War of the Genders

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

War of the Genders

War of the Genders (男親女愛) is a 100 episode Chinese comedy series produced by TVB. The series premiered in 2000 in Hong Kong. Each episode runs for approximately 20 minutes and stars veteran actress Dodo Cheng Yu Ling and comedy star Dayo Wong Tze Wah, famous for his humorous talk shows and stand up comedy. It created the highest rating below the 2003 Charity Football Competition Real Madrid vs Hong Kong and the Korean TV series Dae Jang Geum.

[edit] Plot

The series revolved around a lawyer Francis Xiao Wei Mo (Carol/Do Do Cheng Yu Ling) and her paralegal advisor Yu Lok Tin (Dayo Wong) The two characters go from loathing to loving by the end of the series and eventually become a couple.

A large part of the series takes place in C.K. Law Firm where Francis and Lok Tin work. Their relationship extends past the office as they both live in the same house which gives them more opportunities to cross paths.

Between avoiding the "spinster" label and creatively fighting trivial law suits, Frances uses her wit and class to outsmart her main rival, lawyer Alex Pao. In addition, Francis also has personal problems to deal with in the homefront such as getting use to her new younger stepmother.

There is a drama(Man & Woman In Love (Stage Drama), 男親女愛舞台劇) performed by the original cast as the ending of the series in November to December 2000. A 34 VCD set of the TV series and 3 VCD set of the drama were released for sale.

[edit] Characters

Francis Mo "Miss Mo" Well known around the office of CK Law Firm as Ms. Mo. She's a vain thirty-something spinster who tries to appear professional at all times and act like a real class act. She's single and getting to a stage in life where it is getting her down. With her wit and sharp tongue she is able to put anyone in their places especially her paralegal, Yu Lok Tin. Her favourite sayings are "Off" (shut up) and "B.T." (bad taste). Despite her high maintenance ways and irritability, everyone at the law firm respects her.

Yu Lok Tin "Ah Lok" With very limited English, it is a wonder how he got the job as Francis Mo's paralegal. He is always stuck with the disgusting jobs, partially because he tries to come across as a ladies' man though this is not really the case. In addition, he puts up a facade of being both extremely poor and extremely cheap when he turns out to have quite a bit of money. A habitual gambler, he always dreams of hitting the "3T" jackpot at the horse races.

Siu Keung (Little Keung) Siu Keung is a cockroach and pet of Yu Lok Tin. He lets Siu Keung roam freely around the house. Several different "Siu Keungs" have appeared as he's been killed several times (mostly by Ms. Mo), he was even eaten by a turtle in episode 53. Yu Lok Tin calls Siu Keung his brother. Siu Keung often crawls into Yu Lok Tin's or Miss Mo's cup of instant noodles and often gets on Miss Mo's nerves. Eventually, Miss Mo opens up to the pet, and he was briefly "adopted" by Miss Mo. He was kept in a glass container and very well looked after by Miss Mo during his "adoption".

Yuen Yuen She was Francis' stepmother for much of the series. Francis tries to hide the fact that she is her stepmother because of their age difference. Yun Yun is an almost perfect woman with looks and brains. She seems to know a bit of everything but she is also gullible and naive. She worked in the C.K. Law Firm and House Bar. Everyone seems to like her as both men and women admire her beauty (in their own special ways) and her wide array of knowledge.

James James is an effeminate worker in C.K. law firm. He takes too much care of his appearance and spends much of his time in the office grooming himself. It was believed that his effeminate behavior was caused by excessive estrogen from Chinese medicinal jelly he's eaten since childhood, but this was proven false. He once fell in love with Miss Mo.

Apple Personal assistant to Frances Mo. She is renowned for her stunning figure but rough background as a daughter of a fruit shop owner (hence her name). She was headhunted by a fitness club to be the face of their new promotion, after appearing on an ad for CK Law Firm as Little Bo Peep. Apple had a brief stint as a model before she quit because of a dispute regarding her image.

Professor Mo Francis' father. A history lecturer, he spontaneously marries a student (Yuen Yuen) that he encounters in Egypt.He appears sporadically throughout the series. Towards the end of the series, he divorces with Yuen Yuen and begins a relationship with Tsin Jie.

Alex Pao The rival lawyer of Francis Mo. Although he is self confident, he is always left speechless by her razor sharp tongue. He is known to be extremely egocentric and cares a lot about his image. Surprisingly, he seems to be the only other lawyer in all of Hong Kong.

Man A tabloid photographer. It is discovered that he's Tsin Jie's nephew, and consequently Yu Lok Tian's cousin (which he humorously expresses).

Happy Man's friend and fellow tabloid reporter. Jokes are sometimes made in reference to her height and androgyny.

Sin Jie (Aunt Sin)/Angel Another spinister in the Law Firm, and also the aunt of Yu Lok Tian. She is stingy, untrendy and wears thick glasses. She's a maternal figure to both Ms. Mo and Ah Lok. A fixture of the law firm, it is heavily implied that she and CK were a couple. Towards the end of the series she begins a relationship with Professor Mo who she affectionally calls "Mo Mo".

Michelle Chang Fresh from law school, a lawyer who briefly worked for Alex Pao. Yu Lok Tian sponsored her in her university studies abroad and she dated Yu Lok Tian for a while when she returned to Hong Kong. In Francis' eyes she is perfect in every aspect (something that she realizes that she doesn't hat) and she goes to great lengths to sabotage her work.

C.K. The owner of the law firm. His appearances in the show are sparse and he is known to be greedy and affectionately connected with Tsin Jie. He's portrayed as an incompetent boss (both financially and in a business sense), and has a family in Canada which is sporadically visits. While Yuen Yuen was working at the firm, CK lecherous approaches toward her were highlighted in Ms. Mo's dream where he's identified by Yu Lok Tian as, literally, "Seven Color Wolf".

Dai Mao/Xiao Mao (Elder of twins/Younger of twins) Twin female secretaries in C.K Law Firm that often say the same things at the same time, they date male twins.

Herman Wong A perverted man who used to be in the same school as Francis Mo. Francis once had a crush on him and dated him for a while until he tried to molest Francis and Francis found out he molested an elderly woman. He makes 2 appearances. His first, as a client who Ms. Mo successfully defends from a sexual harassment charge. On a subsequent date to thank her for her work, she finds out that he really is a pervert who puts on lipstick and goes after women. On his second appearance, he returns to stalk Ms. Mo and forces her to kiss Yu Lok Tian.

Audrey A brief character, she dates Yu Lok Tian's for a while. They share a tumultuous relationship, which ends shortly. Eventually, it's discovered that she's a lesbian and begins to pursue Ms. Mo. Her attempts to scare her away don't work, until she pretends that Siu Keung is her pet.

Henry A singer back in the day, he's now the proud owner of House Bar, the hangout for most of the characters. Dated Tsin Jie early in the series and shares a bit of a rivalry with CK.