English Title: The Line Watchers Chinese Title: 把關者們 Genre: Modern Producer: Kwan Shu-ming Episodes: 25 Cast: Benjamin Yuen Mandy Wong Venus Wong Carlos Chan Moon Lau Joey Law Yoyo Chen Tiffany Lau Karl Ting Danny Hung Synopsis: This is a story about Hong Kong Customs. The trio comprising Intellectual Property Investigation Bureau Senior Superintendent Hoi Fung (Benjamin Yuen), Trade Controls Bureau Chief Trade Controls Officer Kwan Pui-yan (Mandy Wong) and Customs Drug Investigation Bureau Superintendent Wan Tsz-ki (Venus Wong) lead a contingent of elite customs officers and fresh-faced rookies, including Probationary Inspector Chan Ka-hing (Carlos Chan), to carry out diverse operations involving eggs, nuclear bombs, baby formula, heroin and much more. They are always ready to go all out not only on the ground, but also in the sky and at sea, showcasing a reinvented and ingenious Customs and Excise Department. This group of individuals adhere to the motto “Serve the Community with Commitment and Excellence”. Although they have their own issues, they can still overcome hurdles. They contribute to social stability and prosperity in Hong Kong, and Hongkongers are proud of The Line Watchers.
Actually, I thought it was pretty good in explaining a lot of the intricacies of commercial and intellectual property rules which industry has to abide by. But I found eps 16-17 really extraordinary in detailing the impact of a pregnancy miscarriage event. It was done with sensitivity, insight and compassion. Especially the part where the well meaning in laws disposed of the baby furniture and the emotion trauma that it caused the grieving mother to be. That moment should go down in TVB history.
True, I totally forgot to mention about the IP stuff and the every day normal stuff that gets "faked" which IMO is crazy. I wonder how true it is, with regards to how much fake stuff HK is selling because of Mainland...that would drive me bonkers, having to worry what's real vs fake with buying even basic stuff like cookies...Has it really gotten that bad with KO stuff in HK...
Real artistic license with ep 20, with the fireman suffering a cerebral hemorrhage after a seizure in the ICU. The only problem with this scenario is that western medical practice, especially in the ICU, standards of care includes anti-seizure medication as a matter of routine for head trauma. So that seizure never should have happened. And then the excuse that he couldn't be operated on because his blood pressure was too low? I guess they never heard of vasopressors. At the very least, they could have installed a drain into his head at the bedside; all pretty standard care in a neuro ICU. Though I did like the fact that they slowly lowered the heart rate and waveforms on the cardiac monitor and then flatlined it at the end when he died. That's a new bit of realism for TVB, who used to have patients die but the cardiac rhythm continue right through the event. But honestly, I knew something was going to happen to the fireman husband as the custom official wife and her customs official classmate were much too close and the guy was already acting like a stepfather towards her kid. In other words, if the husband would have been playing a star trek role, he would have worn a red shirt. TVB is so predictable, LOL...
