Netizens Not Happy with “Line Walker 2” Spoilers Being Shared
TVB’s first anniversary drama for its 50th anniversary, Line Walker: The Prelude <使徒行者2>, premiered last Monday to popular and critical success, smashing online discussion forums all over the region. The crime drama, prequel to the 2014 drama of the same name, broke 100 million views within 14 hours after it aired on the Chinese streaming service, Tencent Video.
The Prelude, also known as Line Walker 2, premiered in Hong Kong on Monday night, September 18. It simultaneously dropped its first episode on Tencent Video that same day. VIP users of Tencent Video got to see the first 10 episodes ahead of Hong Kong viewers. Regular streamers of Tencent would be able to view the drama five episodes at a time. Hong Kong viewers, however, would only get one episode a-piece. This mismatch in airing the show has caused some spoilers being actively shared online in Hong Kong forums.
Spoilers Ahead!
The crime drama starring Michael Miu (苗僑偉), Moses Chan (陳豪), Jessica Hsuan (宣萱), Benjamin Yuen (袁偉豪), Pakho Chau (周柏豪), Priscilla Wong (黃翠如), and Hui Shiu-hung (許紹雄) centers on Michael Miu’s “Cheuk Sir”, who is on the search for his missing undercovers (UC) after a filed mission in Thailand. In the first arc of the show, five UC agents were bombed to death, followed by the deaths of their superior Lai Sir (guest star Eddie Cheung 張兆輝) and Ching Sir (guest star Ho Chun-hin 何俊軒). Moses Chan, who plays the mob boss CEO Victor, makes a grand appearance as he orders all of the top dogs of his underground society killed. To get rid of Foon-hei Gor (Hui Shiu-hung), he kills his wife (guest star Alice Chan 陳煒).
Foon-hei Gor fails to kill Victor and escapes to Thailand, where he seeks the protection of his friend Pak-Key (guest star Kenny Wong 黃德斌). At the scene of Lai Sir’s death, Cheuk Sir discovers the whereabouts of rookie UC Mui Tau (Priscilla Wong). Triad member Lok Siu (Pakho Chau) confronts Cheuk Sir and reveals his identity, the first of the five missing UC.
Victor sends Tin-tong Gor (Benjamin Yuen) to Thailand to get rid of Foon-hei Gor and Pak-Key, resulting in Pak-Key’s death. Lok Siu and Cheuk Sir work together to search for the remaining four UCs and discovers that there is a mole within the police department. After their return to Hong Kong, Foon-hei Gor emerges as the leader of a new gang, and recruits Lok Siu into his wing. Meanwhile Scarlett (Jessica Hsuan), one of Victor’s advisors, has secrets of her own.
Source: Mingpao.com
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
Intense plot indeed! Spoilers would get my fury antenna rising. That’s for sure!
Great cast of veterans plus some new but fresh faces!
Anyone have any idea about this series “反黑 – OCTB”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qJaP5U4vQE
I didn’t even know this was in production, and its actually in an official channel on youtube.
It’s got quite the cast.
@lileric watched the first 2 episodes and I must say that it’s very good haha .
Definitely worth giving it a try
@ivan, @lileric, @elizabeth
I’ve watched the first episode of OCTB…impressive so far. But is this a new series or a warehoused series that is just released recently?
@diana80
it’s new and I don’t think TVB has anything to do with.
@jimmyszeto, @elizabeth
Hi, thanks for the info.
I know it’s not a TVB series because u don’t get the ‘TVB feel’ in it. But just wanted to know whether it’s a recently produced series or a series produced a couple of years ago.
@diana80 Hey! It is produced a cooperation of several film companies, including Shaw Brothers, so you can see some TVB actors in it. But the direction and script is independent from TVB which makes it stand out.
@elizabeth I actually commented on the other thread already about this series. Curious though, where did you see that Shaw Brothers is involved? So far, everything I’ve read shows that this has nothing to do with Shaw Brothers and TVB. Also, looking at the opening credits where it lists out all the production companies involved with this series, Shaw Brothers is not mentioned anywhere….did you see the word “Brothers” in there and assume it was Shaw Brothers? That company is actually not Shaw Brothers — it’s a production company that I think is called Brothers Production or something like that which the series’ lead Danny Chan Kwok Kwan (who also serves as one of the producers for the series) opened in partnership with another fellow actor…
@llwy12 I saw Shaw Brother Pty Ltd in the end credits when Andy Lau was singing. I think they just provided the people as it just read Thanks to : …..
