Overview - Flying Tiger II

A mysterious organization is conducting criminal activity in Hong Kong, putting the city's safety at imminent risk. Under the orders of the Chief Executive, Special Duties Unit (SDU) leader Michael Miu forms a special task force with handpicked elite police officers. The members include operations leader Bosco Wong, investigation leader Ron Ng, intelligence officers Kenneth Ma and Jacky Cai, and Jennifer Yu from the Identification Bureau. After the establishment of the task force, they put all their efforts into eliminating criminal activity, while facing their own troubles with love and hate.

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 - Flying Tiger

When he was younger, Hugo Ng accepted a mission to infiltrate the triads as an undercover agent. The triad leader's daughter, Christine Ng, fell in love with him at first sight. Although Hugo already had his heart set on the simple Mimi Kung, he pretended to be with Christine in order to solve the case. As a result, he quickly rose through the ranks in the triad. One time, during a fight between triads, Hugo eliminated Christine's triad rivals, but Christine's fate remained unclear. Hugo's good friend, Michael Miu, knows about his affair with Christine and their infant son (Bosco Wong). Hugo brings Bosco home and Mimi also gives birth to a son (Ron Ng). Because of the sin that he represented, Bosco did not grow up with love from his father. But Ron also did not get spoiled by Hugo and instead had to go through many hardships. The half-brothers accumulate a number of grudges growing up. Each of them also coincidentally develop a father-like mentor relationship with Michael. During a grand promotional ceremony, Hugo, having achieved the rank of Superintendent, is happily preparing to receive this honour, but unknowingly steps into a revenge plot that is thirty years in the making...

Flying Tiger will be released on myTV Super and Youku beginning on April 6. 

Overview - K9 Cop

Hot-tempered cop Bosco Wong has gone through his father's drug addiction and his mother's death and single-handedly raised his three sisters. Due to his macho and impulsive personality, his superior transfers him to the Police Dog Unit, where he undergoes difficult training with his police dog Brother. In the process, a misunderstanding occurs between him and veterinarian Linda Chung, and the two become enemies. However, Linda hopes to use Bosco to repair her relationship with her brother Oscar Leung, so she takes the initiative to help Bosco and Brother overcome challenges. With Brother shuttling in between them, a subtle chemistry develops. With the help of Brother, Bosco is confident that he can catch drug dealer Jerry Koo. Unfortunately, his partner Raymond Wong knowingly breaks the rules by concealing his illness. Not only does it cause strife in their brotherhood, it also puts the life of his girlfriend Tracy Chu, who is Bosco's second younger sister, in danger. Jerry is set on getting revenge and uses his twin brother, a police informant, to set up a trap. How can Bosco, Linda and Brother join forces to solve the case and save people?

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!
 

Overview - My "Spiritual" Ex-Lover

Edwin Siu is a poor scholar whose goal is to ace the imperial exam, but he has failed every time. He is temporarily staying at his sister-in-law Joyce Tang's lantern store and making a living as an artist. His eldest brother Evergreen Mak is a penny-pincher, while second brother Oscar Leung is illiterate and henpecked by his wife. His childhood sweetheart, Jinny Ng, is constantly pushing him for marriage. In addition, his father, Yu Yang, falls sick. Becoming desperate, Edwin unwillingly participates in Joyce's fraudulent tactics to sell lanterns. It leads to a huge battle between Taoist master Angela Tong and con-artist Ricky Fan. There isn't a quiet day in the household with bizarre things happening every day and everyone acting oddly. Edwin starts to notice that there is a female spirit (Nancy Sit) secretly protecting him. Unfortunately, her powers are not strong enough and often causes things to backfire, resulting in many comedic moments...

