Journey to the West (1996) 西游记
Director: Liu Shiyu
Screenwriter: Zhang Huabiao / Ye Guangyin
Starring: Jiang Hua / Zhang Dicky / Lai Yaoxiang / Mak Changqing
Genre: Comedy / Fantasy / Adventure
Country/Region of Production: Hong Kong, China
Language: Cantonese
Date: 1996-11-18 (Hong Kong, China) / 1998-10-26 (Season 2)
Number of Seasons: 2
Episodes: 72
Single episode length: 45 minutes
Also known as: Monkey King / 齐天大圣 / 西遊記 / Heaven and Earth Fight for the Monkey King / 天地争霸美猴王
IMDb: tt1459024 / tt3530256
Adaptation: Addition
Summary:
Journey to the West is a Hong Kong television series adapted from the 16th-century novel of the same title. Starring Dicky Cheung, Kwong Wah, Wayne Lai and Evergreen Mak, the series was produced by TVB and was first broadcast on TVB Jade in Hong Kong in November 1996. A sequel, Journey to the West II, was broadcast in 1998, but the role of the Monkey King was played by Benny Chan instead, due to contract problems between Dicky Cheung and TVB. Cheung later reprised the role in another television series The Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra (2002), which was broadcast on TVB but not produced by the station.
This is another masterpiece of Hong Kong TVB’s remake of the classic. In addition to being based on the classic “Journey to the West”, the plot also adds a lot of funny elements, which makes this work create another flavor different from the original while restoring the original. A Mingling stone monkey (decorated by Zhang Weijian) exploded from a huge rock in Flower Fruit Mountain in Dongsheng Shenzhou. After the stone monkey learned supernatural powers, he made a big fuss in the Heavenly Palace and was crushed under the Five Fingers Mountain by the Buddha. Five hundred years later, Guanyin Bodhisattva enlightened Wukong, worshiped Tang Sanzang (played by Jiang Hua) as his teacher, and embarked on the road of learning from the scriptures and redeeming sins.
Then in the last episode, Tang Seng and his disciples continued on the road. However, Tang Seng had a nightmare on this day. In the dream, his hometown Chang'an City experienced a catastrophe. A giant monkey was wreaking havoc. In order to protect his righteous brother Tang Taizong, Tang Seng himself died tragically! Tang Seng woke up from the nightmare and knew that he was the reincarnation of the Golden Cicada. This was by no means a simple dream, but a sign from heaven. Therefore, Tang Seng decided to ask Wukong (played by Chen Haomin), Bajie (played by Li Yaoxiang) and Wujing (played by Mai Changqing) to go back to Chang'an in three groups to stop this catastrophe. Afterwards, Tang Seng was still worried, and decided to do what he couldn’t do, and walked back to Chang'an City by himself to prevent the catastrophe. On the other hand, Chang'an City is a different scene. Emperor Tang Taizong was so overjoyed that he thought the ape was an auspicious beast, so he sent people to capture it and display it at the ceremony. The catastrophe in Tang Seng’s dream is slowly approaching.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_to_the_West_(1996_TV_series)
Journey to the West II (1998)西遊記貳
Director: Liu Shiyu
Screenwriter: Zhang Huabiao / Zhu Jingqi
Starring: Benny Chan / Kwong Wah / Wayne Lai / Evergreen Mak
Genre: Comedy / Costume
Country/Region of Production: Hong Kong, China
Language: Cantonese
Date: 1998-10-26 (Hong Kong, China)
Episodes: 42
Episode length: 45 minutes
Also known as: 西遊記貳 / Sun Wukong churning in the sea of clouds / 云海翻腾孙悟空 / Journey to the West 2 / 西游记2
IMDb: tt3530256
Adaptation: Addition
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