Wayne Lai and Pierre Ngo - A Love Story

There was a cute scene in episode 1 of Bullet Brain where Wayne Lai reaches over to hold Pierre Ngo's hand. For those wondering... yep, they really do love each other.



Their matchmaker? Lee Tim Sing, who saw qualities in both of them and decided to cast them together in several of his dramas.

Their love story

Unbeknownst to them, Wayne and Pierre's fate actually started in The Conqueror's Story, though they never shared a scene. Pierre was a young puppet ruler of the Chu state while Wayne defected to the Han state.

They had a brief encounter in Fantasy Hotel when they worked for the same travel agency. Wayne was a tour guide, while Pierre was just an unnamed worker in the office.

They finally met in Rosy Business but like most TVB love stories, they started off as enemies. Pierre was the eldest son of a rich merchant and he did not like Wayne, who was a lowly worker in the family business. Pierre tries to get rid of Wayne in many ways, including hiring someone to kill him. Luckily, Wayne survives.



Wayne doesn't hold it against Pierre and even saves his life in No Regrets. They become good buddies and help each other through the thick and thin of the war. Pierre willingly commits murder to prevent Wayne from doing so. Wayne makes an impassionate speech on the streets to free Pierre. Unfortunately, this happy couple is separated by a sudden bombing.



It turns out Pierre was kidnapped by a foreign state, causing Wayne to be banished (King Maker). Wayne rescues Pierre once again and they return to the imperial court. Wayne pulls out all stops to secure the throne for Pierre. But apparently Pierre is so traumatized by his experience that he makes another murder attempt on Wayne, only to have his plans are foiled by Wayne. In the end, Pierre realizes his dependence on Wayne and they rule the country together.



They finally get together in Bullet Brain. Although Pierre is shy to admit their relationship, the couple lovingly hold hands on the streets.



Their newfound romance will be tested as they fight to be known as the best detective. Here's hoping their love is strong enough to overcome the challenges...

Chris Lai in "King Maker"

All credits go to Lizzy @ http://tvbcartoons.tumblr.com/


Found a cute drawing of Chris Lai's character in King Maker.


Read King Maker Review.

King Maker Review

Producer: Leung Choi Yuen

Genre: Imperial rivalry

Cast: Kent Cheng, Wayne Lai, Pierre Ngo, Chris Lai, Kingdom Yuen, Florence Kwok, Kristal Tin

Plot: Essentially three ministers vying to determine the destiny of the faltering Song Dynasty. (Read more here)

Review:

With the same leads, same producer, same costumes, almost same setting, King Maker will definitely draw comparisons to The Greatness of a Hero. And the conclusion is… King Maker pales in comparison.  

Perhaps it was the length of the drama. The Greatness of a Hero was fast-paced with only 20 episodes. King Maker felt a lot slower with 28 episodes. There’s no need to repeatedly show the flashback montages. Nor the long heart-felt conversations paired with slow music. They can even cut some of the added attempts at drama, such as the whole Vivien Yeo jealousy act at Natalie Tong. I would have preferred it if everything was crammed into a much more intense 20 episodes.

Or perhaps it is the familiarity of it all. The same old plots are being recycled again and again. Where have I seen the voodoo doll scheme before? The failed delivery of rice? The is-he-the-real-son crisis always leading to a highly dramatized blood-test which never fails because of some type of trick? We need some new creativity. Also please end the recycling of those “golden” lines from previous dramas.

In what was billed as “TV King meets Film King”, the actors did their job BUT… For Wayne Lai, I feel like there’s nothing new. The holding-his-anger-by-clenching-his-jaw and the serious, non-smiling expression are things I’ve seen before. And especially when he does the yelling scenes, it reminds me of Chau Kau of Rosy Business. As for Kent Cheng, what is with those weird expressions, loud yelling and tone changes? He talks too fast as well. Nonetheless, they were still very, very good, along with everyone else that had an important role. Special praise should go to Pierre Ngo for his excellent portrayal of the traumatized prince when he returned to Song.

Mind you, the drama is not nearly as bad as I’ve made it sound. It is a drama full of schemes, deception and betrayal. There is a unique take with the First Prince having to recover from post-traumatic disorder. The character relationships were intriguing. Initially, the sons of the minsters weren’t on their father’s side. Elaine Yiu had complicated connections to all three ministers. This series will leave you wanting to watch the next episode, except you may want to fast forward within some episodes.

