Princess Returning Pearl 2011 《新还珠格格》 - Li Sheng, Hai Lu, Zhang Rui, Li Jia Hang

[JoleCole]

Tae: you nailed my feelings about the Benjamin character!!!! I just want to really ERADICATE his presence from the whole freakin Huan Zhu series!! Instead of using valuable screen time to focus on the fatherly love between Xiao Yan Zi, Zi Wei, and the Emperor, almost every freakin scene is wasted on Benjamin's living "experience" in China and his mundane interactions with Xiao Yan Zi ! -_-

[mango_cake]

Blech, I didn't like the look of this Benjamin character in the trailers/stills and it sucks to hear how much screentime he's getting. (Though yeah, I kinda figured by his listing in the credits...I too was shocked that Zi Wei was so far back, shouldn't she be second after XYZ???)

Anyhow I did finish the 1st ep (but it took me 3 days to get through it). While it is much much better than the cheesy trailers made it seem, and ZiWei is decent (still worse than Ruby though and I didn't even love her ZW that much...I think I will end up liking XYZ, JinSuo, and Qing Er more than ZW in this version again, just like in the original)--there is nothing that makes me super interested in it. While they've done a good job trying to replicate the feel of the original, it lacks a certain charm and magic (that might just be me being unfair though because I'm biased towards the original). Also, XYZ and JinSuo's voices are so similar to Zhao Wei/FBB's in the original, it's kind of distracting because I keep expecting their faces lol.

[kinchowong]

yesterday i watch up to middle of ep 7 and i got so bored with it already. maybe that #$#$ benjamin @$#@ ruin the series. he is the main character? . why the hell he got so many screen time? its like hes good at anythings (a westerner of jay chow? lol),, hes a painter but also master in martial art?. i was watching at that part where XYZ chase the ring or sth and shes about to fall into the water and then benjamin fly infront of her and pick it up try to save her falling into the water... hollycrap.. i thought westerner doesnt know this kind of stuff ..LMAO... he is good in fencing but fencing doesn't need to jump isn't it? why he can fly like the chinese kung fu master can ? lol..
also this series make XYZ looks like a dummy. shes 17 or 18 right? she doesn't know how to use a bra ? lol she doesnt use it before?.. and also she got scared and thought the paint of emperor are real person?. lol wth
there is one part is quite dumb too.. where she try to climb over the wall with the two ladders to get out the palace . i thought she know some martial arts and can jump around and pretty quick hands. why she climb the ladder so slow like a dummy?. even my 13 years old niece can do better than that lol.. when the guards came she almost on the top . and she can easily jump over it without getting caught.. but omg she was so stupid.. the new XYZ are so dumb here... (nothing wrong with the actress acting.. shes doing a great job,)
i went to watch the old version.. XYZ there is much much better ^^

[Suet Seung]

Somebody fansubbed the trailer:

I have to agree Emperor Qian Long looks like an older brother. Zhang Tie Lin was okay at first, but I became annoyed with his acting. He's fine acting emperor, but the problem is he carries the same emperor-acting to other roles like Yang Xiao in Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre 2003 adaptation. It's like the same mannerism--pay attention to how he tries to walk authoritively with his arms in the back. Totally annoyed me. He's not the best actor.

One thing about the new version's they make Emperor Qian Long seem even more like an Emperor and from the trailer above, he seems to project more strength, might, power, and respect from his people. The Qing palace people seem less homey and more like people in the palace. I kind of like this new actor, though he is way too young to be parent, more of an older brother. Zhang Tie Lin's seem to lack some.

Yong Qi and Er Kang is laughable. Gees, Girlie and feminine. The nature scenery looks nice and the palace scenes nice.

I think they should forget the whole HZGG storyline and focus on making a Emperor Qian Long story.

[AwesomeOpossum]

Watching more of the episodes, I'm completely agreeing with the fact that Benjamin is annoying as heck. He has completely disproportionate screentime compared to everyone else. I totally agree that he is omnipresent - you look at every scene, and there Benjamin is. And the way the series is going, you would think that XYZ is going to end up with him or something. She interacts and spills her heart out to him so much compared with everyone else. I can't stand that he was the first one to find out that XYZ is a fake princess. What the heck?

