My Date with a Vampire | |
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Genre | Fantasy, jiangshi fiction, horror comedy, supernatural, romance |
Written by | Leung Lap-yan Cheung Sai-cheung Shum Lap-keung Yip Tin-sing Fan Lai-ming Wong Chiu-cheung Siu Kwok-wah Kwan Bing-hung Hui Sa-long Kwok Po-yin |
Directed by | Chan San-hap Tang Wai-yan Lee Leung-sing Wong Wai-kit Poon Ka-fuk Chan Kwok-wah Tang Hin-sing |
Starring | Eric Wan Joey Meng Kristy Yang Kenneth Chan Berg Ng Pinky Cheung Chapman To Cheung Kwok-kuen Wong Shee-tong Lisa Lui Yeung Ka-nok Keung Ho-men Sin Ho-ying Ching Tung Wai Lit |
Opening theme | "Who's in the Dream" (夢裡是誰) performed by Linda Wong |
Composer | Michael Lai |
Country of origin | Hong Kong |
Original language | Cantonese |
No. of episodes | 35 |
Production | |
Producers | Leung Tin Sin Chi-wai |
Production location | Hong Kong |
Running time | 45 minutes per episode |
Production company | ATV |
Original release | |
Network | ATV |
Release | 30 November 1998 – 15 January 1999 |
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My Date with a Vampire | |||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 我和殭屍有個約會 | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 我和僵尸有个约会 | ||||||||||
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My Date with a Vampire is a 1998 Hong Kong television series produced by Asia Television (ATV). The story is based on the future events of the plot of Vampire Expert ,a similar two-season television drama aired on ATV in 1995 and 1996. It blends aspects of the "hopping" corpses of jiangshi fiction with those of western vampires,along with elements of Chinese mythology and modern horror legends. The series is a tribute to Lam Ching-ying,the lead actor of Vampire Expert and a prominent cast member of the Mr. Vampire franchise,who died of liver cancer in 1997. It was followed by My Date with a Vampire II (2000) and My Date with a Vampire III (2004).
Fong Kwok-wah was a Chinese guerrilla fighter during the Second Sino-Japanese War. In 1938,he was duelling with Yamamoto Kazuo,a major of the Imperial Japanese Army,when they were interrupted by Cheung-San,the progenitor of all vampires. The two men and Fuk-sang,a boy who was hiding nearby,were bitten by Cheung-San and they became vampires.
In the present-day (1998),Fong has changed his name to Fong Tin-yau and now lives in Hong Kong,where he works as a policeman. Fuk-sang lives with him,pretends to be his son,and attends primary school. During this time,Fong meets Ma Siu-ling,the heiress to a clan of sorcerers dedicated to ridding the world of evil supernatural beings. He gradually becomes embroiled in a love triangle with her and Wong Jan-jan,her close friend and confidante.
Meanwhile,Yamamoto has become the influential boss of a big company in Hong Kong and has a small group of vampire followers under his command. Planning to turn every human into a vampire,Yamamoto unleashes his minions to attack people and spread the "vampire gene". Chaos break out in Hong Kong as vampires multiply and roam the streets freely. Fong teams up with Ma and their allies to stop Yamamoto and manage to destroy him. However,a sorcerer called Rahu later resurrects Yamamoto and controls him to do his bidding,preparing to carry out a ritual during a blood moon to dominate the universe. Once again,Fong,Ma and their allies combine forces to confront Rahu and put an end to his evil plan.
The vampires depicted in the My Date with a Vampire trilogy incorporate elements from the Chinese jiangshi and the western vampire. They are beings that do not belong to the Trailokya or any of the Six Paths in Buddhist cosmology. They do not age and need to regularly feed on blood to sustain themselves. They may also possess powers such as superhuman speed or the ability to shapeshift,in addition to their immortal status. Their powers and invulnerability to sunlight,religious symbols and other things that typical vampires fear,however,become weaker as the generation gap between them and Cheung-San (the progenitor of all vampires) increases. An example to illustrate this concept of "generation" is as follows:Person A,who became a vampire after being bitten by Cheung-San himself,is known as a second-generation vampire. Person B,who became a vampire after being bitten by Person A or another direct victim of Cheung-San,is a third-generation vampire,and so on.
At the end of the second season,it is revealed that Pangu,the creator of the universe in Chinese mythology,is not a single entity,but a clan of divine beings who are all first-generation vampires. Unlike others,these vampires do not need to feed on blood to survive. It is hinted that Cheung-San is a member of the Pangu clan. In the third season,two important Chinese mythological figures,Fuxi and Yaochi Shengmu,are first-generation vampires.
