This lavish Yorkshire Television (ITV) production was based on a book by former Hong Kong journalist William Marshall and revolved around the Triad-busting cases of a group of Royal Hong Kong Police Force detectives, based in the colony’s Yellowthread precinct.
To ensure a trouble-free shoot, the British and Cantonese film crews usually had to pay someone wherever they set up their cameras – mostly a street-by-street arrangement amounting to as little as £20.
There was also a “feng shui” man who chased away the evil spirits with sacrificial roast pigs and incense – not for the benefit of the 50 British crew but for the 160 local technicians who followed the 4000-year old tradition.
The series never really caught on despite the exotic setting and expensive production (the series was shot on 35mm film). The show also seemed caught between two eras: conceived in the 1980s and produced at the turn of that decade, its philosophy and look seemed a little dated compared to other modern shows of the genre (The Bill for example).
A clearly uncomfortable cast – including Ray Lonnen from Harry’s Gameand The Sandbaggers, Mark McGann and Bruce Payne – seemed to have been selected for looks rather than screen gravitas. Throwaway plots did not help.
CI Alex Vale
Ray Lonnen Detective Kelly Lang
Catherine Neilson Detective C J Brady
Mark McGann Detective Eddie Pak
Tzi Ma Detective Jackie Wu
Doreen Chan Detective Peter Marenta
Robert Taylor Detective Nick Eden
Bruce Payne
