ROCH 83 vs ROCH 95

Best Look (facial, costume): Andy Lau

Best Portrayal (acting wise): Both are pretty good actors but Andy was better in this role.

Most Faithful (to the character in the novel): Both Andy Lau and Louis Koo were Yang Guo so it's hard to decide.

Personal Pick (most entertaining to watch): I like both.

Overall: Andy Lau = 4, Louis Koo = 2

Best Look (facial, costume): Carmen Lee

Best Portrayal (acting wise): Carmen Lee

Most Faithful (to the character in the novel): Carmen Lee

Personal Pick (most entertaining to watch): Carmen Lee

Overall: Idy Chan = 0, Carmen Lee = 4

Best Look (facial, costume): Both Liu On Lai and Gigi Fu are pretty enough to be Guo Fu so it's hard to choose.

Best Portrayal (acting wise): Both were great as Guo Fu but I think Gigi was slightly better.

Most Faithful (to the character in the novel): Both were able to successfully portray Guo Fu.

Personal Pick (most entertaining to watch): I like both actresses' portrayals.

Overall: Liu On Lai = 3, Gigi Fu = 4

Best Look (facial, costume): Theresa Lee

Best Portrayal (acting wise): Wong Mun Yee

Most Faithful (to the character in the novel): Both were able to successfully portray Guo Xiang.

Personal Pick (most entertaining to watch): I am neutral to both actresses.

Overall: Wong Mun Yee = 3, Theresa Lee = 3

Best Look (facial, costume): Both Chan Fuk Sang and Gan Pui Kuan are pretty.

Best Portrayal (acting wise): Gan Pui Kuan

Most Faithful (to the character in the novel): Both were able to successfully portray Lu Wu Shuang.

Personal Pick (most entertaining to watch): Gan Pui Kuan

Overall: Chan Fuk Sang = 2, Gan Pui Kuan = 4

Best Look (facial, costume): Maggie Cheung

Best Portrayal (acting wise): Maggie Cheung

Most Faithful (to the character in the novel): Both were able to successfully portray Cheng Ying.

Personal Pick (most entertaining to watch): Maggie Cheung

Overall: Wong Oi Ming = 1, Maggie Cheung = 4

Better Couple: Louis Koo and Carmen Lee

Supporting Cast: The Return of the Condor Heroes 1983

Plot: The Return of the Condor Heroes 1995 because it's truer to the novel.

Most Entertaining: The Return of the Condor Heroes 1995

The Winner (which is the best TVB adaptation?): The Return of the Condor Heroes 1983 = 3, The Return of the Condor Heroes 1995 = 8

The Return of the Condor Heroes 1995

This is my favorite adaptation of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" since it's more true to the novel than the 1983 adaptation, moves at a very fast pace, and has some good casting. I watched this about twelve years ago and recently just watched it again, and I still like it even after watching the 1983 adaptation.

Louis Koo: Although not as good as Andy Lau, Louis was able to create the image of Yang Guo in my mind. He's my second choice as Yang Guo. 5*****

Carmen Lee: She is Xiao Long Nu and I can't imagine anybody else in this role because she was cold to everybody but Yang Guo. She's really pretty and has elegance. 5*****

Gigi Fu: She's a good actress since she was successfully able to portray an annoying, spoiled, arrogant, and bratty Guo Fu to perfection. Her acting was completely different in "Mutual Affection" with Esther Kwan and Gordan Lam in which she played an extremely nice character. 5*****

Maggie Cheung: The prettiest Cheng Ying and she looks so sweet in here. I wished she had more screentime but that's only because her character is small in the novel. 4****

Louisa So: She never ages because she looks exact the same. She's also sweet in here. 4****

Theresa Lee: She's cute but I always imagined Guo Xiang to have a cute and "smart" look. Theresa is not the Guo Xiang in my mind but she did an okay job. 3***

Louis+Carmen: 4****

Themesong by Emil Chow and Chi Yen: 5*****

Rating: 5*****

LOCH 83 vs LOCH 94

Best Look (facial, costume): Julian Cheung

Best Portrayal (acting wise): Both are pretty good actors but Felix was better in this role.

Most Faithful (to the character in the novel): Felix Wong

Personal Pick (most entertaining to watch): Felix Wong

Overall: Felix Wong = 3, Julian Cheung = 1

Best Look (facial, costume): Both Barbara Yung and Athena Chu are cute and I like both of their costumes so I can't decide.

Best Portrayal (acting wise): Barbara Yung

Most Faithful (to the character in the novel): I heard that neither Barbara nor Athena's portrayals were exactly like Huang Rong in the novel since Barbara is too spoiled while Athena is too cute in personality.

Personal Pick (most entertaining to watch): Barbara Yung

Overall: Barbara Yung = 4, Athena Chu = 2

Best Look (facial, costume): Michael Miu

Best Portrayal (acting wise): Both are pretty good actors but Michael was better in this role.

