Overview - Armed Reaction 2021

Inspector Jessica Hsuan has always been comfortable with managing files behind the frontlines. By chance, she solves a case alongside the original gun-carrying female officer Joyce Tang and charming Special Duties Unit officer Moses Chan. Her boss, Benz Hui, arranges for her to join the cold-case task force. Along with other "unique" officers, Moses leads the team as they investigate cold-cases that do not attract public attention. Moses is displeased with Jessica and they bicker until it is revealed that Jessica is afraid of using her gun because she was once held hostage. This actually sparks romance between them! Jessica re-encounters her former tutee, Him Law, whose entire family was killed. Him has joined the triads... Fueled by emotion and her consciousness, can Jessica pick up her gun again and become the new gun-carrying policewoman?

Overview - Line Walker: Bull Fight

Raymond Lam continues to carry out missions for the Central Intelligence Bureau (CIB) to combat different criminals. Meanwhile, Michael Miu has completed his three-year sentence for shooting criminal syndicate boss Chung King-fei. He opens a café and lives peacefully with his wife Elena Kong, but faces the danger of retaliation from the triads. Meanwhile, CIB Chief Inspector Mandy Wong and Michael's former undercover agent, Priscilla Wong, suspect that Michael has intentions of joining the triads. They secretly investigate Michael's relationship with triad members.

Raymond and Michael investigate a human trafficking case and solve the case with help from the Security Bureau's investigator Kenneth Ma. The Security Bureau invites Benjamin Yuen to join its new intelligence unit. Michael is drawn into the election of the new triad leader. A former partner runs in the election using a different identity. Michael re-encounters his old opponent Benz Hui, who had supposedly been shot by Raymond. He also discovers that Kenneth's real identity is the younger brother of his former enemy Moses Chan and that he is plotting revenge against everyone. Everyone joins together in the investigation and uncovers a massive dark organization. Suddenly, a storm approaches again...

Line Walker: Bull Fight is airing on myTV Gold, Tencent and Astro on October 12. It will air on Jade Channel on November 16. 

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 - Guardian Angel

Casual TVB's 700th post!



Northern Lights Insurance Company has a team of insurance investigators that is led by Benz Hui, who loves to make impromptu jokes, and includes wealthy heiress Annie Liu, the affectionate Bosco Wong and retired police officer Michael Miu. They each have their own talents and form a legendary team in the insurance industry. They manage to thoroughly investigate and uncover the truth in all the thorny, dangerous or strange cases that are passed to them. Although 9 out of 10 cases end up with the insurance company paying out money, their mission is to discover the truth. Fairness, impartiality and righteousness are their guiding principles. The three investigators are like special agents, conducting cross-border investigations, searching for clues, following targets and gathering evidence. At the same time, they unintentionally become involved many people's stories and become their guardian angel.


Guardian Angel is a collaboration between Shaw Brothers and iQiyi. It was released online earlier and will air on TVB beginning December 24.

Overview - Come With Me

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear." Throughout the ages, it is common for men and women to make love. But for the newly-married social worker Eddie Cheung and sex therapist Sharon Chan, it is difficult. Although they have the professional knowledge to help others, they live under the same roof with multiple generations of their family. Their sex life has suffered, but it is hard to talk about. It turns out that other couples, including the germophobe geek Elena Kong and crude, middle-aged Louis Yuen, the May-December pair of Benz Hui and May Chan, and even teacher Sammy Sum and sex addict Grace Wong, each have different strange secrets in the bedroom. How can these macho men and virtuous ladies break the taboo and start a ground-shaking revolution for love?

Overview - My Ages Apart

The mentor-mentee pair of Bobby Au-Yeung and Moses Chan are widely lauded in the banking industry. However, to advance his career, Moses purposefully transfers Bobby to a foreign office. Unfortunately, Bobby's plane crashes on the way there. When he awakens, he discovers that he is now in the body of an post-'90s youth, James Ng, who lives with his aunt, Maggie Siu. Bobby watches as Moses flirts with his wife, Kristal Tin, and wealthy heiress Ali Lee. As Bobby tries to figure out how to recover what he had lost, he meets a sixty year old man, Louis Cheung. The two click instantly. It turns out that Louis experienced the same fate of switching bodies. The two of them investigate how they can return to their own bodies. When Bobby discovers that James is actually the banker Benz Hui's illegitimate son, he and Louis plan a revenge scheme. But it unexpectedly causes Moses to fall from a building and suffer serious injuries. Bobby finally realizes that he misunderstood Moses. The three of them try to get close to Benz and his family. Bobby enters the bank and starts working from the bottom. Moses ruins the engagement between Ali and his friend Sammy Leung. Louis drives a wedge between Benz's second daughter Elena Kong and her husband Eddie Kwan. As this cross-generation battle gradually spreads, it builds a unexpected new world...

