Being a semi-fan of ghost/supernatural stuff, I had to give this a try. Not to mention it was considered an old TVB series, right?
First Story: Romance Between Human and Ghost (人鬼情)
- Sam Tsang and Elaine Ho. I always liked their “Still Friends After Bidding Farewell” (再 見亦是朋友) and was interesting to see them collaborate in here. Even if it was one of those ghost stories. Creepy in a way but still sad. And a song from them at the end of the story.
- Gordon Lam as one of the guys. So funny to see him back in the old days.
- Comedy. Okay, that was interesting that they added the comedy bit into the story though it was supposed to be a romantic one or so I thought. With Gordon and the others attempting to get rid of the ghost was really funny.
- Possessed or psycho? It was interesting at how others thought he was suffering from multiple personality disorder. AND then it got me into thinking if he really encountered a ghost OR was suffering from psychological problems. Still, it was something to think about.
Second Story: Smoking Prohibited (不准吸煙)
- Gordon Lam as a cop. It was funny to see him yet again BUT this time as a cop.
- Ha Yu. I miss the older days of him. For some reason, I thought he was better back then. OR perhaps the roles.
- And more comedy. Yes, it was continuing and it wasn’t that corny for once.
- Ghost’s smoking territory/ Multi-dimensional world. Interesting concept OR at least I thought what it was. Was that the creator’s way of interpreting where people go when they die? Like how they would go to the same place IF they smoke (in Ha Yu’s case). AND it was even more interesting that he didn’t smoke when he was in that world. It was like they were portraying another dimension. It got even more interesting as it progressed so it was hard to understand OR seemed unpredictable. But was still something to think about. It probably aimed to educate and scare people to quit smoking BUT still too funny and exaggerated.
- Adam Cheng song. One of my favorite songs and felt it was suitable for this situation.
Third Story: Men Have Responsibilities (男子有責)
- Liu Wai Hung. I miss this guy! His sense of responsibility was too strong so he could not leave the world just like that.
- Helena Law. It wouldn’t be a ghost story without Helena, right?
- It was ironic that he didn’t die because of the other guy BUT because of the woman who knocked the plant pot down.
- Also, something to think about with the power of the mind. It was like he was able to control himself and his mind was concentrating hard on stopping the event from happening and not leaving the world at all
Fourth Story: A Belief of Revival (再生的信念)
- Another interesting story and another interesting concept.
- Wong Wei and Maggie Chan. Interesting pairing. They did have chemistry. Even if they were an older couple but still enjoyable to watch.
- Carol Yeung. Freaky…
- The plot. I knew it! It was too strange and unbelievable. NOT that those stories DO NOT happen but it was a conspiracy. Yet what was even more chilling was that Maggie’s character, Jun, actually returned later. That was really, really sad that they made him believe so he went and try to make another miracle happen. That was freaky.
Fifth Story: Manipulating the Universe (運轉乾坤)
- Benz Hui. Poor guy. Honestly, that was WAY over with how he was bullied. But that was typical of those situations.
- Amy Hu. Haven’t seen her ages so watching old series had its benefits.
- Benz and Amy. Funny how they were having that conversation at the beginning. He was so kidding about running/walking to work AND she was like “Good idea.”
- Law Lok Lam. Aww…look at him in the good old days.
- Josephine Lam. Wow…
- Law Lok Lam and Josephine? Wow…Yup, was interesting BUT I guess they were portraying how he was successful and marrying a beautiful young wife.
- Benz and Law Lok Lam as friends. Cool. I don’t know. All I can say is I love those collaborations between my favorite veteran actors. But poor Law Lok Lam, only got to portray the rich, successful guy for like 10 minutes.
- This really shed light into how the rich became successful in the first place since it wasn’t as easy with all the fame and fortune as people saw BUT there must be a lot of effort going into it with a hardworking attitude combined with talents and/or abilities
- That was hilarious that he tried to fall again BUT it didn’t work. Guess it was implying that once you made a decision, you can’t turn back
Sixth Story: The Happy, Crazy Fowl (快樂癲雞)
- Freaky ghost house theme
- Know some of the cast but do not know their names
- This story actually reminded us to respect others–whether alive or dead. I totally agree–whether they believe OR NOT. But it was a given that respect should be given, especially in the situation where the girls were at the other people’s place.
- David Siu. Wow…didn’t expect him to be in here but not impossible since it was in the old days.
- Wayne Lai. Honestly, I did not know it was him until later when he was eating the banana and making a face.
- Ken vs. Ryu. Hahahaha. Although it was supposed to be really hectic, I found it funny that they were fighting through the game.
- Okay, that was a surprise ending since I thought that it was about love BUT it was because he was her father. So that was why he felt responsible for her safety.
