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dangermousieBy now it must be pretty clear that (a) I love period Chinese dramas, be they Mainland, Taiwanese, or Hong Kong; (b) that I love time-travel dramas; (c) that my favorite drama in the world, The Myth, involves time-travel to the Qin Dynasty.
I am sure you can figure out the next step - I have decided to check out Step Into the Past, a 2001 TVB drama about a modern man who uses a time-machine to travel to Qin, but due to an error lands there 3 years earlier than his pick-up date and has to survive there for that period of time while trying to make sure history stays the same or else he might never get back. Look at it this way, buddy! At least you have a way back, unlike Hu Ge's character in The Myth.
Have a trailer, doesn't it look amazing?
A STEP INTO THE PAST(2001)
Uploaded by HARE44. - See the latest featured music videos.
Let's see if we go three-for-three with The Myth, Jade Palace Lock Heart and now this. I very much hope so.
In addition, ever since I fell in love with Hong Kong after we spent a week there last year, I've been hankering for a modern HK drama. Thus, I decided to check out a modern-day HK drama but most of the ones I seem to be able to find are police dramas - not my thing. Still, I'll be able to sit through one if it showcased HK a lot. So - any recs for HK present-day dramas?
I am sure you can figure out the next step - I have decided to check out Step Into the Past, a 2001 TVB drama about a modern man who uses a time-machine to travel to Qin, but due to an error lands there 3 years earlier than his pick-up date and has to survive there for that period of time while trying to make sure history stays the same or else he might never get back. Look at it this way, buddy! At least you have a way back, unlike Hu Ge's character in The Myth.
Have a trailer, doesn't it look amazing?
A STEP INTO THE PAST(2001)
Uploaded by HARE44. - See the latest featured music videos.
Let's see if we go three-for-three with The Myth, Jade Palace Lock Heart and now this. I very much hope so.
In addition, ever since I fell in love with Hong Kong after we spent a week there last year, I've been hankering for a modern HK drama. Thus, I decided to check out a modern-day HK drama but most of the ones I seem to be able to find are police dramas - not my thing. Still, I'll be able to sit through one if it showcased HK a lot. So - any recs for HK present-day dramas?
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Date: 2011-02-12 02:01 pm (UTC)Did you finish Taiyou no Uta? And Guilty?
Isn't it better to finish up some GOOD dramas before starting more potentially bad ones?
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Date: 2011-02-13 02:46 am (UTC)So as for now:
Dream High (Korea) - though that is sort of on hold until they straighten out the triangle
Gisaeng (Korea)
Jade Palace (China)
That's it, plenty of room. Though I really need to finish Endless Love too.
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Date: 2011-02-12 02:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 02:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-12 03:20 pm (UTC)I don't watch much HK modern dramas :X, the watchable ones r usu family epic ~ EoE, Giant(but so not nearly as good). There is not much OTP goodness, quite makjang.
If u r into touring HK again in drama form, there is this http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Romancing_Hong_Kong, and an MV http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEEj99OMZT8&feature=related it's not memorable, but I dun rem it as stabbity awful.
My HK friends r all addicted to Gem of Life when it's airing and said it's insanely addictive and awesome, 82 eps, I'm not touching it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gem_of_Life
and a promo snippet of what happend in first 2 eps
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQFd919Hl7A
But too bad, I have no idea where to find subs for those.
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Date: 2011-02-12 07:52 pm (UTC)TVB are 'specialized' in making family epic (Korean chaebol family in equivalent). A lot of their blockbusters in 90's revolved around rich families with insanely addictive makjang plot.
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Date: 2011-02-12 09:12 pm (UTC)I used to be a fan of Chik Kei Yi as well, but the TVB environment is not one encouraging much creativity nowadays.
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Date: 2011-02-13 02:48 am (UTC)LOL, that means they are at least better than the long kdramas because those drag from the very end :)
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Date: 2011-02-13 02:48 am (UTC)Gem of Life sounds good but at 82 eps, I am not watching it even if it has a religious revelation and rapture at the end :)
Btw, since you are my cdrama guru - is Legendary Warrior (薛仁贵传奇) any good - I found it with subs and it looks really tempting.