Overview - Line Walker: The Prelude

In 2010, CIB's Michael Miu conducts a secret operation in Bangkok, Thailand. All his undercover agents die in a sea of fire. At the same time, his good friend, Senior Inspector Eddie Cheung, is murdered under mysterious circumstances, leaving Michael with a yet-to-be undercover, Priscilla Wong. To learn the truth, Michael must quickly find the rest of Eddie's missing undercover agents.

Meanwhile, there is internal conflict within Hong Kong's biggest triad. Triad leader Moses Chan is undergoing a purge. Benz Hui narrowly avoids death, but loses his beloved wife. He decides to thoroughly turn into a triad member. He sets up his own gang and swears opposition to Moses. Over the course of Michael and Priscilla's investigation into Moses' organization, they meet Pakho Chau and Benjamin Yuen, as well as Jessica Hsuan, who manages Moses' money. As the influence of the black cops controlled by Moses expands, Michael and Priscilla have no choice but to ally with Benz. Trust and betrayal are repeatedly put on display. Michael vows to remove the roots of the evil forces, leaving him with no choice but to risk death in the ultimate mission...

Line Walker: The Prelude Promo Clips

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TVB Anywhere Promo


TVB Anywhere Trailer

Upcoming Movie: Line Walker

Release Date: August 11, 2016
Cast: Charmaine Sheh, Francis Ng, Nick Cheung, Louis Koo, Benz Hui

Undercover agent Charmaine Sheh receives a coded message from someone named "Blackjack" who claims he is an undercover agent that has lost contact with the police. Charmaine reports this to her superior Francis Ng and a search mission promptly begins. In the process, Charmaine is lured to a casino and discovers that Benz Hui, who had supposedly been killed, has "resurrected". Meanwhile, Francis finds out that a certain corporation is involved in a Brazilian drug deal. Blackjack's location is narrowed and the people involved in the deal include: the president of the corporation, strategic adviser Nick Cheung, Nick's top assistant Louis Koo and Benz, who is looking to make a comeback. Soon, everyone becomes aware that there is an undercover agent, making them all suspicious and threatened.







Theme Song - "Walker" (行者) by Grasshoppers

Come With Me Promo Clips

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Line Walker Review

Producer: Man Wai-hung
Genre: Police
Cast: Michael Miu, Raymond Lam, Charmaine Sheh, Elena Kong, Sammy Sum, Sharon Chan, Benz Hui

Review:
Move aside, Lives of Omission. Line Walker is taking the title as the ultimate undercover series. With the 10000000 UCs, I’m wondering why it took so long for the police to catch up to the bad guys. Oh, that’s because all the bad guys are cops and all the good guys are with the triads. Yikes!

Line Walker does a better job than Lives of Omission at exploring the life of an undercover. Their sacrifices and hardships are played out on-screen and can be felt by the audience. Line Walker also wins with its thick plot, which is laid out nicely with the way it keeps the suspense, from the 5th UC to the black cops to the final big boss. (insert momentum-killing comedic moment). Characters come and go, making up an insanely high death toll. (insert slow-motion action scene with sub song). Yes, there are logic flaws, but don’t you know you’re watching a TVB series?

Charmaine Sheh puts in a lively performance. I love her during the comedic moments. Even though I hated how the comedy ruined the serious atmosphere at the wrong times, Charmaine is cute during those moments. However, I did not enjoy her crying and screaming scenes. I did not feel sad for her, just annoyed. Is this a TV Queen performance? I concur Charmaine may be the most suitable candidate to take it, but I do not agree that her performance was the best of the year.

Raymond Lam can be a good actor when he’s not hiding behind his chok image. His character in Line Walker reminds me of Highs and Lows. He’s playful in the beginning, which is fun to watch, but then he starts losing control as his character becomes more serious. He sways his body too much when he’s talking and when he’s screaming, his eyes grow infinitely larger.

