Michael Lauck's Blog, page 5
August 29, 2020
Demi-Gods And Semi-Devils (2003 CCTV) Review
Let me start this review by stating I have never had the opportunity to read the Louis Cha (aka Jin Yong) novel Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. There is no English translation. My ability to read Chinese is simply not good enough to tackle a novel. To be honest, it never has been and I have let my skills slide to the point where I doubt I could get through a newspaper article. I know there are probably “fan translations” out there but I avoid these things. Arguments about “popularizing the genre by making classics available to more audiences” versus “it is not your intellectual property” aside, translating a novel, let alone a complicated wuxia novel, is not something to be crowdsourced by amateurs. One of my teachers translated English language books into Chinese for a living and I know how much effort went into his work. He concentrated on one popular, mainstream American writer and was the official Chinese translator for all the author’s work. He was very concerned with keeping the author’s original style and rhythms as intact as possible even while moving from American English into written Chinese. As a reader, I want to experience a single translator’s attempt to recreate the original text.
Since so many classic wuxia novels are unavailable to me, television series based on the novels are the best way for me to enjoy the stories. I have seen many movies based on wuxia novels and I know they are cutting out a great deal. For example, my translated copy of The Deer and The Cauldron is over 1500 pages. The story is split into two Royal Tramp films that total just over three hours of running time. Don’t get me wrong, they are great movies but that ends up being about 8 seconds of screen time for every page so you know something is getting cut out!
There have been at least three films based on Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, the most famous in American probably being the 1977 Shaw Brothers movie The Battle Wizard. Proving my point about film adaptations, it pretty much concentrates on one of the story’s triad of main characters. It has been a while since I have seen it, but I am pretty sure it runs short of an hour and a half! On the television side there have been a few versions of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils with another production announced. I decided to watch the 2003 series originally produced for Mainland China’s CCTV because it was available on Amazon Prime in Mandarin with English subtitles.
Before I jump into the show, let me talk about the Amazon Prime presentation. By and large it is pretty good and seems to be taken from the DVD release. Although the show often gets beyond my current ear for Mandarin, what I could follow seemed to be reflected correctly in the subtitles (which is not always the case) although signs, book titles and other writings are generally not translated. None of the credits are translated, either, but you can figure out the cast with the help of Wikipedia and IMDB if that is important to you. Somewhere about the halfway point of the 40 episode series the closing theme disappears from the show’s end titles. It does not affect the story, but it is a little strange.
The one issue with the Amazon Prime presentation, and it is a big one, is Episode 31 is unavailable. There does not seem to be a reason for it. You can not even purchase or rent the episode from Amazon Prime; it is simply missing. Worse yet, even though the story is spread out over 40 episodes, every episode propels the plot forward. You can find the missing episode on the Internet. I hate to admit it, but I went to YouTube for the missing episode. I feel guilty about it because I hate intellectual property theft, but I gave in to the temptation after I could not find a DVD copy of the series on Amazon or Yes Asia, my usually Chinese language TV hook up. And, yes, that is a spoiler alert: I was and am interested in owning the series. One other thing about finding Episode 31 on YouTube: it was a different translation so characters had different names, which added annoyance to my guilt!
The show itself is really well done. I am not sure if it follows the same storytelling paths as the book, but it presents the stories of naive prince Duan Yu, kung fu master Qiao Feng of the Beggars Sect and Shaolin monk Xuzhu in an engaging and compelling manner as they unravel the mysteries of their lives, search for love and eventually find a common foe. If I have any complaint it would be Xuzhu seems to be short-changed by the series, although this may simply well reflect the narrative presented in the book. Either way, the story is engaging, compelling and (like any good Louis Cha story) complicated! It is, at its core, a martial arts adventure with a good deal of soap opera romance thrown in. Not enough to convince my wife to watch it, but she does not like subtitles!
Like most, if not all, of Louis Cha’s other books Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils was serialized first in newspapers and later released as a novel. In a bit of fan service, the novel actually has a different ending for Duan You than the original newspaper serialization. I will not reveal which ending the producers chose for this television series!
