THE DISAPPEARANCE

Starring: Gordon Lam Ka Tung, Mariann Chan Mui Ying, Astrid Chan, Emily Kwan, Bowie Lam Bo Yee, Miriam Yeung, Kenneth Chan and Edmond Leung

Warning! Spoiler Synopsis!

Lap (Gordon Lam) starts out as a regular reporter but when his relative Jang (Bowie Lam) comes, he finds himself trapped in another world. Jang hasa special chemical that makes you disappear (become invisible). Lap tries it and of course he
disappears. But most of the time, you can see him. With a hard-working policewoman, Nam (Marianne Chan), they solve cases together, including ones with disappearing people. Nam finds herself in love with Lap, but he only loves reporter Wing (Astrid Chan).

Lap's younger step-sister, San (Miriam Yeung) is a tomboy because she grew up with her brother and Shing (Edmond Leung). When Shing breaks up his girlfriend, San is there to comfort him. She starts to like him. When she confesses, he thinks up many reasons to say no. But as San starts to ignore him, he makes the decision to be with her.

Jang and Nam's sister (Emily Kwan) were enemies at first and then they started to like each other. Nam understands later that Lap only likes Wing. She agrees to be their friend. On the other hand, Tao (Kenneth Chan) loses everything, including Wing, and wants revenge from Lap. In all of this mess, Lap wounds up in the hospital. Tao get the disappearing chemical and he disappears. Lap wakes up and he and Tao get into a argument at the hospital. Tao dies. Lap and Wing are together and they have a baby, though Jang is still concerned that the baby might have the chemical in its body.

SweetKoey's Rating: * * * 1/2 (Scale of 5)

PS I do not own this review

COUNTRY SPIRIT

Cast
Gordon Lam- Ah Shun
Charmaine Sheh- Shun Fung
40 chapters
Before watching this series, I didn't really like Charmaine Sheh or Gordon Lam due to their performances in the serial "Crimson Sabre". It was quite boring, and Charmaine didn't exactly play her 'evil' role very well. In "Seven Sisters", at times she was annoying. I thought that in this series was going to be boring because of Gordon and Charmaine, but I decided to give a chance since my Mom brought it home anyway. That's when I completely changed my point of view on both of them.
Plot
This story is about a poor girl named Shun Fung (Charmaine Sheh) who makes money by pulling a small boat across the water for other people. Her father is always drinking and her brother is not "sang sing", as in learning to act like an adult. He always lies and tricks his sister, along with his father. Ah Shun (Gordon Lam) lives with his mother who's a bit 'crazy' since her husband left her. Ah Shun makes money off working at the winery. In the beginning, Shun Fung highly dislikes Ah Shun because... well... she's got a bit of an attitude. As the story progresses, she will begin to like him, but unfortunately, she is forced to marry *Joe Ma*. Everyone is really mean to her and Ah Shun is the only one who actually cares.
My Ratings for Characters
Charmaine Sheh- She was excellent in this series. She could be bratty, serious, and make you cry all at the same time and in the same series. She was a bit bratty in the beginning, but that made it funny! And at times, she made me cry because everyone was being mean to her and stuff. She clearly portrayed her character well, and acted stubborn perfectly!
Performance rate: 5/5
Gordan Lam- He was excellent in this series as well. He played a dumb character very well, considering Ah Shun was a gullible guy with... basically NO self-respect. Eating food off the floor, getting pushed around... he REALLY needed a stubborn girl with an attitude like Shun Fung to teach him how to have self-respect. He did really well in this series, and was really funny at times too.
Performance rate- 4.5/5
Sheren Tang- She played the owner of the winery's sister. She played her role really well also. I don't really like her though, in my opinion, her acting is a bit unnatural. She is all right though, her acting is decent.

