Virtues of Harmony

Vietnamese Title: Tinh Nguoi

Number of Episodes: estimated 300

Characters (in Vietnamese):
Major:
Mrs. Kim: Nancy Sit
Kim Nien: Frankie Lam
Cung Han To (fake)/ Princess Tam Dien: Bernice Liu
Kim Nguyet: Michael Tse
Lam Ngoc Lo: Bondy Chiu
Thach My: Cutie Miu
Kim Nhat: Joyce Chen
Cao Nhi Khang: Johnny Tang
Du Niem Phu: Louis Yuen Anh Co: Yvonne Lam

Minor:
Tieu Nguyen/Nguyen Tho: Hawick Lau
Tieu Mai (Bondy's servant): Olivia Fu
Thach Bieu: Timmy Hung
Thach De: Sherming Yiu
Cung Han To (real): Halina Tam

The Onscreen Couple:
Frankie Lam and Bernice Liu
Michael Tse and Bondy Chiu and Cutie Mui
Joyce Chen and Johnny Tang
Louis Yuen and Yvonne Lam
Sherming Yiu and Hawick Lau (maybe)
Timmy Hung and Olivia Fu

"Virtues of Harmony" is one of the most accomplished comedy productions that TVB have ever made and it is one of the most hilarious that I have come across so far. This series is very interesting and enjoyable to watch over and over again.

The Story... (Spoilers!)
Mrs. Kim (Nancy Sit) is the head of the Kim's family and she is also the owner of one of the most popular restaurant in the village, Dong Mat Dien. Dong Mat Dien is famous for its noodles and the one who makes them is Nancy's stepbrother, Du Niem Phu (Louis Yuen). Mrs. Kim has a really secretive past life, she use to be a famous female bandit, and only her older son, Kim Nien (Frankie Lam), and Du Niem Phu knows. Later all of the village will know. Nancy has three stepchildren (who are triplets) Kim Nien, Kim Nguyet (Michael Tse), and Kim Nhat (Joyce Tang).

The Past...
Mrs. Kim used to be Thai Phuong Hoang, who was once a great female bandit. She steals from the rich to feed the poor. While she was on a trip, she has met up with Mr. Kim and his wife. His wife was about to give birth to Kim Nien, Kim Nguyet, and Kim Nhat, in a shabby abandon temple. Mr. Kim does not know a thing about giving birth and he was kind of feeling confused, not knowing what to do. Just then, Thai Phuong Hoang came by and try to help out. She eventually helps Mrs. Kim give birth to the children safely. After Mrs. Kim have given birth, not so long afterwards, she died of choking. Thai Phuong Hoang is being helpful and trying to be nice, and decided to go with Mr. Kim and help him out till he gets home safely. Mr. Kim realized that she is a female bandit and is afraid that she will influence his kids.

There are many times he abandoned her but she still manages to catch up. This went on for more than 1 to 2 years. Finally they have met up again at Mr. Kim's home village. His house was a wreck after his departure and his 10 years old brother-in-law (Du Niem Phu) was also gone. At that time, Du Niem Phu was a kid of many bad ideas and always cheating. I don't know whether it is the connection but all of them, Mr. Kim, Kim Nien, Kim Nhat, Kim Nguyet, Thai Phoung Hoang, and Du Niem Phu finally found each other at Mr. Kim's shabby house. Thai Phuong Hoang decided to help Mr. Kim and the kids once more. Mr. Kim has to sell noodles to get through the days. He was picked on by kids and adults, then they end up not paying. So Thai Phuong Hoang decided to help, and she did. She actually beat up the ones who did not pay. Later on, she decides to leave when she sees that things are going fine with the house. Mr. Kim has stopped her and confesses his love and appreciation to her. Then she married him but not so long afterwards, Mr. Kim died leaving Thai Phuong Hoang with the kids. She decided not to tell them and to keep it a secret as long as possible.

Mrs. Kim:
She is the second wife of Mr. Kim. She is also a very famous female bandit. She is strict, yet thoughtful and caring. Personally, I think that Nancy Sit is great for this role. Nancy, has always been a great actress to make us laugh, so this role is good for her. This role is kind of similar to her role in "A Kindred Spirit". Just the difference is this series is more into comedy than tragedy.

Kim Nien:
The first of the triplet. He use to be the 5th rank in the general of the empire but once he have gotten Princess Tam Dien (Bernice Liu) mad so he was sent down to 9th rank general at his village. Kim Nien is very independent plus he is very thoughtful and righteous. Frankie Lam has always been a great actor in acting evil or nice. We hardly seen him, the last one I saw with him is "On the Track or Off" with Steven Ma, Bondy Chiu, and Ada Choi. He died in the middle of the series, which I thought was so sad. I just hope he have more screen time.

Kim Nguyet:
The second of the triplet. This character is spoiled and always seems so sick. A long time ago, Mrs. Kim was on a trip, with Kim Nguyet, he was a chubby boy at that time but he end up getting lost for more than one year. After one year of finding, Mrs. Kim finally found him and that time he was skinny and thin. That is the reason why Mrs. Kim feels guilty and spoiled him even though she knows he is faking it. Michael Tse is doing fairly well, not bad or good. He should work on his facial expression more because sometimes he just don't seem to have an expression for what he is saying. But I still think Michael is a good actor and he is the one who makes us laugh sometimes.

