[TVB2012] Sergeant Tabloid 《女警愛作戰》 Review

Genre: Modern, police, light-hearted romance
# of Episodes: 21
Producer: Nelson Cheung
Casts:
- Niki Chow as Lui Fei Hap (Lui Hap)
- Michael Tse as Lam Yat Yat (A1)
- Mandy Wong as Szeto Kiu (Madam Kiu)
- Matthew Ko as Wong Tze Tsuen
- Oceane Zhu as Lam Oi Oi
- William Chak as Yau Man Chi (Delay Gor)
- Koni Lui as Lam Long Ning (Long Leg)
- Grace Wong as Kam Sui Na (Goldie)
- Queenie Chu as Mai Ka Bo
- Candice Chiu as Tong Mei Kei (Miki)

What's It About? Female cops and their perspectives on lives as they have to find a balance between work, family and love.

- Spoilers Alert -

I had low expectation for this series before it aired. I didn't even think about watching this until I saw the first episode, which was fully packed with action scenes. To my surprise this series was more enjoyable than I initially thought, probably because I didn't get to see the same over-exposed actors and actresses here. The cast combo is quite fresh. But let me first make it clear, an enjoyable series isn't automatically equivalent to a high quality series, and I do think this is an example of that.

Sergeant Tabloid is quite choppy and most of the time, it's super random. It's random how Lui Hap was about to get proposed to, then the proposal was called off, then she actually got proposed to, then the engagement was called off, and all of that happened within the first half of the first episode!! It's random how Goldie wore that weird-looking gold costume and walked around giving out money. It's random how Elaine Yiu popped up out of nowhere and targeted no one else but Lui Hap. It's even random how they kept picking on the 「中女」 in the first place!! There was actually nothing much to the story, just the normal police chasing criminals, some action scenes, some funny moments here and there, some out-of-nowhere love triangles, and lots of random events. I'm not surprised at all how some people didn't like this series very much.

I really enjoyed Niki's character Lui Hap here. She's strong, brave, witty, caring and nice. However, her character didn't have much development here so she ended up quite low-profile. Sometimes, I didn't even sense her presence because my eyes would be on other characters who appeared to be more interesting. And sometimes I even forgot that she's actually the lead here. So overall, I do like her character but sadly it turned out quite bland. I can't say Niki's acting here has improved either because even though she's good in those light-hearted moments, in the scenes where she's required to be a little more emotional or expressive, she seemed quite forced.

Now Michael Tse, I do feel that the ghost of Laughing is still kinda haunting him, not much though. When he first appeared, I really thought I would be watching Laughing again. Luckily, it turned out he's a reporter this time, though I don't like his character A1 very much. The way he did his job really disgusted me sometimes. I do enjoyed watching his change in character though. From the time he started to accept Oi Oi, to the time he realized what he had been doing was wrong, to when he fell in love with Lui Hap, it's like watching him slowly turning into a nicer person. Michael just needs to play different types of roles from now on to completely get rid of the Laughing image. Make him play a pauper or something (haha!!). And make him lose that cocky voice. He was quite nice here when he's soft-spoken. Michael had surprisingly good chemistry with Niki. I didn't expect that but they made quite a funny bickering couple. However, his storyline with Niki didn't turn out too well, thanks to the redundant appearance of the 'third party' Charlie (Becky Lee). I couldn't believe A1 just let her off like that after he found out how she treated Lui Hap and lied to him about the baby. That got me so mad. Charlie got to be one of the most annoying characters ever. She's the worst!!

Mandy's Madam Kiu also went through quite a nice change. However, no matter how many times I look at her, I still don't see her as a Madam, or worse, as Niki's superior!! I do feel like she's a miscast. But luckily, her acting really saved the day. She sounded authoritative enough. Mandy's character here is better than her Mei Suet in The Hippocratic Crush. To be honest, I didn't like her when she first appeared, too prejudiced. It was nice to see Madam Kiu changed, even though it was a sudden change that happened out of the blue. She was willing to accept her mistakes, knew how to apologize and say her thank-you's. Mandy and Matthew Ko together were really awkward though. They had zero chemistry. When her dad disapproved them going out, in my mind I was like 'So be it. I don't care!!' In fact, I think Matthew didn't fit in with the rest of the cast either. He failed to shine here, and most of the time, he seemed really out of it.

