State of Divinity 1996

A.K.A. The Smiling, Proud Wanderer. After reading rave reviews for this 1996 adaptation, I decided to give this a try. And I completely agree with people when they say that this is the best drama adaptation of "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" since it is the only adaptation to follow the novel truthfully. I have never read the novel; however, I can tell that the dialogues were taken word by word from the novel since they didn't have to have some of the more "lengthy" dialogues. After watching this adaptation, the 1984 one with Chow Yun Fat and Rebecca Chan failed in comparison since it felt like watching two completely dramas. I enjoyed the 1984 adaptation but felt it was too sad since Chow Yun Fat was always too sad and depressed. My mom doesn't like Jackie Lui as an actor so I didn't get to watch SOD when it first came out so I watched the 1984 one first instead. After 12 years, SOD was hard to rent because it's such a rare drama but it's worth all the effort to obtain! I only wished the Vietnamese dubbing was better in the first half of the drama though but that's the dubbers fault. On the other hand, I also wished this was a better production since it was pretty cheap when compared to the other adaptations since the lighting was pretty bad and there were barely any costume changes for the actors/actresses.

Jackie Lui: I have always thought Jackie was an okay actor since I haven't seen a lot of his dramas but he truly shone in here as Ling Hu Chong since I don't think I can imagine anybody else as this role after watching him. He's so cute when's he's happy/smiling that I have fallen for Ling Hu Chong. Too bad he's not acting for TVB anymore since I think this is his best role to date. 5*****

Fiona Leung: I have also thought she's an okay actress since I haven't seen a lot of her dramas and she's not the "prettiest" actress; however, I thought she was beautiful enough as Ren Ying Ying. She was really cute/sweet in here so it's also sad that's she's not acting anymore. 5*****

Cherie Chan: I have always liked Cherie as an actress, especially in "The Duke of Mount Deer 1998" so she was great in here as well. She's not as pretty as Jamie Chik but her acting made up for it. It's also another pity that she's not acting for TVB anymore. 5*****

Timmy Ho: This is my first drama that stars Timmy and I thought he was really good too. The actor in the 1984 adaptation looked evil all the time but Lin Ping Zhi was nice and sweet in the beginning so Timmy was better suited for this role. Sigh, Timmy is also not acting anymore either. 5*****

Ho Mei Tian: She's so cute! This is my second drama of hers since she was in "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils 1996" as Zhong Ling. I wished she stayed with TVB longer though. 5*****

Leila Tong: I barely recognized her until my mom pointed her out and she was so cute in here! I think she was only 15 years old when this was filmed. 4****

Jackie+Fiona: They are so cute together! This is probably my second most favorite Jin Yong couple after Felix Wong and Barbara Yung in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes 1983". 5*****

Timmy+Cherie: They were also cute in the beginning but I felt bad for Jackie. 4****

Jackie+Cherie: They also made a cute couple. 4****

Jackie+Ho Mei Tian: The friendship they shared was also cute. 4****

Themesong by Alan Tam and Priscilla Chan: It's not as good as the other Jin Yong's drama adaptation songs but it's still catchy nevertheless. 4****

Rating: 5***** This definitely deserves to be a classic along with the other Jin Yong adaptations during the 1980's. This also re-ignited my love for Jin Yong novels so I plan to watch the Jin Yong dramas again and hopefully, I will also be able to read the novels in the near future.