Next we have our lovebirds, Sammy Sum and Sharon Chan. It would have been so lovely if they had realized their love for each other earlier and eloped together, far, far away from this series. Actually, I didn’t mind Sammy too much. Handsome man and has the poise of a finance whiz when he's not being so lovesick. Sharon is the real problem here. Her character is supposed to be an intelligent madam-turned-unofficial UC who ends up saving the day.  But Sharon does not fit into this type of role. Watch The Ultimate Addiction and watch this and you will know what I mean. She doesn’t carry that brilliance on her and she only ends up looking pretentious.

Michael Miu and Elena Kong’s story was the truly touching love story. Not overbearing, not dumb, but a mature relationship, portrayed by two fantastic veterans. Michael, ever so fit at his age, is perfect for this type of good cop perhaps turned bad cop role. Michael can do what Raymond cannot, that is, look chok while still not forgetting to act. Elena also does a fine, fine job. Completely believable as an abused woman and then finding her strength as a lawyer standing up against injustice.

Never imagined Benz Hui could pull off this kind of role. Samantha Ko succeeds at being icy, but not much else. Her face looks really plastic in HD. Oscar Leung was trying too hard to act cool with the way he walks and holds out his arms. All Patrick Tang had to do was perpetually squint his eyes in anger until he died. Same old Toby Leung, whose status at TVB seems to be falling rapidly. They could have cut her out completely and no one would have noticed. Ankie Beilke appears to have taken the role as TVB’s new seductive heiress.

Rating: 4/5. That’s the number of UCs in a room at any given time.

Line Walker Promo Clips

Overview - Line Walker

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Extended Trailer

Overview - Line Walker

Following the mysterious death of his colleague, CIB Chief Inspector Michael Miu discovers that the five undercover cops under his colleague's watch have gone missing. As the undercovers hold highly confidential information concerning the police force and society's safety, Michael is determined to find them. He finally tracks down one of the missing agents - Charmaine Sheh, posing as the owner of a foot massage shop. In order to recover her identity, Charmaine agrees to infiltrate the triads. She manages to get close to Raymond Lam, a member of an illegal gambling group. The two begin an elusive relationship built on lies. But just as Charmaine edges closer to the truth, Michael suddenly halts the operation. This is when Sharon Chan from the ICAC intervenes into the case. Through Sharon, Michael meets her elder sister, Elena Kong. Meanwhile, the triad leader Benz Hui has been released from jail and his assistant Sammy Sum's actions is catching Michael's attention. The relationships between the police and the triad become increasingly complex; with everyone claiming to be fighting for justice, who truly dictates justice?

Bounty Lady Promo Clips

Overview, Official Poster, Theme Song

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Extended Trailer

Overview - Bounty Lady

Golden PR manager Dayo Wong is said to be the saviour of the city’s “leftover” ladies. He often uses creative tactics to help single women find a blissful relationship. Meanwhile he prefers short-term relationships for himself. The new customer relations manager Kate Tsui does not have a good impression of the group collectively known as “Super Senior”, consisting of Dayo, his brother Benz Hui and their colleagues Louis Yuen and Jazz Lam. She is disgusted by their nightclubbing lifestyle and thinks they use their work as an excuse to cozy up to girls, especially when she sees Dayo trying to pursue Sharon Chan by helping her become an online singer. Sharon’s sister Elena Kong also despises of Dayo and frequently criticizes him in her newspaper column. But Dayo could care less and continues living his own lifestyle, until his ex-girlfriend appears to trigger an unprecedented battle between the HK men and women. 

Official Poster for Bounty Lady

"Bounty Lady" Theme Song

Official Poster for Bounty Lady

Comment: Really looking forward to this! I'm currently re-watching To Catch the Uncatchable and Dayo Wong is seriously hilarious! Bounty Lady will be released on November 25. 

Friendly Fire Review

Producer: Man Wai Hung

Genre: Legal

Cast: Michael Tse, Tavia Yeung, Sammy Leung, Sharon Chan, Alice Chan, Derek Kwok, Samantha Ko, Oscar Leung

Plot: Crime happens and the prosecutors from the Department of Justice need to make sure justice is served. But we all know justice will always be served in the end anyways because it’s a TVB drama. (Actual overview is here)

Review:

If there’s one word to describe Friendly Fire, it’s “predictable”. From the romantic story lines to the cases, nothing ever jumps out as a surprise. Yet the way in which things were woven together breathed some life into the series. There was a right balance of cases, romance, comedy and touching scenes to keep everything moving along. It also helps to have a refreshing cast, with new faces such as Sammy Leung, Alice Chan and the trainees.

