Overview - Murder Diary

Years ago, Kara Hui almost poisoned her son (Vincent Wong) and daughter (Joey Thye) because of her schizophrenia. Experiencing great change, Vincent develops an alter-ego who is physically weak but highly intelligent. His alter-ego works hard and becomes a handwriting expert, helping the agile Vincent carry out his undercover mission. A double bomb case and a case featuring bloody words on a nude corpse prompts Chief Inspector Chris Lai to create a task force to find the perpetrator. The task force includes Vincent, psychiatrist Benjamin Yuen, bomb disposal officer Mandy Wong, and forensic entomologist Venus Wong. The four of them get involved in a love pentagon! The “Father of Criminal Investigation” Philip Keung has recovered from bipolar disorder and is appointed to lead the task force as they investigate various mysterious cases. But he discovers Kara may be involved in the mystery behind his wife's (Alice Chan) disappearance. As the puzzle is revealed piece-by-piece, how will they each face the truth?

An non-photoshopped look at the poster:

Overview - My Life as Loan Shark

Loan-shark king Kent Chang has always used underworld tactics to run his loan-shark business and employs improper methods to collect debts. Although his wife Maggie Siu has urged him to wash his hands of the business, he is unrepentant. As Kent operates his business and collects debts, he attracts the attention of detective Chris Lai. Chris, who is righteous and abhors evil, vows to fight against evil forces. One day, lightning strikes down from the sky and Kent is moved by the heavens. Since then, he has laid down the butcher's knife and used his fortune to give back to the community, becoming a "Neighbourhood Fortune Man".

Overview - Who Wants A Baby?

An unexpected pregnancy disrupts the plans of married couple, Ali Lee and Chris Lai. They initially hoped to rely on their mothers for help, but their mothers have opposite methods of raising the baby, resulting in frequent conflicts. The couple find themselves in a never-ending 24 hour cycle of taking care of their daughter. Due to the circumstances, they hire the expert postpartum caregiver, Griselda Yeung.

Because of the baby's arrival, Ali bid farewell to her career in fashion, while Chris must stay away from his nightly pastimes. In order to make more time for her daughter, Ali makes a career change and takes over a postnatal care agency. With Griselda's help, she comes into contact with many clients and caregivers, giving her a new understanding of being a mother. Meanwhile, she and Chris are drifting apart. She even suspects that he is having an affair with his colleague from the bar, Samantha Ko. Unexpectedly, Chris becomes an internet sensation after rescuing a child from an accident. The care agency instantly becomes a key influencer in the baby industry, which turns everything on its head...

Overview - The Tofu War

Nancy Sit, who has served three generations at a century-old tofu factory, uses her position as general manager to protect her distant relative, Dominic Lam. It draws the ire of the heir, Jonathan Cheung. Coincidentally, his friend Chris Lai lost his job and broke up with his girlfriend (Elaine Yiu) and is looking for a change. The two of them click instantly and decide to institute major reforms at the company. The new and old camps battle against each other day and night. Chris re-encounters his childhood friend Roxanne Tong and vents about his problems to her. Their relationship grows quickly and they begin to think about marriage. But it turns out Roxanne's mother is Nancy. Roxanne pretends to be depressed to force her mother to agree to her lightning marriage to Chris. But if seeing each other is hard, living together is even harder. After marriage, Chris faces extreme pressure at home and at work. He tries to play matchmaker for his mother-in-law and the tofu factory's boss (Wai Lee) to deflect the line of fire. Unfortunately, it is a mismatch with many setbacks, leading to a series of jokes...

Overview - My Unfair Lady

Successful property manager Jessica Hsuan has a midas touch. The shopping malls under her management have won countless awards. She is also a super-control freak. Her top assistant, her cousin Natalie Tong, is obedient, hard-working and has even learned fake flirting techniques, helping Jessica solve many problems. Just as Jessica's career is going well, with hopes of joining the board of directors, the company hires marketing genius Frankie Lam to have equal footing as her! The ex-couple have a love-hate relationship and battle it out in the workplace. Jessica even uses beautiful female trainee, "Shanghai Man Slayer" Samantha Ko, to get close to Frankie and gather intelligence. Except Samantha not only covets Jessica's job, but also her man. The two women begin an intense fight!