If I have to pick my most favorite character from ST, it got to be Lam Oi Oi. Oceane Zhu was quite a scene-stealer in ST and her acting was rather natural. Although there were still rooms for improvement, I thought her portrayal of Oi Oi was quite adorable. When I see her, I see energy, I see freshness, I see enthusiasm. I think Oi Oi was such a lovely character and I just couldn't get my eyes away from her. I like how she kept clinging onto A1 even though he just brushed her off most of the time. Oi Oi and Delay Gor were probably one of the cutest couples ever!! She's so brave while he's so chicken LOL. The stuff he does and says always made me laugh. I saw William Chak before but this is the first time he actually caught my attention. His acting here was quite natural as well.

The rest of the girls were quite nice to watch too, especially Koni and Grace. Together they made a lovely gang. I mentioned before that I really like the bond they shared with each other and I do think their storyline was one of the best parts of the whole series. I remember there was a time when they were trying to get Madam Kiu a bra, and the time when they were learning to speak Mando to get ready for their mission. That was hilarious!! Everything was perfect until they added the stupid love triangle of Miki, Ka Bo and her husband. It was truly horrible!! I didn't like the ending either. It was rushed and too cliche. This series dragged at some parts in the middle, then quickly ended, so I think the scriptwriting is actually the biggest problem here. Sergeant Tabloid may not be the best series around, but it was definitely an enjoyable one.

My Rating: 6.7/10

Worth watching? Not a must-watch but I would recommend it for its fresh cast combo.

A Sequel? No, thanks. Let's stop a disaster before it happens.

[TVB2012] The Hippocratic Crush 《On Call 36小時》 Review

Genre: Modern, medical, romance
# of Episodes: 25
Producer: Poon Ka Tak
Casts:
- Kenneth Ma as Cheung Yat Kin (Yat Kin Tau)
- Tavia Yeung as Fan Chi Yu (Yu Jai)
- Him Law as Yeung Pui Chung
- Mandy Wong as Hung Mei Suet
- Benjamin Yuen as Lau Bing Chan (Benjamin)
- Candy Chang as Kan Jing Jing
- Ben Wong as John Chong
- Nathan Ngai as Cheung Yat Hong
- Derek Kwok as Lui Siu Yik
- Paisley Hu as To Ka Man

What's It About?
Housemen, trainees, doctors, surgeons, nurses and patients for the characters; illness, surgery, rivalry, family, friendship and romance for the plot. And lots of newbies, lots...

- Spoilers Alert -

THC has all the elements of an addictive and popular TVB series, and was made to be accepted by the audience of all ages. I want to first clarify that I never watch Healing Hands so this is my first time watching a TVB medical series. I heard some people said that the Healing Hands series focused too much on the relationship stuff and neglected the medical aspect of it. Well, to be honest, THC did great in the first half by focusing alot in the professions and the setting was mostly in the hospital. However, the number of these scenes slowly decreased as it went on, starting with the Tavia-Mandy sister plot. Ok, the fact that they were not half-sisters may be surprising but if you look at it as a whole, it really was a pain in the neck, for me at least. From then on, this series seemed to have diverted from its main theme and focused more on the relationships.

THC has some tear-jerking moments, but I think that was largely due to the script-writing and how everything was put together, rather than the actings of individuals. Now I'm not saying that they acted badly, I just want to point out that the execution was effective here. In every episode, there's always something that keeps you watching and wanting for more. I think it was successful in capturing the audience hearts and attention.

