“Brother’s Keeper” Averages 26 Points in Premiere Week
Brother’s Keeper <巨輪> achieved an average of 26 points during its first week on the air, peaking at 31 points. Already accused of recycling old plots, the series also generated other criticism from viewers.
The Communications Authority of Hong Kong received nine official complaints last week. Some viewers found the story dry and illogical, calling it a lazy production. Others said that the series smeared the good image of Hong Kong while glorifying Macau. TVB’s other prime time series Sniper Standoff <神鎗狙擊> also received several complaints. Up two points from its previous week with an average of 26 points, the police action drama annoyed some of its audience with its exaggerated, unrealistic, and violent scenes. Viewers also found Kate Tsui’s (徐子珊) footwear inappropriate, filing five complaints with TVB about her wearing fashionable high heels during dangerous police missions.
On September 30, Ruco Chan (陳展鵬) made a guest appearance on a radio program to promote Brother’s Keeper. While discussing viewers’ reception of the series, Ruco shared that he is not aware of its first-week ratings and asked viewers to be more lenient about the show’s minor mistakes. When asked to speak about allegations of copying previous TVB plots, Ruco felt that the issue is not unique to the series. “Having some similarities is not that surprising. Korean dramas also use the same story lines over and over again. It all comes down to how a show is packaged.”
Ruco’s co-star Linda Chung (鍾嘉欣) was recently injured while filming Tiger Cubs 2 <飛虎Ⅱ>. Speaking about the accident, Ruco said, “[Linda] is very tough. She didn’t even break a sweat when she had to jump down seven floors. Her face was not injured so it will be all right.”
Ruco also spoke about his Slow Boat Home <情越海岸線> co-star Aimee Chan (陳茵媺), who was recently involved in a car accident soon after returning to Hong Kong. Ruco was shocked by the news, saying, “Is she all right? She must be more careful. You must have quick reaction when driving in Hong Kong. Her baby is safe so it will be all right.”
Sources: Ming Pao; Oriental Daily
This article is written by Katrine for JayneStars.com.
Is 26 points considered good nowadays or not? The first week of BK is pretty average. I think the plot is more focused in Macau than Hong Kong
So so, not too bad, not too good. However considering the fact that the beginning days were stormy days in HK (which made everyone at home to watch TV), its a worried result. Eps 1 was 29 peaked 31, overall 26 lowest 23.
The tyhoon has gone when BK premiered and
people were back to work in the late morning. I think ep 2 has dragged down the ratings, as all main characters were not in.
Miriamfanz,
The problem with “Brother’s Keeper” may be that the lost brother plot may be too familiar, not enough surprises in the series. The story centers around the 90s and feels “old” without much sophistication.
The characters and their actions are somewhat predictable, including Ruco’s eventual demise.
I’m just trying to spot out their gadgets/ techno… if early 90s have em… hehe…
“found the story dry and illogical”
– Edwin’s story is rather dry but Ruco’s story is interesting. And yes, the story lines do get illogical at certain points.
“calling it a lazy production”
– It is lazy, which shouldn’t be a surprise at all as it is TVB, but Amy Wong dramas usually have such great quality. I am a bit disappointed.
“Others said that the series smeared the good image of Hong Kong while glorifying Macau”
– LOLLLL
“the police action drama annoyed some of its audience with its exaggerated, unrealistic, and violent scenes”
– I haven’t seen Sniper Standoff, but the action in Brother’s Keeper so far has also been very OTT and gratuitous.
I’ll still keep watching BK though. I am genuinely invested in these characters.
don’t think it’s gratuitous, just trying to portray ruco as an extremely ambitious risk- taking cop and i’m really enjoying his action scenes.
all tvb dramas have illogical storylines lol, nothing new.
BK is not bad, I enjoy watching it. Never watch “The Change of Time .” , so, not sure the difference.
Well average series gets average points a good series gets high points
not necessarily, TITS2 was fluff but got decent ratings.
Titis had a good start which is why it had good rating at the start in the middle it dropped and it had a good ending and it had good ratings at the end but the audience will never understand how the ratings actually works
i tot it was said that the ending sucked?
Alot of people said it sucked but the final episodes got people interested and tuned in to watch what was going to happen
It is what it is. Ppl need to stop b about everything.
no kidding. these articles about complaints filed against dramas just make HK people sound extremely whiney
LOL at complaints that the drama is “dry an illogical”. People actually take time to file a complaint like that? They need a life!
It’s so cliche to have an angry, stubborn, screaming dad all the time….Edwin’s dad is a major turn off and annoyance… he’s a great actor i know…but he plays that same stubborn dad ALL THE TIME….
So true. Every time he comes on screen, I am just want to press mute button or fast forward. Lol.
