As you can see from the designations in the cast list, this production is one of Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, and Singapore. So technically, putting it under Taiwan series is wrong. But since it aired in Taiwan first, I guess it would fall into this category. It has been about 10 years since they have made another adaptation of Jinyong's first novel, so there is a lot of expectation for this one to be better than the rest, at least I personally do after I saw the cast list for the first time in February.
If you have not seen previous adaptations or have read the novel, the story is set in the Manchu dynasty. The leader of Red Flower Society (RFS) Yu Wan Ting has left the spot of Great Helmsman to his adopted son, Chen Jia Luo. Yu had done this for a reason -- Chen Jia Luo and the Emperor Qian Long are blood brothers. The whole story goes on to talk about how Chen Jia Luo tries to persuade his brother to overthrow the Manchus, leading to the failure of the society and the death of Princess Fragrance, a woman who the brothers were fighting over.
Is this adaptation close to the novel? Yes and No. Yes, it does retain the main structure of the story. No, as in the details are changed, things are added to make the series more dramatic. In adaptations, people expect it to look exactly like the novel. But sometimes, addendum and changes made can make the series even more enjoyable than the novel itself. Such is the case with this adaptation. Watching this series is somewhat like watching "The Legend of the Condor Heroes 82" with Barbara Yung and Felix Wong. Surely, they changed the details in that one, but it became a classic didn't it? Why? It's because it was enjoyable and the cast did an excellent job.
I was a bit surprised that they casted Zhao Wen Zhuo as Head Helmsman Chen. I was not questioning his skills as a martial artist. In fact, martial arts wise, I felt that they had casted the right person. But it is the dramatic scenes that worry me. Usually I do not associate Zhuo Zhuo with lovey-dovey stuff and I didn't really see the connection between him and a scholarly type of guy like Chen Jia Luo. Of course, watching this series has proven me wrong! Though I think that Adam Cheng is the "ultimate Head Helmsman Chen", Zhuo Zhuo had a performance that is only one level below him. He far exceeds the performance of Pang Man Kin in the 80s. In costume, he looks really scholarly, although he could give those thick eyebrows a tweezing. But it does appear that he did put a lot of work into acting this character. The writers at CEI have also made Chen Jia Luo smarter. He knows that Li Yuan Zhi is a girl even before anyone told him. So that eliminated one reason why he gave up on Huo Qing Tong. But in contrast, that made him more the "playa." But frankly, his storyline has never interested me that much.
It has been a while since I've seen Esther Kwan in a series, so I was really looking foward to seeing her in this series, especially as one of my favorite characters, Huo Qing Tong. When I first saw the pictures from the series, I thought that Esther was a bit too old to play this part. But then again, Liza Wang was about 30 when she was casted in the first television adaptation. But after I saw Esther in this series, my mind was completely changed. She handled Huo's character pretty well I must say. There is an equal balance between the strong side and the soft side of Huo Qing Tong. Compared to Liza Wang's Huo Qing Tong, I would say that Liza's was a bit too strong.
Rachel Ngan's Princess Fragrance was of course not everyone's first choice. In fact, she was not picked for this role until the middle of shooting. In the beginning, there were rumors that Korean star Song Hye Kyo was to be cast as the Princess. Then there were rumors that Evonne Hsu or Terri Chen (Gwan Ying) were going to be casted. Of course, all these were dispelled. But when CEI started filming, it was made known that Sun Li (who plays Li Yuan Zhi) was suppose to be casted as the Princess, but she was way too tall for Zhuo Zhuo and plus she wanted to play the part of Li Yuan Zhi (and I must say that it was smart decision made by Ms. Sun). Hence, they have to find another person to play this fairy-comparable role. Rachel is 1/4 Pakistani and 3/4 Chinese, so she has the foreign look down. When I first saw pictures of her in costume, I was totally disappointed. Is this the "fairy from heaven" that caused Chen Jia Luo and his brother to turn against each other? Yet when I saw her in action, I was really surprised. She may not be the fairy that Jinyong describes in the novel, but she does have that naiveness, kindness, and child-like personality that the Princess has. Plus, she does not make her seem as stupid as everyone thinks. Though I still think that Candace Yu On On is the most beautiful Princess Fragrance ever, Rachel has done an above average job with this role.
Chen Chao Yong as Qian Long - I was so disappointed!!! First of all, if you look at the way he talks, you would be wondering what the heck is wrong with his lips?! He purses them like crazy. And plus, I think he has been making Taiwanese (as in language) series for too long, it looks like he was speaking Taiwanese from the way his mouth is moving. I like him in other series, but I seriously think that they casted him in the wrong role in this one. He doesn't look older than Zhuo Zhuo, let alone a middle-aged emperor.
At the ChinaTV forum, a majority of the people liked the supporting characters more than the lead ones. Count me in that majority. The supporting cast is just awesome!! Then again, even in the novel, the stories of the supporting characters are more attractive than the Chen Jia Luo love square.
When I first heard that Sun Li was cast as my favorite character Li Yuan Zhi, I literally jumped for joy. She is really really pretty and is a good actress (probably gets advice from her famous boyfriend Huang Lei). I loved her when I saw her in "The Lady Warriors of Yang Family" (also a CEI production). Let's just say that out of all the "Li Yuan Zhi"s that I have seen (her, Kitty Lai, and Gigi Wong), she has the role down exactly right. She has Li Yuan Zhi's rambunctiousness, playfulness, kindness, and the profound love that she has for Yu Yu Tong down right. Each expression of her's was just amazingly how I pictured Li Yuan Zhi to be. It was as though she jumped right out of the book. I truly love the scenes and the interaction between her and Tse Kwan Ho. In the beginning, they like to trick each other, it is amazing how in sync they are with each other. I can never take my eyes off the screen when either of these two appear. Speaking of Tse Kwan Ho, everyone knows that he is a well-acclaimed stage actor in Hong Kong. I was glad that he was casted as the Golden Flute Scholar, but he is rather old to play this part . He's handsome, but not in the way Jinyong described how Yu Yu Tong is. But his acting skills makes up for these disadvantages. From his interactions with his martial sister to professing his love to Luo Bing, Tse Kwan Ho displays the right set of emotions. Compared to Lawrence Ng and Ha Yu, I'd say he has done an excellent job in his portrayal. The writers at CEI did an excellent job in writing the Yu-Li story.
