@Lilly1008 - very thoughtful and well written post! I agree with all of your positives. As for the not-so-positive:…
No matter how, I'll definitley watch the next seasons too. I'm too curious getting to know how this story continues. Sadly, some of my fave characters won't be part of it anymore, but I can't wait to see the love between Ning Que and Sang Sang grow and Long Qing regaining his strength. I can't help, but I love him (maybe because Kris Sun reminds me of two of my fave actors: Liu Guan Xiang and Zhang Xiao Chen). And, of course, I need to know how the stories of Andy On, Wang Dong and Mark Du continue - especially, because Hu Jun won't be part of season two any more... The characters I could easily live without, though, would be Mo Shan Shan and Princess Li Yu... lol
he's rude and arrogant it’s also maybe because of the way he grew up always trying to survive and killing, it's…
Totally! :) I wished, they'd have put more effort into getting the "novel-feeling" Then, even the funny moments would have worked...
Sadly, 1 : 1 (or almost 1 : 1) adaptations of novels are rare. (while we have several great novel adaptations that work well with the changes made like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings). Two of the best almost 1 : 1 adaptations, though, are both based on Alexandre Dumas' novels: "The Count of Monte Christo" - a two part movie from 1954 starring the amazing Jean Marais and "The Three Musketeers" & "The Four Musketeers - Milady's Revenge" from 1973 / 1974 starring Michael York, Oliver Reed and Richard Chamberlain. You can put the books on your knees while watching these and you'll find all important scenes almost as depicted in the novels. That's unmatched and rarely happened ever again afterwards.
The last two episodes for free watchers on Tencent get shown next Friday, January, 4th. I think, that marks the end of the first season for all watchers not just the priviliged ones. Keeping it one more week as airing won't hurt the statistics.
he's rude and arrogant it’s also maybe because of the way he grew up always trying to survive and killing, it's…
Wonderful scene! Why, oh why, didn't we get to see this? A beautiful, a hilarious scene.... "Are there any unmarried lads..." Bahaha... I wished, Sang Sang would be like this in the series! It would be so much better...
Ok, with just eight more episodes to go, I'm torn between being both, satisfied and disappointed with this first season of "Ever Night".
What really satisfied me: - the cinematography - the settings and the unintrusive CGI and special effects - the excellent fight choreographies - the almost 100% absence of dubbing - the veteran cast, especially Hu Jun, Jin Shi Jie and Andy On, but also Yao An Lian, Sun Bo Yang and many others...
What left me with mixed feelings: - the not more than average performances of most of the young cast members Compared with other young casts of 2018 productions, especially "New Smiling Proud Wanderer", which also had a cast mainly consisting of newbies, I'd have expected more of a young cast supposed to play in a multiple season adventure. Yes, I know, most of them are not experienced, yet, but to me that's the only excuse. The lack of experience, though, is not an excuse for a lack of passion. You can be a newbie or inexperienced, no one would ever blame a young actor for that, but to act without fire and passion, making your character look and appear lifeless and flat that's something inexcusable - even more so as dozens of excellent veterans were on set and just in reach to get asked for tips!!!
What disappointed me: The writing in general! The script was poor for an ambitious project like this. The focus was set on too many unimportant storylines and repititions and lacked information on other important items: - useless repitition of greeting ceremonies between Ning Que and the other students - useless repitition of Fu Zi getting served food and drink by his students - useless dragging out of the Ning Que / Mo Shan Shan romance - the lack of information about the other schools and sects - characters get abandoned for numerous episodes and then get thrown back on you for a few dialogues to just get abandoned again - I think, we heard Sang Sang say "Xiao Ye" for about a felt 10.000 times...I think, we know now that she can say it... - the dragged out romance and academy stroylines used up about 30 episodes and could easily have been told in 15 episodes, which would have left more time on character development, insight into the other schools and sects - the way, the writer told this story, left most of the charcaters lifeless, flat and bloodless - the way, the writer told this story, didn't get me engaged (the writing for Princess Agent wasn't great either, but charcaters like Yuwen Huai or Yan Xun were so vivid and full of life that they made you forget the poor writing)
As worse as the wirting is the camera work if it comes to stage the actors - either close ups or static shots without anything else to happen. That does not do if "Ever Night" should be meant to become a Chinese GoT or Middle Earth.
