Review on Zu Mountain (Hong Kong TV series)
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Oh my! This is really going to betray my age! I must emphasize I wrote this thing when I was REEEALLY young!Series released: 1990
Intro & Background
I decided to write a review for this old series because it left me with a deep impression when I was young. Also I find this series better than its sequel “Zu Mountain Saga”, which I think received more attention (due to Ekin Cheng’s movie “Zu” perhaps?).
A bit of background on “Zu”. People would undoubtedly be aware that the “Zu Swordsmen” has been a popular subject in movies and TV series. The idea was based on a famous fantasy novel written by Huan Zhu Lou Zhu (real name: Li Xian Gi). The novel’s name is “Swordsmen of the Zu Mountain” (Su Shan Jian Xia Zhuan), and is extremely long in length. In terms of plot it is awfully scattered and incoherent, and there are literally thousands of characters so it is impossible to have a story-line that connects them all together. Its real magic, though, lies in its novel idea of superhuman swordsmen who could fly at the speed of light and could fight with magic treasures (mainly swords). The novel initiates the Sci-Fi martial arts category, and dazzles readers with its wild imagination. It contains detailed and compelling powerful descriptions of fascinating fighting scenes, outrageously horrifying demons & monsters, beautiful scenery of unknown lands, and extremely powerful magical weapons & treasures. It can be said that “Zu” gained its reputation and popularity more as an infinite source of fantasy and imagination – an encyclopaedia rather than a novel.
Synopsis
The founder of the righteous Zu Mountain Sect captured the world’s darkest evil force into the Evil Hole on Zu Mountain. He had two students, but the junior one, Ding Yin, wanted to get into the Evil Hole to gain infinite power. In an effort to stop him, the elder one fought with him and both were severely injured. Before the elder one died, he told his own students (led by Master Miu Yi) that they had to do anything to guard the Evil Hole, because whoever went in will become the ultimate almighty demon.
Decades later, the Zu Mountain was eventually invaded by demons (led by the Green Robe Devil) after a big battle. The Green Robe Devil tried to enter the Evil Hole, but in the process Ding Yin went in there instead. Meanwhile the Zu swordsmen escaped, and Master Miu Yi and other senior swordsmen sent the younger generation on their way to find the legendary twin swords to regain their territory. One of them, the “Purple Zi Ying Sword”, was already in possession of a Zu student, but they need to find the lost “Green Qing Suo Sword” to release their full power. The young generation of Zu was joined by several friends, and together the nine of them endured many hardships and fought many demons before they found the sword. Fully armed, the swordsmen drove the demons away from Zu, yet at the same time there was a rise of other powerful demons and evil sects (including the Zodiac Sect). Finally, Ding Yin came out from the Evil Hole and became the all-powerful “Blood Demon”. Many Zu swordsmen sacrificed in the battle between the good and evil. It was now all up to Li Zi King and Zhou Qing Wan, owners of the twin swords, to fight the Blood Demon and save the world…
Review
Plot
The plot is very simple. The swordsmen from the Zu and Wong Mountains were the good guys. The bad guys were demons from various evil sects. The good guys had one common goal in life: eliminate the bad guys to save the world. All their actions and choices were affected by this goal throughout the series. It kept them really busy, for there were plenty of demons (so many, ah!), and whenever our heroes and heroines exterminated one there was always another one more powerful. What a life!
To be fair, although the plot is simple, it has a fast pace and does flow relatively smoothly. Adventures followed one another, so the audience didn’t have much time to realise that the story was indeed very straightforward. All the characters (good and bad alike) knew what they were doing: they were true to themselves and their actions were reasonable. For once the TVB scriptwriters didn’t try to create melodrama by throwing in forced misunderstandings or the good-guy-turned-evil (usually the pal of the male/female lead) formula. Those can really make me pull my hair out, but I didn’t see them in “Zu”. Well yes, Auyeung Ping and Ging Er were both misunderstood by their friends at the end, but this was out of their own deliberate plans as an effort to eliminate Ding Yin, and not out of some annoying stubbornness or childish rashness. Quite a noble act, I must say. So in that way, the scriptwriters paid respect to the intelligence of the audience.
