Mysteries of Love (My thoughts, thus far)

Instead of updating one of my fanfics (A Truthful Lie), I decided to write a blog entry about the current series, Mysteries of Love. I've been reading great reviews about the series and even the TV ratings in Hong Kong are relatively high compared to the other series that are currently airing. Because of such incidents I decided to give the series a try, other than the fact that I have been secretly waiting for Raymond to once again appear in a series.

I have also read comments about how this series had plagarized the Japanese series 'Detective Galileo' and I must say those comments are somewhat false. I have watched a few episodes of Detective Galileo before and it was a good watch, however, I never had the chance to finish because I forgot the site and I became too busy with other stuff to find it again. The biggest difference between the two is the fact that Detective focused more on the cases, which of course captured its intended audience's attention. On the other hand Mysteries focused a lot more on the relationship aspects.

For example, I'm only on episode 9 and Tavia has already fallen head over heals for Raymond, and she had fallen in love with him several episodes prior. On the other hand 'Detective' mostly had Galileo and the female officer as a bickering duo...and their relationship is built on their numerous encounters with one another...which seemed to be lacking for Raymond and Tavia. Personally, I don't think admiration for one's talent adds up to falling in love with that person, hence, I find Mysteries a bit too unrealistic in the love department.

Another thing I must say about Mysteries is the fact that Kenneth does not fit the role of a womanizer. Sure, he has that intolerable smirk on his face and a few unbuttoned buttons on his shirt, but that does not equate to a womanizer. He doesn't really seem to fit the role whatsoever and frankly I'd rather see Bosco take on that role, or even better to have Ron take that role. Hmm...actually Kenneth and Raymond should even switch roles...that would be the actual sight to see.

At the moment, I don't find Mysteries to be spectacular at all, or even close to deserving such rave reviews. I'm pretty sure most people who are watching the series are watching it because of the cast which consists of Raymond Lam. Without a doubt if that role was replaced by another TVB actor who have been appearing quite frequently on TV screens (ie Kevin) the reaction would be completely different.

I also think that the lack of focus on the cases make the cases quite simple, rather than complexed like the ones in Detective. I would rather have more complicated and detailed cases rather than simple cases with a love story shoved everywhere. The physics behind some of the early cases that I'm watching currently seems to be quite simple, and being a non-physics expert...I think such incidents in the series could even be explained through common sense. This leads me to wonder about a few things...

1. Why would you ask a physics professor to explain something so simple?
2. Is it cheap to hire a physics professor?
3. Did the police officers lose their common sense?
4. Why do they call Raymond's character Professor King? I thought his last name would be Chinese. And, I thought they would call him Doctor _____ instead
5. Wouldn't it be interesting if Kenneth and Tavia got together instead? lol

I think that's about it for now...I'll obviously continue to watch it because I still have hopes for the latter episodes...and I'll probably write another blog about it once I get a chance to finish it.

Tell me what your thoughts are of MOL at the moment!

oh, and stick around...in a few days I will be updating my fanfics...as well as something special!

Randomness...OUT!!!

Original Vs. Sequel

Battle of Survivor's Law




So, I've been watching Survivor's Law 2 recently and I also re-watched Survivor's Law a couple of months ago. Both series revolve around the same topic, law and justice. What made Survivor's Law a good series was the great chemistry between the characters and the cases that were somehow linked into the lives of the characters. Survivor's Law 2 uses the same strategy to make it a good series. Survivor's Law and Survivor's Law 2 have many similarities from the plot to the characters. We all know that the only original character left is Sammul's character. In the previous series at the end his license was taken away and the story for this series continues on from there.

At first one would assume that Sammul would most likely take the main lead for he obviously was in the first and original series but to everyone's (my) disappointment he was not. Instead we get stuck with Kenneth Ma, he's not that bad as an actor, though his singing needs lots of work. Back to his acting, Kenneth Ma had taken over Raymond Lam's role as the lawyer who just doesn't seem to fit the role. One can say that Kenneth is a streetwise guy who somehow managed to go to law school and succeed, which is different from Raymond's character from the original.




