20 November 2004

The Wing Of Desire [MediaCorp]

Posted on November 20, 2004 Currently this post has No comments .

Written by Funn Lim

"If this was by TVB, Jiaxuan would wake up losing all her memories and moving on and Kai Lang and Dan Chun could be together forever. This series left it opened when it came to Dan Chun and Kai Lang."

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

Cast-Character

Jacelyn Tay - Hu Dan Chun

Ivy Lee - Lin Jiaxuan

Edmund Chen - Qin Kailang

Chen Huihui - Hu Xiujuan

Chen Shucheng - Hu Tie

Ye Quan Zhen - Yang Qiuxia

Huang Bingjie - Lin Jiahao

Tang Shixiang - Chen Wenwu

Guest starring : Cynthia Koh as Li Wanping.

Official Website

You will find episode summaries and characters bio at Official website at MediaCorp that aren't exactly accurate.

Released In

2002

No. of Episodes

25

Plot

I am now too lazy to recount everything that happened in this series. So I shall be brief.

A long long time ago a young woman killed herself when her best friend refused to believe she didn't have an affair with another man. Her husband I guess didn't quite believe her as well as he himself was having an affair with another woman. Both these women gave birth to two daughters, the legitimate wife to a daughter named Jiaxuan and the mistress to an illegitimate daughter named Dan Chun. Jia Xuan was raised by the very same best friend who was wrecked with guilt when he friend died (or maybe cousin is the official relations) whilst Dan Chun's mom was murdered by her own father who thought she was having an affair with her ex boyfriend, Hu Tie who was a gangster when actually that boyfriend having been taught by that cousin to rape her as an act of revenge. Dan Chun's dad killed himself. Yes, a lot of people killing themselves over affairs that never happened. Anyway, both grew up, Jiaxuan in a privileged environment with Qing Kailang as boyfriend (he is the son of that same best friend now Jiaxuan's aunt) and Dan Chun grew up much loved by Hu Tie who took care of her as he was wrecked with guilt together with his eldest daughter who is mentally challenged named Ah Juan. Again, yes a lot of people wrecked with guilt over stupid things they did to other people who reacted in a very stupid way themselves. These half sisters met in adulthood as friends and became enemies once Dan Chun responded to an ad call looking for the little girl in that picture. Turns out that daddy's father wrote a will whereby his shares in the company will be distributed equally between his 3 grandchildren, that is Jiaxuan, Dan Chun and Jia Hao, a cousin with a very bad acting .. I mean attitude. But Dan Chun had to work in the company to earn her share and after much thought she joined the company only to be attacked senselessly by Jia Hao and now the very jealous Jiaxuan. Things came to even bigger blows when Dan Chun fell for Kailang and Kailang fell for Dan Chun when Jiaxuan became more and more unreasonable. Kailang left to clear his mind and Jiaxuan pretended to be nice to Dan Chun to please Kailang who came back and broke off the relationship with Jiaxuan and started a new one with Dan Chun only to be told by Jiaxuan that she had cancer and well basically she ruled the day with her illness and Dan Chun and Kailang were left in the lurch.

Lots of things happen in epic Greek tragedy proportion and frankly to lazy to type it in here as I am sure my comments will have some of the details. For more details check out the MediaCorp website.

Comments

My simple verdict for this series is I enjoyed watching it, very very much. I also like the very realistic ending which frankly I haven't seen such an ending for quite some time.

The main theme of this series is jealousy and I believe the Angel referred to in the title is the character of Lin Jiaxuan.

The winning point of this series is ultimately its complex characters thrown into very delicate sensitive situations coupled with some very fine performances by the actors and actresses. I find the very core of human nature, what makes us an angel and what turns us into devils (which is the main storyline of this series) very very appealing. It reminds me of TVB's Life For Life, only that the character of Lin Jiaxuan is even more complicated.

Basically Dan Chun is one person who by discovering she had a half sister, an aunt, a cousin and knowing her past received what she never really had. She is a simple person who enjoys the simple pleasures in life and she loves her sister Ah Juan so much she wishes for a bigger family. When she discovered she had a half sister in her friend Jiaxuan, she was very happy, thinking she gained a family rather than losing her own family. There was this conversation in Jiaxuan's car before these discoveries were made that basically set the tone of the entire plot.

Dan Chun asked Jiaxuan whether she was ever lonely being the only child and Jiaxuan gave it some thought and said it never bothered her because she had an aunt and a cousin who loved her very much. She had it all. She didn't need a sibling to share and she didn't know if she could share because she was never in this kind of situation before. Her aunt indulged her, Kai Lang basically had to give in to her demands all the time. In fact her aunt indulged her so much because her aunt felt guilty and responsible over her mother's death. So basically in Jiaxuan's mind, sharing was never an option because she never had to. Dan Chun herself revealed she enjoyed Ah Juan's companionship so much, she wished she had more siblings. This was a girl who grew up adored by her adopted father and having to take care of a mentally handicapped sister Ah Juan whom herself idolises Dan Chun, so in a way Dan Chun shared her life with these people, and in her mind sharing was always better than enjoying it all alone because things can get pretty lonely if done alone. The scene in the car is a direct contrast of these two people and in a way a study into the inner psyche with what went wrong with Jiaxuan.

Truth is nothing was wrong with Jiaxuan, just that her aunt and cousin were too blinded to realise that Jiaxuan was not the angel they thought she was. Early indicators included she firing Kai Lang's secretary who was too friendly and too close with Kai Lang, getting jealous by girls' attention to Kai Lang and the ultimate was when Dan Chun was revealed as her half sister. Jiaxuan knew Dan Chun is a nice girl but when the truth was revealed, her mind quickly said Dan Chun would take away all she ever had. So Jiaxuan became very protective to what she had and the more protective she was, the more Kai Lang was turned off by her antics. There is no doubt Kai Lang loved Jiaxuan, and Jiaxuan loved Kai Lang, but the former is a more giving love whilst the latter is a more possessive love. Simply put, Jiaxuan is the embodiment of the Kiasu mentality.

In that respect Dan Chun received the most "punches" from Jiaxuan who was especially mean and bitchy to Dan Chun. Dan Chun thought she could salvage this relationship (after all as friends they were friendly to one another) and decided to try her best to make Jiaxuan accept her. But the more Dan Chun appeared before Jiaxuan's eyes, the more Jiaxuan hated her. This was more so when she saw how friendly Dan Chun was with Kai Lang and how Kai Lang was beginning to feel more than friendship with Dan Chun.

I wouldn't say Dan Chun seduced Kai Lang and the more apt description of how Kai Lang left Jiaxuan would be Jiaxuan drove Kai Lang away by driving Dan Chun away from her life. Kai Lang couldn't understand why Jiaxuan just couldn't accept Dan Chun. I wouldn't even say Jiahao influenced Jiaxuan and it wasn't the inheritance. In the end it is because Jiaxuan simply hated the idea of sharing with someone. She wanted it all for herself. The right word is Jiaxuan felt threatened by Dan Chun's presence. That ultimately drove Kai Lang away.