The main thing I had to complain about the plot, though, is how they threw Ging Er into so much trouble that he had no chance to prove his capability. And how he was supposed to be the leader of the young generation of Zu, yet got busted practically every time! I know Ging Er had a noble heart, but come on, with all his defeats (he was saved by women every time too!) I can’t help but feel he was quite useless. He must be the most overrated male lead ever!
Characters & Acting
The main thing I liked about this series is the characters. First thing off it is nice that characters in evil sects who were actually kind at heart—Auyeung Ping and Sa Yim Hong—were given a chance and accepted by the good guys. This spares the audience from having to bear the presence of hypocritical “good guys” who are no better than those they look down on. No, the swordsmen from Zu Mountain were understanding, righteous and accepting, thus worthy of their name. This also provided room for the successful development of some likeable characters. In fact, with the exception of Qing Han Org, I found all of the good guys quite likeable in “Zu”. I especially enjoyed watching the supporting roles: Sa Yim Hong, Auyeung Ping and Yim Ling Wan, partly for their strong personalities and partly for the actors’ great performance. All other actors fit their roles well and there was no miscast.
Seungguan Ging Er (Eddie Kwan) – He was the “Big Brother” and hence leader of the younger generation of Zu Mountain. He was good-looking (save for his weird hairstyle), mature, righteous, accepting and understanding—the “perfect guy” image. I know, slightly boring. Lots of girls/women (I counted five) fell for him, but he only loved Zi King. Unfortunately most of the time he was either captured or sick, so we didn’t really see his much-praised capabilities put into practice. To do him justice, however, he did many (and I mean MANY) noble acts to show how noble and respectable he was. His major contribution to killing Ding Yin was to pretend to marry Someone so that his Admirers could concentrate on training, which was (ahem) also quite noble, considering the insults he had to endure. Eddie Kwan gave an accurate portrayal of a considerate and mature “Big Brother”, but for a few scenes his facial expression seemed to be strained (especially when he was serious). I think this was due to his self-consciousness. Character: 4/5, Acting: 4/5
Li Zi King (Pauline Yeung) – She joined the Zu Mountain after she lost contact with her father. A smart, out-going and cheerful girl, bold and rash at times, Zi King was also very righteous. She was keen on learning swords-play (or rather swords-magic) and loved kicking bad guys’ butt. In some ways Zi King was very lucky. Not only did she obtain the powerful Zi Ying sword by accident (the sword literally followed her), thus fulfilling her natural desires to eliminate injustice, she also had the love of Ging Er (and without much effort too, just teasing or arguing with him in the first few episodes). In a nutshell, she got everything she wanted easily and was never forced to do anything she didn’t like. Hence her character seemed to lack depth and complexity. This did not make her annoying though, for she was kind-hearted and never hurt anyone. She also treasured what she had and put her luck into good use, dedicating her life to fighting demons. As a new actress, Pauline Yeung gave a decent performance and was quite natural, though I don’t think she is pretty enough to be the female lead. Not that she was ugly, but all other actresses seemed to outshine her in appearance. I feel that for a female lead, both the character development and Pauline’s performance as Zi King were OK, but not quite outstanding. Character: 4/5, Acting: 4/5
Zhou Qing Wan (Anita Lee) – She was rescued by Masteress (pardon my English) Chan Ha when her father was killed. With a burning heart to retaliate, she joined the Wong Mountain and became Chan Ha’s student. She and Zi King were best friends since childhood. Qing Wan was a quiet and gentle girl, yet could be very strong when necessary. In contrast to Zi King, Qing Wan’s life was a tragedy. I really pitied her. Nothing went her way, and she was constantly forced to do things she disliked and fulfilling responsibilities too heavy for her meek nature. All she wanted was to live an ordinary life, yet a whole train of bad things happened to her. Now what had this girl done to deserve all that? Yet what made this character respectable was that all these misfortunes did not turn into bitterness in her. Qing Wan’s care for Zi King and all her friends remained while she learned to be strong and independent. Anita Lee gave a solid, persuasive performance. Her role had more depth than Zi King, and she expressed her inward struggles well. She had that timid and reserved look at the beginning, but towards the end she transformed into a strong leader with a quiet determination. She also looked very pretty. Of the three leads I like Qing Wan the best both for the character and for Anita’s acting. Character: 5/5, Acting: 4.5/5