[tae]

Tae: you nailed my feelings about the Benjamin character!!!! I just want to really ERADICATE his presence from the whole freakin Huan Zhu series!! Instead of using valuable screen time to focus on the fatherly love between Xiao Yan Zi, Zi Wei, and the Emperor, almost every freakin scene is wasted on Benjamin's living "experience" in China and his mundane interactions with Xiao Yan Zi ! -_-

If only.

You know, for all those times that he fell into the pond, you would think that we'd get lucky just once and he'd sink for real.

I can't stand that he was the first one to find out that XYZ is a fake princess. What the heck?

Don't read if you haven't watched 11 & 12.

He's also the first one to bring Xiao Yan Zi medicine, making Yong Qi look like a tool running in minutes later. That was essentially Yong Qi's role in the original, the one who took care of Xiao Yan Zi with all the medicines, etc.

Good news is his screen time has been reduced from 70% to 80% to 30% to 40%.

[happyswallow]

it makes me kinda sad there's so much dislike directed toward Benjamin. : ( he's such a nice guy (essentially that's his role).
i keep reading how Benji isn't 'supposed' to be in the story, he isn't 'supposed' to be a main character.
My mentality is that since this story has been rewritten, maybe he IS supposed to be one of the main characters. I understand that a lot of us have watched the original and loved it (heck, I even made my sn based off of HZGG). Personally, however, I haven't seen the original in over a decade, therefore I'm watching this new version with somewhat of a clean slate in regards to things that are supposed to happen and things that shouldn't.

Here, I see Benji as one of XYZ's best friends, even before YQ. Sure in the original YQ was very close to her, but here with this new storyline things can be different. I think one scene that confirmed this for me was when they were talking watching the sun set. Just as good friends do, they joked and laughed and were happy. When XYZ needed help, she sought out Benji first. Perhaps, in the palace, XYZ (for now) feels most comfortable around Benji. According to the drama's Facebook page, Qiong Yao stated that Benji plays a pivotal role in XYZ's relationship with YQ. Not sure how this will be played out, but I'm enjoying Benji's presence and his concern for XYZ.

On other notes:

I'm really liking Li Sheng as XYZ. I love her laughter...It's so pure and happy, very fitting for XYZ. She's also really pretty in Manchu clothing and headwear. I'm wasn't too sure when I saw the pictures, but seeing these actors in motion is so different. The same for Zhang Rui as YQ...the pictures made him look horrible, but he pairs up with Li Sheng very nicely. As for Hai Lu as ZW...since I had no expectations, I wasn't too disappointed. I was never into ZW's storyline (she's too nice and sweet and weak for me) to care much. ZW's costume here is also very pretty...I've seen comments that state her eyes look dead. I gotta agree with that...Her eyes seem so sad as well. I feel that for her as an actress, her eyes will definitely limit the type of roles she gets to play.

[swtaznlaydee]

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[AwesomeOpossum]

If only.

You know, for all those times that he fell into the pond, you would think that we'd get lucky just once and he'd sink for real.



Don't read if you haven't watched 11 & 12.

He's also the first one to bring Xiao Yan Zi medicine, making Yong Qi look like a tool running in minutes later. That was essentially Yong Qi's role in the original, the one who took care of Xiao Yan Zi with all the medicines, etc.

Good news is his screen time has been reduced from 70% to 80% to 30% to 40%.

Oh no. They didn't . Yong Qi just seems absolutely pathetic in this version. Ever since the beginning, it was like they're trying to portray Yong Qi as a loser compared to Benjamin or something. Just look at the beginning when XYZ was hit by the arrow - Oh, Yong Qi was stupid enough to mistake her for a deer, but smart Benjamin tried to warn Yong Qi not to shoot because he knew it was a pretty lady. And take the arrow competition for example. I mean, what the hell, Benjamin did much better than Yong Qi did against XYZ? And Benjamin is always there for XYZ and always pleads with the emperor to go easy on her instead of Yong Qi? I just don't see why they would have Benjamin pretty much replace Yong Qi's role... but still have XYZ end up with Yong Qi. None of it makes sense. /rages