The series is almost 20 years old, but all in all I think the production values hold up rather well. My guess is this was a pretty expensive series for the time, especially compared to the typical Mainland television (or even film) production. The CGI does not compare to something like The CW’s DC superhero shows but it is also from 2003. It is not seamless, but it is serviceable. They actually make good use of CGI to create various internal energy attacks and are not shy about using physical effects for many of the wounds and gore. There are two heavily scarred characters in the series and the make up effects for one of them (he is on crutches) are actually pretty good. A character with a burned face has less effective make up, but I have seen worse. The fight choreography (and let’s face it: that is the important thing) is well done but leans heavily towards powerful masters blasting each other with esoteric qi attacks. Do not expect the physicality of a Liu Kar-Leung (Liu Chia-Liang) style of choreography but it does not quite get to the wire excesses from a ‘90s Tsui Hark film, either.
I know I have never seen this series before, I am 100% sure of that, but parts of it did seem strangely familiar. A sub-plot involving a corrupt Tibetan monk struck me as something I had seen, and I recognized the monk as his costuming as something I had seen. I am wondering if episodes of it were not reedited and packaged as direct to video “movies” offered up for rental in DVD shops aimed at the Chinese-American community a few years back. If so, I did not find any mention of it on the Internet but it really would not surprise me.
Before I wrap this up, let me take just a minute or two to talk about the cast. Taiwanese born Mandopop star Jimmy Lin portrays Duan Yu, who I would argue is the anchor of the story. He brings a wide eyed, boyish charm to the character that keeps him believably naive without be annoyingly cartoonish. Veteran mainland actor Hu Jun takes the role of Qiao Feng and does an admirable job carrying the quiet anger of the character throughout the series. The triumvirate of heroes is rounded out by Gao Hu as monk Xuzhu. I have no complaint with his performance other than, as I mentioned earlier, I felt as if Xuzhu did not get equal time with the other two and felt a bit flat in comparison. Ji Chunhua fills the role of the leader of the Four Evils and will be a familiar “bad guy” to many martial art movie fans as he as appeared in Shaolin Temple, Fong Sai Yuk II and many other films. You know that bald, scary poison soaked bad guy in New Legend of Shaolin? That’s him. Christy Chung, from Love On Delivery and God of Cookery with Stephen Chow and The Bodyguard From Beijing and Twin Warriors with Jet Li, makes an appearance in several episodes as well. This series also includes a large part for Liu Yifei, one of her fist big roles, who is currently starring in Disney’s live action Mulan.
To summarize it all, I can not promise you the 2003 CCTV production of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils is a faithful representation of the original novel. I can tell you it stands a head and shoulders above any film based on the novel that I have seen. If you need a new series to binge watch and have a love of the complicated, martial arts fueled plots of wuxia novels you will not go wrong giving this series a try.
March 23, 2020
FREE Book From Michael Lauck
And if your tastes are not for pulp space opera inspired science fiction but Chinese martial arts style fantasy, I am working on a sequel to The Grand Tournament.
January 21, 2020
Riker’s Beard And Family Time: Looking Back At Star Trek: TNG
I write science fiction and fantasy novels… so I am no stranger to things dubbed “nerdy.” The last few months, though, I have been doing something that pushes the boundaries of nerdy even for me. I’m watching all the Star Trek properties in the order of their release. Yup, an epic binge watch covering over five decades of television series, cartoons and motion pictures. Look, I can try to explain and rationalize this a couple ways. Truth is, I travel a great deal and have to fill the time I spent in airports and on planes (preferably with things I can download as oppose to stream). I am also, as an author, studying some of the great examples of “universe building” and epic story arcs. Still nerdy, though; I admit it.
