I just can’t say no to a good triad/undercover cop drama.

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Characters:

• Michael Miu as Cheuk Hoi
• Charmaine Sheh as Ding Siu Ka
• Raymond Lam as Sit Ka Keung (“Bao Seed”)
• Sharon Chan as Mok Sin Yan
• Sammy Sum as Lin Ho Kan (“Kobe”)
• Elena Kong as Mok Sin Ching
• Benz Hui as Chum Foon Hei

Details:

• Hong Kong (Cantonese)
• 31 episodes
• Original run: Aug 25 – Oct 3, 2014

Quick Rundown:

The discovery of a secretly rogue officer working within the Hong Kong Police Force leads to Chief Inspector Hong of the Criminal Investigation Bureau to commit suicide. Right before his death, he tasks his colleague and good friend, Chief Inspector Cheuk Hoi, to find the five undercover cops that he sent out to infiltrate Hong Kong’s criminal world. Unfortunately, the files on these cops have already been erased by Hong before they could be discovered by the rogue cop, leaving Cheuk to start from scratch in his search. After Cheuk finds his first undercover cop, Ding Siu Ka, they must work together in a race against time to rescue the others and bring down a triad before the identities of the undercover cops are discovered.

Anna’s Take

This is the first TVB/Hong Kong drama that has sparked my interest in a long time. I haven’t been keeping up with them mostly because most of my favorite actors and actresses left TVB to work in Mainland China. But like I said, I simply can’t resist the allure of a good triad-themed drama, and this one also happens to feature an excellent group of veteran actors. Five episodes later (I might have binge-watched all five eps…), Line Walker is shaping up to be an engaging and riveting drama that is making me anticipate the next secret that will be revealed in the drama. Especially because the triad genre is nothing new in Hong Kong dramas and films, I’m happy that this drama doesn’t make me feel like I’ve already seen the same thing about a million times.

While I think the lead actors in this are all well-rounded and can play a variety of characters, I’m quite grateful that they stuck to doing what they do best. Michael Miu almost seems to be custom-made to play these commanding, “Big Man in Charge,” roles, and he’s acting Cheuk Hoi with the right amount of authority. I’m also happy to see Raymond Lam in a role that’s more playful and mischievous, rather than the usual cool and refined characters that he’s been playing in recent years. Charmaine Sheh’s character has somehow not managed to annoy me yet even though on paper she seems to be the type that I would very quickly get tired of. Of course, everyone’s roles are probably going to change when their true identities are revealed…but I’ll enjoy this side of them for now.

You probably shouldn’t expect ridiculously amazing production value from Line Walker, which is typical of most TVB dramas anyways, so I’m whatever about it. If there’s one thing that I’m not happy about with Line Walker is that the theme song is sung by Justin Lo and Wilfred Lau, and NOT RAYMOND LAM. How is that possible?! Completely unacceptable because Raymond boasts one of the nicest, smoothest voices in Cantopop. Just listen to him sing “Searching for You in Loving Memories/Ngoi Joi Gei Yik Jung Jao Nei”…c’mon, it’s like melted dark chocolate!

Line Walker is looking to be one of the better TVB dramas, and I completely credit the cast for it. If you compare it to recent dramas that feature random new actors and nobodies, you can see what a difference it makes when you have experienced actors headlining the show. I don’t think this drama is going to be as great as the last TVB triad drama that I loved, Emergency Unit/E.U., but I think it will be able to hold its own. If you are new to TVB dramas or is coming back to them after a long hiatus like me, Line Walker is a safe bet and should be a worthwhile drama to devote your time to.

This & That:

• This is Raymond Lam’s last contracted drama with TVB. (He’s almost definitely going to be in future TVB dramas, just not under contract.) He’s currently starring in the c-drama, The Virtuous Queen of Han, as Liu Che.
• Tony Leung Ka-Fai was originally casted for this drama, but had to pull out from it because of a rib injury. Man, that would have been amazing if he was in it!