Kai Lang went away for some time and returned when Jiaxuan did many things to Dan Chun (without Dan Chun knowing) and telling him so in her emails to Kai Lang. Jiaxuan felt even angrier when she found out Kai Lang was writing to Dan Chun and yet refused to reply her mails. At this juncture Jiaxuan pretended to be nice to Dan Chun because she realised her inability to accept Dan Chun drove Kai Lang away and she wanted Kai Lang back and so she pretended. The only person who knew her true intentions was her aunt, Kai Lang's mom. But Qiuxia couldn't say no to Jiaxuan and let her be.

Things came to critical stage when Jiaxuan realised Kai Lang was about to tell her he was in love with Dan Chun and so she pretended to be sick, in fact dying. But that was all a lie and she was slowly poisoning herself so that she can pin the blame on Dan Chun who was responsible for giving her her medicine. When Dan Chun was arrested after Jiaxuan's false accusations, Kai Lang and his mom knew in their hearts Dan Chun didn't do it.

At this point, there is basically one reason why things became ugly. Everybody overestimated Jiaxuan. Dan Chun thought Jiaxuan was willing to accept her, Kai Lang thought she could live without him, Qiuxia thought she could live past through this. Obviously all of them knew so little about Jiaxuan.

In a way I can empathise with Jiaxuan. I mean Dan Chun is a nice girl but she should have walked away if she really cared about Jiaxuan. Hear me out.

Dan Chun deliberately stayed close to Kai Lang as she was in love with Kai Lang but knew she had little chance. So just the idea of being able to be near him was enough for her. What she didn't realise is Jiaxuan wasn't stupid and she knew Kai Lang felt a little something for Dan Chun too. The point is never ever desire your own sister's boyfriend, if you ever intend to have a close relationship with her. I can understand Jiaxuan's anger actually when she was always there, still there even when Jiaxuan told her to get lost. Dan Chun thought it was just a phase. But I would argue that Dan Chun refused to leave because she wanted to be near Kai Lang and innately, she thought she had a chance. So if you see Dan Chun in this light, she is not as nice as we would like to think of her.

But everything that Jiaxuan did was overboard, was too much for anyone to comprehend. Her hatred of Dan Chun was so deep she was willing to gamble with her life, thinking that was how she could win Kai Lang back. When her aunt confronted her about the poisoning incident, it was an emotional scene. Qiuxia tearfully asked Jiaxuan, "I have failed, I have failed to give you enough love, to teach you and you have turned out this way". Jiaxuan didn't really feel sorry for what she did but she was crying because she was afraid Qiuxia will stop loving her and Qiuxia could only tearfully say she had failed. In a way she had. Is it possible that too much love can be dangerous? That it could create a lifetime expectation of 100% love that can never be shared? It was obvious Qiuxia was stuck in between her love for Jiaxuan and her guilt towards Dan Chun so in the end she surrendered herself and Dan Chun was free. Let's not discuss about the silliness of this scene but it was still dramatic enough for a gasp or two.

But Jiaxuan didn't stop there. Kai Lang in an attempt to dig info from Jiaxuan slept with Jiaxuan twice, and Jiaxuan triumphantly said to Dan Chun and Kai Lang she was pregnant. Naturally nobody believed her. I didn't also because too much lies were uttered from her mouth so nobody knew when she was telling the truth. Moreover Jiahao kidnapped Dan Chun in exchange for money and Jiaxuan told him to kill her. Well Jiahao was arrested and Dan Chun saved when she bribed the killer and gave him more money. Jiaxuan was stark raving mad and that was when Kai Lang walked away. So she did something I would have expected her to do earlier, that is to jump to her death. Kai Lang immediately persuaded her not to and Jiaxuan thought she had a chance. Then Kai Lang broke the news, of all times it had to be there and then (this man lacked tact and timing for bad news) and Jiaxuan was so distraught, she ran and ran and ran and in a very dramatic moment, she screamed "I give you both my blessings but I want you to know your happiness is gained through my death!" and she jumped off a very narrow slope, row and row and row and fell into a very big longkang and hit her head on a stone. Kai Lang who saw her jumped also jumped with her and Dan Chun followed as well. But that was not the worst. The worst was in the hospital where Jiaxuan was certified as comatose and that was when Kai Lang found out SHE WAS INDEED PREGNANT. Kai Lang out of guilt, walked away from Dan Chun, came back a few years later and saw Dan Chun holding a baby girl with Jiaxuan sitting on a wheelchair. That was the end as he approached Dan Chun, lightly touched Jiaxuan on her cheek and looked at his daughter. There were no words spoken because it was unnecessary.

There were many moments in this series when I thought less is more. Like when Jiaxuan showed Kai Lang their childhood pictures, how they were always together. At that moment Kai Lang knew Jiaxuan did many bad things but yet perhaps as he looked through the pictures, he couldn't bring himself to hate her. They had too much in their past and Kai Lang saw in the adult Jiaxuan the girl he once knew and truly loved. Now he didn't know this adult Jiaxuan.

You may say why they all kept forgiving her, why Dan Chun even jumped to try and save her. One because Dan Chun was not evil and two both of them saw Jiaxuan when she was at her best (although I would argue even at her best she was slightly demented) so in their minds this evil Jiaxuan was not the real Jiaxuan. They wondered what made her change and when Jiaxuan told Dan Chun "It was because of you, YOU who took Kai Lang away!", in a way she was telling the truth. Jealousy was the key and the lack of tact was the driving force.

Then there were the scenes like the ending scene. If this was by TVB, Jiaxuan would wake up losing all her memories and moving on and Kai Lang and Dan Chun could be together forever. This series left it opened when it came to Dan Chun and Kai Lang. I would argue it was not possible for them to be together anymore. They were guilt ridden. They shouldn't be because Jiaxuan was selfish but they couldn't help it. Everybody seems to blame himself or herself for what happened to Jiaxuan, I too blame Dan Chun and Kai Lang but ultimately, Jiaxuan made that decision to jump, so she had to be blamed. Maybe the writers tried to give a pararell kind of thing between Jiaxuan and her mom who also jumped when they didn't really mean to and between Dan Chun and Qiuxia, whereby Qiuxia out of guilt took care of Jiaxuan and now Dan Chun will take care of that little girl. I love this ending because it is so different, so real.