Sa Yim Hong (Mimi Kung) – She was the leader of the semi-evil Zodiac Sect. She appeared roughly at the middle of the series but since then she carried much weight till the end. At the beginning she appeared to be an ambitious leader who was mysterious (she wore a veil) and scheming. As the series went on, however, she proved to be dutiful, righteous and kind-hearted, without any intention to bring disaster to the world. Yim Hong seemed to operate at a “higher level” than other characters, always calm and cool, and capable of doing things other people could not accomplish. She had one blind spot though, and that was her dead teacher, whom she would do anything for. In time Yim Hong established a special friendship with Ging Er. She actually understood Ging Er much more than Zi King or Qing Wan did, thus in times of trouble Ging Er sought advice and help from her. I think Yim Hong liked Ging Er in a way, but for someone like her, there were so many other things more important than romantic love. Too bad, for I think Mimi and Eddie looked good as a couple. Mimi Kung really stole the show. She looked beautiful and dignified in her costumes, and her acting was great. She successfully brought forward a complex, round character and in my opinion her role was the most memorable one in “Zu”. Character: 5/5, Acting: 5/5
Yim Ling Wan (Wong Yi Kum) – She was the “Big Sister” of Zu’s younger generation. She had a noble heart and right from the beginning she dedicated herself to guarding Zu and Justice. Although not a nun, she stayed away from love affairs. Ling Wan was able, sensible, and extremely considerate. As an elder sister she was like a guardian (a tough one!) to Gum Sim, and she also took care of anyone younger than her, including Laughing Monk, Zi King and Han Org. She was very selfless too; she had no problem with the junior Zi King surpassing her in swords-play and importance as long as the Zu Sect benefited from it. In one word, she knew her place and always placed Zu and Justice before herself. When Zu Mountain was occupied by the demons she was very upset. At one point she even swore, when alone, that she would sacrifice her life if necessary to revive Zu. I really enjoyed Wong Yi Kum acting as a girl of reason and sense. You don’t need great beauty or top swords-play skills to be a respectable, chivalrous swordsman, and Yi Kum gave an exact portrayal of that. Character: 5/5, Acting: 5/5
Auyeung Ping (Jimmy Au) – When he was young, he was rescued by a nasty lady in an evil sect, whereby he became her student. He was another tragic but successful character. He was maltreated by his teacher and was forced to do all kinds of evil, yet in this horrible environment he remained kind and thoughtful. He was also forgiving towards those who wronged or misunderstood him. On one occasion he saved and befriended Ging Er, and later through Ging Er’s help he was accepted into Zu. Here we can see a true friendship between two mature and righteous men: they understood, consoled and supported each other. On the romantic side Ping was caught between the Qing sisters, and the relationship ended in tragedy. Later he devoted his life to eliminating evil, and died for it in the end. Jimmy gave a thumbs-up performance as a wise, long-suffering man who could sacrifice without reward. His acting was excellent, and he was convincing both as a good person and a pretend-to-be bad person. Character: 5/5, Acting: 5/5
Qing Han Shang (Lau Sau Ping) – She was the elder of the Qing sisters who grew up in a quiet valley. She was gentle and serene, and exceptionally patient towards her spoiled sister. Han Shang fell in love with Auyeung Ping but her sister’s rashness ruined it all. Lau Sau Ping fits her role very well, but her character was a typical bland “nice girl” so she didn’t really catch the eye. Character: 3/5, Acting: 3.5/5
Qing Han Org (Chan Pui San) – She was a spoiled little brat, though not evil in nature. Her rashness was held in check when her mother was around. But when her mother was gone, man, she just bullied Han Shang. Han Org developed infatuation towards Auyeung Ping and did many nasty things out of childish jealousy. I find her very annoying, but bearable because she was not an important character anyway. Chan Pui San was quite successful in playing this annoying character. By the way, Aaron Kwok’s character fell for her in a “puppy love” way (Oh, what a blow to Aaron’s fans!). Character: 2/5, Acting: 3/5
Others
Yim Gum Sim and Laughing Monk lightened the atmosphere a bit with their teasing and fooling around, and both Aaron Kwok and Ng Sui Ting looked natural enough. TVB got a whole lot of veteran actors to play the elderly characters, so the quality in acting was very good. Oh, and Danny Summer gave a nice try (I think this was his first series) as the Blood Demon; he had a magnificent booming voice perfect for the character.
