"Tiger Cubs" Review

"Tiger Cubs", with its high budget and quality of production as well as its cast ensemble, is easily the best series of the year hands down.

The series seemingly flies by with its straightforward plot and quick pace.  It has viewers hooked from beginning to end, without ever wavering in quality or consistency too much like typical TVB series do. From the first episode, it is clear the effort that was put into the series.   From the cinematic-like filming style, to the thrilling and well shot action sequences, to the wonderful ensemble of characters, "Tiger Cubs" is the most quality production of the year.

Cast and Characters

"Tiger Cubs" is easily most beloved for its young SDU boys, which consist of Oscar Leung, Him Law, Vincent Wong, William Chak, and Benjamin Yuen.


Oscar Leung receives the best character of his career with "Chong Chuk Yuen", as the role allowed him to shine and show his charisma and potential as a future leading actor.  Unlike his usual more rough and comic relief-type roles, Oscar is a gentlemanly, calm, mature, and sweet young man with a romantic side here, something we've never been able to see much of before.  Despite the age difference, he realistically portrays the brotherly friendship between him and Joe with ease as well as the sibling chemistry with Jessica.  And of course, his signature wink was adorable.

The fabulous acting by the young cast does not stop at Oscar though.  Him Law portrays the confident, cocky, rash, and impulsive "Yu Hok Lai" naturally and without a problem.  He matures and develops a close friendship with the team's technician So Man Keung (portrayed by Mandy Wong) as he helps her get over her fear of heights and achieve her goal of becoming the first female SDU member.  I can not deny he is one of the best actors of his generation and has what it takes to be a lead actor.

Vincent Wong delivers his most natural performance to date as "Yau Chun Hin".  In contrast to his best buddy Ah Lai, Hin Jai is humble and patient, but is insecure and lacks self esteem due to the pressure he feels from his family, which is full of heroic and accomplished cops.  Ah Hin was the character with the most potential, and I had looked forward to seeing him mature and become more confident as the series progressed.  Unfortunately, the script did not seem to have any intentions of focusing in on Vincent (notice he's the only one of the main SDU guys to not have any love interest), as he had the least screen time.  His character development was executed in a disappointingly abrupt and brief fashion.  Regardless, Vincent did wonderfully with what he was given.  In the early episodes, you could see the hesitation in his eyes as he started SDU training.    He also finally shed his habit of adding in English words and phrases to his lines.

No one had expected Hin Jai to be the one to die.  (Thanks to a prank by Jessica, who had "confessed" her character died early on during its airing.  This turned out to be a stunt by Jessica and Vincent to keep the actual ending under wraps.  Very clever, Jess...)  Hin died in such a tragic, graphic, and gruesome way.  Huge props to him for giving such a memorable performance in his last scene.  His death already had me in tears, and seeing the character try to utter one last smile to the world before he passed made my heart break.  Fantastic acting touch.  Previously, I already loved Vincent for his real life down to earth personality but thought his acting left much to be desired.  He shows he has what it takes to be a solid actor here, and I will be cheering for him all the way.  If a sequel does happen, I will greatly miss his presence.

Mandy Wong, like usual, delivers solidly and is perhaps the only female of the male dominated cast that is likable and interesting.  Christine Kuo gives what was hands down the weakest performance with her scattered Cantonese and English and bimbo-like character.  William Chak did well in the one episode he had the spotlight (the tour bus storyline), and I look forward to seeing more of him.


Although our lead actors perform adequately, they fail to shine and instead are overshadowed by the bright group of youngsters I mentioned above (excluding Christine).  Joe Ma, as our leading man, anchors the SDU team as their leader, but fails to leave an impression like the others.  He is likable as the hardworking "Chin Sir" who cared deeply for his subordinates.  As a character with not much of a dynamic though, he was easily outshined.

Jessica Hsuan portrays a different type of police officer here as the depressed and suicidal "Madam Chong".  While she delivers, it is hard to make this type of character likable as the depressed and suicidal state (understandably) of Madam Chong rid her of her personality and livelihood.  When she recovered though, she lost the only major dynamic she had.  However, as Joe and Jessica's relationship finally started to fall for each other, they did get some smiles out of me.  The scene where they are both sitting at the dining table stealing glances at each other was awkwardly adorable.


