Grimerlana Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

LouHomey From my favorite movies..

Borserie it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Justina The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

peterg11 This series strongly reminds me of the Singapore I grew up in and it it great for setting and atmosphere. The stories are interesting and wide ranging which keeps the attention. The lead male is a kind of D'Arcy figure with 60s hippy flaws. Too many long languid looks to be snappy and sharp so loses a star for that alone. Very good acting from everyone and surprisingly addictive. Where is Season 2 - it deserves it! As is common these days, there are some ongoing stories that run through the whole series and only conclude in the last episode, but while this provides great continuity each episode also has an independent story which concludes during the episode. My recollection of Expat life in South East Asia at this time tells me this is very well represented, in terms of style, contrast with the local community, and attitudes of the time between the Brits and Americans, Chinese and Brits, Aussies and Brits, Police and population, etc. The lead male appears to speak the local languages well despite being Australian, so all credit to Don Hany for pulling that off!

narde-858-569764 I absolutely loved it. Couldn't get enough of it. Great cast and crew. Great collaboration efforts by Singapore and Australia. Great choice of cast. Don Hany did so well and I'm now his fan. I wish Russell Wong was featured more. He's a great actor and will watch more of him. Authentic settings and enjoyed the Aussie presence. Well done ABC!!! Don't worry about the ratings. The average Aussies aren't discerning. I hope they bring out another series. I think all the Aussie actors did extremely well in keeping the authenticity of the settings. Nice work too with bringing the honorable Joan Chen into the cast. Hany mastered the local languages and the culture very well indeed and looked very comfortable working with the Asian actors/actresses. He is indeed a very versatile actor. Please bring on more. I can't understand why ABC thinks this is a flop because it is so not!

Shizuka I really like this show.Good actors, setting and good stories.It mainly takes place in a district in Singapore in the 60s where crime poverty and gangs are rampant and people struggle to get by day by day.I like the slow pace of the show which doesn't make it less engaging and suspenseful.If you like good drama a new setting and diving into a fascinating world you didn't know before give this show a try.It stand apart very positively from all the soulless vampire, sci-fi and fantasy shows which swamp TV land nowadays where some miscast teen models run around CGI environments in search of a decent and interesting story.

pkloeden Watching this series as a Singaporean was a cringe-worthy experience for me - it seemed like it was made for the Western audience, with all the accompanying stereotypes of the "mysterious East": Bugis Street transvestites, prostitutes, American sailors, Chinese triad gangsters.Little attention was paid to the details: Malay women were shown wearing the "hijab", which did not appear till the 80s, as the lacy "selendang" were worn in the 60s setting of this series. The Chinese were shown speaking Mandarin to each other, whereas it's the Hokkien or Teochew dialects that were commonly spoken then.The only redeeming feature was the elegant Joan Chen, though her character was also a caricature of the exotic Oriental lady: always clad in the high-necked, form fitting Chinese "cheongsam" and carrying a bamboo parasol when she's outdoors. And she inexplicably speaks with an American accent.The biggest surprise to me was the fact that the Media Development Authority of Singapore actually has a hand in producing this series!