Days of Glory

How long
30 episodes

Foreword
It tells about the feud of three families – the Fous, Kams and Dongs. Can someone resolve it for them? many envy their wealth and try to associate them, without knowing their ugly side. It can be considered as ATV’s anniversary drama with the star cast. Besides their own stable of artistes, there are also special guest stars.

Sai Ho is a pampered by his rich parents. He does nothing and only knows how to roam places with his girlfriend, Kei. One day, after discovering that he is not his mother’s real son, he becomes nasty in order to plot his revenge against his parents. With the help of Kuan Yung, he gets the family fortune. He even deserts Kei for the daughter of a triad leader, Bo Na. Will Sai Ho get his punishment by law for the bad things he has done? Which is important – money, humanity or dignity?

Story/ Introduction on characters

1. Fou Duk Tai – Yeung Kuan
He is rich and influental. Lust is his only weakness. His infidelity causes him his life. Upon knowing that Sai Hou has seized his fortune, he dies of a heart attack.

2. Szeto Fung Yi – Lee Heung Kam
She is Duk Tai’s wife but she is bitter with his infidelity. There is once that he gets kidnapped. She refuses to pay the ransom. Sai Ho realises that she isn’t his biological mother and only plots to get Duk Tai’s fortune. She spoils Sai Ho, hoping that he will be a disappointment so that Duk Tai will not hand over the business to him. But Sai Wah proves to be equally incompetent and she is badly affected to know that he is a homosexual.

3. Dong Kei – Chan Yuk Lin
She is Sai Hou’s girlfriend and bears their daughter, Wing San although they are not married. She is stuck in the centre when her elder brother refuses to let her to be with Sai Ho. Why? Because his father has swallowed their fortune and he has been bearing a grudge against them till now. She wishes him to migrate overseas with her but he refuses to leave.

She sees how Sai Ho loses himself to give up love because of greed. She gives up on him and becomes an upper class socialite. She nearly kills herself upon knowing that he is marrying Bo Na. She is saved but Wing San dies of a heart attack. Kuan Yong is by her side to give her consolation and she falls for him. Kei intends to leave Hong Kong but Heung Lan convinces her to work for her.

Kei consoles Kuan Yong over his father’s death and both proceed fast in their relationship. Sai Ho loses a lot of money but Heung Lan has left Hong Kong when he needs money. Kei refuses to help him too.

4. Chan Kuan Yong – Chan Ting Wai
He is very capable at work and is very independent. He works in the finance department and is eager to know the Fou brothers to increase his income. Sai Wah admires his talents so he works for him. His correct judgment in specualting shares helps them to earn a lot of money. He resigns after knowing that nude tape affair.

Heung Lan and Kei advise Sai Ho to let her off when he comes to Kuan Yong to demand for Bo Na as she leaves home. Sai Ho gets angry and shoots at him. Kei shields him and is hurt instead. Kuan Yong helps Bo Na to go to Taiwan to approach Yim, who is also a underworld leader. She is being taken care of there and he returns with Yim to destroy Fou holdings by buying over their shares.

5. Fou Sai Hou – Fong Kong
He is the elder son who is spoiled rotten by his parents so he doesn’t even need to lift a finger to work. He is always in the company of different women but he only loves Kei truly. He changes completely upon knowing that Fung Yi isn’t his mother to want the fortune. He then turns his mind to woo Bo Na. He marries her and seizes her family business after framing Lao Sam and also ill-treats her.

When his company goes bust, he kidnaps Kei and Yan Yu. Kei has to pretend to marry him so that he can let Yan Yu go. The two women later escape and Sai Hou’s bullet hits Yan Yu’s leg. Seeing Kuan Yong in danger, Yan Yu pushes Sai Ho away and both knock into a wall. Sai Ho becomes mad after that.

6. Fou Sai Wah – Lam Jou Fai
He is the younger son who equally idles at home. He keeps a dark secret – he is a homosexual and his companion is Peter. He feels suffocated whenever Fung Yi forces him to work and is extremely strict with him. Sai Hou reveals it out of anger to their parents.