Meanwhile, Natalie discovers that her boyfriend Chris Lai has cheated on her. In her time of disappointment, she encounters a deeply passionate gentlemen, Vincent Wong. She thinks their relationship will come to fruition, until his sweet and gentle cousin from Taiwan suddenly confesses her love for him. Natalie immediately seems pale by comparison! What's worse is that Vincent appears to be abnormally afraid of marriage. Does Natalie, whose aspiration is to be married, have no hopes for marriage? Can the two cousins, both competent women, but unable to flirt, ultimately reverse their misfortune and find happiness?

Overview - Presumed Accidents

Lawrence Ng is an antiques dealer who is gentle, well-learned in Western and Chinese cultures and has a comfortable, care-free life. Since his late wife Selena Li passed away, he has been living a single lifestyle. Only his housekeeper Chow Chung knows everything about him. One day, Lawrence encounters insurance company investigator Sisley Choi at the hospital. It brings ripples into his quiet life. As Sisley investigates the accident that caused her parents’ death, she discovers that her life is somehow related to Lawrence’s. To get closer to Sisley, Lawrence even joins the investigation company. He meets Chris Lai, who is pursuing Sisley. Lawrence and Sisley eventually discover that many accidents appear to be controlled by someone behind the scenes. Just as they get close to the truth, a person who resembles Lawrence’s late wife (also played by Selena) appears. It turns out that both Chris and Selena are hiding their secret backgrounds…

Presumed Accidents Promo Clips

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Extended Trailer

ICAC Investigators 2016 - Preview of Cases

Case #1:
Inspired by her brother's girlfriend, Karmen Kwok joins the ICAC as an assistant investigator. During the initial training, she constantly makes mistakes, but her proactive attitude and dedication leaves a deep impression on instructor Ruco Chan.

While visiting her grandmother, senior investigator Natalie Tong overhears the neighbours talking about how Lawrence Cheng, a candidate for the District Council by-election, is bribing voters using clever tactics that circumvent the law. They all have a different view on whether Lawrence's actions constitutes as illegal. Natalie tells her superior Chris Lai about Lawrence's case. It turns out that the ICAC has already receive complaints and is preparing an investigation.




Case #2:
As Karmen completes her training, Ruco is also transferred back to the front lines. He partners with Natalie to investigate a case involving a wristwatch corporation bribing tour guides. As it is a complex case, principal investigator Elena Kong decides to personally participate in the investigation. They encounter many problems as they gather evidence. Ruco and his long-time girlfriend Elaine Yiu are each busy with work. Elaine makes huge profits in real estate and is gradually becoming blinded by money. One time, she mentions about a conspiracy between a real estate agent and an employee of the developer to fraudulently earn commission. Ruco points out that their actions may have violated the law and reminds Elaine not to join them. They part on bad terms.




Case #3
The ICAC receives case after case. Businessman Raymond Chiu is offering bribes to a senior bank officer, Jimmy Au. Elena assigns the case to Chris' team. The investigation takes a long time, but after a lot of hard work, the ICAC finally arrest Raymond and Jimmy, and lay charges on them. However, on the day of the trial, Raymond skips bail and absconds. At the same time, Elena suddenly faints and is hospitalized.




Case #4
With Elena in the hospital, principal investigator Kenneth Ma takes over a case involving a tobacco company CEO accepting bribes from cigarette smugglers. Kenneth personally leads the investigation. Because of the difficulty of obtaining evidence, Kenneth sends Kelly Fu to act as an undercover. During the course of the investigation, Kelly discovers that she is pregnant, but decides to continue on. At the same time, Kenneth and Ruco go to Saipan to find evidence in a thrilling adventure. Meanwhile, Ruco also participates in a fraud case involving real estate developers. He is shocked to find that his girlfriend Elaine is implicated in the case...




