Book and Sword 02

[AnalyticChick]

Well, this is what he looks like.
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What does this other guy look like? Maybe I can get some kind of transferred obsession going on here.
Incidentally, I only broke down and posted this after a respectable number of photo-less posts. That's pretty good, right? Wouldn't want this to turn into the "Guo Liang Appreciation" thread now would we?

Additionally, since I have the power to post my screenshots, I replaced a previous (Ji Xiang Ru Yi) pic with a pretty decent one I took from B&S since, after all, this is the B&S thread.

[Green Tea]

I just started watching this series about a week ago. so far I'm loving it! I think the actors did a pretty good job. Definitely one of the better-acted series in recent times. I have never read the book, so I don't know how true or untrue the series is to the book.

[AnalyticChick]

The two reviews on this website do a really good job of talking about what was and was not changed from the book to the serial. If you are unconcerned with being spoiled, I would suggest you go over there and have a look if you haven't already.

[AnalyticChick]

Sorry for the double post. But I was just wondering if anyone needed/wanted any screenshots from this thing of favorite pairings, shots, scenes, characters or whatever. Since I am STILL at episode six, I can keep an eye out for you when I get to future episodes. I have been playing with this thing on VCD Cutter and WinDVD for so long that I feel I should share the fruits of my labor with the rest of my Book and Sword watching brethren.

An addendum to this message because of various confusions that have arisen. I think the best way to get the clips to you if you were interested would be to PM me with your Kazaa account or Streamload account and I could send it to you there. I prefer Kazaa because as of yet I do not have a Streamload account, but uploading there is free, right?

[alecforever815]

there's this part where cjl goes to save hqt from ur beloved guang liang, lol, and them two were fighting, i liked that scene, can u cut that one out and post? or any other fighting scenes that has cjl in it. i'm not a zwz fan anymore, but i still liked his fighting a‚k‚n‚s

[AnalyticChick]

Okay. I will keep an eye for that when I get to it.
Anyways, I have the first time CJL and ZZZ (He's got the oddest initials) fight in the abandoned temple/at night with that damn piller. In fact, for obvious reasons I will have every fight those two engage in. In any case, do you want it and if so, how do I get it to you? The two clips together are about 53 MB.

[Yo Kang]

Can u give me the beginning clip. Just beginning theme and a bit of scene. I still have to wait for a month.

[alecforever815]

53 mb??????????????? wowowowoow that's pretty big, u can't post it on this site?

[AnalyticChick]

So I bit the bullet and finally got some new episodes today. Anyways, I got through four of these wonderful capsules this evening in an orgy of B&S (interesting initials all around in this series, no?). Basically, there was the Three Gorges fiasco a couple of centuries too early, the whole playing Keep-Away with the Koran, YYT angsts, the couple who wouldn't survive in New York for the proverbial New York minute, and the new arc with the mass killings of CJL's sister’s family. In general, I feel myself drawn more and more into the story. I think a way the series manages to keep my interest is by keeping story arcs relatively short. Also, they have a very deep pool of main and secondary characters. Just when you get tired of the A plotline, you can dive into the B,C, X, SY, or KW plotlines. Just when you are tired of CJL and HQT, you can see WTL and LB moon over one another, or LYX stalk YYT. Two thumbs way up for this.

So, more specifically, what did my overheated brain make of the information it was presented tonight? Just some more points organized by arc (for your easy consumption and my easy production)

Village/Officer/Famine/Flood Arc:
So if we throw a couple of kids into the sea, everything will be alright again... And no.
But seriously, the best idea that the "genius" brother Seven has after they have killed a Qing officer and distributed army commandeered grain to the populace is "Hey, let's bury all the bodies in the back mountains and no one will be the wiser." Dude, I know Qian Long is preoccupied with playing chess and pursing his lips and being a tool and everything, but I would assume someone should be paying at least some modicum of attention.
Also, am having harder time distinguishing the brothers now that there are more of them.
Finally, I found it amusing when it took the mass of peasants from night to day to get from the doors of the officer's court to where the grain was being distributed.

Koran/You have it/Do not/Do too:
The geography of this place keeps confusing me. So the Hua tribe keeps following their Koran closer and closer to Beijing, but still manage to return to the same camp every night?
Also, CJL starts riding after they have dispatched with the grateful village. Some attacks are launched on the Lin party and then about two days later, he is STILL riding. Right, that.
LYZ's dad struck me as an overblown windbag at the beginnnig, but I am starting to enjoy his subtle sense of humor, his snarky comments and his befuddlement and subsequent attempts at damage control. Now I know where his daugther gets it from.
Still, am feeling so much love for YYT now due to his absolute command of timing and inflection. He is my second favorite character. The obsessive teenage girl (a little close to home for me...) that follows/stalks him is also well liked by me. She comes in third.
And this might be me getting soft, but I actually enjoyed the scenes between CJL and HQT. They were sweet and charmingly awkward. Although they bordered on the maudlin at times, there was always LYZ to pull it back into snark-land. Another reason she comes in third for me.