By the way, in real history, Pierre’s First Prince is indeed not the son of his predecessor. However he was still a descendant of the Song royal family. (Read more here)

Conclusion: Like No Regrets: exciting but needlessly dragged on.

Rating: 4/5

Historical Context: Song Dynasty

Welcome to the Song dynasty!

If your historical knowledge comes mostly from TVB shows, it’s won’t be surprising if you don’t know very much about this dynasty.  For some reason, the Song dynasty gets very little love from TVB. I believe the last Song era drama was Witness to Prosecution I & II. And TVB has never ventured into the imperial court of Song before King Maker. So here is some background info on the Song dynasty.

The King Maker is set in the Song dynasty.  The Song dynasty is split into two time periods: Northern and Southern Song. This is because the capital was moved when Song lost control of northern China to the Jin (“Gold”) Dynasty. The Song Dynasty was most recognized for its scholarly works, including literature, art, philosophy and science. It placed an emphasis on the merits of officials rather than their backgrounds. Agricultural and economic innovations contributed to the prosperity during the period. Famous people from the Song Dynasty include Bao Zheng (包青天), Song Ci (宋慈, the coroner in Witness to Prosecution) and General Ngok Fei (岳飛).

Specifically, this drama is set during the Southern Song dynasty during the reign of Emperor Ningzong, played by Kwok Fung.  He was the 13^th king of the Song dynasty. He ascended to the throne when his father chose to retire as king and take the title of Taishuang Huang (太上皇). Ningzong was third consecutive Emperor to take the throne before his predecessor’s death.  He had two Empresses. The first was Empress Gongshu (Kingdom Yuen).  

The second was Empress Gongsheng (aka Lady Yeung), which is the future Florence Kwok. She was said to be very beautiful and intelligent. It is rumored that when she entered the palace at a young age, she forgot her last name and only said she came from a township called 會稽. Coincidentally, there happened to be an official from the same township named Yeung Chi-san (Joseph Lee), so she said that he was her brother. When the first Empress died, Ningzong had two choices: Lady Yeung or another of his favourites, Lady Cao. A minister tried to persuade Ningzong to choose Lady Cao because he feared Lady Yeung would be too ambitious with her smarts. In the end, Ningzong still chose Lady Yeung to become Empress.

In the series, Pierre Ngo and Chris Lai are brothers and princes of the Song court. They are not the sons of Emperor Ningzong. Ningzong had eight sons, but all died at a young age. He appointed his adoptive son as Crown Prince. However, after Ningzong’s death, the Prime Minister installed one of the brothers instead, as he knew the Crown Prince despised him. The brothers are descendants of Song Taizu, the founder of the dynasty.

So who wins? According to history, the next king was Emperor Lizong (宋理宗), which is the actor…………………

Pierre Ngo

But don’t worry, guy who lost, your son will succeed Emperor Lizong.

Pictures taken from Asianfanatics and Ming Pao

Theme Song for King Maker

The theme song for King Maker is "追夢者" (Dream Chaser), sung by Leo Ku.

I'm glad they chose Leo to sing the theme song over a TVB artist. His powerful delivery is absolutely befitting of the mood of the series. The last time Leo sang a theme song for a Wayne Lai series (No Regrets), it turned out pretty good.

30 second preview:




Full version

Overview - King Maker

Link

Synopsis:
Within the imperial court of Southern Song, there are two factions: 1^st Prince Pierre Ngo and 2^nd Prince Chris Lai both desire the throne. The Left and Right Chancellors Wayne Lai and Kent Cheng were originally friends before Wayne’s father, KK Cheung, was exiled for angering the Emperor. As a result, Wayne was separated from his younger siblings, Patrick Tang and Natalie Tong. Patrick is tricked to become a eunuch, while Natalie loses her memory and is adopted by the triad leader Kristal Tin. Wayne believes that Kent betrayed his father for self-interest and vows to exact revenge. He colludes with the corrupt court official Joseph Lee. The battle commences on the imperial court with treachery, schemes, murder and more...