7. Kam Lo Sam – Lo Liet
He gets rich due to his unlawful business so the other upper class families look down on him. Sai Ho reveals all his unlawful business to the police so he is caught. Sai Ho wants him dead and extorts Chi Kuen to do it with the tape. He is finally killed after he leaves his business to Bo Na and jumps bail.

8. Kam Bo Na – Sum Tin Har
She is Lo Sam’s daughter who hopes to get married one day. But her father and brother are wary of her suitors because of her plump outlook. They suspect that they only want her wealth. They will screen through everyone till they are satisfied. Once, she sees Kuan Yong and thinks that he is rich due to his mannerisms. She never expects him to come from an average family.

Siu Dong woos her but he only gets close to her to assassinate Lo Sam. She gets disillusioned after that. But Sai Ho manages to win her heart and she marries him. He neglects her after getting control of Kam Holdings. Upon knowing that she is pregnant, she wants to share the good news with him. She is furious to discover his affair with Mon. But he accuses her of having Kuan Yong’s baby as he accompanies her to see the gynae. During the struggle with each other, she has a miscarriage. She nearly kills herself but is luckily saved. Heung Lan feels sorry for her and sends her to migrate to Canada.

9. Kam Gun Mou – Lam Lap Sam
He gets into the unlawful business due to his father and manages it well. He is interested to get Kei and is at loggerheads with Sai Ho. He is later killed in an attack.

10. Chan Guai – Tam Bing Mun
He is money-minded and hopes that Kuan Yong will do him proud. He even forces Lai Chu to make use of her body in order to get more money after she wins a beauty contest. He is upset when his wife leaves him after getting rich. He dies due to an illness before she can rush to the hospital to see him for the last time.

11. Bai Suk Mei – Ou Yeung Pui San
She is equally greedy as her husband. She doesn’t stop to get into Tak Tai’s good books. She grumbles when Guai arranges his sister and niece to come to Hong Kong to stay with them. Greed causes her to abandon her family. Kuan Yong can never forgive her.

12. Dong Wing – Kwok Fung
He is hostile to the Fous after they seize their fortune. Thus he joins the Kams, wanting to make a comeback. His saving of Lo Sam from being killed by Siu Dong wins his trust. Lo Sam even arranges him to work in Fou Holdings to make sure that Sai Ho doesn’t betray him. Knowing that Sai Ho is a drug addict, he uses this to control him. He gets killers to attack Lo Sam and frames Sai Ho.

After Lo Sam’s death, Sai Ho shows no mercy to all his men. Thus Wing gets Kei to ask him to let him off. Sai Ho finally agrees reluctantly. He kills him later, breaking his promise.

13. Chun Heung Lien – Poon Dik Wah
She is a famous singer and learns about Kei’s relationship with Sai Ho. She gets close to her and both become good friends. She sings her signature song at a charity ball. Duk Tai donates a lot of money and Fung Yi gets furious. Why? She is his old flame and Sai Ho is her illegitimate son.

14. Lee Chi Kuen – Ng Yik Jeung
He is Yan Yu’s elder brother and falls for Lai Chu. But Yuet Har dislikes him as he doesn’t have a stable career. Upon knowing about the nude tape, he attempts to get it from Sai Ho but fails. During his struggle with Lo Sam, he is seriously injured. This touches Lai Chu and she reveals the case to the police.

Chi Kuen works with the police and finds the tape in the Kam residence. The police captures Sai Ho but has to release him due to Yuk Ha’s statement. She is bribed by him and Chi Kuen is jailed for 5 years. Everyone is infuriated over the result but Lai Chu promises to wait patiently for his release.

15. Lee Yan Yu – Lau Kam Ling
She is Kuan Yong’s girlfriend who works in a law firm. She often neglects him due to work. She is amused when Kuan Yong shows his jealousy as her boss sends her home. This shows her importance to him. Seeing him so close to Kei, she breaks up with him and accepts Wai Hang. But she leaves Wai Hang upon knowing that he has dealings with the underworld. She tries hard to get a lighter sentence for Chi Kuen.