Brothers Pty Ltd is another thing.
@elizabeth I actually don’t think it was for providing the people (artists), as there were very few (more like barely any) TVB-contracted artists in the series (and even so they should be “thanking” TVB not Shaw Brothers). That section is for the companies that either lent the production team a location for filming or sponsored artists’ outfits or food or music — things of that nature. Most likely Shaw Brothers lent them their old studios (which Shaw Brothers still owns) for filming certain scenes and so Shaw Bros gets a “special thanks” mention in the end credits…that definitely doesn’t equate to Shaw Brothers (or TVB for that matter) being involved with the production….
@lileric I am watching it. I am more interested in OCTB than any other TVB series that is out at the moment The cast is all veteran yet a refreshing mix. I will watch anything that has Hugo Ng in it.
I just wish there was more information about it online. Shame that such good series was not promoted. I only knew about it as I was watching “Nothing Gold Can Stay” and the trailer popped up. I think everyone should give it a go.
@elizabeth Agree it’s a very decent series thus far. I only finished eps 2. Very nostalgic. Love seeing old, I mean old actors. There are fresh ones too, fewer but good mixture.
They are no “TVB actors” in this series however:; unless they popped in at later eps after 2. Some of these filmed for TVB before and even had a TVB contract but none belongs to TVB currently. Pretty certain TVB has nothing to do with the series.
Like you, hopefully there’ll be some article or exposure for this series. It’s strange to discuss about it on a none related article lol. Oh well.
@jjwong There are articles out there and plenty of exposure, just none on this forum. Most of the info I posted about the series in the other thread were gleaned from news articles, magazines, artists’ Weibo and other social media, etc (after being put through my “common sense” filters of course, lol), also from the series itself of course. It IS a bummer though that JS doesn’t have anything on this series so the comments have to be on a technically unrelated article (though I wouldn’t say this is completely off topic, since OCTB is being constantly compared to LW2 in the media at the moment, mainly because they are going up against each other in same time slot, especially in Mainland China).
@llwy12 Hrm, I only get 3rd party websites like JS, AF, so forth, and not actual news media or artists social media accounts. So no wonder I haven’t heard much about OCTB. Glad I ran across and gave it a go!
How are the two series playing at the same time slot? OCTB is air in the regular convention TV medium too? I thought it’s only YT.
@jjwong Not sure about how OCTB is airing in China but in HK, it’s airing only on Youtube from what I can tell. But it premiered around the same time as LW2 and even though LW2 is currently airing on TVB’s regular Jade channel, it’s also on myTV Super, which is what TVB is counting more than traditional TV, since myTV Super is paid subscription and their regular Jade Channel is not. Plus TVB is not blind to the fact that most HK audiences nowadays watch programs on the their mobile phones and tablets and on the internet more than they sit in front of the TV…also there’s the Mainland audiences who watch primarily through internet as well — so when the media says that the 2 series are going head to head, they are mostly referring to the “web” part, not traditional TV…perhaps “timeslot”
wasn’t the most appropriate word, lol…it’s more like both series are HK series being aired around the same time and with similar genre / theme (UC, triad / gangster theme, etc.), which puts them in direct competition with each other despite the technically different platforms (hope I’m making sense….sorry for the long-winded explanation, lol…it’s late and my brain is kind of fried from overuse today, hahaha)
@llwy12 I got you what you meant now. No worries. All are good. Makes sense. I can see why people compare the two. On the surface, they’re similar. Both about triads and police trying to to take them down. Further look, they have different direction and take. LW2 is all about UCs operating behind the scenes. OCTB is actual cops vs triads face to face. I rather watch the latter than a remake and recycled from 2-3 years ago.
@jjwong My comments are awaiting moderation again…argh…
@jjwong Ok, here’s the more clear-headed answer, lol. Mainland audiences are actually able to watch OCTB via Youku and LW2 via Tencent. When the media judges a series’ popularity nowadays, they are mostly taking Mainland audiences into consideration (makes sense, since HK is small potatoes in terms of population comparison) and also comparing against broadcasts on internet platforms rather than traditional TV (also makes sense given most people don’t watch traditional TV anymore).