There have been a lot of legal dramas in recent memory, so what makes Friendly Fire different? Perhaps it’s all the legal flaws. Netizens actually discovered an instance where they were citing a law that didn’t exist. Although I don’t want to be nit-picky, it highlights the lack of research effort. Minor details aside, the series ignored some obvious legal procedures. For example, one cannot introduce new evidence in their closing arguments, but this drama allows that anyways. Lawyers cannot propose random theories in court (at least not without the objections of the opposition), but the prosecutors will only lament about Derek Kwok’s “dirty” tactics but never yell out "Objection" in court when he offers fabricated, unsupported theories to the jury. In certain cases, there was only flimsy evidence supporting a conviction, but the bad guy goes to jail anyways. Anyone who’s watched enough legal dramas should know that the standard of proof for criminal cases is beyond a reasonable doubt. All in all, if you want to be a lawyer, don’t rely on any of the legal advice shown here. 

There weren’t any breakout performances here. Michael’s character is witty, intelligent and driven by the sense of justice. Yep, sounds exactly like Laughing Gor, except in a three-piece suit. The only difference would probably be that he is slightly less arrogant and shows some vulnerability (like the rooftop crying scene). Tavia’s character was essentially the same as her role in The Other Truth, but there was more time devoted to her personal life, allowing her to show a more relaxed, friendly side. I actually enjoyed the relationship scenes between Michael and Tavia at the beginning when they were a sweet couple. They were loving, but not in the mushy way that would make you want to barf. They enjoyed teasing each other and pulling surprises, like when Tavia arranged for Michael’s ex to seduce him (what kind of girlfriend does that??). But then it got to the part where Tavia rejected Michael’s proposal because of the risk of a hereditary illness, and I let out a big groan. That has got to be the lamest, most overused way to break up a couple.

The second main pairing was Sammy and Sharon, which follows the typical “bickering to mutually supportive to lovers” pattern. Their scenes together often had comical results. This was Sammy’s first time in a TVB drama, and he was natural and humorous. (To be fair, it's not exactly his first acting stint either.) There was no challenge for Sharon to play the easygoing, kind-hearted girl. I felt her real purpose in the drama was to pull in audience with her body, whether it’s the wet-bra scene or flaunting her long legs. By the way, TVB tried way too hard to use sex appeal in this series. Sammy threw in his own soapy nakedness scene and there was also Alice, Grace and Samantha showing off their sexiness in various ways.

The main villains were Alice Chan and Derek Kwok. Alice performed admirably. She is the “stop-at-nothing” type that I love to watch because of the intrigue factor. Derek, on the other hand, was edging towards exaggeration with his wide hand gestures in court. Despite that, I feel he is the only good lawyer in this series, because he objects or intervenes at appropriate times and is able to point out reasonable flaws in the opposition’s arguments.

As for the other characters: Louis Yuen didn’t really add much to the story. It’s funny how his name is a play on Louis Koo’s name. The trainees didn’t get that much screen time. Their existence was just to make a greater emotional impact for the rape case. In the end, I still couldn’t put name to face, except for Oscar Leung and Samantha Ko’s characters. Half of Oscar’s screen-time was to look angry. Meanwhile, Samantha seemed too cheerful for someone who just suffered through such a traumatic event. Also, when she has a long set of dialogue, it sounds flat, as if she’s reading from a book. Her English pronunciation needs work, like when she said “Department of Jus-tick”. There were some notable guest stars for individual cases. Mandy Wong was playing a Mainland version of “Kwan Yi So” (from L’Escargot) and she is still as good. I thought Christine Kuo actually had a role in the drama, but it was only a guest appearance. Hey, I’m not complaining though. And whatever happened to Vincent Wong’s fraud case?

Final note: I still don’t understand the meaning of the English title in the context of this series.

Conclusion: Same old story with new faces.

Rating: 3.5/5

Related posts:

Inaccuracies in Legal Dramas

Overview and Preview of Cases

The Trainees - with their rendition of "Be True"

Theme Song

TVB's Lawyers - plus description of court system & role of legal professionals

Friendly Fire - Preview of Cases

Case #1 - Romantic murder case
Penny Chan is charged with the murder of his girlfriend JJ Jia's husband. Michael Tse and Tavia Yeung face each other in court. Sammy Leung uses his sex appeal to investigate the suspect's background.



Case #2 - Mainland pregnant woman
Benz Hui rented his apartment to Mandy Wong, a pregnant woman from Mainland China. She gets into an argument with her agent and falls unconscious after rolling down the stairs. Benz is framed for this, while Mandy's husband tries to hide the truth.