Jinyong did not go into much about this couple, which I find a pity because they are one of the most interesting pairs. The writers at CEI managed to add more to the story to make it even fuller. For example, it is explained in the series that Yu Yu Tong actually does fall in love with Li Yuan Zhi, unlike in the novel when we are left wondering if he's still thinking of Luo Bing after all. In the series, Yu Tong realizes that he has fallen for Yuan Zhi when she decides to "marry" Zhang Zhao Zhong for his sake (shockers!). He realizes that he has denied his emotions all along. But it turns out that Yuan Zhi actually wanted to help him get revenge on Zhang, but failed and was captured. In the end, Yu Tong chases Yuan Zhi back and they do get married. But their ultimate ending made me very very sad.
Guo Liang's Zhang Zhao Zhong is extremely young. In the novel, Zhang is suppose to be middle-aged. In the series, however, Guo Liang's Zhang looks about the same age as Yu Yu Tong. So it was hardly convincing that he was the elder of Yu and Li. Zhang is a character you love to hate, and Guo Liang does an excellent job of giving you that feeling. You can admire him for his following of orders and his skills, but at the same time hate him for always getting in RFS's way.
It has been a while since I have seen Ray Lui on the small screen, I forgot which series it was that I last saw him in. But surprisingly, he still looks extremely good. Compared to Sek Sau's and Paul Chu Kong's Wen Tai Lai, I would say that he give comparable performances. All three actors' portrayals I liked. But one bad thing about Ray Lui's version is his ending. Brother Four will die in this series. So it left me wondering if Yu Yu Tong would have a chance with Luo Bing after he dies. Then the story would get more interesting. The answer is definitely no! But just the thought that Brother Four will die makes me very angry. The way he dies is even more absurd. Why on earth would Zhao Ban Shan (played by Wu Yue) betray the RFS and work for the government?? That was a bad decision by the writers to actually write this in. The RFS are known for their brotherhood and righteousness. But I guess that it further indicates the downfall of the society.
Vicky Chen plays Wen Tai Lai's wife Luo Bing. I had liked this character before when I first read the novel, but then I started to dislike her, most probably because I like Li Yuan Zhi better. When I saw the 1987 adaptation, I hated this character even more due to Chan Man Yee's awful performance. When Vicky Chen first appeared in the 2002 version, I thought she was adorable, plus she is the right age to play this character. But then as I get further into this series, I started to feel more and more indifferent about her character. But nonetheless, she is better than the previous "Luo Bings" that I have seen. At least she didn't make me dislike the character even more but rather made me appreciate her more.. But overall, I thought the Wen-Luo couple was pretty boring.
Another person that I have not seen in a series for a while is Joey Leung. In Book and Sword, he plays Xu Tian Hom opposite Kym Ng's Zhou Qi. These two are not my first choice for this couple. A better choice would've been Power Chan Kwok Bong and Theresa Lee to be Xu and Zhou. But nonetheless, Joey and Kym deliver one of the most funniest performances in the series. They added the amusement factor into the series. People have complained that Kym is not very pretty, but I disagree -- she is adorable in her own way. She did a good job in portraying the righteousness and the naiveness of Zhou Qi. I totally did not like the way Joey's character looked. If he kept his hair in the front of his head, he would look like Legolas the Elf from "The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring". What were the designers thinking?? Apart from that, Joey Leung makes a pretty convincing Brother Seven. His facial expressions are just so wacky, though he was not allowed to fully express the wisdom of Xu Tian Hom, the writers made him more of a lacky of Chen Jia Luo's rather than as the brains of the society.
So to sum up my likes and dislikes of this series, I've created the following list:
1. Favorite Couple - Definitely Yu Yu Tong and Li Yuan Zhi (although Xu Tian Hom and Zhou Qi came in as a close second).
2. Annoying factor- Xin Yan (Chen Jia Luo's servant boy) - for God's sake, everyone knows that you worship Head Helmsman Chen like a god, so stop reiterating it!
3. Worst looks - Joey's Xu Tian Hom as explained above. Wei Chun Hua's look (Brother # 9). For god sakes, why on earth does he have blonde highlights in his hair??
4. Scenes that I found boring - Scenes with Wen Tai Lai and Luo Bing. I can't help it, I just find these two boring.
5. Sweetest scenes - The scenes in the beginning between Chen Jia Luo and Huo Qing Tong are so sweet! The relationship between them seems like puppy love. Then of course there is the *gasp!* kissing scene between these two. Also, the scene in which Yu Yu Tong was in jail and Li Yuan Zhi sat on top of the roof to accompany him and he played the flute for her was really sweet also.
6. Hated changes - Wen Tai Lai, Yu Yu Tong, and Li Yuan Zhi dies in the end. Zhao Ban Shan made to be a traitor.
I have seen three versions of this series, both TVB adaptations (1976, 1987) and this one. Prior to viewing this version, the 1976 version was my favorite due to the fact that the actors are wonderful and it followed extremely closely to the novel. But after viewing the 2002 version, I must say that the new version has tied the 1976 as my all time favorite adaptation.
