Title
Heaven Sword And Dragon Sabre 2000

How long
About 42 episodes

Year of Production
2000

Cast
Lawrence Ng Kai Wah - Cheung Mo Kei
Gigi Lai Chi - Chiu Man @ Man Man Tamoyi
Charmaine Sheh Sze Man - Chow Chi Yuk
Eddie Cheung - Yeong Siu
Joyce Tang Lai Ming - Gei Hiu Fu/Yeong But Fui
Kong Hei Man - Siu Chiu
Cherie Chan - Chu Yi @ Yan Lei
Lok Ying Gwan - Che Soon @ Lion King
Damien Lau - Cheung Chui San
Mi Xue - Yan So So

Plot
I am basically going to comment on the characters and the performance, and besides, I am lazy to go through all the blah blah blah about the plot, and I missed the front part of Cheung Chui San and Yan So So's story but here's a short overview, anyway:

Cheung Chui San + Yan So So = Cheung Mo Kei
Yan So So + injury of Chui San's si heng = Chui San and So So committed suicide and Mo Kei = orphan.
Cheung Mo Kei = Ming Sect leader and a guy who possesed remarkable kung fu.
Chow Chi Yuk = Mo Kei's childhood friend
Man Man = Mongolian princess
Chu Yi = Mo Kei's cousin
Siu Chiu = Mo Kei' servant
Mo Kei + Chi Yuk + Man Man + Chu Yi + Siu Chiu = a ridiculous love pentagon
Lion King = Mo Kei's godfather
Yeong Siu = a high ranking member of Ming Sect

The love story is basically Mo Kei and four women. Chi Yuk who loved him since childhood, Man Man who loved him since she first saw him, Siu Chiu who loved him as well, and Chu Yi who loved...the young Mo Kei. And so, who does our Mo Kei love the most? The answer would be...taaaadaaaa...look below. Anyway, a bunch of things happened, and all of them ended up on Snake Island, where Man Man and Mo Kei generated some heat of their own. Seeing the closeness between Man Man and Mo Kei, Chi Yuk became deranged and plotted to frame Man Man for Chu Yi's "death" thus succeeding in separating Man Man and Mo Kei and snaring Mo Kei for herself. As fate would have it, she didn't get Mo Kei who ran off with Man Man on their wedding day because he needed to save his godfather. And thus began Chi Yuk's legacy of madness, evil and...well...stupidity? As for Siu Chiu, she was forced to go back to Parsi to be a "virginal leader" to save her mother, and Chu Yi who was "killed" by Chi Yuk came back alive to tell Mo Kei she only loved the young Mo Kei, and had no feelings towards the adult Mo Kei. And so, our hero was between Man Man and Chi Yuk, and one dreary night, he told Chi Yuk that he only respected her and that he couldn't live without Man Man. And so, Chi Yuk became mad and lost her memory, so Mo Kei lived with Man Man happily without worries. 

And yeah...I almost forgot. The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre. These are two of the ultimate weapons in the kung fu world, and one who possessed them will be able to rule the world. But simply because there are two very great kung fu secrets hidden within the sword and the sabre, the Mu Muk who teaches great military secrets, and the Kao Yam Chan Geng who teaches great kungfu. No one knows the secret except Chow Chi Yuk and that kinda explains why she did so many horrible things just to get them. 

I've said all I want to say regarding the "plot" simply because the story is too damn long and I missed the complete part of Cheung Chui San and Yan So So, and anyway, I've already listed what's important. To me. To read the complete summary and learn more about the HSDS 2000 production, visit this great page: Heaven Sword Dragon Sabre 2000

Most Favourite Character
Evaluation comes before decision. Read on. 

Cheung Mo Kei - This guy is so unbelievably naive and wishy washy, it's almost funny. Sure, he was great in kungfu, and a good leader, but his love life was a total washout. I don't like him because he was indecisive and simply not man enough. I mean, come on! You're a Ming Sect leader! How can you have such a lousy handling of your love life? This guy couldn't make up his mind on who he loves most until the last minute. Either he was stupid, or he had no sense within his inner self. So, no way he's my favorite character, not if he's the only character in the entire serial. 

