First Episode 86: 螳螂 (The Mantis Killer)

[Sarevok]

A part of the Grand First Episode Project -- See this thread for more info

VeryCD or other sources for online watching. Also available through 风行网 for download (currently 20 episodes out of total 32)

My first post in the Grand First Episode Project was about antique trade and various intrigues and scheming in that field. My second post was a spy flick, full of secret agents and double-crossing and stuff like that. And the two of them are combined in this one - the secret agents got suddenly interested in antiques And there are explosions and and martial arts and smoking hot female agents to boot... and a pair of extremely dangerous high-heeled shoes...

Language Level: Upper Intermediate (not that difficult language-wise, but requires some history knowledge, i.e. you have to know what/who 中统, 军统 or 戴老板 were, otherwise you are going to miss some of the context).

--- PLOT SUMMARY ---

It all begins with a shady deal, struck in Beiping in 1940. We later witness a massacre of a wealthy Chinese family by the Japanese army - all for one valuable piece of relic called 元青花. The only survivor is a daughter called 敏珠 who was about to leave for 延安 with her boyfriend 吴同光, but they never made it - she is taken by the Japanese and 吴同光 is shot on the spot as he is trying to help her...

8 years later, the Japanese were driven off and the Chinese civil war is in full swing again. A KMT arsenal in Nanjing is blown up and the commies are gaining the upper hand in this area - it seems that the fall of Nanjing is imminent. We than get to know 杜雷 or 杜站长 (played by 冯恩鹤, who appeared in a similar role as 吴站长 in 潜伏) a head of Nanjing branch of 国防部保密局, who is being briefed on the current events. He and his subordinate, major 陈丽红, then depart for the airport to pick up some important documents. Those are delivered by 代薇, the secretary of foreign affairs, who looks kinda familiar... as we later learn, she is no other than 敏珠, who was rescued from the Japanese, became a goddaughter of 宋美龄 (wife of Chiang Kai-shek) and rose to position of power. The documents she brought pertain to a certain murder case and 保密局 is to lead the investigation. The victim was a museum director called 仝泰 who was in charge of collecting Chinese historical relics (for their transfer to Taiwan).

Meanwhile, more and more commie telegraph stations are being captured, thanks to some new cutting-edge US technology which the KMT got their hands on. We get to know colonel 马啸天 (also referred to as 马处长 or 处座) who is in charge of this operation. It seems that there is something in the air between him and 陈丽红...

Major 陈丽红 gets a new mission - to retrieve 三浦左哲, a Japanese war criminal who is about to be executed by a firing squad. She is also ordered to protect him as he is going to be sent to the US soon, where certain powerful individuals took some interest in him... you guessed it right, it's about those historical relics again. The KMT government is not in position to refuse, but at the same time they don't want him to leave China alive. If only some accident was to happen, like him falling on a high-heeled shoe and having his throat slit... you know, accidents happen This "accident" is staged by none other than 代薇, who is also responsible for the death of 仝泰 (as we learn in a short flashback scene). 陈丽红 gets to meet her again (and it won't be the last time).

--- END OF SUMMARY ---

You can't take this one too seriously - that much is obvious after watching the first episode. There is 冯恩鹤 also playing a role of 站长 here, but it's no 潜伏, it's more like Charlie's Angels set in late 40's China As crazy as that might sound, it was quite an enjoyable watch so far (I'm currently 3 episodes in), mainly because of the choice of actors (and actresses ).

--- WORDLIST ---

English translations almost complete for the first 50 words (interesting vocab from the first episode). I might also add some vocab from later episodes in the future. It's a shared spreadsheet on Google Docs, anybody with the link has permission to edit, so you can add some words yourself if you feel so inclined...

[abcdefg]

I watched most of the episodes of this as they played on TV earlier this year. Enjoyed it, though there were lots of parts I did not understand clearly. Would like to watch it again now with the kind assistance of your synopsis and word list. Thanks.

[Sarevok]

I'm glad that somebody found this useful...

I have updated the wordlist and added pinyin and some translations (mainly focusing on words not easily found in dictionaries). I will do the rest later and I might also add some additional words from later episodes, which I have jotted down for myself. I will also consider raising the language level to upper intermediate as it turns out, that this is not as easy as it seemed at first, the historical references are numerous and present quite a challenge - I do have some background in modern Chinese history, but this show often sends me to 百度百科 to check up certain names etc.

Anyways, I am about 12 episodes in and the show has lost some of its drive. It's not so over the top anymore (though certain characters are still capable of seemingly supernatural feats) and there is less action than in the first few episodes, but it's still interesting enough to keep watching. And most importantly, the main heroines are still as hot as before Especially 代薇 (though I have a weak spot for 旗袍, I think 陈丽红 looked much sexier in the military uniform, which she is not wearing so often later in the series).

[abcdefg]

When 代薇 pulls on her "special boots," the world better look out!

[renzhe]

Thanks for the write-up, Sarevok, I will give this one a look.

There are many spy shows around, and I have really enjoyed some of the more over-the-top examples of the WTF variety, so this might be fun.

[Sarevok]

Well, spy shows might as well be my favorite genre. I have definitely watched quite a few from various settings. And I also enjoyed some of the over-the-top ones. 五号特工组 comes to mind...

[Sarevok]

Episodes 13 and 14 were the most WTF so far. Bunch of new characters suddenly appearing, lots of action which didn't make much sense... hope this will get clarified later.

[Sarevok]

五号特工组 comes to mind...

I just noticed on Weibo, that 五号特工组2 is in the works! Same old characters and actors and hopefully the same amount of the "over-the-top-James-Bond-meets-Rambo" action goodness... and some 美女 ninjas on top of that

http://yule.sohu.com...320197487.shtml

Apparently, the shooting isn't finished yet, so we probably can't expect this to hit the TV any sooner than 2012, but at least it's something to look forward to...

[abcdefg]

I'll look for it next year. 美女 ninjas are always a treat. Saw 锦衣卫 recently. (English name "Fourteen Blades".) 徐子珊 takes the cake.

[renzhe]

This is "Catwoman" meets "Ichi the killer". A spy backdrop, a patriotic theme, and a healthy dose of ninja WTF.

So far, it's not quite as over the top as 五号特工组 or 雾都魅影, but if "boots made for walking" are any indication, it is in the right ballpark I'll watch a few more, I think.