Old Time Buddy

Old Time Buddy
難兄難弟

Old Time Buddy official poster
Genre Comedy
Romance
Written by Chiu Ting-yuen
Fong Sai-keung
Tsang Bo-wah
Dai Tak-gwong
Directed by Chung Shu-kai
Mak Koon-chi
Chan Wai-koon
Cheng Gei-sing
Wong Ciu-ying
Starring Gallen Lo
Maggie Cheung Ho-yee
Francis Ng
Jessica Hsuan
Theme music composer Lincoln Law
Opening theme Old Time Buddy (難兄難弟) by Gallen Lo, Francis Ng, Maggie Cheung Ho-yee, Jessica Hsuan
Country of origin Hong Kong
Original language(s) Cantonese
No. of episodes 25
Production
Executive producer(s) Tommy Leung
Producer(s) Chung Shu-kai
Location(s) Hong Kong
Editor(s) Chiu Ting-yuen
Camera setup Multi camera
Running time 45 minutes
Production company(s) TVB
Release
Original network TVB Jade
Picture format 576i (SDTV)
Original release 23 June (1997-06-23) – 26 July 1997 (1997-07-26)
Chronology
Followed by Old Time Buddy - To Catch a Thief
Related shows Those Were the Days
External links
Website
Old Time Buddy
Chinese 難兄難弟
Literal meaning "Difficult Older Brother, Difficult Younger Brother"

Old Time Buddy (Chinese: 難兄難弟; Jyutping: naan4 hing1 naan4 dai6) is a 1997 Hong Kong period comedy television drama created and produced by TVB. The Chinese title translates to "brothers in hardship."

Old Time Buddy is set primarily in the 1960s and tells the story of two struggling young actors who end up becoming Hong Kong's iconic film idols. It stars Francis Ng, Gallen Lo, Jessica Hsuan, and Maggie Cheung Ho-yee,[1] who portray characters based on screen idols Patrick Tse, Lui Kei, Josephine Siao, and Connie Chan respectively.

Original broadcast began on Hong Kong's TVB Jade channel from June 23 till July 26, 1997 every Monday through Friday during its 7:30 to 8:30 pm timeslot with a total of 25 episodes.

Synopsis

Present day 1997, legendary Hong Kong actor Tse Yuen (Francis Ng) is to receive an achievement award. On a live broadcast interview he calls out his former friend Lee Kei (Gallen Lo) to show up at the film studio that night so that he can share his award with him. Lee Kei who happens to be passing by an electronic store sees his interview.

In 1964 Tse Yuen is an unambitious young man who lives in his family multi dwelled apartment. Each day before work he spies on Ah Jan, the herbal tea shop girl he has been in love with for a long time. He works as an inefficient dim sum waiter who is only able to hold on to his job because his boss's fat daughter likes him. She sexually harasses him daily, not wanting to offend her advances he has to climb out a window and down a fire escape to get off work each day. One day he sees a young man near the pier that he thinks is about to commit suicide, wanting to save him the two fall into the harbor. The man who was only picking up a racing ticket turns out to be his former classmate Lee Kei.

Lee Kei is a smart aleck who doesn't like hard labor and has a kind heart. Due to his kindness he gives up a job opportunity to someone more in need. His unemployed situation causes him to be evicted from the room he is renting. however luck is on his side as that same day he encounters Yuen again and gets Yuen to take him in. Soon Yuen starts to regret running into Kei again as he thinks Kei is trying to steal Ah Jan and after following Kei's advice on how to bluntly reject his boss's fat daughter he is fired from his job. But when Kei helps set him up on a date with Ah Jan he is glad he took in Kei.

While searching for a job Kei encounters a man that tells him, he is a talent scout and that if he pays him $10HKD he will make him a movie star. After giving money to the talent scout the man disappears, a few days later he encounters the man again who doesn't remember Kei and tells Kei the same con. Kei chases the man home and finds out the con man is also a tenant of the Tse family. The con man turns out to have actual connections to the film studios and gets Kei and Yuen jobs as film extras when he is unable to repay the $10 he conned from Kei.

At the film studio the two meet famous idols Cheng Po-chu (Maggie Cheung Ho-yee) and Siu Fong-fong (Jessica Hsuan). Kei and Yuen do not have good impressions of them as Yuen thinks Fong-fong is a stuck up spoiled movie star, while Kei thinks Po-chu is a dumb jinx since something bad always happens to him when she is around him. Their first day working at the film studio is disastrous. due to their inexperience as actors they accidentally destroy a movie set and is forced to work at the studio until the damages have been repaid.

When Yuen's relationship with Ah Jan begins to turn serious, her father finds out and forbids them from seeing each other again. In order to marry Ah Jan, Yuen begins to work hard, working multiple jobs, by day at the film studio and at night at a food stall so he can save up money to marry Ah Jan. Suddenly because of Ah Jan's father's gambling debt she has to flee Hong Kong which leaves Yuen heartbroken. He uses his grief in his acting and starts getting lead roles which leads him to becoming a movie star. While Yuen's star is rising, Kei is at a standstill in his movie career due to him being selective of his roles.[2][3]

