Fast-talking Ada Choi baffles Roger Kwok
I’ve never thought that this would happen. She still talks super fast. Roger Kwok, actor
HONG KONG: The catchphrase among locals in Hong Kong this week is definitely “Oh My Grad”, a nod to TVB’s latest comedy series.
For star Roger Kwok, the challenge has been trying to make sense of co- star Ada Choi’s rapid-fire monosyllables.
Both of them star in the hit series about squabbling educators.
On the experience of collaborating with Ada again after 17 years, Roger shrugged and stifled a guffaw as he replied: “I’ve never thought that this would happen. She still talks super fast.”
Oh My Grad is actually the third instalment of comedian Wong Cho-lam’s laugh- out-loud Inbound Troubles series.
The series takes aim at Hong Kong’s lamentable system of education.
Roger portrays To Ming- chi, the hot-tempered headmaster of a boarding school who is forcibly transferred to a local private college founded by his father.
His concepts on education clashes with that of the practical-minded executive director Mon Jeh (Ada Choi).
Mon Jeh is a struggling single mother who is exceptionally strict with his son.
Disclosed Ada: “My role mirrors that of many mothers today. I’m not acting it. There are mothers who are very much like my character. This story also reflects the stress that many children today have to face when it comes to education.”
Roger’s role as the educator To is very challenging. Many of his philosophical lines are now being posted online, as netizens dissect the series which fully resonate with their own perceptions on what education ought to be.
Some of To Ming- chi’s quotable quotes include: “Those with blonde hair can still study Chinese, and those with tattoos can still do liberal studies” and “Teachers teach you to refine your personality. Famous teachers help you get a promotion.”
One of his eyebrow-raising quote was: “Doing an activity together with a classmate is still learning. You don’t have to graduate to have learned something.”
Oh My Grad is also Mag Lam’s first television drama since her debut in 2010. She plays Ching Shu, a student who dreams of being a tutor, and chose to study in the colege to earn a degree in education.
In the third episode, she philosophised: “If there is a problem with Hong Kong’s education system, then that should be changed. Nothing will be solved if you just leave for something better, so don’t just sulk about it and say the city is dying.”