Obviously, I started with the original series and jumped into the animated series. I timed this all so my viewing of Star Trek: The Motion Picture coincided with the the special 40th anniversary showings in theaters. I followed through the next couple of movies into The Next Generation, alternating in movies and even the original series pilot The Cage (which was originally made available to the public as a pay per view offering between the first and second seasons of The Next Generation) as they fell in the original release timeline. I am getting to the end of the fifth season of Next Generation now and very much looking forward to alternating between episodes of The Next Generation, Deep Space 9 and even the occasional film in the near future.
Just in case you are wondering, I am pretty dedicated to sticking to the timeline but I am not strictly adhering to it. As I find myself, for example, in a hotel with channels such as BBC America or the Heroes and Icons channel I will only turn on episodes that have already showed up in my series overview… so no DS9, Voyager or Enterprise (yet) but the adventures of Kirk and company are fair game, as are Next Generation episodes up to season five. On the other hand, I am still watching Discovery’s Short Treks as they come out and I am definitely watching Picard as soon as I get a chance (meaning on my big screen at home instead of streaming it on my laptop over shaky hotel wifi).
Even though I have not finished the complete rewatch, I find that I already have some new thoughts and ideas about I have seen so far starting with Riker’s beard.
Star Trek The Next Generation has generated a basketful of memes from “Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.” to “I am not a merry man” but undeniably the greatest is “Riker’s beard.” Just as the Internet has given us “jumping the shark,” the phrase to mark when a show is never quite as good again named for a really stupid moment when Fonzie was in Hawaii, it gave us “Riker’s beard” to mark the opposite. To this day, I know people that will immediately turn off an episode of The Next Generation if Jonathan Frakes turns up clean shaven (or if Wesley is in it, but that is a whole different story and, honestly, my harsh view of Wesley softened a bit with this re-watch). My first revelation from my Next Generation binge is that while season two, when the beard shows up, is better than season one, it is not when Next Generation really hits its stride.
First of all, let me defend season one of Star Trek The Next Generation. Twenty one years after the premiere of Star Trek, after three seasons of a pioneering science fiction drama, a year of the animated series and four feature films, Star Trek The Next Generation had to take up the incredibly difficult challenge of continuing one of the world’s beloved stories without a single character from the original series. Even more difficult, the real world had changed. Where the original Star Trek was making a statement by having a Russian, an Asian and an African woman on the bridge The Next Generation would not have made any statements with this type of casting. After all, when Picard met his crew and first face Q at Farpoint the biggest show on television focused on the an upper middle class African American family, something that was absolutely unthinkable when Kirk boldly set forth with his crew.
The first season of Star Trek The Next Generation not only introduced Q, the Ferengi and Data’s not so lovable android brother Lore it killed a main character. Star Trek The Next Generation took a major step that not only the original series never tackled but most shows avoid. Sure, other shows tease it and even then it was usually on a season ending cliffhanger. Even the original series backed away from the only death of a major character they ever portrayed with an entire movie dedicated to reversing it. Star Trek The Next Generation killed Tasha Yar completely out of the blue with three episodes left in the first season. This incredibly bold move cast a shadow on the entire series, adding a real threat to future episodes.
Is season one perfect? Oh, no. Not at all. Not even close, but like I already mentioned it had an amazingly difficult challenge facing it. The fans were expecting… well, everything. Next Generation was trying to stay true to the essence of Star Trek while making itself something new. They put families on the Enterprise to emphasize it was a vehicle of exploration, not a military ship. They made sure there was not a Vulcan to be found and put the odd man in a kilt wandering the hallways. They put a Klingon on the bridge! But then they had to deal with it all.
Season two was better. For one thing, the anticipation and the expectations were gone. The show made it through the first season and when it came back with its second season it was coming back as Star Trek The Next Generation not “the new Star Trek.” Ironically, due to a writers’ strike, season two actually started off with a script recycled from the ill-fated Star Trek: Phase II series. In addition to the first officer’s facial hair, the second season brought Whoopi Goldberg on board as the ship’s bartender and saw Diana Muldaur (in her third Star Trek universe role as Dr. Pulaski) taking over the sick bay from Dr. Crusher. Geordi La Forge also migrated from the bridge to take over engineering. It was always a bit odd, somehow, in season one to not have the chief engineer as a major character, if only because the chief engineer would seem to play as an important of a role in the operations of the ship as, say, the ship’s counselor or a teenager doing his after school work study program as an acting ensign.