Cast

Main cast

Yuen's best friend and former classmate. He is an unemployed young man who likes to leech off of others. Homeless and jobless, he moves into Yuen's home and lives with his family. A chance encounter with swindler Fung Yan-gwan leads him to become a movie extra. Due to his good looks, Lee Kei gets offered bigger roles, but his stardom reaches a stalemate when he becomes more selective in his roles. He has an obvious crush on Siu Fong-fong initially dislikes Cheng Po-chu, as he often encounters bad things whenever she is around him. However, after seeing her kindness and innocence, he changes his opinion of her, and they grow closer.
A kind, simple-minded young man with few ambitions in life except to marry his one true love, Jan. He gets fired as a dim sum restaurant waiter after upsetting his boss' daughter, who has a crush on him. When his best friend, Lee Kei, was offered to work as a movie extra, the jobless Yuen tags along. A lucky encounter with a famous director gets Yuen casted in his first lead role in a major feature film, costarring with the popular Siu Fong-fong. Yuen is a bad actor, but with advice from Fong-fong, he makes it through his first leading role.
A popular Hong Kong screen idol. She is naive and innocent due to her overly protective stage mom. She has a weakness for chocolate and food because of the strict diet her mother puts her on. She develops a crush on Tse Yuen, but her heart gets broken after she discovers Yuen and Siu Fong-fong's relationship. Because of this, she and Lee Kei become unlikely friends and they become soulmates.
An independent young women who likes to read, she is also a screen idol but outside of work she hides her movie star persona and helps out at her uncles dai pai dong. She likes Tse Yuen, but after hearing Yuen critcize her, she starts to hate him and fools him, often confusing him with her dual identity. But after realising his devotion to his girlfriend she starts to befriend him, and eventually falls for him.

Tse family

Tse Yuen's father. He is a righteous man who constantly instill integrity in his son.
Tse Yuen's kind mother. Tse Suen's wife.
Tse Yuen's younger sister. She works at a factory. Kiu Fung likes her but she likes Lee Kei.

Tse household tenants

A night club hostess-prostitute who later becomes a soft-porn actress named Dik Wah (狄嬅).
A swindler with connections to the film industry. After swindling Lee Kei out of HK$10 he is forced to get him a job as an film extra when he finds out they live in the same apartment.
A sidewalk peddler who sells food with his wife. Chang Gai-ying's husband.
A sidewalk peddler who sells food with her husband. Dai Sek-gwong's wife.
A pre-adolescence boy who rents the top of a bunk bed at the Tse home. He works as a shoeshine boy.

Tsang family

Siu Fong-fong's mother who is also her manager.
Siu Fong-fong's uncle and the owner of the dai pai dong she helps out when she is out of her movie star persona.
The Tsang household maid.

Cheng family

Cheng Po-chu's father who is aware that his wife Luk Cheung-mei is too overbearing on their daughter.
Cheng Po-chu's mother. She is a overbearing stage mother who puts her daughter on a strict diet and controls every aspect of her life.
Cheng Po-chu's older brother.
The Cheng household maid.

Law Si Film Studio actors

A Oxford University educated young man who is from a wealthy family. He works as a film extra so when he mentions his privileged background everyone thinks he is delusional. He likes Tse Yuen's younger sister Tse Fei-yin but she doesn't like him because of his looks and thinks he is lying about his wealthy background.
A Cantonese opera singer who likes to play male characters. Bak Yuk-sin is her opera partner and constant companion.
A Cantonese opera singer who is the constant partner and companion of Yam Gin-wai. She and Gin-wai like to play mahjong with Cheng Po-chu and Siew Fong-fong's mothers.
A matinee idol actor who is a womanizer. He fancies Cheng Po-chu's innocence and naiveness who leads him to try to take advantage of her.

Law Si Film Studio staff

The film studio owner.
The film studio owner's wife.
A film director who directs Tse Yuen's first leading role.
The first director to hire Tse Yuen and Lee Kei as film extras.
Assistant director to Director Lee.
A film director and actor with a gambling problem.
Owner of the canteen at the film studio. He is only nice to the big name stars.

Extended cast

Tse Yuen's love interest. The daughter of the herbal tea shop owner downstairs from Yuen's home. Yuen's has been in love with her for a longtime but too shy to approach her. Her father is a addictive gambler who physically abuses her. When she and Yuen start dating her father is highly against their relationship because of Yuen's poor background. Just when Yuen is working hard to save money to marry her she and her father flee Hong Kong in order to escape her father's gambling debt. She later marries someone else that treats her kindly.
Ah Jan's abusive father and owner of the herbal tea shop downstairs of Tse Yuen's home. He does not approve of his daughter dating Yuen because of his poor background. Due to his heavy gambling debts, him and his daughter are forced to flee Hong Kong.
The fat daughter of the dim sum restaurant owner Tse Yuen worked at in the beginning. She has a huge crush on Yuen and uses her authority as his boss's daughter to drag him on dates with her. When Yuen bluntly rejects her, he is fired from the restaurant.
Owner of the dim sum restaurant Tse Yuen worked at in the beginning. He spoils his daughter Wong Lan-hing and lets Tse Yuen off the hook at her request even though he is aware that Yuen is an inefficient worker.

Reception

Old Time Buddy was a rating success, spawning the sequel Old Time Buddy - To Catch a Thief and inspiring the theatrical film Those Were the Days starring Natalis Chan. Maggie Cheung Ho-yee was praised of her uncanny resemblance to Connie Chan. Gallen Lo also received praises for his spot on impression of Lui Kei and won his first TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actor.

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee Result
1997 TVB Anniversary Awards[4] Best Drama Old Time Buddy Won
Best Actor Gallen Lo Won
Francis Ng Nominated
Best Actress Maggie Cheung Ho-yee Nominated
Jessica Hsuan Nominated
Best On-Screen Couple Francis Ng & Jessica Hsuan Nominated
Most Comedic On-Screen Duo Gallen Lo & Maggie Cheung Ho-yee Nominated

References

  1. ↑ Old Time Buddy spcnet page. Retrieved June 9, 2015
  2. ↑ Old Time Buddy drama review. Retrieved June 9, 2015
  3. ↑ Old Time Buddy baidu page. Retrieved June 9, 2015
  4. ↑ 1997 TVB Anniversary Awards list. Retrieved June 9, 2015
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