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Date: 2011-02-12 05:09 pm (UTC)Since you like hk dramas and time travel, look out for Return To The Three Kingdom. It's time travel to the 3 Kingdom period. <3 And it stars Raymond Lam and Tavia Yeung (lol my fav pairing again!). WIll be out later this year!
Hk modern dramas....There's so many! But what type/genre etc are you most interested in? No police-themes...what about firefighters/doctors/lawyers/etc etc? =P
How about pre-modern?
A Fistful of Stances (Kenneth Ma, Kevin Cheng, Yuen Chiu etc) - revolves around the theme of family. The family scenes were really touching and we can see the bonds that hold the big family together. No serious in-house family fighting (the makjang style). =)
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Date: 2011-02-13 02:50 am (UTC)Return to Three Kingdoms sounds wonderful. Plus, mmmm, Raymond Lam (I liked Lofty Waters Verdant Bow). Hope it's going to be subbed!
Police dramas are fine actually, I just want to see some HK stuff.
AFoS sounds really good, just need to find subs.
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Date: 2011-02-13 05:35 am (UTC)An old one, but perhaps a classic - Burning Flames II. DO NOT WATCH III. It turned the single face of this series (There are 3 dramas in the BF series, and one actor remained with it throughout) into a pathetic loser. I HATED IT ARGH..... In my opinion, BFII was the best of the three. You see character development, you see unexpected endings, you see very very touching father and daughter scenes...Although it's dated, you get the good old TVB people like Flora Chan and Maggie Cheung Ho Yee inside.
Another pre-modern that's up till now one of my favourites - Plain Love II starring Maggie Cheung Ho Yee and Gordon Lam. It was shot in China, so the scenery is breath-taking.
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Date: 2011-02-13 04:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 06:10 pm (UTC)The King of Yesterday and Tomorrow
In this one, we see that short scene at the start of Gong explored. Yong Zhen (the 4th Prince!!!) travels from the Qing Dynasty to the Present. Along with Lu Si Niang, the assassin from the rebel society that was rumoured to have had a relationship with the King. Yong Zhen finds himself helping the son of a chaebol (lol....) try win the place of 'Crown Prince' in the company. EPIC!
Haha...
Er, this is where you rely on subbers! Not sure what subbing groups there are for cdramas though. =S
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Date: 2011-02-13 06:28 pm (UTC)I have a loooooooooooooooooooooong list of cdramas I would love to watch if they were subbed.
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Date: 2011-02-12 07:46 pm (UTC)However, TVB series have declined in the last 10 years. Here is some recommended series, if you don't mind their age (some in 90's).
Modern series:
Greed of Men - A huge x3 classic series in 1992. Roller-coaster plot and definitely make you want to aim your shotgun at the antagonists + shouting at the TV.
At the Threshold of an Era I & II - It still garnered high ratings despite repeated airing in late night slots, enough said.
To Catch the Uncatchable - A comedy cop series, ala stand up comedy style.
Burning Flame trilogy - Story about firemen, but you can skip Part 3 :P The trilogy is not connected, each is new storyline/character.
Return of the Cuckoo - Tears inducing series, no matter how many times I rewatch.
Secret of the Heart
Revolving Doors of Vengeance
Costume/Period series:
Plain Love trilogy (Plain Love, Plain Love 2, Country Spirit). Again, each is a classic of its own and not connected.
War & Beauty - This classic series revived the genre of palace women/concubine fighting, started newer trend in Qing drama headpieces, costumes etc.
Where the Legend Begins - The story of Yan Fook (a beauty in Romance of Three Kingdom period) and her relationship with Cao Cao and his sons.
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Date: 2011-02-12 09:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 07:22 am (UTC)p.s. Yeah, it's one of my disc collection!
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Date: 2011-02-13 02:51 am (UTC)Ooooh, thanks for all the recs!
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Date: 2011-02-13 03:12 am (UTC)1983 YG was Andy Lau.
1995 YG was Louis Koo.
2006 YG was Huang Xiaoming
(I'm totally pretending Richie Ren didn't masscre the character in his 1998 TW-version).
I like Louis, not the best actor, but always works for me.
re: Louis Koo
Date: 2011-02-13 08:35 am (UTC)http://youtu.be/Xx_XBHSigv4 hahahaha
Re: Louis Koo
Date: 2011-02-13 04:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 07:34 am (UTC)Louis has never been cast as a main lead in family sagas, mostly 2nd or supporting character. He's mostly valued for his looks than acting, and during his peak, he starred more in action series (Burning Flame, DIF4) and romantic series (Man's Best Friend).