Case #5
Ruco investigates well-known businesswoman Florence Kwok for fraud. Florence is bribing her subordinates to falsify warrants in order to make profit. As the investigation reaches a mature stage, Kenneth leads the team to make the arrests. Florence subsequently deploys judicial tactics to delay the case and attempt to avoid trial. Meanwhile, Raymond, who escaped earlier, is arrested overseas and extradited back to Hong Kong for trial. Elaine is arrested by the ICAC for colluding with real estate developers to fraudulently obtain commission...

ICAC Investigators 2016 Promo Clips

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Extended Trailer

Chris Lai in "King Maker"

All credits go to Lizzy @ http://tvbcartoons.tumblr.com/


Found a cute drawing of Chris Lai's character in King Maker.


Read King Maker Review.

King Maker Review

Producer: Leung Choi Yuen

Genre: Imperial rivalry

Cast: Kent Cheng, Wayne Lai, Pierre Ngo, Chris Lai, Kingdom Yuen, Florence Kwok, Kristal Tin

Plot: Essentially three ministers vying to determine the destiny of the faltering Song Dynasty. (Read more here)

Review:

With the same leads, same producer, same costumes, almost same setting, King Maker will definitely draw comparisons to The Greatness of a Hero. And the conclusion is… King Maker pales in comparison.  

Perhaps it was the length of the drama. The Greatness of a Hero was fast-paced with only 20 episodes. King Maker felt a lot slower with 28 episodes. There’s no need to repeatedly show the flashback montages. Nor the long heart-felt conversations paired with slow music. They can even cut some of the added attempts at drama, such as the whole Vivien Yeo jealousy act at Natalie Tong. I would have preferred it if everything was crammed into a much more intense 20 episodes.

Or perhaps it is the familiarity of it all. The same old plots are being recycled again and again. Where have I seen the voodoo doll scheme before? The failed delivery of rice? The is-he-the-real-son crisis always leading to a highly dramatized blood-test which never fails because of some type of trick? We need some new creativity. Also please end the recycling of those “golden” lines from previous dramas.

In what was billed as “TV King meets Film King”, the actors did their job BUT… For Wayne Lai, I feel like there’s nothing new. The holding-his-anger-by-clenching-his-jaw and the serious, non-smiling expression are things I’ve seen before. And especially when he does the yelling scenes, it reminds me of Chau Kau of Rosy Business. As for Kent Cheng, what is with those weird expressions, loud yelling and tone changes? He talks too fast as well. Nonetheless, they were still very, very good, along with everyone else that had an important role. Special praise should go to Pierre Ngo for his excellent portrayal of the traumatized prince when he returned to Song.

Mind you, the drama is not nearly as bad as I’ve made it sound. It is a drama full of schemes, deception and betrayal. There is a unique take with the First Prince having to recover from post-traumatic disorder. The character relationships were intriguing. Initially, the sons of the minsters weren’t on their father’s side. Elaine Yiu had complicated connections to all three ministers. This series will leave you wanting to watch the next episode, except you may want to fast forward within some episodes.

By the way, in real history, Pierre’s First Prince is indeed not the son of his predecessor. However he was still a descendant of the Song royal family. (Read more here)

Conclusion: Like No Regrets: exciting but needlessly dragged on.

Rating: 4/5

Historical Context: Song Dynasty

Welcome to the Song dynasty!

If your historical knowledge comes mostly from TVB shows, it’s won’t be surprising if you don’t know very much about this dynasty.  For some reason, the Song dynasty gets very little love from TVB. I believe the last Song era drama was Witness to Prosecution I & II. And TVB has never ventured into the imperial court of Song before King Maker. So here is some background info on the Song dynasty.

The King Maker is set in the Song dynasty.  The Song dynasty is split into two time periods: Northern and Southern Song. This is because the capital was moved when Song lost control of northern China to the Jin (“Gold”) Dynasty. The Song Dynasty was most recognized for its scholarly works, including literature, art, philosophy and science. It placed an emphasis on the merits of officials rather than their backgrounds. Agricultural and economic innovations contributed to the prosperity during the period. Famous people from the Song Dynasty include Bao Zheng (包青天), Song Ci (宋慈, the coroner in Witness to Prosecution) and General Ngok Fei (岳飛).

