Which is ...
A sequel to Healing Hands 1, but a lot more dramatic in my opinion.
No of Episodes
40 episode, 20 tapes
Cast - Character
Lawrence Ng Kai Wah - Paul
Bowie Lam Bo Yee -Henry
Cho Weng Lam
Michael Tong Mun Lung - Edmund
Wong Tak Bun - Cheung
Tong Jou Mah Chun Wai
Chan Hou - MC
Ada Choi Siu Fun - Jackie
Flora Chan Wai Shan -Annie
Yoyo Mong Kar Wai - Tracy
Kit Chan Kit Yee - Dorothy
Maggie Siu Mei Kei - Anson
Fiona Yuen Choi Wan - Suki
Koo Kei Kuan
Law Guen Lan
Chan Man Nah
Summary
I have an equation for this series to summarize the whole plot.
HH II = HH I - (Jackie + Gil + Annie) + (new casts + some main old casts) + (more tragic deaths + more separation + more sex + more drama + more elderly love + more young guy loves old girl stuff) - (patients + medical stuff + real life situations) + (boring love stories + pretentious folks + unrealistic portrayal of doctors and nurses relationships) + more episodes + theme song.
Basically, it is HH I but more cast and more tragic stuff.
Plot
Jackie finally dies for real, Annie leaves Henry because she thinks (and it is true) that he loves only himself and what else?
Well, in comes new doctors for other doctors!
First of all, Paul is all alone but then there's the arrogant and cold Tracy who is a rich man's daughter that nobody likes but after some eye contact and more, Tracy realises she loves Paul and so does Paul. But Tracy felt neglected, as was Paul's ex-wife in HH I because he was always busy with work and no time to play. Tracy who was once pursued by another excellent doctor who loses to Paul in terms of caring for his patients, a dude named MC (who later married a rich girl and became a businessman) who never really liked Paul but somehow I believe he admires Paul for his dedication, a quality which MC does not have, advised Tracy by simply saying, "If you could say that, you never really knew him". And so Tracy realises Paul may not be affectionate or even emotional but Paul actually cares about her. Then tragedy strikes. Tracy has epilepsy, those severe form and Tracy ran away from Paul only to finally return to him because she knew she could never stop loving him.
Henry has a far more difficult time. After 3 years with Annie, this guy still goes out and has an affair with a young doctor, Dorothy. Annie knew about it, and after one unfortunate accident where Henry swerved his car to avoid an oncoming vehicle, Annie suffered a broken neck (not that serious). The thing is Annie felt he didn't love her because instead of swerving his car towards his side, he swerved his car towards Annie side, this Henry is left uninjured. To Annie, Henry was full of himself. She left him and left the country and Henry resumes his on off love affair with Dorothy who later became pregnant. Surprise surprise, the child is not his, but it's an in vitro child and Dorothy came to terms that Henry never really loved her and was still in love with Annie. And so they became best friends.
BUT WAIT!! Henry has a wife! Yep, they married for a day (I think) and then off he went. Irresponsible guy and poor wife (a brilliant lawyer) became a bit bitter but still very much hopeful of his return. But this young lawyer was pursued by Edmund, who is actually an ex-police turned legal assistant to this lawyer who is actually the BF of another young doctor, Suki who is actually another experienced and respected doctor's baby sister. That doctor, named Anson is actually afraid of relationship and yet she was pursued by a younger doctor who is actually in love with her but Anson was afraid to start a relationship, until a bigger tragedy struck the hospital.
And then we have the Chief of Staff of the hospital (an old dude) falling for a counselor/psychiatrist (another old gal) and of course, we have our obligatory young unknown nurse pursued by a young experienced and successful doctor but all she wants is her no good BF, Ah Fai, an unseen figure.
Then we have our Jackie's old BF, Cheung who fell for another nurse.
Then we have deaths, surgeries, deaths, love, sex, surgeries, patients begging for cure/death/mercy/pain/end of pain, sex, love, sex, love, sex....you know the usual stuff yuppie rich young successful people do like sex, love, sex, love whilst driving expensive cars, living in expensive looking apartments and talking as if they're giving talks in a seminar...the real people!
I am being sarcastic here.
Comments
I started to watch the episodes after Jackie died. Truth be told, I am not a big fan of Jackie or even HH I. I thought Ada was badly cast as a doctor (she spoke really poor English and was unconvincing as a capable doctor) but the once character I really liked, named Gilbert was killed off out of camera range in part II. Well, he had Aids anyway and 3 years had passed. So frankly I was spared the drama of Jackie dying (well, Seagull was complaining the lack of it). Well, not quite so.
Let's see....
We have Tracy all of a sudden having severe epilepsy.
We have some minor drama where Dorothy was hurt, whilst pregnant.
We have the most tragic of all, Suki being hacked to death for no good reason except for mistaken identity (the killer who wanted to avenge for his brother's death killed Suki instead of Tracy as he thought Suki was Tracy as in Paul's GF..you see, Paul failed to save this guy's brother and so this guy blamed Paul for his brother's death and so wanted to kill his special someone, but well, he should have worn his glasses).
Of course we have minor tragedies like patients dying, blah blah blah.