Performance rate- 3/5
Yuen Wah- He played a wine expert. He has the funniest role in this serial! He had a crush on Sheren Tang, so it was really funny between the two of them. As usual, he's a consistent actor, so he acted very well. Nothing new here, he's just GREAT as usual.
Performance rate- 4/5
Joe Ma- One word: ANNOYING! He was an annoying character in here. First, he was childhood friends with Gordon. Then later when he finds out Charmaine and Gordon love each other, he totally ditches them and almost gets both of them killed! Maybe he's all right, but I clearly disliked his character. I didn't think he was that good in this series, either, in my personal opinion.
Performance rate- 2.5/5
Winnie Yeung- I felt they chose the wrong girl to play her character See Chy in this series. There was not much character development for her and her character was hardly in the serial. I didn't even know what See Chy's real personality was considering how much screen time she had. I felt she did a lot better in "Gods of Honour". Besides she kinda looks like Sheren Tang! She didn't have many facial expressions here either.
Performance rate- 3/5
Tsang Wai Kin- In the beginning, he was REALLY good. He played a short-tempered but nice guy in the beginning, and in the end, he was a selfish man and a coward. He played his role flawlessly. He can make you like him, and make you hate him. He played two roles in this serial, so it's amazing how he could make the two characters seem totally different. As usual, he delivered an excellent performance as he did in "Treasure Raiders" and "Gods of Honour".
Performance Rate- 4.5/5
My View on the Series
This was overall an excellent serial. I highly recommend it. The first few episodes just explained about how wine is made and introduced the characters, so it might be a bit boring, but when Shun Fung and Ah Shun meet, the tears begin, and the interesting storyline comes in! You have to watch this series, rent or buy, but JUST WATCH IT! I really recommend it if you're a fan of Charmaine or Gordon. And if you just want to watch a sad serial for once, watch it. And if you don't like Charmaine, give her a chance here! She really has improved throughout the years. In my opinion, this was a well-developed story. Unlike most ancient and modern TVB serials, this is semi-ancient semi-modern, not exactly kung fu and all that, but not exactly modern clothes either. You'll learn so much about the poor and appreciate what you have. The love between Ah Shun and Shun Fung is great here. They had great chemistry and great acting. Unlike the ancient series where this guy sees a pretty girl and they fall in love right away, this series actually shows their love progress. It has 40 enjoyable episodes, too!
PS I do not own this review.

LOVING SPIRIT

Cast:
Esther Kwan as Ah Ying
Lawrence Ng as Ching Ho Yeen
Cheng Zhi Sing as Chiu Hing Kok
Yuen King Dan as Ngun Jei
Intro: (Warning! Spoilers!)
Before I watched the series, the cast blew me away. As you can see, TVB enlisted a very star studded cast. Esther Kwan ("Lady Flower Fist") stars as Ah Ying, a girl who is very honest but has a very limited education. Lawrence Ng ("The New Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber 2000") also stars as Ching Ho Yeen, a rich man, who is trying to continue is family's theater business that became haunted by ghosts. The series also costars Eileen Yeow, Cheng Zhi Sing ("Man's Best Friend"), and Yuen King Dang. Although the cast includes Esther and Lawrence, the series falls quite short. The story starts out quite promising but just gets too weird and boring in the middle. The first few episodes were rather dull and boring. The series picks up speed later but again dies down after the middle. The ending was quite disappointing as TVB kills of one of the main character, Lawrence. I was hoping for a happy ending since the entire series wasn't.
What about the story: Esther lives with her brother and boyfriend's relatives in an apartment. Her boyfriend was at sea so Esther took care of his parents by selling squid in front of a haunted theater. The theater was going bankrupt because viewers were scared of the ghosts. Esther's friends help her get a job in the theater. One day, Esther accidentally released the ghost of Yuen King Dan. Esther told her boss but his wife fired her. She was allowed to keep her job if she closed up every night. Meanwhile, the owner of the theater was tired of his wife's bickering and called his son from the United States, Lawrence, to come and help him. As Esther went home one night, the ghost followed her home and decided to stay with Esther to watch TV. Lawrence comes and takes over the business but his step-mom and half-brother are not as welcoming. Lawrence's half-cousin, Mah Tai Lo, is in love with him, but she just tries too hard. Lawrence gets acquainted with Esther when he bumps into her at night when she was closing up.

One day, Esther hears news that her boyfriend's boat had sunk but she couldn't get information about him since she didn't know his English name. Lawrence stops and helps but is late for a very important appointment. Esther learns about the ghost. Yuen King Dan had worked for Lawrence's dad as a maid and took care of Lawrence. One day she fell in love with a man and he needed money to start a business. Yuen King Dan asked Lawrence to get money from his dad and so Lawrence got in trouble. Yuen King Dan was very upset and tried to find the man but accidentally fell into the ocean and died. Esther helps Lawrence pick out a movie to show; the movie brought in a lot of money so Lawrence took her to a fancy restaurant. Mah Tai Lo is very jealous so she frames Esther for stealing money but the ghost plays a trick on Mah Tai Lo for revenge. The manager of the theater was having an affair with Lawrence's step-mom and got Lawrence to buy bad films. Yuen King Dan finds out that he is stealing money and tells Esther. Esther in turns tells Lawrence who forgives them. Lawrence makes all the employees take English. Lawrence invites Esther to the beach and they have a great time.
Lawrence is now in love with Esther. Lawrence and his father learn that there is a ghost and Esther shows them Yuen King Dan. Cheng Zhi Sing, Esther's boyfriend, returns home but is very cold to Esther. Cheng Zhi Sing decides to start a business and so Esther borrows money from Lawrence to help him. Lawrence leaves for Macao with Yuen King Dan to find the man who had tricked her. Instead, Lawrence meets an American film company representative, Poon Chi Lee. They become business partners and Lawrence takes her on a tour around Hong Kong. Cheng Zhi Sing likes someone else, Eileen Yeow, but she comes from a very rich family. Cheng lies about his position while he was in Spain to get acquainted with her. Poon Chi Lee reveals her feeling to Lawrence but he pushes her away because he likes Esther.
Esther Kwan: In this series, Esther did a very good job. The fault is of the script. The story just loses the attention of the viewers by the 5th or 6th episode. Her chemistry with Lawrence is a heartbreaker since he dies at the end.
Lawrence Ng: Lawrence did an okay job in this series, although I find his character very flawed. The script did not allow Francis to show off his acting skills. TVB had to kill him off at the end.
Best supporting actor: ? as Lawrence's half-brother
Best supporting actress: Yuen King Dan as Ngun Jei
Best villain portrayal: Cheng Zhi Sing as Chiu Hing Kok
Worst character portrayal: Eileen Yeow as Cheng's girlfriend
Watch it or forget it: Don't even bother watching this series unless you have nothing else to do. The only positive comment about this series is Esther and Lawrence.
PS I do not own this review.

