The New Adventures of Chor Lau Heung TVB 1984 in YouTube!

OMG! I just found out that TVB uploaded the New Adventures of Chor Lau Heung 1984 in YouTube! They just uploaded the whole 40 series five days ago on 19 June! That's so great! Here's the first episode, and you can follow the whole 40 series in YouTube. It's in Cantonese, which is a delight to me, although it lacks English subtitles.

Also, Michael Miu's 60th birthday was exactly last week on 18 June 2018. Happy 60th birthday, Michael! I have been remiss in posting an article about it because of my schedule, but I do remember it that day. I haven't searched for Michael's latest photo, but he definitely didn't look like a ~60 years old man last year!

Hmmm... what a coincidence that TVB released all CLH 1984 episodes a day after Michael's 60th birthday. I take that as a divine providence, though perhaps TVB did actually time the upload to honour Michael's role (and Barbara's of course) in making this series a classic.

Have fun watching the official CLH 1984 on YouTube!

Chor Lau Heung’s love to Song Siu Ching

Siu Ching asking if Chor tai-gor liked her (Ep 11)

Phuong has recently left some very nice comments on my posts, particularly the Chor Lau Heung posts. Thank you, Phuong, truly appreciate your presence! Some of Phuong’s recent comments were about CLH’s love to SSC, for I did indeed express doubt on how much Chor tai-gor loved SC.

I like Phuong’s comments on the matter of CLH’s love to SC; she explained it systematically that it works for me, who tends to prefer someone expressing his love, instead of just showing his love. Since Phuong’s comments were posted on a CLH episode recap (Eps11-16) that I wrote in September 2015, I asked her if I could copy her comments onto a new post. With her permission, here they are. I label her comments as “Phuong” with normal fonts and mine as “Icha” with blue sentences. Thanks a lot, Phuong!

Phuong:

I rewatched CLH again (I lost count of the # of times I watched it lol) and I don't think I ever question his love for SC. He seems to be attracted to her the first time he met her as can be seen in the way he treats/talks to her. He only called her miss Song like once (when he introduced her to Zo) and the rest of the time, he naturally called her by her given name vs him calling miss Wah/Koh/Kam thru the whole movie. He also touches her /holding her hands every chance he got. I do agree that they didn't realized their feelings for each other until episode 11 at Dr Cheong's place. It was then that SC realized she loves him and when she asked to call his name again and cried that it touches a part of CLH's heart and he realized he has feelings for her (deeper than just friends) when he was told she had left, hence the shock/disappointment/sadness.

Lovely when annoying: CLH ep 11 screen shots

On Wednesday, I'm going for an overseas trip until the end of Feb. I originally hadn't planned for another post until later the week when I hopefully finish a fan-fiction originating from Tammy's idea. However, I have always wanted to do screen shots of Ep 11 of CLH 1984 when Chor tai-gor said to Siu Ching that she was lovely when she was being annoying (and touching her nose gently at that, twice!). Hence, below are screen shots of that sweet scene, and the following scene where CLH learned that the annoying but lovely girl had gone. I also wrote a fan-fiction a while ago based on this scene; click here for that fan-fiction.

The Promises (CLH eps 20 & 32 screen shots)

SC just wanted CLH to treat her as he used to do, Ep 20

I miss Chor Lau Heung and Song Siu Ching... hence despite my sleepiness, I want to post the following screen shots from episodes 20 and 32. Episode 20 screen shots portray Chor tai-gor's initial hesitance in having a relationship with Siu Ching after he learned that she was the Princess. Ep 20 and 32 screen shots portray Siu Ching's promise to Chor Lau Heung; that she just wanted to be with him, to spend her life with him, and she was ready to cast aside her title and rank for him. Of course when in Ep 40 she later forgot her promise and wanted him to stay with her in the palace instead, he was disappointed (see these screen shots for the latter scene in Ep 40). The shots also showed how CLH took marriage seriously, hence his initial reluctance in trying out the relationship with the Princess, because he really actually wanted it to work, and he originally didn't have faith in their relationship. Ep 32 was very important in the CLH/SSC saga because it was here when Chor tai-gor truly promised that he'd take Siu Ching with him (presumably to be his wife) in his wandering adventures.