While season two was an improvement, it had its issues. Dr. Pulaski, playing a role meant, no doubt, to help humanize Data, came across as abrasive and (in my opinion) mean spirited. Gates McFadden had been fired, apparently because the head writer did not like her, but Gene Roddenberry resisted killing her character so Dr. Beverly Crusher merely transferred off the ship. When the head writer left the popular character of Dr. Crusher returned in season three. Whoopi Goldberg, although an interesting character, was the ship’s civilian bartender which is just kind of weird. Did the ship have a food court, too? The season was also shortened, because of the aforementioned writers’ strike, and it actually ended with (of all things) a clip show. A clip show!
As a final defense of season two, it did introduce the Borg, one of greatest science fiction villain races of all times. But was it really that much better than season one? Well, season two saw five episodes get a total of six Emmy nominations and won two (both technical Emmy awards related to the sound department). Season one’s premiere was the first television episode to be nominated for a Hugo Award in 15 years. Another season one episode was the first syndicated television episode to win a Peabody Award and six episodes gathered a total of seven Emmy nominations, winning three (for makeup, costume design and sound editing). If you place your faith in the numbers, it seems season one might have actually been better (at least if you go by its awards).
So by now, if I may be so bold as to make a prediction, you are probably thinking “This guy has put way too much thought into Star Trek The Next Generation” and “Okay, so if season two is not when The Next Generation gets great, when is it?” First, I said as an author I am studying Star Trek so cut me some slack. Second, I am glad you asked.
Star Trek The Next Generation, in my opinion, really hit its stride is the fourth season. Season four swept onto screens with the second part of season finale cliffhanger The Best Of Both Worlds. The Federation was facing the awesome might of the Borg and the crew of the Enterprise was desperately trying to save Picard, who had been taken and turned into Borg mouthpiece Locutus, so the season started with big action and drama. This quickly led to a series of episodes focusing on character relationships, particularly family relationships.
After he is rescued, Picard is left a broken man and returns to his family’s vineyard in France. Although there had been several stories about Picard’s history, this was the first to address his family and his entry into Star Fleet. Data’s Day not only explored how the android navigated through his duties and relationships, it introduced Chief O’Brien’s new wife Keiko. The O’Briens are the focus in the very next episode, showing not only the natural difficulties they were having adjusting to their new life as a married couple but also O’Brien’s past Star Fleet career and the psychological wounds left by his service in the war with Cardassia. To me, Riker’s beard does not signify when Star Trek The Next Generation really gets good, it is when Keiko O’Brien appears.
Family was a major theme of the fourth season, as Worf discovered he was a father and worked to regain his family’s honor in the eyes of fellow Klingons. Luxanna Troi re-appeared as did the ghost of Tasha Yar when the crew encountered her sister. Data’s brother also made another appearance, as did Data’s creator. Data also grew a great deal, even being shown to try out a romantic relationship with another crew member. The true strength of Star Trek The Next Generation, as of season four, was that it was well established enough as a series to feature stories based on human relationships instead of action or the “alien of the week.”
It should also be noted that season four also brought more episodes which were a part of longer storylines, such as Worf’s dishonor and the political intrigues of the Klingon Empire. There were also many returning minor characters and new characters being set up for multiple appearances. It is only after three seasons Star Trek The Next Generation finally had established enough of its own universe for this to happen. Also, though, by season four plans were in motion for a second live action Star Trek series, one to run concurrently with Next Generation. It could have been that the introduction of multi-episode storylines were a result of the producers consciously attempting to expand the Star Trek universe while starting to differentiate Next Generation from the upcoming Deep Space Nine.