Costumes
The costumes in this series do not reflect TVB’s highest standards, but in general they do fit the characters. For the female roles, all costumes were made of plain-coloured, flimsy material and based on the same “template design”. Well, I guess in a way they did give a fantasy feeling different from the traditional martial arts series. Efforts were placed on Zi King, who changed her costumes and hairstyles 4-5 times in 20 episodes, but unfortunately Pauline Yeung simply looked out of place in an ancient role. Perhaps that is the reason why “Zu” was her only ancient series. In addition, her many costumes were all too plain, so quantity does not mean quality. Both Anita Lee and Lau Sau Ping looked very fresh and young then; Anita being very pretty and Lau being serene and graceful. Anita’s costumes were all similar, but they were very nice and suited her well. The most out-standing female, though, was Mimi Kung, who looked sharp, beautiful and charismatic. I also liked her hairstyles best. Mimi is one of those actresses who look great in ancient costumes, and it is not a surprise that she should be in so many Taiwanese ancient series.
The male characters were less fortunate, for they all had to put up with weird costumes and/or hairstyles. In fact, Auyeung Ping’s electrified hair and short pants looked so outrageous that I seriously think Jimmy should be doubly commended for carrying his role so well despite of that. Ging Er was not much better, with his over-gelled hair jutting out unnaturally. Look, I know they are trying to portray a fantasy world where super-humans and demons reigned, but surely they had overdone it here. It’s a shame, because Eddie Kwan is--to me at least--one of the few TVB actors who fit ancient roles, and I can’t help thinking they could have made him look better in “Zu” (to justify the girls’ attraction to Ging Er). Aaron Kwok’s “bun” hairstyle was funny, but at his youth he looked very cute. As for the demons, well, what more can I say other than their costumes were all soooo weird that they were hilarious? A praise of professionalism towards the actors please.
An interesting point to note was that many characters had a destined colour. To name just a few examples: Ging Er always in pure white, Zi King in purple, Qing Wan in green, Yim Hong in red, and of course, Green Robe in shining green and Ding Yin in blood red. I guess this partly explains the use of plain colours for costumes.
Other Technical Aspects
This series had nice theme songs sung by Jacky Cheung and Kwan Suk Yi. The background music was also quite good. Looking at the outdoor scenery I am quite sure they shot the whole thing in Hong Kong. The graphics and fighting scenes were…er…let me say they were lousy in an entertaining way. I admit that the powerful description of fantastic fighting scenes and magic treasures in the novel are impossible to reconstruct in a series, so let us be forgiving. Clearly the poor producers didn’t know what to do, so they tried blending cheesy special effects with awkward choreography. The result was intriguing: our heroes and heroines “fly” with a sword glued to their feet, and they fight by standing there pointing at swords drawn onto the film, with a serious look on their face too! Oh, what a show to be watched during gloomy hours!
Some Final Blabbing
TVB have certainly leaped forward in graphics and scenery over the past decade, but in terms of acting I don’t like how they just throw sub-standard actors out and train them “on the job”. We see many novice actors with intolerably poor acting cast as the lead over and over again until they FINALLY get better (or perhaps we just got used to the poor acting). Newbies should only be leads if they are naturally decent (like Pauline); otherwise they should be trained in supporting roles so they don’t ruin the series. So my opinion on “Zu” is: forgive the technicals and appreciate the characters and acting - there was no miscast. You will probably find this old series quite enjoyable; I watched it again recently and still liked it. By the way, there was another “Zu” series made in Taiwan in 2001, and surprisingly the props, settings and special effects were just as bad as this 16-year-old series! What a laugh!
