Lady Fan

Lady Fan is a fantasy martial arts series starring Jessica Hsuan in the title role and Joe Ma as the sometimes antagonist/protagonist. Unlike most other martial arts series, TVB has become particularly adept at providing good light-hearted costume dramas. This one, in my opinion, is one of their best. They could have made it a little longer at 25 episodes to add in more characterization but it works well just as it is. I have seen this series twice through because I enjoy the performance given by Jessica Hsuan as Fan Lei Fa. How she manages to stay true to her fated love to Sit Ding San (Joe Ma), despite the Sit family's constant harassment is a factor that both frustrates the viewer and keeps me engaged in her performance. That year, 2004, Jessica Hsuan deservedly won the TVB award for favourite television character.
The Story:
Our story begins in the fields that divide two warring groups. The Tang dynasty and the Sai Leung dynasty are at peace but only barely. The mystical hand of fate steps into this milieu of uncertainty. Lei San Sing Mo (Fan Le Fa's shifu) teaches Fan the martial arts and sorcery. She also gives Fan a mystical ring with the power to unite her with the man she is destined to marry. Sure enough, that person is Sit Ding San who wanders in from seemingly nowhere into an area where the two, Fan Lei Fa and Sit Ding San unwittingly meet. There are some good special effects scenes that indicate the direction that our two fated 'lovers' will go. A mystical ring somehow divides into two pieces and become permanently fastened onto the fingers of our two lead protagonists.

Fated 'love' is not what we end up seeing as the Sits treat poor Fan Lei Fa like a pariah. The performance of Ching Hor Wai as Lau Kam Fa, the Sit matriarch is by far the best. She plays the part of a frustrated mother-in-law so easily that I can't help wondering where she drew from to put in such an authentic performance. She leads the Sit family to reject the relationship between her son, Sit Ding San and Fan Lei Fa.

All is not lost for Fan Lei Fa because of the endearing Ching Ngau Kam (played by the wonderful veteran character actor, Chun Wong). Ching sympathizes with Fan Lei Fa's plight and tries to be the voice of reason amidst the mayhem of hatred and suspicion. The Sits constantly accuse Fan Lei Fa of being a witch and bad luck for the family. Bo Sin Tong (played by Mimi Lo) also maltreats Fan Lei Fa but eventually she will have a change of heart as Fan Lei Fa's demeanour seems to change when she shows more vulnerability as a result of the Sits' constant badgering. Mimi Lo gives a good performance but her role is not as rich as the one she did in the TVB series, Blade Heart.
From my perspective, it is the Fan family that is a real mess. The have no matriarch; instead they have Fan Hung (played by Law Lok Lam) who is easily manipulated and betrayed by his own cohort in the struggle against the Tangs. Savio Tang is Yeung Fan, a fellow general in the Sai Leung camp who really is conniving to achieve power for himself. It is not until the final episodes that we find out the extent of Yeung Fan's evil plot. This part, I will leave unsaid as surprise awaits.

Chin Kam Ding (played by the lovely Cherie Kong) is a fascinating character. She appears well into the series to drive a wedge in the relationship between Fan Lei Fa and Sit Ding San. She even gets a chance to wed Sit Ding San while Fan Lei Fa and Sit Ding San had already married. Needless to say, the sparks of conflict and secretive plots are constantly unveiled as the extent of the plan to destroy both the Sai Leung camp and the Tang camp is shown in the later episodes.

I enjoy the show each time I watch because I enjoy the characters. Power Chan is great as Sit Ying Long, a brilliant carefree scholar with no pretensions and an engaging personality. Wai Ka Hung is wonderful as the witless but devoted brother of Fan Lei Fa. I was hoping a genuine relationship would have developed and deepened between Bo Sin Fong and Fan Mo as I enjoy seeing the chemistry between two actors develop. I think this would have enriched the series. Cindy Au gives a very good performance as Sit Kam Lin and the scenes between Sit Kam Lin and Sit Ying Long have the best anticipatory chemistry. In other words, as a viewer, I was hoping to witness genuine attraction in their performances. Suffice to say, they did not disappoint.

The martial arts scenes were nice to watch but for this series it is the story, the performance of the veteran actors, Chun Wong, Suet Nei and in particular, Ching Hor Wai that makes the series engaging to see. Therefore, for acting, a strong story and strong characters, I give this series ****1/2 stars.