SCI Mystery (S.C.I.謎案集)

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I got roped into this because of my sister. She was reading the novel so she followed the TV series as well. Anyway, how was it? I thought it was a decent drama, considering how I heard they were on a budget and all.

Main Cast:

  • Gao Han Yu (高瀚宇) as Bai Yu Tong (白羽瞳). The leader of SCI. He was cool in his own way. I felt he could he so funny too. I meant he was exuding the fierce attitude, but at times it was funny with how he argued or tried to get the upper hand with others–whether his family members or his coworkers.
  • Ji Xiao Bing (季肖冰) as Zhan Yao (展耀). Psychologist. First off, I didn’t even realize he was Gao Fang from Here To Heart (温暖的弦). In my defense, I haven’t finished it yet. I barely started on episode 2 and then got spoiled by some people so I put it aside for now. Anyway, back to this one. I felt he was really good. His manners, his postures, his bizarre attitudes at times. It was hilarious to watch. It was addicting to see what else he was up to. He was supposed to represent Zhan Zhao (展昭). I wouldn’t mind seeing him as Zhan Zhao in an ancient version. But I do know they have lots of Bao Jing Tian adaptations already so I’ll just use my imagination when reading stories in the future.

Supporting:

  • Ma Xiao Jun (马晓军) as Wang Shao (王韶). He was hilarious and gossipy too. However, he did his work well and got his team’s back when they needed him.
  • Luo Yu Kun (罗昱焜) as Ma Han (馬韓). Sniper Expert. She impressed me, especially the scene where she pretended to have multiple personalities and was controlled by her dark side, etc. Other than that, she was really cool.
  • Meng A Sai (孟阿赛) as Zhao Fu (趙富). He looked rouge but was quite likable and at times funny.
  • Wang Ruo Xuan (王若瑄) as Jiang Ling (蔣翎). Computer Expert. She was a pro in her skills, no need to say more. Aside from that, I thought she was at times adorable and others a tad goofy. But I liked her.
  • Jiang Long (蒋龙) as Bai Chi (白馳). Bai Yu Tong’s cousin. He was a nerd from what his image projected. He was made fun of by others at first but later found his confidence somewhat through Zhan Yao’s help and even use his skills to help them.

Others:

