After the loss of The Boxer, I’ve been looking for a replacement and I’ve finally found one - a comedy called No Good Either Way, which is currently showing every evening at 8:30. Based in the office of some kind of manufacturing company, it’s the everyday story of salarymen and women, their trials and tribulations, their loves and their general escapades. It’s very entertaining, even though I have no real idea what’s going on.
However, an inability to follow the plot in anything but the broadest strokes has freed me to look at the actors and there are a lot of similarities between No Good... (the reviews must just write themselves) and The Boxer. As far as I can tell, HK TV characters fall into one of five categories:
The comic relief
This is, after all, a comedy so someone has to shoulder the burden of the comedic role. You can spot these characters because they’re usually overweight and the acting is marked by world-class gurning and mugging. Think Benny Hill levels of subtlety and you’re somewhere in the ball park. The category will inevitably include gay characters (who will be outrageously camp) and most foreigners.
The wise older man
Usually possessed of steely grey hair, fashionable glasses and a generally age-appropriate but trendy wardrobe, the WOM is there to act as the moral centre of the story, generally dispensing twinkly wisdom to all who cross his path.
The bitch
Think Joan Collins circa 1985, you can spot the bitch by her stern expression (the bitch never smiles, except in an evil way when her plans unfold), serious shoulder-pads, a tendency to dress in black and an ability to act almost wholly with her eyes and eyebrows.
Every other woman
When not paying mothers or grandmothers (a sub-category of the EOW character), every other actress is required to be young, attractive and able to play ditsy, whiney and/or sulky - possibly, when the script demands it, all at the same time. The ability to pull a “duckface” at regular intervals is essential.
Impossibly good-looking leading man
The final category, is fairly self-explanatory: razor sharp cheekbones, razor cut hair, flawless skin and rake-thin, the IGLLM is the staple of any HK TV series. There must be a factory somewhere, stamping these guys out, because they are seriously good-looking. But, as I practice my Blue Steel look, I can't help but think there must be more to life than being really good looking...
The thing is, lest you think I’m sneering at all this (ooh, look at how funny the foreign television is) one of the IGLLM roles is filled by an actor called Jason Chan. Chan was born in Britain and now lives in the same apartment block as us at the moment (hey - my neighbour is a TV star); as good looking as he undoubtably is, he’s no himbo - he has a BA in Ancient and Modern Chinese Literature, as well as a Masters in Economics. Before becoming an actor he worked as a manager in a hospital and a teacher; he speaks five languages, including Latin. Another of the IGLLM is played by Ruco Chan (no relation); Ruco, as well as being a model and an actor, is a singer and represented HK internationally at table tennis when he was younger.
The point I’m making, I guess, is that these guys are very talented - certainly more talented than No Good Either Way would have you believe...