After watching this series in its entirety, I realise Jiaxuan had thought of the ultimate revenge against Dan Chun and Kai Lang. What better revenge than to punish them with guilt and what ifs? First she did it by destroying Dan Chun's reputation (accusing her of having affairs when Jiaxuan encouraged that married rich guy to pursue Dan Chun), all these she did it quietly, nobody knew it was she and they thought it was Jiahao. Jiahao was no saint but he was far less scary than Jiaxuan. Then she did many more things like pretending to be really nice to Dan Chun, poisoning herself, then accused Dan Chun of poisoning her so jailing Dan Chun would be ultimate right? Nope. She then slept with Kai Lang and boasted about it in front of Dan Chun whilst pretending to be sweet and nice and Dan Chun was in prison. Dan Chun was so distraught she refused to eat and so Jiaxuan appeared next to her and said many more bad things and Dan Chun even tried to strangle her (very dramatic scene). Not enough? Well she then told everybody she was pregnant and said things like daddy doesn't want you, poor baby and then she go and ask Jiahao to kidnap Dan Chun and to kill her. Again not enough? She threatened to jump. She didn't and then she jumped the 2nd time. But the ultimate revenge? She lived but not like she was before (I think the ending is a bit sketchy, was she brain damaged but she could sit and even cry a bit or was she so deep into her depression that she refused to move?), gave birth to a baby girl and for the rest of their lives, Dan Chun and Kai Lang would be constantly reminded how they disbelieved her when she told them she was pregnant. The scene when she jumped was also very dramatic because the background music was hauntingly dramatic. This series is like the ultimate guide to ever lasting revenge that is if you're willing to die for it! I basically cheered at her dedication in making Dan Chun and Kai Lang miserable.

You know if I were Dan Chun, I wouldn't be. I would simply walk away. The problem with Dan Chun is she like Kai Lang couldn't walk away. So in the end they couldn't be together. The ending is still fresh in my mind and to fully appreciate the ending, you must watch this series to see the progression (or digression) of Jiaxuan's mental health. She wasn't crazy, she knew what she was doing, she was very calculative as well but she might as well had been crazy because no sane person would have gone through the lengths that she went through to hurt Dan Chun and get back Kai Lang. It makes you like those who threw paint onto their cheating husband's favourite Porsche.

Jiaxuan was indeed a character you shouldn't like much, shouldn't feel sad for her but I felt what a pity. If only she just let go a little she wouldn't have lost so much. If only Dan Chun just walked away and Kai Lang just stop falling for his cousins.

Great Aspect

As discussed above, the ending and the acting performances which I shall discuss later.

Bad Aspect

Actually plenty.

This series is too dramatic but I like it because I always enjoy two women having catfights, more so when one starving woman tried to strangle another woman who won't shut up!

The character of Wen Wu. Is there a point? I thought he was the villain but he spent so much time feeling guilty and scared over what he did, I don't think he had time to be a villain. His death scene was more funny than tragic and the actor was horrible although handsome.

The character of Lin Jiahao is such a caricature and the actor? Probably the worst actor in this series.

The timeline is all off. We have Jiaxuan's mom having a very 90s hairstyle, 90s dress, 90s feel when it was about 2 decades ago.

Then the storyline about how everybody's mom died. Already it was silly enough to have a woman jumping to her death out of a dare, then we have a man stabbing his girlfriend and then cut his own neck in a tunnel that didn't feel like 20 years ago. Before than we have rape, pictures ... you know everything dramatic, logic need not apply.

Everybody normal hardly have sex but it was the mentally challenged girl played by Chen Hui Hui had plenty of it. Don't get me wrong. It was sickening. All the recent Singaporean series I have watched have very similar trends;

1. pedophiles raping or attempting to rape

2. sickos raping or attempting to rape

3. stupid policemen who never investigate because they were never in the storyline

4. stupid lawyers because we have people admitting to killing everybody and nobody seems to question but again can't blame them because they were never in the storyline

5. there is no justice in Singapore

This series is all of that. Ah Juan was raped by an old uncle and yes, she willingly followed him because she didn't know better. Second time she willingly followed and the guy was removing her pants (very graphic!) when Dan Chun and Wen Wu appeared and beat the crap out of that guy. You know the joke? Wen Wu had to go to prison for a few months for beating a guy who was attempting to rape a friend who was mentally challenged. You see the joke? Where is the justice? Later on Wen Wu who was drunk thought Ah Juan was Dan Chun and well, you may say slept with her but that girl didn't know better so I should use the word rape. Ah Juan was pregnant twice, once she lost it I think when Jiahao pushed her to the floor (the father was that creep) and second time by Wen Wu but she died not long after when she drowned in the pool. We have also a scene of Wen Wu trying to rape Dan Chun, Qiuxia surrendering herself for poisoning Jiaxuan (the police are indeed dead in Singapore by the looks of this series). I think most of the series I watched was between 2000-2002 so maybe during these times MediaCorp had a very disillusioned writer?

Towards the end the pretentious soundtrack, like walking away slowly to a very loud Italian opera song. I cringed at the thought of that scene.

Bad kissing scenes. I mean Jiaxuan and Kai Lang's scenes were ok, they were even in bed you see (again pretty graphic by local TV standards) but the kissing scene between Dan Chun and Kai Lang was all camera angles. Why don't they just kiss??

Old people in young people's role. Jiaxuan I think is between 25 - 27 years of age, so Dan Chun must be a bit younger and Kai Lang a bit older but Edmund Chen though very healthy looking, he looked way older than mid 30s. In fact he looked perpetually drunk with his rosy cheeks. And he looked sad, very sad, droopy eyes, droopy face. I feel depressed looking at him BUT he can sing though and he has a lovely voice, as in manly and yet soft.

Dan Chun crying at Kai Lang and Jiaxuan's engagement party without realising it. I think this says it all right? But unlike another series which had the same scene, Dan Chun here was irritating. The other series I was talking about was a Taiwanese series called For Better Or Worse where the ex girlfriend (probably the only mistress that viewers support) openly cried whilst ex boyfriend (a man worth fighting for) married his ex wife (most hated wife ever on screen) again.

I am not sure whether I mentioned this or not earlier as I am supplementing my review after so many weeks. There is one glaring discrepancy in this series which could have been the downfall of this series if not for the fine performances and engaging storyline. I am not that into accuracy, but when you are supposed to be 20 years back and yet you have almost all characters with highlighted red/blonde/burgundy red hair, you will immediately notice the problem. Worse still was the hairstyle were all so 90s and so of this century that it didn't feel like the old times. Then there was the dressing. One minute you have headscarf and 70s type of skirt and blouse, next minute you have an ultra modern red dress where the main character killed herself in. Maybe in Singapore it is very difficult to find a location that is of the old times, but then 70s or early 80s is not that old a time. But I thought I saw some modern cars in the background. It kinda bothers me for a while but after a while I was so into the story and acting, I really didn't care.

