TVBE Clip
Weibo Pictures
- 25 episodes long.
- The series focuses heavily on the ruthless struggles and schemes among men.
- Steven Ma will play Lip Do Bo (聶多寶), an imperial guard with great martial arts skills. He is responsible for protecting Grand Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang (played by Ching Ho Wai), the Kangxi Emperor (played by Power Chan), and Fuquan (played by Kenneth Ma), who all use him to go against one another. Thus, he becomes an undercover imperial guard, and later wants to exact revenge on them. He has three fathers, played by Kwok Fung, Lai Lok Yi, and Felix Lok.
- Kenneth will play Fuquan (福全), the second prince who strives for power and position. He is prudent and meticulous in thought, cruel and merciless, and modest about his ability. He is the elder brother of the Kangxi Emperor. He was originally supposed to inherit the throne; however, his grandmother secretly passed the throne to his younger brother. Thus, he has resented this for all of his life. He arranges for Steven to be at Power's side, so as to get Power killed. He and Natalie Tong are husband and wife; however, he is only using her because of her father's military power. He is a tragic character.
- Power will play the Kangxi Emperor (康熙).
- Sunny Chan will play the Shunzhi Emperor (順治), who is the son of Xiaozhuang, and the father of Fuquan and Kangxi.
- Selena Li will play Duanmin (端敏)/Chiying (紫凝), a princess. Her adoptive father (played by KK Cheung) brings her into the palace to disguise as a princess to kill Kangxi; however, she is truly a princess. She is Kenneth, Power, and Tsui Wing's sister. She will have a romantic storyline with Steven.
- Natalie will play Kenneth's wife. She despises Grace Wong, and she frequently exposes Grace's scheming ways.
- Elaine Yiu will play Mankwan (曼筠), an imperial noble consort who is favoured by the Grand Empress Dowager. She was Kenneth's first love.
- Grace will play an imperial consort who is a villain. Since the empress has already passed away, Grace cunningly imitates the empress (e.g., in terms of her dance and swordplay), which gains the favour of the emperor.
- Christine Kuo will play a simple-minded Mongolian princess who later becomes an imperial concubine. She is Grace's friend. She will get used by someone, and she later dies.
- Katy Kung will play Fung Seung Hei (馮雙喜), Steven's cousin who is a cheerful and mischievous girl. She likes Steven, while Fred Cheng likes her. She later has a romantic storyline with Jack Wu.
- Jack Wu will play an imperial bodyguard who is an informant. He will have a romantic storyline with Katy.
- KK will play Selena's adoptive father who is the owner of a drugstore.
- Evergreen Mak will play an imperial guard commander who has military power. Although he serves the Emperor, he secretly reports to Grand Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang.
- Benjamin Yuen will play an imperial guard.
- Ching Ho Wai will play Grand Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang (孝莊), who is the grandmother of Fuquan and Kangxi.
- Ben Wong will play a monk who was originally an imperial bodyguard.
- Tsui Wing will play Changning (常寧), the fifth prince. He is Selena's brother.
- Angel Chiang will play Ho Yi (可兒), Selena's maid. Their relationship is like that of sisters.
- Lily Ho will play a revolutionist who wants to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty; thus, she wants to kill Kangxi. She obeys KK. After entering the palace, she becomes Selena's maid. She has great martial arts skills.
- Lai Lok Yi will play Lily's adoptive father.
- Oceane Zhu will play Donggo (董鄂), Shunzhi's most loved consort.
- Helen Ma will play Steven's mother.
Angel Chiang's TVB Blog
Clips (costume fitting):
Steven Ma's TVB Blog
Steven Ma's TVB Blog
Steven Ma's TVB Blog
Steven Ma's TVB Blog
Kenneth Ma's TVB Blog
Selena Li's TVB Blog
Grace Wong's TVB Blog
Grace Wong's TVB Blog
Grace Wong's TVB Blog
Katy Kung's TVB Blog
Ngo Ka Nin's TVB Blog
Evergreen Mak's TVB Blog
Lily Ho's TVB Blog
Oceane Zhu's TVB Blog
Oceane Zhu's TVB Blog
Clips (blessing ceremony):
Selena Li's TVB Blog
Grace Wong's TVB Blog
Grace Wong's TVB Blog
Evergreen Mak's TVB Blog
Benjamin Yuen's TVB Blog
Ben Wong's TVB Blog
Lily Ho's TVB Blog
Matthew Ko's TVB Blog
Matthew Ko's TVB Blog
Blessing Ceremony @ "Scoop" Clip
FYI: The official English title of this series is "The Life and Times of a Sentinel".
FYI: Ngo Ka Nin was originally cast as an imperial guard; however, due to an eye injury, Jack Wu has taken his place, while Benjamin Yuen will take Jack's original role.
Related post: 《紫禁驚雷》 "The Frightening Thunder of the Forbidden City" Costume Fitting
Personal Note: Sunny's in this?! I guess he is already bald and already playing an emperor in "Phoenixes". He he.... :P
A news article said that Evergreen and Natalie will be playing father and daughter in here, but they both mentioned on Weibo that they didn't know this....
