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01.01.2006
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February 08, 2005
Huan Zhu Ge Ge III
Permanent link ▫ ▫  
Local channel I think 8TV is showing this series on the 7pm - 8pm time slot and I didn't know so when I switched channels, it was already episode 12. The themesong was god awful, not quite that catchy tune of part 1. And those major players changed people and those not so major players still there except for Er Kang is still the same actor, I think the name is Zhou Jie. I can't quite remember since it was a long long time since I saw part II.
I always believe never destroy a good story unless you have a better one to tell.
HZGG I was truly refreshing because the series had suitable people in very interesting roles except for Alec Su whom I never liked. Whilst Ruby Lin's acting was debatable, she was however graceful and truly memoraly and Zhi Wei. All the girls were so pretty that many commented about the two girls with big sparkling eyes and the actor who played the Emperor played the role of Qian Lung to perfection. Part 1 was quite short, not so melodramatic for a Qiong Yau story and was truly entertaining as well as emotionally effective.
Then came HZGG II. Same people, more roles but so much more dumber. The Emperor was already kind of lusty in part 1 but in here was the dirty old man. Zhi Wei suddenly cried too much. She was the strongest character in part 1 though she was physically weak but suddenly in part II she was annoyingly weak emotionally and cried and cried and cried. Er Kang became a sentimental cry baby whose one scene that I could still remember made me flabbergasted; where he took Zhi Wei's injured fingers, held it close, said so many things and then cried as Zhi Wei cried too. Xioa Yan Zhi became unbearably stupid as the episodes went by and there was this stupid sub plot about a far away princess and her lover. The actress died by the way. Anyway the only one who had some shred of dignity left was Wu Ah Ge who for once I actually liked Alec Su. It was a nightmare to watch and totally killed the whole franchise by the producer's eagerness to milk more money from fans without first really reading the story. The whole story was draggeeeeeeeeeeeeed until I couldn't stand it anymore. The songs were ok though.
And now HZGG III. Vicky Zhao no longer there, replaced by Betty Huang Yi, Alec Su gone now with Qiong Yau's fave leading man, Leo Ku, Ruby Lin gone replaced with someone who from faraway kinda looked like her but not really when close up, the Emperor now Ti Lung and I think Qing Er's lover also changed actor. No sight of the maid though played by Fan Bing Bing. Maybe I just missed her. We have again the same old plot about the lusty emperor and a girl in red played by I think Shui Ling though not sure. Looked like her. We have the whole darn plot about escaping lovers, Er Kang getting punished, blah blah blah. And the whole gang still threatened to run away everytime the Emperor went hard on them without realising the Emperor needed only a few persuasive words to change his mind, the soft approach actually. Oh yeah, I think the Emperor's fave concubine also changed and no sign of the evil empress.
I just don't get it. Why bother with part III? So to show the whole gang thinking they did a mighty noble deed when all they did were undermining the Emperor's judgment? To show they having children or 5th prince marrying another?
HZGG I made such a huge impact and was probably Qiong Yau's most successful series ever. It made two young actressess unknown to all instant mega stars and this series introduced to the world Vicki Zhao who made such a smashing debut, forever she will be remembered as Xioa Yan Zhi, that is from part I and not part II. Her beauty was stunning, her acting wonderful and she balanced playfulness and serious scenes so effortless in part I. Part II fell apart thanks 100% to the very horrible script. Ruby Lin wasn't a fantastic actress but she looked the part of a princess and she had such grace and such elegance, her voice was dubbed but the voice was suitable for Zhi Wei. I love Zhi Wei's character in Part I and hated how she became in part II. The Actor who played the Emperor will forever be associated with Qian Lung and no one can play Qian Lung better than he did.
But Part III changed cast and so the focus cannot be on Xiao Yan Zhi anymore, so again they took from part II and repeated everything basically.