Man Man - This girl is so unbelievably smarmy, I feel like smacking her at times, especially in the beginning. Arrogant and smarmy. Very smarmy. And very intelligent in a arrogant and smarmy and irritating way. She cooled down her smarminess and arrogance in the later part of the serial and emerged as a very cute girl who's totally and truly in love with her man, Cheung Mo Kei. So...bottomline is...no, I won't say she's my favorite character although I do really like her at the last few episodes. She did too many smarmy, arrogant and irritating things in the beginning. 

Chi Yuk - The villian? Favorite character. You gotta be kidding me. Get the point, right?

Since the story centralizes around them, and since I missed Chui San and So So, so I guess my outcome for favorite character would be...no one in particular, but I rather like Yeong Siu. Pity he didn't really hold a prominent role in the serial. Most screen time is given to Mo Kei, Chi Yuk and Man Man. And all three of them...well, you get what my point.

Cute Factor
Man Man was really cute when she was not being annoying/smarmy/irritating/arrogant. And it's undeniable that Gigi Lai is really very pretty.

Wimp Factor
Our hero himself, Cheung Mo Kei. I really can't understand how an indecisive and wishy-washy man like him can be a LEADER of the Ming Sect, besides having remarkable kungfu. His love life was a total mess. There was one point he even said to Chi Yuk, "If only I can be with the four of you forever, how perfect would it be..." That was one of the worst lines in the entire serial and I really yell "HUH?" when I heard him said it. Like, get on with it! Was it so hard to choose? What a wimp. Very wimpy. Seriously wimpy.

Hate Factor
Seng Kuan, the villian who started everything by killing the Lion King's family and sending the Lion King on a murderous rampage bringing to a lot of things. So he was really much hated. And also Chan Yau Leong, Seng Kuan's pathetic, two-faced disciple who does nothing "menghasut" [-> Malay word meaning harassed or something other] and suck up to people, and yet he really was a major jerk, and VERY much hated because he didn't get a bad ending. I was pretty dissatisfied with that. Some may ask about Chow Chi Yuk. A hated character, but I didn't hate her in this serial in which I will soon explain below when evaluating the actors/actresses performance. 

Pity Factor
Dunno. Mo Kei for losing his parents? Maybe. Lion King for losing his family? Perhaps. Chi Yuk for loving someone who doesn't really love her? No. Aghhhhh. I don't know. No one was very pitiful in here. Oh wait. There was one. Soong Cheng Shue who loved Chi Yuk but never could get Chi Yuk to love him even though he sacrificed a lot for her, including his finger, because Chi Yuk only loved Mo Kei. In the end, he got her, but that was because she had lost her memory. He would always be haunted by the fact that Chi Yuk loved Mo Kei the most, and that was very sad for him. 

The I don't get it Factor
Why would four women, who could do so much better, loved and sacrificed a heck lot of things for a man who can't make decisions on his own, Cheung Mo Kei. Come on. He didn't treat any of them exceptionally well, perhaps Man Man at a point. He was wishy washy, whiny at times...ugh. I don't get why would 4 women love a man like him. Looks aren't everything, you know. There's a matter of brains. 

The Stupid Factor
See above. Besides not getting it, I also happen to think it's extremely stupid. 

Best Actor
Ahhhhhh...the time where I shall rant to my heart's content. Honestly, I didn't think anyone was exceptionally good or positively brilliant in HSDS 2000, the performances ranged from "good" to "okay" and "lousy"

