The File of Justice (壹號皇庭) is a series of
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
legal drama
Legal drama, also called courtroom drama, is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in wh ...
produced by
TVB
Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB; zh, t=電視廣播有限公司) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong. The company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Canton ...
. There were 5 seasons produced, the first was aired in 1992 spanning 13 episodes. The series revolves around a group of
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters.
The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
s and legal personnel with stories interwoven between their personal lives and the court cases (usually one that involves murder) in which they're engaged.
It was also noteworthy that first 2 murder cases in the first series ended in capital punishment because it was not abolished in Hong Kong until 1993, yet the last punishment carried out was back in 1966.
This series was also well known for featuring then relatively unknown artists in guest starring or minor roles, who later went on to greater success in film, television or music including
Gordon Lam
Gordon Lam Ka-tung (林家棟; born 21 September 1967) is a Hong Kong actor, film producer and screenwriter. Initially known for his supporting roles in films directed by Andrew Lau and Johnnie To, Lam eventually became a lead actor in the Hong ...
,
Leo Ku
Leo Ku Kui-kei (born ), founder of ChillGOOD TV, is a Hong Kong people, Hong Kong Cantopop and Mandopop singer, actor, TV host, model, cartoonist, MV director, and producer and designer. He employs falsetto as a singing technique and was nam ...
,
Wayne Lai
Lai Yiu-cheung (; born 4 May 1964), better known as Wayne Lai, is a Hong Kong actor. He became one of Hong Kong's most successful television actors after starring in TVB hit drama series '' Rosy Business''. Lai won three TVB Anniversary Awar ...
,
Joe Ma,
Ruco Chan,
Kenny Wong
Wong Tak-bun (born 30 April 1963), known internationally as Kenny Wong, is a Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million r ...
.
The theme music is an instrumental version of "
Your Latest Trick" by
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals, lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums, percussion). Th ...
.
Characters
*Ben Yu – A successful prosecutor turned barrister and the protagonist of the series. Often humorous and charming, Ben is also occasionally the butt of jokes to his friends (especially to Michael) because of his tolerance and partly due to his clumsiness. He suffers from a crush for his colleague and fellow lawyer Michelle, who has rejected him on numerous occasions. He shares an apartment with his close friend Raymond and his cousin Man-Bun who is a police detective. Ben is played by
Bobby Au Yeung.
*Michelle Ting – Ben's colleague and love interest, a prosecutor. Michelle is an example of the modern day alpha female – headstrong, stubborn and no-nonsense. Initially, she is fairly cold towards Ben's attempt at wooing her, finding them to be childish and annoying. However, as time goes on, she gradually sees his affection for her to be genuine and accepts him in return. She was Henry Lee's
concubine
Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...
. Michelle is played by
Amy Chan
Amy Chan Sau-man () is a Hong Kong actress and Cantopop
Cantopop (a contraction of "Cantonese pop music") is a genre of pop music sung in Cantonese. Cantopop is also used to refer to the cultural context of its production and consumpt ...
.
*Michael Kong – A
paralegal advisor who is best friend to Ben Yu and Raymond Chow. Amongst the group, Michael is shown to be the manipulative and mischievous one. He is sometimes slightly immature and rather cocky and at most times who takes joy in messing around with Ben and Raymond. He works for his widowed mother's law firm and helps her and his sister Helen in handling their cases. Despite his smart alec personality, he does have a kind hearted side and is willing to help those who are less privileged. Michael Kong is played by
Michael Tao
Michael Tao Dai Yu (, born 26 August 1963) is a Hong Kong television actor.
Career
Tao entered the acting industry in the 1980s, affiliating with TVB. It was during this period that Tao earned the name "Housewife Killer" due to his overwhelmin ...
.
*Helen Kong – Michael's younger sister who is also a lawyer at their mother's firm, a barrister. Beautiful and intelligent, Helen has a strong work ethic and wisdom beyond her year when it comes to court case matters. She briefly dated Ben's cousin Man-Bun but soon separated due to personal differences. Helen is played by
Eugina Lau.
*Raymond Chow – A close friend to Ben and Michael who also works at Michael's law firm. Generally friendly and good-natured, Raymond is also a man who takes himself too seriously and is far less humorous than his peers. Moralistic and timid, he often disapproves of Michael's immature ways of handling situations. He is also an occasional victim of Ben's crazy schemes when he is attempting to hook-up with Michelle. Raymond is Played by
William So.