Other Notable Performances

This review would not be complete without mentioning the series' resident ultimate villains Kenneth Ma and JJ Jia, who made their debut in the first episode and returned in the last for a nail biting finale. Kenneth is chilling, frightening, and convincing as "To Tin Yau".  JJ Jia gives a decent performance as well.  However, they have already received endless praise for their roles, and I would like to mention others too.

Kenny Wong appeared in what was an underrated guest star role.  While I'm not usually fond of the actor, he gives a heartbreaking performance as the loving father forced into committing crime to get money for his sick son's surgery.  You could see the guilt in his eyes and that he genuinely did not wish to hurt anyone, especially in his last confrontational scene with Mandy.  Despite doing a bad thing, he sparked sympathy through the portrayal of all the emotions the character felt while doing it.  Jazz Lam was adorable, pitiful, and convincing as (autistic?) young boy whose life long dream is to be a cop and take care of his mom.  He is such a valuable and rare actor.

Lastly, a shout out to my favorite "underdog" artist, Patrick Tang.  He appeared in the series as a regular under Jessica's team.  Though "Ben" is Patrick's smallest role yet (I smell demotion), he makes the most out of the very minor but likable character.  It was nice to see Patrick in a more professional and mature role.  I loved the character's loyalty to Jessica as well as his subtle touches of humor.


The Series in General

The plot isn't one that sparks thinking or deep meaning, but the writing is above average for TVB's shoddy scripts these days.  The change in format was refreshing and proved to work well.  Since it clocked in with slightly longer episodes, but a shorter overall episode count at just 13, this made "Tiger Cubs" more consistent and less prone to cliches and filler material.  In fact, by the series' end, there is still a lot of potential for further development.  A majority of the scenes served a purpose, and unlike most TVB series today, doesn't stray from the point.  Additionally, the cinematic like filming style and high budget makes it look much more presentable, professional, and more attractive to look at.  It is the rare instance that they try something new and different and succeeded.  Quality isn't compensated, it's even better.  I appreciate how it still has the familiar feel of a TVB series, but attempts new things and actually executes it well.

Highlights

• The brotherhood, friendship, and chemistry between the characters.  The SDU team truly felt like a team, and I'll miss them!
• The action sequences/climaxes.  The cases themselves were fine, but not overly intriguing.  However, the climaxes always had me sitting at the edge of my seat!
• The finale.  Never has the finale of a TVB series had me so nervous, stressed, and thrilled!  My heart was probably pounding by the second half of the finale. 

Overall

You don't break what's not broken.  However, recent TVB series have indeed been broken - in other words they've mostly sucked.  "Tiger Cubs" takes a familiar formula but improves upon it with outstanding acting, cinematography, style, and action.  The script is no masterpiece, but it is through its execution that "Tiger Cubs" shines like a diamond.  

Rating: 4.5 stars

Vacation time! (Hiatus Notice)

Hello everyone!  Hope everyone's having a great summer and been enjoying the updates on TVB Interaction and AE Experience.

I don't post that frequently anyway, but wanted to just leave a notice so it doesn't look like I disappeared.

I'll be on vacation on/off for the month of July.   I'm leaving tomorrow to go on a cruise to Bermuda for five days.  It should be lots of fun, because besides for going my parents, a close childhood friend of mine and her family is going too!  I'll get back Thursday afternoon.  Expect chapter 2 to be posted sometime after that though, as I've already started it and will have plenty of time on the bus to my port in New Jersey and back, and intend on using some of the time to write.

I'll be back for about a week before going on ANOTHER trip (Woo, busy summer this year! :D).  I'll be visiting my relatives in Montreal, Canada for 8-10 days.  Once again, I'll have plenty of time to write on the train ride there and back (14 hours...).  I tend to have lots of down time there (You gotta learn to be patient and find something to kill time with when you have to wait for almost 10 people to get ready to go to dinner...), so you may see me on to reply to messages and write a bit.  :)  Also, great news.  If you guys read AE Experience (and you SHOULD ;D), you know my partner Niki.  Turns out, she may be going to Montreal too, and at the same time as me!  Cross your fingers we'll get to spend time there together!  Hehe.

I'll be updating through out the month of July on and off, as I'll know I'll have time in between, will get bored, and have the urge to be productive.  Definitely don't expect to hear from me for the next week though, as I'll be too busy chilling down in Bermuda.  :P  You'll definitely still hear from me after though, whether on Twitter or replying to tagboard messages or comments.