he's rude and arrogant it’s also maybe because of the way he grew up always trying to survive and killing, it's…
Now, you had me laughing too. lol But, yes, Sang Sang always looks as if she's afraid of doing anything without getting permission of her "young master" first. When she's on her own, she's way more self-confident and independent.
he's rude and arrogant it’s also maybe because of the way he grew up always trying to survive and killing, it's…
I agree! These changes don't fit at all. If they did all the changes intentionally to make Ning Que's journey from a rebellious youngster to a resposible hero look believable, they overdid it and failed. How sad. :(
he's rude and arrogant it’s also maybe because of the way he grew up always trying to survive and killing, it's…
This whole being rude I highly disliked from the beginning on. Even more after I learned from people who read the book that this is not how NQ treats SS in the novel... Aside the fact that - in the series - he already treats her like a better servant, cooking and cleaning up for him and so on, Ning Que is constantly pushing Sang Sang around, dragging her around by her ponytail and so on. He even "hit" her, even if it was meant to be playful, when he discovered his 'telepathic' abilities and now he almost really hit her using a stick of staff, disrespecting her foster parents and her ever since he entered their house... Why ever they changed it, I agree with all of you, it failed if it was meant to be funny!!! And what a role model do they create here for a girl/woman??? That it's ok to let a boy/man treat you like shit??? That it's ok to let a guy hit you, kick you??? That it's ok to tolerate and to endure whatever the guy does - just run after him, because of what??? Because it's him??? Like: No worry, girl, he'll be sweet again after he beat you up??? Honestly, if a man would try to do this to me only once, I'd kick his balls and he could apply for a job as a eunuch at the Emperor's palace...
Here, the series fails terribly and not only here, like I have to notice more and more often...
So, Mr. "I'm the greatest" 13 aka Ning Que can take his barbie girl home giving a damn about Sang Sang, but when he doesn't get his breakfast because she decides to leave him and to live with her foster (?) parents, he thinks he has a right to treat her like a slave that belongs to him? At her foster (?) parents home? Any dog gets treated in a better way than he treats Sang Sang in the series, so far... Can't help, but at the moment, I can't say that I find him likeable... Not. At. All.
I think, they actually don't like the idea of Sang Sang being a small and thin girl with a rather dark complexion,…
Oh, I'm all in for newcomers. Fresh faces are an enrichment for the world of movies and dramas. The problem I see with casting a teen actor for the most important role of this series is not that he's a newcomer or that he's still young. The problem I see is that he's more or less the ONLY one who's THAT young while the other actors who play his comrades of the same age are between five and fifteen years older than him. THAT's the crux in my opinion. For a series like "New Smiling Proud Wanderer", which aired earlier this year, this problem didn't exist. The youngsters cast for the main roles were all newbies too, but they were of the same age. If Ning Que, Long Qing, Li Yu, Chong Ming, Zhou'er, Sang Sang and the other aspirants for the academy are supposed to be of more or less the same age, the casting doesn't work, if Ning Que is played by a 17 years old and Princess Li Yu by a 33 years old. And here exactly feels the series to be out of balance. And the age gap won't vanish with the seasons to come. Therefore, I stick with it: They made a mistake here. Not with casting Arthur Chen as Ning Que, but with not taking into consideration to cast the other young chracters of the proper age as well (with excption of Song Yi Ren, who's totally believable as a 15 years old and a 25 years old).
I think, they actually don't like the idea of Sang Sang being a small and thin girl with a rather dark complexion,…
More romance in season two??? Oh man, the whole thing almost ruined this season already and they want more romance??? Blergh!!! I kind of start to wish more than ever before for "Tribes and Empires 2"...
At first I was disappointed that Arthur Chen would not act in season 2 of this drama. Now, I think maybe it's…
With every new episode, that feeling tightens for me too. I even tend to go a step further: what glues this series together is the veteran cast. Take them away, and the whole thing would not be desatrous, but definitely not as intense as it is. As much as I love the seires, the thing as a whole lacks something I can't yet describe.