[AwesomeOpossum]

it makes me kinda sad there's so much dislike directed toward Benjamin. : ( he's such a nice guy (essentially that's his role).
i keep reading how Benji isn't 'supposed' to be in the story, he isn't 'supposed' to be a main character.
My mentality is that since this story has been rewritten, maybe he IS supposed to be one of the main characters. I understand that a lot of us have watched the original and loved it (heck, I even made my sn based off of HZGG). Personally, however, I haven't seen the original in over a decade, therefore I'm watching this new version with somewhat of a clean slate in regards to things that are supposed to happen and things that shouldn't.

Here, I see Benji as one of XYZ's best friends, even before YQ. Sure in the original YQ was very close to her, but here with this new storyline things can be different. I think one scene that confirmed this for me was when they were talking watching the sun set. Just as good friends do, they joked and laughed and were happy. When XYZ needed help, she sought out Benji first. Perhaps, in the palace, XYZ (for now) feels most comfortable around Benji. According to the drama's Facebook page, Qiong Yao stated that Benji plays a pivotal role in XYZ's relationship with YQ. Not sure how this will be played out, but I'm enjoying Benji's presence and his concern for XYZ.

Meh, here are my thoughts. I realize Benjamin is supposed to be a perfect gentleman, but he's coming off as too much of a Gary Stu "Perfect Guy" that just has way too much screentime. Yeah, QY rewrote the story, so technically Benjamin is 'supposed' to be in the story and is 'supposed' to be a main character. But that doesn't mean QY was right to do it. Authors make mistakes. And I believe Benjamin to be a pretty bad one so far. He isn't really adding a lot to the story compared to what it was before. I would probably be more fine with it if QY was planning on having XYZ end up with him or something... but judging by the ending clips in the song, I don't think so. And if that's the case, I think it sucks that Yong Qi is being completely undermined by Benjamin. Why the heck would XYZ ever want to be with Yong Qi the way he is in this series? He looks like a bumbling idiot, and Benjamin has to keep saving XYZ. Oh well, just my two cents on why I don't like Benjamin.

[ChineseChik525]

LOL there was a viet version of HZGG? those actors are...um...very different from what i would've imagined.
but alec su! god, i agree! i miss his YQ the new one looks too much like a eunuch for me, LOL. and i cant take any of these new actors seriously!

Edit: Just checked out the opening and ending themes...while I like the "look" of them, the songs themselves are pretty forgettable and generic to me so far...maybe I'm just biased towards the old songs, but I love them so much I'm still not sick of them today...

i agree! i've heard the two themes a few times so far already and i still dont know what they're supposed to sound like. whereas the old ones were so classic, i still remember every word/melody!

[mango_cake]

but alec su! god, i agree! i miss his YQ

*sigh*

Yeah I know I shouldn't keep trying to compare it to the old version but I miss Alec's 5th prince most of all since he was my favourite character! ...Although, while he was really cute in HZGG I actually liked him best in "Pai An Jing Qi" (i.e. "Wu Di Xian Ling")...anyone watch that one? His character was perfect and so handsome there. (He starred opposite Rebecca Wang and HXM, I loved both of them there too--actually I think that was probably my first HXM series.)

I am SO MAD to hear that he is essentially being "replaced" by this random new guy! WTF! Replace anyone but him if you have to Qiong Yao but leave my 5th prince alone! >_<

[tae]

it makes me kinda sad there's so much dislike directed toward Benjamin. : ( he's such a nice guy (essentially that's his role).
i keep reading how Benji isn't 'supposed' to be in the story, he isn't 'supposed' to be a main character.
My mentality is that since this story has been rewritten, maybe he IS supposed to be one of the main characters. I understand that a lot of us have watched the original and loved it (heck, I even made my sn based off of HZGG). Personally, however, I haven't seen the original in over a decade, therefore I'm watching this new version with somewhat of a clean slate in regards to things that are supposed to happen and things that shouldn't.