Uneducated Asian dads that era do behave that way, typical mcps who beat up their wives and forbid their kids to go to school partly becos they cant afford it.
I am angrier at his mom. She did nothing to protect him. I am angry at Edwin who did nothing to stand up for himself.
that’s how subservient women and children were in those days especially those from the lower social strata, the drama is just trying to portray the characters realistically. It wld be extremely unrealistic to portray Louise’s character as someone who talks back or defies her husband. Realistic, you people complain, unrealistic, you people complain!! Seriously!!!!
It is extremely unrealistic the mother who loves her child so much did not ONCE put down her foot on his education. This is even more unrealistic when the background music is so cutesy when there is nothing cute about what happened. I am frustrated how lame the mother, the father, the son , everyone. That is to me unrealistic. However subservient a woman is, she will put down her foot if it is about her SON’s future and education.
Like how she put down her foot with her first cheating husband and left with Ruco.
@Funn She never married ruco’s father, maybe that made the difference for her. Have you not heard of fathers who are child abusers? Some kids get beaten up so badly by their own dads that they’re maimed or even dead and the mother is around, silently witnessing these brutalities but saying nothing; this is the sad truth. Not every parent esp poor parents realise the importance of education, especially if you’re worrying about whether there’s money for their next meal. Funn, your life is too privileged, learn to empathise with those less fortunate than you.
agree with you, ratings dont bother me as long as i find the drama interesting. Tvb dramas dont do that well these days even tho the drama is enjoyable. Hard to gauge the taste of audience these days but Hk audience is getting really whiny, complaining abt the slightest things, really!
Ratings is everything. Practically ratings determine the popularity and money making potential of a series. If ratings is low, no one wants to buy ad spots. So you should give a crap about ratings because if the ratings is low it means not many is watching and the worth of Ruco and gang is low. Everyone should tune in to watch. I know nowadays ratings is deceiving since many download from internet and all. Which is why other than ratings (recording is also not counted to ratings), use the social media. Tweet, weibo, facebook it, whatever. More talk, more buzz, more worth, more opportunity for Ruco and gang.
I’m afraid Funn is right, the brutal fact is ratings is everything. Just hope the ratings will improve this week as story gets more intense.
She never married ruco’s father, maybe that made the difference for her. Have you not heard of fathers who are child abusers? Some kids get beaten up so badly by their own dads that they’re maimed or even dead and the mother is around, silently witnessing these brutalities but saying nothing; this is the sad truth. Not every parent esp poor parents realise the importance of education, especially if you’re worrying about whether there’s money for their next meal. Funn, your life is too privileged, learn to empathise with those less fortunate than you.
Pssst, while I agree with what you’re saying in that the subservient nature of women in the lower class is accurately portrayed in this series, I do not agree that Funn in saying what she is saying being she is ‘too privileged.’ Whether or not a woman fights her husband to stand up for her son is more a matter of personality and temperament than whether or not she is privileged.
There are plenty of women who are poor but will do anything to provide an education for their kids while there are many middle-class women who has the time on their hands to nurture her children but instead choose to play mah-jongg with other housewives.
I think part of the problem that we have so many disagreements with the mom being so weak is that they cast Louise Lee to be in the role.
I’m not saying she was miscast but I do believe that she often plays strong women with moral character, and she doesn’t seem like the type of woman who would let the abusive dad walk all over her son.
I think that she did wonderful in this role, it’s just that seeing her face portraying this week character create some dissonance.
louise lee is a good actress, we shld not stereotype her to play only strong-willed women, that wld be unfair to her. I think she did well here. I’m not saying that you have to be in the privileged class to stand up to yr abusive husband. The point i’m trying to make is that people often do not empathise enough with those less fortunate than them. Before we pass judgement on them, we should realise that their circumstances are different from ours. In real life even in this day and age, there are mothers who love their children but are scared to death of their abusive husbands so much so that they and their children often suffer in silence. I really sympathise with these women and children cos my mother’s dad was like edwin’s dad.
Pssst,
I totally get what you are saying and where you are coming from. I’m usually a very compassionate person and am able to empathize very easily. However, it is my personal issue and boundary that causes me to not sympathize with women who stand and watch while their children are getting abused. There is not a bone in my body that tell me that it is okay for these women to NOT protect their children. Personally, I think these women stand by and do nothing for “selfish” reasons and many of those reasons are that they want to stay safe, they want a roof over their head, they are scared of the physical violence their husband will bestow upon them if they stand up for their rights…and most importantly, oftentimes, these women don’t want to lose FACE in front of relatives. They don’t want to rock the boat for those reasons and many others that I cannot stand behind.
