YOUNG FONG SAI YUK [Taiwan/China]

Written by Funn Lim

This review was posted many years ago, exactly when I am not sure but it should be within months from the original broadcast of this series. I am posting it as I have posted it originally.

SPOILERS ... SPOILERS ... SPOILERS

How Long : Too long,about 20+ tapes

Who : The only 3 people I could recognise were Dicky Chung Wai Kin,Sheung Tin Ngor and Tian Niu.The rest,are mostly China/Taiwan actors who actually speaks in the mandaring language but was dubbed,if you rent the ATV version.

What & Where : During Ching Dynasty at the reign of Emperor Qian Lung(I think),it is actually the story of the adventures and midadventures of one particular youngster by the name of Fong Sai Yoke(Dicky) and his two other friends,Hung Hei Koon and Wu Wai Tin and their relationships with girls,friends,enemies,girlfriends and of course,enemies(one of them,Sheung Tin Ngor who plays Lee Siu Wan)

The storyline : Simply,it starts off telling us how naughty ,playfula nd extremely well versed in martial arts of a Fong Sai Yuk and his buddy-buddy relationship with his mom,Miu Chui Fah(Tien Niu) and how strict the father,Fong Tak(played by a Taiwan actor) is.Then it tell us of all the havoc they both caused,how great new friends are met,how they killed the husband of Lee Siu Wan,how Lee Siu Wan wanting to avenge for her husband's death,seeked the help of her father,Lee Pah San,how Dicky ran away with his friends to seek refuge and learn much more martial arts skill at the Shaolin Temple,how they racked havoc there,how many monks died for them,how Dicky fell in love,out of love,and in love again.And how he died,and survived,and...you know what,it's juts one very very long story that really has nothing to tell,doesn't even have the spirit of Fong Sai Yuk.Scroll down below and I'll tell you why.

The Biggest Change : The Sotryline,it had to be the whole story.I am pretty sure most of you have seen the movie version of Fong Sai Yuk starring Jet Li and Josephine Siew.And that's where the similiarities end.The serials,we see a lot of friends but no real enemy.I am not saying there's no bad guys,plenty of them here but unlike the movies,none of the bad guys had anything to do with politics,Red Flower Association(Hung Fah Wui) and the father's effort to restore the Ming Dynasty and overthrow the Ching dynasty.You may ask then,what do we have here?Plenty of boring love stories,irritating revenge stories,bad bad fighting sequence and very very annoyingly long sequences where the characters doesn't speak to each other,just stare at each other.Very very disappointing.


The Saving Grace Factor : If not for Dicky Cheung Wai Kin,this serial will be as bland as a curry chicken without the curry.He was the saving grace but even dear Dicky could not save this serials from ultimate boo-boo of tv dome,that is boredom.But I must do say,he is a very agile actor and a very good actor,with a very bad script.

The Good Sub-Plots : There are plenty of sub-plots in the sense that the story isn't all about Fong Sai Yuk.But the best of them all,and I do mean quite entertaining were somewhere in the last 6 episodes.The sequence where they were in the Shaolin Temple was very entertaining and the plot where Dicky's father took into their family homw a second wife(well,not really married) and how the mother ran away and how Dicky treated the second wife was the best of all the plots.But of course it only lasted for about 2 tapes.

The Best Line : Dicky was busy dictating the other woman of his father's as to where not to sit,where not to sleep,where not to eat,and if you figure it out basically all the woman could do is to float in the house.Anyways,during one brief argument,the father wasn't at home,the woman threatened Dicky that she will tell what he said to her to his father when he comes home.And Dicky just stared at her icily,face very very near her scornful face,and said,"You don't need to tell him.All you have to do is to take off all your clothes.".Well,we do have plenty of great insulting comments in this gem of a scene.The rest,well is forgettable.

