Project A (disc 1; eps 1-4) [spoilers]
I've begun watching Project A a drama from 2007, which happens to be based loosely on a 1980s Jackie Chan film. The series stars Dicky Cheung, Patrick Tam, Gillian Chung, and Liu Yuan Yuan. The series takes place in Hong Kong during the early 1900s and follows Dicky Cheung (a marine policeman) and Patrick Tam (a land police officer) as they battle corrupt officers and pirates. All while wooing their respective love interests. Think of it like Men and Legends, only with pirates and more comedy. (and no evil Japanese men with tiny Hitler 'staches)
A summary from YESASIA
Dicky Cheung is Little Trumpet, a marine policeman - though he doesn't know how to swim - in early 20th century Hong Kong. Nobleman's son He (Patrick Tam) returns from England and becomes Little Trumpet's superior. After some hiccups, the two form an alliance fighting against various enemies. Project A also interweaves two romances into the action drama. Little Trumpet encounters a pirate's daughter (Liu Yuanyuan) during an operation, while He falls in love with a nice girl born to a villainous father.
Xiao La Ba (nicknamed Little Trumpet; played by Dickey Cheung): Cheung was in his early forties while making this series (roughly 41 or so) and it does come across at times. There are moments when I thought, 'Isn't he bit old to be acting so immature?' However, Trumpet has a lot of maturity in him and some good street intelligence. As an actor Cheung has a lot of charisma - something which helps him here. Trumpet is likable and I honestly think that the writers understood that Trumpet was the character that would be carrying the show, so he's likable and sweet from the get-go.
Trumpet's dream is to be a policeman like all the other men in his family have been for the last three generations. Sadly, due in large part to no good officers, he ends up a marine officer instead. All is good, until a pirate is captured by He Ding Guo. This leads to Trumpet suspecting the higher ups in the land police force are working with the pirates, which leads to Trumpet getting involved with Ding Guo. From the first three episodes, we see that Trumpet really is gun-ho to protect Hong Kong and her people, even if he acts like a fool sometimes.
Its also in episode three that Trumpet meets Gu Ci, the youngest daughter of the head of Lonely Dragon Island - the pirate group that's pretty much taken over the sea outside HK. Trumpet finds Gu Ci attractive from the start, something which is surely going to cause some trouble. Currently, he thinks its her father locked up, not her "uncle", and he actually tries to help her see him, then lets her get away when they get caught doing so.
Overall, I like the Trumpet character. I will (shallowly?) attempt that Cheung looks way too old to be playing a man in his mid-20s, but I'm letting it go. He's doing well, and so far the show hasn't become a showcase just for him to do what he wants.
He Ding Guo (played by Patrick Tam): I need to get this out of the way before I do anything - Tam has awful hair in this series. And, the first outfit we see him in (when he's turning from studying in England) makes him look like he robbed an 17th century French noble. There, I've typed it and it feels great. Anyway, Tam is good as Ding Guo - the noble and righteous second son (from the second wife) of a big-wig. He wants what's best for HK and decides to do it, even if it means going against his own officers. Tam plays the role to a 'T' - he makes Ding Guo this almost too good guy (he's hovering at boring) that is going to clean up the city.
When we first met Ding Guo, he's on a ship traveling from England to Hong Kong. It's there that he meets Gao Man Ni (he walks in front of her camera as she's trying to take a picture) and he falls in love at first sight. It's not stalker-ish, because she also falls for him. They make goo-goo eyes at each other for a few seconds, but are interrupted by pirates. So, Ding Guo fights them (as Cambridge grads do), and ends up capturing one (with help from Man Ni). Ding Guo gets a medal and the heart of Man Ni. (It's a good day)
Back at the house, we learn that he is the second son and only son of the second wife. His mother is just as high as the first wife, which is the cause of some tension and jealously within the house. Back at work, Ding Guo wants to clean up the streets, but his fellow officers make sure that when he goes to expect local clubs everything looks clean and well put-together (for example, the local "house of sin" is turned into a dance school). The other officers want Ding Guo out of the way, but they dare not hurt him, as his dad is so high up (and friends with some of their bosses), so instead they just make finding any sign of wrong-doing really hard.