MISLEADING TRACK

Cast:

Bowie Lam

Louisa So

Deric Wan

Christine Ng

Tsang Wai Kuen

Winnie Yeung

Storyline: This series starts off with Louisa coming across a man (Deric Wan) who looks very much like her husband. But five years ago Louisa was put behind bars for murdering her husband, so she finds it very strange to come across him again. She knew she didn't murder her husband but when she woke up after fainting, his dead body was right next to her and she had a knife in her hand with his blood on it. Louisa continuously follows Deric and Bowie, who has become her good friend, tells her over and over again that her husband is dead, so after a while Louisa finally stops following Deric. Christine still has feelings for her ex-boyfriend Tsang Wai Kuen and he is also the father of Christine's young daughter. Bowie, who is Christine's husband, does not know this, but eventually does find out when it is discovered that his 'daughter' has an inherited disease that has specific allergies. Bowie then realises that Christine has known this secret all along, but he still forgives her. But Christine comes to the realisation that her feelings for Tsang Wai Kuen are very strong. So she eventually leaves Bowie after secretly dating Tsang Wai Kuen behind his back. One day Louisa finds evidence that supports her thoughts about Deric really being her husband, but she needs more evidence to help her reveal his past. Bowie and Deric's father-in-law help her find evidence and many unbelievable events in the past are revealed... Comments: Storyline - I absolutely loved this storyline. It was very suspenseful in many parts of this series. There were loads of twists and incredible events concerning Deric's past uncovered and this was so exciting! Bowie's problems with his marriage were very sad but the story for that was done slowly and this helped me understand the love triangle relationship of Tsang Wai Kuen, Christine Ng and Bowie Lam further.*WARNING* - SPOILERS AHEAD! Cast: Bowie Lam - Bowie's acting was spectacular and I am very serious about this! At the start he was a very kind person who believed that the court is very fair to everyone, but his beliefs changed after losing in an unfair trial and he became an entirely different person. I really felt sorry for Bowie's character. He was such a good person, but a lot of terrible things happened to him. He didn't deserve it at all. Bowie portrayed his character wonderfully with the right facial expressions when his character changed. Rating - 5/5Louisa So - I think that Louisa is fantastic in this series! She acted her character very well. Her character was confused about the death of her husband. She was in many moments in the series that were exciting and full of suspense! I think that Louisa was terrific in this series. Her facial expressions and body language were great! Rating - 5/5Deric Wan - I loved Deric in this series! His acting was brilliant! At the beginning my thoughts on his character were that he was a nice man who loved his wife very much. He was always so understanding and kind to all people including Louisa even after he knew she followed him many times. But eventually his past was revealed and his true colours showed at the end of the series. It was very unexpected and his character totally changed. He did this wonderfully and I loved this character in the series! Rating - 5/5Christine Ng - Christine was pretty good in this series. Her character was a shoplifter, but she didn't want to shoplift. She felt so much pressure in life and had so many problems to overcome. Due to this she shoplifted. I felt sorry for her, but disliked her at the same time for being very unkind to her husband. I think she acted very well and can be happy with a nice smile on her face in the right moments and can have a very frustrated and unhappy look in the right moments too. I felt that she overacted sometimes and I was confused by what her character was feeling at times. I think this is merely because of her character, though. Rating - 4/5Tsang Wai Kuen - Tsang Wai Kuen was great in this series! He has terrific acting skills as I can see when watching some parts of 'Twin of Brothers'. He was excellent as his character who was a very terrible person. I think that his character really did love Christine very much, which is why he was able to sacrifice his friendship with Bowie to be with her. Rating - 4.5/5Winnie Yeung - I think Winnie successfully acted out her character in this series. She did it a good job at acting in this series and her character was tricked by Deric because he didn't tell her about him having a wife. Winnie was really good in this series. I wish she had more screen time though! Rating - 4.5/5

Conclusion: I recommend this series to anyone who likes mystery series because this is definitely the right series for them to watch! It is very suspenseful! The series also has a terrific cast that helped this series be the best ever!

PS I do not own this review.