The main plot could have been a very bad aspect as well. The flashbacks are all done in a very amateurish way. In fact I could have been the writer. The writing and the flashbacks could have been more polished and well presented but all I could see was girl got cheated by husband, cousin in love with husband, cousin thought girl was having an affair dared girl to prove her innocence and girl jumped to prove her innocence, cousin wrecked with guilt. Very dramatic, very tragic, oh so Taiwanese Qiong Yau style. I hated the flashbacks because at the end of the day all that didn't matter because the rivalry between the two sisters didn't stem from what their parents did or did not do but rather because of one man they both wanted. Other than that I find the settings in the modern world more believable and the story more powerful.

Other than that, everything was quite ok.

Themesong

I like the themesong and I suspect sung by Edmund Chen and Jacelyn Tay. Sounded like them.

Performances Evaluated

Overall, more bad ones than good ones. Let's do the bad ones first.

Worst Actor

I am torn between Tang Shixiang who plays Wen Wu and Huang Bingjie who plays Jiahao, one too emotional and the other too robotic and dramatic. My choice in the end is Tang Shixiang. He is such a bad actor, especially when he goes panicky, all his bad acting could be seen. I can't describe it, you have to see it for yourself. He looks good but no substance.

Worst Actor - Runner Up

Definitely that actor who played Lin Jiahao, Huang Bingjie.

Worst Actress

Definitely the actress who plays Qiuxia whom I believe her name is Ye Quan Zhen, who was also in Zhen Zhu Cai Yi. I mean she's not that bad but she is like a drama queen you know? Too expressive, so many dramatic big moments. Typical Taiwanese style of acting, in shock stagger a few steps back, in anger, hunch your shoulders, walk forward slowly, squint eyes and start crying. Always cry. I pity this actress though. She I think is a sex bomb in Taiwanese but I have seen at least 2 series she played characters older than her real age, once in Bloody Peals (Zhen Zhu Cai Yi) and now here.

Worst Actress - Runner Up

None because not many actresses in here who are memorable enough for me to start noticing how bad they are.

Best Actor

Could be Edmund Chen who I think can act very well but unfortunately he has this perpetual drunk look thanks in part to his perpetually rosy cheeks. And he is not young anymore, so frankly I do feel he is a bit too old for this role.

Best Actor - Runner Up

Chen Sucheng, this role didn't suit him because he didn't look like a loan shark to me even with tattoos and all , but he did well that is Steven. I have seen him in so many series, playing a sleazy rich man (Holland V), then a loving stern patriarch (Vive La Famille) and now this, an uneducated loving father. What more that this man can't do? Such versatility.

Best Actress

A tough call. Ivy, Jacelyn Tay or Chen Hui Hui? All 3 very credible actresses. I would say Ivy because she made Jiaxuan very ugly in her personality and the fact that she dared to look that bad, I feel she must be given due recognition for her excellent portrayal of a character that is hard to like but still could be pitied.

Best Actress- Runner Up

Jacelyn Tay or Chen Hui Hui? I would say Jacelyn Tay. I find her very stylish, and she can play all roles. I saw her as a lawyer before, she just dressed nicer and yet she looked truly professional. Here she was very good also though there were times I disliked Dan Chun.

Chen Hui Hui is also a very celebrated character actress in Singapore but I don't like her. Her performance is flawless but I just don't like the actress. I find her Ah Juan irritating, the same way I find her character in Vive La Famille irritating for different reasons. But she did well in the sense that very believable behaviour, like when after she slept with Wen Wu, she would dress in revealing clothes in her house, sleep on the floor looking very exposed. You know how children behaved when they learn something they shouldn't and that they like what they had learned?

Guest Stars

Of all I recognise only Cynthia Koh in a very forgettable role. After all her role here is just to jump and die.

A Note On The Intimate Scenes

No sex scenes but rather the characters of Kai Lang and Jiaxuan, both always embracing one another. In fact they kissed and hugged the most. The actress Ivy really really hugged that actor and Edmund Chen really actually tenderly hugged her back or how he brushed Jacelyn's hair. I can see the intimacy between the characters, the closeness, sometimes too much hugging but it's nice. It's nice to see such intimacy, but the kissing scenes suck. You know I find Singaporean series very daring when it comes to such scenes. I like that not because I am into such scenes but I find HK series half hearted in such scenes. Another shocking one was Power Of Love which really had some very intimate scenes. Again I like that because they are all tastefully done. In this series we see Kai Lang and Jiaxuan constantly hugging, or rather Jiaxuan constantly hugging Kai Lang. You will know the nature of their relationship as later on Jiaxuan doing all the hugging and Kai Lang just stood there whilst at the beginning he would hug her back. It's the body language that I appreciate.

The character of Dan Chun also kissed Kai Lang but that I believe was more of camera angles than real kissing which was embarassing to watch because it was supposed to be a very passionate kiss, full of longing and promises but the actors .... if you want to fake a kiss at least fake it for real, you know what I mean?

Verdict

A very dramatic series, and those who likes the drama in Taiwanese series and expecting something different and more real especially in dialogues (as two women bickered over one man and other scenes), this series is for you. Or watch it for some fine performances. I am now a fan of Jacelyn Tay because I find her very versatile (although harsh looking with her all too sharp features) and I do like Ivy's portrayal though I don't like the actress all that much. Watch it simply for the characters.

Rating

The Wing Of Desire [MediaCorp]

Posted on November 20, 2004 under labels Reviewer - Funn Lim, Series [Singapore], TV Series. Currently this post has No comments .

Written by Funn Lim

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

Take My Word For It [TVB]

Posted on November 20, 2004 Currently this post has 1 comment .

Written by Funn Lim

"I knew this series would be great when Bobby Au Yeung walks into his family home and starts calling his entire family garbage..."

SPOILERS! SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

Title Deciphered

Why Take My Word For It? Why not The Negotiators? The thing is Take My Word For It is so catchy you know, and take my word for it, this title is way too cool to be a title. Yes, take my word for it. OK! I will stop, take my word for it!

Cast-Character

I have watched this series like long long time ago and I am writing from a memory akin to a Pentium II processor so here goes ...

Bobby Au Yeung - Pang Kwok Tung

Kenix Kwok - Kit Kan

Moses Chan - Mok Ka Chung

Winnie Yeung - Poon Man Jing

Chilam Cheung - Yeung Kwong ("Sunshine!")

Annie Man - Yip Ho Yan

Ellesmere Chan -Jacky Yeung Hao Mo

Mary Hon

And many old timers and one really ugly actress with teeth that will cause some serious injury (whose character's name is Joyce).

Released In

2002 (I thought 2003 but according to SPCNET this series is listed under 2002).

No. of Episode

30

Summary

Basically about Hong Kong's elite negotiators in the police force called Police Negotiators Cadre (PNC) which surprisingly is on a part time basis and on a voluntery basis and only police of certain rank can try to join through some rigorous tests (physical and mental) but this series begins with the opening of applications to police of lower ranks because the negotiators are getting too old and outdated.

Plot

This series revolves around 4 people, 2 senior officers who are top ranked negotiators and 2 juniors who are wannabe negotiator.