Later, Ding Guo is told by Trumpet that men in his offices may not be totally on the up-and-up, which leads to them recapturing the pirate that Ding Guo captured at the start of episode two. (Some of the police officers had planned an escape for him).
Meanwhile, Ding Guo has to issues (and possible love interest): His family has bough a new maid (whose actually the oldest daughter of the pirate leader of Lonely Dragon Island - whose semi-engaged), and Ding Guo saves her from their perverted steward. This leads to a crush on her part. Also, Ding Guo is trying to spend time with Man Ni, but it turns out his older brother likes her too, and he's blocking Ding Guo at every turn.
Plus, Ding Guo know holds the only cell to where the pirate prisoner is being kept - and the sisters know.
So far, Tam is doing a brilliant job as Ding Go - he's righteous and ready to clean up the city. It's just, the character seems like he could become painfully boring. I've also heard that he's storyline with his love interest becomes horribly twisted.
Gao Man Ni (played by Gillian Chung): It's hard to tell if Chung is doing a good job with this character or not, because Man Ni hasn't done much. We know she's a kind girl, whose studied in England, enjoys photography and fencing, and whose very good at kung fu. Other than that, we know nothing about her. So, I can't really see what Chung's doing with the character. But, the opening and ending credits promise a bit of romance and angst, so - that's good.
We meet Man Ni when we met Ding Guo, so I won't go over that. I'll admit to fast forwarding a bit around her scenes, so its possible I've missed something. But, I think the big things are this: her father is corrupt and she is being chased by Ding Guo and his older brother; though she's only interested in Ding Guo. Which means that when she gives back older bro's necklace in episode five (he gave it to her as a gift) it's going to be awkward. She also likes taking pictures of pirates as they kill people on ships.)
Gu Ci (nicknamed Mermaid; played by Liu Yuan Yuan):I've never seen Liu is anything before this, and so far I really enjoy her. I think she might be the youngest member in the cast, actually. But, so far she makes Gu Ci lovely; cute and feisty, but with a strange innocence.
The youngest daughter of the pirate ruler of Lonely Dragon Island, Gu Ci, her older sister Gu Li (nicknamed Octopus), and Gu Li's semi-fiancee are sent to HK after the girls' father's sworn brother and their senior in the pirate group. Gu Li is sent to the He household, her semi-fiancee is sent to the land officers, and Gu Ci (and Aunt Tooth-Less whose been a spy on land for years) is sent to the marine officers head quarters. Gu Ci is meant to be the daughter of Tooth-Less and the new clothes washer. Her main job is to get close to Trumpet (the pirates know he knows where their friends are) and get her "Uncle" free.
She does this by (badly) following Trumpet, but gets caught. Thinking fast, Gu Ci says she's in love with him, but since he didn't pay her any attention at the marine head quarters (he was trying to be cool) she thought the only ways she could get to know him is by following him. Trumpet is shocked, but goes with it - even agreeing to meet her mother (Tooth-Less) and have a meal.
Aunt TL uses her "Truth" buns to get Trumpet to tell them where the pirate are being held - it turns out to be a trap. So, Gu Ci tells Trumpet another lie - the pirate they've captured is her father. He raped her poor mother 20 years before, and now that he'll be killed, she's like to meet him just once. Also, her mother actually loves him and would like to tell him so before he dies. Despite his better judgment (and mostly because he's falling for her), Trumpet gives in to Gu Ci and takes her to the pirate.
While letting Gu Ci's "parents" have some "private" time, Trumpet and Gu Ci chat. Trumpet confesses that he's only been in love once - when he was four - so, he doesn't even know what its meant to be like. However, his fast beating heart gives him a clue.
