Anti-Crime Squad

How long
20 episodes

Foreword

How did the anti-crime squad solve cases despite their character differences? Do you wish to see how the double best actor award winner, Lai Yiu Cheung acts in his early days?

Story/Introduction on characters

1. Chan Ho Mun as Seung Kin Hong He just joins the anti-crime squad after his promotion to be a plain clothes policeman. He can’t get along with Hei and nearly wants to quit. He changes his mind after working with him for a few times. After he starts dating Gai sum, he becomes very busy and this makes her unhappy. Gai Yee also adds words that increase her unsatisfation. He is sitting for an exam soon while she gets the application o study in U.K. He advises her to go as he is also a workaholic, keen on improving himself.

Gai Yee has to remind him to pay more attention to Gai Sum. He flies to U.K to visit her when he completes his mission but she isn’t there. He feels upset when returning alone. However, he is overjoyed when discovering that she is one of the sisters, preparing for the wedding. Ho Mun is too boyish and is quite raw in his acting then.

2. Ng Yik Cheung as Ko Hei He is an impulsive sergeant in anti-crime squad. He solves many cases but he loves to work along and many colleagues complain about him. After working with Kin Hong, he is more calm. He loses his interest in his job when Wing chi dies but luckily his colleagues wish him to stay on. Fei Fan even falls out with Chi Ban to keep him in his team. Yik Cheung is destined to act as impulsive cops all the time – I really grow sick of this. He is acting like another Man Tse Leung.

3. Siu Mei Kei as Chau Loi Dai She is the men’s colleague. She is a single mother who has a son, Fai out of wedlock. Her father’s relationship with her is strained due to this. She secretly likes Hei but keeps from him, knowing that he is already married. She consoles him after Wing Chi’s death, holding a birthday celebration for him. He knows her intention and rejects her. Strange as it seems, she is influenced by Hei to become a rash person.

To save embarrassment, she asks to transfer to another department. All try to get her to stay but Hei encourages her so that she can take care of Fai. After many ups and downs, they decide to get married. Mei Kei as another tough character – can’t the producer come up with something new?She can’t shed her tomboyish nature even though her hair is longer. The breakthrough will be her having a son, though and she has better chemistry with the child actor.

4. Ho Wan See as Dan Gai Sum She is a teacher and Kin Hong falls for her after checking on an extortion case that happens in her school. She notifies the pollice after seeing how her students steal in a supermarket. Kin Hong uses learning computer as an excuse to get close to her but is disappointed that she is attached. Kin Hong suspects that her school pupils steal letters from residents and confronts the principal. Gai Sum is helpless when the principal is very hostile.

After dealing with difficult pupils, she finds herself more suitable to be a social worker. She resigns but Ka Wah and her family oppose to this. Luckily, Kin Hong supports her decision but Ka Wah forces he to marry him. She decides to break up with him. Gai Sum goes overseas to continue her studies reluctantly and Kin Hong is too busy to send her off. I think that she is more suitable for singing than acting as she is stiff in many scenes.

5. So Yuk Wah as Chau Nin Kiu She is Loi Dai’s aunt and is a fishmonger to help her brother mend their fish stall. She tries to improve Loi Dai’s ties with her father. She stays with them and helps to look after Fai. She will fetch Fai from school after she closes her fish stall daily.

She goes out with Fei Fan to listen to music when Loi Dai is busy. She observes that he is stingy and both quarrel. When Fei Fan uses to use her home to lure Bullet as the bait in collecting bribes through renovation, she wants him to give her a treat so he has to agree reluctantly. He never expects the whole neighbourhood to turn up and he goes broke. (This part is hilarious and you have to watch it for yourself. Yiu Cheung’s expression is simply priceless!)

Niu Kiu accidentally reveals her identity and bullet is not taken in. The whole squad is unhappy that their mission fails. Bullet destroys her home and she demands compensation from Fei Fan. He refuses to pay and does it on his own in order to save money.