This series was produced to promote the newbies so we can spot a lot of them here. Everyone got a chance to shine, some had more screen time than others but at least all of them got something to say. Him Law and Mandy Wong, I don't think I should call them newbies anymore because they got a significant amount of screen time here. In fact, they are the second leads. Him was likeable, he has improved but I think he's more natural when he's playful. I just can't take him seriously when he tried to act like a professional. Mandy's role wasn't the greatest here. Her character was annoying and her sulky face just made it worse. However, if I have to say something nice about her, I would say I like her confident look when she was treating the patients (not the time when she almost killed the patient though). Candy Chang did ok for a newbie I guess. She really looks like Bernice Liu here, I think a lot of people noticed that too. She did surprisingly well in the scene where Yat Hong died, but when she defended Him Law in the conference room, her body language just ruined it for me. Nathan Ngai, just like Him, was really likeable here. I think his best scene is when he was by the sea and feeling down, and Yue Jai got him a stand-up wheelchair. However, the biggest surprise here got to be Benjamin Yuen. I never actually like him as an actor before THC but here, he has proved to be capable of acting and was rather natural in his role.

Now move onto the main lead, Kenneth Ma. After watching the whole series, I concluded that Kenneth wasn't consistent in his role. Yes, he can cry, he can yell but he wasn't fierce enough. Just by putting on a straight face doesn't make you look like a boss, Kenneth. I also don't think he blended all the emotions well enough into his role, which made him seem quite bipolar sometimes. But don't worry Kenneth, I still like you!! He has the look and he certainly has room for improvement. This is not his best role imo. The best one is still from A Fistful of Stances.

Next, we have Tavia. I said before that she showed some improvement in her performance here in THC. I also expressed how much I like her character Yu Jai. But Tavia herself is still boring. It's her look, her acting style, the roles she got that make her unflattering. In fact, she has been stagnant ever since Beyond The Realm of Conscience, not that I'm saying she was great there (Really!! She wasn't). Tavia is not a bad actress herself, she definitely can act but her acting has been too formulaic in recent years. I feel like she has become a second Jessica Hsuan. Tavia, if you want to advance further in your acting career, you need to abandon that formula of yours and give us audience something fresh!!

Last but not least, the sequel. I bet everyone was so excited when they announced there would be a sequel for THC. Well, me too, but how it will turn out is still a question. If they are to keep the same characters and develop more on the storyline, they'd better not kill off Yu Jai. And if they are to write a whole new story, I prefer they keep the same cast but make their characters really different this time. Still, it's now too early to say anything but let's keep our fingers crossed.

Nevertheless, THC is definitely one of the better series that aired this year and it's really addictive. I think everyone should give it a try and there's a high chance that you'll get hooked.

The Goods:
- The theme song sung by Joey Yung is still the best here
- Yu Jai (again, I love her character!!)
- All the operation scenes
- All the elevator scenes

The Bads:
- The title - I still don't like the English title
- The sisters plot (urgh!!)
- The childish cartoons for the operations
- All the parts with Ben Wong, his wife and Yat Kin

My Rating: 7.7/10

Worth watching? Yes, definitely. But beware, you'll get hooked.


**Credit: The pictures are taken from tvb.com and just for illustration purpose** 

The Hippocratic Crush: Episode 21-25

For the comment, I will be brief here since I want to do a proper review for this one. Recap:

- Yat Hong (Nathan Ngai) got hit in the head by a bottle. Yat Kin (Kenneth) and Ben Wong tried to save him but it was too late. He passed away.
- Mei Suet (Mandy) finally let go of Yat Kin and her rivalry with Yu Jai (Tavia), thanks to Benjamin. She told Yat Kin about Yu Jai's sickness.
- Yat Kin proposed to Yu Jai. After rejecting him for so many times, she finally accepted him.
- Yu Jai got her tumour removed by her dad and Yat Kin.
- Mei Suet ended up with Benjamin. Yeung Chung (Him) ended up with Jing Jing (Candy Chang), and of course, Yat Kin and Yu Jai are married and...

----- THE END -----

 I feel so bad for the short-lived relationship between Yat Hong and Jing Jing...

 I think Kenneth did great in this scene because he only gets to use his eyes to show his emotions, though he could have done a little better in the last pic.

This is one of the best scenes in THC!! Watching Kenneth cried like this is just so heart-breaking!! Kenneth can really cry. He looked so tired, worn, and seemed to have aged a lot in the above pic. And that is what I expected Yat Kin to be after Yat Hong's death. Good job, Kenneth!!