Yeung Kwong & Yip Ho Yan

Yeung Kwong is the step son of a very rich man who owns a string of supermarkets. His bleak and low status in the Yeung family bears little resemblance to his attitude which is like his name, full of sunshine and energy. I do not know why this lazy bone became a police but he did and he treats the job like 9 to 5. His boss (a very funny guest starring role by Ai Wai) dislikes him and picks on him for good reasons. Yeung Kwong is the most unmotivated police ever but he has a singular gift that makes him a cut above the rest; he loves to talk and he can sweet talk his way out of anything and everybody in his police station is his friend. He even talked a suicidal man from jumping and that caught the attention of Kit, who likes him and hopes he will join the negotiators team, but Pang Sir dislikes him and feel he needs some discipline. Yeung Kwong never wanted ever to join the negotiators' team because that would eat up his time for his real passion; go kart racing. But he had to because he was bragging how he wanted so much to join but couldn't and Kit heard it and Kit said she hopes he will join and he didn't want to disappoint Kit so he joined, got picked despite didn't try hard at all and to put it simply, he was born to be a negotiator because he is always cool under fire.

Yip Ho Yan on the other hand who works in the boring 9 to 5 PR department ran by the very likeable Mok Sir is anything but cool. She is always fearful of many things, and always deem herself as having perpetual bad luck. But she joined the negotiators' team for a very simple reason; she is the eldest in her family of 3 sisters and one mother and she thought this will be the way to shine and perhaps get a promotion. So she went back to cadet school armed with books, and theories and met Yeung Kwong who didn't bother at all. Whilst she studied hard, she was also failing because she lacked the spontaneity and calm and cool demeanour. But she tried hard and was very disappointed when she failed and was last in class. Yeung Kwong on the other hand failed because he never tried at all, and after one tiff with Pang Sir, he realised he didn't want Pang Sir to look down on him and he worked real hard, finally appreciating the lessons he learned. He was teamed with Yip because both wrote that they did not want to team with one another and in the end worked so well together, that they won best partner. When they graduated, they graduated as friends and worked together.

Then things got complicated when Yip fell in love with Yeung but Yeung was far too busy thinking about his first love, Ada. Then Yeung encouraged his own step brother (or is it half brother?) Jacky, a nice guy who is a police psychiatrist to woo Yip and he did and they were together. Then Jacky was again too busy entertaining his lusty first girlfriend who now wanted Jacky back and in the end Yip got dumped big time. Yeung then realised he was in love with her, pursued her but Yip didn't want a relationship this time. And then she wanted it but Jacky was so upset that he fought with Yeung and Yeung, being the one blamed for everything bad that happened in the Yeung house got blamed for Jacky's own selfishness and this time it was Yeung who backed away from Yip.

Back and forth this goes on until the end. Need I say more what will happen at last?

Pang Kwok Tung & Kit Kan

The more interesting pair is these two and they require more explanation.

Pang Sir is happily married to a dependent housewife, Jing who actually wants more of her husband's attention but Pang was far too busy with his work that is Serious Crim dept coupled with the negotiators' dept. He loves her but doesn't know how to show it. In a way Jing is like a poodle requiring love and attention all the time but she never complains because well, there is a reason. Anyway Kit on the other hand is blissfully married to Mok Sir, the ideal husband or so she thinks. She works far too hard where she leads her top notch anti-vice squad coupled with the negotiators' dept and she rarely had time for Mok Sir who didn't really complain. Each thought they had a blissful marriage until Kit began to suspect her husband was having an affair. How she began to suspect I can't remember but she confessed her fears to Jing her best friend. Jing comforted her but by that time we all know Jing was the other woman. Mok was remorseful and so Kit forgave him and even blamed herself for what her husband did, as she rarely had time for him. Then Mok wanted to break off the 2 year affair with Jing at their dream apartment, Kit was just passing by, Jing saw Kit and begged Mok to give her one last passionate kiss and kiss they did and Kit saw everything. Once back at home, Kit threw Mok out and refused to forgive him but she couldn't bring herself to tell her respected senior Pang Sir about the affair so she shut up. But Pang was really concerned about this marriage and being a chauvinist that he was, he blamed Kit and told Kit off for not being flexible. Kit could only tell him why don't he asks his wife first about the breakdown of the marriage. By that time Jing and Mok decided to run away and Mok had to give up his career and suffer humiliation of fellow colleagues as what he did was unforgivable. Pang who was at the airport saw them gave one punch to Mok and was stopped by his gloating wife. They went away and Pang went home with his face held high and refused to accept reality. Kit on the other hand moved on and went for a holiday. But when she came back, she realised she was pregnant with Mok's child. She almost wanted to abort it until Pang advised her not to. Her pregnancy brought both herself and Pang closer and she even managed to reconcile with her chauvinist father (whom she blamed for causing the death of her mother during child birth as he insisted on having a son and he did adopt a useless son). Pang was still in denial and was bossy as ever to everybody until he discovered his own little brother was having a homosexual affair with another man, Pang locked him up but his brother escaped. When the brother threatened to jump, Pang didn't want the police force to know of this and lose more face so against all his training and better judgment, he tried to pull his brother back and instead he fell and became paralysed waist down.

At his worst, he resorted to seeking help from a fake medicine man and he almost lost his legs and was even more in denial and wanted to kill himself but Yeung Kwong, by now his favourite student stopped him and managed to advised him to give life and another surgery a try. The surgery was a success but he can never work in police force again as he needed a crane to walk for at least 2 or 3 years. During these time he reconciled with his family and even became some sort of a supportive friend of Kit as well as mentor to Yeung Kwong and Yip Ho Yan. Some times passed, and Kit and Pang realised after being through so much together they had feelings for one another and the Mok came back wanting to reconcile with his wife. Kit refused but when the baby was in jeopardy and in need of some organ transplant, Pang saw how Mok selflessly volunteered and how Kit was holding his hands. So he decided Kit and the baby would be best to go back to Mok and he left HK to give lectures about negotiations skills in MALAYSIA and Singapore. What he didn't know was Kit was waiting for him and when he came back ...

Need I say more?

A truly happy ending.

Questions Asked And Answered

What happened to Jacky then?

Yip and Yeung got married in part due to Jacky telling his brother to go for it. So he was a jerk for a while but in the end he realised brotherhood is more important than love.

What happened to Mok in the end?

Pang proposed, and Kit agreed (I think, I can't remember) and Mok went away, as a gentleman should.

What happened to gay brother in the end?

Silly part in this series where his brother de-gay himself, Pang forgave him and he even found himself a sweet girl.

What happened to Jing in the end?

Woo-hoo! What an ending! Mok said they were happy at first living in France I think and then she got bored with him as no more excitement from those secret affairs and read this ... she ran away with some Caucasian! Woo-hoo! What a slut! Sorry for the language but really my most hated character is Jing actually.