Lawrence Ng Kai Wah - Our hero, Cheung Mo Kei. Let me begin by saying I am a major fan of Lawrence, and regardless of that, I am NOT going to be biased. I started watching from the point where the young duh-looking Mo Kei disappeared into the cave. And when he materialized a few years later as an adult...I laughed. I admitted it, I laugh and laugh. It was supposed to be only about 3-4 years, not 10 years! Bottomline is, Lawrence was too old to play Cheung Mo Kei. They should've put him as Cheung Chui San and dumped Damien Lau because HE was too old for Cheung Chui San. But then again...if they retained the young guy [John Tang], I think I will seriously stop watching this serial. Age factor aside, Lawrence as Cheung Mo Kei was...well...believable at times. He did manage to look like a hero in certain scenes, and looked "yeng" at times, but most of the time, I thought he looked tired more than anything else. When he was doing all that kungfu stuff, I noticed that he was simply not "ommmph" enough when lashing out his "gong fa". Believe me, I know what I'm talking about, I'm on the school wushu team. Rather weak looking punches. My trainer would have my head if I fought like that. Lawrence as Cheung Mo Kei doing kungfu...I will say it's only an "okay". Where else, Lawrence doing emotional scenes were GOOD, regardless what everyone else will say, cos this is my opinion, and no, I am not being biased. I think he did a great job on all those emotional stuff, but his crying still needs a little work. I can recall the scene when he wept in front of Man Man's grave and my little sister was like, "eh, is he laughing or crying hah?" and when I looked closer, he did look rather like laughing, especially the "huh huh huh" sounds. Crying abilities aside, I repeat, he did a good job. Especially when he was anxious over Man Man, or being exasperated with her, or evaluting his positions, talking with elders etc etc...he was good in all those none kungfu scenes. And I like the way he talks, clear, systematic, calm and pleasant. If we look aside the Lawrence-too-old-for-Mo-Kei thingie, he did a good job. Therefore, his performance will be rated "good" by me. And for the third time, I am not biased. 

Eddie Cheung - As Yeong Siu, Eddie was no less than his regular good. Fine acting as usual by Eddie, but as stated, not much depth into his character, and he didn't have a chance to really express his role, so, no, he didn't shine in this serial, and therefore, I also rate his acting "good".

There would be no other actors to evaluate as I didn't see Damien Lau's performance, but every other actor was quite okay in this serial except for the old man who played Cheung Sam Fong, he cannot, cannot, cannot act, and did nothing but look duh throughout, and John Tang who just looked dumb throughout, no offense, and the Bat King [translated from the BM subtitles] was kinda wooden, too, and I hate the way he muttered his lines instead of speaking clearly. Another actor who was quite good would be the one who played Seng Kuan. A good actor, whose name not known to me, and managed to portray his villainous role well. The actor who played Chow Tin wasn't too bad as well, funny and big-mouthed. 

Therefore, my conclusion for Best Actor will go to Lawrence Ng Kai Wah, but he wasn't at his best in here. 

Best Actress
Gigi Lai - The spoilt, smarmy Mongolian princess, Man Man Tamoyi. A very cute actress with charisma, Gigi managed to bring Man Man to live rather marvelously. Although she looked rather awkward in the first few episodes, and a bit wooden and darn too smarmy at times, her acting smoothed out and succeeded in making me like her very very much. She was very cute, bubbly and adoring, and I never missed her in the final few episodes, particularly the ones after her supposed "death". Non can deny that Gigi is a very pretty girl with a sweet smile and dimples, and that makes her very pleasant to look at. But her wooden acting at the beginning leaves something to be desired, and there are scenes where she wasn't smarmy enough or just being so annoyingly overly smarmy. Therefore, her performance is also rated "good". She was good, but not excellent. 

Charmaine Sheh - Chow Chi Yuk, the manipulator. A hated character. But I didn't hate her. I just got bored with her. Because...Charmaine cannot act. Very sad. But she couldn't act and if I have to be frank and blunt, she was the worst in the serial, except maybe the old man Cheung Sam Fong would be ranked below her. She was simply expressionless. There were only 3 faces of Charmaine: a laughing one, a teary one and a neutral one. And all done with complete non-expression. She had a great role in here, one she could really shine in if she worked hard, and regardless of everyone saying she had improve, she was good, she was the best, I still didn't see anything better about the Charmaine that I first saw and laughed my head off in Time Off. Perhaps I am being rather harsh, but I really cannot stand Chi Yuk in here, not because she was evil beyond belief but because of Charmaine and her bad acting. Even when she was supposed to be evil, she still looked...whiny. She looked bored rather than mad at the times she was supposed to be mad. And I feel that she was very un-energetic in this serial. The worst thing was her voice. Every time she says "Mo Kei Gor Gor", I don't know whether to scream or to barf or just run out of the room. She had an extremely irritating voice that sounds like a duck quacking, and the worst thing is it remained SAME throughout with rise of volume when she was screaming. I felt that she COULD have been better, she COULD have, but she was not, so end of the story. Her perfomance evaluated? Somewhere between "below-okay" and "downright lousy". 

