The King of Yesterday and Tomorrow

Infobox Television
show_name = The King of Yesterday and Tomorrow


caption =
genre = Drama, comedy, romance
format =
runtime = 45 minutes (approx.)
creator =
director =
producer =
writer =
starring = Kwong Wah
Maggie Cheung Ho-Yee
Melissa Ng
opentheme = 彩構步 by Kwong Wah
endtheme = 延續一生都美麗 by Kwong Wah
country = HKG
language = Cantonese
network = TVB
first_aired = January 27, 2003
last_aired =
February 21, 2003
num_episodes = 20
preceded_by =
followed_by =
related =
website = http://tvcity.tvb.com/drama/king_of_yesterday/story/index.html
imdb_id = The King of Yesterday and Tomorrow (Chinese: 九五至尊) is a Hong Kong television drama produced by TVB in 2003. According to legend, Yongzheng Emperor of the Qing dynasty may not have died of natural death and was actually assassinated. The plot is an imaginative time-traveling story based on the continuation of what happens after the assassination attempt.

Plot

Qing dynasty

The story begins in Qing dynasty, China with Yongzheng Emperor disguising himself among commoners to have a meal outside the imperial courts. At the restaurant he encounters a woman named Liu Sei-leung who was under attack by loan sharks for not returning debts. The emperor came across her situation, and paid off the debt for her. Later during a ship departure, Liu Sei-leung was trying to thank the emperor for his deed. Suddenly she was revealed to be an assassin trying to kill the emperor. The boat was then all of a sudden caught in a time-traveling vortex/hurricane.

Modern HK

When they woke up, they were both warped to modern Hong Kong in 2003. Liu Sei-leung would continue her mission to assassin the emperor in the city, only to find he became a commoner and changed his name to Lei Dai-ha (literally Big shrimp). The emperor was somewhat fascinated by the bermuda triangle and was looking for explanations of his time travel. They would also learn about the fall of the Qing dynasty including the rise of the 1911 Xinhai Revolution and founding of modern China through a historic TV video, which also mentioned the emperor's death was shrouded in some mystery.

Both the emperor and assassin would encounter difficulties with HK daily life, culture and society. As they both end up working in a company that sells kitchen tiles. The emperor and assassin would both collaborate to deal with opposing co-workers who dislike them. Later the emperor fell in love with Rachel, the office worker. The story then became a more romantic drama, as the assassin also fell in love with him. She felt there was a special connection between them since they both were from the same dynasty. They ended up living together with a host of other characters. The show also contained mini plots such as Ko Ging getting accused of carrying illegal drugs in a club, Hugo and Kenneth's homosexual relationships, and many other side stories.

Cast

* Kwong Wah as Yongzheng Emperor and Lei Dai-ha (李大蝦)
* Maggie Cheung Ho-Yee as Assassin Liu Sei-leung (呂四娘)
* Melissa Ng as Rachel (岑日愛)
* Gilbert Lam (林韋辰) as Frankie (岑日禮)
* Paul Chun as Sum Siu-hong (岑兆康)
* Edmond So (蘇志威) as Kenneth
* Anthony Tang (鄧浩光) as Hugo (岑日孝)
* Akina Hong (康華) as Si To Yuk-ming (司徒旭明)
* June Chan as Bo Ju (寶珠)
* Lo Meng (羅莽) as Bo Fei (寶飛)
* Joe Cheng (鄭敬基) as Ko Ging (高勁)
* Jack Wu (胡諾言) as Bo Ngon (寶安)
* Gordon Liu as Heurng Yeurng (向陽)
* Ram Tseung (蔣志光) as Brian (岑日忠)
* Halina Tam as Tina (尹天娜)
* Derek Kwok as 14th imperial grandfather (十四皇爺)
* Mark Kwok (郭耀明) as Marco
* Savio Tsang (曾偉權) as 8th Prince

Time travel antics

* The emperor liked Rachel, the fellow office worker, and was trying to impress her with the Manchu Han Imperial Feast.
* The emperor spoke ancient Chinese in modern HK, and everyone thought he was just educated.
* In one scene an antique store sold an exact furniture piece that the emperor broke when he was in the Qing dynasty. A stubborn customer tried to prove the furnitures were fakes by saying the traditional chinese character was missing a stroke. The emperor proved to him that the furniture did not have that stroke during that era.

References

* [http://www.butterflysplace.net/The_King_Of_Yesterday_And_Tomorrow.htm Butterflysplace.net]

External links

* [http://wiki.d-addicts.com/King_of_Yesterday_and_Tomorrow Drama wiki]

ee also

* A Step into the Past