@jjwong @anon @elizabeth (sorry if I missed including anyone else…too many people commented about watching this series, hard to keep track, plus the more people I put, the likelier my comment will get put in the awaiting moderation queue)…
The LATEST UPDATE from today (literally hot off the press) is that OCTB’s internet ‘ratings’ have officially exceeded LW2’s! OCTB’s internet hits (I think the official term for it is ‘real-time playback’) was at 179 million as of last night while Line Walker 2 was at 176 million – as of today, OCTB has broken the 200 million mark, thus placing them in the number 2 spot as the most watched series in Mainland China currently with Line Walker 2 having to settle for third place (1st place is a 100% Mainland series that also has similar cop – triad theme).
@llwy12
That’s great news! Thanks for the update llwy12, I wouldn’t have checked this thread if you hadn’t tagged me. I am glad that they’ve achieved the success that they’ve had so far. OCTB is a more superior series than LW, IMHO. I hope their success continues and that they will produce more quality HK dramas in the future. I am dying for someone to take on TVB head-on. Unfortunately, ViuTV and Fantastic TV aren’t there yet.
@anon You’re welcome! And totally agree! I’ve actually been reading up on some stuff about OCTB and I’m quite impressed with the quality of the production and the backstory of how things came about. Of course the series is not perfect by any means (despite the astronomical amount of money spent on the production) and I’m sure not everyone is going to like the series, but even with its flaws, OCTB is still a far more superior production than LW2 (ok, probably far more superior than most of TVB’s series from the past few years). I too hope they (meaning the production team behind OCTB) keep the momentum going and continue to produce quality series for HK audiences, especially since ViuTV and Fantastic Television definitely aren’t cutting it (though I will say that ViuTV is getting a little better now that they’ve switched their strategy to filming more TV series than variety shows – their currently airing series, I think English name is “Next Exit”, is quite inventive and has been getting pretty good feedback from audiences…but the station still has a ways to go to make any type of name for themselves in HK, especially since their series so far have been largely “niche-based” and not really for general audiences). Oh and there’s also Fox Asia’s series to look forward to as well….
@llwy12
OTCB 2017 does have good direction, a good cast, provide good memories to avid triad genre lovers like myself but it is far from being a great modern series. If this was made during the 1990s then this would be the best series ever. The plots are simply too outdated and the triad ‘young and dangerous’ genre has been done to death. Like Young and Dangerous’, the character development is next to none. At least in Line Walker 2 there are Jessica and Moses characters which are interesting. The triad dialogues written for OTCB 2017 are so predictable that it’s cringeworthy. As the viewer you can anticipate and forecast the dialogue. I think the producer just sat down and thought ‘let’s make a young and dangerous type’ series. Jordan Chan is actually very likeable as the slightly tormented undercover cop. However as we all know,he cannot pronounce sentences clearly and most of the time we cannot hear what he says. Subtitles are needed and It is very important for the main character to talk clearly. The other main actor Danny Chan is the total opposite and is a very clear speaker but his acting is totally wooden. The supporting cast and the main bad guy have been excellent though. The director has missed a step because there were plenty of potential to develop these characters. Instead the director chose to advance the plot quickly. It’s a good series to watch if you are bored but if expecting a deep series that requires a bit of thinking then ‘must avoid’. Overall I prefer Line Walker 2 to OTCB because it’s more modern and has better character development.
@llwy12
OTCB does have good direction, a good cast, provide good memories to avid triad genre lovers like myself but it is far from being a great modern series. If this was made during the 1990s then this would be the best series ever. The plots are simply too outdated and the triad ‘young and dangerous’ genre has been done to death. Like Young and Dangerous’, the character development is next to none. At least in Line Walker 2 there are Jessica and Moses characters which are interesting. The triad dialogues written for OTCB 2017 are so predictable that it’s cringeworthy. As the viewer you can anticipate and forecast the dialogue. I think the producer just sat down and thought ‘let’s make a young and dangerous type’ series. Jordan Chan is actually very likeable as the slightly tormented undercover cop. However as we all know,he cannot pronounce sentences clearly and most of the time we cannot hear what he says. Subtitles are needed and It is very important for the main character to talk clearly. The other main actor Danny Chan is the total opposite and is a very clear speaker but his acting is totally wooden. The supporting cast and the main bad guy have been excellent though. The director has missed a step because there were plenty of potential to develop these characters. Instead the director chose to advance the plot quickly. It’s a good series to watch if you are bored but if expecting a deep series that requires a bit of thinking then ‘must avoid’. Overall I prefer Line Walker 2 to OTCB because it’s more modern and has better character development.
