and supporting ones.

While Johnson and Joey were the refreshing couple, the stand out of the supporting cast and most refreshing performance is easily Harriet Yeung. Initially very loud and over the top when "Che Gwai Mei" first made her entrance, I was relieved to see Harriet, as well as the character, quickly toned it down to instead become the upbeat, enthusiastic, passionate reporter, and loyal friend. She was natural, funny, and very fun to watch.

Although Oscar Leung does best at street smart, loud-mouthed roles, "Leung Sing Kau," who is always referred to as "Blabbermouth," really exhausts Oscar's specialty, to the point he becomes annoying. Blabbermouth is one of those people who you can only deal with in small doses. However, his friendship and scenes with Harriet could be quite entertaining and sweet, which would make him a lot easier to watch.

The supporting characters that are incredibly puzzling are Tit Leung Chi and Roy, played by Rebecca Zhu and William Chak. It was a nice change to see Rebecca in a tomboyish role, which resulted in some cute and amusing scenes.  However, the characters are written so sloppily and the storyline so rushed that viewers fail to pinpoint any instance where Leung Chi started to develop feelings for Blabbermouth and later Roy. Roy was incredibly underdeveloped with many inconsistencies, particularly how he dresses and acts with dorky and shy mannerisms, which completely disappear whenever he is at the boxing club. Viewers simply could never tell where Leung Chi's feelings came from, which made the love square come off as strange. William is a decent and very affable actor who is also easy on the eyes, so I hated seeing him wasted here and hope to see him in heavier roles with more screen time soon.

While most of the cases are neither hit or misses, the "plot twist" storyline with Yung Jai was just bizarre and completely unrealistic and where the series crashes and burns, and the series gets some serious points docked for this. I saw this twist coming by the last few episodes, but was wishing I had been wrong all the way until its end.

"Officer Geomancer" has little to offer as a procedural drama, but then again, so do most procedurals from TVB these days. What makes it a swift and entertaining watch is the great chemistry between Johnson and Joey, which sees them in scenes that range from funny to cute to playful to sweet to full of angst. Start this because you're bored and looking for a way to kill the time, and finish it because the chemistry between these two are undeniable.

Rating: 3 stars

"Madam Cutie on Duty" Review

Before I started "Madam Cutie on Duty," I thought the series would go in either one of two different directions: It would be an enjoyable lighthearted drama, or a very lame and unfunny one. The selection of scenes from the theme video seemed to make it point towards the latter. Thankfully, after a more over the top premiere episode, "Madam Cutie" becomes yet another funny and fun series that is very entertaining.

Although the series has a likable supporting cast consisting of faces like Mandy Wong, Kaki Leung, Rachel Kan, and Raymond Cho, it is romantic leads Priscilla Wong and Edwin Siu who make it worth watching. 

Priscilla and Edwin met filming this series, but what is surprising to hear is that the two did not even befriend each other until after filming completed, and would typically go into their respective corners when the cameras stopped rolling. This does not show at all on screen, as the two looked completely comfortable with each other and evoke playful chemistry while their characters bickered, and sweetness as they started to become friends and care for one another. Without this chemistry between the leads, "Madam Cutie" would have been a complete bust.

On her own, Priscilla is able to prove critics who say her acting is one-note wrong. Here, she has plenty of room to show audiences her comedic talent and timing and delivers as "Fa Ping." She is endearing, cute, and at often times laugh-out-loud funny without becoming too exaggerated. The moments where she notices herself morphing more and more into a housewife were probably the most comical. I hope to see her in more comedic roles such as this.

Edwin does not shine as much on his own as his female lead, but is still likable as "Law Dai Shu" and it is nice to be able to see him finally taking on a lead role. He delivers solidly with what he is given, but the script does not provide him with anything he has not done before. My major complaint is that while it was appropriate for the character, I constantly wanted to brush Edwin's messy hair.

Although not a star-studded trio besides for Mandy Wong, the three housewives Priscilla befriends are great. While Mandy's screen time significantly decreases in the last few episodes, it is obvious that she has got these housewife roles down pat. Instead of being loud-mouthed and obnoxious, her character is much more soft-spoken yet still clever here, and she plays it effortlessly and with cuteness. Kaki Leung has vastly improved since her debut in "E.U." and is quite likable to watch now. It was a pleasure to see Rachel Kan in a larger role, and she proved to be quite amusing at times, particularly with her superstitions, all the while being sympathetic. The sweetest part though was seeing Fa Ping genuinely growing closer and caring about the housewives and developing a real friendship with them.

The subplots of the supporting characters themselves are watchable enough, but are not as interesting and entertaining as the main storyline of Priscilla and Edwin living and working together to investigate the case. However, I did enjoy Rachel's storyline with her son, and how he gradually matured and came to appreciate her.

Unfortunately, the series is not without some weak links that bring the series down from being the most easy and light fun it can be. Lee Yee Man gives the most annoying performance as well as the creepiest. Many of the older cast member's characters were a drag to watch too. How many more times is TVB going to make Rosanne Lui play the mean and spiteful mother-in-law and Mary Hon the mother who abandons her kids? Susan Tse's character is also rather irritating, and I would much rather either see her in more kindhearted mother or clever villain roles again. The worst storyline though is the return of Mary as Dai Shu's mother in the last few episodes of the series, which seemed like more of an excuse to give Edwin some emotional scenes and push Dai Shu and Fa Ping closer together. It is TVB at their usual with the overdramatic and soapy family drama. Luckily though, the series bounces right back for a hilarious final episode that sees the housewives defending themselves (and winning!) against gangsters with pots and pans and ketchup bottles. 

Overall, while there are some less than stellar points, "Madam Cutie on Duty" is yet another easy and enjoyable watch from TVB, while also being funnier than most lighthearted series. Leads Priscilla and Edwin are what make the series a delight to watch, but Mandy, Kaki, and Rachel shine at their own certain moments as well.

Rating: 3.5 stars