Amy Wong’s (王心慰) Daddy Cool <逆緣>, which starred Wayne Lai (黎耀祥), David Chiang (姜大衛), and Carlos Chan (陳家樂), is on its way to being the highest-rated drama of the year thus far. Currently, the no. 1 highest-rated drama is held by Apple-colada <果欄中的江湖大嫂>, but it is highly likely that Daddy Cool will replace it once the final numbers are in. Like many TVB dramas in recent years, Daddy Cool is not a perfect television show, and it definitely has its flaws. It falls victim to the usual TVB plot clichés, especially in the final episodes. When Patricia Ha (夏文汐) attempts to save her daughter from EO2’s Eddie, she scares him off with a gun. But just as Patricia turns away from the threat to get to her daughter, Eddie returns and threatens her. In another clichéd scene, David Chiang pretends to be a ghost (a very commonly used TVB plot device) to scare the murderer of Joel Chan (陳山聰) into submission. What Daddy Cool does exceed in, however, is the chemistry between the leads. Carlos Chan, David Chiang, and Wayne Lai, who respectively play grandfather, father, and son, are surprisingly compatible as a family and convincing in their roles. David Chiang plays an unlikeable elderly man who is cheap and selfish. Wayne Lai plays a middle-aged nobody who only cares about himself. Carlos Chan is a pleasant addition to the cast. The 31-year-old singer turned actor struggled in the industry before he landed the role as the time-traveling soldier Chung Ting-kwok in Daddy Cool. When TVB first announced Carlos in the role, netizens wondered why TVB was willing to spend money to cultivate a virtually unknown, non-TVB actor in a drama that is led by an award-winning cast and production crew. Many netizens doubted Carlos would have the ability to carry the show, but his performance in Daddy Cool has proven that the actor is not only capable but also talented. Though he still has room for improvement, his performance as the young, hot-blooded soldier who was forced to adapt to modern society after being woken from a frozen state 70 years later was convincing and enjoyable to watch. Only time will tell if Daddy Cool will be overthrown by another drama of 2018. The TVB dramas that are currently lined up to air are the blockbuster dramas Deep in the Realm of Conscience <宮心計2深宮計> and Succession War <天命>. Creds: HK01