The fish market leader wants to get more money from the hawkers. The squad is asked to investigate. Fei Fan pretends to be a fishmonger but he knows nothing about the trade. He comes up with steamed fish buns and it becomes famous and popular. Nien Kiu is mad but is also impressed to combine forces. She is mad when Fei Fan takes her for granted so she impulsively agrees to marry another fishmonger.

She finds herself in hot soup when the man keeps pressing her. Fei Fan has to get another pretty woman to seek his attention to let her off. The neighbours then rumour that she is being ditched and pregnant with the fishmonger’s baby. Fei Fan is then forced to marry her but later really loves her.

She is an actress who can act but TVB often misses her out. TVB often gets Yiu Cheung to pair with Shui Mun but I find her another good choice. Both are really funny in their roles. She is not really old then but she usually ends up playing mothers or aunts due to her mature face. Only ‘ A good turn deserves another’ is fair to her to assign her a younger role.

6. Lai Yiu Cheung as Ho Fei Fan He is an inspector and are the guys’ superiors. Stingy but he fights for their rights. He stays with Hei after quarreling with the landlady. He is very stingy by nature but is a good listener and loyal friend. Knowing that Hei is very distressed after Wing Chi’s death, he keeps an eye on him, afraid that he will do soemthing silly. Nien Kiu gets him to fix her home pipe. After fixing, he takes a bath there. Nien Kiu doesn’t know that it is him and reveals how she likes him. He pretends to be sick so that she can take care of him.

He is happy but doesn’t in tend to marry her, lying that he has a hereditary illness. He is touched when she doesn’t mind it. But his MCP nature irritates her frequently. He is shocked when she demands a diamond wedding ring but he gives her a cheap imitation. The fishmonger discovers that it is fake and Nien Kiu is mad with him. He has to buy a new one later.

In order to save money, he persuades Cho Mang Chai and Hei to get married on the same day too. All give up on him when he only gives the chauffeur half the money. So the oil tank of the car is half-filled and the bridgrooms have to carry the brides to the church as it is taboo for them to step on the ground.

I really laugh at the scenes – Yiu Cheung is able to crack so many jokes that make you think that Fei Fan deserves the torture and he brings out his stingy personality well. Although Fei Fan is the superior, he is often in casual clothes, afraid that people will borrow money from him.

7. Lok Ying Jun as Lam Chi Ban Chi Ban and Hei join the police force at the same time but he gets promoted to senior inspector to be his superior. He is not unreasonable but his subordinates often gives him a lot of mess to clear when they seek to operate on their own without informing him. Hei is the one who frequently opposes him and he has headaches writing his reports. That is why he doesn’t make an attempt to keep him back when he resigns as he finds him too rash and he might implicate the whole team.

He is quite helpful to help them prepare for their weddings and is in charge of the brothers’ group. The guys push him to negotiate with the sisters group over the dowry price and the tasks they need to complete.

However, his status doesn’t come into any use as Gai Yee heads the sisters’ group. Thus there is no room of negotiation at all.

8. Yeung Yuen Yee as Yip Wing Chi She is Hei’s wife who often consoles him when he is down. When looking for a new home, she learns by chance that Loi Dai is in love with Hei from Nien Kiu. She is killed during a mishap. That saddens him and he takes a long time to get over it before marrying Loi Dai. Another forgettable role for her and she also doesn’t leave impression in many dramas so that is why she can’t stay long in showbuzz.

9. Ma Tai Lo as Dan Gai Yee She is Gai Sum’s elder sister who also teaches in the same school. Kin Hong mistakens her to be Sai Sam to woo her as he gets the wrong name. She is also Chi Ban’s wife who seems calculative but she is protective towards her sister.

10. Cheng King Kei as Yip Wing Keung He is Hei’s brother-in-law but is very lazy. He helps Bullet to steal materials from other construction sites and is caught by the police. Chi Ban suspects that Hei sides him so he resigns in rage. Only WingChi supports his decision although Loi Dai and Kin Hong fail to dissuade him. Hei dismisses Chi Ban’s warning to continue checking on the case and this puts Wing Chi into a fix as they often quarrel.