Cherie Chan - As Chu Yi, Mo Kei's cousin, she did an okay job. Just okay. Nothing too impressive, but nothing too bad either. 

Joyce Tang - As Gei Hiu Fu and Yeong But Fui...well, I didn't see Joyce as Gei Hiu Fu but Joyce as Yeong But Fui was really rather unreasonable, and hey, why does Joyce Tang always gets the unreasonable roles in a series!!??!?! She loved the guy, Yan Lei Ting, who loved her mother and then eventually loved her. In the process of getting him to love her, she did some rather unreasonable things. That aside, Joyce did a fine job. Therefore, her performance will be rated "good" as well. But wait. Can I say that I totally hate her hair in here? But it's not her fault, so let it pass. 

Kong Hei Man - As Siu Chiu, Mo Kei's servant, this girl, whom I've never seen before, was also rather wooden. Expressionless. Her best scene was when she cried out to the mother, and that wasn't very good as well. Perhaps she can improve. 

As I've missed Mi Xue as Yan So So, I cannot evaluate her performance in here. Other actresses did an okay job, no one was particularly so bad that I had to single them out...and the best actress, although not really BEST best will be Gigi Lai.  

Best Couple
Probably some will scream at me yelling ARE YOU NUTS for naming these two people as best couple as a lot of people felt they are mismatched blah blah blah but I really enjoyed seeing Lawrence Ng and Gigi Lai together. Didn't exactly generate hot and boiling chemistry, but I feel that they are rather compatible, have enough chemistry to make it seemed believable and they are really rather cute together, especially when Man Man annoys Mo Kei. Or maybe it was just Gigi who was so cute, whom I really like. Or maybe Lawrence, who was, above everything, one of my favorite actors.  Haha. But I really enjoyed their scenes together, they have several good scenes such as reuniting when Mo Kei thought Man Man was dead, good acting between two actors, except for Lawrence's tears. And another one which I shall proceed to reveal later. I also happened to find their little gestures of affection rather heartwarming. Yup, Lawrence and Gigi looked fine together. This is my opinion, and you don't the right to sue if you disagree with me.  

Mismatched Couple
Lawrence Ng had absolutely zilch chemistry with Charmaine Sheh. They don't look good together. No chemistry. No click. No zing.
Another would be Joyce Tang and Eddie Cheung...call me weird, but I can't get over the same person being his wife and daughter, it was just too weird. Therefore, I don't think they matched well. 

Best Scenes
I thought the scene between Man Man, Mo Kei and Chi Yuk in the temple when Chi Yuk forced Mo Kei to say whom does he loves most was rather a good scene. Especially when Chi Yuk brought out the hidden Man Man who heard every word Mo Kei said, and there were tears in her eyes, and they just looked at each other, their eyes full of feelings, without any words and Chi Yuk seething like a bull between them. 

Another scene would be when Mo Kei's parents were insulted in front of him. You could see the hurt, pain and anger in his eyes. Very-well expressed by Lawrence.

One of the scenes I felt was good was when the Lion King knelt down before the members of the kungfu world and bid them to kill him for his sins. Mo Kei tried to help him but he told him that he had sinned too much, he deserved to die and Mo Kei could not ever take revenge on his behalf. And one by one, those people whose loved ones he blindly killed, walked up to him, slapped him, kicked him, spat on him, but they didn't kill him. The power of forgiveness. 

