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Home > TV Series > TVB Series > The King of Yesterday and Tomorrow > The King of
Yesterday and Tomorrow Review

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THE KING OF YESTERDAY AND TOMORROW




Reviewed by: the blur one

May 09, 2004

Rating: three-point-five

No. of episodes: 20

Cast:
Kong Wah – Emperor Yung Cheng/Lee Tai Ha
Maggie Cheung – Lui Sei Leong
Melissa Ng – Rachel Sum
Gilbert Lam – Frankie Sum
Paul Chun Pui – Sum Siu Hong
Anthony Tang – Hugo Sum
Cheung Chi Kwong – Brian Sum
Halina Tam – Tina

I haven’t been compelled to write a review in a long, long time. That’s because
I haven’t been able to sit down to a series for a long, long time and not feel
the urge to drop out halfway. What I look for in a series is really very simple.
It has to entertain me. It has to keep me interested. And The King of Yesterday
and Tomorrow fulfills these two simple rules. I was initially drawn to it for
two main reasons. One: its interesting premise (so, I like all these time travel
thingies); and two: Maggie Cheung.

The King of Yesterday and Tomorrow tells the tale of how Emperor Yung Cheng and
Lui Sei Leong are accidentally transported 200 years into the future into modern
day Hong Kong. Now, you can just imagine the reactions of these two Ching period
characters when they wake up to find themselves in a totally unfamiliar
environment. But that’s when we also get to see the differences between Yung
Cheng and Lui Sei Leong. Being emperor, Yung Cheng chooses to observe his
surroundings and is calm and composed albeit a little apprehensive. Lui Sei
Leong, on the other hand, having been brought up with only one thing in mind, is
bent on assassinating the emperor and reviving the Ming. She doesn’t care where
or what time period she’s in! This, of course, results in a series of hilarious
incidents involving the both of them. Yung Cheng assumes the identity of a Lee
Tai Ha and is taken in by his uncle and family, while Lui Sei Leong joins a
martial arts performing troupe.







Through a series of events, Lee Tai Ha joins Siu Hong, an interior
design/property development company and comes into contact with the Sum family
who own and run the business. Lui Sei Leong also ends up as old Mr. Sum’s
bodyguard. Thus the two get embroiled in the Sum family affairs and that’s when
it starts to get even more interesting.

I like how a parallel similarity is drawn between the going-ons in Siu Hong and
Yung Cheng’s imperial court. In the imperial court, Yung Cheng is emperor
presiding over his subjects and fending off opposition from his royal brothers.
In Siu Hong, Mr Sum is the ‘emperor’ trying to achieve a balance between his
three wives and decide whom of his three sons he should pass his ‘empire’ on to.
You always hear of Sun Tzu’s Art of War being practiced or used as a tool for
businesses today. Okay, so this is no Sun Tzu Art of War but I reckon it comes
close enough. It’s politics all around, whether we’re in a modern-day company or
in an ancient-day imperial court. You have the wives fighting among themselves
as they prod and encourage the ambitions of their children. You have siblings
fighting and trying to outdo each other for their father’s affection,
acknowledgement and power. Who’s in favour? Who’s out of favour? Who will
eventually ascend to the throne and be Siu Hong’s next chairman?

Yung Cheng as Lee Tai Ha draws on his experience or rather, imperial instincts,
and gets caught right smack in the middle of this feud. But what’s interesting
to ponder about is whether the Sum family would have ended up the way it did if
Lee Tai Ha never appeared in the picture. Like how Frankie put it towards the
end –- it is in Yung Cheng’s nature to cause disorder. Which brings me to
another point –- would Frankie have turned out the way he did if not for the
appearance of Lee Tai Ha?







Then there’s the love triangle between Lee Tai Ha, Rachel and Lui Sei Leong,
which wasn’t heart-rending at all, in my opinion. There just didn’t seem to be
much romance between the three main leads. What was funny though was Lee Tai
Ha’s seemingly nonchalance to the whole thing. He couldn’t understand why he
just couldn’t have both women. After all, he was emperor and an emperor has more
than 3000 women at his beck and call. At the end of the day I really didn’t mind
who Lee Tai Ha ended up with. The romance just wasn’t deep enough for me to root
for one woman over the other.

The ending, as is typical of most TVB endings, is rushed yet again. But I guess
there was some sort of closure and our protagonist does end up with one of his
two women. So I won’t rant on too much about that.

As for the cast, I have to say that this is one of the best casts I’ve seen in
awhile. From the leads to the supporting players, everyone acted out their roles
superbly and complemented each other well. Kong Wah just reeks of ‘royalness’
and had the right amount of poise and air to carry out his role as Emperor Yung
Cheng. Although at times I thought he overacted a bit, he still managed to pull
it off convincingly. Maggie as Lui Sei Leong provided the brunt of laughs here.
Her initial unwillingness to accept the fact that she was in a totally different
time period added to the funny situations. Again, there was some tendency
towards overacting. Then again, hers wasn’t an easy role to portray – Lui Sei
Leong, unlike Yung Cheng, was not as quick and comfortable fitting into the 21st
century. Gilbert Lam as Frankie was totally despicable and you won’t have an
ounce of sympathy for him when he gets his just desserts in the end. I know I
didn’t.

There are a couple of things that bothered me throughout this series though. I
just couldn’t buy the fact that Yung Cheng adapted so fast to life in modern-day
Hong Kong. I mean, hello, this guy lived 200 years ago when there were no such
things as computers or TVs or stock markets etc. Yet he picked them up at an
amazing speed. Sure, he was emperor and not alike ordinary people so that should
account for his exceptional deftness but I just thought it was a little
ridiculous. Lui Sei Leong’s reactions were more, what I would call, real.
Although again, there were some instances when she caught on too quickly to
certain modern gadgets as well e.g. the gameboy Frankie gave her. Then there’s
good guy Frankie and bad guy Frankie. I can’t help but wonder if he was bad all
along and if all that good at the start of the series was just a show? Was Lee
Tai Ha the instigator? Would Frankie have stayed good guy Frankie if Lee Tai Ha
never featured in his life at all? Then there was Rachel’s friend, Szeto (played
by Hong Wah). I found it rather unbelievable that she could turn on her best
friend whom she loved so much at the snap of a finger. I reckon it was a rather
cop-out way of getting rid of her character. Also, how the hell did Lui Sei
Leung manage to stay in Hong Kong without identification of any kind? Yung Cheng
had Lee Tai Ha’s identity but Lui Sei Leung had no ID, no passport, no papers,
no nothing. It’s a wonder she wasn’t deported!







Anyway, despite its shortcomings, The King of Yesterday and Tomorrow is a truly
enjoyable affair with just the right balance of drama and comedy. Its point of
interest lies in its drawing of similarities between the imperial court and
today’s battlefield that is the workplace. I particularly like the Chinese title
of this series too – ‘Gau Mm Zi Juin’ – literally meaning, ‘The Best 9-5’. Its
double meaning again reflects the similarities between the emperor of yesterday
and his role today. No matter where he is, whether in his imperial court or
working 9 to 5 in a modern day job, he still shines above the rest.

A definite must watch.

Read other reviews by the blur one
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