My "Spiritual" Ex-Lover Promo Clips

My "Spiritual" Ex-Lover Promo Clips

Overview - My "Spiritual" Ex-Lover

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Tiger Cubs II Review

Producer: Lam Chi Wah
Genre: Police, action
Cast: Joe Ma, Linda Chung, Him Law, Oscar Leung, Mandy Wong

If Tiger Cubs II proved anything, it is that TVB cannot make a good sequel. Everything that made the first series enjoyable - the action, the adrenaline rush, the brotherhood and the brilliance of the SDU - is gone. It is replaced with immaturity and incompetence. The bad guys (including a group of handicapped people) ran circles around this supposed "best of the best" squad. In the first series, the SDU always came back with mission accomplished. In the sequel, I can't remember a case where they didn't fail in some way. Even the guest stars paled in comparison to the original, with only Nancy Wu and Johnson Lee as the biggest names.

The cases themselves had potential, but the ideas were poorly executed. The criminals could do whatever they wanted against the ineffective SDU team. But the SDU would always manage to take them out in the end with ridiculously convenient ways. The plot holes turned the whole series into a big joke. The punch line is of course the finale with the SDU getting run down at their own headquarters until they receive divine intervention by way of a bubble. The overarching case about Linda's blown undercover identity was muddled among all the other things that were happening.

Unlike the original series, which focused mainly on the action, the sequel tried to incorporate more conflict and emotion. That turned out to be the biggest undoing because every single character became annoying to watch. Ah Lai (Him Law) was immature, with his stubborn defence of his colleague and the poor handling of his relationships. Chin Sir (Joe Ma) was too laid-back as his team was falling apart and never even tried to explain himself. Ah Yuen (Oscar Leung) spends far too much time grieving. Ah Keung (Mandy Wong) was weak. And Madam Chung (Linda Chung)... she was in a league on her own. It is beyond me how someone of her mental fitness could pass the test to become a police officer again.

The acting from the cast makes the series twice as difficult to watch. Linda's performance can only be described as torture for the audience. It was a nightmare seeing those bulging eyes and clenched jaw. Her acting was as fake as the scars on her body. Joe was majorly lacking on the emotional scenes and had zero chemistry with Linda. Oscar lost his charm from the original series and was trying too much to force his signature winks in. Him and Mandy are relatively better than the rest, although they need to lighten up. Benjamin Yuen was unnoticeable except in one early episode. Timmy Hung does not leave much of an impression either. It says a lot when the best performances actually came from the guest stars, including Pal Sinn, Jade Leung and Nancy Wu.

Rating: 2.5/5. Flying Tigers? More like Tiger Prey.

Officer Geomancer - Preview of Cases

Case #1: Missing Person
Wealthy businessman Eric Chung's wife (Rosanne Lui) has reported that her daughter is missing. Joey Meng orders Johnson Lee to investigate, but he is too busy investigating the neighbours' missing underwear cases. Joey is about to blow her top, but Johnson insists on following his instinct, which is to look for the underwear thief first...



Case #2: Strangeness on Campus
Joey re-encounters her crush from seven years ago, who is now a university professor (Ricky Fan). Johnson points out that Ricky has black clouds hanging over his head, but Joey believes all the strange occurrences are only unlucky coincidences. But when a series of cases occur in which the victim is murdered using bright lights and Ricky goes missing, Joey starts to believe Johnson...



Case #3: Lost Gun & Lost Memories
Mimi Chu comes across her old rival Mak Ling Ling at a gathering. Afterwards, Mimi, along with her gun, go missing. She is later found at the hospital with partial memory loss. But each time she sees Law Lok Lam, she will call him "Big Brother" and refer to herself as a child.



Case #4: Zombie Fright
When Joey receives a call about the discovery of a corpse, Harriet Yeung follows along to get first-hand news. Harriet instantly recognizes that the deceased had once tried to steal her purse. Later, a witness claims that they saw a "zombie" crazily biting people. As Oscar Leung is helping Johnson chase the zombie, he is bitten...



Case #5: Return of a Rival
Oscar encounters his father's former business partner (Sam Tsang) who had caused the family's bankruptcy. Now Sam offers Oscar an opportunity and they become friends. But Johnson can tell that Sam is up to no good and tries to convince Oscar to quit as soon as possible.



Case #6: Life or Death Uncertainty
Johnson meets a social worker, Candice Chiu. It evokes dark childhood memories of being kidnapped and his foster father (Vincent Lam) being killed. There will be a shocking result and Joey will be endangered because of it.