Seventh Story: Variation of Kindling (變異的火種)
- Lee Kwok Lun. I always have the feeling that he looked like Felix Wong. (I swear!) Anyway, always liked him and good to see that he was leading in this short story.
- Creepy footsteps and sound effects. I think the hallmark of those ghost stories since that scared the world out of me.
- The suspense. Another important formula since it made it creepier–IF the sound effects didn’t get to you already.
- Blast from the Past. Wow! I miss these types of things. I meant this kind of thing how the main lead thought he was able to save everyone and undo the past. What was even more appealing was he succeeded. It was confusing YET he sacrificed his present self to save his past self.
Eighth Story: Demons (魔)
- Gordon Lam and some others. Well, at least they appeared at the beginning of the camping trip place.
- Gallen Lo. Gallen in those old days. (NOT that he doesn’t look good now but still good memories.)
- This reminded me oddly of Psycho. Thanks to my mom for reminding me once again!
- Joey Leung was the crazy kid? Really? Didn’t realize it. It was clearer when he was arrested though.
- So was it multiple personalities OR was he possessed? Such a tragic story. Gallen delivered with both personalities and its extremes.
Ninth Story: A Flourishing Journey (發達之旅)
- Hugo Ng. I just realized that he looked better in a modern series than ancient ones. (Or perhaps those roles he was given was too morbid or tragic that it was hard to smile?) Anyway, he did have charm in here and I wouldn’t mind watching him in something else since this was a creepy one. (He honestly reminded me of Lam Lei! LOL! They looked like each other from some angles.)
- Bau Fong. Creepy! Chilling all right. Man, he scared the world out of me, especially with his waving hands and the laugh.
- My mom just reminded me this seemed like Early Edition. (Just that the newspaper for the other one was used to help people AND not used for other benefits.)
- I would love to know the song used in the episode. The one where they were singing and cheering for their newly acquired fortune.
- This definitely was a lesson NOT to be greedy. And also sometimes knowing the future beforehand wasn’t a good idea.
- Here they were promoting Hacken Lee again! NOT that I mind. I miss that song. Sort of.
- The ending showed how it was an endless, unbreakable cycle. Since we will always continue to ponder and be curious about things.
- The scariest story so far!
Tenth Story: Entering Dream (入夢)
- Ekin Cheng.
- I won’t comment on the political status since I DO NOT know much to discuss it and wouldn’t want to offend anyone.
- The concept of vampire/zombie. That was creepy. At first, I thought nothing was happening and was wondering what was going on. However, that was scary all right. Suddenly the bodies were just popping out of the ground like that.
- Wolf sounds. Another essential effect to achieve fear. And could only be done at night OR no one would fall for it.
- Ghost world/ Zombie-land. Ooooohhh…
- The world of imagination. So that was it? No wonder he was mentioning about how that one guy wanted to live in his own dream world. He also wanted to live in that world since he was not able to escape from the real world. Ironic?
Eleventh Story: Searching (尋)
- Jimmy Au. One of those worth-watching roles of Jimmy since he was both hilarious and clever. His trademark was shooting six bullets into suspects/murderers.
- Another hilarious one.
- Gordon Lam. Whoa! He came back as the other dude. NOT really since Jimmy was imagining it.
- That was creepy all right.
Twelfth Story: Debt of Sin (孽債)
- Michael Tao and Ada Choi. Wow, interesting collaboration, considering it was a ghost theme.
- Power Chan. He wasn’t around all the time but really enjoyed his scenes.
- A creepy story about curses and whatnot.
- Moral of the story: IF you promise something, KEEP it. The price of having to pay for broken promises.
- AND oh yeah, DON’T mess with those people who know how to do those curses. Honestly, she was creepy all right.
- Who was the smartest one? Power Chan of course! He warned Michael against it BUT he (Michael) didn’t listen and fell into Ada’s trap.
- I just realized that she didn’t really love him OR wasn’t really serious about it. It seemed like she was setting up this trap of seduction and other dramas just to find a way to steal his youth and his girlfriend’s too. Well, Michael should’ve listened to Power about it and be careful.
Thirteenth Story: Portrait Within A Person (相中人)
- Know who they are but don’t know their names
- Gordon Lam. He’s back for the last one! Great or what?
- Darn, that was creepy…
- Moral of the story: DO NOT take anything that isn’t yours
- Passing it on, huh? Indeed it was another endless cycle where greed would always exist
Why did the narrator look so familiar? (Oh yeah, he was in The Hunter’s Prey as the undercover agent, Kong Ng. Just realized it after watching him more closely.)
Anyway, missed those old days when things were more creative and seemed like there were lots to explore. A lot of interesting concepts being introduced. Short stories were always better than the draggy ones they do nowadays.