Just a very casual (from all the side notes and emoticons) post to let everybody know what I'll be up this month (as if anybody cares?).  Sorry, I ended up rambling a bit.  Oh, and after that, I get to sink myself in summer reading.  Joy.  Anyway, hope you guys are enjoying your summer!

See you soon!
Love,
Iris

"Till the World Ends": Episode 1

Myolie was scampering around the apartment trying to make everything perfect for the special day as her friends Kate, Fala, Ella, and Ron watched in amusement from the couch.  She came over and started yelling at them.  "Why are you just sitting there!  Get up and help prepare!" she cried.

Her roommate and best friend Kate looked at her and replied, "There's nothing left to do.  Just sit down and relax until Raymond gets here".  Myolie, a perfectionist that didn't know how to sit still, did not look satisfied with that answer.

"Go clean!" she told her.

Kate glanced around the apartment and wrinkled her eyebrows.  "Myo, are you kidding me?  You cleaned this whole place spotless before I could even find the broom!" she joked.

Myolie faked a laugh.  "Hahaha, when'd you get so funny?" she asked, sarcastically. Kate shrugged and gave her a taunting smile.

Bosco, Myolie's boyfriend of seven years, walked into the room and started massaging her shoulders.  "Sweetie, Kate's right.  It's time for you to sit down and take a breather", he said gently with a smile.  Myolie could act so antsy sometimes.

"But Raymond's finally back from his tour in the US!  It'll be the first time us friends will all be together in almost two months!" Myolie said, anxiously.

"Yes, and if I didn't know any better, the way you're acting would make me think Raymond is your boyfriend", Bosco playfully replied as he finally got her to sit down.

"There you go. Breathe in, breathe out", Ron teased her from the recliner chair. Myolie made a face at him.

The door bell rang, and Myolie shot back up from the couch and ran over to the door.  "Raymond!" she cried, happily.  Edwin stood at the door, surprised.

"It's just you!  What were you doing?" Myolie interrogated him.  He held up a bag.  "You told me to go buy hot sauce..." he answered.

"Oh, I forgot...thanks, just put it on the counter", she replied.

"Hello to you too", Edwin laughed as he obeyed her. These large dinners with the whole gang never occurred without a Myolie scurrying around.


Edwin came to join everyone else, and plopped down next to his "big sister" Kate on the couch. "She overexcited again?" he asked.

"Mhm", she replied.

Ron leaned down in his chair to get right next to Fala, who was sitting on the ground near him typing away on her laptop and working on an article, completely oblivious.  "Hi", he simply said into her ear, which was enough to make her jump.

Fala whacked him on the head, and he made a funny face exaggerating the pain.  "You ruined my concentration!" she said.

"Ray's about to come, stop working!" he replied.  With an annoyed face, she shut off her laptop.

He looked over at Ella, who was also busy drawing a sketch in her notebook.  "You too, pretty girl.  Time to put away all work", he said in a mock tone of authority.

Ella looked up, smiled shyly, and obliged the request.  Fala rolled her eyes in amusement.  "You know when to stop working, but not when to stop playing", she smirked.  To her displeasure, Ron ruffled her hair in response.

The door bell rang again, and this time everybody ran over to the door.  Bosco peered through the peep hole to make sure it was Raymond.  Sure enough, their old friend was standing there.  Bosco opened the door and everyone erupted into greetings like "Welcome back!" and "We missed you!" as each person gave Raymond a big hug.

"Good to see you guys again", he said, smiling widely.  He was ecstatic to be reunited with his favorite people in the world.

"How was your first US tour?" Ella asked as she gave him a hug.  Raymond could feel himself blushing a bit at seeing his pretty and sweet friend again.

"It was great, a lot of fun" he replied.

"Hey, did you get me the phone numbers of any pretty fan girls?" Ron asked, playfully.

"You rascal!  Why would I do that, the girls would be so disappointed to see who called them!" Raymond teased him as he whacked him on the head.  Fala burst out laughing.

Bosco tapped Raymond on the shoulder.  "By the way, I think you and I were unknowingly sharing a girlfriend just now", he whispered jokingly, and Raymond gave him a confused look.  Myolie punched her real boyfriend, and shoo-ed everybody over to the dining table for the big hot pot dinner she prepared.

The eight friends sat down and dug into the hot pot feast as everyone broke into chatter.  "Everybody, I have great news", Raymond announced as they settled down.  Everybody quieted down and stared at him intently.