Kim Nhat:
Welcome to the world of this spoiled, talkative, and arrogant girl. She is the last of the triplet. She is very hard to get along with, that is why it is very hard for her to find a husband. But later on she did and I feel so sorry for him, always gets boss around by her. Even though her mouth says she doesn't care about her husband, you can tell she really loves her husband. Joyce Chen did okay in this series. She is so good at getting you mad, sometimes when I watch her actions and what comes out of her mouth, I just want to jump in the screen and slap her but she is not the one who is the bossiest of all. She is just the second, but an actress or actor that can get you that mad, is a really good actress or actor.

Lam Ngoc Lo:
She is the first wife of Kim Nguyet. She is bitchy yet bossy at once. She is first, then comes Kim Nhat. She bosses people around, is always a big show-off and is always fun to watch when she argues with Kim Nhat. They are like rivals, they argue over everything that they can get on each other. Bondy Chiu is at her regular pace, the first time I saw her was in "On the Track or Off". She has the bitchiest role in there. Yet she is one of the best out of this series. A person that can make you that mad, damn she got to be good.

Thach My:
She is the second wife of Kim Nguyet. She is always bickering with Lam Ngoc Lo, and is always the one getting picked on. She got on my nerve badly at the beginning by saying her phrase over and over again. Her phrase (trying to translate in English) goes like this "You think Thach My only got the outside reputation." But later on, thank God, the scripts have less of that phrase being said. Cutie Mui is a fairly good, not bad actress. Cutie was also in "Colourful Life". In there she acted really bitchy, just imagine her take on the role of Bondy in there. This only proves that she is an actress who can handle both nice and annoying at once.

Cao Nhi Khang:
The chosen husband of Kim Nhat. This guy is one-heck-of-a stupid guy. He got picked on at work (in the restaurant), in the house, and by his wife. He went to take the general test four to five times but failed. The only reason Kim Nhat married him is because she thought that he will be the next new general but he again fails. Johnny Tang is okay, he needs to work on the facial a little bit because we really are confused by his actions. But to the fact, for a guy that is scared of his wife, he did a great job.

Cung Han To (fake)/Princess Tam Dien:
She is the only princess in the empire. The emperor have arranged her to marry a Persian (I think) prince. She ran away with her eunuch and after she lost all her money, due to a scandal, she was helpless. With much coincidence, she was brought into the Kim's household as the fake daughter, of Kim Nien's savior. Bernice Liu might look pretty but she can't act. Her expressions are not that cooperative with her lines but this is just her first series, you never know, this might be a good practice and she might improve. I still like her since this is her first series and she did fairly well in it. She is passable enough for her first try.

Du Niem Phu:
He is the uncle in the family and is the stepbrother of Mrs. Kim (Thai Phuong Hoang). He is so greedy, selfish and bossy at once. He bosses his wife around and plus, he is so selfish to hide the secret to the noodle's making. Louis Yuen is a fair actor. He is really entertaining to watch sometimes and yet you both laugh and get pissed off at the same time. Louis always seem to be a good comedian but the one that makes us laugh the most is his wife.

Anh Co:
She is the wife of Du Niem Phu. To say it in a good way she is honest. To say it the bad way, she is as dumb. She always gets picked on by Lam Ngoc Lo, Kim Nhat, and Thach My, and not to mention, they are just her nieces. Even her husband treats her like crap. Yvonne Lam, is a fairly good, she is so funny to watch sometimes but annoying at most. I don't know why they give most of the silly and gross parts to her but she manages it fairly well.

As you can see, I really don't insult anyone that bad but here I go with the minor roles. I am not doing everybody due to the huge cast so I am just giving you my opinion about their acting.

Hawick Lau: I think he is very handsome but TVB just have to give him the eunuch role. I hope they promote him sooner because I've been seeing him in a lot of series but in just minor roles. Hawick in VOH did a great job; he is always soft, as a woman should be.

Timmy Hung: This is the first time I saw this guy, and he seriously can't act. He is what I called "lack-of-facial-expression". Yes, he has a facial expression; the only expression he has that does the best is dumbness.

Sherming Yiu: I saw her in a lot of series and I think she does fairly well in most of them as for this one she did a good job. In this series, she went from a tomboy to a real lady.

Olivia Fu: She is not a good actress. She has a lot of problems; she always has a smile on her face or a sad and pity face. Trust me, she is so boring.

Halina Tam: This is the second time I seen her. The first time was in "Invisible Journey" and she was a party girl in there. In this series, she is stealer. She did an okay job in here, she really gets you pissed off the way she cheated on the Kim's household. Maybe she will be the next Bondy Chiu.

I think this series is great, and I recommend it to anyone who loves comedy. This series is pretty long though, even I did not finish it yet but hopefully it will not get boring. So far, to me, not yet, it has been a great light-hearted and family series.