Comments

I had zero expectations for this series, after all I have enjoyed Vigilante force so much thanks to Bowie Lam's charismatic and manly Fong Nga Chai and also Tavia Yeung's cute performance, I never expected a better series. Take My Word For It isn't better, but it is equally as good. I knew this series would be great when Bobby Au Yeung walks into his family home and starts calling his entire family garbage and starts sulking and scolding EVERYBODY. That to me is what I call an entrance! I knew this series would be different and it was.

For one, most of the performances are top notch. For once Bobby Au Yeung was given a character that one can't help but dislike but yet can't help but admire his integrity and dignity whilst Kenix was given a character that I suspect is like her real self, strong, selfless and often time blameless and very very objective but assertive. Chilam was perfectly cast as the sunshine Yeung Kwong who is a motor mouth who can't stop talking his way out of anything whilst it is a welcomed change to see Moses and Ellesmere in nice guys role who are the most flawed characters in this series. Winnie Yeung gave a decent performance as the ultimate bitch in any series I have seen thus far whilst Annie Man was... well Annie Man. More on that later. Now first let's talk about the characters.

It has been a long time since I have watched a series with such compelling characters that not only has full fledge personality but so different since well this series and recently MediaWorks' Changing Lanes. They're flawed characters but in times of needs, you will see some rise for the occasion whilst some falter. I shall go one by one ...

Character Analysis

Pang Kwok Tung

Pang Sir is one unforgettable character and Bobby Au Yeung certainly looked like he enjoyed playing this character. Pang Sir is someone who is very successful at what he does, and he thinks that his wife is blissfully happy with him simply because he's him, that his family must listen to everything he says because he earns the most and he brings home the most cash and yet when with Mok his best friend, he is perhaps his most reasonable. You could say this man bullies his loved ones but he never see that as bullying; he sees what he does as something unavoidable since Jing doesn't have a mind of her own (not true), his parents so old and useless (not true), his big brother and wife so undependable (maybe but not quite true), his little brother so weak (maybe) and his little sister so stupid (not quite). He may have seen himself god like in fact and his nose is so high in the air it is rather interesting to watch when he fell big time. He thinks his subordinates respect him, which is true but he is not selfless. In fact he thinks of his subordinates as a way to get high in his career like using them to full use without having regards to people needing rest, family dinners, etc. In fact, except for his bosses and Kit and Mok, everybody hates him, including Yeung Kwong and Yip.

Then he fell, big time. Unable to cope with the fact that he is far from perfect, and when he was paralysed, he wanted to kill himself. Now this is interesting, because this is a man who talked many people out of doing themselves in and here he was, trying to burn himself to death. Yeung Kwong rushed there and in a desperate act even doused himself with I think some inflammable liquid and pledged to die with Pang, and Pang gave up because he is not one to gamble with other people's life.

When before he was the caretaker, now his family took care of him. They were genuinely concerned about him and as he took time to really look at his family, he saw how brilliant his parents and sister in law were in managing their small restaurant, how good his older brother was at making soup, how his little sister was admiring and idolising him so much that she wanted to be a cop herself. He saw for the first time how great his family was instead of how great he himself was and in a way he realised the way he treated Jing was perhaps a cause why she ran away. She saw her dream house decorated the way she wanted instead the one they had where she decorated the way he wanted and through the care and love he had for Kit, as a viewer the transformation was touching and powerful. He never realised so many people care for him and when he did, he became a much better man, a more tolerant man.

I love to watch his transformation, and I love who he became in the end. His integrity was always there, despite the fact that he was a bully, bossy and refused to listen to anyone. But when he became more giving, less bossy and became a listener like he was when he was a negotiator, he had his dignity and integrity more pronounced. I am a bit philosophical about this character but I must say this is one character that is solid in its creation.

Best Moment(s)

Every time he walked into his family home, his family suddenly shut up and became tense and the way he scolded everybody, and dictated to everybody what to do. Classic entrance.

When his family took charge in taking care of him and that one scene when he realised his family weren't garbage, in fact they were great.

His relationship with Kit, from mutual respect to mutual concern to mutual love. Very believable and very beautifully portrayed.

When he was at his worst mood and hiding in a rural place, he met an old man who was painting the same scene every day, that is of a sunset. The old man told him depending on how you see it, it could be a sunrise. Then the old man said he had it all and then found out he had cancer and had months to live and yet the old man was happy with the time he had. When the old man died, Pang received the sunrise painting and he began to see hope again and become optimistic.

The actor, Bobby Au Yeung

I dare say this is Bobby's best performance todate. He had a similar cynical character in that series about customs agents with Wong Hei where he was brilliant, then he was in far too many series with him as the underdog and now he has come back to serious drama and in a role perhaps only he could do so well. The way he walked, with such confidence and arrogance, you will hate his Pang Sir and yet admire him for being so determined. His transformation was very powerfully portrayed and I can only say, Pang Kwok Tung is a gem of a character and Bobby gave this character life. Excellent performance.

Kit Kan

This is also one of the more better written characters where her character is independent, resourceful, determined and yet reasonable. She is always at odds with Pang Sir, but her approach is "You do your way, I do my way, if you're the boss, I have to do it your way and I do my best". In the entire series, I don't think she has ever called Pang Sir anything but Pang Sir and that is a mark of respect. No doubt she respects this man though she disagrees with him most of the time. The only time she lost her patience with him when she was blamed for the breakdown of her own marriage. This woman is such a good woman that she even blamed herself for her husband's affair until she realises that Jing was the other woman. To her there is a difference between having an affair with another woman (meaning husband is an unfaithful git) and having an affair with your best friend's wife (meaning husband is a bastard to the core). Rightly so she refuses to forgive Mok and rightly threw him out of the house. What a character! Then there was the progression on how she forgave her chauvinistic father who genuinely loved her but was too chauvinistic to show it and her beautiful love affair with Pang Sir which was hinted but never fully shown.

Best Moment

Without a doubt, probably 2nd best scene in this series, was when Mok called, she coldly told him to please inform her when he is coming to take his stuff because she doesn't want to see him.

The actress, Kenix Kwok

Excellent performance because this role is probably written with her in mind. So she was a tad too thin to be a believable top madam in the police force but Kenix has this strong no nonsense personality and Kit was certainly that way. I love her chemistry with Bobby. If I remembered correctly, they were in a series together some years ago but the chemistry was ok but here, it was even better. Actually Bobby Au Yeung has chemistry with everybody.