YYT angsts/Writes bad death poetry/Gets a livejournal/etc.:
So YYT has a TRAGIC PAST. He apparently also has the ability to survive despite massive amounts of blood loss. He is also setting himself up for mounds of disappointment when he lusts after his brother's/best friend's woman. Believe you me, Mr. Yu, watch Ji Xiang Ru Yi to see why it can never be.
Hey, that rhymed!
Also, since I just got an account on PhotoBucket, here is a pic of YYT angsting
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The place where everybody knows your name:
Hi, you are complete strangers to us and are armed to the teeth to boot. So why don't you come into our home! Share our house! Go ahead, play with our children! I think that everyone in the village just found a huge store of Prozac right before the WTL couple found them, which would explain this whole segment.
Also, didn't exactly catch the nesting speeches by LB or the end of the Wise Old Man speech as was flipping thorough the new issue of National Geography. So there are mountains and soft lighting and marital bliss. Next!

CJL's sister/The WTL's find themselves in a whole mess of trouble:
Ah, Suo Da Ge! How could you have been so heartless? Why aren't you a complete and utter marshmallow this time around who folds at the slightest drop of a hat? And what is up with you and high places. Repeat after me, "I am not a bird, I am not a plane..."
Seriously, that was cold and v. v. not nice. The events afterwards also lead me to believe that the RFS are the most unobservant people in the world. So not only do they not realize LYZ is not a guy, they fail to realize the totally smarmy, calculating, weasel-like Tong 18 does not have the best interests of the RFS at heart. I mean, come on. Even a radical revolutionary groups should have some standards.

General Comment/You knew this was coming:
Where the hell is ZZZ. Just all the time. He "plots" off screen for about two episodes and his best plan of attack is to... do nothing and allow the rebels to run wild and destroy the Qing way of life. I mean, I'm assuming he has some master plan, but I don't understand how "Let's pretend I'm not in this series" can help his goal.
Additionally, why does he keep giving up when he has almost beaten the good guys. Generally, if you want to wear someone or something down, you don't wait UNTIL they have recovered their strength to launch successive attacks. Like the whole thing with the Koran. So I burst out of the box alone and fight with CJL and then I leave. What?
I still think he is smart as to border on the supernatural at times (Knowing the location of the RFS main base) but the inconsistency is ridiculous.
Also, why are the good guys so darn jumpy? I mean, they have to contend with ONE bad guy who is only contracted to show up for about five minutes per four episodes. So, they've got the rest of the time free to deal with other nice, upright, protagonists and generally make merry without fear of repercussions

[AnalyticChick]

So I am trying to use all initials in my posts to save time (Double post to make this edifying post more palatable) because God knows I post enough on this series as is. If anyone is confused, here they are.
Chen Jia Luo - Head Helmsman - CJL
Huo Qing Tong - Hua Tribe Leader - HQT
Qian Long - Emperor of China - QL
Yu Yu Tong - 14th Brother - YYT
Li Yuan Zhi - Tall, Cross Dressing Girl - LYZ
Wen Tai Lai - 4th Brother - WTL
Luo Bing - WTL's Wife and Lifemate - LB
Princess Fragrance - Fairy Pwincess (apparently) - PF
Zhang Zhao Zhong - Villian for hire - ZZZ
Other Henchman - OH - QL's tall, bearded lackey who isn't ZZZ and isn't Zhou Hwai
Zhou Hwai - ZH - QL's general who is primarily concerned with making life tough for HQT and her tribe.

Also, I have a request for those of you who have seen it and are less confused about the whole brother scene. Apparently, Xu Tian Hom, Zhuo Qi, and Zhao Ban Shan are important enough to get listed in the credits. I am not sure who these people are. Can someone point out a few identifying characteristics of the actor or some actions of the character to help me get an idea of who's who in the cast?
Thank you.

And if anyone is wondering what I edited after reading over this post. I actually forgot to list Zhang DaYen in my cast of characters. I guess I just assumed that you were like me and would know who he was without any need for introduction.

[alecforever815]

wait, i dun really understand ur quesiton

but..

xu tian hong is the guy with the long hair not braided like eveyrone else's, but ties a little part of it, and the rest are untied

zhou qi is xu tian hong's wife (not sure if ur there yet) she's kinda dumb, and yells alot , and usualyl wears pink or lavender thingys in her hair

zhao ban shan is the third bro, not much characteristsics

[AnalyticChick]

Only got one episode in last night. And yes, my parents are tired of my running commentary on the show so I thought I would share it with you fine people.

Also, to alecforever815. Although you didn't seem to understand my question, you managed to answer it very well. So thanks for that.

Kay, episode 11 in which WTL is (very slowly) dying, YYT comes back, Tong 18 is a weasel, ZZZ actually shows up, and we get embroiled into the fun and quirky Zhou family.