CLH 1984 ep 40 screen shots: the final boat scene

Chor Lau Heung (Michael Miu) and Song Siu Ching (Barbara Yung), final scene, Ep 40

I still want to finish capturing some scenes from The Foundation 1984, but since it's so sad, I'm taking a break for a few days. Since I have been wanting to do screen shots for the last scene of Chor Lau Heung 1984, I figure out that this would be a good, happy break from the Foundation. This post is best read after reading/watching the screen caps of the previous CLH/SC scene, i.e. the garden scene (click here). The boat scene that I refer to here started after Chor tai-gor realised that he didn't hear any commotion outside, though he had asked So Yung Yung, Li Hung Chao and Sung Tim Yi to prepare the boat for sailing. 

The poems in Chor Lau Heung 1984

Chor tai-gor reciting the last line of 'Tale of the Magpie Bridge' (ep 13)

Ancient series are usually peppered with poems. The New Adventures of Chor Lau Heung 1984 was not an exception. I could only recall three four poems from the CLH 1984, but I really like them hence I post them here. The full text of the poems can be found at the end of this post. My favourite is definitely the Tale of the Magpie Bridge, first recited by Koh A Lam (Sharon Yang) in front of Wu Tit Fa in ep 11. Later in ep 13, Wu asked Chor tai-gor about that poem, and Chor recited a part of it for Wu’s benefit. Chor Lau Heung did look pensieve though when he recited the last line (“Eternal love shall withstand the time apart”), which made me think that he was thinking of Song Siu Ching for just a few seconds there.

Tale of the Magpie Bridge is part of a famous ancient Chinese story called the Weaver Girl and the Cowherd, dated back to over 2,600 years ago, around the time of the Han Dynasty. The story involved Zhinu (the weaver girl, or the star Vega) and Niulang (the cowherd, the star Altair) whose starcrossed love made them banished such that each of them live in another side of the Silver River (the Milky Way). Once a year (7th day of the 7th month of the lunar calendar), magpies would form a bridge between the two lovers such that they could meet for one day.

Below is the few lines of the Tale of the Magpie Bridge Chor Lau Heung recited in ep 13.

The gorgeous costumes of CLH & SSC

The pink/white/blue garments from Ep 1 and 4

I should really sleep now because I need to wake up before sunrise tomorrow. However, I miss Chor tai-gor and our adorable Siu Ching, hence I just want to make a short post on the gorgeous costumes worn by Chor Lau Heung and Song Siu Ching in the 1984 Chor Lau Heung series. I counted that Michael Miu had at least nine ensembles, while Barbara Yung wore at least 12 numbers for this series, excluding her peasant-style garments in Ep 17 and 35, among others. Other actors had adorable costumes too, but I will limit this post to CLH and SSC. I will just post the photos here with some comments on the episode numbers.

My favourite CLH/SSC ensembles is actually the clothes they wore at the same time during their first meeting and Ep 4. Chor tai-gor had white garments with very little soft pink embellishment with a white gossamer cape while Siu Ching's tunic was pink and blue with white under layer, as shown above.

CLH ep 40 screen shots: the hairpin and garden scene

Chor tai-gor only asked for Siu Ching's hairpin (and not the girl, ep 40)

We CLH fans have no doubts of Song Siu Ching's feelings to Chor Lau Heung. Barbara Yung portrayed Siu Ching as always being certain of her love for the wanderer since ep 10 at the earliest. However, despite being a ladies' man, and despite his initial attraction to Siu Ching, Chor Lau Heung was subtle with regards to his own feelings. Very subtle. Michael Miu didn't portray him with Yang Kang's or (I suspect) Li Sai Man's intensity in love. In the series, Chor Lau Heung never said he loved Song Siu Ching. He was a pragmatic. He showed he loved her, but never uttered the word 'love'. Perhaps that was the way ancient 80s series were, or perhaps that was just how Chor Lau Heung (as portrayed by Michael) was. But it sometimes, admittedly, left me wondering if he did love her, just like Siu Ching wondered if Chor tai-gor loved her too or not. It took Sowfoong from the Network54/MB Paradise to tell me that he did love her, and very protective of her. 

Then I saw ep 40 again last night. In addition to enjoying the fight between Yuen Tsui Wan and Chor Lau Heung, I was particularly interested in the garden scene after Chor tai-gor asked for Siu Ching's hairpin. Chor Lau Heung was a jovial man, and even while saying goodbye to Princess Wing Ching (aka Siu Ching), he still took time to smile. But then I saw something last night. Siu Ching was numbed when he left her. But apparently, he was not happy either. It took me a lot of freezes and screen shots to realise that he was indeed not glad to leave her in the Palace. It took me more freezes and screen shots to fast forward to the boat scene when he was alone examining the hairpin to see he was truly sad. He was broken-hearted, but as he said to Wah Jan Jan before: men are good at hiding their feelings. Chor Lau Heung was not an exception.