Intro & Background
I decided to write a review for this old series because it left me with a deep impression when I was young. Also I find this series better than its sequel “Zu Mountain Saga”, which I think received more attention (due to Ekin Cheng’s movie “Zu” perhaps?).
A bit of background on “Zu”. People would undoubtedly be aware that the “Zu Swordsmen” has been a popular subject in movies and TV series. The idea was based on a famous fantasy novel written by Huan Zhu Lou Zhu (real name: Li Xian Gi). The novel’s name is “Swordsmen of the Zu Mountain” (Su Shan Jian Xia Zhuan), and is extremely long in length. In terms of plot it is awfully scattered and incoherent, and there are literally thousands of characters so it is impossible to have a story-line that connects them all together. Its real magic, though, lies in its novel idea of superhuman swordsmen who could fly at the speed of light and could fight with magic treasures (mainly swords). The novel initiates the Sci-Fi martial arts category, and dazzles readers with its wild imagination. It contains detailed and compelling powerful descriptions of fascinating fighting scenes, outrageously horrifying demons & monsters, beautiful scenery of unknown lands, and extremely powerful magical weapons & treasures. It can be said that “Zu” gained its reputation and popularity more as an infinite source of fantasy and imagination – an encyclopaedia rather than a novel.
Synopsis
The founder of the righteous Zu Mountain Sect captured the world’s darkest evil force into the Evil Hole on Zu Mountain. He had two students, but the junior one, Ding Yin, wanted to get into the Evil Hole to gain infinite power. In an effort to stop him, the elder one fought with him and both were severely injured. Before the elder one died, he told his own students (led by Master Miu Yi) that they had to do anything to guard the Evil Hole, because whoever went in will become the ultimate almighty demon.
Decades later, the Zu Mountain was eventually invaded by demons (led by the Green Robe Devil) after a big battle. The Green Robe Devil tried to enter the Evil Hole, but in the process Ding Yin went in there instead. Meanwhile the Zu swordsmen escaped, and Master Miu Yi and other senior swordsmen sent the younger generation on their way to find the legendary twin swords to regain their territory. One of them, the “Purple Zi Ying Sword”, was already in possession of a Zu student, but they need to find the lost “Green Qing Suo Sword” to release their full power. The young generation of Zu was joined by several friends, and together the nine of them endured many hardships and fought many demons before they found the sword. Fully armed, the swordsmen drove the demons away from Zu, yet at the same time there was a rise of other powerful demons and evil sects (including the Zodiac Sect). Finally, Ding Yin came out from the Evil Hole and became the all-powerful “Blood Demon”. Many Zu swordsmen sacrificed in the battle between the good and evil. It was now all up to Li Zi King and Zhou Qing Wan, owners of the twin swords, to fight the Blood Demon and save the world…
Review
Plot
The plot is very simple. The swordsmen from the Zu and Wong Mountains were the good guys. The bad guys were demons from various evil sects. The good guys had one common goal in life: eliminate the bad guys to save the world. All their actions and choices were affected by this goal throughout the series. It kept them really busy, for there were plenty of demons (so many, ah!), and whenever our heroes and heroines exterminated one there was always another one more powerful. What a life!
To be fair, although the plot is simple, it has a fast pace and does flow relatively smoothly. Adventures followed one another, so the audience didn’t have much time to realise that the story was indeed very straightforward. All the characters (good and bad alike) knew what they were doing: they were true to themselves and their actions were reasonable. For once the TVB scriptwriters didn’t try to create melodrama by throwing in forced misunderstandings or the good-guy-turned-evil (usually the pal of the male/female lead) formula. Those can really make me pull my hair out, but I didn’t see them in “Zu”. Well yes, Auyeung Ping and Ging Er were both misunderstood by their friends at the end, but this was out of their own deliberate plans as an effort to eliminate Ding Yin, and not out of some annoying stubbornness or childish rashness. Quite a noble act, I must say. So in that way, the scriptwriters paid respect to the intelligence of the audience.