Everyone may argue Xiao Yan Zhi has grown up and so we have a different actress who will approach this role in a more subdued way. After all Xiao Yan Zhi is now a mother, right? The problem is the entire series' anchor is the character of Xiao Yan Zhi and Vicki was too memorable, any actress filling her shoes must give a different but similar interpretation. Betty Huang is a pretty and capable actress but she is not stunningly captivating and she lacked that playfulness or mischevious eyes that Vicki had as Little Swallow. In fact this new Little Swallow's voice was dubbed and guess what? No more Beijing accent!! Very inconsistent. I pity Betty because she had a huge difficult shoes to fill and I saw one episode and enough for me to say I will not tune in any further to this farce of a sequel. You may argue her xiao yan zhi is different but the way she reacted to many things is still the same old temperamental Xiao Yan Zhi. No difference in characterisation. Whilst Betty was a competent actress and if you have never watched part I or have watched part II but not part I, you may like her performance and find it interesting. But I am a huge fan of Part I and I thought her character didn't change much and the actress, whilst capable approached the character like standard text book acting. Even when she was in CTHD, she wasn't particularly great and it was Qiu Xinzhi who stole the whole show with his excellent performance. In Brotherhood Betty was again competent but she wasn't stunning, neither in beauty nor in her performance. To put it simply, everybody still remembers Vicki as Little Swallow, even to this day but I am very sure a few years from now no one will remember Betty as Little Swallow. Same thing can be said of Dicky Cheung as Monkey King and Benny Chan as his successor. Seriously, do you remember Benny as the Monkey King and his every scene?
The same thing can be said about the actress who replaced Ruby Lin. I never expected to say this but I actually thought now in retrospect Ruby was so much more memorable than this actress. Her make up is same, her face somewhat same but her voice should have been dubbed because her voice was not princess-like. I find her lacking elegance. And whilst Ruby Lin in part II was very dramatic, but not as dramatic as this actress who gave standard Qing Yau acting. I am sure you know what I mean.
Let's not even talk about Ti Lung. He is a good actor, he has an honest and honourable aura about him, and a very old time feel that nowadays many lack, a natural heroic look and aura and feel but as a wise and authoritive Emperor? Really wrong casting decision. The producers should have just ask Qiu Xinzhi to put on some white powder and draw some wrinkles on his face so that he can play the Emperor, because he would be more convincing. Ti Lung is an icon, sometimes a good actor, many times an icon to many younger generations but not what I was so accustomed to with the role of Qian Lung thanks to his predecessor, however lusty he was. This Emperor when he held that girl in red, he looked like he was going to have a heart attack or the world is coming to an end.
The only actress that made some impression was the one who played the Empress Dowager's new favourite companion, that young pretty actress who looks so familiar. I do not know where I have seen her before. She should be Xiao Yan Zhi because she has that mischevious glint in her eyes.
Zhou Jie looked desperate to revive his career. I don't think he ever truly had one after HZGG.
Leo Ku...voice dubbed...as 5th prince he was ok since I was neutral about his predeccessor. But he is not a very good actor.
After watching part III, I realise how much I missed Part I, how much I missed Ruby Lin and Vicki Zhao and how good they were. A good series will have fans buzzing about it in the Interner and many buzzed about this series online, giving words of encouragement to Betty and how much they liked it. Maybe it was a good effort and a good series, who knows? Even a bad series has its own fan club. But a truly successful series lies in whether it is memorable, whether it made an impact and whether a few years from now you will still remember the series because of its memorable characters, good plot and the people in it. HZGG part I stood the test of time and for this fact, it should have ended with part I. HZGG II does not exist in my book, it was an embarrassing sequel. HZGG III was not a necessity, and since it was filmed, not memorable in my book. I won't be bothered with it because it is old, it is tired, it is badly acted, it is a repetition and at the end of the day this HZGG became like the normal usual Taiwanese soap dramas one usually expect from Qiong Yau. HZGG I was an unexpected surprise and a phenomenal hit.
I am sorry to say; it all boils down to who plays Xiao Yan Zhi at the end of the day and the script, and in both dept, this series definitely failed to live up to the greatness of Part I, the hype of part II and the promise of what part III could have been.
As a standalone series, only a die hard Taiwanese soap drama fan will want to go through the over acting and the abundance of slow mo, tears, repetition of lines (like how many times must we hear Er Kang telling Zhi Wei to go away, don't follow and Zhi Wei still following or how many times must the journey back home be interrupted by 5th prince crying injustice to his father when all he had to do was just be patient, lie low and wait for the right moment?) and the silly concept that love is everything when it shouldn't be and it isn't?
Anyone feels the same way I do about HZGG III?
I must however compliment this series in some aspect:-
1. costume
2. so many people in one scene
3. even saw elephants in a battle!
4. very pretty girls in very pretty get up.
And that's about it I am afraid.
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4 COMMENTS
The few older Taiwanese serials I know of are mostly Qiong Yao's stuff. Alot with Liu Xuehua and Ma Jingtao. Channel 8 used to show them on weekends, I always change the channels.:D
Hmm, I think I followed a bit of the Justice Bao series.
The evil empress is still there but she is not evil anymore and is played another actress.
Kidd