I was looking forward to this series as I was living in Singapore round about the time the series was set. Not only that, I was living quite close to Serangoon Road so (ike reviewer 'pgmucha') I viewed the series with a hopeful sense of nostalgia. Why is the series called Serangoon Road? It is nothing like it. In reality it was/is a straight, wide street not a narrow winding lane, as depicted. One reviewer stated that it is 'not a documentary' but they should have tried to get the backdrop right at least. This was not the Serangoon Road I remember. The average temperature in Singapore is 25C with 70% humidity. However, our hero runs around and fights – but never raises a sweat . Just walking around in a climate where it is hot and humid all the time, has one dripping with sweat. People walked in the shade, not in the sun. Where are the Indians? Quite close to Serangoon Road is Little India but I could not see any Indians wandering about in this series. Geographical locations have been telescoped it seems. Bugis St is not just round the corner but a kilometer away. (I lived in a rooming house on the same floor as 4 of the 'boys' from Bugis St). Chinatown is at least 3 kilometers away. The acting is not Emmy (or even Logie) material. Joan Chen tries her best to be inscrutable. Her young female sidekick has a somewhat incongruous Oxbridge accent. The hero is suitably heroic, designer stubble and all. Does he ever change his shirt? His romantic interest however, is insipid and the epitome of 'wooden' - hardly the stuff of a a passionate love affair. The other characters are two dimensional at best. The bad guys are very bad. I don't think that in 1964 phrases such as 'pissed me off'and 'forensic accounting' were used. Overall, it was a very average production that barely held my interest A pity that it was not better researched. Yes, I know 'it was not a documentary' but it WAS a 'Hollywood generic' scenario aimed at viewers who have no idea what Singapore was/is like.

I really like this show.Good actors, setting and good stories.It mainly takes place in a district in Singapore in the 60s where crime poverty and gangs are rampant and people struggle to get by day by day.I like the slow pace of the show which doesn't make it less engaging and suspenseful.If you like good drama a new setting and diving into a fascinating world you didn't know before give this show a try.It stand apart very positively from all the soulless vampire, sci-fi and fantasy shows which swamp TV land nowadays where some miscast teen models run around CGI environments in search of a decent and interesting story.

Watching this series as a Singaporean was a cringe-worthy experience for me - it seemed like it was made for the Western audience, with all the accompanying stereotypes of the "mysterious East": Bugis Street transvestites, prostitutes, American sailors, Chinese triad gangsters.Little attention was paid to the details: Malay women were shown wearing the "hijab", which did not appear till the 80s, as the lacy "selendang" were worn in the 60s setting of this series. The Chinese were shown speaking Mandarin to each other, whereas it's the Hokkien or Teochew dialects that were commonly spoken then.The only redeeming feature was the elegant Joan Chen, though her character was also a caricature of the exotic Oriental lady: always clad in the high-necked, form fitting Chinese "cheongsam" and carrying a bamboo parasol when she's outdoors. And she inexplicably speaks with an American accent.The biggest surprise to me was the fact that the Media Development Authority of Singapore actually has a hand in producing this series!

I think 'vapid' was a bit harsh; it's a little messy and yes, a bit predictable, but I like it! What I do NOT like is the fact I can't hear half the dialogue for the blasted background noise! It might be really clever, and well thought-out, but if it were more important than the actual actors' speech, you may as well call it 'foreground noise' and tell us all to turn on the subtitles. It's extremely annoying -please adjust the levels, and I'll continue to watch. Thank-you. Addendum, following an online message from you: 1) I've said what I wanted to say -why should it be a minimum of ten lines?! 2) Please don't tell me how to spell -I AM an Englishman, writing CORRECTLY IN English, and that is how the word 'dialogue' IS spelt! If you've set your stupid system to that thing which is ridiculously called 'American English', just because some cretin decided that he would change the future spelling of MY native language, which had been richly composed of words from many cultures, over several hundred years, then that's your stupid choice. And now it's well over ten lines, I'm pretty annoyed, and will probably not be able to watch your show in future without becoming annoyed again, so thanks for that, too!