Cast
The first (1992), second (1993), third (1994), fourth (1995) and fifth (1997) installments starring:
Recurring characters
*
Leung Kin-ping as Paul, prosecutor (1992–94; & 1997; seasons 1–3; & 5; recurring)
*
Leong Oy /
Alice Fung So-bor
Alice Fung So-bor (Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: 馮素波; born August 7, 1944), also known as 波姐 (lit. Sister Bor), is a Hong Kong actress. She is an actress of ViuTV and has worked for Asia Television (ATV), TVB, and Hong Kong T ...
as Leung Mei-ying(梁美英,英姐), maid of Kong's Family, mother of Anthony Yau and Chris Yau (1992-1997; seasons 1–5; recurring)
*
Wong Yat-fei as Yu Chiu-choi(余招財), father of Ben Yu (1992-1993; seasons 1–2; recurring)
*
May Tse as Wong Wing-mui(王詠梅), mother of Ben Yu (1992; seasons 1; recurring)
*
Amy Wu as Yu Choi-tung(余在冬), elder sister of Ben Yu (1992; seasons 1; recurring)
*
Chan Wing-chun as Ho Keung(何強), brother in law of Ben Yu (1992; seasons 1; recurring)
*
Lee Wong-sang as Keung(強), police detective (1992-1995 seasons 1-4; recurring)
*
Daniel Kwok as Chiu(超), police detective (1992-1995; seasons 1-4; recurring)
*
Bertha Ngai as Shirley, Wife of Henry Lee (1992; seasons 1; recurring)
*
Joanna Siu as May Wong Mei-ling(王美玲), Queenie Tong's lesbian lover (1993; seasons 2; recurring)
*
Kenneth Chan as Wilson, Doris Lam's boyfriend (1993; season 2; recurring)
*
Liz Kong as Grace Fong Hei-tung(方曦彤), solicitor (1994; season 3; recurring)
*
Eddie Ng
Eddie Ng Hak-kim GBS, JP ( zh, c=吳克儉, born 29 November 1952) is a former Secretary for Education in the Hong Kong Government. From 2017, he is a temporary adjunct professor at the MBA Centre of Shanghai University. as Ken Chu Ka-hong(朱家康), legal clerk (1994; season 3; recurring)
*
Shirley Yuen as Shirley Wong Suet-yi(王雪怡), victim (1994; season 3; recurring)
*
Zhang Yan as Eva Lam Shuk-han(林淑嫻), nurse (1994; season 3; recurring)
*
Sam Lam as George Pao Sze-chuen(鮑思全), doctor (1994; season 3; recurring)
*
Derek Kok
Derek Kok Jing-hung (, born 18 November 1964) is a Hong Kong actor who had worked for TVB from 1986 to 2015. He filmed over 70 dramas. He is specialised in action and Chinese Kung Fu performance.
Career
His career started when he entered the ...
as Wong On(王安), police detective (1994-5; season 3-4; recurring)
*
Joe Ma as Dicky Tse Chun-kit(謝俊傑), Susan Tong's first boyfriend (1994; season 3; recurring)
*
Lee Lung-kei as Philip Law Wai-lam(羅偉林), Susan Tong's ex-lover (1994-5; season 3-4; recurring)
*
Mark Kwok as Tommy Cheng Tze-wai(鄭子偉), police detective (1995; season 4; recurring)
*
Daisy Wong as Ada, legal clerk (1995; season 4; recurring)
*
Gordon Liu
Gordon Liu Chia-hui (born Sin Kam-hei, 22 August 1955) is a retired Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and filmmaker, best known for his roles in martial arts films. He was one of the biggest male stars of Shaw Brothers Studio's martial arts cinema ...
as Au Kwok-kin(歐國堅), father of Catherine Au (1997; season 5; recurring)
*
Lisa Lui as Yip Hau-ming(葉巧明), step-mother of Catherine Au (1997; season 5; recurring)
*
Wong Wai as Chiu Chak-choi(趙澤財), father of Eva Chiu (1997; season 5; recurring)
*
Lily Li
Lily Li (; 14 June 1950 – 27 October 2024) was a Hong Kong film and television actress. She is best known for her films '' The Wandering Swordsman'', '' Executioners from Shaolin'', ''One Foot Crane'' and ''The Young Master'', and television ...
as Tam Siu-lan (譚少蘭), defendant (1994; season 3), also as Wong Mei-lin(王美蓮), mother of Eva Chiu (1997; season 5; recurring)
*
Carrie Ho as Yeung Ka-lai-na(楊嘉麗娜), police detective (1997; season 5; recurring)
*
Angie Cheong as Daisy Zhang(張小燕), Eric Chow's girlfriend (1997; season 5; recurring)
*
Timothy Siu as So Chun-wai(蘇振威), Kelvin Fong's sub-ordinate (1997; season 5; recurring)
*
Evergreen Mak
Evergreen Mak Cheung-ching (, born 18 December 1968), better known as Makbau (麥包), is a Hong Kong actor. He had been an actor with TVB for more than 30 years.
Early life
Mak was born in Shunde District, Foshan, China, and his ancestral h ...
as Yeung Ka-man(楊家文), younger brother of Yeung Ka-chun (1997; season 5; recurring)
*
Kam Hing-yin as Yeung Ka-chun(楊家俊), older brother of Yeung Ka-man (1997; season 5; recurring)
Series overview
References
External links
* {{usurped,
Article title}
TVB dramas