How Long
10 tapes / 20 episodes.Thank God!!
Who’s in it
Wong Hei,Flora Chan,Lui Chung Yin,Joanne from Kindred Spirit,the Former Miss HK now pregnant and in the midst of a scandal(whom I shall call THAT GIRL),and familiar faces.
What And Where
Set in modern HK,it is a tale about love,friendships,rivalry,familial relationships and ultimately,revenge.Oh yeah,it’s also about ordinary citizens who just so happens to part-time as police officers.
Part time Policemen?
Well,I never knew there were such a thing but of course,after this serial I knew about this part time job,at least in HK.They still go trough the test and physical stuffs during training,they get paid,they have guns and same arrest rights of full-time policemen.The only difference is they work during nights or weekends and public holidays.Why not full time then you may ask?Well,like one of the characters in this serial said,you’d still get paid but lesser responsibilitites and also lesser dangers.And you get the same benefits.How true!Anyway,if you ever watch any HK dramas,ever notice why two policemen,who does the same job that is patrolling the streets,but one is in green uniform whilst the other,in black?According to this serial,green unfiroms mean full timers whilst black,which you’ll see the 3 principal characters in,are for those part timers,or "Side Beats".
The Plot
Nothing complicated and nothing great either.The usual,only that their occupations are a bit more different.Anyway,Ah Hei is the step son to his step parents(dad died,mom remarried,so step dad but later mom ran away,step dad remarried and thus step mom) and step brother and sister that are totally unrelated to him except by law.Anyway,he’s nice,sweet and very loving to his family.Lui Chung Yin is the obligatory arrogant guy born to a rich family who just so happens to have triads society as their family business and he’s at odds with his dad ,but actually daddy loves him a lot but they could never get together for a quiet dinner.But he’s nice to his aunt.Then there’s Flora,who is living with her former headmaster and her best friend(THAT GIRL) and had a daughter with a legendary cop who died in a shootout,and the daughter now adopted by her cousin sister.Quite sad.Anyway,later things starts to be complicated when Lui Chung Yin’s father was killed by his trusted friend who wanted to take over the business when the father under the encouragement of his son wanted to retire.Lui later found out and planned revenge by going into the family business and hire killers to kill the uncle of the family.But there’s a tiny little problem.The uncle is engaged to his aunt and also,Lui is a responsible cop.He believes in the system and justice and law and order.So could he stoop so low,and commit such a drastic act and just change from an honourable,arrogant,self-absorb,unreasonable and totally boring man into,well,a bad guy?See further below for the answer.You may be asking by now,"So who the heck are those part time police guys huh?!". Well,Ah Hei works as a supervisor in a meat packing factory,Lui is his boss and Flora’s a journalist.But they also part time as those "Side Beats",meaning Ah Hei is the boss(Sargeant),Lui is the more experienced but lower rank guy and Flora’s a rookie.See?
The Love Plots
Frankly,nothing different and very very boring and formulaic.Still interested?Here goes.Ah Hei fell in love with Flora,Flora knew but rejected him and wanted to be a friend.Why?Flora’s in love with Lui(coz he reminded her of her dead police boyfriend).Remember THAT GIRL?Well,she fell in love with Lui Chung Yin(coz he saved her before years ago when she was in a car accident),he knew but he wanted to be just friends and rejected her.At last,Flora knew that things would not work out with that guy because there are too many secrets between them and they broke off.Ah Hei who had been waiting there patiently finally got his chance and Flora accepted him at last.THAT GIRL who had been waiting there patiently finally got her chance and Lui wooed her and she accepted him at last.Sounds familiar?Because you have two same story,same actions and same ending in ONE serial.WOW!
Mismatched couple
Ah Hei with Flora?Lui and Flora or THAT GIRL?They don’t look good at all.I mean,Ah Hei and Flora was too much.He looked like a little boy and she a WOMAN!I am now convinced,Flora can only be with Bowie,and Ah Hei with Foo Ming Hin.Lui Chung Yin?Can’t think of anybody.
Most Irritating Character
Definitely THAT GIRL!I mean,Lee San San was bad enough but THAT GIRL,she can’t act.Remember Old Time Buddies II?The girl who played Siew Fong Fong?Bad?She’s worst here.I mean she’s pretty but her acting..is..so..painful to watch.The way she spoke her lines,she whispers and stutters her lines!Half the time her head is always looking down.I know I know,she’s supposed to be timid,and shy.But too timid and too shy,until you have this feeling that she’s not acting but torturing us the viewers!She can’t act.Now that I think about it,Lee San San is not THAT bad.
The Ending
I think that if you ever watch this serial,probably by Tape 6 you’ll want to stop watching,like yours truly.So to save you the pain and the money from going through this torture,the ending is Lui Chung Yin goes to jail.What?You didn’t expect that?Well,with Ah Hei there,what do you expect?That guy could never be a bad guy.He realised that he should never stoop so low and be like that uncle of his.So he surrendered(the uncle wasn’t killed but went to jail) and he ended up in jail.Now,I know this is wrong to say this ,but I just wish for once,we get to see a nice decent man be free.I mean why can’t Ah Hei just shut up?Why can’t he just stop Lui from surrendering?Why must a good man go to jail and in the process,can never be a cop again?Why?WHY????I’ll tell you and me why,it’s simple.In law,to convict a man you must have evidence.Lui’s the best evidence coz he knew his uncle’s dirty dealings and the murder of his father.So if he wanted that guy in jail,he must testify.To testify,he must call the police and thus,he too must bear the legal consequences of his action.Yeah,I know.UNFAIR!!