Wing Keung refuses to testify against Bullet and both men come to blows. Hei is then transferred to check on the triads harrasing the pupils and he thinks this is a waste of his ability. Still, he solves the case with Gai Sum and Kin Hong. Bullet uses low grade materials to renovate the residents’ homes to extort the owners. He is finally jailed. Keung grieves when Wing Chi is dead but tells Hei to buck up. Hei later helps him to go on the right path.

His build is similar to Cheung Wai Kin – that is why his roles are often limited. Like Yuk Wah, I also feel that TVB seldom gives him meater roles to perform.

11. Hung Tin Ming as Cho Mang Chai He is a young cop who has lots of aspirations. His seniors show him the ropes as he is inexperienced. He marries Siu Lai although they don’t see eye to eye on many matters initially. Although he is Hung Kam Bo’s son, he is often cast as supporting roles, even till now.
12. Chan Yin Hang as Cha Siu Lai She is also a team member and Fei Fan thinks that she is in love with him. But in reality, she only treats him like a senior to embarrass him. She is very dedicated to her job.

13. Kwan Ching as Fat Ye He is the most senior of the team and looks forward to his retirement, not wishing to work too hard.

14. Law Lok Lam as Seung Kwok Dung He suddenly returns from the U.S. When Mei Po wants him to add more money to their fixed deposit account, he gives lots of excuses. He is caught with another woman in the bed in the U.S. and has lost all the money to her to silent her. He feels remorseful and starts seafood business. It takes a long time for Mei Po to forgive him.

15. Hon Ma Lee as Lee Mei Po She is a housewife and never approves Kin Hong to be a policeman. She sees Kin Hong on a bus and calls out to him, unknown that he is going uncover on bus drivers extortion case to check on Lui.Hei then raids Lui’s gambling den to anger Chi Ban. Loi’s henchman, bullet seizes this chance to expose Lui’s deeds so that he becomes the boss. She feels very sorry for nearly ruining the whole operation.

16. Cheng Tse Sing as Chan Ka Wah
He is Gai Sum’s boyfriend but doesn’t like her to spend too much time on them. Gai Sum finds that both are poles apart and considers breaking up with him. However, she softnes upon seeing how gentle he is to her. But their romance ends and he works for Ho Tung after he injects money in the horse racing unit. When he owes too much money and he can’t pay up to get beaten, he then works with Kin Hong to break the ring. TVB also limits him to unfavourable roles – I feel sorry for him too.

17. Fung So Bor as Gai Sum's mother She is always opposing to what her daughters too – understandable as she loves them.

18. Tse Tin Wah as Turbo He is the one who instigates the pupils to steal the letters. The pupils will keep the letters in one person’s bag when the principal conducts checks. The pupils then use the stolen credit cards for shopping. He pushes one of the pupils to take the rap when caught.

Gai Sum speaks up for the boy so that he has a final chance to sit for the exam and will not be expelled. He passes but submits to Turbo again. Turbo forces girls for tennage prostitution. One escapes and gets hurt so the squad starts checking on his other businesses. Turbo then tempts the pupil to sell drugs for him. The squad wait aside for action.

Turbo then tries burning the whole flat and Wing Chi gets killed when inhaling too much smoke. Hei gets so upset that he has sleepless nights. He vows to seek revenge on Turbo but luckily Loi Dai stops him on time. Turbo bribes the culprit and the scapegoat is jailed for 4 years. Turbo has no money to pay back the loansharks and kidnaps Gai Sum’s another pupil. Luckily, Kin Hong arrests him on time.
Another unexpected good performance from Tin Wah – he has shown his acting power all the way back then. He takes a long time to prove to TVB that he can really act!