When the other marine show up to arrest Gu Ci (they already have the pirate and his "wife"), Trumpet chases after her. But, after a bit of a kung fu fight, he lets her go. Trumpet says he never wants to see Gu Ci again, but Gu Ci tells him that she knows he wants to see her, so she'll see him again.
So far - Gu Ci is my favorite. She's fun, has some guts, and is actually very sweet. Though, she and Trumpet did fall for each other awfully fast.
Tang Lang: Trumpet's superintendent. His motto is to take care of your own problem and ignore the problems of others. He was actually the junior of Trumpet's mother, though he doesn't remember. And, she remembers him as a very handsome man, not the chubby guy he currently is. He's in love with the owner of the local "house of sin", Liu Ru Yan. Has a habit of falling asleep - everywhere.
Liu Ru Yan: A Westernized woman who owns her own business - a club and, uh, place for men to find ladies. She's known for getting costly gifts from rich men. But, she always seems to like Tang's the best. Plus, she invites him to everything, despite the fact he can't afford to buy her diamonds.
Gu Li (Octopus): Gu Ci's older sister. She's set to the He household to keep an eye on Ding Guo, and ends up falling for him because of his piano playing and the fact that he saved her from his perverted steward. Became the personal maid of Ding Guo's mother in episode four. Semi-engaged to her pirate senior, whose name I cannot remember.
The Gu sisters pirate-senior: In love with and semi-engaged to Gu Li. Currently undercover at the land police officers head quarters. Its clear he cares very much for both girls and looks out for them.
He An Bang: Ding Guo's older brother. So far I think he's a total jerk. He decides to go after Man Ni after seeing her, simply because she's pretty and Ding Guo seems attracted to her.
Mrs. Dou: Trumpet's widowed mother. She runs a cake shop, knows kung fu, and has fantasies about a man she hasn't seen in years. She is funny and awesomely fun.
This show is full of weird (all of Trumpet's marine brothers are named after food) and interesting and just plain fun characters. The pirates are (so far) dangerous when they raid ships, but seem like a family when on the island.
I'm actually really enjoying this show. But, I do fear that it will start to drag after a while as Chinese shows about the early 1900s seem to (Men and Legends, Love at First Fight) during the middle.
A summary from YESASIA
Dicky Cheung is Little Trumpet, a marine policeman - though he doesn't know how to swim - in early 20th century Hong Kong. Nobleman's son He (Patrick Tam) returns from England and becomes Little Trumpet's superior. After some hiccups, the two form an alliance fighting against various enemies. Project A also interweaves two romances into the action drama. Little Trumpet encounters a pirate's daughter (Liu Yuanyuan) during an operation, while He falls in love with a nice girl born to a villainous father.
Xiao La Ba (nicknamed Little Trumpet; played by Dickey Cheung): Cheung was in his early forties while making this series (roughly 41 or so) and it does come across at times. There are moments when I thought, 'Isn't he bit old to be acting so immature?' However, Trumpet has a lot of maturity in him and some good street intelligence. As an actor Cheung has a lot of charisma - something which helps him here. Trumpet is likable and I honestly think that the writers understood that Trumpet was the character that would be carrying the show, so he's likable and sweet from the get-go.
Trumpet's dream is to be a policeman like all the other men in his family have been for the last three generations. Sadly, due in large part to no good officers, he ends up a marine officer instead. All is good, until a pirate is captured by He Ding Guo. This leads to Trumpet suspecting the higher ups in the land police force are working with the pirates, which leads to Trumpet getting involved with Ding Guo. From the first three episodes, we see that Trumpet really is gun-ho to protect Hong Kong and her people, even if he acts like a fool sometimes.
Its also in episode three that Trumpet meets Gu Ci, the youngest daughter of the head of Lonely Dragon Island - the pirate group that's pretty much taken over the sea outside HK. Trumpet finds Gu Ci attractive from the start, something which is surely going to cause some trouble. Currently, he thinks its her father locked up, not her "uncle", and he actually tries to help her see him, then lets her get away when they get caught doing so.