Case #3 - Murder of police officer
Narcotics Bureau officer Patrick Tang has been investigating drug lord Sammy Shum for a long time, but has yet to find enough evidence. Patrick accuses Sammy Shum of killing a CID officer, but Michael discovers that Patrick may have framed the suspect, giving him the opportunity to walk free.



Case #4 - Wealthy heir rape case
Tavia's apprentice, Samantha Ko, is raped by wealthy heir Ronan Pak. Fellow prosecutor trainees Oscar Leung, Joey Law, Bella Lam and Jame Ng all stand up for her. They are challenged by Michael's main rival, Derek Kwok, who has been hired by Alice Chan (Ronan's sister) to do everything he can to get an acquittal.



Case #5 - Public corporation fraud
Vincent Wong, Sammy Leung's half-brother, is used by Alice Chan to be responsible for a shell corporation. The company's stocks are suddenly suspended from trading, causing investors, including Sharon Chan's family, to lose all their money. Benz Hui discovers the truth, leading Alice to exact revenge on him.



See Overview - Friendly Fire

Overview - Friendly Fire

Lawyer Michael Tse and criminal prosecutor Tavia Yeung are a formerly cohabiting couple. They broke up after a failed marriage proposal. As fate will have it, Michael joins the Department of Justice as a prosecutor, leading him to work with Tavia once again. However, they are divided over their techniques in handling cases. In addition to that, the office secretary’s (Grace Wong) involvement causes their relations to sour even more. Michael still feels bitter over being rejected, but he does not know of Tavia’s secret.

Michael’s adopted brother, Sammy Leung, is a CID officer. The brothers have plenty of opportunities to work together in their job capacities. During one operation, Sammy meets Sharon Chan, an undercover officer. Initially, the two do not get along well, but eventually they find that they nicely complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Finally, Sammy decides to pursue Sharon despite her engagement to her boyfriend. Just when everyone is uncertain about their future, a murder case involving a wealthy mistress (Alice Chan) brings them together to tackle a difficult and dangerous challenge. 

Other notable cast members: Louis Yuen, Vincent Wong, Oscar Leung, Mandy Wong, Christine Kuo

See Preview of Cases

Comment: Seriously, this series has the worst English title. Friendly Fire? Is this series about firefighters? I thought Justice Attack had a nice ring to it. By the synopsis, it doesn't sound like it will be heavily-focused on the legal aspects. It's just so happens that the people involved in the romantic relationships are working in law enforcement. We shall see if (newly-crowned TV Queen?) Tavia and (forever Laughing Gor) Michael can hold up the ratings in the traditional "cannon fodder" time slot.

 

Character Map:

Hong Kong Adventures

A little overdue, but here's the post about my time in Hong Kong!

A Good Heart Goes Haywire Location Filming

I stumbled upon another TVB filming session. I couldn't get the name of the drama from any of the production people, but I suspect they were shooting for A Good Heart Goes Haywire since the actors I saw are all in that series.

There was no dialogue throughout the scene. From my guesstimation, Jack Wu and Benz Hui are following/spying on the light blue shirt guy (any help here?), who was walking two dogs. This would make sense since Benz plays a police officer in the series.

Also saw Sammy Shum in the TVB van, but couldn't snap a picture of him.

Opening Day of Racing Season

I was at the opening day of the racing season when I spotted Eric Tsang at the race course. He and Nat Chan are well-known horse-owners in the entertainment industry. Eric's horse finished first in one of the races, so he was taking pictures with the horse and jockey at the podium. Only managed to get picture of him in the crowd. Can you spot him? (click the picture to enlarge)

Divas in Distress Promotional Event

I was shopping and what do you know? There was a promotional event for Divas in Distress at that mall! Most of the cast was there, minus Gigi Wong, who apparently was in Canada at that time. The event started with the child actor "Michel" playing the piano along with someone singing the theme song. Then all the actors came out for games. The first game was to decorate a lantern (in anticipation of the Mid-Autumn Festival), with Liza Wang being the judge. Him and Mandy's team won.

For the second game, each of the couples were called up: Him/Mandy, Chin Ka Lok/Eliza, So Gei/Lo Lo. The ladies had to throw balls at the guys who were holding big pink hearts. The objective is to get as many of the balls to stick on the heart as possible. Him and Mandy won again. They seem to have so much chemistry even when playing games.

The final segment featured a performance of the English songs used in the drama. Him and Mandy did a little dance during their song.

I also saw Heart Road GPS Location Filming!