The whole episode 22 was just so sad. Even though I knew beforehand that Yat Hong would die, I still cried when I watched it. I felt so emotional afterward. This episode alone needs to be rewatched!!

 

R.I.P. Yat Hong

 Thank you Benjamin for knocking some sense into this girl!!

 I feel that these two couples got together too fast, and too forced!!

The pier, Kenneth, Tavia crying/shouting... what does this remind you of?

That's right, The Mysteries of Love!! O_o BUT, before you panic, let me first show you something...

 ... see the difference?? Tavia didn't just go straight ahead and cried but her expressions changed slowly. First she pretended to be all happy and carefree. Then when Kenneth spoke her mind, she turned scared and speechless. And finally when she couldn't take it anymore, she got frustrated and burst into tears. That is a sign of improvement!! Everything was perfect until she screamed... O_o

 Another touching scene!! Everything was great except for the settings.

I would be pissed if I were Tong Yuen or Wing!!

 Yu Jai and Yat Kin's first date!! You could feel the happiness already!!

 Proposal scene... they look so sweet!!

 ... and THE END!!

I'm not surprised anymore that the series did not peak at 40 or above. Although it was a happy ending and I'm satisfied with it, it was really just a normal happy ending, nothing special. The last episode was not the best episode (the best ones are 22 and 24!!) and it got aired on a normal Friday night. Usually for a big production, the finale is 2-episode long and gets aired on Saturday or Sunday to gain higher ratings. Nevertheless, for a smaller budget series like THC, the rating is not bad.

By the way, I was browsing on Wikipedia the other day to check the ratings and this is what I found:

In case you couldn't make out the words, here's what it says: "You are really gullible if you think this series peaked at 58." That made my day!! :D

The Hippocratic Crush: Episode 16-20

These few episodes had some really touching moments.

Recap first:
- Andy's grandma finally passed away. She got to see Andy graduated, but he wasn't back in time to see her one last time.
- Yat Kin (Kenneth) finally realized his feeling for Yu Jai (Tavia). He decided to tell her but before he could do so, Mei Suet (Mandy) stopped him.
- Mei Suet confessed to Yat Kin and purposedly kissed him in front of Yu Jai. Yat Kin rejected her and tried to explain to Yu Jai but Yu Jai decided that she would let Mei Suet have Yat Kin so she coldly turned him down.
- Yu Jai was diagnosed with spinal cord tumour. She was scared to get it removed because the risk was high. Yu Jai tried to hide this from everyone but Yeung Chung (Him) found out.

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- This series is approaching the end and Tavia has finally come down with a disease, as expected. I don't know how that will affect her character but I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I really like Yu Jai and I hope the tumour doesn't ruin the character for me, at least in these last episodes.

- Like I said before, these few episodes had some really touching moments. Andy's case has come to an end. I felt sorry for him for not able to see his grandma one last time before she died. But at least she got to see him graduated. The actor who played Andy (I still don't know his real name) did a good job. I can actually feel his pain.

- Then we have the case of Yat Kin's brother, Yat Hong (Nathan Ngai). He likes Jing Jing (Candy Chang) but feels that he doesn't match her because of his disability. While he was feeling all depressed, Yu Jai got him a stand-up wheelchair.

- It was indeed a very touching scene. Yat Hong was so happy that he can finally stand up. Everyone was so happy for him too. And Yat Kin Tau, this is one of a hundred reasons why you should choose Yu Jai over Mei Suet.

- Speaking of Mei Suet, I hate her character more as the series goes on. She does nothing to gain her love besides scheming. I can't believe she actually uses her sisterhood with Yu Jai to steal Yat Kin.

- She purposedly called Yu Jai 'big sister' so that Yu Jai would feel she should let her have Yat Kin. Arghhh..... that got me so mad!!
- Then she even forced a kiss on Yat Kin Tau in front of Yu Jai. This girl seriously doesn't deserve anyone in the end!!

- I was so happy when Yat Kin Tau yelled at her in the elevator. She totally deserved that. Benjamin also knocked some sense into her. I really like his speech to her. Does she actually like Yat Kin Tau or just want to win over Yu Jai?