The main thing I had to complain about the plot, though, is how they threw Ging Er into so much trouble that he had no chance to prove his capability. And how he was supposed to be the leader of the young generation of Zu, yet got busted practically every time! I know Ging Er had a noble heart, but come on, with all his defeats (he was saved by women every time too!) I can’t help but feel he was quite useless. He must be the most overrated male lead ever!
Characters & Acting
The main thing I liked about this series is the characters. First thing off it is nice that characters in evil sects who were actually kind at heart—Auyeung Ping and Sa Yim Hong—were given a chance and accepted by the good guys. This spares the audience from having to bear the presence of hypocritical “good guys” who are no better than those they look down on. No, the swordsmen from Zu Mountain were understanding, righteous and accepting, thus worthy of their name. This also provided room for the successful development of some likeable characters. In fact, with the exception of Qing Han Org, I found all of the good guys quite likeable in “Zu”. I especially enjoyed watching the supporting roles: Sa Yim Hong, Auyeung Ping and Yim Ling Wan, partly for their strong personalities and partly for the actors’ great performance. All other actors fit their roles well and there was no miscast.
Seungguan Ging Er (Eddie Kwan) – He was the “Big Brother” and hence leader of the younger generation of Zu Mountain. He was good-looking (save for his weird hairstyle), mature, righteous, accepting and understanding—the “perfect guy” image. I know, slightly boring. Lots of girls/women (I counted five) fell for him, but he only loved Zi King. Unfortunately most of the time he was either captured or sick, so we didn’t really see his much-praised capabilities put into practice. To do him justice, however, he did many (and I mean MANY) noble acts to show how noble and respectable he was. His major contribution to killing Ding Yin was to pretend to marry Someone so that his Admirers could concentrate on training, which was (ahem) also quite noble, considering the insults he had to endure. Eddie Kwan gave an accurate portrayal of a considerate and mature “Big Brother”, but for a few scenes his facial expression seemed to be strained (especially when he was serious). I think this was due to his self-consciousness. Character: 4/5, Acting: 4/5
Li Zi King (Pauline Yeung) – She joined the Zu Mountain after she lost contact with her father. A smart, out-going and cheerful girl, bold and rash at times, Zi King was also very righteous. She was keen on learning swords-play (or rather swords-magic) and loved kicking bad guys’ butt. In some ways Zi King was very lucky. Not only did she obtain the powerful Zi Ying sword by accident (the sword literally followed her), thus fulfilling her natural desires to eliminate injustice, she also had the love of Ging Er (and without much effort too, just teasing or arguing with him in the first few episodes). In a nutshell, she got everything she wanted easily and was never forced to do anything she didn’t like. Hence her character seemed to lack depth and complexity. This did not make her annoying though, for she was kind-hearted and never hurt anyone. She also treasured what she had and put her luck into good use, dedicating her life to fighting demons. As a new actress, Pauline Yeung gave a decent performance and was quite natural, though I don’t think she is pretty enough to be the female lead. Not that she was ugly, but all other actresses seemed to outshine her in appearance. I feel that for a female lead, both the character development and Pauline’s performance as Zi King were OK, but not quite outstanding. Character: 4/5, Acting: 4/5
Zhou Qing Wan (Anita Lee) – She was rescued by Masteress (pardon my English) Chan Ha when her father was killed. With a burning heart to retaliate, she joined the Wong Mountain and became Chan Ha’s student. She and Zi King were best friends since childhood. Qing Wan was a quiet and gentle girl, yet could be very strong when necessary. In contrast to Zi King, Qing Wan’s life was a tragedy. I really pitied her. Nothing went her way, and she was constantly forced to do things she disliked and fulfilling responsibilities too heavy for her meek nature. All she wanted was to live an ordinary life, yet a whole train of bad things happened to her. Now what had this girl done to deserve all that? Yet what made this character respectable was that all these misfortunes did not turn into bitterness in her. Qing Wan’s care for Zi King and all her friends remained while she learned to be strong and independent. Anita Lee gave a solid, persuasive performance. Her role had more depth than Zi King, and she expressed her inward struggles well. She had that timid and reserved look at the beginning, but towards the end she transformed into a strong leader with a quiet determination. She also looked very pretty. Of the three leads I like Qing Wan the best both for the character and for Anita’s acting. Character: 5/5, Acting: 4.5/5