Related Article: Original Article

Palace dramas about scheming women have always been a ratings guarantee, from War and Beauty to Beyond the Realm of Conscience to Curse of the Royal Harem. The reason for the success is same: competition. The upcoming series, King Maker, will feature fierce competition. But instead of a battle between females, it will be a grand showdown between men. Following The Greatness of a Hero, Film King Kent Cheng and TV King Wayne Lai face each other again to see who can be the ultimate kingmaker!

Kent and Wayne are mentors to the two Princes. In order to help their Prince become Emperor, they will turn against each other with evil plots and cunning schemes. Last time in The Greatness of a Hero, Wayne was evil to no extent, but this time it is Kent’s turn to be the villain. Wayne says, “The Greatness of a Hero was in the Tang dynasty, King Maker is in the Song dynasty. A few hundred years apart, it is like a re-carnation. It is interesting that Kent and I switch between good and evil roles.” Kent, who seldom portrays the antagonist, says that his role will leave a lasting impression on the audience. He jokes, “Wayne and I will fight for the Best Supporting Actor Award.”

TVB’s focus on “lovey-dovey” plots in recent years has received negative criticisms from many fans. Even in the police drama, Tiger Cubs, scriptwriters have inserted unnecessary love plots, which has annoyed viewers who only want to see the SDU in action. King Maker breaks with tradition to emphasis competition over romance. Film King and TV King will obviously contribute their spectacular acting skills. They are supported by solid actresses, such as Kingdom Yuen, Florence Kwok and Kristal Tin.

The cast also features younger actors with great potential, such as Pierre Ngo, Chris Lai and Natalie Tong. Of them, Pierre’s performances can never be discounted. Collaborating with two heavy-weights, this may be a chance for “Spare-ribs Boy” to gain reach higher heights. For viewers tired of TVB’s repetitive love themes, King Maker will surely not disappoint!

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Excited About...

TVB has several heavy-hitters lined up for the rest of 2012. Perhaps gearing up for the competition with the new TV stations?

Like TVB's sequelmania, there will be a Part 2 tomorrow with more highly anticipated dramas. Stay tuned!

Ghetto Justice II

Law Ba returns!! I loved Law Ba in the original series. He was so funny, yet was also a diligent lawyer. His bickering scenes with Kris (Myolie) were hilarious, but this time their relationship scenes might be more serious because TVB just had to impose their typical love triangle plot (WHY? WHY??). The cases in the original weren’t particularly unique (unlike The Other Truth), so hopefully there are more interesting cases in the sequel. Please have a better theme song too. So funny how they put the mop on George’s head in the trailer, who’s now a judge.

King Maker

After watching The Greatness of a Hero, so excited to see Wayne and Kent battle again. The sales presentation clip made it seem so intense. Plus Producer Leung Choi-yuen’s historical dramas always has unexpected twists and turns to it. (Can’t say I like his modern family dramas though.) I don’t think I’ve watched a palace series set in the Song dynasty, so hoping to learn more about that time period. The costumes are oddly similar to the ones in The Greatness of a Hero, even though it's two different dynasties.

The Confidant





















Another palace series with Wayne in it! He is really good in ancient dramas, probably better than modern ones. This series is set in the Qing dynasty during the rule of the famous Empress Dowager Cixi. Wayne and Michelle Yim are both terrific actors, along with a solid cast that also includes Maggie Shiu. The two Empresses rule over the weak Emperor (Oscar Leung). Interestingly, the role of Cixi was portrayed by Michelle in the sales's presentation, then offered to Maggie Cheung (after her partnership with Wayne in Forensic Heroes III), and finally given back to Michelle after Maggie C. declined. Personally, I think Michelle looks better as Cixi.

Beauty At War



The return of Yue Fei. Except the sequel sounds like it will focus a lot more on the relationships rather than the evil schemes of War and Beauty. There’s an infuse of new actresses, like Katy Kung, Christine Kuo, Tracy Ip. Hopefully, they won’t be too bad. Christine Kuo was not good in her previous ancient drama (The Life and Times of a Sentinel) because she needed dubbing. I want to watch this mainly because the original War and Beauty was so good. TVB, DO NOT RUIN THIS!!!

Photo Credits: TVB.com