Recently, I watched three TV dramas from the 2000s: "The Great River Eastward," "Absolute Power," and "High Latitude Tremors," and I also watched "I Am Not Pan Jinlian."
The first two had overall high quality, but there were some shortcomings in certain areas. "High Latitude Tremors" kept me engaged for a day and a night; its 30 episodes had almost no filler, completely immersing me in that high-latitude province.
After finishing these three, I still wanted more and looked for similar shows, but after watching a few, I couldn't find anything satisfying, so I chose to write something at this time. The recent "In the Name of the People" has received good reviews and is similar in genre to these dramas, but in my opinion, the depth of the issues explored and the richness of the characters in these dramas from twenty years ago are still lacking.
"The Great River Eastward" focuses on the transformation of two cadres, both of whom have made significant contributions to urban construction and development. One seeks "self-reward" for his achievements, while the other takes a portion of the "new family startup funds" to compensate a confidant who has waited for him for ten years.
"Absolute Power" discusses the duality of work when cadres possess "absolute power." On one hand, during reform and development, when it is difficult to reach a conclusion, having absolute power allows one to implement their governance philosophy and policies. On the other hand, when one has absolute power, even if cadres strictly restrain themselves, they cannot avoid having their power "borrowed" by those around them.
"High Latitude Tremors" uses the guise of a crime investigation drama to explore how to evaluate "meritorious" individuals who have made mistakes. It raises a politically incorrect viewpoint that the masses also bear responsibility in the corruption of cadres. The character of the detective played by Wang Zhifei reminded me of Huang Jingyu in "Ice Breaking Action," which perhaps represents the ideal image of such roles.
On the other hand, an interesting phenomenon in these three dramas is the presence of "third-party" figures. However, in that era, these figures were not heavily judged, and they were not particularly off-putting. Of course, this is just an observation; from the perspective of core values, portraying such figures as detestable is not necessarily a bad thing. In "High Latitude Tremors," the two families that are prominently depicted have a therapeutic effect on my fear of marriage; the arguments formed by both parties considering each other can be less unpleasant.