Worst Scenes
Urmmmm...I couldn't really remember any scene that was so bad I had to mention it, so none for this category. Oh wait. There were two scenes, when they fight, I can actually see STRINGS hanging above them. One would be when the Bat King flew in the smear Man Man's face, and another was when Mo Kei's uncles were fighting him under the spell of Seng Kuan, if I am not mistaken. When I saw the strings, my mouth dropped and I was like, HUH, because I cannot believe that TVB was so unprofessional. And speaking of unprofessional, watch out for the VERY-FAKE looking scenery at the end, and you will surely faint from horror, cos I did. 

Was HSDS2000 better than...
HSDS 1986 with Tony Leung Chiu Wai? I don't know because I didn't watch it, but many would say it was much better, so perhaps I will watch it sometime after my O-Levels and fill this space.

HSDS1994 with Ma Jing Tao. Frankly, I didn't watch it. Only about half an hour about a year ago when my auntie watched it. But when Ma Jing Tao appeared on the screen, screaming and fighting some kungfu, I ran out of the room screaming as well, because I cannot stand Ma Jing Tao and besides, he looked perfectly frightful as well. Okay, I am very biased here, since I didn't watch it, but I'll take HSDS2000 over HSDS1994 ANY day. 

Worth watching?
Watch it for Lawrence if you're a fan, watch it for Gigi if you're fan, watch it for Charmaine if you're an obsessed fan, don't watch it if you can't stand wimpy men, don't watch it if you don't like ancient serials, don't watch it if you hate Lawrence, Gigi and Charmaine or you hate Lawrence, Gigi or Charmaine because they get LOTS of screen time in this serial. 

Sidenotes
I find one rather disturbing thing about the novel itself. I found out that the Mu Muk book, used for military and written by Ngok Fei...it was supposedly written about a hundred years ago, but apparently, Ngok Fei's time was the time China gradually revolutionize in to the Ming Dynasty, so...in HSDS 2000 or HSDS in general, the time span was a little out. This may be MY mistake, so please correct me if I am wrong. And I don't think Kao Yam Chan Geng really existed either. This serial had me confused because it was fused with fact and fiction and I had to go running to my father after every episode to clarify my facts.  

Supposedly after HSDS, China revolutionized into Ming Dynasty, and basically all the fighting took place in HSDS which was not emphasized as much as the ridiculous love pentagon between Cheung Mo Kei and the four women. Frankly, I would have enjoyed the historical thing, I really enjoy history. I will dig up more on the Ming dynasty when I have the time. For example, what REALLY happened?

I was wondering whether was Chu Yuan Zhang such a jerk as portrayed in HSDS2000. He was underhanded and power hungry and yet he became the King? What kind of justice was that? History books said that Chu Yuan Zhang wasn't a good emperor, so whether was he a dirty, underhanded jerk, it leaves to be debated.

Chu Yuan Zhang and Taichi Master Cheung Sam Fong really exists, and Cheung Mo Kei and the others are merely fiction. Because no one can fight kungfu like Cheung Mo Kei as humans are not known to be able to fly or jump about 70 metres into the air by nature. Or able to produce some powerful "boom boom boom" kungfu that explodes everything around them or being slammed into hundreds of pillars and can still stand there looking macho. 

For great Lawrence series, watch Healing Hands 1 or A Loving Spirit or A Taste Of Love. For a good Gigi series, I can't recommend any cos this is the first time I saw her act in a serial. Maybe her movies? For a good Charmaine series...uhhhh...ahhhh...well, you might watch Return Of The Cuckoo, I guess. Only more for Julian rather than Charmaine. *shrug* For a good Eddie series, watch the one where he was the baddie, in which I forgot which one was it, in which I know I am really pathetic, so do tell me if you happened to know it. 

The theme song was nice. I liked it. But they should have gotten a better singer, say Jacky Cheung. Lawrence sang it, he wasn't too bad, but let's just say there are better ones.

Once again, if you've missed it, here it is again, a totally awesome and complete site on Heaven Sword Dragon Sabre 2000, just click HERE. Enjoy. 

 
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