Starting in the second season,a vampire's generation or type can be identified by his/her eye colour when he/she goes into "vampire mode".
The script for My Date with a Vampire was written by Leung Lap-yan in 1997. Leung attempted to market the script to Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) but was rejected,so he went to Asia Television (ATV) instead. Chan Sap-sam,who wrote the script for the two sequels,revealed that Lam Ching-ying,a prominent cast member in the Mr. Vampire franchise,was their original choice for the lead actor,and that Joey Meng did not have a place in their initial cast list. However,after they finalised the script,they were unable to contact Lam,who was critically ill. Besides,ATV's top management was not pleased with the script because they felt that it did not fit people's impressions of how vampires should be like. ATV's top management wanted to cancel the project after Lam died of liver cancer in 1997. Faced with these problems,Chan decided to make bold changes to the script and create a new character –Ma Siu-ling,a female ghostbuster wearing high heels and a miniskirt who is greedy for money. Sin Chi-wai,the producer for the series,recommended Joey Meng to play Ma Siu-ling. When Eric Wan was offered to play the male lead character in the series,he wanted to turn down the offer because he felt exhausted,but eventually agreed as he became more interested in the story.
According to Netease Report,Fox Networks Group will remake the series. [1] Cora Yim,the head of Fox Networks Group Asia,claimed that one-third of ATV's inventory had been acquired by Fox Networks Group,including 28 television series;My Date with a Vampire is one of the 28. [2]
The Silver Bauhinia Star is the second Bauhinia Star rank in the honours system of Hong Kong,awarded to people who have taken a leading part in public affairs or voluntary work over a long period. The award was created in 1997 to replace the British honours system after the transfer of sovereignty to People's Republic of China and the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
The Gold Bauhinia Star is the highest Bauhinia Star rank in the honours system of Hong Kong,created in 1997 to replace the British honours system of the Order of the British Empire after the transfer of sovereignty to People's Republic of China and the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). It is awarded to those who have given distinguished service to the community or rendered public or voluntary services of a very high degree of merit.
A list of awards given to members of the Hong Kong Civil Service:
My Date with a Vampire II is a 2000 Hong Kong television series produced by Asia Television (ATV) as a sequel to My Date with a Vampire (1998) even though it is a reboot of the original. It was followed by My Date with a Vampire III in 2004. The series starred many cast members from the first season in similar roles. Like the first season,My Date with a Vampire II also blends aspects of the Chinese "hopping" corpses of jiangshi fiction with those of western vampires,while incorporating elements of Chinese mythology,modern horror legends,and eschatology.
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The Romantic Swordsman is a Hong Kong television series adapted from Gu Long's novel Duoqing Jianke Wuqing Jian of the Xiaoli Feidao Series. The series was first broadcast on TVB in Hong Kong in 1978.
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My Date with a Vampire III is a 2004 Hong Kong television series produced by Asia Television (ATV) as a sequel to My Date with a Vampire (1998) and My Date with a Vampire II (2000). The series starred many cast members from the first two seasons. Like the first two seasons,My Date with a Vampire III also blends aspects of the Chinese "hopping" corpses of jiangshi fiction with those of western vampires,while incorporating elements of Chinese mythology,eschatology and time travel,with more focus on Chinese mythology in this season as compared to the first two.
Reaching Out is a 2001 Hong Kong television drama produced by TVB and starring Gordon Lam,Kenix Kwok,Benny Chan,Nicola Cheung and Michelle Ye. This series is Lam's last television role before leaving TVB and fully concentrating on his film career.
Take Care,Your Highness! is a 1985 Hong Kong historical drama television series produced by TVB and starring Andy Lau in the title role of Kin-lung Emperor,the sixth emperor of the Qing Dynasty. The series focuses on the power struggle in the Imperial Qing Palace,telling the story of righteous folks while also presenting a hesitant love story.
Man from Guangdong is a 1991 Hong Kong martial arts television series produced by TVB and tells the story of Leung Kan,portrayed by Aaron Kwok,the fictitious son of famed martial artist Leung Foon,whom was a favored disciple of folk hero Wong Fei-hung,portrayed by Shih Kien. Shih,who portrayed Wong in the series,was known for portraying antagonists in a series of Wong Fei-hung-related films during the 1940s to 1970s,while the series also features Sai Gwa-Pau reprising his role as "Buckteeth So" from the aforementioned series of films.
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