19. Wong Chun Tong as Yau Dai Pang He is the man manipulating the fish market. He gets his men to scare the fishmongers and hires a fortune teller to scare the housewives into believing him. He also gets a lot of money from the women and luckily Kok Tong resuces them by alerting Kin Hong. He then reconciles with Mei Po when she forgives him over his whoring ways in the past.

Yau even sells normal fish to the others at a high price. The fishmongers go to sort out matters with him. Loi Dai is angered when her father is injured during the dispute. Luckily, Hei stops her on time. He gets from bad to worse. This gives the squad the chance to arrest him.

20. Ngai Chun Kit as Chan Ho Tung He is from the underworld and wants to legalise it. He shoots a movie and meets Loi Dai. He is the one who deceives her in the past. She lies to him that her foetus is dead. But he knows that Fai is his son later to play with him frequently. Loi Dai then lies that Hei is the father but he is still doubtful. He uses DNA to confirm that he is indeed his son thus he is mad to see the three together.

He seizes the boy after school to please him. Loi Dai gets so mad that she slaps Fai. Ho Tung then demands for Fai’s custody. Ho Tung gets Fai to like him and healso bribes Fai’ nany to come up with untrue evidence. Luckily, Hei gets hold of his Taiwan criminal files to force him to give up the custody battle. He gets involved in illegal gambling and Wing Keung becomes his lackery.

He commands Wing Keung to kidnap Fai. Hei comes at this time to fetch the boy after school and gives chase. Fai is in a coma when an accident happens. Loi Dai gets so impulsive and uses a gun to shoot at Ho Tung. She is then asked to stop her duties.

Ho Tung’s business prosper and also implicate those in the horse racing unit. Ho Tung is finally arrested when his disk is discovered and the mainland police also corners him. Fai’s operation needs blood tranfusion and only Ho Tung’s blood is suitable. He agrees to donate to him but seizes Loi Dai and another patient as his hostage.

Ho Tung demands Loi Dai to get back his disk for him before he can help her. Loi Dai sneaks into the evidence room but Fei Fan discovers that. Hei knocks him out to help Loi Dai. This is only a ploy to lure Ho Tung into believing as they capture him. Loi Dai visits him in jail and is disappointed that he hasn’t changed. He straightens his thoughts later and agrees to save Fai. Chun Kit also shines as the villain although he only appears in the later part of the series.

Most favourite character
Fei Fan, no doubt he is a man with lots of flaws but he is truthful to all. No one can doubt that he has the wits and works very hard in order to crack cases.

Most hated character

Ho Tung, he can use all kinds of ugly means in order to get back his son.

Most surprising guest stars

Ou Yeung Chun Wah and Kwan Wing Ho – they reprise their roles in ‘Armed reaction’, trying to get married in the church as Siu Sang tries hard to convince Chu Suk Ngor to marry him. She hesitates as she can no longer conceive but he promises to treat her son as his own. The three couples grumble as they take up too much of their precious time.

Song

The themesong is by Ekin ‘the mightier as the battle continues’ (愈战愈勇). I am puzzled why TVB arranges him to sing the themesong for a drama done by his ex. Is this just a coincidence? However, I must say that he sings quite well. The subtheme song is ‘I don’t give up’ 我不放弃 by Ho Mun . He also proves himself to sing competently.

Conclusion

I don’t really like this drama. The 5 stories are too predictable. Thus, there is a lack of originality. Most of the cast are doing the same thing they do for other dramas. That is why so many of them are playing supporting roles or have retired from showbuzz now. This is a pity as those who can act also left – probably they give up hope in getting a breakthrough.

The many pairs of arranged lovers also do not have chemistry with one another. Getting Ho Mun as the lead is a big mistake. He doesn’t have the chops for a cop. The other actors are better. If no for Yiu Cheung, Chun Kit and Tin Wah, this drama cannot score a pass. Only watch it if you have nothing to do.

Sukting’s ratings :

On acting : *** (Scale of 5)

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

On songs : *** (Scale of 5)