Untraceable Evidence

Warning! *spoilers* (especially in the fav. scenes section!)

Lip Bo Yin, Pauline…..Flora Chan Wai San
Tsung Ka Yuen…………Bowie Lam
Siu Tong Choy………….Lee San San
Tsung Ka Kiu……………Simon Lo
Lip Jun Jun………………Margaret Chung Lai Kei
Lip Bo Yee………………Chan May Kei

*Little disclaimer: I know this series is considered to be kind of old, but I really wanted to share my thoughts on it and give fans a thorough critique of the series. Although I’ve watched this series several times, it’s been about a year since I saw it last. I apologize if I forgot to add something important!

General Plot:
Untraceable Evidence is another police-crime TVB series, but I think it has a nice new twist showing the forensics side of crime investigation. Tsung Ka Yuen is an excellent police officer whose team always seems to get assigned to the most interesting cases in all of HK (of course!). He works well with his police colleagues and is looked upon by everyone as the “big brother”. Ka Yuen is also very close to his dad, brother and stepmom. Our impression of Ka Yuen deepens a little later when we learn that his wife died from cancer and that he hasn’t dated anyone since. Later in the story, we will see Ka Yuen start to like Pauline but before anything happens with her, he dates Siu Tong Choy, one of his colleagues.

Because the crimes that Ka Yuen’s team deals with are mostly murders, in comes the forensics unit! The intelligent and modern forensics examiner, Pauline Lip Bo Yin is a perfect example of the 20th –21st century working woman. Her beauty and brains can be a bit intimidating so she too has not had much luck at love. As with Ka Yuen, Pauline also has an interesting family history. Her father was a well-known bomb expert who died when she was quite young. Pauline has remained extremely close with her mother, sister and niece. Both Ka Yuen and Pauline’s sad family history makes them more interesting characters, as we see how these past tragedies still affect them.

Though the romance storyline is most memorable to me, the cases are certainly interesting too. UE (or TVB, I should say) created some pretty creative cases that kept me guessing until the last moment. Compared to UE2 (which is also a great series!), I think the cases here are better. Unlike other crime series where the case takes forever to be solved, the UE cases had just the right pacing. I especially liked how the police unit would piece together clues and actively dig for evidence (even if it seems to be “untraceable”…hahaha), rather than just have the real killer suddenly make a weepy long confession (although there would be some of that at the end of the case). UE is a very good representative of the modern TVB drama with few annoying characters or desperate attempts to get laughs (which I think is where TVB is now with many silly series).

Character Analysis:

Pauline Lip Bo Yin, often called ‘Dr. Lip’ (Flora Chan Wai Shan)
I thought Flora did an excellent job playing the cool forensic examiner. Her character is so calm and collected, but I really like how we see that her life isn’t perfect and that she struggles with love. Flora did an excellent job showing how Pauline may seem composed on the surface, but actually has weaknesses and insecurities like everyone else. The parts where Pauline would explain the reasons for somebody’s death were really interesting and educational without being dry. I was very impressed at how well Flora handled the different medical explanations since her ability to read Chinese was still not up to par at the time. This is definitely a pivotal role for Flora as it is her first starring role and only her second drama (after FOJV). Her acting improved immensely, as I felt her character in FOJV (Cat Au) was in many ways similar (strong career woman), but Flora actually put a personality behind Pauline. I was actually sympathetic to Pauline when she was wrongly accused of killing her ex-boyfriend and I felt bad that she was so unlucky at love. Plus, I LOVE those scenes where she is contemplating her love for Ka Yuen. Pauline’s sacrifice to Ka Yuen when she stabbed that other “boyfriend” (sorry, I forget his name) was absolutely touching! I really admired Pauline for doing so much without taking the credit for it….even when she sees Ka Yuen in the hospital she does not hint that she was the one who had solved the case. (sigh)~I could go on forever about how great Pauline is!! My only complaint would be that her clothes were a little boring (mostly suits), but Flora does look really good in them and the classic style matched her character. Wish there were more scenes with her and Ka Yuen. (As you can tell, I am definitely a Flora fan so sorry if I am biased.)