Specifically, this drama is set during the Southern Song dynasty during the reign of Emperor Ningzong, played by Kwok Fung.  He was the 13^th king of the Song dynasty. He ascended to the throne when his father chose to retire as king and take the title of Taishuang Huang (太上皇). Ningzong was third consecutive Emperor to take the throne before his predecessor’s death.  He had two Empresses. The first was Empress Gongshu (Kingdom Yuen).  

The second was Empress Gongsheng (aka Lady Yeung), which is the future Florence Kwok. She was said to be very beautiful and intelligent. It is rumored that when she entered the palace at a young age, she forgot her last name and only said she came from a township called 會稽. Coincidentally, there happened to be an official from the same township named Yeung Chi-san (Joseph Lee), so she said that he was her brother. When the first Empress died, Ningzong had two choices: Lady Yeung or another of his favourites, Lady Cao. A minister tried to persuade Ningzong to choose Lady Cao because he feared Lady Yeung would be too ambitious with her smarts. In the end, Ningzong still chose Lady Yeung to become Empress.

In the series, Pierre Ngo and Chris Lai are brothers and princes of the Song court. They are not the sons of Emperor Ningzong. Ningzong had eight sons, but all died at a young age. He appointed his adoptive son as Crown Prince. However, after Ningzong’s death, the Prime Minister installed one of the brothers instead, as he knew the Crown Prince despised him. The brothers are descendants of Song Taizu, the founder of the dynasty.

So who wins? According to history, the next king was Emperor Lizong (宋理宗), which is the actor…………………

Pierre Ngo

But don’t worry, guy who lost, your son will succeed Emperor Lizong.

Pictures taken from Asianfanatics and Ming Pao

Overview - King Maker

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Synopsis:
Within the imperial court of Southern Song, there are two factions: 1^st Prince Pierre Ngo and 2^nd Prince Chris Lai both desire the throne. The Left and Right Chancellors Wayne Lai and Kent Cheng were originally friends before Wayne’s father, KK Cheung, was exiled for angering the Emperor. As a result, Wayne was separated from his younger siblings, Patrick Tang and Natalie Tong. Patrick is tricked to become a eunuch, while Natalie loses her memory and is adopted by the triad leader Kristal Tin. Wayne believes that Kent betrayed his father for self-interest and vows to exact revenge. He colludes with the corrupt court official Joseph Lee. The battle commences on the imperial court with treachery, schemes, murder and more...

Related Article: Original Article

Palace dramas about scheming women have always been a ratings guarantee, from War and Beauty to Beyond the Realm of Conscience to Curse of the Royal Harem. The reason for the success is same: competition. The upcoming series, King Maker, will feature fierce competition. But instead of a battle between females, it will be a grand showdown between men. Following The Greatness of a Hero, Film King Kent Cheng and TV King Wayne Lai face each other again to see who can be the ultimate kingmaker!

Kent and Wayne are mentors to the two Princes. In order to help their Prince become Emperor, they will turn against each other with evil plots and cunning schemes. Last time in The Greatness of a Hero, Wayne was evil to no extent, but this time it is Kent’s turn to be the villain. Wayne says, “The Greatness of a Hero was in the Tang dynasty, King Maker is in the Song dynasty. A few hundred years apart, it is like a re-carnation. It is interesting that Kent and I switch between good and evil roles.” Kent, who seldom portrays the antagonist, says that his role will leave a lasting impression on the audience. He jokes, “Wayne and I will fight for the Best Supporting Actor Award.”

TVB’s focus on “lovey-dovey” plots in recent years has received negative criticisms from many fans. Even in the police drama, Tiger Cubs, scriptwriters have inserted unnecessary love plots, which has annoyed viewers who only want to see the SDU in action. King Maker breaks with tradition to emphasis competition over romance. Film King and TV King will obviously contribute their spectacular acting skills. They are supported by solid actresses, such as Kingdom Yuen, Florence Kwok and Kristal Tin.

The cast also features younger actors with great potential, such as Pierre Ngo, Chris Lai and Natalie Tong. Of them, Pierre’s performances can never be discounted. Collaborating with two heavy-weights, this may be a chance for “Spare-ribs Boy” to gain reach higher heights. For viewers tired of TVB’s repetitive love themes, King Maker will surely not disappoint!

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