"Did you get a 'gwai mui' girlfriend?" Ron, who was sitting next to Fala, asked.  He quickly put up his hands in self defense before Fala could take another whack at him.

"No, I...", Raymond trailed off.  He turned to Fala and asked "I thought you're supposed to keep him under control?"

"This is Ron under control, my friend", Fala said to him.

"Anyway...my manager gave me a call this morning, and she told me...I'm going to be performing at the HK Colesium!" he announced, excitedly.  Everybody started cheering and congratulating him.

"That's amazing news, we're so happy for you!" Ella exclaimed.

"You've made it, Ray!" Edwin said.  Everybody started applauding.  Raymond felt flattered.  His friends, no matter how dysfunctional at times, never failed to support him in his music career.

After all the congratulations were over, they started bombarding Raymond with questions.  "Will we get tickets?" Fala asked.

"I will try my best to get you all tickets", Raymond answered.  Fala pumped her first into the air.  "Yes, tickets to see Hong Kong's rising superstar!  I'll get to exclusively cover it!" the journalist said eagerly.

 "Hey...HK Colesium concerts usually have some bold and outrageous costumes.  Are you worried what they're going to give you to wear?" Bosco asked with curiosity.

"I haven't thought about that", he answered.

"They're going to make you wear something that will make girls go crazy over you", Ron teased.

Everybody continued happily chatting and catching up until way past dinner, and it wasn't until after midnight that everyone went home.

***************

It was Monday again, and that meant the start of another work week.  Myolie and Kate went to work at their PR firm like always.  Myolie was still feeling bubbly and content from the weekend get together.  Whoever tried to upset her good mood ways going to pay.

"Wu!  What are you smiling about?" her boss, Rachel, demanded.  Unless of course, that person was her boss.  Cold, stubborn, uptight, and unreasonable, Rachel was irritating and unpleasant to have as a boss.  Oh, and she seemed to hate smiling, laughter, and anything to do with happiness, much to Myolie and Kate's dismay.

"What, I can't smile, boss?" Myolie replied, cheekily.

Rachel glared at her.  "No, but the problem is you look like an idiot, like a stupid and naive little teenage girl in love", she replied.

Kate looked up from her desk after hearing Rachel's last remark.  The two were engaged in a dead lock stare with each other.  She froze.  This was not going to slide with Myo very well.

"Hey, what's going on here?" she asked casually as she came over and put her arms around the two women.  The two didn't seem to acknowledge her.

"You're calling me a stupid, naive little girl in love, eh?" Myolie answered, clearly ticked off, but trying to retain her composure.

Kate, still calm, tried to play the mediator.  "No, I'm sure she didn't mean that.  She just didn't want us to get distracted from our work", she stated.

Without even glancing at Kate, Rachel sneered at Myolie.  "Yes, that's what I'm calling you!" Rachel replied.

Kate looked up in annoyance.  Who was she to call her best friend a stupid little girl?  A little out if it at times, sure, but not stupid!  Kate was the more level headed girl of the group, but she wasn't going to let someone call Myolie stupid.  And from someone who's supposed to be a superior and professional figure no less, how immature!

"Oh, you're resorting to name calling now?" Kate asked Rachel, cooly.  "Well, I think that you're just someone who's lacking happiness in her own life, so she takes it out on her subordinates.  Is that really necessary though?  You could be so much more professional than that.  It's quite disappointing actually", she said in an aloof tone.

Rachel looked horrified at what her subordinate just said.  "Excuse me?" she asked.

Myolie looked at Kate in admiration.  She had managed to stand up to someone the whole firm had wanted to for the longest time, and without losing her composure for one second.  It was time for her to take a jab at her pinhead of a boss.  What was the perfect jab?  Next thing she knew, something very foolish slipped out of her mouth.

"You heard what she said, you pinhead of a boss!" she said.  As soon as the words came out, she froze.  What did she just do?!  At the same time, something about it felt very sweet.  Evilly sweet.

The office became dead silent.  Even Kate looked shocked at what Myolie said.  Rachel was furious.  "Pinhead?!" she raised her voice.  "That's it, you two are fired!" she screamed.

Myolie wasn't going to stop now, she was just getting started.  She felt an odd sense of satisfaction and relief.  "You want to fire us, fine!  You take pleasure out of people's misery and can't stand to see people enjoying life just the tiniest bit.  I'm tired of working for such a witch!  And you know what, I'm not going to anymore!  We quit!"

