Overview - Sinister Beings

Ruco Chan is a stellar detective in the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (OCTB). He is brave, competent, highly regarded by his superiors and admired by his colleagues.  But his ultimate dream is to join the Special Duties Unit. Another elite OCTB detective, Ben Wong, has a shrewd mind and lots of experience. Although Ruco and Ben handle things differently, they appreciate each other’s talent and complement one another’s weaknesses. The police get ambushed by criminals and suffer heavy losses. To find the mastermind behind the plot, Ruco gives up his dream and stays at OCTB. Aside from that, Ruco and Ben face a series of complicated and unpredictable unnatural cases. The two of them use reverse thinking, psychological game theory and careful analysis to deconstruct a criminal’s thinking and motives. Nothing can escape from the nets of heaven! 

Overview - Of Greed and Ants

In the 1970s, Hong Kong's economy is booming and the stock market serves as a battleground for greed. Thai-Chinese Eddie Cheung's perspective on life changed completely because of his father's misfortunes. He escapes from Thailand to Hong Kong. Learning of the stock market's power, he is determined to be the one that controls it. The upright Edwin Siu, who comes from a grassroots background, and his friends Tony Hung and Anthony Ho are young people with dreams. Unfortunately, they get bruised and battered by the storm in the stock market... Edwin lives with a mother and two daughters. The sisters, Elaine Yiu and Jeannie Chan, have polar opposite personalities, and are waiting a chance to change their lives. Eddie connects with the wealthy Ben Wong and gradually achieves his life's goals. At the same time, Tony and his friends get pulled in and their fates are rewritten.

Overview - As Time Goes By

Every person has a past. Some people cherish the memories, while other choose to avoid them. Max Cheung is the son of village chief Joseph Lee. Max, Ben Wong and Alice Chan were childhood friends. The two boys even had a crush on Alice at the same time. Thirty years ago, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Max, Ben and Alice did something disgraceful while they were drunk. After the incident was exposed, the three of them left the village separately. Max even moved to Australia, hoping to escape from the chains of the memory. But thirty years later, due to certain circumstances, they meet again and are forced to deal with the old incident once again.

Overview - The Defected

CID Inspector Benjamin Yuen was originally a rising star on the police force. While trying to save a colleague, he gets shot in the head and his life changes forever. After miraculously surviving, he works harder on cases than before, earning the nickname "Iron Detective." But he is tormented by the side effects. Chief Superintendent Kara Hui is ambitious and has high hopes to become the first female Commissioner of Police. The person who shot Benjamin turns out to be Kara's undercover agent, Philip Keung. Philip has no limits when it comes to helping Kara investigate cases, yet Kara breaks her promise to him while jockeying for power against fellow Chief Superintendent Benz Hui. Enraged, Philip shoots at her and accidentally injures Benjamin. The shot forced Philip to become a defector, but he feels guilty towards Benjamin, so he secretly helps him solve cases. Benjamin and Philip become pawns in the power struggle. Luckily, they get the help of Ben Wong, Chief Superintendent of the Complaint and Internal Investigations Branch. Ben vows to use power to end the power struggle.

Overview - The Ghetto-Fabulous Lady

During the early colonial years, the first Chinese-born Lady (Adia Chan) falls into dire straits after her husband loses power and goes missing. Adia winds up in Yau Ma Tei, a complicated neighbourhood with many different kinds of people. When a prostitute is murdered with a modus operendi similar to a British serial killer, lead watchman Tsui Wing accuses Adia of being the killer! Adia is imprisoned, but luckily, her former housekeeper Ben Wong helps clear her name. Adia re-encounters her estranged younger sister (Alice Chan), adopts an orphan (Kaman Kong) and lives a commoner lifestyle alongside neighbours Jeannie Chan and Dickson Yu. The killer re-emerges and Adia uses her "Mrs. Sherlock Holmes" mind to investigate. She discovers that the case is not simple. Her husband and Ben may be suspects! The killer issues a provoking letter stating that the next target will be...

