First Look: Lucky Tianbao

Set during the Ming Dynasty, Lucky Tianbao 吉祥天宝 proves to be outrageous to the core from outlandish costumes to its ridiculous storyline. I reckon that heavier stuff will follow later on in the series, though I think I'll pass on this one.

Episode 1 begins with a standard introduction that is present in nearly every historical drama except this time around, the big bad is Wei Zhong Xian, a eunuch commanding two powerful agencies, Dong Chang and Jin Yi Wei, both of which are more than willing to do his biddings.

Wei Zhong Xian orders the mass killing of prisoners except for one who breaks and spills the name Wang Wen Yan after being threatened with the death of his family members. 

Meanwhile, Yang Ruo Lan (Zhao Li Ying) armed with a cracking whip is wrecking havoc inside a brothel. Pleading for her to stop, the head mistress tells Ruo Lan that she should give punishment where it's due since there is an even bigger brothel operating in the city.

Sure enough, Zhu Tianbao (Kim Ki Bum) makes his grand entrance amidst a shower of confetti where he engages in a 4-way no holds barred duel. He wins the title of biggest evil man for the second year in a row, thanks to an enormous amount of foul play.

Just before Tianbao meets his harem, Ruo Lang barges in to declare her intention to become a contender. However, Tianbao blows her cover instantly and Ruo Lan vows to destroy all brothels so that Tianbao will remain by her side.

Insinuating that it's been done many times before, Tianbao turns her down again and reiterates that a good girl like Ruo Lan is better suited with his older brother, Zhu Tianxiang (Zhao Zi Xiao), who at the very moment is devising a plan to save Wang Wen Yan and expose the atrocities of Wei Zhong Xian.

First Impressions: Girl likes boy and boy doesn't, which begs the question of whether or not Zhao Li Ying really is the female lead? She gets ample screen time to say the least but Tianbao keeps raving about a girl in his dreams, who happens to be a real person and once they meet, it's practically guaranteed that they will end up together as most drama tropes go.

Ok I couldn't help it so I just sneaked a peak at the ending and my lips are sealed. For more synopsis, cast and ratings, see my 2016 Chinese historical drama listing. 

Lucky Tianbao

Lucky Tianbao 吉祥天宝 is a 30-episode Chinese drama starring Kim Ki Bum, Zhu Zi Xiao and Zhao Li Ying. Kim Ki Bum plays Tianbao, the happy-go-lucky youngest son of a prominent family who earns the irate jealousy of his elder brother, thereby causing a multitude of soap opera-ish drama for everyone involved.

The series will premiere as a QQ web-drama on Jun 6, 2016. Its quality and execution is miles away from what I've come to expect nowadays with scenes so over-the-top and tacky with exorbitant colors to boot. For some inexplicable reason, I still want to check this out anyway, especially since it is one of Zhao Li Ying's earlier dramas filmed in 2013.

For synopsis, cast and ratings, see 2016 c-drama recommendations.

Go Princess Go

I'm on a roll as far as this drama is concerned, warranting its 3rd posting on the same day. Everything about the production is average at best and certainly incomparable to the big budgeted wuxia dramas nowadays. Nevertheless, there's something unique to the story that leaves you wanting more.

Go Princess Go is a web drama made for the small screen and you might soon notice that the same sets are used repeatedly with minimal interior designs. Its most extravagant expenditure would have to be on costumes chosen from curtain linens that were sewn to make a dress. Honesty though, its HD filming translate beautifully onscreen so it goes to say that money isn't everything.

The fact that it's so short is a plus factor for me too, though I wonder why the version I'm watching on LeTV seems to be missing a lot of scenes (edited: it's because of censorship).

Go Princess Go 太子妃升职记 is a time-travel, body-swap, rom-com set in ancient China. It is based on a novel of the same name written by Xian Cheng 鲜橙, offering a hilarious twist to the typical period dramas. 

The cast is was relatively unknown but the drama has been consistently growing its cult following and its stars receiving some much-deserved attention. Its popularity is mainly due to its controversial storyline that is much too out there for conservative China. 

Bad publicity is good publicity, since word of mouth quickly catapulted this drama, ratings-wise, and it was actually very well-received by Chinese fans. If you are watching, be sure to check out the alternate endings.

Zhang Tian Ai 张天爱 headlines as Zhang Peng Peng, the modern man who finds himself waking up in the body of a crown princess. Where did they find this gorgeous lady? Aside from looks, she has the acting chops as well and her portrayal of Zhang Peng Peng was charming, witty and funny, easily claiming her spot as the breakout star of the drama.

Sheng Yi Lun 盛一伦 is the male lead Qi Sheng who is outwardly cold and arrogant so I have yet to reach the episode where he warms up as a character.

Yu Meng Long 于朦胧 stars as Jiu Wang, the second lead in the drama to complete the love triangle. 

Source: 1234567g, Baidu

First Look: Go Princess Go

I hate spoilers but aren't synopses kind of like spoilers depending on what major plot points are given away? Go Princess Go 太子妃升职记 is a Chinese historical drama that I knew nothing about until today and if you are also in the dark as I was, then let's keep the suspense because it's so much more fun that way. 

Episode 1 begins with three women on a high speed chase in modern day China and oddly enough, one of them was galloping on horseback along the highway. The trio finally arrive at a posh club where they have come to exact revenge on their ex-boyfriend / cheater Zhang Peng. Frankly, all the leather clad women and flashing strobe lights look like a scene straight out of a cheap knock-off movie.

The girls don't have an invitation but one of them nonchalantly seals the deal with a kiss and the bouncer happily let's them in. At the same time, we get a glimpse of Zhang Peng at the top of his game parading around women after women and scoping out his next target.

Things hit the fan the moment Zhang Peng notices the three and in a state of panic, he accidentally shoves a random girl into the pool. He dives in after her and what ensues is an out-of-body experience where he faints into oblivion beside a woman in ancient garb, which is basically cue for 'we just travelled back in time'.

First impressions: Now that I see where this is going, I feel like anything that was ridiculous or cheesy was intentional and the drama's direction becomes even more evident after the lead gets transported to ancient China.

The main guy is sporting an earring, the girls are wearing sleeveless dresses and I could have sworn the palace doctor donned a Chanel hat. I have seen so many time travel dramas and just blogged about one more recently but seriously, the twist at episode 1 was unexpectedly hilarious and I can honestly declare that I have never seen a drama like this. To sum it up, it's outrageously silly, yet could be quite entertaining if you like slapstick comedy. Check out my episode recaps.

Click here for the 2016 best c-drama recommendations (to be updated regularly).