LIFE FOR LIFE

"Life for Life" is surprisingly not as bad a TV series as I thought it was going to be. The cast ensemble, consisting of Cheung Dat Ming, Marianne Chan Miu Ying, Mui Siu Wai, Che Tin Wah, and others, was a refreshing combination of actors and actresses. The series, as advertised, is about a novice Soul-Snatcher (Che Tin Wah) of the heavens who fell in love the first day on the job with the generous Fong Ka Hei (Mui Siu Wai) who doesn't have long to live because of a health ailment. Deciding to switch the fates of Fong with the bossy and seemingly heartless lawyer, Chong Yuk Xue (Marianne Chan), he changes the date of their deaths in their Books of Life and Death. However, things get complicated when his actions are found out in the heavens and the fates of these two women are permanently switched. What appears to be a meaningless series turns out to be a penetration into the human psyche--or am I just interpreting too much these days?

Cheung Dat Ming, since "Justice Sung II", has not made an appearance in a series lately. His performance in "Life" was certainly more bearable than "Justice", though--forgive me for saying--his physical appearance is sometimes hard to get by. In "Life", he does a pretty good job of portraying his role. Mui Siu Wai, who also has not made any recent series, is back in "Life" and it is interesting to watch her play the part of someone who did not have long to live suddenly have back a normal life. Most notable though, is Marianne Chan's performance where she goes from a despicable person to a changed and likeable personality.

The most successful point in the series is the analysis of fate and the environments we are brought up in and how our personalities, thoughts, and values, are inevitably shaped by the environment we are born into--which, if you are an atheist, is just randomness and probability. The idea of the haves and have nots also comes into mind, where a person's actions are always imprisoned by what he/she holds at the moment.

What is disappointing about the series is the seemingly rushed ending. Not enough attention is given to development of love between the main couple and I could still not understand why the Soul-Snatcher was never punished for switching the fates. Just when things begin to get heated between the two women whose fates were switched, the series concludes with one dead and the other jailed, without giving more time to develop their new character.

PS I do not own this review.