痞子英雄 - Black And White - First Thoughts

痞子英雄 (Black and White) is a Taiwanese Police Drama starring Vic Zhou, Mark Chao, Ivy Chen and Janine Chang.

I am half way through the series and must say that it is awesome. Overall, the production value is very high in comparison to the other stuff I see around. Can it match the production value of TV shows in the US? No, but that's not the point. You gotta take it for what it is. Taiwan and China are not up to par with say a CSI or Lost, but it will get there eventually. I think its a matter of $$ that the industry can get.

Ok, back to the series. The story has a similar feel to The Hospital in terms of internal politics. You can't have it black and white. There are way too may grey areas. Mark walks the white line. Vic walks the black line per se. You'll have to see the politics to fully understand.

For the female leads, I've been quite disappointed. They are both strong characters, but do not really impact the story that much. I really hope the second half is better for them.

I noticed that there are many many people in power that are influenced by many other factors. There's a sense of mystery that looms over it all. Vic's character has a background revealed. But Mark's does not. The mystery has a 24 type feel to it.

Hey, I am half way through and its a been a wild ride. It's lived up to and exceeded my expectations. I highly recommend it. Looking forward to the movie as well.