Recommend me a TV show

[Kenny同志]

I found an another TVB classic called 《上海滩》

 

I watched this older version, too. It's  very good, but not as good as the 1996 version, IMHO.

 

Edit: I've fixed the link to Once Upon a Time in Shanghai, i.e. 新上海灘.

[renzhe]

One other show I recommend 《侬本多情》, 1984.

http://www.soku.com/.../show/XNTk0MTI=

Set during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong. Romance with layers. Based on 《沉香屑第一炉香》by 张爱玲, theme song by 张国荣 (plays one of the leading characters). Spoiler: no fairytale ending.

I'm reading this story right now, but after the absolute disaster that was 倾城之恋, I vowed never to watch a TV adaptation of any of her works again.

Her stories are perfect as short stories. There is not enough meat for a TV series, so adaptations tend to go horribly wrong.

[Angelina]

I'm reading this story right now, but after the absolute disaster that was 倾城之恋, I vowed never to watch a TV adaptation of any of her works again.

 

You better watch the 1984 movie with young 周润发  http://v.qq.com/cover/a/a4hsiet83gekr2z.html

It is slow, but heartwarming.  

 

Speaking of young 周润发, 

 

I have decided to see:

 

1. 上海滩   1980

2. 新上海滩 1996

3. 创世纪

4. 水浒传

 

I haven't seen him in a *TV show after Anna and the King and that was decades ago. 

 

Edit: correction, a film I saw on TV, decades ago. 

[renzhe]

I am also interested in the Water Margin, but I am too lazy to read the book. Not sure which 电视剧 to choose.

 

I'm far into the 1998 version and it's quite good, but it's really slow. It's good drama and sporadic action so far. The focus is on developing the story, understanding the characters and keeping it mostly realistic and subdued. The good news is that it stays really close to the book and is clear enough to follow even if you haven't read the book. If you would like to learn the stories and understand the characters without reading the book, then the 1998 version is the perfect choice.

 

The 2011 version is hit and miss. My biggest issue is that it doesn't follow the book. Many stories are changed, it is told out of order, and it takes many liberties with the characters, which is a no-no for me. On the plus side, it is a modern, pretty production with lots of action and much faster paced than the 1998 version. Some of the casting is quite convincing, and they took some liberties which paid off. For example, Lu Zhishen is really funny, which is how he comes across in the book. Lin Chong is strong and imposing, like in the book. Gao Qiu actually makes a rather good villain. But some others, like Shi Jin and Gongsun Sheng really missed the mark, and some of the acting (Gao Yanei) is embarrassing. So it's hit and miss, with potential for being entertaining, but definitely not for purists.

 

I haven't seen much of the 1983 version, so no idea there. It's bound to be very low-budget, since it predates the age of huge CCTV spectacles (which actually started with the 1998 Water Margin). However, sometimes older shows have a special charm of their own, like the 80s Condor Heroes which rob07 called the best TV show ever.

[Meng Lelan]

Edit:　西遊記, the 1986 version, is one of my favourites, too. I have too many favourites. hehe.

 

 

 

Oh!!! My kids watched this one on videocassette. We used to go to the Taiwanese video store in the little shopping mart next to the oriental grocery here in San Antonio and would rent a videocassette each week. Yes it was that LONG ago. I remember how the lady would ask in Chinese to my little ones how they liked the latest episode the previous week. Great times. 

[stapler]

thanks for the advice roddy, but I actually just discovered the 巧虎 thread and series! It may be for infants, but it's just what I'm looking for: a show I can comfortably watch without too much effort, but still get a lot of benefit from! I realise that I've got many gaps in my "everyday" vocabulary. While I can give long descriptions of my holidays or tell stories, I couldn't even say "wipe the table" or "pat your head" in a straight forward way! I guess what I'm mainly learning is a lot of simple but useful verbs like 擦 and 拍, and in particular, how to use them in context. Baby steps!

[roddy]

Oh, excellent! You should definitely post in there, be good for victor to know he's helping people out!

[Angelina]

I'm far into the 1998 version and it's quite good, but it's really slow. It's good drama and sporadic action so far. The focus is on developing the story, understanding the characters and keeping it mostly realistic and subdued. The good news is that it stays really close to the book and is clear enough to follow even if you haven't read the book. If you would like to learn the stories and understand the characters without reading the book, then the 1998 version is the perfect choice.

 

Thanks.

I guess I will watch the 1998 version. I don't care that much how close they keep to the book, my problem is that I might not be able to follow a TV show about the Water Margin that goes too fast without reading the book first. 

 

Also, I forgot to mention how the 1984 《侬本多情》has nine episodes only. Maybe it's not about the medium, but more about the people who try to stretch a short story into a 40-episode soap opera. There is a 2009 《侬本多情》I dare not watch because it will probably be like the 张爱玲 adaption you saw. 

 

I already saw five episodes of 上海滩. Impressed. This show has everything, history, crime, gangs, excitement, romance, social problems, it's timeless and deep. There was a hitman who said: 这个世界真是不公平，特别是在上海. Then, you can see how gangs tried to keep the French Concession clean, i.e. no killings inside this area. 

 

I am not sure why I have never heard about 上海滩 before. Maybe because Chow Yun-Fat's character was involved in student protests when he was a student in 北平 (sounds familiar?) 

[roddy]

Watched the first episode of 北平无战事

[Angelina]

I was thinking about something else.