Overall, I like the Trumpet character. I will (shallowly?) attempt that Cheung looks way too old to be playing a man in his mid-20s, but I'm letting it go. He's doing well, and so far the show hasn't become a showcase just for him to do what he wants.
He Ding Guo (played by Patrick Tam): I need to get this out of the way before I do anything - Tam has awful hair in this series. And, the first outfit we see him in (when he's turning from studying in England) makes him look like he robbed an 17th century French noble. There, I've typed it and it feels great. Anyway, Tam is good as Ding Guo - the noble and righteous second son (from the second wife) of a big-wig. He wants what's best for HK and decides to do it, even if it means going against his own officers. Tam plays the role to a 'T' - he makes Ding Guo this almost too good guy (he's hovering at boring) that is going to clean up the city.
When we first met Ding Guo, he's on a ship traveling from England to Hong Kong. It's there that he meets Gao Man Ni (he walks in front of her camera as she's trying to take a picture) and he falls in love at first sight. It's not stalker-ish, because she also falls for him. They make goo-goo eyes at each other for a few seconds, but are interrupted by pirates. So, Ding Guo fights them (as Cambridge grads do), and ends up capturing one (with help from Man Ni). Ding Guo gets a medal and the heart of Man Ni. (It's a good day)
Back at the house, we learn that he is the second son and only son of the second wife. His mother is just as high as the first wife, which is the cause of some tension and jealously within the house. Back at work, Ding Guo wants to clean up the streets, but his fellow officers make sure that when he goes to expect local clubs everything looks clean and well put-together (for example, the local "house of sin" is turned into a dance school). The other officers want Ding Guo out of the way, but they dare not hurt him, as his dad is so high up (and friends with some of their bosses), so instead they just make finding any sign of wrong-doing really hard.
Later, Ding Guo is told by Trumpet that men in his offices may not be totally on the up-and-up, which leads to them recapturing the pirate that Ding Guo captured at the start of episode two. (Some of the police officers had planned an escape for him).
Meanwhile, Ding Guo has to issues (and possible love interest): His family has bough a new maid (whose actually the oldest daughter of the pirate leader of Lonely Dragon Island - whose semi-engaged), and Ding Guo saves her from their perverted steward. This leads to a crush on her part. Also, Ding Guo is trying to spend time with Man Ni, but it turns out his older brother likes her too, and he's blocking Ding Guo at every turn.
Plus, Ding Guo know holds the only cell to where the pirate prisoner is being kept - and the sisters know.
So far, Tam is doing a brilliant job as Ding Go - he's righteous and ready to clean up the city. It's just, the character seems like he could become painfully boring. I've also heard that he's storyline with his love interest becomes horribly twisted.
Gao Man Ni (played by Gillian Chung): It's hard to tell if Chung is doing a good job with this character or not, because Man Ni hasn't done much. We know she's a kind girl, whose studied in England, enjoys photography and fencing, and whose very good at kung fu. Other than that, we know nothing about her. So, I can't really see what Chung's doing with the character. But, the opening and ending credits promise a bit of romance and angst, so - that's good.
We meet Man Ni when we met Ding Guo, so I won't go over that. I'll admit to fast forwarding a bit around her scenes, so its possible I've missed something. But, I think the big things are this: her father is corrupt and she is being chased by Ding Guo and his older brother; though she's only interested in Ding Guo. Which means that when she gives back older bro's necklace in episode five (he gave it to her as a gift) it's going to be awkward. She also likes taking pictures of pirates as they kill people on ships.)
Gu Ci (nicknamed Mermaid; played by Liu Yuan Yuan):I've never seen Liu is anything before this, and so far I really enjoy her. I think she might be the youngest member in the cast, actually. But, so far she makes Gu Ci lovely; cute and feisty, but with a strange innocence.