Overview - OMG, Your Honour

Ben Wong and Eddie Kwan are both well-known barristers for handling criminal cases in Hong Kong. They have known each other for thirty years, as classmates and pupils under the same mentor, but have been feuding since the first day of law school. Ben suspects that Eddie played tricks to win their first case against each other, which caused their grudge to deepen. During a rough time in his romantic life, Ben met TV anchor Grace Wong. They had a shotgun wedding, but it only lasted a few months before they separated. By chance, Grace meets Eddie, whom she hits it off with. This causes the rivalry between Eddie and Ben to become even more muddled. Although they cannot get along, their pupils are good friends. But a lawyer's life is not as glamorous as it seems. Along with their mentors, six young lawyers - Louisa Mak, Oscar Leung, Jonathan Wong, Jackson Lai, Kirby Lam and King Lam - must work to defend the law, while stumbling along as they grow...

Overview - Birth of a Hero

To avoid being caught up in the drama of the underworld, Edwin Siu and his sister Rachel Kan operate their inn and live quietly. But Edwin, in an attempt to win back his ex-lover Roxanne Tong, participates in a competition for new heroes. Because of this, scandals in the Eastern Depot are exposed and Edwin is imprisoned by Eastern Depot official Ben Wong. To save her brother, Rachel spreads rumours that there is hidden treasure at the inn. Not only does Ben immediately release Edwin, he also sends his right-hand woman, Grace Chan, to travel with Edwin to the inn and collect intelligence. The rumour attracts many hidden heroes to emerge and try different tactics. In the process, Grace finally discovers the truth about the murder of her parents from many years ago, causing her to turn against Ben. In addition, she develops feelings for Edwin and they are determined to reform the wulin world together. It gives new vitality to a dying wulin, but the two of them fall into the revenge plot that the kind senior, John Chiang, has planned for a long time...

Overview - Watch Out Boss

The workplace is like a battle field. There is no eternal friend or enemy in the office, only people who mutually benefit from each other! Flora Chan, the senior secretary in the marketing department, has always enjoyed the favour of her boss - marketing director Waise Lee, and is known as the "Secretary Queen" in the company.  She is constantly fighting against the rivaling camp, which is led by sales director Tony Hung. Tony's secretary Ali Lee goes to work every day in "battle mode", using her beauty to cover up her mistakes. Flora sees this as nothing and easily wins with her intelligence. When the company decides to launch a new brand, it becomes the battleground for both sides. But surprisingly, upper management hires an outsider, Ben Wong, to be the marketing director of the new brand, to the great shock of Flora. Additionally, she is busy with helping the heir, Steven Cheung. The power dynamics in the company undergo a big shift. When Ben and Flora's former relationship as a married couple is eventually revealed, it drastically increases the intensity of political climate in the office. Even the boss and secretary relationship, which shares in times of honour and disgrace, takes on a new style every day.

Overview - Nothing Special Force

Initially a future star in the police force, Ben Wong changes his attitude towards life due to a hereditary disease. He begins to slow down and enjoy every moment of life. He gains the recognition of Chief Inspector Geoffrey Wong and is transferred to the Miscellaneous Enquiries unit. He manages a team of extraordinary people, including a lazy former undercover (C Kwan), an over-passionate conspiracy theorist and rookie (Jacqueline Wong), a muscular, warm gentleman nicknamed "Fighter Plane" (Arnold Kwok) and a fiery tempered, pregnant single mom (Mandy Wong). All non-criminal cases that cannot be categorized are handled by the Miscellaneous Unit. Mandy ignores Ben's objections and insists on investigating death cases, taking what is colloquially called the "death king's post". Despite their disagreements, they establish mutual trust. Mandy even encourages Ben to overcome his illness, but Ben still hasn't gotten over his ex-girlfriend (Joyce Tang), so he remains silent. Unexpectedly, a mistake by C Kwan during an operation puts Mandy in danger. Ben tries his best to search for Mandy based on his intermittent memory...