Not many pics from the news, but happy to see many artistes post pics on Weibo though. He he.... :D I see costumes in here that are from "Land of Wealth" (same producer). ;)
Beginning from "Triumph in the Skies", Ma Ming has participated in every TVB producer's series except for Chik's series. It is rare for an artiste to have an opportunity to work with so many producers.
Ma Ming's character in "Female Fist" married Kaki Leung for his future, and his character in here will marry Natalie for the sake of using her.
Power was Sun Man Kam, Ma Ming's elder brother in "Survivor's Law II". Now, Power is going to play Ma Ming's younger brother?
Steven's name in "Sweetness in the Salt" was Lip Chi Yuen, and his name in here is Lip Do Bo. He has the same surname.
*Credits to the-sun, appledaily, headlinedaily, mingpao, singpao, tvb.com, and Weibo
I have deep interest on Selina Li and Steven hope they will present their role well.
ReplyDeleteNews say that Katy will have a crush on Steven, therefore she'll be in a triangle with Selena. But maybe that crush will not last long and she'll be together with Pierre?
ReplyDeleteAlso, Steven said that he has 3 fathers: 1) Kwok Fung 2) Chris Lai 3) Felix Lok
Wonder if all 3 actors are just 3 versions (young, older) of the "same" father? Or 3 different fathers?
Christine Kuo's costume isn't Mongolian looking at all.. What is Lily Ho playing? It looks like she knows kung fu.
Empress Xiaozhuang (Ching Ho Wai) is grandmother of Kangxi Emperor (Power Chan), no wonder Ching Ho Wai's hair is THAT white, they want to make her so old.
Could this be Kenneth's character? 愛新覺羅·福全? http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hk/愛新覺羅·福全 If yes, then Fuquan is only 1 year older than Kangxi.
Kenneth's look doesn't look like an imperial uncle at all.
ReplyDeleteNow I compare the hair of the ladies. Natalie, Grace, Ocean has the same kind of hairstyle. Means they are all consorts or something in that direction?
Selena, Christine, Yvonne are the same kind of hairstyle, they are all princess...?
While Angel's hair looks like those of maids?
Selena's hair and costume isn't so 'grand' when compared to the others, so I don't think she's the emperor's daughter.
To lizzy:
ReplyDeleteNgo Ka Nin said on his Weibo that he and Katy will play a pair.
Steven said that he has worked with Kwok Fung, Lai Lok Yi, and Felix Lok in past, so he is happy to work with them again. Thus, they must be playing different characters. Some of the relations can be godfather, stepfather, etc.
Lily Ho said that she has a fighter girl look.
Yes, that is the Chinese wiki page for Fuquan. Fuquan is also named as Infante Yu.
Ma Ming's look at the fitting is not his palace look. It should be his look for when he goes outside.
Yes, Selena's look is not grand. Her look is very similar to Tavia's look in "Land of Wealth".
If any news look like this . Ma Ming will play evil's role in this series ???
ReplyDeleteI do agree with Lizzy, Kenneth's look doesn't look like an imperial uncle too. And Selena doesn't look as grand.
ReplyDeleteBut wait, if Tsui Wing is Selena's brother doesn't that make him the prince?
This series is male version of war and beauty I presume..then Steven's character would be like Maggie Cheung's character in a way, or Nancy Wu's character in the currently filming new series
To Anonymous:
ReplyDeleteYes, seems as though Ma Ming is evil.
To Anonymous:
We will have to wait for more info.
I guess that Sunny plays a guestrole. The history says that he died early, when his son Kangxi was seven, and Kangxi is now played by Power who should be at least already 30+. Therefore Sunny would probably only appear with his mother Ching Ho Wai, while Kenneth and Power are played by some childstars.
ReplyDeleteThe news about the costum fitting all talk about Selena and Katy, the ex-girlfriend and current girlfriend of Patrick Tang... saying they battle in and outside the series.
“情敌”李诗韵龚嘉欣戏外斗到戏内: 邓健泓的前女友李诗韵与现任女友龚嘉欣，在新剧中分别暗恋及恋上马浚伟.
剧中两人有不少对手戏，更会与马仔发展三角关系
邓健泓的前女友李诗韵，与现任女友龚嘉欣. 两人因在新剧中又要为马浚伟而争夺
All say they will be in a triangle. It should be true. But just exaggerated by the media a bit.
Steven is responsible for protecting Xiaozhuang, Kangxi, and Fuquan, who use him to go against one another.
ReplyDeleteBut Xiaozhuang and Fuquan both wants Steven to die. He has to survive but at the same moment protect Kangxi, seems like Kangxi is not the only not-so-evil one of the three.
Also, the news clip with interview of Ma Ming, Natalie and Selena is funny. He confused Selena and Natalie's name... hahas!
Also news clip says that Christine plays one of the emperor's consorts.