In my world, I’d rather live on the street in a cardboard box with my son than stand by and watch him being abused by his father or anyone else. Nothing in the world is more important than protecting your own child. Again, this post has nothing to do with Louise Lee and her acting, the plot, or your post. It is just a societal and moral reflection that was stirred by this series and the comments surrounding it.
The story may be somewhat predictable but i love it nevertheless.
If the rating of this series is just 26 then the chance for Ruco to be TV king this year is very slim.
Why does ppl expect so much from tvb series. Just relax, enjoy, and be grateful. Don’t be picky like your looking for a bf, gf, husband, wife, son in-law, and daughter in-law.
If you don’t like the story, characters, acting, etc, don’t watch it!!!! TVB is not gonna please anyone and they don’t need to.
I do not know why the rating is just 26; I am enjoyed watching this series; Ruco Chan is really great.
No worries Im kinda ignoring d judgemental accusations n enjoying BK. LWS did stand up to his dad for episode 7. Interesting bubble bath in between btw :Q_
I enjoy this serie especially the scenes between Linda and Ruco!!! 🙂 Also, I like the themesong of this serie.
Theme song is quite good. Edwin and Ruco sing it well together. Edwin has a nice voice.
Enjoying the series so far. The setting is not realistic, but bearable since the acting are not that bad. Is it just me or Ruco expression is a bit ham sap when Sam looked at Rachel at Ep 7. Lol..
No ham sap lar!!! More like… like her lar… and she is so pretty of course a bit of desire is ok lar.
noooooooooooo, it was soooooooo sweet; can’t get enough of their sweet scenes together <333333 but kinda disappointed their kiss in ep 8 was just a touching of lips…..i felt cheated! Ankie gets all the action, not fair! I'd rather see linda and ruco's kissing scenes.
I am not a Linda fan, but I have to say that she does possess plenty of screen charisma. The first episode made me think of her as this boring good girl, and I was really annoyed actually, but then continued to watch the other episodes and I realized that she really does have a spark in her.
Also, isn’t she in her 30s? She looks really young to me in this series. I think it had something to do with her make up. Also, she has this youthful and innocent aura about her and her acting as well.
That scene of her in the bathroom getting out of the shower and thinking about Ruco made me kind of cringe but I thought she did extremely well because it was so realistic and representative of a young girl having a crush on a boy she just met.
By the way, I cringed not because of her acting, but because it was so realistic and made me remember how embarrassing those days where.
By the way, I am really not an undercover Linda fan.
Please don’t get paranoid everyone.
According to the Character Description, Law Fu Sing should be:
性格
專橫火爆，自私頑固，常對妻兒發施號令；對妻子不離不棄，患難與共。
背景
富誠年青時做伙頭為生，對同工周玉梅(李司棋飾)照顧有加，更不嫌棄玉梅育有一子喬天生(陳展鵬飾)
I think his character descriptions are rather contradictory. If he cared and helped Yuk Mui (his wife) so much before marriage, he shouldn’t be that kind of a husband and father. It does not make good sense to me.
He was jobless for a long time n got addicted to drinking n gambling which kinda prompted a change huh!
I think he was like that even when he ran his peanut candy business.
He seemed to be a very bad and quick-tempered person. I remember that when he went to Macau from Mainland China looking for his wife and son, he was shouting and yelling at the fireworks factory. He ended up having a fight with one of the workers and accidentally set the factory on fire. I don’t think his change of personality was due to the loss of job and addiction to drinking and gambling.
Whatever happened to the joy of watching dramas for drama’s sake? These days people just seem intent on watching to pick it apart and spot minor accuracies and then make a mountain out of a molehill of them. I’m loving this drama especially episode 7 last night:-) ah, the flush of first love…….so sweet 🙂
haha, love that part where ruco was carryibg linda and running away from the truck and she asked if he was alright. He said yes except that she was a bit heavy, lol so cute. I loooovvve them together <3
lol Me too I luv them sooooooooo sweet muah!!!!
I like the theme song of Brother’s Keepers. The song blends very well with both the vocals from the 2 great singers. Both Ruco and Edwin have great voices .. You wont get bored listening to his song, which I did .
Ruco have very strong vocals.
Linda. Wow. This is the FIRST series since Heart of Greed back in 2007 where I thoroughly enjoy her acting and onscreen charisma. Every other role since seemed to be all same old, same old Linda. This role suits her perfectly, and for some reason she looks extra pretty in this series. Loved the shower scene where she was thinking about Ruco.. Their scenes together makes me giggle and blush for her. Can’t wait to see more!
love Louis Yuen’s impersonation of Jacky Cheung in episode 8; it was hilarious and actually made me enjoy the Macau part of the story which i normally find boring.