Overview - Officer Geomancer

Johnson Lee is not your ordinary police constable. He is an expert in geomancy, which he uses at critical moments to solve mysterious cases. He also has Oscar Leung, who is connected with people conducting both legal and illegal activities, as his informant. His outlandish character often leaves his superior, Joey Meng, astonished. Joey is a criminal psychologist who uses rationale to analyze everything. They appear to be polar opposites, yet through working together, they develop an unspoken mutual understanding. Outside of work, Joey only cares about the marriages of her younger siblings, Harriet Yeung and Fred Cheng. When Harriet becomes involved in a love triangle with Oscar and Joey's subordinate, Rebecca Zhu, Joey loses control of her emotions. Luckily, Johnson is there to help her. At this time, a series of missing persons cases occur. The culprit's modus operendi evokes Johnson's memories of the past, which he has been hiding for many years. Joey is about to put her life at risk and Johnson foresees...

Officer Geomancer Promo Clips

Officer Geomancer Promo Clips

Overview - Officer Geomancer

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Tiger Cubs II - Preview of Cases

Case #1: When a triad leader dies suddenly, all fingers point toward Linda Chung, who has been exposed as an undercover. Johnson Lee, the triad leader's right-hand man, has Linda thrown into the ocean with heavy weights, yet she manages to survive. Johnson designs a nearly perfect hostage situation at the High Court, challenging the police and demanding for Linda's life.



Case #2: International drug dealer Pal Sinn and his personal doctor Sam Tsang are being escorted back to Hong Kong by Interpol to face trial. The SDU team prevents terrorists from attacking those two and inadvertently discovers a case within a case.



Case #3: A mysterious group has been robbing the rich and giving to the poor. The SDU have identified the suspects and take action to arrest them. Oscar Leung, with an extremely accurate shot, confirms that he has shot one of the suspects, yet they cannot find any evidence that someone had been injured.



Case #4: A popular Japanese game show has to come to Hong Kong. The SDU team pose as contestants to carry out their mission. Him Law falls into a dangerous trap. Meanwhile, Mandy Wong notices an unusual relationship between a contestant (Jonathan Wong) and the show's host (Ali Lee). They are shocked to discover that part of the competition involves biochemical weapons.

Case #5: The bar owned by retired SDU member Koo Ming Wah is a popular hangout spot for Joe and his team. Although Koo Ming Wah is no longer a law enforcement officer, he will use his own ways to help the police capture wanted criminals and collect the reward money. Joe is concerned about Koo Ming Wah's intelligence source, as well as his safety.

Case #6: Wai Ka-hung has committed all sorts of bad deeds. He is shot by a SDU member even though he has already surrendered. Surviving the injury, he files a complaint against the police and surprisingly, Linda helps him with exposing the SDU for firing at him illegally.

Case #7: Eric Chung, Li Ka-sing, Jack Wu and Jimmy Au met each other in Vietnam and became sworn brothers. Linda secretly investigates when she finds out that the rival of those four was involved in the earlier attempt to kill her. As the four open fire with the SDU, Joe and Him have a disagreement about the mission.

Case #8: Wealthy heir Alan Wan invests along with Him's friend, Stephen Huynh, and ends up losing his fortune. His sister Grace Wong asks Him to help and it is discovered that a money laundering operation is involved. For work and for personal reasons, the SDU team want to help Alan, but at the most critical moment, Timmy's appearance changes the whole situation.



Case #9: Linda sends her informant, Nathan Ngai, to monitor Timmy. Oscar reports that Linda has continued to take psychiatric mediation since resuming her duties, but Joe stands on her side, causing the brothers to become enemies. Afterwards, Oscar discovers a series of shocking secrets behind Vincent Lam's corporation, but all is too late...



Case #10: American CIA analyst Nancy Wu is invited to tour the SDU facilities to allow for better cooperation in the future. But it turns out that Nancy has a hidden identity, and Joe witnesses Linda fatally shooting Timmy...