Seeing Kuan Yong with Kei makes her uneasy. Kuan Yong also doesn’t know how to make a choice between the two women. Kei makes the sacrifice to let her to be with him.

16. Chiu Wai Hang – Poon Chi Man
He is Yan Yu’s lawyer boss who is interested in her al along. Knowing that she falls ill while working in England, he goes to visit her. Kuan Yung delays his trip because Kei nearly kills herself. This gives him a chance to win her heart with his concern. Luckily, he knows his mistake after Sai Ho causes him to lose his license. After getting Bo Na’s help to work in lawful suits, he also helps them to deal with Sai Ho. He is the one to teach Kuan Yong how to buy Fous’ shares.

17. Chan Yuk Ha – Bai Yuen Kam
She is Guai’s younger sister who comes to Hong Kong with her daughter, hoping to find a better life. Seeing that winning a beauty pageant is the best and fastest way to get rich, she signs her up and forbids her to see Chi Kuen so prevent any negative comments.

18. Ha Lai Chu – Ng Wing Mei
She is Guai’s niece who becomes famous overnight after winning a beauty contest. She is forced to sleep with Sai Ho and loses her chastity. Little does she know that it is filmed secretly and Sai Ho keeps on extorting her with it. Her love for Chi Kuen has never changed after she becomes famous. Despite her mother’s disapproval, she threatens to stop giving her allowance so that they can continue their relationship.

Sai Ho tends to threaten her so that she will not appear in court with the tape. His men harassYuk Ha but discovers her missing. She goes to the police, past caring about her reputation. She opens a shop and retires from showbuzz.

19. Lam Mon – Lok Pui
She is Sai Ho’s mistress who never stops digging money from him. But she does protect his benefits as she is dependent on him for survival. Knowing that the Kams have control over him, she urges him to strike earlier. Sai Ho misappropriates the use of company funds and is caught by the police. She wants to leave and he kills her.

20. Uncle Fatt –Cheung Jing
He is Lo Sam’s loyal servant but has to betray him as Sai Ho gets men to beat his son in jail. But seeing how Bo Na suffers, he regrets his choice and decides to help Kuan Yong and his friends now.

Favourite character
Kuan Yong, he cares for others and never neglects anyone.

Most hated character
Not Sai Ho but Yuk Ha. The ruthless Sai Ho at least cares for Wing San but Yuk Ha only treats Lai Chu as a money tree. No wonder Lai Chu doesn’t want to see her after the law suit.

Interesting facts

When Kong was asked to act in ‘Days of glory ‘, his friends dissuaded him. He was attracting too much attention and they were afraid that someone would harm him. But he thought that he was already middle-aged. How can he let go of such a precious opportunity? He braced himself up for the challenge.

Yuk Lin was scared by Kong’s looks at the first instance. Sometimes, he even drank so that he could portray anger scenes better. Poor her to endure the liquor smell although he dislikes it.

This drama had a higher viewership than Man Tse Leung’s ‘The Big Family’. Kong penned the script and he made changes repeatedly in order to make the story flow. How interesting for both actors of the same acting style to pit their skills against each other. All the retired artistes coming out to act in this drama joked that they were all conned by Kong as they had to get their own clothes. But they did not mind it as it was more like a big gathering of old friends to them.

Tim Ha found Tin Wai very endearing. He is among the rare breed – he doesn’t smoke, drink or gamble. He is never late for shooting too. Thus he became his godson under the others’ witness.

Conclusion

ATV was lucky to get Kong to help them in the drama production and story writing. He did a wonderful job, making ATV dramas scaling greater heights. They relied on him for every anniversary drama after that and it worked like an extraordinary antidote to get good ratings for every one. This drama’s setting on the rich is convincing – the struggles, complicated and also interdependent relationships make the plot go through many twists and turns. You will marvel at the change.

Acting wise could not be faulted as so many of them were from TVB. I mistaken it to be a TVB production at times. Do go for it when you see it in the shops. You will not be let down by the great story and acting.

Sukting’s ratings :

On acting : **** (Scale of 5)

On story : ***1/2 (Scale of 5)