The youngest daughter of the pirate ruler of Lonely Dragon Island, Gu Ci, her older sister Gu Li (nicknamed Octopus), and Gu Li's semi-fiancee are sent to HK after the girls' father's sworn brother and their senior in the pirate group. Gu Li is sent to the He household, her semi-fiancee is sent to the land officers, and Gu Ci (and Aunt Tooth-Less whose been a spy on land for years) is sent to the marine officers head quarters. Gu Ci is meant to be the daughter of Tooth-Less and the new clothes washer. Her main job is to get close to Trumpet (the pirates know he knows where their friends are) and get her "Uncle" free.
She does this by (badly) following Trumpet, but gets caught. Thinking fast, Gu Ci says she's in love with him, but since he didn't pay her any attention at the marine head quarters (he was trying to be cool) she thought the only ways she could get to know him is by following him. Trumpet is shocked, but goes with it - even agreeing to meet her mother (Tooth-Less) and have a meal.
Aunt TL uses her "Truth" buns to get Trumpet to tell them where the pirate are being held - it turns out to be a trap. So, Gu Ci tells Trumpet another lie - the pirate they've captured is her father. He raped her poor mother 20 years before, and now that he'll be killed, she's like to meet him just once. Also, her mother actually loves him and would like to tell him so before he dies. Despite his better judgment (and mostly because he's falling for her), Trumpet gives in to Gu Ci and takes her to the pirate.
While letting Gu Ci's "parents" have some "private" time, Trumpet and Gu Ci chat. Trumpet confesses that he's only been in love once - when he was four - so, he doesn't even know what its meant to be like. However, his fast beating heart gives him a clue.
When the other marine show up to arrest Gu Ci (they already have the pirate and his "wife"), Trumpet chases after her. But, after a bit of a kung fu fight, he lets her go. Trumpet says he never wants to see Gu Ci again, but Gu Ci tells him that she knows he wants to see her, so she'll see him again.
So far - Gu Ci is my favorite. She's fun, has some guts, and is actually very sweet. Though, she and Trumpet did fall for each other awfully fast.
Tang Lang: Trumpet's superintendent. His motto is to take care of your own problem and ignore the problems of others. He was actually the junior of Trumpet's mother, though he doesn't remember. And, she remembers him as a very handsome man, not the chubby guy he currently is. He's in love with the owner of the local "house of sin", Liu Ru Yan. Has a habit of falling asleep - everywhere.
Liu Ru Yan: A Westernized woman who owns her own business - a club and, uh, place for men to find ladies. She's known for getting costly gifts from rich men. But, she always seems to like Tang's the best. Plus, she invites him to everything, despite the fact he can't afford to buy her diamonds.
Gu Li (Octopus): Gu Ci's older sister. She's set to the He household to keep an eye on Ding Guo, and ends up falling for him because of his piano playing and the fact that he saved her from his perverted steward. Became the personal maid of Ding Guo's mother in episode four. Semi-engaged to her pirate senior, whose name I cannot remember.
The Gu sisters pirate-senior: In love with and semi-engaged to Gu Li. Currently undercover at the land police officers head quarters. Its clear he cares very much for both girls and looks out for them.
He An Bang: Ding Guo's older brother. So far I think he's a total jerk. He decides to go after Man Ni after seeing her, simply because she's pretty and Ding Guo seems attracted to her.
Mrs. Dou: Trumpet's widowed mother. She runs a cake shop, knows kung fu, and has fantasies about a man she hasn't seen in years. She is funny and awesomely fun.
This show is full of weird (all of Trumpet's marine brothers are named after food) and interesting and just plain fun characters. The pirates are (so far) dangerous when they raid ships, but seem like a family when on the island.
I'm actually really enjoying this show. But, I do fear that it will start to drag after a while as Chinese shows about the early 1900s seem to (Men and Legends, Love at First Fight) during the middle.