Rachel's eyes looked like they were about to bulge out of her head.  Kate stood there motionless, unable to comprehend what just happened.   Did she just lose her job?  Because her friend called their boss a pinhead?

Myolie, not quite realizing what she had just did, took Kate's hand and started pulling her away.  "See you suckers!" she yelled to everyone with a feeling of triumph.

"You know you can't quit after you've been fired right..", is all Kate managed to mutter to Myolie as they left the work building.  Oh well.  What just happened would sink into Myolie's head.  And when it did...it was going to be a disaster.

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Comments: First episode!  Rather long, since I wanted to introduce everybody and at least have them each say a couple lines.  As opposed to jumping straight into one individual's story, I wanted to have all the friends together and mix.  I hope Myolie doesn't seem crazy!  She's just supposed to be eccentric and slightly obsessive compulsive.  I can imagine her playing this character very well and being funny, as opposed to annoying.  Second episode coming soon!  Feedback please!  :)

"Till the World Ends": Forewords + Character Descriptions

Synopsis: In the prime of their life, 8 young adults in their mid 20s are all leading different career and life paths. However, this large group of individuals all are bound by a strong friendship: one full of trust, understanding, laughs, and quirks. No matter where life takes them, they'll always be there for each other, until the world ends. "Till the World Ends" follows the lives, adventures, and situations these young adults face in what should be a fun and humorous sitcom.

Genre: Sitcom, Comedy, Drama, Friendship, Romance

Cast: Raymond Lam, Ella Koon, Myolie Wu, Bosco Wong, Ron Ng, Fala Chen, Kate Tsui, Edwin Siu

Character Descriptions

Raymond Lam
Career: Singer
He started off as a talented and acclaimed rising musician, whose popularity made him become Hong Kong's #1 idol. He loses control of his career and starts to feel like a joke. His friends constantly poke fun and make jokes of what he has become. He is charming and laid back but humble and easily feels awkward, particularly with his idol image. (Parody of himself)

Ella Koon

Career: Interior designer

A shy yet sweet, thoughtful, but intelligent and creative girl whose hidden talent is music. Through their mutual interest in music, she sparks Raymond's passion for it again.

Bosco Wong
Career: Businessman.
An easy going and calm guy. He leads a less structured life and goes with the flow, often winging things as he goes along. He and Myolie are the stable and long term couple of the group.

Myolie Wu
Career: Works at PR firm before opening a pastry shop with Kate.  Smart, organized, bold, and eccentric individual but can be rather anxious and antsy. In contrast to Bosco, she is a very structured person.

Ron Ng
Career: Personal Trainer.
A playful, flirty, silly, and oddball guy who is very loyal and caring when it comes down to it. He is always there for his friends, particularly Fala.

Fala Chen
Career: Journalist, writes for a lifestyle and entertainment magazine.
A straightforward, blunt, sarcastic, and ambitious writer. She can be rather moody, but means well. She often has to put a rein on Ron's behavior.

Edwin Siu
Career: Web designer.
The youngest and "little brother" of the group. He is bright, quirky, shy, and quite a romantic. He and Kate have a brother and sister-like friendship, and are always looking out for another like real siblings.

Kate Tsui
Career: Works at PR firm before opening a pastry shop with Myolie.
An independent, level headed, but fierce and confident individual. Men are attracted to her, but are also often intimidated by her. She treats Edwin like her little brother.

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Comments: Time for another go at writing a fiction! I hope to do a lot of writing this summer. My previous fiction "Finding Life's Sweetness" is on hold as I'm a bit stuck on that. My favorite part about writing fiction is writing the dialogue and character interactions, so I thought I'd try a sitcom like format. It will have an episodic format, with some stand alone episodes and some story arcs. I'm also going to include lots of pop culture references and satirical commentary, particularly with Raymond's character. Hope everyone will read, support, and give feedback!

Happy (Belated) 3rd Anniversary to TVB Interaction!

Happy belated anniversary to TVB Interaction!  I can't believe I've been running this blog/site for 3 years (about 2 years actively, haha).  The actual anniversary is June 13th, but I didn't get a chance to write a post until now.  I hope everyone likes the anniversary layout, which features some of my favorite artists.

I'll keep this short and sweet.  I'm happy that after several attempts, I finally made a successful comeback as the web mistress of this blog.  I may not be updating as often as I did before, but I will not abandon it, no matter how hard I try to actually have a social life (har har) and also run AE Experience.