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjE2MTkxMjU2.html
Oops I meant to say: Kangxi seems like the least evil person out of the three.
ReplyDeleteTakungpao also say: 原来二人在剧中饰演死对头，嘉欣对马仔暗生情愫，可惜马仔却和李诗韵走在一起 So Katy has a crush on Steven, but gets rejected (?) and later gets together with Ngo Ka Nin?
To lizzy:
ReplyDeleteYeah, I saw the TVBE clip last night in Ma Ming's Baidu. Ma Ming said that Sunny plays their dad. That's how I knew he guest star.
Yes, there wasn't much info on the series, as it was all about Selena/Katy/Patrick.
Just wanted to ask you whether you figured out Selena is Kenneth's sister or not. Steven says in the clip only that he met "a princess", not saying about her relation with the other three. But I believe it is true, as Tsui Wing is 五皇爺 and also Selena's brother.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Steven says in the clip that he finally founds out there's one big family issue between him and the three; therefore he wants to seek revenge. And then I remember that Chris Lai was playing his father, at the costum fitting Chris wore clothing that resembled that of an emperor or some imperial relative. Maybe Steven belongs to the imperial family! And one of the three may have murdered or punished his father by taking away his imperial position and making him become a normal citizen.
And I think Chris is the same person as Felix Lok or Kwok Fung.. just the younger version; but Kwok Fung and Felix Lok are around the same gap, so I guess that one is a fake father. Kwok Fung's costume makes it look like he's some imperial guard too, therefore his son later also becomes an imperial guard, but all the time they lied to him and he isn't his real father. His real father Chris/Felix didn't want him to grow up badly and gave the baby to Kwok Fung (Felix costum looked like that of a wanderer).
Well, enough of my fantasy, but it may be (partly) true what I am guessing..
To lizzy:
ReplyDeleteYes, Selena should be their sister. It's just that they didn't actually say out (other than TW).
It would make sense for Lai Lok Yi to play a younger version, but in the news, Steven said that they shouldn't have any problems working with each other because they have collaborated in the past. So, it sounds as though he has scenes with them....
Lai Lok Yi is Lily's adoptive father??? But also Steven's father?
ReplyDeleteIf Lai Lok Yi is Felix Lok's younger version and the same father, then it means Steven's father is a revolutionist too. Together with KK, Lily, Selena and other people they want to kill Kangxi to get back to Ming Dynasty?
To lizzy:
ReplyDeleteYes, they are most likely a revolutionist group who wants to overthrow the Qing and restore the Ming.
Also, Steven did say that he will go undercover and take revenge.
I wonder if her adoptive father (KK) knows Selena is the real princess or not. If yes, then that's truly cruel to make the princess kill her own brother, the kind of 互相殘殺... And at the same time he gets their enemy killed and can get back to Ming dynasty too!
ReplyDeleteI don't know Mandarin, so I am not sure what Oceane is saying.
ReplyDeleteDid she say she is Consort Donggo (董鄂妃)? In history that's Shunzhi's wife and also the mother of Shunzhi's 4th son (who died when he was only 4 months), this son was Kangxi's younger brother.
And because of this son's death, Donggo became ill and dies. Shunzhi died a few years later. Maybe Ocean plays only as short as Sunny does?
To lizzy:
ReplyDeleteYes, Oceane did say her name is 董鄂妃, Kangxi's most loved consort.
Elaine and Grace will be fight to become Empress. In history, 董鄂 actually becomes Empress before she died. So, I'm not sure how much screen time Oceane will have.
What wonderful news! Thanks so much for posting it! I am beyond excited that Selena is making a new series - she has definitely become my favorite TVB actress - and I absolutely love Kenneth. I'm kind of disappointed that they won't be paired together in this series but Steven is also not a bad catch. ;)
ReplyDeleteWill definitely be keeping an eye out for future news (and probably stalking your blog!), although since they just started filming, I'm sure it may take some time before the series actually airs. Well, something to look forward to in 2011!
To Tammy:
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting!
It is quite unfortunate that Ma Ming and Selena will not be up in here. However, it's a male-oriented series, so there won't be much focus on romance. Still hoping for them to pair up in a modern series. :)
Haha... thanks for the news =]
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting ^^ there is sooo many villains and are played by the people I never saw them as a villain before. Well maybe some are not villains but evil roles..ahaaha. I can't wait till the series airs =] but its going to take a while. Hmm, at first when I read this, it was quite confusing. lol.
I thought about the same too, how does Kenneth have three fathers? Lai Lok Yi age gap between Kenneth and Lilly Ho is like the same. I was like huh? ahhaha.. i guess we have to watch it for ourselves ;] I'm quite interest in how Lai Lok Yi is the father of both Lilly and Kenneth..haaha.
To foreverloveTVB:
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome!
Actually, Steven is the one who has three fathers. :)
wow just by reading these comments this series sounds promising! Steven's character sounds like a a very great protagonist role! Never seen him in a a series where he has to fight, this should be good!
ReplyDelete