Best Performance
I’d wish I could say Ah Hei but he seems a bit too same in every serial he did.Nice,sweet and friendly which kinda makes me feel ,is that the most he could do?He’s becoming a bit too ordinary,a bit too simple and always,too much of the underdog who succeeds against all odds.Don’t get me wrong.I am Ah Hei’s Number One fan,but he’s like repeating his Lok Tin Yau’s role in Burning Flame and there he was soooo good.So is you wanna watch almost the same thing but much more drama,much more angst and much more cuteness,go for Burning Flame.(review in the TV Serials page).
Funny Bits
This serial is not a comedy but I can’t help but laughed out real loud.Maybe you won’t.There’s this scene where we were introduced to Lui Chung Yin.He was on duty and he encountered a bunch of robbers with guns bigger than his and many more than his.But he was a good policeman,a supercop.Singlehandedly,he killed the robbers John Woo style.He jumped,summersaulted,he kung-fu kicked and fired perfectly.And that just makes you wonder,why don’t this supercop be like a full time supercop?Scary you know,how dedicated and good this guy is and he’s only doing this for a hobby!
If I Were The Scriptwriter…
I’ll change the whole bloody story!I mean,it could have been a heavy duty drama,with serious acting and a serious look at how ordinary citizen who part times as policeguys protect fellow citizens.But instead,they gave us a very boring love story and there goes the police drama element.It’s like a very long music video!Such wasted good chance you know.I know it could be incest by law but definately not by blood but I would just wish that that sister of Ah Hei's(Joanne of Kindred Spirit) would just be in love with Ah Hei all these years but Ah Hei thought that she had been treating him like a brother so when he found out there would be a big dilemma or that Flora goes away but nooooo!And what is this with rich man’s son who is arrogant and proud befriending poor man’s son who is humble and so bloody nice?I mean don’t they have another type of relationships to show to us?If you really want a similar relationship plots,go for Deadly Protection (review in the TV Serials page) or even Food Of Love (review in TV Serials page).At least in there,you won’t see Ah Hei or Marco Ngai cooking John Woo style,a wok in his left hand and chopsticks in his right,doing summersaults with this urgent look whilst frying chicken,just to show how good a chef he is.
So,Should I Rent It…
If you wanna be bored to tears,go ahead,rent it.Maybe our tastes differ but personally,I feel why not you just save that Video money of yours and rent something else,like Burning Flame,Deadly Protection or even Nothing To Declare.They’re all excellent stuffs from Ah Hei.For Flora’s excellent shows,well,can’t think of any but even Untraceable Evidence is better than this.In fact,watch Debts of a Lifetime for Lui’s fine performance.The point is,just don’t watch this one.You’ll be very disappointed unless of course you watch it with no expectations at all.
It Must Have Been Better Than…
All the other police dramas?Name anyone and anyone is better than this one.Just trust me or go watch it and then e-mail me if you think I am wrong .
For another review of Flora's performance in a much more suited role for her that is Healing Hands,please click on the title to beam yourself there.
Interesting Facts
Remember THAT GIRL?She’s pregnant with reportedly, Jackie Chan’s daughter!Jackie at first refused to say anything but he later admitted having an affair wit her and that the child could be his.If the child is his,he’ll bear responsibilities ,as what I am not sure.I mean as a parent or financially?
Anyway,this was the guy who THAT GIRL reported said that when she told him she was pregnant,he left some money for abortion but THAT GIRL didn’t do it.And she never even mentioned his name but somehow,the HK press knew.Anyway,she had been giving interviews lately and that prompted some close friends of Jackie to comment that this girl is not what she seems to be.The Press painted her as a victim but they said she knew what she was getting into .She knew he was a married man and if she really loved the child,why go public and cause possible difficulties for the baby girl when she grows up?True but then why blame the girl alone for her rashness and her own naiveness when it takes two to tango?Anyway,this is nothing new and we the people should never be bothered by such things,not until the next hot gossip comes along.
And here comes the next hot gossip!Remember that girl Joanne from Kindred Spirit?Reportedly she had been going out with the guy who played her onscreen Bf,Onn Chai in Kindred Spirit but they broke up and she is now with the guy who played Bowie's brother in Untraceable Evidence.Anyway,reportedly when they were shooting the last episode of Kindred Spirit,Onn Chai ignored Joanne and I mean the real person not the characters.So much so that she later cried but she said it was because it was the last episode and she was overwhelmed.Anyway,the new BF said that Onn Chai was not gentleman enough.If is is true,I agree.But I just have this feeling that the girl dumped him and not the other way around.Anyway,it doesn't matter not until the next hot gossip comes along.
Nah,no more!
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