Forensic Heroes

MAIN CAST:
Bobby Au Yong as Tim Sir
Yoyo Mung as Leung Siu Yau
Frankie Lam as Sam Koo
Linda Chung as Ding Ding

PROLOGUE:
The series "Untraceable Evidence", from back in the 90's, has a similar theme where forensic science was given the focus. However, Flora Chan’s pathologist character did not participate actively in solving crimes. She just did the post-mortem and produced reports for the police to continue with their investigation. Meanwhile, Forensic Heroes (FH) actually gave me another point of view on how crimes are solved. I used to think that police officers that have good detective skills and logical thinking are the key personnel in solving crimes. However, in FH, the policemen were shown as an inferior side when compared to the forensic department! It now seems obvious that the police can do nothing without evidence that is gathered and analyzed by the forensic department.

ON THE SERIES:
This series is not too bad as the cases are basically quite interesting. The cases didn't drag and are usually solved within 2-3 episodes. Nevertheless, some cases are illogical with flaws. I’ll briefly go through some of the cases as to not give too many spoilers.

Like in the first case, the killer tried to injure himself so that the police would not suspect him. He, however, sustained life-threatening injuries due to a slip of a foot. Since his injury was so serious, how on earth did he manage to cleanse the second weapon and put it back to the rack?

In another case where Tim’s wife, Charlie, was killed, the “killing” process was somehow bizarre. His wife was already very weak due to rounds of chemotherapy. A woman, trying to help her, fed Charlie with some Chinese herbs. She got the prescription from someone and it contains a kind of poisonous herb. The woman accidentally ate a piece of cake that was contaminated by a tiny bit of the herb and she fell into coma for a few days. Imagine that Charlie was fed for 10 consecutive days before she finally died!

As mentioned earlier, I think too much limelight is given to the forensic department that it somehow belittled the police force. At the beginning of the series, Madam Leung was rather impulsive and concluded from the evidence on the surface. It was Tim that enlightened her on some doubts. Seeing that almost all of the cases are solved with the help of Tim and Sam, both guys should qualify as successful policemen should they want to change fields!

ON THE CHARACTERS/CASTS:
Seriously speaking, I think the cast is only OK as none of the artists, except Bobby, is appealing to me. Yoyo and Frankie weren’t that significant in their roles and Linda remains a newcomer, and I think she still needs a lot of polishing before she can succeed.

Bobby as Tim Sir
Tim is a senior chemist and he heads the Forensic Science Department. Tim is a witty, smart and knowledgeable man. Yes, he seems plump and is kinda haggard. But any girl will easily fall for him as Tim has the charm as a wise guy. I think Bobby is great in these kinds of roles. This character resembles Chan Siu Sang (in "Armed Reaction"), but shows more wisdom and maturity in FH. I really dislike Bobby’s previous roles in "Take My Word For It" and "Hidden Treasures". It is roles with some humorous factor that propel Bobby’s career to this stage as this is where he can perform to the maximum.

Frankie as Sam Koo
Sam is a pathologist and the younger brother of Charlie. He used to be a wild kid that hangs around in discos and has tattoos on his body. Charlie brought him back to the right track and he became a professional. He is now a social volunteer that helps young people, like he once was. Another virtuous (and similar) character for Frankie. I may be biased as I just feel that Frankie always acts as a noble man with everything like being handsome, rich, kind and intelligent as the package. I only remembered seeing him as a villain once in "The Challenge of Life" (if I’m not mistaken!). Not that he has to be a villain in order to have a breakthrough, I just think his roles are usually flat and not inspiring. Thus, Sam is an unchallenging role that I do not appreciate Frankie in.

Yoyo as Leung Siu Yau
Siu Yau a.k.a Madam Leung is the senior inspector. She is rather impetuous at times and her character is the total opposite of her name Siu Yau (meaning 'gentle'). She has had prejudice towards Tim and acted irrationally out of that when Tim was suspected of murdering his wife. She also had moments of affection as a lady that contradicts her usual tough image as a policewoman. I think Yoyo did quite a good job portraying Siu Yau. This is the first time that I really appreciate her presence in a series.

Linda Chung as Ding Ding
Ding Ding is a junior chemist in the Forensic Science Department. She’s quite smart and outspoken. She’s curious and observant as well and this makes her more outstanding than Siu Yau’s brother, who has worked in the same department for 2 years. I dunno why but I feel that Linda’s voice is kinda high-pitched. I don’t really like this character or dislike it. I somehow prefer her character in "Virtues of Harmony II" to Ding Ding. She still has a long way to go and she should be fortunate since TVB is promoting her so heavily.

** A Noteworthy Newcomer **
Charmaine Lee as Tracy
Tracy is the crippled girl involved in the last case of FH. She was paralyzed when she met with an accident. Sam encouraged and supported her to live on. This caused Tracy to be fond of Sam and admired him like an idol. She takes Sam’s words to heart and committed murder to correct the injustice. It was really impossible to relate Tracy to the murder initially but the truth began to unfold as time passes. I think Charmaine did reasonably well as a newcomer. I first saw her in "Sunshine Heartbeat", but I'm not sure if she’s involved in any other series except "War & Destiny". At least she caught my attention in FH, and did quite well in the scene where she leaps to her death. She’s got the potential and I hope she’ll develop further.

ON THE RELATIONSHIPS:
The pairings are quite obvious with Tim and Siu Yau while Sam is with Ding Ding. Tim's wife died early in the series due to cancer. He and Siu Yau like each other but the relationship couldn't develop further as Tim still cannot overcome his wife's departure. Yoyo portrayed Siu Yau magnificently when Tim rejected her after their one-night stand. You can see Siu Yau struggling to control herself as she cannot avoid seeing Tim at work. Of course they got together at the end of the series.

Sam had a brief courtship with Siu Yau early on but it ended soon as they have too many differences. Sam ended up with Ding Ding, but I find it rather amusing as their age gap is quite big and yet they look fine together!

EPILOGUE:
Overall, FH deserves the high ratings that it has garnered. This once again proves that a good series can be without an exceptional cast as long as the plot is of quality.

TVB Official Website: http://tvcity.tvb.com/drama/forensic_heroes/frontpage/index.html