Ironically, season four also marks Star Trek The Next Generation outlasting its predecessor in terms of seasons on the air. While this did not actually influence the formation of my opinion season four is when Next Generation really gets good, it does really make me wonder what Star Trek may have become if it had a season four.
January 11, 2020
Retro Science Fiction At Its Best
Lately I have been obsessed with Tom Corbett, Space Cadet. One of the few television shows to spawn a radio show (as opposed to the other way around), the adventures of Tom Corbett ran on TV for 5 years and spent time on every national network. Unfortunately, few of the TV episodes seem to exist any more. The radio series, which featured the same cast as the television show, ran twice a week for six months in 1952. Luckily, about 40 of the radio episodes still exist and can downloaded for free on the Internet. Tom Corbett’s adventures also spread to newspaper comic strips, comic books and eight novels.
Teaming up with classmates Roger Manning and Astro to crew the Space Academy rocket ship Polaris under the command of instructor Captain Strong, the boys blast through the solar system training to become members of the Solar Guard. Their adventures are not hard edged science fiction; they are more akin to the Saturday morning matinee science fiction of the 1950s such as Destination Moon or Crash Of Moons (which is actually edited from another early science fiction TV show, Rocky Jones, Space Ranger).
If you want to jump into the rocket powered adventures of Tom Corbett, YouTube is a great place to find the few surviving television episodes. The radio show, sponsored by Kellogg’s cereals (such as Pep, the “build up wheat cereal” which also sponsored the radio adventures of Superman), can be found on old time radio show sites and on Archive.org. Digital copies of the Tom Corbett, Space Cadet novels can be found (for free) on Amazon, Archive.org and other sites carrying Project Gutenberg public domain downloads. I’ve reviewed the first two books, Stand By For Mars and Danger In Deep Space, over on Goodreads (find those here and here).
November 3, 2019
Star Trek Discovery And Starship Trooper Thoughts...
Okay, two things went down this week in my world of science fiction. One, I drove a whole bunch and ended up listening to audiobooks of Heinlein’s Orphans of the Sky and Starship Troopers. I have a couple thoughts on Starship Troopers, observations really. I have read both before (more than once) but not in a while. Also, the new trailer for season three of Star Trek Discovery hit. Let’s tackle that first: so season three of Star Trek Discovery is Gene Rodenberry’s Andromeda? Please, please, please Universal Lords of Irony: let Kevin Sorbo make a guest appearance. At least give me a character named Dylan Hunt (how many Roddenberry projects had characters named Dylan Hunt? At least one of’em… maybe two.)
So, Starship Troopers. It is a great book with lots of debate over just what the Hell point Heinlein was trying to make. I am not going to pretend to know his motives or even give you my interpretation of the “point” of the book. Read it your damn self and make up your mind. READ IT; don’t rely on the movie. The movie is fun, but there are many, many key differences. Like the Mobile Infantry is NOT integrated in the book, although the Navy is. Dizzy Flores is a man (and a minor character) in the book. The bugs are smaller with more technology in the book, too. And are the Skinnies even in the movie? I don’t think so.
When you read the book (or listen to the unabridged audiobook) there a few things I want you to think about, though. Here they are:
The main character, Juan “Johnny” Rico, is a South American spoiled rich kid who, by the way, remains a trust fund baby at the end of the book.
Many, many characters die and not just in combat.
Despite the fact this future utopia scoffs at the rampant crime of the 20th century Johnny Rico has experience with two violent crimes on Earth. One he is the victim of and another, a horrific crime in any age, is committed by a member of his training camp. This does not count the crimes under the military code of justice that occur during the course of the novel.
Although there is much discussion about how one acquires a franchise, citizenship and the right to vote, there is actually very little discussed about how the government operates and vote matters are the subject of elections. It is not even explained who authorized the forces of Earth to actually go to war (although why Earth goes to war seems to be made clear) even though there is discussion of the fact there is conflict even before there is officially war declared.
