Summer Heat

Vietnamese Title - Truy Lung Tam Tich
No. of Chinese Episodes - 20
No. of Vietnamese Tapes - 15

Some Spoilers

The Cast:
Joyce Tang
Joe Ma
Mark Kwok
Victoria Jolly
Margaret Chung
Sharon Chan
Raymond Cho
Natalie Wong
Kwok Fung
Law Kwoon Lan

What interested me the most about “Summer Heat” is the relatively “low-profile” and “small” casts taking on larger roles. Joyce Tang in a leading role for the very first time already draws some attention, and together with a highly enjoyable plot, this makes this a fairly good series.

Brief Summary:
Joyce Tang and Kwok Fung mutually build a close father-daughter relationship, especially when she was a child. However, as Joyce begins to apply herself constantly to work; their relationship is less bonded.

When Fung’s personal boat explodes and he’s found missing at the village where he once lived, Joyce experiences emotional troubles, realizing that she has showed little concern and attention towards her father. Joyce is also confused since her dad had persistently talked about this village.

Despite others’ views that the explosion is simply an accident, including her police boyfriend (Mark Kwok), Joyce decides to enter the village and investigate her father’s missing case.

Opinions on the Cast :
Joyce Tang – FINALLY TVB is offering Joyce a leading role. Personally, I think she deserves it, and here she is able to show that she is leading material. Even though at times she tends to overact with her emotions and facial expressions, I think overall she has done well. Once in a while, you’ll find her annoying, especially her suspicion towards everyone in the village, but all in all, it’s understandable.

Joe Ma – Another promoted actor of TVB who’s also finally given lead roles. He still doesn’t exude the poise of a leading actor yet, but it’s probably because he has been in supporting roles for too long. Nevertheless, he’s quite good and is worthy of this role. Many people complain about his hairstyle in this series, long and curly, but I find it suitable for his character and isn’t all that horrible.

The rest of the casts are all supporting and minor, but I must admit they all did fairly well, with the exception of Victoria Jolly. Sure, she has improved and her character is likeable, but man her acting is pure unbelievable.

One person that I must applaud is Sharon Chan. She’s extremely attractive and delivers a great performance; I have become a fan of hers.

My Thoughts
The investigation parts are really well-done; some parts even give you the creeps. Only near the ending do you know who did it all. The series brings back some memory of Greed Mask, which was also well-done and unpredictable. One of the best factors about this series is that there are connections among the characters, and this is done nicely since the story revolves mainly around the village. Another great factor is that Joyce deeply mourns for her missing dad, unlike other series, where after an episode or two, someone’s death is easily forgotten. These two factors contribute heavily to the intriguing storyline, making it much more realistic!

My Final Comments
To end the review, I would recommend this serial. There were some boring parts, there were some slow parts, but every series has its ups and downs. It’s obvious that the series doesn’t contain a grand cast, but this is also the distinctive and unique part about this serial. Overall, one word to describe this serial – satisfying.