SPECIAL : THE MAKING OF ...

On 21.10.2005 10.30pm-11.30pm ASTRO Wah Lai Toi broadcast the 1 hour longTMO of this series (actually more like 45 min). It is unfortunate I do not have any device to take screencaps so if you know where I can find the screencaps to this TMO, do email me. The following is a not so faithful recap of the TMO...

I was duped. This is not a TMO. This is a collection of various interviews conducted by shows like K-100 and the likes and pieced together into one hour of so called TMO. I wanted so much to see the concept of the costume, the concept of the story, detailed analysis of the characters, some highlights/scenes as well as proper intereviews of the main stars as well as how they prepared for certain scenes like that Forbidden City scene and various locations and also bloopers and all I had was a collection of news.

First of they did talk about the stunts they had to do and repeated I think 3 times that scene where Gigi fell off the carriage in the 1st episode. Then they did talk about why they were filming in an abandoned temple in the first scene. Then we have Bowie looking mighty confortable with Gigi Lai (like are they you know seeing each other? They looked especially close) answering some questions I won't even bother to recap. The only proper interviews were given in other shows and an entire section was devoted to the scandal that Charmaine was not well liked by the other girls. Indeed, where there's Charmaine, Maggie is no where to be seen. In fact Maggie seems to disappear altogether in functions and in this TMO except for some interviews by herself. Bowie was witty in answering about the scandal saying "Yeah, I suspect there is a rivalry! Every morning I see them having their make up done at the same time side by side, they even have to act side by side and the worse was when they eat of all the tables they had to sit at the same table! Definitely got rivalry!". Charmaine of course said no and everybody was extra careful to emphasise how acting in this series was like a party and how much they enjoyed each other's company. And what has this got to do with the series?

We have also Moses commenting on his bald look and he said he could feel cold and heat on his head meaning his head more sensitive. By the way Moses was very charming in the interviews, unfortunately did not translate well into his performances.

Then we have Bowie promising to dress as Yu Fei if ratings hit 45 points and Moses laughed and said "No, no. He will dress as a woman, I will stand nearby and cheer him on!" and then we some scenes where indeed they dressed a Yu Fei and the Empress! Anyway the highest rating was 41 points.

The interviews were also conducted on possible prequels and Sheren laughingly said "Maybe I can do it if lesser working hours but I will need to do facial mask every night!" whilst Charmaine and Gigi were laughing and both saying "I can't imagine us as 12 year olds! No no, we can't do a prequel..." but I think it was Charmaine who suggested that maybe she can be Yee Sun's mother and Gigi as Yuk Ying's mother. And Charmaine jokingly said "But I am more interested about Bowie...can he play a young man?" and Bowie sportingly said "Actually I started the rumour about the prequel and I feel we should do a prequel...".

Somewhere in this TMO we have scenes from their promo before, during and right before the end of the series. Also that reception that held where they all watched the last episode together and the main actresses' eyes looked blurry. Again Maggie was missing. Was she being snubbed? Somehow I thought Maggie didn't gain enough exposure for this series when she should have and I wonder why? Anyway Sheren was interviewed and asked does she feel ok to cry when watching own show in front of so many people and she said sometimes she can be very emotionally moved by some performances. Moses said he could cry watching emotional scenes but not in front of so many people. Charmaine looked almost embarassed when she was watching herself on the screen but they all looked very serious watching the last episode. Sheren said her ending was perhaps the saddest but she refused to reveal the ending. However this one reception blew the ending for me when Gigi was interviewed how she felt about her character dying! This is horrible man! That's it, no need to watch! Earlier Gigi and Bowie did mention their ending will draw tears and yet is romantic.

Then we have very very short interviews of what really mattered; what the actors and actress feel about their character.

Sheren said her character lives in a power struggle to stay on top but that life in itself is a very lonely existence. That her character may seem evil but she is iften bullied by an even more powerful and more evil character whose name Sheren refused to tell. I suspect the Empress lar. So obvious what! Later parts Sheren will talk more about the effect of this character in her long standing career that she said "...playing this character would enable me to explore other such characters..." and that she was surprised audiences liked her evil Yu Fei and even had fans as young as young boys. She also revealed 2 characters will die and 2 will live. She also mentioned her character would fall out of power but yet gained love and happiness.