I think, they actually don't like the idea of Sang Sang being a small and thin girl with a rather dark complexion,…
In my honest opinion, they made a mistake from the very beginning in choosing a teen-actor to play the lead character over several seasons. Of course, they surely wanted to make it believable to show Ning Que grow up from a boy into a man and it would have been nice to see the same happening with their male lead... But that plan definitely fails now, with Arthur Chen dropping out... So, I really think, "Tribes and Empires" did it way better switching from teen actors to grown-up cast members after the first eight or ten episodes, telling the audience "XY years later".
I think, they actually don't like the idea of Sang Sang being a small and thin girl with a rather dark complexion,…
Fingers crossed that they'll get back on the right track from now on - especially with at least two more seasons in the works or planned. There's still a lot that can happen, so, the case is not lost, yet. By the way, I'm totally carried away by the amazing performance Kris Sun deliveres. Hats off!!! His Long Qing as portrayed by him already outshone Ning Que many episodes ago. And it confirms what many great actors and opera singers say: It's more fun to play the "bad" guy or the antagonist, because it offers way more layers and shades. Very true - and valid also for Hu Jun as Xia Hou.
Sadly, some of my fave characters won't be part of it anymore, but I can't wait to see the love between Ning Que and Sang Sang grow and Long Qing regaining his strength.
I can't help, but I love him (maybe because Kris Sun reminds me of two of my fave actors: Liu Guan Xiang and Zhang Xiao Chen).
And, of course, I need to know how the stories of Andy On, Wang Dong and Mark Du continue - especially, because Hu Jun won't be part of season two any more...
The characters I could easily live without, though, would be Mo Shan Shan and Princess Li Yu... lol
Let's hope, things won't change now after his death.
I wished, they'd have put more effort into getting the "novel-feeling" Then, even the funny moments would have worked...
Sadly, 1 : 1 (or almost 1 : 1) adaptations of novels are rare. (while we have several great novel adaptations that work well with the changes made like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings).
Two of the best almost 1 : 1 adaptations, though, are both based on Alexandre Dumas' novels:
"The Count of Monte Christo" - a two part movie from 1954 starring the amazing Jean Marais and "The Three Musketeers" & "The Four Musketeers - Milady's Revenge" from 1973 / 1974 starring Michael York, Oliver Reed and Richard Chamberlain.
You can put the books on your knees while watching these and you'll find all important scenes almost as depicted in the novels.
That's unmatched and rarely happened ever again afterwards.
A beautiful, a hilarious scene....
"Are there any unmarried lads..."
Bahaha...
I wished, Sang Sang would be like this in the series! It would be so much better...
What really satisfied me:
- the cinematography
- the settings and the unintrusive CGI and special effects
- the excellent fight choreographies
- the almost 100% absence of dubbing
- the veteran cast, especially Hu Jun, Jin Shi Jie and Andy On, but also Yao An Lian, Sun Bo Yang and many others...
What left me with mixed feelings:
- the not more than average performances of most of the young cast members
Compared with other young casts of 2018 productions, especially "New Smiling Proud Wanderer", which also had a cast mainly consisting of newbies, I'd have expected more of a young cast supposed to play in a multiple season adventure.
Yes, I know, most of them are not experienced, yet, but to me that's the only excuse.
The lack of experience, though, is not an excuse for a lack of passion.
You can be a newbie or inexperienced, no one would ever blame a young actor for that, but to act without fire and passion, making your character look and appear lifeless and flat that's something inexcusable - even more so as dozens of excellent veterans were on set and just in reach to get asked for tips!!!
What disappointed me:
The writing in general!
The script was poor for an ambitious project like this. The focus was set on too many unimportant storylines and repititions and lacked information on other important items:
- useless repitition of greeting ceremonies between Ning Que and the other students
- useless repitition of Fu Zi getting served food and drink by his students
- useless dragging out of the Ning Que / Mo Shan Shan romance
- the lack of information about the other schools and sects
- characters get abandoned for numerous episodes and then get thrown back on you for a few dialogues to just get abandoned again
- I think, we heard Sang Sang say "Xiao Ye" for about a felt 10.000 times...I think, we know now that she can say it...