It was really boring, but not quite so when it came to Suki. Frankly when Suki died, I was horrified but hardly shed a tear simply because I didn't really care about this character. It was not like Szeto But from Burning Flame where I actually cried buckets. This one, no feel, none, zilt!
And why of why, as Seagull so eloquently put it, that we must have so many old guy loving old woman or young guy loving old woman?
I am not saying Anson is old but that guy is definitely young. I am not against such relationship but hey, haven't we seen that before??? Of course I was chastised by someone close to me who said, "What?! Old woman cannot be loved by a young man?" My answer is of course they should be loved by someone who loves them BUT not when in Part I we have the same old stuff, between a young doctor and an older nurse. And why is it, please do tell me why is it that such storylines can only exists in professional yuppie people's lives? You know, I am a successful educated older woman pursued by a successful educated younger man?
And let's not talk about the chemistry here. Maggie Siu is a wonderful actress and her Anson was beautiful, smart, and stylish. But really, it's like really zero chemistry here.
And then of course we have the usual old guy loves old gal storyline. I am not against such storylines but frankly, the two actors in this series in such a storyline was really boring to watch. Of course the director is in a fix; if they kiss, we might all puke. If they don't, we are all bored. I feel it's better not to portray such a non-existing relationship than to portray them. Every time they appeared, I was thinking; "Come on lady, just marry him, you're not exactly young anymore." I feel nothing for their relationship except that they were wasting my time, especially when the woman starts to avoid that man thinking he was a heartless bastard.
Whilst I enjoyed Henry's story in HH I, in HH II, I still enjoyed his story, but a lot lesser than the first part. I didn't quite like that all of a sudden he has a wife whom he left without a word and that woman still pining for him. I didn't quite like Annie leaving him all of a sudden, he sleeps with other women (becoming his old self again) and at the end, went back to Annie (by the way, that was not Flora Chan). I would have preferred Dorothy was pregnant with his child and for one he realises the importance of responsibilities and that he actually married Dorothy for love. He could so easily let Annie go, perhaps that might be an indication that he did not love Annie and so his real love of his life might be someone else, like Dorothy. But nope. Fans would not have it this way and so Annie it shall be and it ...was...sooooooo....bland.
Now we have Paul. Paul Paul Paul, same old Paul but surprisingly, I like this Paul in HH II. Same but not quite. Less pretentious acting by Lawrence Ng who played him calm, cool and rational. I would have wanted him, like Tracy did. I have nothing against Paul but Tracy's end was something I wanted to laugh about.
I was predicting more tragedy and guess what? I was right. When Tracy had that seizure, I was laughing my heads off because this series has clearly became a tragi-comedy. It was so tragic that it was really funny. I know it's difficult to understand who such tragic stuff could be so funny but when you have an overdose of serious and tragic stuff, believe me, you will see the funny side of such things. This series became a joke when Tracy became so ill. In my mind, for me if there is Paul, I believe Paul is such a jinx for his GFs. Imagine this...first GF had her head operated and died. Second GF had her head operated and well, she lived but still, all his GFs must have some terminal/almost terminal disease and will have their head shaved and operated on. Such unnecessary repetition. Of course, it was quite sadddddd... NOT!!!
Boring boring boring.
And doctors-nurses relationship. I was pretty amazed at the many doctors I could see in this series. I went to 3 local hospitals and not once had I seen a doctor walk by me. Perhaps only in Malaysia. Anyway, their relationship is too pretentious and unreal. I don't think nurses and doctors mix around that way. And in this series, we have nurses who talks as if they were giving a lecture, looking regal and smart, professional and dedicated. Maybe but frankly, you don't need to be a scientist to be a nurse. Are all educated people, nurses included have such exquisite and expensive taste? Do they always talk with their hands folded around their chests, talking in such a way that you feel like shaking them and say "hey! Be human, talk like human for once!". I find them too pretentious. Part I was of course far more pretentious but part II still have that pretentious stuff. The only unpretentious people was Anson, Dorothy, Henry and Paul. The rest were really a pain to watch, especially when they were acting as professionals. Some were because they were such bad actors. Period.
I miss the old flirtatious and uncompromising Annie. I miss the charm of Gilbert. I miss the randy dandy Henry. I miss all these. This new HH II has nothing new to offer, just recycled stuff. I could almost say I enjoyed this series when Suki died but that Tracy tragedy plot line would be the one which made me say boring boring boring. Almost and yet not quite so.
Why must they make such a tired looking sequal from a very tired and pretentious looking prequel?
Performances Evaluated
Generally, the main cast were good with a few who excels, surprisingly.
Lawrence Ng
Not much to say, except that he improved in his acting but still lacking in more suppressed emotional scene. Just watch Qiu Xinzhi in CTHD the series to know what I mean by supreme acting in suppressed emotions.
Bowie Lam
Tired looking but was quite a joy to watch. But his character lacks the punch.
Maggie Siu
Excellent performance and her best moment was when she found her sister lying in a pool of blood. She already knew something bad happened to her sister and then when she saw her, she couldn't hold back her tears though she tried. And she was really pretty in here. I wonder what Ekin Cheng was thinking when he dumped her for that you know, tired looking stick of a figure Gigi Leung??