M.K. Sun
M.K. is this totally flirtatious guy who had probably slept with the many girls that wander into his family bar, or at least one would assume that he did. After being falsely accused of drug possession and was helped by a barrister at the time, he decided to go into law. Hmmm...how often does that happen in real life? Well, that's not the point. Later on he meets up with the barrister that saved him years ago and wants that barrister to become his mentor, and the story goes on from there.
Kenneth Ma's portrayal of a streetwise guy is in fact not bad. Though the problem lies with his one and only outfit. The denim jacket, shirt, and fake tie. That must be his own fashion statement. The true problem that I have with Kenneth Ma is that whenever I see him, I automatically think of the pervert that he played in Survivor's Law, the pervert with the obsession over ripped pantyhose. TVB must have either forgotten about that or they just thought that the viewers would not remember. Well, I wouldn't have remembered it either if I didn't randomly decided to re-watch Survivor's Law.

Lok Ban (Ben)
Ben, like M.K is also a streetwise, though I must say he looks so much more decent. If I remember correctly Ben became a lawyer because of his father. His father had worked endless years as a clerk in a law firm and this gave Ben the driving force to actually become a lawyer. At first Ben gets fired from the firm that he was working at because the major partner of the firm needed a scape goat, and he was it. Then Ben had decided to move on and applied for a job at a different firm, one that was going no where but down. After he joins the firm...(the story continues).
Raymond Lam's portrayal of Ben was likable. I actually really liked his performance, I found that those shoes that he wore really makes him who he is. In a way it almost symbolizes who he is, reliable, durable, cool. He had more than one outfit and that was for sure because I recall his denim jacket as well as a black one and a couple other ones. I think that Ben's character, although not flirtatious like M.K. was in fact much more charming and likable.



Lily Suen
Lily is born into a wealthy family, the only reason why she became a lawyer was because her ex-boyfriend went into law. Over time she finally found a better reason to be a lawyer and that was to fight for justice. To summarize who she is, let's just say, she's quite materialistic.
Ella Koon hasn't acted in a TVB series since Revolving Door of Vengeance with Ron Ng. Ah, that was quite an enjoyable series. The character that Ella portrays in this series is almost the exact opposite. Other than the fact that she went into her current occupation for the guy she likes. I don't know whether or not Ella's acting slightly improved or is it her own nature that she really can portray a spoiled and materialistic girl. Even though her acting (to me) is still below average, her portrayal was acceptable and Lily is quite an interesting character. What I would suggest Ella to do if she ever acts in another TVB series is to learn how to cry. Oh, her tears did come out, but they felt...forced? I'm not quite sure how to put it.

Chung Ching Ling
Ling is a new lawyer, well a solicitor who is very confident but has a very interesting past. She is apparently the only child in her family and like Ben somehow ends up in a law firm that is going no where but down.
Myolie Wu has never given anything less than a mediocre performance. This means that her performance can sometimes be almost to a point where I can consider it to be 'good.' Most of the time her performance is a bit over exaggerated or her character is a bit annoying. Saying 'a bit' is already quite lenient. But in SL, I quite enjoyed her performance. Would I be able to watch scenes of Ling alone or would I rather watch scenes with Ling and Ben...I would prefer Ling and Ben. Myolie on her own does not give a great performance, yet she always sparks great chemistry with her co-stars which is something not all actresses can do. Overall, I really liked Ling's character as the strong, independent woman and of course Myolie's portrayal of the character.

Let's Talk Chemistry:



MK and Lily....cute? funny?....

they were the replacement for the successful couple in the original, Ben and Ling





This couple in this series was memorable, their bickering scenes were not nonsense like MK and Lily, in fact it was better. Their acting was better than Kenneth and Ella, and thus, they are THE couple in Survivor's Law.

It's a pity that in the sequel there is not a single part that mentions Ling and Ben, now...I think I should mention Sammul's character, Vincent.

Vincent is still ambitious, but he's not the Vincent in SL. Vincent in SL2 is less charming, less handsome, less friendly and...something else. Vincent could have had a very interesting storyline if TVB would give Sammul a chance to show his abilities, but like usual, Sammul's character is overshadowed by someone else's. This time it was Kenneth Ma. I personally prefer Sammul over Kenneth, Sammul just has the right look, and gives off the right vibe. Kenneth gives off the vibe of some streetwise who's a pervert. This may be because I'm just not much of a Kenneth fan. I've also noticed that Sammul and Kenneth doesn't seem to have good chemistry like Sammul has with other co-stars like Raymond or Ron. Very odd.



ALL IN ALL...

I like Survivor's Law...the original more than the sequel :D