- She even failed as a doctor. That's right, I'm totally against her now!! But I do feel that she's too aggressive to be a doctor. She put the patient's life at risk just to show that she's better.

- Performance wise, I guess Mandy has successfully made her character Mei Suet so despicable. Or is it that Mei Suet is supposed to be less despicable but Mandy's sulky face just killed it? Who knows? And I may have said this a hundred times already but I'm still bored with Tavia's look, though I find her crying skill has some improvement. There's still nothing special coming from Kenneth Ma. Maybe in the last few episodes there will be but so far, Kenneth is still Kenneth. Him Law was barely shown here so no comment. Benjamin Yuen and Nathan Ngai were great.

Another touching scene...

After bickering for 19 episodes, these two are finally together!!

Funny elevator scene. And of course, no Mei Suet!!

The Hippocratic Crush: Episode 11-15

This series is so addictive!! Anyways recap first:

- Yat Kin Tau (Kenneth) is finally allowed to do operations again. He also successfully gets Yu Jai (Tavia) to choose Cardiothoracic for her specialist. Yu Jai is grateful to Yat Kin and she also likes him so she decides to confess. However, Yat Kin suggests that they should be friends for now. Yu Jai doesn't give up and is trying her best to make Yat Kin change his mind.
- Mei Suet (Mandy) tries to get along with Yu Jai. But when they just begin to be nice to each other, Mei Suet discovers that she and Yu Jai both like Yat Kin (Yu Jai doesn't know though). She decides not to lose to her sister in winning Yat Kin's love.
- After getting rejected by Yu Jai, Yeung Chung (Him) helps Yu Jai approach Yat Kin.

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- One thing I like about this series is its pace. I think the pace is just right, not so draggy, not so rushed. Let's hope that it can maintain this pace till the end. I also want to take back what I said earlier about having too many newcomers in one series. I now find them very fresh, and some can really act too. Kudos to Producer Poon.
- Tavia is growing on me too. She can be really hilarious at times, like the confession scene in the restaurant. I'm still bored with her look though.

- Her expression was priceless!! Also very brave of Yu Jai!! I really like her character. After being rejected by Yat Kin, she didn't avoid him but took a step further in pursuing him. Yes, it's Yu Jai who's pursuing Yat Kin Tau right now. How amazing that is!! Yat Kin also didn't avoid Yu Jai. I guess he's trying to get to know more about her right now, as we can see he's reading and keeping all the letters Yu Jai sent him. Aww... how sweet of him!!

- We don't get to see Him and Mandy as doctors many more. Mandy's Mei Suet is busy thinking how to steal Yat Kin from Yu Jai, while Yeung Chung is being too nice by helping Yu Jai pursue Yat Kin. Yeung Chung is really a nice guy, and a very good friend. Yu Jai is really lucky to have an admirer like him. I don't have anything to say about Him and Mandy actings, they have little to do here. Basically, these episodes are all about love.

- Benjamin is also growing on me. This guy can also be funny. I remember I used to hate dislike him so much last year in Relics of an Emissary. I love the elevator scene of him and Kenneth. However, I want to see him more as a doctor, rather than just a comedic relief here.

Relax... Kenneth can't be that scary!!

- The part with Yat Kin, Ben and his wife (aka Yat Kin's ex) was terrible!! Too cliche, too forced, too..... stupidly done!! But thanks to this, Ben may look at Yat Kin differently now. But still, it was too terrible for me to take, and it ruined a couple of episodes of THC for me. Skip it at all cost!!

- Luckily, episode 15 was a lifesaver. I think it's really well done, that episode alone, by having everyone reflecting on what they're doing. The mood was really sad, and Tavia's voice over also helped. I must give credits to the actor who played Andy and the veteran actress Law Lan (who played the granny). They made this series more enjoyable to watch. I almost cried when Andy and the granny cried, so sad!! And the part with the girl playing air violin on the rooftop... Arghhh, it's just too sad!!

 

I love how everyone gathered just to watch the operation