Sergeant Tabloid

How long
21 episodes

Foreword
The drama tells the story of female police officers of the Hong Kong Police Force, using their perspectives to look at issues of modern women experience in society.
  
Story/Introduction on characters
1. Sergeant Lui Fei-hap 呂霏俠 – Chow Lai Kei
She is a 31 year old romantically conscious female sergeant of the West Kowloon Emergency Unit (EU) police force. "Lui Hap" is a play on the Cantonese word for "female hero" .(女俠). She is a heroine indeed to often help others and they look up to her as their leader for advice.

She is let down in love many times; so when she finds her perfect man (Wong Ho Shun) she jumps at the opportunity, never suspecting that he is a drug baron until she arrests him. To make things worse their relationship hits the headlines when tabloid reporter A1, stumbles upon it. (Her man is actually an undercover cop who dissolves the drug ring but is too late when he comes for her later.)  

Lui Hap's and A1's paths continue to cross when pursuing duties and stories, sometimes cooperating and sometimes as enemies, sometimes saving the other and at other times the target of each other's practical jokes. She doesn't approve of Yat Yat's doing and always reprimands him.       
                                  
Slowly, she discovers that he is a filial son but is unable to speak against his mother. She opens his heart and they are together. Lai Kei makes a refreshing change as a cop and she does a wonderful job.

2. Al Lam Yat Yat – Tse Tin Wah
He is a reporter for the tabloid newspaper "Boom Daily." He consistently finds ways to have Lui Hap hit the headlines for the wrong reasons. (It is very exciting as he keeps coming up with baffling titles – you will have to watch it to find out.) She is Lui Hap's rival but later as her boyfriend. He finds his conscience back after he indirectly causes a man to commit suicide as he blurts his past. He resigns to start his own newspaper.   
                                      
He is also Tze-tsuen's cousin and is trained to be a good cook by his family of women. He detests his father as he forsakes him and his mother for a Taiwanese woman. It takes him time to accept his half-sister. I find it no difference from the way he acts as Laughing but his chemistry with Lai Kei is really good.   

3. Inspector Szeto Kiu – Wong Chi Mun
She is known as Madam Kiu, the cold and resolute inspector of West Kowloon's Emergency Unit. She is Lui Hap's supervisor and is given the name Madam Kill. She is a former inspector working in the Airport Security Unit.

A mother goose to her section, Lui Hap comes into conflict with Madam when Kiu demands perfection of her section. They resolve their misunderstandings to be friends. Like Yat Yat, she is unable to go against her father but finally masters her courage to speak up to be  Tze Tsuen's girlfriend although he is just a normal constable. Chi Mun is cold indeed and I welcome this new image. 

4. Constable Wong Tze-tsuen – Ko Kuan Hin
He is known as Prince (王子; wongzi), a new young recruit to West Kowloon's Emergency Unit. He is the primary love interest for both Lui Hap and Madam Kiu. Lui Hap feels old in front of him as his wooing ideas are childish. He tries hard to please Wai to take care of him when he is injured in order to become Kiu's boyfriend. Unlike looking wooden in other dramas, he is quite lively and chatty here.

5.  Constable Lam Oi-oi – Chu Hsuan
She is A1's younger half-sister. Born in Hong Kong and raised in Taiwan, Oi becomes a police officer in Hong Kong in order for a chance to meet with A1. Lui Hap lets her stay at her own flat and treats her like a younger sister. She is nearly killed when stabbed in the neck and this improves their relationship. She is Yau Man Chi's love interest when they patrol together to later become his girlfriend.

6. Constable Mai Ka-po – Chu Wai Mun
She is an officer of the Traffic Branch Headquarters (TBH) of the West Kowloon Police Force and one of Lui Hap's best friends. She is career minded and aborts her baby in order to prepare for a promotion. She keeps delaying plans to have a baby.

When she decides to have one, she is unable to conceive and sees Wai Kwong with Mei Kei, she decides to divorce him as she discovers that she has not loved him enough after helping a pregnant woman to give birth on the street.

7.  Constable Lam Long-ning 林朗寧 – Lui Wai Yee
She is known as Long Leg, a police officer of West Kowloon's Emergency Unit and one of Lui Hap's best friends. She looks for a boyfriend who is at least better than her as she stammers when young. She is wrong to list the men she meets to compare their positions on a website. She stops this habit after realizing that it is wrong.    
                                        
She wants her future children to be smarter than her. In the end, she becomes the girlfriend from the same EU team as he is going for his promotion exam soon.

8. Constable Kam Sui-na 金瑞娜; Gam Seoinaa – Wong Kuan Hing
She is known as Goldie, an officer of West Kowloon's Emergency Unit and one of Lui Hap's best friends. She comes from a rich family but her father is seriously hurt by her money-digger mother so she conceals her identity. She helps the poor as a masked woman but A1 projects her to be bullying the weak instead. 

9.  Constable Yau Man-chi 游漫池; Yau Maanci – Chak Wai Lin
He is known as Delay Gor, an officer who has a crush on Oi-oi when going on patrol with her. He is at first tough like her but becomes timid after his mother gets into debts. He has planned to tell her about he clears all the debts. He later becomes her boyfriend.

