I've been watching TVB series since I was born...and what appeals to me most is not just the hype TVB gives any series but rather the familiar faces. When I heard about The Gem of Life I was very excited for its cast consisted of people who were so familiar to me. Not only that, but individually (the majority of the cast) their acting had always met or exceeded my expectations. I was excited and heavily anticipated for the release of this very long series.
A lot of people gave up half way through the series saying how the storyline was a drag, it was too long, they ran out ideas and whatnot. However, I managed to finish watching the entire series...yes...that's right...I endured it all. After watching the entire series I was a tad bit disappointed with a variety of things. But...let's not talk about my disappointment...well...I'll save that for the end. So...let me get started with the actual review...
The storyline was not that exciting...well...actually it's more like the MAIN storyline was not that exciting. The entire series like most people already know about is about three sisters...their lives, whether it was love life, work life...it was about them...everything revolved around them. The three sisters represented three different characters...were they totally different? Well...not exactly if you over analyze everything like I do.
The eldest sister was Sylvia played by the one and only Maggie Siu. Sylvia is the independent stubborn workaholic type who seems to care more about her career and her own dignity above all else. Her character seemed to not get along with Louise's character...not because they're completely different people...but because Sylvia is exactly like her mother.
The middle daughter was Constance played by the now retired Gigi Lai. Constance is a rather ridiculously naive character...who seems to be the peace maker ALL the time...and is the "good guy." To me Constance was a very emotional person who would let her emotions drive her...making her a bit stubborn, a bit determined...but generally speaking...very gullible. This is why even though she is not the youngest, she is the one that her parents are most worried about.
The youngest daughter was Jessica played by Ada Choi. Jessica was a very determined character...and very stubborn as well. Money is what drives her...and money is what guides her. That is why she married a man who she thought would bring her happiness through being successful in the business realm...but she was wrong. Later on when she married Elliot's character...she eventually learned that money isn't...well...not exactly...everything.
So...those are the three main characters. This entire series was very much female dominant...just like a lot of the more recent TVB series...I think. Um...so...with a large female cast, with great acting abilities...I can't forget about their male counterparts. Funny enough each of the sister has 2 men by their sides...whether it is a normal relationship or a romantic one...that was the case.
Maggie had Kenny and Bowie, Gigi had Eddie and Moses, Ada had Wong He and Elliot. Relationship wise, my personal favourite was Maggie and Bowie. I thought they had great chemistry...and...they were the most entertaining to watch. Gigi's relationship with Moses was very much unrealistic and boring to watch...from around the middle to the end of the whole thing. Ada had great chemistry with Elliot and from the beginning as the viewers we all knew how Wong He would never be the one for Ada...even though he would try and work very hard to be the right guy for her.
On a side note...I found Linda's character in this series to be very fascinating...and I didn't understand why and how she started to like Bosco at the end. It didn't make sense to me...I thought she was in love with Wong He...and personally I thought they would've made a nice couple...even though everyone else thinks their relationship was more a brother-sister thing. I can't wait to watch the series with Wong He and Linda...lol.
Back to my review:
A character I loved...other than Linda's lol...was Louise. She acts so well...especially when she had Alzheimer it was amazingly well acted. Though, at first you'd probably despise her character. What type of mother would teach their daughters to marry rich instead of work hard to earn a decent respectable living? But overtime you start to understand her more...and then you grow to love her character...especially when she started to change for the better. And how hard she tried to bring her family together again...it was very touching and somewhat emotional.
So...here's a quick summary of my true thoughts on the series
The Good: the cast...absolutely grand and fabulous with everyone's (or almost everyone's) acting up to par
The Bad: The length of the series was ridiculous...
The Useless: Once again...I found Bosco's character to be quite useless...I don't dislike Bosco as an actor...in fact I like him...but it's just that his character was just useless...there was no need to make him 'stick' out...and his so called feelings for Elise (Linda's character) was so fake and unrealistic...and how she fell in love with him was also absolutely ridiculous...
Conclusion: Do watch if you have plenty of time to spare...if you have little time...watch something else...but...I did enjoy this series...but would never rewatch it entirely for I have things to do ^_^
I know this is a horrible review (on my part) but I can't seem to organize my thoughts for this review...I think from now on I'll write my reviews in a more organized way...unlike this thing
