“Barrack O’Karma” Continues to Thrill Viewers
In recent years, TVB has found success in their supernatural-themed dramas. In 2017, The Exorcist’s Meter <降魔的> aired to surprisingly positive reviews. This year, Our Unwinding Ethos <十二傳說> is one of the more successful dramas this year, followed closely by the currently-airing Barrack O’Karma <金宵大廈>. Although the drama has only aired a few episodes, word-of-mouth praises have been trending positive.
In addition to the exciting and fascinatingly mysterious storyline, the drama’s characters are also down-to-earth and believable. Joel Chan (陳山聰), specifically, has been praised for his good performance and likable character. Joel, who typically portrays smart or cunning characters, delighted with his portrayal as a practical, simple-minded, and generous building security. Starring opposite Joel is Selena Lee (李施嬅), who portrays a kind-hearted flight attendant. The duo’s star-crossed love story spans over several decades and taps into the supernatural notion of past lives.
Producer Yip Chun Fai (葉鎮輝) previously shared that the drama is similar to The House of 72 Tenants <七十二家房客>, where different characters’ stories are used to reflect an underlying message or life lesson. With this method of storytelling, many secondary characters were given their own unique, in-depth storyline and have their chance to shine. Characters who will have their own storyline include: Jazz Lam (林子善) as the owner of a cell phone store; Lau Kong (劉江) as the enigmatic bookstore owner; Geoffrey Wong (黃子雄) as the loud and abrasive café owner; Stefan Wong (黃祥興) as a tour guide; and Candice Chiu (趙希洛) as a strange and evasive mother.
Additional characters will be introduced as the storyline progresses, featuring Samantha Ko (高海寧), Kelly Cheung (張曦雯), and Zoie Tam (譚凱琪), and Gloria Tang (鄧佩儀). With a slight crossover with Our Unwinding Ethos, Rosina Lam’s (林夏薇) character will also be making a guest appearance in the drama.
Source: On.cc
This article is written by Huynh for JayneStars.com.
Brilliant series with the fear tension scenes done so well. Every support actor/actress given an opportunity to shine in side stories that are mainly independent of the main leads which is rare. This is the ‘comeback complete’ for Joel. From self destruction and looking like his acting career was over, to building it back up into now a great performance in lead role. Joel could be the first man to win ‘Best Actor’ from in his 1st main lead role….
I remember that time Joel Chan won the award for Best Supporting Actor and shouted to the audience that the next time he wins would be for Best Leading Actor like Ruco Chan. Now is his chance! Hopefully he gets more lead roles, he’s a good actor, likable and handsome.
@oligodendrocytes wait a long time more Joel………
@oligodendrocytes
if it wasn’t for his fling with the rich heiress, he would have been a lead many ions ago.
@m0m0
Yes. Joel had his best performance at the time in ‘The Last Steep Ascent’ at the same time as the scandal. He would have easily promoted to main lead if not for that…..
@jimmyszeto I didn’t realise this scandal only read about it now. This gives me the whole Jacqueline Wong and Andy Hui scandal vibe again.
I’m liking the fact that the each case is not predictable. I was so afraid that everyone will have a typical TVB happy ending but that does not apply to all cases. Honestly, I love Joel but he hasn’t impressed me yet. If anything, I feel like he over-act on some scenes. Selena on the other hand was very natural and continue to showcase her acting abilities.
I saw the episode where the kid refuses to come home and cease to exist. I have huge issues with that. Sort of euphemism for the child having killed himself and no one even cares. It is badly written for me. The kid’s only issue is fear of growing up = fears of being an adult and having adult responsibilities so TVB’s intriguing way of solution is he cease to exists and his mother when forgotten about him was far happier to stay with her less than successful husband when that fact doesn’t change because without a child she is not reminded what a loser she thinks he is. Excuse me? This is TVB’s attempt at twilight zone and for me fails.
Actors are ok but Selena and Joel has as much chemistry as 2 logs. Separately they are ok, together, I don’t see sparks or a cross time or lifetimes sort of romance. so when they ended up having sex, it was just that. Nothing feels anything.
TVB’s Pr working overtime.
Selena looks weird though. Maybe she lost weight, her jawline sideview is so pronounced. I think it is good she is going out of TVB even if I feel frankly I don’t a difference in her acting performance. So either she was always good but underappreciated or she’s ok and never improved.
@funnlim
Not read your 1st paragraph since plenty of spoilers and not seen the last couple of episodes yet. I think the answer is Selena has always been good but low key and underappreciated. Rare to the usual Miss Hong Kong standard, Selena as already at a decent level when she started. I have always maintained that she is the best actress out of her friend group ‘Mandy, Nancy, Myolie and Elaine etr because she does everything well although not exceptional. Her friends are plagued with all sorts of weaknesses. Is this a breakthrough performance for her to become make it into the elite? Not yet but it’s possible with plenty of episodes to come….
@funnlim Yeah I do agree with you. The whole aspect of the child disappearing like he never existed was a bad ending to that story. It was quite heart wrenching. I don’t understand what message the Producer is supposed to convey here. Its like having no child saves a relationship? That’s all I got.
Also yes, when Selena and Joel’s characters slept together I thought was pretty rushed. I felt that the characters chemistry hasn’t built to that stage yet. I see them as very good friends and Joel’s character being clearly obsessed with her with I find creepy especially when he draws her and rings her doorbell 24/7. Either way it makes sense as the drama only has 20 episodes until it ends so I hope their relationship can build further.
@funnlim Actually that episode highlights a very common situation for families in HK. Parents want their kids to learn everything from a young age. His mom wanted him to get into a prestigious school, so convinced his son & husband to LIE during the interview. Kids shouldnt have to learn to lie at a young age & learn how to manipulate everything into their favor. The poor kid dealt with a lot of stress, including watching his parents argue all the time. His mom kept telling him what it’s like to be an adult, how stressful it is, etc. This episode definitely brings attention to the fact that parents should just let their kid be a kid!