Huan Zhu Ge Ge (Princess Returning Pearl)
So this Taiwanese TV series came out in 1998, and as usual, it takes me years before I bother to buy myself a copy (just to see what the hoopla was about) and watch it myself. (In Mandarin, with Chinese subtitles. There's probably an English fansub out there somewhere.)
My verdict? Sappy but fun!
Ziwei, can you be any more weepy? Come on, girl, get a grip!
Little Swallow, wipe that stupid cute smile off your face! You know you get away with everything just because if you died, it wouldn't be funny anymore...
Based on a novel by Chiung Yao, this is...hmm...a romantic comedy of sorts, set during the reign of the Manchu emperor Qian Long (for some reason, he's one of the more popular emperors to hang these stories and TV shows off of. I've seen at least 2-3 other ones.) 24 episodes. Stars Zhao Wei as Little Swallow, Ruby Lin as Xia Ziwei, Alec Su as Yong Qi (the fifth prince), Zhou Jie as Fu Erkang, and Chen Ziping as Fu Ertai. Most of the actors did a pretty good job, I thought. At least, no one stood out as particularly annoying. The villains were convincingly sinister, the emperor convincingly paternal yet lecherous (which led to a squicky moment or two before everything was sorted out.)
Plot: Xia Ziwei is an illegitimate daughter of the current emperor (apparently he had an affair with her mother, then got distracted and forgot about her), seeking out her father now that her mother has died. Accompanied only by her loyal maid servant, she has a hard time penetrating the walls around the emperor, and is lost in the capital as her money runs out. Luckily for her, she runs into the Little Swallow, a thief and conwoman with a heart of gold (apparently) who grew up an orphan in the streets of Beijing (more or less...she's not quite on the streets now, having an adoptive family of sorts and a place to call home.) Ziwei and Little Swallow hit it off, swearing sisterhood with each other (a serious oath in that culture). The Little Swallow promises to help Ziwei deliver a painting and fan once given to Ziwei's mother. Then various plot twists ensue, and it's the Little Swallow who gets "recognized" as the emperor's daughter, under the name/title of "Huan Zhu Ge Ge" ("Return Pearl Princess")! Naturally Ziwei is beyond upset when she finds out. What's going on? Oh noes! But to deceive the emperor can mean a death sentence, so everyone is afraid to tell the truth. The rest of the series is all about how an "uneducated street girl (of the wrong ethnicity)" tries to fit in as a princess, how the cute boys fall in love with them, how their love is Impossible, and how they cry and suffer their way to a happy ending, with some humorous interludes along the way.
And a lot of it was fun to watch. I loved the costumes, and for once we had someone wearing them who wasn't trained from birth to it! Look at those princess shoes! (And I thought heels were bad...) And what's with those handkerchiefs the court women constantly carry around!? And the hairdos! Ha ha ha! The scholarly Ji Xiaolan (famous historical figure: in fact, there's another TV series about him, with the same actor playing the emperor, but that's a different story) as her tutor!
And for once the eunuchs weren't all evil schemers (like they would be in a kungfu flick, but then, this is set in the reign of Qian Long, who had a strong grip on his government), but a range of sensible and silly people. And Little Swallow with her pathetic bit of martial arts, wistfully asking the more skilled folks of the palace to teach her.
The main issue I had with the show was how long they dragged it out before getting to the end. For too many episodes, someone would declare "I have to speak now! I can't take it anymore!" and then some other character would insist that no no, you can't do that yet, blah blah blah too dangerous blah blah blah. And then it would happen again next episode with someone else. Gah.
Worth watching once.
My verdict? Sappy but fun!
Ziwei, can you be any more weepy? Come on, girl, get a grip!
Little Swallow, wipe that stupid cute smile off your face! You know you get away with everything just because if you died, it wouldn't be funny anymore...
Based on a novel by Chiung Yao, this is...hmm...a romantic comedy of sorts, set during the reign of the Manchu emperor Qian Long (for some reason, he's one of the more popular emperors to hang these stories and TV shows off of. I've seen at least 2-3 other ones.) 24 episodes. Stars Zhao Wei as Little Swallow, Ruby Lin as Xia Ziwei, Alec Su as Yong Qi (the fifth prince), Zhou Jie as Fu Erkang, and Chen Ziping as Fu Ertai. Most of the actors did a pretty good job, I thought. At least, no one stood out as particularly annoying. The villains were convincingly sinister, the emperor convincingly paternal yet lecherous (which led to a squicky moment or two before everything was sorted out.)
Plot: Xia Ziwei is an illegitimate daughter of the current emperor (apparently he had an affair with her mother, then got distracted and forgot about her), seeking out her father now that her mother has died. Accompanied only by her loyal maid servant, she has a hard time penetrating the walls around the emperor, and is lost in the capital as her money runs out. Luckily for her, she runs into the Little Swallow, a thief and conwoman with a heart of gold (apparently) who grew up an orphan in the streets of Beijing (more or less...she's not quite on the streets now, having an adoptive family of sorts and a place to call home.) Ziwei and Little Swallow hit it off, swearing sisterhood with each other (a serious oath in that culture). The Little Swallow promises to help Ziwei deliver a painting and fan once given to Ziwei's mother. Then various plot twists ensue, and it's the Little Swallow who gets "recognized" as the emperor's daughter, under the name/title of "Huan Zhu Ge Ge" ("Return Pearl Princess")! Naturally Ziwei is beyond upset when she finds out. What's going on? Oh noes! But to deceive the emperor can mean a death sentence, so everyone is afraid to tell the truth. The rest of the series is all about how an "uneducated street girl (of the wrong ethnicity)" tries to fit in as a princess, how the cute boys fall in love with them, how their love is Impossible, and how they cry and suffer their way to a happy ending, with some humorous interludes along the way.
And a lot of it was fun to watch. I loved the costumes, and for once we had someone wearing them who wasn't trained from birth to it! Look at those princess shoes! (And I thought heels were bad...) And what's with those handkerchiefs the court women constantly carry around!? And the hairdos! Ha ha ha! The scholarly Ji Xiaolan (famous historical figure: in fact, there's another TV series about him, with the same actor playing the emperor, but that's a different story) as her tutor!
And for once the eunuchs weren't all evil schemers (like they would be in a kungfu flick, but then, this is set in the reign of Qian Long, who had a strong grip on his government), but a range of sensible and silly people. And Little Swallow with her pathetic bit of martial arts, wistfully asking the more skilled folks of the palace to teach her.
The main issue I had with the show was how long they dragged it out before getting to the end. For too many episodes, someone would declare "I have to speak now! I can't take it anymore!" and then some other character would insist that no no, you can't do that yet, blah blah blah too dangerous blah blah blah. And then it would happen again next episode with someone else. Gah.
Worth watching once.
posted by Taisch @ 7:11 PM
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