So here they are: the screen shots for the garden scene after Brother Chor asked for Siu Ching's hairpin. If (like I was, prior to this post) you have doubts that he was sad to leave her, see for yourself.

Chor Lau Heung 1984 summary eps 37-40

The followings are episode guides for the New Adventures of Chor Lau Heung 1984. My sincere gratitude the Dramanice for uploading the series with English-sub for us. Major spoilers as the series progresses, hence stay away from this post if you haven’t seen it and want to see it without spoilers. Click here for the summary of other episodes. Click here for Fearless Duo episode summary and here for summary of The Foundation 1984.

Siu Ching being all sun and stars to see Chor tai-gor again, ep 37

Ep 37: SPOILERS BIG TIME FROM HERE ONWARDS!!

BIG SPOILERS!

BIG SPOILERS!

BIG SPOILERS!

BIG SPOILERS!

BIG SPOILERS!

DON’T SAY I DON’T WARN YOU!!

Chor Lau Heung 1984 summary eps 31-36

The followings are episode guides for the New Adventures of Chor Lau Heung 1984. My sincere gratitude the Dramanice for uploading the series with English-sub for us. Major spoilers as the series progresses, hence stay away from this post if you haven’t seen it and want to see it without spoilers. Click here for the summary of other episodes. Click here for Fearless Duo episode summary and here for summary of The Foundation 1984.

Siu Ching and Brother Chor took a tea break, ep 36

Ep 31: The Emperor distributed rewards to the grand masters and sects who rescued him. However, Chor Lau Heung didn’t deign to attend the ceremony, which ticked SC. She confronted him in front of the three ladies, who smiled knowingly this time (including Sugar). We have a cute scene here where Chor chased SC by calling her “Princess” but she didn’t deign to stop until he stopped calling her that and called her “Siu Ching” instead. Chor explained that he didn’t like those types of formalities, and SC should have known that he was like that. Besides, what kind of title would His Majesty confer him with? The King of Thieves? This joke made SC smile, then she said that it was true that Chor wasn’t the only one refusing the title. Scary Nun and Yuen Tsui Wan also rejected it. Chor found it weird, hence he told SC that he had been suspecting that Yuen was the Bat Prince after all. He told SC about the broken snuff bottle (back in Ep 29) and that he could smell the fragrance of his signature balm on Yuen after the fight. Chor warned SC not to tell anyone about this because it might alert the Bat Prince. That night, Yuen visited the Emperor and told him how he liked conversing with His Majesty. HM told Yuen that he’d like to adopt Yuen as his son after he regained his throne again. Scary Nun found out about the conversation and warned Yuen not to be careless. Uncovering his identity means that the world would know that Khoo Mui once had an affair (i.e. she was a human), thus she would need to abdicate.  

Chor Lau Heung 1984 summary eps 24-30

The followings are episode guides for the New Adventures of Chor Lau Heung 1984. My sincere gratitude the Dramanice for uploading the series with English-sub for us. Major spoilers as the series progresses, hence stay away from this post if you haven’t seen it and want to see it without spoilers. Click here for the summary of other episodes. Click here for Fearless Duo episode summary and here for summary of The Foundation 1984.

My Velcro Couple being so cute together, ep 25

Ep 24: Sam Leung was playing a zither for the Emperor when he had an asthma attack.  The Emperor was then taken to the Bat Prince who demanded the Emperor to hand him the crown. The Bat Prince also told the Emperor that he (the Bat) would be a much better ruler for he built the Palace by himself. Chor et al arrived at the old entrance on the dessert but couldn’t find the entrance. They then went to the seashore to find the exit, where they found some masked dead corpses floating on the water. One of them, Luk Ching Wah, was still alive, hence Chor et al changed plan and took him to the Peace Mansion. Inspector Ying met Au Yeung Fei again (actually, prevented Au from committing suicide for failing to save the Emperor) and then they paid another visit to Huashan. Scary Nun denied that, but then she paid Yuen Tsui Wan a visit. Yuen greeted his mother who pressed him to find the Emperor’s whereabouts. Scary Nun also barked at her son for not being ambitious enough. Kam Ling Chi paid Yuen a visit but Yuen was being cold to her under the pretext that he still had some unfinished business to do. Poor Miss Kam... she was just too innocent...

