The other TVB drama Stephen Chow had a big part in, this one is a modern dramedy. Like Final Combat though, it takes a long time to set up the ending sequence. Now, it started out really interesting, with this quirky family kind of all living together and running a mahjong parlor. Alex Man is the ex-Triad, and Stephen Chow is his cousin. Ng Man Tat is Stephen Chow's father, and Alex Man's mother's brother. Then there's Old Hen who is Stephen Chow's grandmother on his mother's side and aunt to Teresa Mo who makes an early appearance.

Stephen Chow's character is an obnoxious taxi driver who constantly insults people and is just sarcastic as a way of life. The people around him seem to only tolerate him, except for his grandmother who spoils him unmercifully and dotes on him ridiculously, probably mostly only to spite Tat. So it takes a few episodes to properly introduce everyone, and it's all funny and interesting.

But then it takes a bit of a downward spin in the middle, like a lot of dramas, I've noticed. The main problem is paying a lot of extra attention to minor characters. The whole thing with Yu Gau was tedious and annoying and stretched believability on many fronts. There was also the focus on Ming Tin's (Alex Man) cop friend and his brother, the penny-pinching banker, much of which didn't need to be there. The exposition involving Ming Tin's Triad family was probably nessa, but God, Anthony Wong was annoying, lol. Of course, the other problem with all these minor characters taking a spotlight was lack of Stephen Chow, as he was the main cause of hilarity in the series.

Fortunately, by the time it starts to wrap up, there really is a good amount of suspense in the final episodes. And the scenes with Shui (Chow) and Chi are hilarious. So all in all, it was a good show, but like Final Combat, would have suffered immensely without Stephen Chow, whose acting was both funny and affecting. I can really see why both of those shows helped make him popular.

Mood blah Tags: comedies, drama, stephen chow