Serangoon Road

This 2013 co-production of HBO Asia and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation is basically an old-fashioned PI procedural resembling many American network action shows. The only real distinction is the setting—Singapore in the 1960s, a time when the city is beset by gangs, economic unrest, and the machinations of agents from both the CIA and MI6. At the center is Sam Callaghan (Don Hany), a former army intelligence officer who's tapped by Patricia Cheng (Joan Chen)—now running the detective agency of her recently murdered husband—to investigate particularly sensitive cases. Some of the episodes involve political skullduggery, smuggling, and terrorism, but one resorts to a particularly hoary plot, in which Sam tries to prove that an old friend didn't commit a murder—a task made difficult because the man suffers from amnesia about the night of the crime. The stories also depend heavily on prolonged fistfights—at least one per episode—while making room for a couple of sidekicks and a romantic triangle consisting of Sam, an erstwhile flame, and her powerful husband. Serangoon Road's convincing period detail lends it an unusual ambience, but otherwise this show is pretty much formulaic. Compiling all 10 episodes from the first season, extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette, photo gallery, and production notes. Optional. (F. Swietek)