WTL is missing:
So Fourth Brother is misplaced. Let's go look for him! Apparently, we can't just send him an e-mail or call him like civilized people. We just have to find him the old fashioned way - on foot, though not so far away that we can't get back to our little gathering place at the end of the day. However, if the Qing Dynasty can't find him, what makes you think that you guys can? Conversely, if you guys can find him, wouldn't that mean that the bad guys could as well? However, I was kind of pleased that the show respects my intelligence enough to point out many times that the village/city they are in is on the road to the capital as to explain why the whole cast ends up in this one-horse town.
WTL, while all this is going on, is having a pleasant time very slooooowly dying of all manner of internal injuries. Except for the parts when he needs to beat people up. Then he puts the dying on hiatus.

Boys will be boys:
The problem with having most of your main characters as guys is that they tend to, well, act like guys. Take for example WTL who wants to, not considering his wife, younger brother, or the family which is offering him sanctuary, fight to the death with ZZZ as to affirm his masculinity and general rebel cachet. Dude, even if you managed to kill ZZZ and ALL of his troops in the Zhou manor, then you would attract attention from the government on the Zhous. Not a very good way to repay people’s hospitality, IMHO. Also, ZZZ. Competition is good – it is the lifeblood of capitalism. But when you drop your mission and hence goal in life to chase after someone just because you felt your competence called into question - Not so smart. And the random “Lets just go in and kill everyone” brothers in the RFS fit into this category as well.
YYT also has this “It’s my fault that WTL is dying/ZZZ is trying to kill you because I deserted you way back when” thing going on. I beg to differ. If YYT was with the rest of the merry band, he would have gotten beat up by the Qing warriors/ZZZ along with WTL and LB. Thus injured, he would then not be able to do that whole “burst the door down and save everyone” bit. The way that you can tell a good guy in a Chinese series? If he/she blames all events, pertinent or not on him or herself, chances are you’ve got yourself a live one.

Also, I found it funny that in the bathing scene, they had to float a towel on the water in Seven Brother’s basin so that no parts that shouldn’t show would show.

The Zhou patriarch, you know, the quirky but oh-so righteous one? He played (will play, actually, considering the real life chronologies of these two series) Ou Bai in Ji Xiang Ru Yi. This amuses me. I wonder if these actors that do series together but in different roles ever get confused what to call one another.

And finally. I think that I really made a connection to CJL in this episode. After all, he dreams about ZZZ as well.

[Zhuge Liang]

Is there a cantonese version for sale anywhere? Wanna see this.

[alecforever815]

haha "he dreams about zzz as well" lol but it was a kinda diff dream, he hates zzz while u love him,lol

i liked cjl, until he met keshili and started loving her, cuz i think princess fragrance is baaaaaaddddd, she acts all innocent and whatever, but she stole her sis's bf!!!

[Fallen Angel]

Originally posted by alecforever815
haha "he dreams about zzz as well" lol but it was a kinda diff dream, he hates zzz while u love him,lol

i liked cjl, until he met keshili and started loving her, cuz i think princess fragrance is baaaaaaddddd, she acts all innocent and whatever, but she stole her sis's bf!!!

hahaha.....she's not too innocent after all!

I just don't like her cuz she's just too girly, girly ! I can't stand female character that acted really sweet, innocent and hopeless.....they make me want to !

[chynagongju]

I LOVE ZWZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hehehe...loved him in BS02. except for liking keshili....i hate her. lol as if i havent said that enough in the earlier posts.

Glad to see more fans of BS02. Sad to say that the reviews didn't think very highly of it. I would give it a 4/5

[alecforever815]

i would give it a 3.7/5 plot was too draggy in my opinion, and the girl who played keshili wasn't that great either

[AnalyticChick]

Just a small post before the massive one (which has yet to be written) goes up. I'm up to the point where the emperor starts hallucinating about various things (CJL's upbringing, the dancing girl, etc...). So is this girl supposed to be the beautiful-without-compare Princess Fragrance? If she is, I think the emperor needs both an eye exam and a reality check.

[AnalyticChick]

So I was spoiling myself over at Asian Phen and what do I come across, but this pic?
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Okay. WHAT THE HECK?
First off, he smiles? Secondly, don't you need to, you know, KNOW a guy before getting married to him? Thirdly, why is she so happy to get married to the villian (albeit a damn good looking one)? Also, he smiles? What is up with the world?
Not that I'm complaining, mind you. They're cute together and I generally like to keep ZZZ happy. Also, I like that she's FINALLY found someone who is taller than she is.
I, personally, have always found their relationship to be more like this:
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[tinac]

Hi! I watched this show early last year, so I can't remember much of the detail. Well, for once we (in S'pore) gotta watch the show earlier 'coz it's by Media Works.

Originally posted by chynagongju
I LOVE ZWZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hehehe...loved him in BS02. except for liking keshili....i hate her. lol as if i havent said that enough in the earlier posts.

Me too! I loved the show especially when CJL and HQT are together, didn't know they wouldn't end up together. Probably would not even watched it if I knew. Had to force myself to finish the show after the Keshili appear.

AnalyticChick, I actually like reading your postings. Wish I could write that well .. he .. he ... my running commentary drives my family crazy too, and my forwarding the show 8P