The King of Yesterday and Tomorrow

The King of Yesterday and Tomorrow
九五至尊

The King of Yesterday and Tomorrow official poster
Genre Comedy-drama
Time travel
Written by Chan Ching-yee
Choi Ting-ting
Starring Kwong Wa
Maggie Cheung Ho-yee
Melissa Ng
Theme music composer Tse Hak-lam
Opening theme Choi Kau Bo (彩構步) by Kwong Wa
Ending theme Yin Juk Yat Sang Dik Mei Lai (延續一生都美麗) by Kwong Wa
Country of origin Hong Kong
Original language(s) Cantonese
No. of episodes 20
Production
Executive producer(s) Siu Hin-fai
Location(s) Hong Kong
Camera setup Multi camera
Running time 45 mins. (each)
Production company(s) TVB
Release
Original network TVB Jade
Picture format 576i (SDTV)
Original release 27 January – 21 February 2003
External links
Website

The King of Yesterday and Tomorrow (Chinese: 九五至尊; Jyutping: gau2 ng5 zi3 zyun1) is a Hong Kong comedy television drama produced by Siu Hin-fai and TVB. It originally aired on TVB Jade from 27 January to 31 February 2003. According to legend, Yongzheng Emperor of the Qing dynasty may not have died of natural death and was actually assassinated. The plot is an imaginative time-traveling story based on the continuation of what happens after the assassination attempt.

With an average of 2.21 million viewers (34 points), the drama is the fourth highest rating drama series of 2003. It received five nominations at the TVB Anniversary Awards, winning four. Maggie Cheung Ho-yee won the TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actress and one of twelve My Favourite Television Character awards, while Paul Chun won My Favourite Powerhouse Actor. Kwong Wa was nominated for the TVB Anniversary Award for Best Actor, and won one of twelve My Favourite Television Character awards.

Plot

Qing dynasty

The story begins in Qing dynasty, China with Yongzheng Emperor disguising himself among commoners to have a meal outside the imperial courts. At the restaurant he encounters a woman named Lui Sei-leung who was under attack by loan sharks for not returning debts. The emperor comes across her situation, and pays off the debt for her. Later during a ship departure, Lui approaches the emperor and thanks him for his deed. She suddenly reveals herself to be a Ming Dynasty revolutionist and attempts to kill the emperor. The boat is then all of a sudden caught in a time-traveling vortex/hurricane.

Modern Hong Kong

When they wake up, they are both warped to modern Hong Kong in 2003. The assassin continues her mission to assassinate the emperor in the city, only to find out that he became a commoner and impersonates Lee Dai-ha (literally Big Shrimp Lee). The emperor is somewhat fascinated by the Bermuda Triangle and was looking for explanations of his time travel. They also learn about the fall of the Qing dynasty including the rise of the 1911 Xinhai Revolution and founding of modern China through a historic TV video, which also mentioned the emperor's death was shrouded in some mystery.

Both the emperor and the assassin encounter difficulties with HK daily life, culture and society. They both end up working in a company that sells kitchen tiles. The emperor and the assassin often find themselves collaborating to deal with opposing co-workers who dislike them. The emperor later fell in love with Rachel, the office worker. The story then becomes a more romantic drama, as the assassin also falls in love with him. She feels there is a special connection between them since they both were from the same dynasty. They end up living together with a host of other characters. The show also contains mini plots such as Ko King getting accused of carrying illegal drugs in a club, Hugo and Kenneth's homosexual relationship, and many other side stories.

Cast

Viewership ratings

The following is a table that includes a list of the total ratings points based on television viewership. "Viewers in millions" refers to the number of people, derived from TVB Jade ratings, in Hong Kong who watched the episode live. The peak number of viewers are in brackets.

Week Episode(s) Average points Peaking points Viewers (in millions) References
1
1 — 5
32
36
2.08 (2.34)
2
6 — 10
29
N/A
1.88
3
11 — 15
37
39
2.40 (2.53)
4
16 — 20
40
46
2.60 (2.98)

See also

References

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