What to Expect Next...

• REVIEWS.  I rarely get through finishing a whole TVB series nowadays.  However, whenever I manage to finish a series though, I will write a review.  Drama reviews are an integral part of this site that are not going anywhere.
• SATIRE.  This is something I particularly enjoy writing, but don't often do because it requires a lot of inspiration.  However, I have a new satire feature in mind.  ;)
• FICTION.  With all the free time I have this summer, I want to develop my weakest writing skill: fiction writing.  "Finding Life's Sweetness" is on hold for now, but I will revisit it.  I have come up with a new fiction though, and this will take on a more sitcom-like format.  I'm very excited to start writing it.  Stay tuned!

For the hundredth time, once again, thanks everyone for continuing to read and support!  Here's to another 3 years on the web!

"Sergeant Tabloid" Review

In a nutshell, "Sergeant Tabloid" is a decent and entertaining drama, but lacks one specific theme.  There are bits of sisterhood, rushed romance, cops running around, and even the journey of a surprisingly heroic character.  Yet, it doesn't seem to have a point or purpose besides offering some decent entertainment.

The Premiere

First off, "Sergeant Tabloid" wins the award for cheesiest first episode ever.  Niki and Vincent's relationship felt lame and even cringe worthy, making it seem like an idol drama.  While the rest of the series was by no means excellent, the premiere episode was not an accurate representation of the series itself.

Characters and Performances

Niki Chow has that X-Factor that makes her liked by audiences, but her acting leaves much to be desired.  I can't deny she has something very endearing about her, but her performance did not offer anything new. 
 
Going into this series, I was prepared to dislike Michael Tse once again.  Ever since the success of Laughing Gor, he seems to have trouble not injecting a little of the character's "chokness" into his performances.  However, Michael's "A1" turned out to be the highlight as well as the anchor of the drama.  The character is fleshed out with strengths as well as weaknesses.  He is a slimy yet smart and ambitious reporter, but has so much humanity in him.  His journalistic integrity and conscience was tested with the tragic suicide of a tormented teen he indirectly caused.  He learned to confront and forgive everything that happened in the past.  As a result, he was a very dynamic character.

The first half of the series saw a Michael Tse that still couldn't shake off the chokness, but he successfully sheds it after.  The whole plot with him and his family, as well as the grief he went through after the teen's suicide, could've easily been cliched and cringeworthy. However, Michael portrayed the character very well.  A1 went through many stages of emotions, and Michael nailed them all.  He unexpectedly became my favorite character, and was what kept my interest.  This is hands down my favorite performance of his in years.  I hope that he will continue to deliver, and show that he is more than just Laughing Gor.


Press coverage and hype of Mandy Wong's character, nicknamed "Madam Kill", led me to believe that she was going to be a tough and ruthless madam with no emotion at all.  Szeto Kiu was simply a lonely girl who didn't know how to communicate with people or express her emotions properly.  Mandy continues to prove her potential by being a convincing tomboyish inspector despite her young age.   

Matthew Ko was lucky enough to get a second chance at being second lead, and the opportunity wasn't wasted.  This is Matthew's best performance to date.  Although he still has a lot more improvements he could make, he was quite natural here.  He is lovable, cute, and funny as the playful and sweet "Wong Tze", or "Prince".  I enjoyed his scenes with Mandy.  Perhaps it's because the character is more like his real personality, but Matthew appeared very comfortable onscreen unlike in the past, where he was awkward and wooden.    I'm looking forward to seeing more of him.  With his improving acting and refreshing honest and straightforward personality, I might finally have another actor to name for promising rising siu sangs.

Oceanne Zhu  continues to prove to me how much potential she has.  She was adorable and sweet as "Lam Oi-Oi", and her Cantonese has improved vastly in a short amount of time.  William Chak also did decently, and his initially lazy character sparked a few laughs. Becky Lee is usually likable, but proved to be very irritating here with her foolish and annoying character.

The Plot


The problem with "Sergeant Tabloid" is its lack of direction and true purpose.  There is no concrete plot or theme.  A little of everything is thrown in, which would be great if there was one main story.  The series was more focused on the characters, which served as a problem as Michael's "A1" was the only character that came close to being compelling.  Other than that, everyone and everything felt flat.  As a result, I finished the series feeling unsatisfied.