Tsung Ka Yuen (Bowie Lam)
Finally Bowie Lam has created a memorable character. (Henry in Healing Hands is also very good, but I saw UE before HH.) Ka Yuen is very likeable and a great leader to his police team. Everyone really respects him, and his ability to solve the cases makes us respect him too. I think Bowie’s acting is often subtle and reserved as opposed to other TVB male leads who are more expressive (i.e. Louis Koo, Michael Tao), but it works for him and for this particular character. Bowie is not particularly cute or handsome, but he is very genuine and the character Ka Yuen felt like a real person to me by the end. More on the character… Ka Yuen is thoughtful and considerate. He concentrates a lot on his work, but he is also able to balance it with friends and family. An all-around great guy who’s also believable. The biggest mistake, in my opinion, that Ka Yuen makes is to date Siu Tong Choy. I still cannot envision how this relationship would work (even temporarily). Understandably, since he is the lead character, TVB developed Ka Yuen the most and did it quite nicely. We really get to see his thoughts and motivations behind his actions. I like the scene where he has just taken Pauline out to dinner but didn’t have enough money to pay. He is lying on his bed feeling disappointed and is muttering to himself….I felt so bad for poor Ka Yuen!

Lip Bo Yee (Chan May Kei)
Chan May Kei seems perfect for these older sister type roles. Her scenes with Flora when she is giving advice on love are really sweet. As an author she is very successful, but it is ironic that her success in writing love stories does not directly transfer into her life. Bo Yee’s character is actually kind of sad. We learn that she became pregnant at a very young age, her boyfriend left her, and then her father passed away soon after. She never really knew how to raise her daughter because she was always reminded of the unhappiness. Thus, Jun Jun is closer to her aunt (Pauline) and grandmother at first. Because the other characters had more interesting storylines, it was rather unfortunate that Bo Yee was one of my least favourite characters. She is spoiled (like her daughter) and she was not a very good mother. There were many scenes where she was overly emotional, and I found those to be overdone and annoying. For example when she was afraid of bombs because it reminded her of her father, she became hysterical and it wasted a lot of time. Everyone else was scared too, but there was something about her way of being scared that appeared so fake. The only scenes I liked with her were when she talks to Pauline about Ka Yuen.

Lip Jun Jun (Margaret Chung Lai Kei)
Overall I think Margaret is an okay actress (considering her lack of experience) and she is cast well for this role as an impulsive, non-rational young girl. She is not very mature, but at the same time, she is not supposed to be. Sometimes this got to be very annoying because she didn’t seem to understand others very well, holding them up to idealistic standards. I liked Jun Jun in the beginning and in the parts where she yelled at Ka Kiu’s ex-girlfriend, Winnie (the scene in the shoe store is so funny) but near the end she became annoying! Compared to Margaret’s character in DIF3 as Sa Sa, I think this character suits her better. Her looks and disposition are more like a student and spoiled child than a young cop.

Tsung Ka Kiu (Simon Lo)
Ka Kiu made me laugh a lot because he was a bit socially inept and tried so hard at everything! But at the same time, if he were a real person, I would be absolutely irked. Ka Kiu cannot stand up for himself and is too shy! I hated the way his (ex)-girlfriend treated him…and more importantly, how he allowed her to boss him around. It seems that Ka Kiu is used to having someone control his life. If it’s not his girlfriend, then his parents are constantly on his back. There never seemed to be a time when Ka Kiu was making his own decisions. I also don’t understand how Ka Kiu could fall for Siu Tong Choy. They don’t match at all, and the fact that TVB even entertained this idea was just too strange.

