With the arrival of GG Precinct, Marry My Dead Body fans rejoice! With the return of Wu Ming-han (Greg Hsu), Lin Tzu-ching (Gingle Wang), Chang Yung-kang (Ma Nien-hsien), and Chubby (Flower Chen), our favorite slightly incompetent detective team is back in this spin-off series. This time, they find themselves drawn into a series of murders with one common thread: Chinese idioms, also known as chenyu. Only six episodes long, this comedy series is very straightforward and the future for this squad is bright despite their lack of intelligence.
With the arrival of GG Precinct, Marry My Dead Body fans rejoice! With the return of Wu Ming-han (Greg Hsu), Lin Tzu-ching (Gingle Wang), Chang Yung-kang (Ma Nien-hsien), and Chubby (Flower Chen), our favorite slightly incompetent detective team is back in this spin-off series.
Star: Greg Han Hsu, Gingle Wang, Nien-Hsien Ma
This time, they find themselves embroiled in a series of murders with a common thread: Chinese idioms, otherwise known as chenyu. Only six episodes long, this comedy series is a lot of fun, and the future of this team is bright despite their lack of intelligence.
Set shortly after the events of Marry My Dead Body, Ming-han is back in fighting form and as rude as ever. Unfortunately for his fragile male ego, he immediately receives the news that Tzu-ching is now his superior. After her success on her last case, she was promoted. Much of the tension from the start is centered on these two, with Ming-han's misogyny and Tzu-ching's stubbornness clashing.
Crime waits for no one and a bizarre murder case draws the chaotic detective district into its web. Inspired by an idiom gone wrong, it isn’t long before another murder in the same vein surfaces. The cases remind Yung-kang of a similar case he worked on 20 years earlier with the infamous Chinese Idiom Killer (Tai Chih-yuan/Tony Yang). With the GG Precinct struggling to decipher the idioms used, solving the cases seems impossible.
With no one else to turn to for help, Tzu-ching teams up with the convicted killer, raising more questions than answers. At the center of it all, his wisdom opens doors and reveals uncomfortable truths. And for the feuding crime-fighting duo, they have to learn to work together before more dead bodies turn up. This is highlighted when one of their own is kidnapped.
Like Marry My Dead Body, GG Precinct stands out for its impeccable comedic timing. The cast members, both new and old, work well together in this world created by writer/director Cheng Wei-hao. New cast members Lulu Huang, Ng Ki-pin, and Da-her Lin all get their moments to shine as the newcomers to GG Precinct. Despite this, not too much time is spent developing these newcomers, leaving them as barely sketched-out archetypes.
In GG Precinct, more time is spent developing Tzu-ching, but not much. Gingle Wang still plays the character as the serious guy, but someone has to be on the team. When no one on staff takes things seriously, it's no surprise that Tzu-ching has been promoted. If you're looking for a character-driven series, GG Precinct won't cut it.
GG Precinct works for the funny comedy and face-punching moments. The plot itself moves at a quick pace and things move along nicely. This is particularly surprising given the original eight-episode order the series had to begin with. Wei-hao’s focus on plot over character development isn’t as much of an issue when the actors nail the comedy. Regardless of where they fall on the criminal spectrum, the characters are so likable that they absolve any glaring sins that are brought to light. Well, almost.
The CGI elements continue to struggle in this universe. Chase scenes and moments of unbridled action are poorly executed to the point of being hilarious. It’s shockingly out of place. Thankfully, the lack of supernatural inclusion in GG Precinct keeps the use of CGI to a minimum for the most part.
There’s also the admirable effort to touch on important themes, but it’s questionable whether or not things are fully resolved by the end. GG Precinct highlights Taiwan’s declining literacy rate, a topic that everyone can relate to. The importance of imparting knowledge to the next generation resonates with the Chinese language assassin who fills that void for those within his periphery. While Tzu-ching and Ming-han seem to absorb his lessons, it's hard to say how long they'll stick.
In its new episodic format, GG Precinct easily builds on what was established in Marry My Dead Body.
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