I love series set in exotic locations, and having lived in Singapore during the 60's I enjoyed the tightly packed locations of Serangoon Road immensely, although the tightly crooked streets were nothing like the real road, but it had several flaws which a writer/producers? with some knowledge of Singapore's history and customs could have corrected with a little research.
The series had the usual stock characters of noir thrillers in port cities, the boozy reporter propping up the bar, the renegade European raised in the city and able to mix in both cultures, the deivous US and British intelligence operatives, the married woman love interest, the old market trader, Aunty, who sees all and hears all, the Chinese sidekick forever in gambling debt willing to take a bullet (or not) for his BFF, and best of all by far, the Asian villain, Kay Song, who saved the series for me. I could not take my eyes off him.
* The series was set in 1964 when Singapore was supposedly fighting for Independence, which had actually been forced on them in 1961. Oh well, most viewers were not born then.
* Having been a prisoner of the Japanese as a child, Sam would have been 29 or 30. Don Haney looked to be on the wrong side of 40, and did he ever wash or change his shirt? The biggest goof for me was the 3-day stubble which was never seen other than on bar flies with long neglected hygiene, and most definitely, absolutely not at a black tie embassy function.
* The pathetic romance with a married woman was an attempt at a Casablanca or Pepe le Moko affair, but all they did was woodenly moon like lovesick high schoolers with their first love. A needy, immature, selfish manipulative married woman cheating on her husband, for crying out loud. Give me a break! I would have been able to believe it if he had already been married and divorced in the past, but first love at 30? This 'romance' should have been dropped in favor of the stock bar hostess occasional bedmate character.
One thing they did get right was the absence of airconditioning. Ceiling fans, open windows, and loose sleeveless clothing. When it was hot and humid, you accepted it and adjusted accordingly.
Spoiler ahead: Overall, by comparison with today's detective series, it was very bland and quite chaste, in the manner of 60's TV shows where a detective never lost his hat in a fist fight nor had a cut or scratch. I am not one to advocate the grim Scandinavian and French gore fests, but the series could have had much more life. For example, a few backstories such as episodes recalling Sam's past in Changi captivity and the brutal Japanese occupation, Sam's past activities in the Malay campaign and the widow Chen's history. By far the best actor was the villain and I would have liked to see a lot more of him, especially as the series ended openly with him taking control of his gang and a possibility of another season.
The series had the usual stock characters of noir thrillers in port cities, the boozy reporter propping up the bar, the renegade European raised in the city and able to mix in both cultures, the deivous US and British intelligence operatives, the married woman love interest, the old market trader, Aunty, who sees all and hears all, the Chinese sidekick forever in gambling debt willing to take a bullet (or not) for his BFF, and best of all by far, the Asian villain, Kay Song, who saved the series for me. I could not take my eyes off him.
* The series was set in 1964 when Singapore was supposedly fighting for Independence, which had actually been forced on them in 1961. Oh well, most viewers were not born then.
* Having been a prisoner of the Japanese as a child, Sam would have been 29 or 30. Don Haney looked to be on the wrong side of 40, and did he ever wash or change his shirt? The biggest goof for me was the 3-day stubble which was never seen other than on bar flies with long neglected hygiene, and most definitely, absolutely not at a black tie embassy function.
* The pathetic romance with a married woman was an attempt at a Casablanca or Pepe le Moko affair, but all they did was woodenly moon like lovesick high schoolers with their first love. A needy, immature, selfish manipulative married woman cheating on her husband, for crying out loud. Give me a break! I would have been able to believe it if he had already been married and divorced in the past, but first love at 30? This 'romance' should have been dropped in favor of the stock bar hostess occasional bedmate character.
One thing they did get right was the absence of airconditioning. Ceiling fans, open windows, and loose sleeveless clothing. When it was hot and humid, you accepted it and adjusted accordingly.
Spoiler ahead: Overall, by comparison with today's detective series, it was very bland and quite chaste, in the manner of 60's TV shows where a detective never lost his hat in a fist fight nor had a cut or scratch. I am not one to advocate the grim Scandinavian and French gore fests, but the series could have had much more life. For example, a few backstories such as episodes recalling Sam's past in Changi captivity and the brutal Japanese occupation, Sam's past activities in the Malay campaign and the widow Chen's history. By far the best actor was the villain and I would have liked to see a lot more of him, especially as the series ended openly with him taking control of his gang and a possibility of another season.