RETURN OF THE CUCKOO

"Return of the Cuckoo" is a series that is set mostly in Macau and stars Julian Chueng Chi Lam, Charmaine Sheh Xi Man, Nancy Sit Ka Yin, Steven Ma, and Michael Tong Man Long. If a theme or moral has to be pinpointed to "Return", it would have to be sacrifice for the ones you love. Julian Chueng plays a mute person, Man Chor, whose muteness was directly caused by his mother when she tried to poison him to death. Saved and brought up by Q Yee (Aunt Q) who is played by Nancy Sit, the two most important women in Man Chor's life are his Q Yee and her daughter, Guan Ho (Charmaine Sheh). The complications start when Man Chor and Guan Ho realize that their love exceeds the boundaries of just brotherly and sisterly love and is trapped in a love triangle with Xi Tao Lie Suern (Steven Ma).
The script for "Return" is rather funny in the beginning with Julian Chueng and Charmaine Sheh bickering all the time as brother and sister. Julian doesn't get to talk much in the series--he's mute!--and communicates through sign language with his voice in the background as a translation for the audience. He is a pretty good performer while Charmaine Sheh is also improving. The subplot story has Michael Tong who, since his unexpected good performance in "The Kung Fu Master", plays Gum Sing, a renegade who is unacknowledged by his own rich father.
Some people have argued that it's unlikely and similar to incest for two people growing up as brother and sister to actually develop the kind of love between man and woman. Psychologically speaking, if in their minds they had always made the distinction that they were of different parents, then I believe that such feelings are possible and not unlikely at all.
I'm not too sure what year the series is supposed to be set in--it looks like present modern--but I did not see muteness to be such a big handicap in society. The series made it seem as if it is such a big hindrance, so much that Man Chor was unable to find a good job because his prospective employers never gave him a chance. It was also mentioned that he was not admitted into a prestigious school because of his muteness. Perhaps things work differently in Hong Kong but in the US, we would probably sue the butts off of the company-in-hire and the school for such discriminations. If a person had the skills and training--especially in the technical fields (think Internet)-- muteness does not appear to be a big problem to me. However, in "Return", Man Chor carried an inferiority complex because of his muteness and was afraid to declare his love for Guan Ho because he thought he was not worthy.
That is what vexed me most about "Return"--as if someone did not have the right to love and marry, and can't become successful just because he is mute! Are there not other ways to communicate between man and is really having a wealthier life superior to having the love of your life? The kinds of sacrifices made by Q Yee and Man Chor for Guan Ho just seemed unreasonable, too good to be true and too unselfish. This kind of storyline has the tinge of "A Kindred Spirit" (which I might add is a plague on mankind, but that is another review) because it goes into such romantic notions about the relationships between people. To me, it is just a form of surrender, a submission to your so-called Fate. Man Chor gives up his love because he thinks another man can provide better for her?! Whatever happened to trying to better your own education and quality of life and fighting for the person you love?

PS I do not own this review !!!