Here, I see Benji as one of XYZ's best friends, even before YQ. Sure in the original YQ was very close to her, but here with this new storyline things can be different. I think one scene that confirmed this for me was when they were talking watching the sun set. Just as good friends do, they joked and laughed and were happy. When XYZ needed help, she sought out Benji first. Perhaps, in the palace, XYZ (for now) feels most comfortable around Benji. According to the drama's Facebook page, Qiong Yao stated that Benji plays a pivotal role in XYZ's relationship with YQ. Not sure how this will be played out, but I'm enjoying Benji's presence and his concern for XYZ.

Maybe if this drama was called Benjamin and his Unrequited Love for Xiao Yan Zi, then okay. But it's not so I'm annoyed at all this focus on Benjamin on his unrequited love that isn't going anywhere but for some reason, is taking away screen time from the bonds that do matter.

Lol at Benjamin playing a pivotal role in their relationship. Translation: Yong Qi throws a massive jealous fit because of Benjamin!

Oh no. They didn't . Yong Qi just seems absolutely pathetic in this version. Ever since the beginning, it was like they're trying to portray Yong Qi as a loser compared to Benjamin or something. Just look at the beginning when XYZ was hit by the arrow - Oh, Yong Qi was stupid enough to mistake her for a deer, but smart Benjamin tried to warn Yong Qi not to shoot because he knew it was a pretty lady. And take the arrow competition for example. I mean, what the hell, Benjamin did much better than Yong Qi did against XYZ? And Benjamin is always there for XYZ and always pleads with the emperor to go easy on her instead of Yong Qi? I just don't see why they would have Benjamin pretty much replace Yong Qi's role... but still have XYZ end up with Yong Qi. None of it makes sense. /rages

Or at the beginning when he couldn't strike him at all. Yong Qi's relationship with Benjamin kinda reminds me of the original relationship between Yong Qi and Ertai, with Yong Qi being Ertai.

Yeah he's pretty much Yong Qi right now...except that he's not. Wtf, it's like the twilight zone.

I am SO MAD to hear that he is essentially being "replaced" by this random new guy! WTF! Replace anyone but him if you have to Qiong Yao but leave my 5th prince alone! >_<

Well technically she did leave him alone, sort of. He barely appears as much as Benjamin.

[ChineseChik525]

Maybe if this drama was called Benjamin and his Unrequited Love for Xiao Yan Zi, then okay. But it's not so I'm annoyed at all this focus on Benjamin on his unrequited love that isn't going anywhere but for some reason, is taking away screen time from the bonds that do matter.

Lol at Benjamin playing a pivotal role in their relationship. Translation: Yong Qi throws a massive jealous fit because of Benjamin!



Or at the beginning when he couldn't strike him at all. Yong Qi's relationship with Benjamin kinda reminds me of the original relationship between Yong Qi and Ertai, with Yong Qi being Ertai.

Yeah he's pretty much Yong Qi right now...except that he's not. Wtf, it's like the twilight zone.



Well technically she did leave him alone, sort of. He barely appears as much as Benjamin.

lol. all your points are very valid. and even though i dont even like the new YQ, benjamin is just annoying -.-

[AwesomeOpossum]

Lol at Benjamin playing a pivotal role in their relationship. Translation: Yong Qi throws a massive jealous fit because of Benjamin!

I just wanted to say that I thought this comment was very funny. XD I imagine that that's probably what QY meant when she said that. But that just makes Yong Qi seem even sadder in my opinion. I have this ridiculous mental image of him in the background, biting down on a handkerchief while watching XYZ and Benjamin with jealousy. XD

And as an aside, I find the implications of that really sad, as well. It makes Yong Qi and XYZ's relationship seem much more shallow if the main thing that pushes them together is Yong Qi becoming unbelievably jealous of Benjamin's wuv with XYZ. At least in the original, it didn't take some Gary Stu love rival to get Yong Qi to realize he loved her. But then again, in this new version, Yong Qi and XYZ have hardly any cute and romantic interaction so far (since all of them have been given to Benjamin. How about the part where they're all studying together and she makes up the lame poem? Instead of Yong Qi joking and flirting around with her, it's BENJAMIN.). How could Yong Qi have much showing of love for XYZ other than being jealous of Benjamin's moments with her? In fact, if XYZ and Yong Qi get together in this version, it's gonna seem like some sort of weird "Foreigners cannot be together with Asian people. That's why XYZ chooses Yong Qi over Benjamin." /is still raging, if you can't tell XD

Or at the beginning when he couldn't strike him at all. Yong Qi's relationship with Benjamin kinda reminds me of the original relationship between Yong Qi and Ertai, with Yong Qi being Ertai.