10. "Boy Sir" Lui Tsan-nam  - Hui Siu Hung
He is Lui Hap's father and a retired officer of the VIP Protection Unit (VIPPU) of the Hong Kong Police Force. He also loves sewing cheongsams but Ling-lung doesn't like wearing them. He doesn't want to be belittled by her anymore so he takes up the job of the dressing consultant of a movie.

Ling-lung scolds him but he will not give up. In the end, she wears his cheongsam and gets the other policewomen to parade on stage with her when she is conferred the most outstanding woman of the year. That moves him to tears.   
            
11. "Sister Ten" Pat Ling-lung – Lo Wing Yan
Lui Hap's mother and a retired police inspector. She is Tsan Nam's wife and never gives up emailing to her fans or attending talks. She still practices her shooting regularly and hits off well with Kiu. She also gives Lui-hap pointers on how to deal with cases.

12.  Sung Wai-sing 宋慧星- Ching Hor-wai
She is A1's mother who works as a provider for background actors. She is bitter towards her ex-husband and cuts off all communication between him and Yat Tat. She dreams to be a big star and the director agrees to give her a part if she manages to find a consultant for the dressing unit. She thinks of Tsan-nam immediately. Her name is inspired by Shin Hye-sung, a member of the South Korean boy band Shinhwa.

In the end, she finds a boyfriend and seeing Yat Yat unhappy even when preparing for his wedding, she wants him to ask himself if he wants a better life. 

13. Szeto Wai - Pai Piau
He is Madam Kiu's father who brings her up singlehandedly after his wife's death.Kiu pleases him in studies and watching football with him. He is a security guard and hopes she will get a good boyfriend. Knowing that Tze-tsuen is neither an inspector nor a sergeant, he opposes to them. They have to date in secret but he later accepts him.

14. Constable Tong Mei-kei – Chiu Hei Lok
She is known as Miki, one of Lui Hap's best friends. She likes Wai Kwong when he introduces guys to her but they stop after exchanging a kiss. She knows that she must not let Ka-bo down but the damage is already done. The two avoid each other but Ka-bo looks for her again when she lets go of her past.

15. Lee Song– Ha Ping
She is A1's grandmother who only wants her grandsons to be happy.

16. Sung Wai-kiu 宋慧橋 -  Lui San
She is A1's aunt. Her name is the Cantonese transliteration of South Korean actress Song Hye-kyo. She works in a café and knows what Wai-sing has done. She secretly keeps the stamp album that Yat Yat throws away so that he can complete the set of the 12 zodiacs with the remaining stamps that his late father sends to him. She also finds herself a boyfriend to attend her exhusband's wedding in the US.     
  
17. Ngai Shu-sang (倪書生; Ngai Syusang) – Chung Chi Kwong
He is A1's boss. His name is a wordplay of the Cantonese phrase "fake scholar." (偽書生). He often wants to upstage Yat Yat but fails in all attempts.

18. Yan Chi Nei – Lee Bik Kei
She is a nurse who helps Yat Yat to recover when he is ill. From then, he holds a torch for her but she only likes her doctor boyfriend. Upon knowing that her boyfriend cheats on her and she is pregnant, she pretends to sleep with Yat Yat and sends the photos to Lui-hap. She then presses him to marry her. Upon seeing him unhappy, she tells him the truth and he rushes to stop Lui-hap from leaving by getting to the airport.    

19. "Big Eyes" Tai Tung-man 戴東民- Tse Dong Mun
He is also a news reporter for Boom Daily and works under Yat Yat. He also tries hard to learn from him. He doesn't like to doctoral fake photos and news for publishing. So he also quits to join Yat Yat's newspaper.  

20. Hui Wai Kwong – Chiu Wing Hung
He is Ka-Bo's husband who is bitter with her for putting the plans for a baby for many years. He later has a fling with Mei kei but learns that it is a mistake. He wants to return to Ka-bo but she already sets her mind to leave him. he later gets himself a new girlfriend.  

Interesting facts
The highest rating was 34 points. Yuen Wing Yee was originally cast as Lui-hap but she was too busy. So it was switched to Lai Kei instead and many changes were made to the role to suit her. It is said that it will have a sequel but I am not sure when since Tse has left TVB.

Most favourite character
Lui-hap, she is nice and also filial. It is just that she relies too much on Ling-long for advice and sometimes her suggestions backfire to worsen her ties with Kiu at work.
                                                                                                       
Most hated character
Chi Nei, she is practically selfish and not as an angel as she seems to be. She is desperate to get her unborn child a father but must she resort to do something as dirty as this?
  
Song
The theme song (愛從心; lit. "Love From the Heart "was performed by Tse and Lai Kei was recorded for the Hong Kong release. Overseas releases only included an instrumental as the opening theme. The song was quite okay to listen to.

Conclusion
The drama stresses too much on the love relationships of the policewomen as more can be on their jobs instead. Still, it is quite enjoyable to watch as many cases are also included in the story. The actresses are good as the law enforcers and it is still thrilling to see them in action.  

Sukting's ratings :
On acting : ***1/2 (Scale of 5)
On story : ***1/2 (Scale of 5)
On song :  *** (Scale of 5)