- the dragged out romance and academy stroylines used up about 30 episodes and could easily have been told in 15 episodes, which would have left more time on character development, insight into the other schools and sects
- the way, the writer told this story, left most of the charcaters lifeless, flat and bloodless
- the way, the writer told this story, didn't get me engaged (the writing for Princess Agent wasn't great either, but charcaters like Yuwen Huai or Yan Xun were so vivid and full of life that they made you forget the poor writing)
As worse as the wirting is the camera work if it comes to stage the actors - either close ups or static shots without anything else to happen. That does not do if "Ever Night" should be meant to become a Chinese GoT or Middle Earth.
But, yes, Sang Sang always looks as if she's afraid of doing anything without getting permission of her "young master" first.
When she's on her own, she's way more self-confident and independent.
If they did all the changes intentionally to make Ning Que's journey from a rebellious youngster to a resposible hero look believable, they overdid it and failed. How sad. :(
Even more after I learned from people who read the book that this is not how NQ treats SS in the novel...
Aside the fact that - in the series - he already treats her like a better servant, cooking and cleaning up for him and so on, Ning Que is constantly pushing Sang Sang around, dragging her around by her ponytail and so on.
He even "hit" her, even if it was meant to be playful, when he discovered his 'telepathic' abilities and now he almost really hit her using a stick of staff, disrespecting her foster parents and her ever since he entered their house...
Why ever they changed it, I agree with all of you, it failed if it was meant to be funny!!!
And what a role model do they create here for a girl/woman???
That it's ok to let a boy/man treat you like shit??? That it's ok to let a guy hit you, kick you??? That it's ok to tolerate and to endure whatever the guy does - just run after him, because of what??? Because it's him???
Like: No worry, girl, he'll be sweet again after he beat you up???
Honestly, if a man would try to do this to me only once, I'd kick his balls and he could apply for a job as a eunuch at the Emperor's palace...
Here, the series fails terribly and not only here, like I have to notice more and more often...
Can't help, but at the moment, I can't say that I find him likeable... Not. At. All.
The problem I see with casting a teen actor for the most important role of this series is not that he's a newcomer or that he's still young.
The problem I see is that he's more or less the ONLY one who's THAT young while the other actors who play his comrades of the same age are between five and fifteen years older than him.
THAT's the crux in my opinion.
For a series like "New Smiling Proud Wanderer", which aired earlier this year, this problem didn't exist. The youngsters cast for the main roles were all newbies too, but they were of the same age.
If Ning Que, Long Qing, Li Yu, Chong Ming, Zhou'er, Sang Sang and the other aspirants for the academy are supposed to be of more or less the same age, the casting doesn't work, if Ning Que is played by a 17 years old and Princess Li Yu by a 33 years old.
And here exactly feels the series to be out of balance.
And the age gap won't vanish with the seasons to come.
Therefore, I stick with it: They made a mistake here.
Not with casting Arthur Chen as Ning Que, but with not taking into consideration to cast the other young chracters of the proper age as well (with excption of Song Yi Ren, who's totally believable as a 15 years old and a 25 years old).
I kind of start to wish more than ever before for "Tribes and Empires 2"...
I even tend to go a step further: what glues this series together is the veteran cast. Take them away, and the whole thing would not be desatrous, but definitely not as intense as it is.
As much as I love the seires, the thing as a whole lacks something I can't yet describe.
Of course, they surely wanted to make it believable to show Ning Que grow up from a boy into a man and it would have been nice to see the same happening with their male lead...
But that plan definitely fails now, with Arthur Chen dropping out...
So, I really think, "Tribes and Empires" did it way better switching from teen actors to grown-up cast members after the first eight or ten episodes, telling the audience "XY years later".
You just made my day. Hehehe...
And, yes!!! I'm with you: I need more Xia Hou too!!!
Is it even allowed to look as hot as Hu Jun does in this role...???
*drool*
There's still a lot that can happen, so, the case is not lost, yet.
By the way, I'm totally carried away by the amazing performance Kris Sun deliveres. Hats off!!!
His Long Qing as portrayed by him already outshone Ning Que many episodes ago. And it confirms what many great actors and opera singers say: It's more fun to play the "bad" guy or the antagonist, because it offers way more layers and shades.
Very true - and valid also for Hu Jun as Xia Hou.