The Romance Sequence : I don't know their names but just bear with me here.Dicky fell in love with a girl named Xiu Xiu but well,she wanted to accept his love but she had made a promise to Buddha that she'll become a nun when she turns 18.But of course,she couldn't be and at one time,she was kidnapped by the bad guys who used her to threaten Dicky.In exchange for her safety,he must kill himself which he readily agreed.Whilst they were doing this exchange of persons,Dicky walked past her and she looked at him and they both had this very long and torrid kissing session.And then he was hurt,rumour that he died and the girl became a nun.But of course,Dicky didn't die and he went in search of her,found that she wanted to be a nun after all and he begged her.To save you the torture of the suspense,she married him.

Then there's his friend,Hung Hei Koon(played by the man who played that monk in TVB's Demi God and Semi-Devil) who fell in love with this beautiful and skilled in martial arts,and the only daughter of a very rich man.After many many torturung and incredibly slow storyline,they got together only that her father disapproved.So for her future's sake,he went with Dicky to Shaolin Temple and the woman came looking for him.And then again,after a very long painful episodes of how she first wanted to woo his heart and then got angry,and then how he tried to woo her heart back and then he got angry.You know,it's like a never ending story.Anyway,tehy got married at last.

If I Were The Scriptwriter : I really wouldn't know what to do.Probably,shorten the whole story or remain it this long but include a sub-plot about the Hung Fah Wui thing,just like in the movies.And give some dignity to Fong Tak who seemed more like a wimp than a stern father and well,basically burn the original script.

Special Mention : At the end of each tape,there this small sequence where they show the NG segments of the actors,which was actually the only thing that is funny about the whole serial.Yep,it's supposed to be a comedy-drama but well,it had neither.Maybe a little drama.

Is it worth Renting : Nope,unless you're like the biggest fan of either the character of Fong Sai Yuk or Dicky Cheung.This serial reminds me of the typical Taiwanese serials,too long,too little to say in too long a time and too repetetive.

The Verdict : I was disapointed with it and so,my personal opinion is,I hate the scriptwriters for screwing up the whole Fong Sai Yuk legend.And I hate them for giving this kind of script to Dicky,the marvellous Dicky to act in.Such a shame.

Is it BETTER than…: Fong Sai Yuk movies?Nope.Lady Flower Fist of TVB?Nope.Wong Fei Hung?Nope.

What's the difference with ...:

1)The Movie Version : Plenty.The movie had Jet Li as the title character and Siew Fong Fong as the mother,Miu Chui Fah.In the movie version,there's is no best friends like in the serial but we do get to see how buddy-buddy the mother and child are and how strict the father was.But the difference is,the father though strict was much more heroic.He knew neither Kung Fu and had no power but he very brave assisted in the terrorist movements so to speak.That where the son joined in.And in the movie version,Fong Sai Yuk had two wives,in the serial he had only one.In teh movie,there's this very grave and serious conflict with Hung Fah Wui,a somekind of a guerrilla movement to overthrow the Ching Dynasty,in the serial,the most serious and grave conflict is between the Shaoling temple sect and the Tao Priests sect.And it is very very,defamatory.And frankly,the movie version is much more dramatic.

2)Lady Flower Fist : It is actually TVB's mega hit starring Kwan Wing Hor and Kong Wah.It is actually about Fong Sai yuk's mother,Miu Chui Fah and of course Fong Tak,the father.Frankly,I enjoyed this one much much more though it has not even one trace of Fong Sai Yuk in there because he hasn't been born yet.Tien Niu was really annoying as Miu Chui Fah because her cantonese isn't very good so she ended up whispering her lines and we end up missing a big protion of it.Not that she had any great line to utter.Anyways,Kwan Wing Hor was much better,as the reluctant bride who married the rich guy who knew no kung fu,that is Fong Tak(Kong Wah).Here,though Kong Wah is sometimes a wimp,but at last he was the bravest and most heroic man.And then there's this story about the conflict between the guerilla and the Ching Dynasty which is the best part of the serials.Again,this reviewd serial had none.Pls click here to go to the review of Lady Flower Fist ).

Interesting Facts: It's a colaboration between HK,Taiwan and I think,China productions,it had great sceneries but bad story to tell.