TVB – The Other Asian Dramas and Why I Like Them? (2016)

TVB – The Other Asian Dramas

Fans of TVB dramas know all the actors. I admit I am slowly learning their names and definitely see the allure to these actors. Favorites like Joe Ma, Ben Wong, Louis Cheung, Kevin Cheng, and Roger Kwok are the names that first come to my mind because I’ve seen them the most. Admittedly, I have none of the women as favorites yet but give me time.

TVB dramas run the same gamut of genres like all other Asian dramas. Just like the Chinese dramas, there is something for everyone; however, the biggest draw for me is the procedural dramas. These are dramas that concentrate in the police/crime/law/medical genres. I haven’t seen that many ancient ones so those are rare for me but when it comes to the more modern ones, I am a really big fan. I especially like TVB dramas because they stick to the subject matter. If I want to watch a drama with a non-sensical romance or a deluded story on the genres that I love, then Korean dramas fit the bill. Japanese dramas are a learning experience when it comes to my favorite genres; however, TVB dramas mirror US shows. They take you briefly into the lives of the characters but definitely focus more on the subject matter. This I like.

I am currently watching 2 other dramas Tiger Cubs (2012) and The Hippocratic Crush (2012). HK Dramas with English subtitles aren’t as readily available but more and more sites, especially DramaFever, are making more available. Thank you! Here are some of my favorites so far.

Smooth Talker (2015)

This drama starred Joe Ma as Hau Tak Sze, Kate Tsui as Mo Sui Yee, Johnson Lee as Au Yeung Ai, and Elena Kong as Lam Nga Lui. Hau Tak Sze has found himself as a negotiator. He is constantly called for various cases especially divorce ones. It is during one of these cases that he meets Mo Sui Yee. She mistakes Hau Tak Sze in being in cahoots with her ex-husband’s lover who has been given property that her family owned. As a result, she sues him for mis-representation and that is how their relationship starts.

Hau Tak Sze and Mo Sui Yee

Smooth Talker was definitely a slight departure from the normal TVB dramas I watched. This really did focus on the relationship of the characters with each other, their families, and the people around them. I really liked the chemistry between Joe Ma and Kate Tsui. They were a pretty fun couple to watch as she worked through her divorce with her sleazy husband and the relationship between them grew and grew. I highly recommend this one. I rate this one 8.5/10

Raising the Bar (2015)

The drama starred Ben Wong as Fan Chi Ngai/Marcus, Louis Cheung as Chow Chi Pok/Quinton, Elaine Yiu as Cheung Wai Wan/Vivian, Natalie Tong as Cheng Cheuk Tung/Ashley and others. See complete cast list here. Raising the Bar was as you expect it, a drama focuses on lawyers and judges. The law was shown from both prospectives; from public defender offices to private practice lawyers. The cases took you from the beginning to the final resolution. At first, the drama really spent more time with the various cases but later tried to inject more personal scenes between the characters. Admittedly, I would have been happier if it had continued down that storyline but I realize that everyone is not like me. I also realized just how much I liked Louis Cheung watching this drama. I look forward to seeing more of him in the future. Even so, I rated this 8/10 because the stories were pretty good.

Forensic Heroes II (2008)

Dramas about forensic science are new to me. I don’t think I’ve ever seen at Japanese or Korean one before. As a big fan of the US television show, CSI, it made perfect sense that the Forensic Heroes series would have a big draw to me. This drama stars Au Yeung Bobby as Ko Yin Bok/Timothy, Sheh Charmaine as Ma Kwok Ying/Bell, Mung Yoyo as Leung Siu Yau/Nicole, and Cheng Kevin as Yeung Yat Sing/Ivan.

This was definitely one of my favorite Kevin Cheung dramas. His relationship with Bell was one of the best I’d seen in one of the modern TVB dramas. I enjoyed it immensely and romance isn’t one of my things. I liked the style of the drama as it was filled with information on procedures, techniques within forensics that were familiar to anyone that watches CSI shows. I realized I watched these out of order, so now I will have to go back and watch the first and continue on to the Forensic Heroes 3….if I ever find it subbed. I rated this drama 8/10 also.