The ending was poorly written, and heavily contributed to my feeling of dissatisfaction towards the series.  The sudden appearance of Elaine Yiu was very random and unnecessary.  Niki and Michael's and Matthew and Mandy's relationships were arguably the main focus of the series, yet were sloppily resolved.  Everything was all a rush.

Overall

"Sergeant Tabloid" is nothing spectacular, and yet another example of lack of direction in a TVB series.  It is still enjoyable at several points, but forgettable.  Michael Tse gives a notable performance of a surprisingly decently written character, and anchors what is otherwise a mediocre drama.

Rating: 3 stars

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Comments: Sorry if this review was not as well written and seemed a little all over the place.  I put off starting and writing this review for the longest time because I was busy, and by the time I started, I had already forgotten many of the series' details.

"Daddy Good Deeds" Review

While "Daddy Good Deeds" doesn't offer anything much besides simple entertainment, it is still a fun and humorous series.  No breakthroughs were made here, but I unexpectedly found myself quite enjoying it.

The key to "Daddy Good Deeds" turning out to be enjoyable was that it was a light family series, reminiscent of the warm family series like "Family Man" from the good old days of TVB.  While it can't compare to "Family Man", I like that it's just a comedy that doesn't take itself too seriously.  Once you remove the excessive and unnecessary family feuding of series like "Moonlight Resonance", I actually quite like family series for their sweetness and warmth.

The series is silly, but manages to still be funny without becoming too over the top and ridiculous.  It doesn't try to preach anything, but still offers good morals. Additionally, the rhyming of the dialogue's lines were witty and upbeat.  All the pop culture references were funny too!

The whole cast performed decently.  Ha Yu once again pulls off the father figure with warmth.  Linda Chung proves to be endearing and likable when she's not forced to cry in every episode.  Evergreen Mak and Nancy Wu were definitely mismatched as a married couple, but still performed well with what they were given.  Even Cilla Kung, whose acting could even be described as cringe worthy in the past, was surprisingly natural, adorable, and lovable.  What anchors and makes "Daddy Good Deeds" so fun though, are superb performances from Steven Ma and Edwin Siu.  It is definitely Steven and Edwin who are the shining stars here!

Steven's character may have not been high profile, but managed to be his most memorable and lovable role in years.  "Fat Dat Gor" is a breath of fresh air from Steven's recent boring and righteous roles.  He is caring and generous, but knows when to stand up and think for himself as well.  He's not ridiculously selfless, which makes him realistic.  Steven finally gets to bring a great character to life again, giving "Fat Dat Gor" the humor, charm, and sincerity. This was a fantastic way to end his TVB career with a bang - though I hope this is not his last TVB series ever.  Watching Steven in such a wonderful character and performance again makes me love and miss the respectable actor even more.

Edwin continues to slowly rise in popularity and status again, and it's all deserved.  He's played some more minor supporting roles since his return to TVB, but gets to shine here.  "Ah Yap" is such an adorable, endearing, and unique character and Edwin was the perfect young actor to play him with his cute charm and liveliness.  He has vastly improved and proved his comedic timing here, and is therefore already my choice for this year's Most Improved Actor.  The character seemed to experience an abrupt change, in terms of wardrobe and personality (he became less goofy and more intelligent as the series went on), but I didn't mind too much since Edwin pulled it all off so well.  I hope he keeps becoming more successful and gets to portray more great roles!

Besides Steven and Edwin's individual performances, the next best thing was hands down their bromance together.  They made such convincing and cute "brothers"/good friends!  The "broke back mountain" scene was hilarious.  They genuinely seemed like the close friends they were supposed to be.  I loved how even when they fought for Linda, they played fair and maintained their maturity, as well as still looking out and thinking for each other.

Steven, Edwin, and Linda's friendship was also very sweet and enjoyable.  I loved how they were so supportive and helpful to each other.  The scene where Edwin and Steven pretended to be Linda's boyfriend at the police station in front of Awesome Sir was too funny and cute.  Linda retained her likability all through out here, and it was cute watching them fall for each other.

Conclusion

"Daddy Good Deeds" is not amazing and had some more boring moments, but is notable for performances from Steven and Edwin, and there are lots of hilarious moments.  I can't remember the last time I laughed so much in a recent TVB series.  It's silly, but not stupid or lame.  It may not be for everyone, but I recommend it to someone who wants some good hearted fun and a couple laughs.  I love Steven and Edwin even more after watching this, and others probably will too.  They make it worth watching.

Rating: 3 stars