Yeung Kwong

The laziest person ever due to lack of motivation who became very motivated after being insulted by Pang Sir and then became a better man under his tutelage. He is Pang Sir's muse as Pang Sir let him see his personal collection of all his written thoughts about the cases he handled, a privilege not even Kit had. Kit liked him because she saw potential but Pang Sir at first disliked him because he saw disciplinary problems. Both were right. Anyway, Yeung Kwong is one very optimistic person, even when he was having a bad day, like how his family treats him like an outsider. But his stepfather genuinely loves him like his own so which explains why he would do anything for his father. His relationship with his older brother and sister were at best cold though he tried hard. However his relationship with his little brother, Jacky was very close until the problem with Yip Ho Yang in between of them and that was because Jacky couldn't let go.

Best Moment(s)

Definitely during the training moments where much to Yip's annoyance, he aimed to fail!

The scenes how he was like a dog/slave back home though everybody thought him being a rich man's son must have a very easy life which was far from the truth as he had to please everybody.

His playful banter with Kit and his relationship with his mentor, Pang Sir, the good,

the bad and the ugly.

The scenes with his boss played by Ai Wai had me laughing so hard!

The actor, Chilam Cheung

Brilliant performance. What more can I say?

Yip Ho Yan

As described in my Plot section.

Best Moment(s)

The times when she couldn't believe Yeung Kwong aimed to fail whilst she studied so hard aiming to just pass because she knew she is not a brilliant student.

The actress, Annie Man

I feel she can act decently, but I am a bit bored with her nasal voice (like she was holding her breath when she is talking) and her rapid head movements that gave me a headache. The truth is I never really liked her in her recent series and whilst she gave a decent performance, I feel she didn't give a breakthrough performance in part because the character isn't much and also because her acting is becoming very predictable. She may cute but she is not exciting to watch. I get bored by the mere mention of her name and when she is alone in a scene, I tend to switch off my attention until Kenix or Chilam comes into the scene. I have said the same thing about Kenix some time before and why I love her in here is because her character is exciting and Kenix's personality complemented that character. With Annie Man, it felt like a routine performance devoid of any new perspective. Who else can play this role I wonder?

Mok Sir & Jacky

These two men are horrible creatures. One guilty of having an affair with his best friend's wife (unforgivable) and the other for turning into such a heartless bastard. I can't decide who to hate more, but I didn't have to decide because one woman won the title which I shall explain later.

Mok Sir

Mok Sir is a decent guy, no doubt but decent in what? You may say he was seduced, he was driven to it, Pang Sir in a way drove him wife into his arms, but really, if you want to have an affair, must it be your best friend's wife? The hypocrisy of it was sickening and when Kit threw him out and refused to forgive him when she found out Jing was the woman, like her I kinda realised when they were spending time together as friends with the other couple, these two were also sleeping with one another behind their backs. The worst was having their own secret hideout decorated with such care and attention and the affair went on for 2 years. Whilst Pang Sir may have been mean to everybody, he was the nicest when he was with Mok Sir, and the way he went all out to save his best friend's marriage, magnifies how sickening Mok Sir is. And this Mok Sir is so spineless. One minute begging Kit to come back to him which Kit flatly refused, next he was in the hospital hugging Jing and bawling his eyes out and then leaving with Jing the next day. Spineless.

Best Moment(s)

When Kit threw him out and when he came back later to apologise to Pang Sir, Pang Sir told him right in his face he was sickening. The fact that he lost his career, his wife, his child, his lover, respect and best friend were just reward for what he had done, irrespective whether Pang Sir deserved it or not.

The actor, Moses Chan

Decent performance, but I suspect many female fans will forgive his Mok Sir, I can't help but feel disgust at the hypocrisy of his character and so nope, don't care if it is Moses in this role. Anyway I always believed Moses Chan in real life is a gentleman. Where was I? Oh yes, why is it Moses Chan, who is very famous in his own right is always in supporting roles? He made a career out of supporting roles when he is actually a lead actor material, though his acting, drama wise is weak. Comedy wise, I feel he has great potential.

Jacky

Horrible character without an opinion, wasted all his education. He was dumped because he was boring, then he went out with Yip, and to his ex he was exciting again and so she seduced him and he let himself be seduced and when he became clingy, he was dumped again and this time he wanted Yip back. What this moron wants?

Jacky is actually a decent man. To his credit when he was fighting with Yeung Kwon, he never said to Yeung Kwong "You're not a real Yeung!" and again to his credit he actually listens to Yeung Kwong. So what went wrong?

Ahhhhhhhhh ... Yip Ho Yan is a virginal angel and this man wants that well...what is that four letter word that starts with an s and ends with a t? And her teeth is enough to cause serious damage!

Best Moment(s)

When he got dumped by that woman again and again.

The actor, Ellesmere Choi

Oooohh, I was almost so scared for his life when he had to kiss that woman with that big bunny tooth or teeth or whatever. Again I believe Choi is a metrosexual and a gentleman in real life but this character is despicable. Decent performance but then Choi is never that famous as an actor's actor.

Jing

Hate her!

Best Moment(s)

When she looked at Pang at the airport who had just punched Mok and how she dared Pang to I think strike her. Urghhhh! Hate her!

When Pang Sir forced her to go find Kit and to advise her to go back to her husband, she actually stood before Kit and said many hurtful words which ended up with Kit getting angrier by the minute. Arghhhhh hate hate her. She actually flaunted her affair in that scene, and the most sickening part is remembering how earlier she held Kit in her arms consoling her when Kit said she suspected Mok was having an affair. Such hypocrisy. Whilst I pity her loneliness at home alone, and the fact that Pang Sir was very controlling type, but her treatment of Kit really was disgusting to the core.

The actress Winnie Yeung

Kudos to Winnie for taking on such a tramp like role. But bad nes is her acting is bad, and between her and Moses Chan, I am in a dilemma to choose one name. The problem with Moses is his acting of Mok Sir is of a very docile man, can be pushed around and very soft spoken is ultimately very believable eventhough Moses falters in more emotional scene. Oh yes, he did cry, very very loudly but somehow the emotional connection is not there, and this is not because I dislike his character, but his acting left much to be desired. It is almost cry on cue, sigh on cue but I don't feel it. Now, Winnie did some scenes well where she looked at Bobby's Pang Sir with really frustrated and bored eyes, but a better actress could have given Jing a deeper and more multifaceted character. Jing is not as simple as she looks, she is not as nice as she looks, she is not as docile as she looks. This is why when Pang Sir realised that his wife is not as decent as she looks, he realised with horror what kind of woman she was. So the actress who played this character must play her in a conniving way who is always strategising on how to get Mok, how to get rid of her husband, how to get what she wants. She is in effect a very selfish character with 2 faces. Winnie played her straight, very little malicious bone in that decent woman. I would think a better actress would have made Jing an even more complex and interesting character, so therefore worst actress? Winnie Yeung.

Others

The veterans in here gave very credible performances, nothing much I can talk about and the younger ones other than the ones stated above are all quite alright. Ai Wai deserved a mention, though his role was small but his character was very memorable and funny.