Overview - Phoenix Rising

Just before her wedding, wealthy heiress Louisa So is charged and imprisoned for murdering her adoptive mother. She encounters her long-lost sister Leila Tong, who is a corrections officer, and consequently, is reunited with elder sister Kristal Tin as well. Kristal and Leila run around to try to prove Louisa's innocence.

Unfortunately, things don't go as planned. After Kristal and her boyfriend Sunny Chan give birth to a son, she discovers that she is terminally ill. She decides to take the fall for Louisa and enters prison in her place. Leila continues investigating on her own and is shocked to discover that Kristal's medical report was actually a plot by Louisa. She finds it difficult to accept what her sister has done.

To prevent Kristal from suffering innocently in prison, Leila knowingly breaks the law and helps with Kristal's plan to escape. Louisa wants to eliminate all loose ends and ruthlessly goes after Kristal. But it causes her beloved husband's (Ben Wong) family to be ruined, making her feel extremely guilty. From then on, the three sisters' fate and safety is tied to the barred windows of prison...

Overview - Tiger Mom Blues

Full-time mom Elena Kong grew up under the strict discipline of first-generation tiger mom Michelle Yim. She unintentionally formulates a series of monster-style rules for her two daughters, causing resentment from her elder daughter (Kamen Kong). Mother and daughter are constantly at war with each other. Husband Ben Wong normally plays the role of mediator to ease the tension, but he is facing a mid-life crisis and the temptation to have an extramarital affair. The couple head towards separation... Elena is not just strict at home, she is also tough to outsiders. She fights bitterly with Koni Lui at the parent-teacher association. Luckily, Sharon Chan, a  fearless disciplinary mistress, capably handles the situation and eventually turns the two tiger moms into friends who share with each other the little known hardships of being a tiger mom. Elena wholeheartedly forges a path for her daughter to become a talented woman, but discovers that Kamen is dating Sharon's younger brother, Matthew Ho. Elena joins forces with Sharon to break up the young couple. A secret that has been kept for over ten years is exposed, driving the mother-daughter relationship to the brink of collapse...

Tiger Mom Blues Promo Clips

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Extended Trailer

Overview - Between Love & Desire

The unbeatable lawyer Moses Chan believes that mastery in the legal arena is equivalent to mastery of life and that he can build a perfect life with his wife Maggie Siu. Unfortunately, when their pace and goals fall out of sync, betrayal happens and the perfect world crumbles down!

Now a law firm partner, Moses and his younger brother Brian Chu hit an impasse in life when they were younger. As a result, Moses vowed to climb to the pinnacle of power. To achieve his goal, Moses, who is good at controlling situations, handles matters without consideration of other people's feelings. Observing Moses' change in character, Maggie, who has always silently supported him, and Brian, who overcame hardship with him, gradually feel estranged.

Later, Maggie's mother passes away. Ben Wong, a long-time admirer of Maggie, breaks into her inner world. Ben, who is also a lawyer, cannot compare with Moses in terms of status and reputation, but he is able to provide for Maggie's emotional needs. Since then, Moses' family has been filled with suspicion and lies. Maggie decides to leave and is mysteriously attacked. She suspects the mastermind is the person that has been sleeping beside her - Moses! A series of events pushes Moses towards despair...

In the end, to save his relationship and search for his true life, Moses decides to start the journey from his heart and recover his lost sincerity.

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Forbidden City Exhibition

Since it is #MuseumWeek on Twitter, it is a perfect time to write this post that I've been meaning to do for a long time. Last summer, I visited the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) to see The Forbidden City exhibition. It featured a vast collection of artifacts from the Forbidden City, home to the emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasty. Here were some of the interesting things:

Clothing

This is the ceremonial robe worn by the young Tongzhi Emperor at his coronation. Compare it with the robes worn by Oscar Leung and Pako Au, who both played Tongzhi in The Confidant.
 

