Yellowthread Street recently re-appeared as a re-run on UK satellite television. How did the Yorkshire TV series set in HK stand the test of time?
Some twenty-two years after it originally hit the small screen, Yorkshire Television’s ambitious but short-lived Hong Kong set detective series Yellowthread Street reappeared on satellite TV. Despite there being no official DVD release, and it being the first repeat screening, little fanfare was given to the show which was based on William Marshall's Yellowthread series of books.
The show is beautifully shot, and makes the most out of its Hong Kong locations and features a solid cast that includes Bruce Payne (Passenger 57, Highlander: Endgame), Mark McGann, Doreen Chan, Tzi Ma and Ray Lonnen, though admittedly it is also plagued by terrible action sequences and some very poor scripts in some episodes (a bit too much of the "bad joss Taipan' style of dialogue). There are, however, a couple of standout episodes in this initial run that hint at what could have been – and if it had gone to a second series, the word was that the action content would have been increased.
It's interesting to see so many faces from both in front and behind the scenes of Hong kong cinema, make appearences including Robin Shou from Mortal Kombat, Melvin Wong from Above the Law, Teddy Chen director of Purple Storm and Bodyguards & Assassins, Yung Hong from Chinese Torture Chamber Story, Dennis Chan from Kickboxer, Stuart Ong, Dion Lam, and more.
We'd love to see an official release of the show, perhaps with the addition of Yorkshire shock-jock James Whale's trip to Hong Kong to meet the cast and crew as a bonus feature!