  • Jerry Ku (古明華) as Bao Ju (包局). The chief of the police department. He was hilarious without even trying. He often threatened them with “toilet scrubbing” duties whenever he appeared–which I was told was pulled straight from the novel. That would totally ruin the guys’ image all right. On a serious note, he backed them up at times, even if he didn’t agree with all they do other times. At one point when they visited Zhao Zhen’s resident, the butler greeted them and called him “Bao da ren” (包大人). I thought that was hilarious.
  • William Fan (范玮) as Gongsun Zhe (公孫哲). SCI’s coroner. I initially placed him in the “Supporting” section but felt it would be unfair to the others if I let him off too easily. I thought he seemed mysterious and cool at first. Yet he was a super snooze as the story progressed. I was told he was more interesting in the novel. I sure hope so. The one scene that I actually found him somewhat funny was when Jiang Ling was attempting to extract some information from him and he started a countdown, lol. Aside from that, that was pretty much it. I felt they could have done more with his character, maybe enhance his character a bit regarding his work and all. He appeared to be a tad weirder than the rest of the team. But that was it. His life seemed to be dominated by the women in it–even if he refused to acknowledge it. I was really frustrated with his cowardly way for not addressing Bai Qing Tang at times. I got it that they probably didn’t want to make him too crazy like in the novel described, but I think they dialed down too much.
  • Wang Mei Ren (王美人) as Bai Qing Tang (白磬堂). Bai Yu Tong’s older sister. I thought that putting her in the main cast was a slap in the face for the other characters who contributed more to the plot, so I put her in here. Not to mention how her only tie to the main case was how she was a victim of that one incident. I felt sad for her yet that didn’t erase the fact that her character (along with Gongsun) dragged the drama down. Sure, she had some funny scenes too but the lack of development for her story totally ruined it. If they (the scriptwriters) thought her ongoing drama with Gongsun was helping the series, it wasn’t. If they only placed her in as part of the main cast to have a hot female lead or something, they got Ma Han who contributed more to the story. When I say “contribute”, I don’t mean screen time. She had plenty of that. I just meant its relevancy to the story as an overall. I’m not against having side stories or focusing on the main cast’s family members. I was just fed up by the repetitive story with her and Gongsun.
  • Zhang Fan (张帆) as Zhao Jue (趙爵). I think the production team was really out to get him or something. Well, some ways, I was told it was like the novel. But I think his suspicious behaviors didn’t help things. I didn’t like that he was manipulating people. Yet what sort of made me cut him some slacks was his strange relationship with Bai Chi. It was like his soft spot for the lad. Like he sometimes gave him tips and their conversations at times seemed genuine.
  • Hu Xiao Ling (胡潇灵) as Zhao Zhen (趙禎). To be honest, I found him annoying at first and hated that he kept teasing and picking on Bai Chi initially. However, he gained my respect later when he stepped forward to shield Bai Chi from the maniac trying to shoot them down. So when their relationship improved, I sorta liked him better too. I didn’t want him to be bland like Gongsun, but I didn’t like it that he was acting like a bully. So when the two made peace (somewhat) and got along better, I was all right with that.
  • Hu Jian Qiang (胡建強) as Da Ding (大丁). Hilarious, lol.
  • Hu Jian Wei (胡建偉) as Xiao Ding (小丁). Hilarious as well.
  • Coco Yuen (袁紫侨) as Qi Le (齊樂).
  • Donnie Zhang (张凯) as Lan Cheng Lin (藍城霖). He was unbearable. I was annoyed with him from the start so it wasn’t a surprise when he turned out crooked.
  • Zhang Yu Feng (张煜枫) as Feng Jie (馮傑). Um, how in the world did people think he was hot? Okay, more like I didn’t get why Ma Han was somewhat obsessed with him at first. But he was seriously a snooze fest too, even if they tried to make him interesting. I couldn’t really sympathize with him because of how he used people who trusted him and manipulated his way around.
  • Du Fei Long (杜飛龍) as Ou Yang Chun (歐陽春). Interpol agent. They used his real name in here? Possibly a common name so they thought it was safe to keep it? But he was cool enough.
  • Qu Hao Ming (屈浩明) as Luo Tian (洛天). A mysterious person involved in the last case, later joined SCI team. I thought he was a good addition to the team, considering his wide knowledge of things. His past was seriously tragic with how he and the others were used as experiments. I was glad he was able to get out, survive, and start over.

Likes:

  • The cast. Despite that I complained up and down regarding one or two characters in here, I felt the cast was very likable and was doing their best with bringing out their characters. I felt the team of SCI worked well together. They worked very hard along with the production team to bring out this series.
  • The theme song. It was really powerful and suitable for the series.
  • Zhan Yao and Bai Yu Tong. Their relationship was hilarious to watch. Whether they were at odds or when they were trying to get along. It was really addicting. One of my favorite scenes was when they were arguing about something–totally forgot, but Yu Tong was saying how Zhan Yao was a cat, not him. Zhan Yao was uttering out some idiom! LOL! Yu Tong took it literally, lol. I loved watching them together as a team.

Dislikes:

  • The merging of the cases. I didn’t read the novel (or haven’t yet), but I was told several cases got merged into one–or somehow it was going all at once. It made everything so overwhelming that it was hard to appreciate the cases. Yes, I got the story but I think it could feel overwhelmed and didn’t do justice to some of them. Like it was a fusion of some sort.
  • Gonsun and Qing Tang. Seriously, I complained about them in the other section already but I had to put it here once again. I’m not against romances, in fact, I watched soaps that were even draggier than this. (LOL!) But this was after all a crime show so it was annoying to keep their ongoing loop of back and forth or on  and off relationship-or lack of one. I don’t dislike their characters individually, just that their romance story was so frustrating. Just had to clarify that.

Recommended? I think the cast was totally worth it. In fact, I’m looking forward to season 2. I hope they cut back on Gongsun and Qing Tang snooze fest–or just decide to get those two together already. I also hope to see more of Ou Yang Chun. Serious. He could be collaborating with the group again.

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