There were different attire for different occasions. On the left is a ceremonial robe worn by the Jiaqing Emperor for the sacrifice ceremony at the autumn equinox. On the right is a ceremonial armour for the Yongzheng Emperor when he performed military inspections.
 

Here are some styles for imperial women. The left picture shows an Empress's ceremonial summer coat and the right picture shows an informal riding jacket.
 

This dress was most likely worn by Empress Dowager Cixi, as it is similar to the dress that she was wearing in the portrait on the right.
 

Even animals got special treatment! On the left is a saddle made for the emperor's horse. On the right is an outfit made for an imperial dog. There were special eunuchs assigned to take care of the royal animals.
 

Footwear for men versus women in the palace.
 


Symbols of Authority

This was the setting of the imperial throne in the Inner Court. It was less lavish than the throne in the formal halls of the Outer Court, but still conveyed the Emperor's royal status. It was surrounded by various objects such as fans with elephant stands, crane candle-holders and luduan (a Chinese mythical creature) figures. Compare it to TVB's setting in The Confidant.


Each emperor inherits the set of imperial seals. Originally, there were 39 seals in the set, each with different titles and purposes. However, the Qianlong Emperor found this to be confusing and reduced the set to 25 seals. The remaining seals were placed in a collection at the old Manchurian palace, including this one, which had the inscription "皇帝的寶" ("Treasure of the Emperor").
 

The Yongzheng Emperor had this special seal made for himself. It had the phrase "為君難" ("being ruler is difficult") to remind himself to be a diligent ruler.


This is an imperial edict issued during the Yongzheng era, written in both Chinese and Manchu.
 

This is an example of a "tally" that was used by anyone who wanted to enter or exit the Forbidden City. There were two pieces to a tally - one with the words raised and one with the words carved into it. Anyone who wanted to pass through the gates had to have one piece of the tally, which they would hold up against the guard's piece. If the two pieces fit together, they would be allowed to pass.



Tableware

This is a rare chicken cup from the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Chenghua's mother was particularly fond of small utensils, thus the Emperor especially ordered for this cup to be made for her. The unique thing about the cup is the way the colours were applied. Using a technique called doucai (鬪彩), the colours were painted both under and over the glaze. Only a few of these original cups survive to this day; one of these cups was sold for $36 million in an auction.


These are plates used in Tongzhi's wedding to Lady Alute (Natalie Tong in The Confidant). Tongzhi was one of only few Qing emperors who married while occupying the throne, thus it was a grand occasion for celebration. In particular, 10,000+ wedding wares were ordered to be made. It took five years to make all the pieces before the wedding. They contained symbols of good fortune, such as children playing (left) and the Chinese character for "happiness" (right).
 


This food basket could hold everything that the Emperor needed for a picnic. It had a silver wine pot, six wine cups, ten dishes, a large silver plate and ten sets of chopsticks.
 


Arts and Literature

Portraits of the Yongzheng Emperor. Does Ben Wong look like him in Gilded Chopsticks?
 


When he was still a prince, Yongzheng commissioned a set of paintings of 12 beautiful women. They featured the ladies engaged in various leisurely activities with scenery from the courtyard in the background. The paintings were mounted on a screen in the prince's favourite study. It is uncertain who exactly these women were; they may have been his concubines. (Could it have been Joey Meng from Gilded Chopsticks?)
 


This is a compilation book of poems that were written by the Qianlong Emperor. Throughout his lifetime, he composed more than 42,500 poems!
 