Sa Yim Hong (Mimi Kung) – She was the leader of the semi-evil Zodiac Sect. She appeared roughly at the middle of the series but since then she carried much weight till the end. At the beginning she appeared to be an ambitious leader who was mysterious (she wore a veil) and scheming. As the series went on, however, she proved to be dutiful, righteous and kind-hearted, without any intention to bring disaster to the world. Yim Hong seemed to operate at a “higher level” than other characters, always calm and cool, and capable of doing things other people could not accomplish. She had one blind spot though, and that was her dead teacher, whom she would do anything for. In time Yim Hong established a special friendship with Ging Er. She actually understood Ging Er much more than Zi King or Qing Wan did, thus in times of trouble Ging Er sought advice and help from her. I think Yim Hong liked Ging Er in a way, but for someone like her, there were so many other things more important than romantic love. Too bad, for I think Mimi and Eddie looked good as a couple. Mimi Kung really stole the show. She looked beautiful and dignified in her costumes, and her acting was great. She successfully brought forward a complex, round character and in my opinion her role was the most memorable one in “Zu”. Character: 5/5, Acting: 5/5
Yim Ling Wan (Wong Yi Kum) – She was the “Big Sister” of Zu’s younger generation. She had a noble heart and right from the beginning she dedicated herself to guarding Zu and Justice. Although not a nun, she stayed away from love affairs. Ling Wan was able, sensible, and extremely considerate. As an elder sister she was like a guardian (a tough one!) to Gum Sim, and she also took care of anyone younger than her, including Laughing Monk, Zi King and Han Org. She was very selfless too; she had no problem with the junior Zi King surpassing her in swords-play and importance as long as the Zu Sect benefited from it. In one word, she knew her place and always placed Zu and Justice before herself. When Zu Mountain was occupied by the demons she was very upset. At one point she even swore, when alone, that she would sacrifice her life if necessary to revive Zu. I really enjoyed Wong Yi Kum acting as a girl of reason and sense. You don’t need great beauty or top swords-play skills to be a respectable, chivalrous swordsman, and Yi Kum gave an exact portrayal of that. Character: 5/5, Acting: 5/5
Auyeung Ping (Jimmy Au) – When he was young, he was rescued by a nasty lady in an evil sect, whereby he became her student. He was another tragic but successful character. He was maltreated by his teacher and was forced to do all kinds of evil, yet in this horrible environment he remained kind and thoughtful. He was also forgiving towards those who wronged or misunderstood him. On one occasion he saved and befriended Ging Er, and later through Ging Er’s help he was accepted into Zu. Here we can see a true friendship between two mature and righteous men: they understood, consoled and supported each other. On the romantic side Ping was caught between the Qing sisters, and the relationship ended in tragedy. Later he devoted his life to eliminating evil, and died for it in the end. Jimmy gave a thumbs-up performance as a wise, long-suffering man who could sacrifice without reward. His acting was excellent, and he was convincing both as a good person and a pretend-to-be bad person. Character: 5/5, Acting: 5/5
Qing Han Shang (Lau Sau Ping) – She was the elder of the Qing sisters who grew up in a quiet valley. She was gentle and serene, and exceptionally patient towards her spoiled sister. Han Shang fell in love with Auyeung Ping but her sister’s rashness ruined it all. Lau Sau Ping fits her role very well, but her character was a typical bland “nice girl” so she didn’t really catch the eye. Character: 3/5, Acting: 3.5/5
Qing Han Org (Chan Pui San) – She was a spoiled little brat, though not evil in nature. Her rashness was held in check when her mother was around. But when her mother was gone, man, she just bullied Han Shang. Han Org developed infatuation towards Auyeung Ping and did many nasty things out of childish jealousy. I find her very annoying, but bearable because she was not an important character anyway. Chan Pui San was quite successful in playing this annoying character. By the way, Aaron Kwok’s character fell for her in a “puppy love” way (Oh, what a blow to Aaron’s fans!). Character: 2/5, Acting: 3/5
Others
Yim Gum Sim and Laughing Monk lightened the atmosphere a bit with their teasing and fooling around, and both Aaron Kwok and Ng Sui Ting looked natural enough. TVB got a whole lot of veteran actors to play the elderly characters, so the quality in acting was very good. Oh, and Danny Summer gave a nice try (I think this was his first series) as the Blood Demon; he had a magnificent booming voice perfect for the character.