BUT... I do recommend watching his costume series, which is in his early acting career (and before he got that tanned look). He got his big break as Yang Guo in ROCH, but he filmed other wuxia series - I highly recommend Against the Blade of Honor, omg he is so so so so GORGEOUS there.
If you are interested in family saga, look for Gallen Lo. IMO, he's the best modern series actor TVB have in the past 2 decade. He got his big break playing (read: handsome evil) antagonist in family saga, and then filmed any genre you can name, including cross dressing role. No one can repeat his feat in portraying infamous hateful villains AND still get promoted to main leads.
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Date: 2011-02-13 04:28 pm (UTC)I've heard of Galen Lo - hmmmm, intrigued :)
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Date: 2011-02-12 08:44 pm (UTC)I love time travel stories, so you can't imagine how fun it is to have you on my flist ;D
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Date: 2011-02-13 02:52 am (UTC)I loooooooooooooove time travel and we have two more dramas coming out on that this year!
My two cents...
Date: 2011-02-12 08:56 pm (UTC)I don't know how to embed youtube videos, so I'd recommend checking out chocoxicevids on youtube. She made quite a few videos for the Seventh day and the main OTP. (Niki Chow and Kevin Cheng)
Last note: And If you want to see other HK drama reviews, I'd suggest checking out the site spcnet.tv. There are many user reviews for asian dramas on there. ^^
Re: My two cents...
Date: 2011-02-13 02:52 am (UTC)Re: My two cents...
Date: 2011-02-13 03:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-12 09:31 pm (UTC)HK drama... You should try War and Beauty if it's available? It's all palace intrique and women upstaging one another; it started off quite a trend in TVB dramas. And if you enjoyed that, you can also try A Dance of Passion - which basically has the same cast as War and Beauty, since the the former series was such a huge success.
Otherwise you can also try Twins of Brother - I find it one of the better executed of the more recent HK wuxia series (they teamed up with Mainland China for this production, iirc). One of the main romantic plot is so yawn-inducing and you'll want to FF through the entire thing - but the other half of the main plot is OK.
Present Day recs:
- Born Rich: Basically a makjang in disguise.
- Shades of Truth: Modern day reincarnations of characters from famous Chinese novel Water Margins meets. Hijinks ensues.
- Heart of Greed and its spin-off Moonlight Resonance was also hugely popular in HK... I personally don't see the appeal, but maybe I wasn't in the right mood to watch them? Both are family dramas, with inheritance issues etc.
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Date: 2011-02-13 02:53 am (UTC)I liked the Nic Tse version of Twin of Brothers, or are you talking about the Jimmy Lin one (which I do want to get to).
Thanks for all the recs!
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Date: 2011-02-13 07:10 am (UTC)I havent heard of the Cdrama 薛仁贵传奇, it'll be focusing on the hero and his path to greatness and many war fighting, i prefer my periods very crowded, more storylines tge better.
@ockoala, ohohhohhh I'm about to start Water Margin, have been itching for a while, i'm finally done w/ 3 kingdoms! Those 2 r my favs of the 4 classics
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Date: 2011-02-13 07:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 04:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 01:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 02:44 am (UTC)Some of the family sagas sound tempting.
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Date: 2011-02-13 03:29 am (UTC)Trailer Part 1 (with subs), you can find part 2 after you watch part 1.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MraHpqPx5GI&feature=related
It's my favorite Book of the Four Classics (the other three being Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Dream of the Red Chamber, and Journey to the West).
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Date: 2011-02-13 04:41 am (UTC)Thanks!
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Date: 2011-02-13 04:54 am (UTC)I've never ever finished reading WM the novel, just cuz it really is dense fare, but it's truly a masterpiece of literature.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Margin
Anyways, I suggest brushing up on wiki before starting your watch, I'm going to have to do it as well, since I think the story is so sprawling with so many leads I'll be confused before long. A but of good reading of the novel synopsis and I'll be good to go. :-) Enjoy Step into the Past. One of the few HK dramas in the last decade I actually like.
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Date: 2011-02-13 04:59 am (UTC)Loved the first ep of Step into the Past.