@anon @jjwong (and whoever else is watching OCTB currently)
Just FYI in case you have trouble accessing OCTB on Youtube. Over the weekend, Youtube actually blocked access to the series and took it down for a period of time. When the production company inquired with YT why they did that, YT told them that someone had “reported” the series to them and so they took it down. The series has since been put back up and all access has been “unlocked” however the version they up there at the moment is some crappy low-res version rather than the original HD version that was up there before. The production company is working with YT to clarify all possible misunderstandings so this doesn’t happen again but you never know. Call me a conspiracy theorist if you want but I kind of feel like TVB has something to do with this….currently the series only airs in HK via Youtube (in Mainland, it airs on Youku, since Youtube is banned in China), so it had to be someone in HK who reported it (overseas audiences are watching too but highly doubt they would care enough to report it)…unlike TVB series, which other people put on YT illegally, the production team for OCTB intentionally put the series up on their own YT channel so HK viewers could watch for free, so of course they have no reason to “report” the series either…. coincidentally, there has been a lot of coverage in the media recently about OCTB actually doing better than Line Walker 2 in terms of overall popularity and hype….so if it wasn’t the production company or anyone associated with the series, it wasn’t Mainland audiences, and most likely it wasn’t HK audiences who are currently “chasing” the series, who else does that leave? Hmmm….
@llwy12
Yup, that sounds like TVB. They always resort to underhanded tactics to overcome their competitions. Something similar happened a few years ago when HKTV posed a threat.
Thanks again for keeping us updated!
@anon Yup…some media outlets are calling the person who reported the series as someone with “malicious intentions”….I tend to agree in this case. The good news is that the production company reacted quickly and was able to get it all worked out almost immediately.
Further news today is that OCTB already surpassed the 300 million viewership mark and it is rumored that the production team is already planning season 2 — the script is already being written, main players will be the same but with different supporting cast…most important of all though, they are willing to throw double the amount of money into the production, with costs estimated to range between $100 to $200 million HKD (the first season took $60 million HKD to make). Justin Cheung (he plays the main villain in the series) said that season 2 plans aren’t confirmed yet, as the process is a little different with web series than traditional series – with web series, they need to look at the viewership numbers (i.e. the number of “hits” or “real-time playback”) and determine whether there will be return on investment, which plays a huge role in the amount of money investors are willing to put in….the higher the viewership, the more likely that investors are willing to front larger sum of money for them to make season 2. So basically, the more people who watch the series, the better….
@anon @jjwong I finally wrote up a post about OCTB on my blog..feel free to discuss over there if you’d like: https://llsmusings.blogspot.com/2017/10/hk-web-series-octb.html?m=0
@llwy12
As I am watching more episodes of OCTB 2017, I am becoming more and more impressed. There’s no bs. The crew have set out and did exactly what they had wanted to do. That is to produce a revolutional series but also bring back the old times. Most of the actors chosen are proven fantastic veterans. Blended in are a few solid up and comers and the chemistry has been brilliant due to the cast already being good friends. The script is simple,the acting is clean, scenes are acted out brilliantly with ease and it shows that a great plot is not needed to produce a good series. Good acting and chemistry is enough to pull off a gem of a series. I think OCTB has changed the landscape of Hong Kong Filming. A benchmark has been set and there will be a lot more solid web series developed in the near future. If it is lucrative I fear for TVB. Unless TVB pays higher wages and produce their own web series, all the best support actors will eventually to participate in the web series boom.
@lileric @diana80 @ivan @elizabeth FYI on the above (my response to jimmy about my blog) in case you’re interested in more information about OCTB (sorry for only telling you know when the series is almost over, lol…I tried tagging you guys earlier but my comments kept going into “awaiting moderation”)…
@anon tagging you again about the newest post on my blog about OCTB, just in case, lol….
@jimmyszeto Great to hear, jimmy! OCTB is a great series and the more I read about the creative team behind the series, the more impressed I am (plus the more willing I am to support them).
There’s actually been quite a few updates about OCTB the past few weeks, including confirmation of a sequel in the works (not surprising since viewership numbers in Mainland have exceed 800 million mark already) and some more veterans joining the sequel (I read most of the spoilers for OCTB already so pretty much already know what will happen to most of the characters but of course will keep it to myself, lol). Since I know several people chasing this series, I decided to put up a few posts about the series on my personal blog so people who would like to discuss the series can do it there. I just put up the latest blog post about the veteran artists in the series, so you guys may want to check it out if you’re interested: https://llsmusings.blogspot.com/2017/10/hk-web-series-octb-reunion-of-hk-film.html
Does anyone know if Tencent video will continue uploading the next set of 5-10 episodes?
