John Woo's Once A Thief is based on a 1996 FOX made-for-TV movie that goes by the same title (Overseas it's known as "Violent Tradition") and it was filmed in Vancouver. The series was taken up by Alliance in 1997 and was filmed in Toronto.

The show is about a crime fighting agency stationed in Vancouver, Canada. Two of the team's members are Li Ann Tsei (Sandrine Holt), Mac Ramsay (Ivan Sergei). These two were past lovers whilst part of the Tang Family -- A Hong Kong mafia. But when they became restless with their family's ways, they decided to steal some cash and leave Hong Kong. During their attempt to steal the money, Michael Tang, the Tang Godfather's biological son, surprised them. In the end, Mac is trapped inside the building as Li Ann leaves him. The building then blows up and Li Ann thinks that he is dead.

A few months later, Mac is taken out of prison to start a new life working for The Director (Jennifer Dale) in a shadowy government agency. When he gets there, he is surprised to find Li Ann there -- and her new fiancée, ex-cop Victor Mansfield (Nicholas Lea). There is now tension between the team members but The Director doesn't care about it just as long as they get their jobs done.

Once A Thief was cancelled in March and the final episode, "End Game," aired on May 2, 1998. The series is right now shown on CTV and CHEK6 in Canada, The Movie Channel in the U.S. and a few other countries around the world.

The major executives on the show are: John Woo & Terrence Change (Executive Producers); Glenn Davis & William Laurin (Executive Producers & Writers); Wendy Grean (Producer); Phil Bedard & Larry Lalonde (Supervising Producers); and David Wu (Director & Editor). For more info on these people, you can visit the Action Meets Art page.

Though the chances are slim, help bring Once A Thief back for another season! Visit ONCE A THIEF: Rebirth and Save ONCE A THIEF.

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