Yeah he's pretty much Yong Qi right now...except that he's not. Wtf, it's like the twilight zone.

And oh my gosh, I think you just hit the nail right on the head. Yong Qi in this version is Ertai, and Benjamin has taken over the role of Yong Qi 0__0. It's twilight zone alright. When I first heard that Ertai was gone in this version and Benjamin was Yong Qi's best friend, I thought that naturally that meant that Benjamin = the new Ertai. But... I never expected this.

[AwesomeOpossum]

Oh, and as I'm watching, I'm having mixed feelings about Sheren's Empress. I think Sheren herself is a wonderful actress, and I really do love her look and the way she carries herself as Empress. I never did really like the Empress from the original version, and always felt she was kind of a weak point of the original series. She was way too irrationally evil in an "I eat babies for breakfast" kind of way. At least with Sheren's Empress, her dislike for XYZ was a little more gradual and a bit more subtle. My main problem with it: I think that the director is playing Sheren a bit too much as comedic relief. So far, it's like she's absolutely no threat, and XYZ is getting away with a ton of slapstick humor with her.

But bonus points for them actually making it so she has a son. And that that son has fond feelings toward XYZ. Now if only they made the son to be around XYZ's age instead of a tiny kid, that might have been an interesting change in the story. I would've liked him as a love rival in this new version a lot more than the invented character of Benjamin.

[Mikii3le]

I agree with you!!! I'm already on the twelve episodes and Benjamin has already gotten on my nerve. He makes other characters seem unimportant and insignificant due his amount of screen time and not to mention his interaction with XYZ.... I am starting to forget that this series revolves around the bond between XYZ And ZW....I hope they will show more of the other characters because i'm annoyed of Benjamin.... I swear if I had never watch the original HZGG, I might think that XYZ and him will end up as a couple.,... It's sad that he has more line than Yong Qi.. His presence has gotten so much on my nerve that I had to skip though every scene with him and XYZ. Hopefully his screen time will be reduced because I could no longer stand watching him for the whole 80 episodes. However i don't want to judge the overall series since there will be many more episodes to come.

[JoleCole]

Have any of you watched the new promotional trailers? I REALLY dread the whole Huan Zhu 3 story arc all over again with Yong Qi leaving a son behind. WTF!! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!! It totally ruined the fairy tale for me!! I'm hoping it's a dream cuz didn't Qiong Yao say the remake is gonna be based on happiness and everything in huan zhu 3 is erased?!!

P.S. I'm starting to look forward to the new Qing'er and Xiao Jian's story. They look so CUTE together! The royal princess vs. lone swordman from the marital world. Cliche but I LOVE this cliche!!

Qing'er and Xiao Jian's Promo

New 8 minute trailer

Dang MV

[Tam_Nguyen]

Thanks!! XD I like the Dang MV XD

[charm101]

jolecole, ohhhh Noooo they DIDN'T!! Did you see what I saw? A girl stripping in front of YQ and he actually lays on top of her? the THIRD WOMAN? *drops dead* as of now, i don't see any reason why xzy doesn't like benji...he's going to be the nice second lead. did qiong yao watch too much korean dramas? i think she at least skims through boys over flower.

it feelts to me that, while Qiong Yao rewrote this story for her own happiness, she forgot what makes the characters really smile. in her effort to make things funny with benji and xzy, it has become silly..to the point of annoying. the bonds are not developed and the plot goes to the wolves. this version is comical compared to the originals. i actually don't give a care about any characters at this point in time.

anyway, alice has uploaded to episode 8 - download here: http://alicechensworld.blogspot.com/...episode-1.html