Fiona Yuen
Bad performance. She looks more like a nurse than a young doctor and she was really pretentious in here.
Michael Tong
Rugged, manly, a good kisser and a credible performance.
Chan Hou
Never heard of him before and if someone did not point out the fact that he is one of the leads in this series I wouldn't have known. Thus guy has no screen presence though he looks like a doctor, and an arrogant one too. His performance was so-so only and frankly, I didn't quite care about his MC.
Kit Chan
Really great singer and really good Cantonese. She looks stylish, looks like a doctor and she gives me an impression that she is very independent. I like her Dorothy and I would have wished Henry at last marries her. But acting wise, Kit Chan has a long long way to go though she was quite a joy to watch, because she has a distinctive style. She walks out and you know, this woman must be a star. She has such qualities, minus the acting capabilities.
Flora Chan
I hate the way her character became so subdued in here and then disappeared throughout the series. Her hair was stunning in HHI, giving her a more defined and distinctive look. In this series, she looks haggard, tired and at times bored. I guess I am glad she left almost quarter into this series. Performance wise she was boring at best, bland at worst.
Yoyo Mung
This was I guess before Green Hope. In Green Hope, she was very good, and she was very pretty towards the end. In this series, she looked plain in the beginning but pretty towards the end. However she looks quite weird as well. Maybe it's the way she speaks and exaggerates her facial expressions at the same time. Maybe it's her teeth, her mouth, her face. Maybe it is her really poor performance. I can't believe she could be capable of such acting but well, she was the worst in here. Not one thing was right about her and her performance and Lawrence Ng looks like a best actor next to this woman who often got to my nerves. And she is far too young to play such a senior doctor. In fact everybody is far too young to be such successful specialist.
Koo Kei Kwan
I can't remember her character's name but surprisingly, this MC and sometimes actress was quite good in here as the cool headed lawyer. I like her character, as I liked Dorothy and Paul and Anson.
Everybody else
Did not see Ada Choi so I shall not comment about her. As for everybody else, some passable, some horrible but none excellent. It just shows perhaps it's far easier to play uneducated people than to play educated people. I don't know but this series proves that point.
Verdict
Someone once said that he pursued medicine after he saw HH I. I am surprised he did. Was he lured by the fake glamour? Because I can't see any real medicine in HH I and definitely not HH II. First of all, that last surgery on Tracy was wrong wrong wrong. Too clean, no blood, less equipment, so few people and guess what? After an important surgery like cutting some of her brains out, Tracy coud walk right out of the hospital, I assume take a taxi and went and hug Paul (and the end)! I was laughing like mad.
But all in all, if you expect HH I, well we do get to see Steven Ma in a rather playful and relaxed mood which was quite fun to watch but we no longer have our favourite After Five Pub scenes, no Nick Cheung and his less than smart policeman ways and definitely not lovable Gilbert. What you have is a more serious drama that is too serious for its own good, and a theme song which was beautifully sung by Kit Chan but not a very good song at the end of the day.
If you love HH I, give this a try. If you love the characters in HH I, skip this one. If you want a good series to entertain you, just avoid this one and don't waste your money. I just hope when they do make HH III, I would hope to see more emphasis on the technical side rather than love, love, love, love, love. It's not even human drama. Just love. Boring.
My Choices
Who looks like a doctor?
Well, Maggie Siu looks like a doctor. She's an obstetrician aka a woman's doctor.
Lawrence, a neuro surgeon (brain surgeon) looks like a doctor.
Bowie (a A & E doctor, meaning Emergency doctor) looks like one.
Chan Hou looks like one.
If Flora is a doctor, she would look like one. She looks like a surgeon.
Steven Ma looks like a doctor in training.
BUT Ada Choi, Fiona Yuen, nope. Doesn't look like one. Lacks that look but then I guess not all doctors look smart and intelligent. So maybe...just maybe...who knows?
Best professions
I would have wanted to be a doctor if I was anymore smarter. To me doctors are smart and nurses are bossy. Period.
But have you ever considered other professions as well? What about the other oldest profession in the world?
NOOOOO...not prostitution but to most people they could be considered as one as well as blood suckers.
Lawyers.
But hey, it's unfair you know, so many lawyer jokes. It's surprises me often that when a doctor comes back with a $10,000 bill, everybody will pay without question and even thank the doctor for saving their lives. But when it comes to paying the lawyers $5000, they will scream shout and kick without realising the lawyers, apart from having to listen to your problems and be insulted along the way, they have to go to court everyday to be insulted by less educated and lowly paid clerks and of course listen to sarcastic remarks by judges who has a tendency to lecture you in front of perhaps 50 other lawyers, causing much embarrassment to yourself. I feel lawyers deserved to be paid such high salaries for all the s**t they face each day from everybody. Nobody thanks a lawyer for winning their case but a doctor, wow, they're like God to them.
Ok, what about accountants? Scientists? Sales persons? Computer experts? Not that dignified huh?
Well, can't blame you think like that. A white robe (doctor) or a black robe (lawyer) does look more stylish than plain old suit doesn't it?
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