Costumes
The costumes in this series do not reflect TVB’s highest standards, but in general they do fit the characters. For the female roles, all costumes were made of plain-coloured, flimsy material and based on the same “template design”. Well, I guess in a way they did give a fantasy feeling different from the traditional martial arts series. Efforts were placed on Zi King, who changed her costumes and hairstyles 4-5 times in 20 episodes, but unfortunately Pauline Yeung simply looked out of place in an ancient role. Perhaps that is the reason why “Zu” was her only ancient series. In addition, her many costumes were all too plain, so quantity does not mean quality. Both Anita Lee and Lau Sau Ping looked very fresh and young then; Anita being very pretty and Lau being serene and graceful. Anita’s costumes were all similar, but they were very nice and suited her well. The most out-standing female, though, was Mimi Kung, who looked sharp, beautiful and charismatic. I also liked her hairstyles best. Mimi is one of those actresses who look great in ancient costumes, and it is not a surprise that she should be in so many Taiwanese ancient series.
The male characters were less fortunate, for they all had to put up with weird costumes and/or hairstyles. In fact, Auyeung Ping’s electrified hair and short pants looked so outrageous that I seriously think Jimmy should be doubly commended for carrying his role so well despite of that. Ging Er was not much better, with his over-gelled hair jutting out unnaturally. Look, I know they are trying to portray a fantasy world where super-humans and demons reigned, but surely they had overdone it here. It’s a shame, because Eddie Kwan is--to me at least--one of the few TVB actors who fit ancient roles, and I can’t help thinking they could have made him look better in “Zu” (to justify the girls’ attraction to Ging Er). Aaron Kwok’s “bun” hairstyle was funny, but at his youth he looked very cute. As for the demons, well, what more can I say other than their costumes were all soooo weird that they were hilarious? A praise of professionalism towards the actors please.
An interesting point to note was that many characters had a destined colour. To name just a few examples: Ging Er always in pure white, Zi King in purple, Qing Wan in green, Yim Hong in red, and of course, Green Robe in shining green and Ding Yin in blood red. I guess this partly explains the use of plain colours for costumes.
Other Technical Aspects
This series had nice theme songs sung by Jacky Cheung and Kwan Suk Yi. The background music was also quite good. Looking at the outdoor scenery I am quite sure they shot the whole thing in Hong Kong. The graphics and fighting scenes were…er…let me say they were lousy in an entertaining way. I admit that the powerful description of fantastic fighting scenes and magic treasures in the novel are impossible to reconstruct in a series, so let us be forgiving. Clearly the poor producers didn’t know what to do, so they tried blending cheesy special effects with awkward choreography. The result was intriguing: our heroes and heroines “fly” with a sword glued to their feet, and they fight by standing there pointing at swords drawn onto the film, with a serious look on their face too! Oh, what a show to be watched during gloomy hours!
Some Final Blabbing
TVB have certainly leaped forward in graphics and scenery over the past decade, but in terms of acting I don’t like how they just throw sub-standard actors out and train them “on the job”. We see many novice actors with intolerably poor acting cast as the lead over and over again until they FINALLY get better (or perhaps we just got used to the poor acting). Newbies should only be leads if they are naturally decent (like Pauline); otherwise they should be trained in supporting roles so they don’t ruin the series. So my opinion on “Zu” is: forgive the technicals and appreciate the characters and acting - there was no miscast. You will probably find this old series quite enjoyable; I watched it again recently and still liked it. By the way, there was another “Zu” series made in Taiwan in 2001, and surprisingly the props, settings and special effects were just as bad as this 16-year-old series! What a laugh!