Chor Lau Heung 1984 summary eps 17-23

The followings are episode guides for the New Adventures of Chor Lau Heung 1984. My sincere gratitude the Dramanice for uploading the series with English-sub for us. Major spoilers as the series progresses, hence stay away from this post if you haven’t seen it and want to see it without spoilers. Click here for the summary of other episodes. Click here for Fearless Duo episode summary and here for summary of The Foundation 1984.

Chor Lau Heung admitted he was worried about Siu Ching, ep 19

Ep 17: Au Yeung Fei fended off his attackers but fell unconscious. Yuen Tsui Wan saved him and brought him to the Peace Mansion, but Au left again after he regained consciousness. Au Yeung Fei went to Mt Hua Shan and told Scary Nun about the Emperor’s kidnapping. Scary Nun pretended not to care, but later she actually contacted Yuen, asking him (more like barking at him) to look for the Emperor. Yuen consented after addressing the Scary Nun as “Mother”. So apparently, Yuen was the bastard child between the Emperor and Khoo Mui. Meanwhile, Yat Dim Hung poisoned Siu Ching’s food with some weakening powder so that she couldn’t run far. Somewhere else, Chor Lau Heung and Wu Tit Fa had a meal break which was interrupted by some goons beating up some members of the Beggar Clan. Wu finished off the goons while Chor – having no need to help Wu handling the goons – was just annoyed because their meal was interrupted again (must be happening quite often). Later, the beggars took Wu and Chor to their branch quarter to meet Mr Siu, the head of the local Beggar Clan. Chor asked the Beggar Clan to help locate Siu Ching. 

Chor Lau Heung 1984 summary eps 11-16

The followings are episode guides for the New Adventures of Chor Lau Heung 1984. My sincere gratitude the Dramanice for uploading the series with English-sub for us. Major spoilers as the series progresses, hence stay away from this post if you haven’t seen it and want to see it without spoilers. Click here for the summary of other episodes. Click here for Fearless Duo episode summary and here for summary of The Foundation 1984.

Chor Lau Heung was disappointed to learn Siu Ching has left, ep 11

Ep 11: Yat tried to kidnap SC but Chor prevented that, but not without both swordsmen getting injured. The girls were worried about his internal injuries, such that they actually ignored the poor bleeding Mr Ying...(with the Star Wars theme song as the background, I’m not kidding!). Chor tried to self-heal his internal injuries but failed. SC gave Chor a pill which worsened his condition; making her the punching bag of the three girls. Meanwhile, Yat Dim Hung was rescued by Wah Jan Jan, a Hua Shan student, who had to leave him alone afterwards because Hua Shan women were not supposed to talk to meeeeenn! You gotta feel for Dim Hung here: Jan Jan asked him whether he had any family waiting for him, and he said with glassy eyes that they were all dead.

Chor Lau Heung 1984 summary ep 1-10

The followings are episode guides for the New Adventures of Chor Lau Heung 1984. My sincere gratitude the Dramanice for uploading the series with English-sub for us. Major spoilers as the series progresses, hence stay away from this post if you haven’t seen it and want to see it without spoilers. Click here for the summary of other episodes. Click here for Fearless Duo episode summary and here for summary of The Foundation 1984.

First time Song Siu Ching (Barbara Yung) met Chor Lau Heung (Michael Miu), ep 1

Ep 1: Chor Lau Heung, Sue, Rosie and Sugar went together to attend Zo Hing Hau’s 50^thbirthday. En route, they met a brazen girl carrying the famous Dark Jade Sword (read this fanfiction for CLH's first meeting with SSC). The girl, Song Siu Ching (SSC or SC), meddled with some affairs such that Chor had to save her, but not before ridiculing her for being over confident. In the Zo Mansion, Chor et al. found that Zo’s daughter Ming Lai was sick such that it almost prevented him from having a duel with another swords master, Sit Yi Yan. To ease his worry, Chor sat down with Zo to have a drink that night to celebrate his birthday. They cited their favourite wine poetry ('Invitation to Wine' by Li Bai, Tang Dynasty) and Zo told Chor he was so lucky to befriend Chor. The next day, Rosie went to town for some medicine but she didn’t return home. Worried, Chor visited the Sit Mansion to look for her. 

Siu Ching met Chor Lau Heung for the 3rd time, ep 2. Look at their eyes...