Johnny Rico speaks of the Mobile Infantry, and throws facts around about the independence of the Mobile Infantry such as they have the lowest percentage of officers in any army in history. He also speaks as if they are the only military force of his time other than the Navy. This is demonstrably not true, though. It is mentioned, or at least implied, the Navy has some sort of ground forces (when he speaks of how the Navy thinks it could win wars on their own and the Mobile Infantry is not necessary). There are also the K9 units and Combat Engineers, neither part of the Mobile Infantry, specifically mentioned in action. Also, a huge amount of the support roles for the Mobile Infantry (as illustrated on the planet Sanctuary) are filled by civilians.
Johnny Rico is extremely proud of how elite the Mobile Infantry are… after all, less than 10% of his boot camp graduate to become Mobile Infantry and the rest are drummed out or quit. However, it must be remembered of the approximately two dozen military service options he was given the Mobile Infantry was his last option yet the only thing he was qualified to do. He did not, for example, qualify for a single Navy job.
Finally, many people point out (and make a big deal about the fact) in this book only veterans can become voting citizens. This is technically true, but it is mentioned multiple times there are many, many ways a volunteer can serve because nobody is turned down. A job is found for every volunteer, which argues against that whole Mobile Infantry do it all themselves attitude Rico has. It also means most voting citizens are not combat veterans are even necessarily “military men.” This is even specifically discussed at one point in one of Rico’s political science classes.
Just a few things to think about…
September 14, 2019
Classic Chinese Fantasy Finally Gets US Translation
The classic wuxia novel series The Legend of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong is finally getting a US translation! The first volume, titled A Hero Born, will be released by St. Martin’s Press this Tuesday. I have read excerpts of the various Condor Hero stories in traditional Chinese but, alas, my skills are not good enough to tackle reading any of the novels. I have been a huge have of the television shows and films based on these books (and other wuxia novels… think Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and my frustration over finding decent translations of then was part of the motivation for me to write my first novel The Grand Tournament.
I just want to spread the word about Anna Holmwood’s new translation (you can find more information on the St Martins Press website). If you have read my novels or have enjoyed films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon then I urge you to check out A Hero Born. However, I want to encourage others to take on this novel as well… If you are a fan of more traditional fantasy, ranging from Tolkien to Howard to Game of Thrones, check out A Hero Born and discover the rich world of Chinese fantasy novels!
March 4, 2019
Radio Show Appearance Tuesday March 6
In other news, a new Black Sky Rangers book will be coming out soon... Editing and re-shaping it now!
Upcoming Radio Appearance
Yours truly, science fiction and fantasy author Michael Lauck, will be appearing on the radio show Podcast UFO Tuesday, March 6 with witness to the Pascagoula Incident Calvin Parker, thanks to an article on the UFO sighting I wrote for the show a few years back. You can read the original article here and listen to the show live at 6PM Eastern time a few ways… check out the Podcast UFO website for details.
June 18, 2018
Science Fiction, Italian Style!
Check it out!
June 1, 2018
If You Liked The Grand Tournament...
After I wrote the prequel novella Rise Of The Mountain Tiger: A Prequel To The Grand Tournament I told anyone and everyone who asked that I didn't think I had another book about the Zhang family and their allies in me. I still don't think I have such a novel in me...
But I recently updated the covers to the original book and its prequel and officially listed them as part of The Pride Of Tigers series. I have decided I do have a few more stories set in that world I want to tell. Expect shorter reads, like Mountain Tiger. No more novels (so probably no more paperbacks either, just cheap Kindle reads) but at least a couple more stories.
If you have wondered what happened to Butterfly, Hong Yue, the Red Lion and their friends, I reckon you are about to find out. And I think by the end of summer, you'll get a chance to learn a little more about the bearded barbarian known as the Red Lion. And you space opera fans don't worry: the sequel to The Heist is still coming soon.
I hope y'all are excited about this as I am because (and it is a surprise to me) I am excited about this!