Siu Tong Choy (Lee San San)
Can somebody pay for acting lessons for her? Or would that be a useless investment? There was a lot of potential for this character, but Lee San San’s acting was simply too exaggerated for anyone to ever connect with Siu Tong Choy. Her expressions are all wrong and she does not react well to other people’s lines. If Lee San San puts on some make up and just sits there without talking, she could be somewhat pretty. But the moment she opens her mouth, she reminds everyone that she will simply never be a leading TVB actress like Jessica, Ada, Kenix and Flora. Siu Tong Choy’s character is a little too good: she cooks, she cleans, she takes care of her dad, she never spends lots of money, and she tutors children for crying out loud!! Even though she possesses these “perfect” characteristics, they contribute to making her most dislikable in the end. After all, who buys coffee for their colleagues and asks for money back? Of course this character is important to create the ever-present TVB love triangle, but as a viewer, was there even the question of who we would like more? I can’t imagine any man choosing Siu Tong Choy over Dr. Lip! There was just no way TVB could have let Siu Tong Choy get Ka Yuen in the end!!

Favorite Scenes:
“Che Gong Mew”: The scene where Pauline and Ka Yuen go to the temple together is really good. This is a turning point in their relationship where the viewer can see how comfortable they have become with each other. I especially love it when Pauline reads Ka Yuen’s “cheem” (the paper explanation of his fortune). Pauline twists the words around and the playful teasing between the two demonstrates their chemistry very well. The little windmill things they buy also become very symbolic as later Pauline looks at it sadly when she is thinking of Ka Yuen in the hospital. I love it when TVB assigns a special object to a couple because then it can reoccur and make you think back to all the great memories the couple shared (even if it was like only 3 episodes prior). The windmill definitely created this effect…even in UE2, the windmills are back!!

First scene: The very early scene where Pauline was on a date but then gets called to go to the scene of a crime. It makes me smile to see Ka Yuen tease her about dating and how nicely she is dressed because of the date. This scene nicely sets the tone for the relationship between Ka Yuen and Pauline. Their one-liners to each other are just too funny and clever. TVB relationships seem to be the best when they start off as semi-hatred and bickering, evolve into mutual respect, and finally to love. Ka Yuen and Pauline are fine examples of this tried and true TVB tactic (also Jessi and Ah Yung in DIF1).

Stabbing scene: As I said before, Pauline’s character development takes a leap when she sacrifices herself for Ka Yuen. The entire scene where she has dinner with the alleged murderer (ahh..still can’t remember his name) in her apartment and dances with him is put together very well. I like how Pauline is trying to be romantic, but because we never really see Pauline in this type of role (even when her boyfriend from England was around) we know it is really all an act. Flora excelled in acting Pauline’s attempts at acting (makes sense?). Although Flora’s crying when the guy revealed her plan is not as good as Flora’s crying ability now (i.e. Family Man), it was still touching how she confessed her love for Ka Yuen.

Generally, I loved all the scenes with Ka Yuen and Pauline. I could go on and on about the Karaoke scene and what happens afterwards when Ka Yuen goes to Pauline’s apartment, but that would be boring to just highlight these obviously good scenes. Many of the best scenes plot-wise were when Ka Yuen and Pauline were apart but thinking about the other. This drama is not so much about them being a couple as it is about the tension between the two, the missed opportunities, and their “love from afar” type feelings.

Criticisms:
I really did love this series and I think most people did too as Flora and Bowie rose in popularity after it. There were some things that could be better though. Siu Tong Choy is my biggest complaint. She had way too many scenes and the relationship between her and Ka Yuen was not believable. He seemed to only be with her because he knew she liked him, and he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. Ka Yuen was a bit weak in this area. Lee San San’s voice and pronunciation are very awkward, which I don’t understand because wasn’t she born in HK? This leads me to conclude that she just talks funny, making it difficult to take her character seriously.

My other complaint would have to be the relationship between Bo Yee (Chan May Kei) and her boyfriend. In fact the whole storyline about the boyfriend cheating on her was incredibly boring. Frankly, I didn’t care. The boyfriend was dumb and they spent too much time on Bo Yee getting upset and losing her pride.

Despite these two criticisms, UE is one of the best TVB series I have watched in a long time. I would also recommend UE2 although in some ways UE1 is better because the characters and cases seem more new and refreshing. The supporting cast (the parents, the police team, etc.) also did an excellent job and the group scenes were very lighthearted and fun. This is a must see for TVB fans especially since it really established Bowie and Flora as capable lead TVB artists. The series moves pretty quickly and none of the episodes were burdensome…so go rent it now!