Eye In The Sky (2015)

Okay, you are starting to see a trend, right? Yes, I like Kevin Cheung a lot. When I find an actor I like,I try to watch as many of his dramas that I can find. Obviously others must feel the same way because his dramas seemed to be subbed frequently. In addition to Kevin Cheung, this drama starred Tony Hung as Tai Fu Lung, Samantha Ko as Lam Ling/Agatha, Tavia Yeung as Ng Zan Nei/Jenny, Ruco Chan as Cheng Lik Hang, and Johnathan Cheung as Fate Fan. As a former CID detective Sze Tou Shun (Kevin Cheung) left the force under a cloud of suspicion.

Sze Tou Shun and Cheng Lik Hang

This drama was definitely about the bromance and the friendship that developed between Sze Tou Shun and Cheng Lik Hang. Though Cheng Lik Hang was a thief, they were friends despite that. The romance between Sze Tou and Jenny was basically because she mistook him for someone else. As Sze Tou had quit the force because he was accused of a crime he didn’t commit, the evidence pointed to him but was actually his look alike. So most of the drama was about him trying to find this person as well as the development of the relationships between the main cast. Another good drama with a slightly different storyline. I enjoyed it immensely and easily finished the entire drama in 2 1/2 days. I rated this drama 8.5/10. Again, another one I’d recommend watching.

Breakout (2010)

Breakout was entirely different drama also. This one doesn’t even fall into my normal procedural dramas; however, it does has the distinction of being the first TVB drama that I ever watched. The drama starred Jeanette Aw as Yang Nian Qing, Christopher Lee as Situ Dong Cheng. This drama covered so many genres; from crime to tragedy; to psychological to revenge. Jeanette Aw’s character was the survivor of her family who had all been killed in a tragic accident. As she had been in a coma for over 13 years, her mind was still locked in as a 12 year old when she had the accident. The drama showed you as she struggles with this as well as when she slowly realizes that the accident was intentional. My only complaint on this movie was the ending. The worst! Rushed! Unfortunately, it might be hard to find but I do credit this drama with making me a fan of the Singaporean dramas. But overall, this was different from any other I’d seen. Also, interesting to watch the psycho siblings. Those two were something else! You’d have to see them to believe them. Despite the ending, I rated this 7.5/10.

Black Heart White Soul (2014)

Last but not least would be Black Heart White Soul. I started this drama specifically because I figured it would be a typical law procedural drama. Little did I know that I would watch as a character went from sympathetic to worse human being on the planet! This drama starred Roger Kwok as Gou Zit Hang/Matt, Ron Ng as Cheung Lap Dong/Funny, Kristal Tin as Tam Mei Zhan/May, Lisa Lau as Duk Cheok Chi/Gillian, and Louis Cheung as Ma Kai Yuen/Marco.

May and Matt

They say money is the root of all evil. As you watch this drama, you truly believe that. Matt’s character (played by Roger Kwok) was a totally surprise! Here was a man who had been cruelly paralyzed in an accident but because of this accident, the base desires to get back everything he could by any means necessary and regardless of who he hurt. Sadly, his biggest victim was his own wife! The things that he did to her and hid from her truly were despicable but what is hidden must come to light! The amazing thing is right until the end, the man was never repentant. It was a sad fact of the drama.

Gillian and Funny

Funny was definitely my favorite character. Unfortunately, his romance with Gillian was truly sad as she represented a woman that desperately loved a man to the point of being overly possessive and desperate. Throughout the drama, you couldn’t help feel sorry for Funny being in a relationship with a woman who was incredibly dangerous to herself and suicidal. Like I said, this drama really wasn’t what I thought it would be about so the events that happened in the drama really came at me by surprise.

The acting was great! Roger Kwok played the hated Matt so brilliantly, even I felt guilty hating a disabled wheelchair bound man so deeply. Louis’s character of Marco was supposed to be the criminal but the things he did were nothing compared to Matt! Again, this was a drama that had an element of revenge gone totally wrong. Predictable? Yes but the story isn’t. I gave this drama an 8/10. It managed to surprise the hell out of me!

Honorable Mention to

Metamorphosis (2007)

How in the world could I ever forget this one? Sadly, Dramafever is the only place I know that has this with subs! Talk about a wild ride?!!!!