The footage at the end mentioned that Charmaine's character, Yee Sun is bound by her loyalty to the eunuch played by Loh Hoi Pang so many times she did things she didn't quite want to do. Yee Sun is quiet and yet capable of doing mean stuff and showed some footage of her bullying Yuk Ying played by Gigi. Charmaine emphasised she is nothing like her character and then no more interview! So frustrating! I wanna know more!

Then we have I think Gigi who had the most interview. The narrator said her character seems pompous and yet naive in the first place when actually she is not as simple as one thinks. She pretends to be naive and that is capable of many evil acts. She had to do what she had to do so that she will be the first in the family to be a powerful concubine so that her lowly status of a mother can have some respect in the family. Scenes were shown how she seduced Bowie's character and how Charmaine warned her not to do harm on Bowie. Then interview some more about how she is grateful her acting capabilities is being recognised and there was an interview with Lai Suen (I think she is her relative) and how Lai Suen was so proud that Gigi didn't just act the role but understood the nature of the character (yeah..which series are we watching huh? All those scenes they showed were like over the top acting, horrible!). Gigi looked like she was about to cry. I mean Gigi is a sweet girl but that doesn't mean she is even remotely a good actress. She may be good in others but in here she clearly did not understand her character as I have explained in Episode 1. She also explained her character went through the most drastic change from being in favour of Emperor to out of favour to back in favour and she was destroying all her hard work by falling in love with the physician, Bowie.

Moses' character is desparate to make a name for himself and escape poverty. He had the potential to be great as Bowie's character said but his one flaw is he placed too much emphasis on love and we see how he again and again tried to help Maggie and how love would eventually threaten his career.

Bowie's character is somewhat a psychiatrist to the concubines who somehow miraculously had such close proximity and access to them that it is unbelievable. Anyway Bowie said his character is always made to do dirty work in the sense he had access to the concubines and so he always had to deliver messages that may not be just greetings. They showed how Charmaine's Yee Sun was always looking at him whilst he was seduced by Gigi's Yuk Ying. Bowie said his character was always reluctant to carry out such tasks but he had to do it anyway and yet had his special way of avoiding something that would threaten his life and career. Then we have Bowie explaining that this is his first costume period drama and perhaps his most difficult because he had problems delivering the lines which were not modern speech. He confessed some scenes he NG-ed many many times but of course, such NG scenes were never showed.

Maggie's interview were amongst the most brief but her answers were intelligent and thoughtful if you ask me. Gigi Lai for one can't really make up a sentence without thinking long and hard but really she is a sweet girl. Anyway Maggie said her character is a servant/palace maid whose beloved grandmother was killed by the Empress and she vowed revenge, even when she had to sacrifice love (that is Moses' character) to work her way into the Emperor's favour. Amongst all footages, I find her character the most interesting and her story seems to have a beginning unlike others which began with an assumption. Check out Episode 1 to know what I mean. She went on to say her character is very pitiful to live in such a lonely and dangerous existence. She also talked about how acting in this series is hard because they were supposed to be living during the winter season and the real season when filming was summer I think. Which explains why most make up look so oily. I pity them in a way. Anyway she said she was thinking hard how to solve the problem of speaking during winter season, where you will see yoru breath when you speak to show that it's cold. But summer won't have that. The director tried many ways, from speaking the lines with ice cube inside the mouth to dirnking ice cold water before speaking the lines which worked eventually. Sheren at the same time did mention that there were scenes where they had to play snow balls to show some romantic moments but the actual snow was very dirty and smelly.

Then some more footages, all of which I found Maggie's footage the most intriguing and the one long preview and then the end. Oh yeah, Bowie did talked about singing the themesong and how he tried to find a feel for it before singing it.

The end.

Then before really real ending of this TMO, we have Bowie singing the themesong at some event live.

Again I can't help but wonder; is Maggie being snubbed?

On Charmaine, my mom was watching this also was shocked to see Charmaine so thin in some interviews and I casually reminded her this was some time ago whilst I myself will admit, Gigi looked better in terms of shape and size in this series.

Ok, that's it. Lousy recap but I can't remember much. All I could remember is no segment on the costume or bloopers or filming process. Disgustingly inadequate TMO.