ATE 1 versus ATE2 with spoiler/comments on Reaching Out

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Re: ATE was horrible especially part ii, reaching out is goo
Posted By: just me <sharonapple@mail.com> 
Date: Thursday, 20 September 2001, at 10:38 p.m.

In Response To: ATE was horrible especially part ii, reaching out is good! *NM* (d)

Hmmmm... I thought ATE 1 was slow and boring and had the most horribly written female characters in Wing Yan (Kenix Kwok) and Flora Chan's character (was it Helen?)

They took forever with the setup and it was difficult to believe that 3 men of such different moral backgrounds and character could be such close friends.

Michael's (Sunny Chan) fall from grace is difficult to understand mostly because he was so morally upright and inflexible. However, the script does try to explain that the darkness was originally there, it only needed something to bring it to the fore front. Still, if you don't buy into that, it's a little difficult to believe that it could happen because his resolve, which was very strong in the beginning, does crumble too quickly.

Keung (Roger Kwok) was very annoying in ATE 1, self-righteous, spoilt, inflexible, ridiculous and always whining or lecturing instead of doing anything.

Tim (Gallen Lo) was also a very unpleasant and selfish man.

ATE 1's saving grace is the last couple episodes where they finally introduce the themes of redemption, forgiveness and second chances which are the major themes of ATE 2 which is also one of the reasons why I think ATE 2 is better then ATE 1. I thought the use of "Amazing Grace" at the end of ATE 1 brilliant and was a little disappointed that the song did not make it into ATE 2 since ATE 2 is a lot more about grace and redemption then ATE 1.

ATE 2 takes off in rip-roaring fashion with the first 20 episodes just flying by as they tie up loose ends from ATE 1, introduce new characters and begin new story arcs. ATE 2, benefitted from the fact that they did not need to do too much backstory because that was done in ATE 1.

At the start of ATE 2 there is a ton of action both physically and psychologically in our characters. We see Tim lose everything and his final realisation that he was blind and it was pride that led him to think he can play god. Helen also becomes a far more interesting character because she's no longer puppy dog silly, following Tim around like he's her master. Keung also becomes more interesting as he learns that he too can be wrong and he was possibly the most self-righteous of the three men. His brush with death leads him to re-examine the way he used to do things and there is a maturity in his character which did not exist in ATE 1. IMO, the latter half of ATE 2 belongs to Keung. After he transforms in the first half of ATE 2, Tim reaches a plateau and does not change too much thereafter. However, at the end of ATE, Keung is still learning, changing and maturing.

Thematically, ATE 2 is interesting because many of the characters reach a point so low in their lives that they finally come to a realisation that what they thought was important is actually the thing that made them lose what is trully important to them. Many of the characters will be offered a second chance and many will take it.

ATE 2 has it's flaws and some generic epic type storytelling but it's major salvation is that thematically it is an interesting series. ATE 1 suffers because it's slow, thematically uninteresting and really does have several over-the-top story arcs.

I liked Reaching Out for the most part but there are several disappointing parts about RO. RO started out very well, its episodic storytelling and amusing characters helped it roll right along. I liked Mai Shuet and Ha Yu's relationship throughout the series and I liked Benny Chan's character's growth.

SPOILER INFORMATION BELOW...

While I like Gordon Lam's character for the most part, I was really upset with the whole wedding episode. The way in which he got Michelle Ye's character to abandon her marriage to her cousin was both underhand and out of character. The fact that the scipt glosses over the fact that he (not just her) is somewhat responsible for the man's degradation later in the series was also disappointing. However, what transpires after that made me willing to forgive the script somewhat till the arrival of Kenix Kwok's character.

Usually I like seeing Kenix Kwok but her character's arrival is what destroyed RO for me. While I don't have too much problem with her "bad" side, I really hated her "good" sister. The "good" sister was like an out of this world saint which completely jarred with the earlier mood and tone of RO which is rooted in it's own reality. There are no supernatural beings looking out for anyone's welfare in RO till "good" sister comes along. Also, why "good" sister thinks that Gordon Lam's character will be the man that'll save "bad" sister from herself is unbelievable. The two sisters meet him when they are children after that they don't see him again till they are much older. Even then what transpires in their childhood days isn't really a lot for the "good" sister to remember him so deeply and to be so sure that he would be her sister's salvation. I just don't buy that.

RO's end story arc about Gordon's character falling off a cliff, "bad" sister looking for him till she almost drops dead, he donating some part of his body to save her etc was just too generic and too melodramatic-80's-Japanese-tearjerker like for me.

I actually found Michelle Ye's character's ending more interesting because she still refuses to take what's-his-name back. She tells him that for her to take him back, he's going to have to earn it and after what he did, I think she's right.

enjoy