@kirigiri Not entirely sure. However, if I’m not wrong (please correct me if I’m wrong) but we have been able to watch all 28 episodes of legal mavericks probably 2-3 weeks after TVB broadcasted all of those episodes. I suppose we might be able to watch from 11-20 next week…
@kirigiri Sorry, a little late, but my understanding is that the first week Tencent will upload the first 10 episodes, then each week thereafter they will upload 5 episodes at a time. TVB, on the other hand, will continue to air only 1 episode per day so HK viewers will be way behind in watching….
@llwy12 I figured it out a while back but I appreciate the help regardless!
Not sure why TVB is making its HK viewers stay behind while people with Tencent VIP membership (and people having access to these extra episodes) have the upper hand. Wouldn’t this cause HKers to watch the subsequent episodes online, thereby affecting ratings?
@kirigiri Yup…it shows that TVB cares more about the Mainland market than the HK one. Of course this isn’t surprising given that TVB already announced that their focus in the coming years would be on the Mainland market and many of their series this year are collaborations with Mainland / catered to Mainland tastes….plus their primary investor is a Mainland media mogul whose interests obviously lie elsewhere (in Mainland and overseas in Hollywood).
@llwy12
just having a tiny fraction of the market in China would be more lucrative than the Hong Kong market plus the HK market is already guaranteed with the monopoly. Hong Kong actors have always been extremely popular and in demand in China so its the right direction for TVB to go. In fact they should have targeted the mainland market earlier.
@jimmyszeto Could the same logic be used to explain why TVB is taking the money they are making (whether from HK or Mainland market) and instead of investing it back into their own series and artists, are choosing to put it into Hollywood (the announcement had already been made that they are teaming up with Imagine Entertainment to produce movies and television series exclusively for American audiences)? TVB is a Hong Kong TV station, registered to do business in HK, operates under a broadcasting license issued by the HK government, is regulated by the HK Communications Authority, and has been able to achieve the success it has the past 50 years due to the support of HK audiences. I don’t know about you guys but to me, TVB owes it to HK audiences to put them first and foremost — if not because of the reasons above, at the very least, they are operating under a license that makes them very specifically accountable to HK audiences. I don’t have a problem with TVB chasing the Mainland market if they had their crap in order back home in HK and had held up their side of the bargain (meaning putting in the effort to make their productions better, invest in training for their artists, listening to HK audiences for once instead of doing their own thing with little to no regard for what their audiences think, etc.) — but the fact of the matter is that they are expanding to overseas markets (whether Mainland or Hollywood) at the expense of the very audience (HK audience/market) that made them who they are in the first place, which to me is akin to slapping HK audiences in the face (and taking their money to invest elsewhere to boot)…THAT’s the piece I have a problem with.
Sure, if they want to air their series in the Mainland, go for it if that’s what makes sense, but why do Mainland audiences get to “watch ahead” when the series was supposedly made for HK audiences? In the case with Legal Mavericks, that was even more ridiculous because the original arrangement was for the series to air in Mainland FIRST then in Hong Kong LATER — it wasn’t until that information was leaked out that TVB “tweaked” the arrangements so that the series would debut in both Mainland and HK at the same time (though Mainland audiences still got to watch the entire series ahead of HK audiences due to the way the episodes aired).
I really liked the original series, and I like this one too. But I feel like a lot of the storyline in this is very similar to the first one. Also it’s almost as if Priscilla and Pak Ho characters could easily have been played back by Charmaine and Raymond.
I’m watching OCTB right now.
I think the older cast is fantastic, especially Jordan Chan who is one of my fav cast members. The plot is also TVB-esque, but done in a much more logical fashion. There aren’t any plot holes so far (but I’ve only gotten to episode 6.) I think that in itself is noteworthy.
However, it definitely lacks the momentum that is typical of TVB series. The plot is slow and some members of the crew is really wooden in their delivery (i.e., Danny.) There’s also no anchoring motive to drive the next episode. I’m torn about whether to finish it as it’s gory and violent and to be honest, slightly boring. However, I want to support any independent station opposite TVB, so it’s a toss up right now.