Fun Reference

Pang Sir's sister at last got her wish to become a policewoman and on her way to sit for an exam for the right to hold arms (guns) and guess who is her boss to be and her hero? The sister mentioned she will be transferred to the ultra strict patrol department led by non other than Chan Sam Yuen! And Chan Sam Yuen is the character in Armed Reaction and I think in part 3 she did become the head of the patrol squad and was ultra strict and she was one of the first two women to have rights to bear arms in the police force! Interesting and very fun reference to another character in another series, like as if they co-exist.

"Oh my God" Factors

Which can be both positive and negative, depending on how you see it.

- For a series about negotiators, we see lots of negotiations but all seem routines. The first few ones were interesting because they're like new stuff to me but after a while, too many people choose jumping off a building as a suicide method, too many people want to kill themselves, too many neurotic and emotional husbands, housewives, children, friends, lovers that it all got very routine and sometimes boring to watch. To me the negotiators are never tested, except for the last case where Yueng Kwong's family were held hostage by angry employees and that was dealt with in a much too simplistic way. Like, tell them what they want to hear, the soften a bit and then you attack and save lives. Is like as simple as that was shown? I was wondering why don't they show a botched robbery attempts with grenades and Ak-47s or machine guns and many hostages including children and the negotiators are running out of time if not they will kill one person every 1 hour if their demands are not met? Why not something very complicated instead of discontented housewives or fathers threatening to either jump off a building or slash the throat of the land lady? This series to me is great not because of the negotiations and in like all TVB series, it is always about the characters and their relationship with one another. Negotiations part definitely lack credibility. And though I love Yueng Kwong, I was very annoyed that everytime he is negotiating, he is always either looking dead serious and talking so so so slowwwwwwwly which gets to my nerves or he doesn't get to talk at all and we have Annie Man's Yio Ho Yan who is totally incompetent as a negotiator because she is not flexible, she follows the book and she has no spontaneity. And when you have a young girl telling you to let go of the hostage or please step back from the edge of the building, advising you what to do and what not to do, I am very surprised any of them listen at all. Like Pang Sir always say, introduce yourself, gain their trust. In all negotiations I do not see gaining trust part because all negotiations ended much too fast. Then you have 4 or 5 people attending one single small time negotiation. One case was particularly perplexing.

The hostage taker has been living in Pang Sir's neighbourhood for a very long time and Pang Sir knows this guy and yet we have people asking street people for information about this hostage taker. I mean for all I know these bystanders may be ke-po-chis you know. And who is better to give any info that Pang Sir himself? Then when they say get food for the hostage takers, we have our guys clumsily running to buy what? Potato chips and rice and drinks. And when food was delivered, the police's eyes are always eyeing the surrounding that any Tom Dick or Harry will know this is not a delivery boy, he looks way too suspicious! I find these parts very ridiculous and totally killed the credibility of this series if not for the very great performances and some good plots.

- The worst though is the one scene I have always wanted TVB to do, and if done well would gave gotten full marks from me but in this series, it was done so badly it was almost comical.

I always believe as actors/actresses, when you kiss, and if the scripts demands for a passionate good bye kiss, for heaven's sake, kiss like there's no tomorrow. But in the case of Winnie Yeung and Moses Chan, that one kiss in their dreamhouse which Kenix as Kit saw them kissing was so badly done that it totally defies logic how people can kiss like that. That kiss was supposed to be passionate, but we have Winnie smashing her closed pursed lips at Moses who himself stood there like a log (understandably since Mok Sir was reluctant to kiss her but still...) and kissed her back after a while with pursed closed lips. So in the end we have lips rubbing, grinding, smashing against one another when it should have been an open mouth kiss, whether French, Asian or Indian, whatever! I was laughing my heads off watching that ridiculous kiss and in my mind, to me Winnie Yeung and Moses Chan can't kiss at all! Maybe they can but they can't in here. Totally unromantic, totally devoid of any urgency, passion, reluctance or desperation. It was like "get it over with fast, pleaseeee". Urgh!

- How Yeung Kwong and Yip Ho Yan tangoed back and forth back and forth in terms of their relationship that after a while it was totally boring!. It ended with a wedding though which is good, at least some closure, no cliff hangers.

- The inconsistency and ridiculousness in terms of Pang Sir's career prospect after the fall and he can't walk or can walk but with a walking stick. Like how he must do desk jobs and all and why he was desperate to get back the use of his legs. From what I gather, Pang Sir is a senior officer who is very capable and an expert in perhaps profiling criminals and especially negotiations and perhaps on criminology. Why on Earth would the police force underutilise this man by giving him desk job? Like Bobby's similar character in Armed Reaction who also has a bad leg, that character became a firearm expert. I find it totally ridiculous that there is uncertainty in Pang Sir's career in terms of desk job or retire when this man's knowledge can be put to good use and as a profiler or perhaps like CSI, he need not even chase criminals. He has subordinates to do that for him! Of course in the end he got back his old job and even more respect EVENTHOUGH he still had to use to walking stick. And that is the inconsistency.

Verdict

Despite the Oh My God factors, frankly this is one of the best series I have ever watched because the characters are all very interesting, intriguing and to me Pang Kwok Tung is a very real character. He is in fact one of my favourite TV characters together with Yeung Kwong and Kan Kit because they're all very memorable, and the writing about these characters are very well done! Definitely a series you must watch, especially if you're a fan of Bobby Au Yeung who gave perhaps his best performance in recent times. You will love his Pang Sir when he walked into his house and started scolding everybody, such confidence and such arrogance and ego. You may also appreciate the fact that every single suit Bobby wore in this series looked like Armani or Versace. He really looks very good in those well cut suit. Fans of Kenix Kwok may also want to watch this series because this character really is meant for her to play. Chilam Cheung's fans will love the adorable and funny Yeung Kwong. Fans of Annie Man may also want to take note of this series though I dislike this actress. This series has a little something for everyone but if you're into drama about human interaction, this is the series for you. Whatever you preference may be, believe me, this is one series which is a must see and comes highly recommended from me.

Rating

Interesting Fact

I saw the TVB Anniversary year 2003 recently and the Most Favourite Male Lead Actor was really one of the tightest race ever in terms of acting performances. Of course it is a popularity contest but the nominees could have been in a race for Emmy Award. Let's see...

There's Roger Kwok in Square Pegs (he won, and deservedly so), Francis Ng in Triumph In The Sky (he didn't even have to win since he won I think awards for his performances in movies), Kwong Wah in King Of Yesterday And Tomorrow (an amazing and funny performance, he deserved to win but he didn't win), Bowie Lam in Vigilante Force (oh! If Roger wasn't in the list, he should win because his Fong Nga Chai is the single most important reason why this series was such a success and I love his Fong Nga Chai!) and of course, Bobby Au Yeung in Take My Word For It (also another deserving nominee and should win because his Pang Kwok Tung is so memorable).