Raising the Bar Review

Producer: Joe Chan
Genre: Legal
Cast: Ben Wong, Grace Chan, Jeannie Chan, Stephanie Ho, Moon Lau, Louis Cheung, Elaine Yiu, Timothy Cheng, Natalie Tong

Review:
Raising The Bar takes a fresh angle on the oft-seen TVB legal drama. Instead of the typical case-by-case structure, this series focuses on the daily routines of a lawyer. The depiction of a lawyer's job is fairly realistic and shows the less glamorous side of the profession. There are also little tidbits, like the call to the bar or scheduling hearings, that are rarely seen in other legal dramas. The cases cover a variety of matters before the court and do not shy away from sensitive topics. For once, legal procedures and reasoning are mostly followed. It is also shocking to know that there is actually more than one judge in Hong Kong.

I was worried about the overwhelming number of characters at the beginning, but the series quickly deals with that by regulating some characters to the background. That is not to say, however, that the focus went to the best stories. The second half of the series put an overemphasis on romantic lines that no one cared about (ie. Elaine's affair). Further, it throws logic out the door with the sexual harassment case, which any competent lawyer should have gotten rid of a long time ago.

The four girls were surprisingly capable of carrying the series. They clearly had a lot of fun filming together, which shows in their on-screen interactions. Grace Chan shows why she is perhaps deserving of her rapid climb to lead status as she looked comfortable and natural in her role. Jeannie Chan suited the role of the snobby rich girl and smoothly managed her character's transition into a more humble person. Stephanie Ho is cute and provided comedic relief. Moon Lau fared well for her first series; though she was not particularly impressive, she was certainly not bad either.

Ben Wong hits the nail with his professionalism as an experienced barrister, especially with those reading glasses. Elaine Yiu needs to stop being given these discontent wife roles. Natalie Tong has been doing a great job with her subtle performances. Louis Cheung is a really versatile actor, but his character's odd obsession with aliens was something that I don't get. Timothy Cheng is funny in his interactions with Stephanie and Natalie. King Lam does a good job with his clueless lawyer, while Hugo Wong is great eye candy despite limited screen-time.

So does Raising the Bar actually raise the bar for TVB productions? Maybe slightly, but it is not without its faults. What does the jury think?

Rating: 4/5


Raising the Bar Alternative Ending

Raising the Bar Alternate Ending

This is Casual TVB's 400th post!

Netizens have discovered that there was actually an alternate ending to Raising the Bar, shown in the overseas version. In the alternate version, the characters participate in a silent protest in defence of Hong Kong's judicial independence.



The alternate ending is in reference to the protest staged by Hong Kong's legal professionals in June 2014. Around 1800 lawyers, legal scholars and law students dressed in black and marched from the High Court to the Court of Final Appeal. They then stood in silence for three minutes in front of the Court of Final Appeal. It was a protest against a "white paper" issued by the Chinese government which regarded the judiciary as part of the government and stated that "loving the country" is a requirement for judges. In a statement by the Hong Kong Bar Association, they felt that having these political requirements for judges would threaten the idea of judiciary independence.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year to all my readers! 

May you and your loved ones have a wonderful Year of the Goat.

恭喜發財! 

Overview - Raising the Bar

A group of barristers and trainee lawyers vow to pursue justice and ideals, but the process is fraught with difficulties. Regarded as the "Condor Heroes" of the legal world, barrister Ben Wong and his wife Elaine Yiu have taught many students. Among them, Grace Chan, Jeannie Chan and Louis Cheung are Ben's favourites. Grace's classmate, Moon Lau, is a trainee solicitor at Elaine's law firm, while Stephanie Ho trains under barrister Timothy Cheng. Jeannie's half-sister, Natalie Tong, has an affair with the married Timothy and later switches over to work for Ben. With each of them using their own methods, how do these rookies become qualified legal practitioners, in a journey that is full of struggle, doubt and tough choices about their future? Theory turns into practice as they handle tricky cases and experience success and failures, while also dealing with love, family and friendship problems every day. Their biggest test arrives when legal standards challenge their personal orientations...


Raising the Bar Promo Clips

Raising the Bar Promo Clips

Overview - Raising the Bar

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Astro Promo