Most Faithful (to the character in the novel): Michael Miu

Personal Pick (most entertaining to watch): Michael Miu

Overall: Michael Miu = 4, Gallen Lo = 0

Best Look (facial, costume): Sharon Yeung

Best Portrayal (acting wise): Both are pretty good actresses but Sharon was better in this role.

Most Faithful (to the character in the novel): Sharon Yeung

Personal Pick (most entertaining to watch): Sharon Yeung

Overall: Sharon Yeung = 4, Emily Kwan = 0

Best Look (facial, costume): Both Wong Jo Si and Chan Pui San were cute and I'm neutral to their costumes.

Best Portrayal (acting wise): Both are pretty good actresses.

Most Faithful (to the character in the novel): Chan Pui San because Wong Jo Si had a larger role than she was supposed to.

Personal Pick (most entertaining to watch): Chan Pui San because I found her less annoying than Wong Jo Si.

Overall: Wong Jo Si = 2, Chan Pui San = 4


Better Couple: Felix Wong and Barbara Yung

Supporting Cast: The Legend of the Condor Heroes 1983

Plot: The Legend of the Condor Heroes 1994 because it's truer to the novel.

Most Entertaining: I enjoyed both.

The Winner (which is the best TVB adaptation?): The Legend of the Condor Heroes 1983 = 7, The Legend of the Condor Heroes 1994 = 3

The Legend of the Condor Heroes 1994

LOCH 1994 was the first "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" adaptation I have ever seen and I enjoyed watching it but I always felt something was lacking. Therefore, I watched the 1983 adaptation and fell in love with that and completely forgot about this. I just recently got a copy of this and decided to watch this again after about twelve years to compare and not to compare this adaptation to the 1983 one.

The best aspect of this adaptation is the plot since it moves at a fast pace and it's true to the novel. I think this adaptation might be the truest to the novel so far...at least for TVB since I'm not sure about the Mainland Chinese ones. There is not once a draggy moment since it follows the novel very closely and I find the plot to be easier to understand in this adaptation.

Julian Cheung: Everybody says that Julian looks too "smart" to be Guo Jing and I agree to a point. He does sometimes look smarter than Guo Jing is supposed to be, but I found Julian to be a great actor since he was also able to portrayed dumbness and slowness very well. Julian is my second choice, after Felix Wong, as Guo Jing. 5*****

Athena Chu: Athena surprised me here since she was really lovable and cute as Huang Rong. I think this is her best role to date. Although I like Barbara Yung's portrayal better, Athena is my second choice as Huang Rong. 5*****

Gallen Lo: Gallen is usually a great actor but he was a miscast in here as Yang Kang. He didn't make me believe he's Yang Kang; however, his acting was okay. Thus, he only made an okay Yang Kang. 3***

Emily Kwan: Another miscast as Mu Nian Ci since she's not pretty enough and she doesn't look soft/elegant enough. However, her acting, in a way, made up for it since she's not the worst Mu Nian Ci. 3***

Julian+Athena: There are a lot more "romantic" scenes in here and I thought Julian and Athena were cute together, but there wasn't a lot of chemistry between them. 4****

Gallen+Emily: I couldn't feel the love between them so I was always questioning if they even loved each other. 2**

Themesong by Julian Cheung and Jacqueline Ng: 2** A disappointment since I don't like it at all.

Rating: 4.5**** The second best adaptation after the 1983 one due to some bad casting decisions. I enjoyed watching this but sadly, this is constantly disliked and underrated.

FFOSM 85 vs FFOSM 99

Best Look (facial, costume): Ray Lui

Best Portrayal (acting wise): Both are pretty good actors but Ray was better in this role.

Most Faithful (to the character in the novel): Ray Lui

Personal Pick (most entertaining to watch): Hu Fei is not my favorite character so they were both decent to me.

Overall: Ray Lui = 4, Sunny Chan = 1

Best Look (facial, costume): Both Margie Tsang and Charmaine Sheh are cute in here but Charmaine looks a little bit prettier.

Best Portrayal (acting wise): Hard to decide because Margie had a small role while Charmaine was raw in acting in here. However, this has to go to Margie Tsang.

Most Faithful (to the character in the novel): Margie Tsang because Miao Ruo Lan was never supposed to be a large role.

Personal Pick (most entertaining to watch): Hard to decide because Margie had a small role but I started to like Charmaine because of this so this has to go to Charmaine Sheh.

Overall: Margie Tsang = 2, Charmaine Sheh = 2

Best Look (facial, costume): Elaine Chow and Mirta King

Best Portrayal (acting wise): Mirta King

Most Faithful (to the character in the novel): Elaine Chow and Mirta King

Personal Pick (most entertaining to watch): Mirta King

Overall (who's the better character?): Elaine Chow = 2, Mirta King = 4, Annabelle Lieu = 0

Better Couple: Sunny Chan and Charmaine Sheh

Supporting Cast: The Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain 1985

Plot: I don't really like this novel so I'm neutral to both adaptations.

Most Entertaining: The Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain 1985

The Winner (which is the best TVB adaptation?): The Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain 1985 = 6, The Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain 1999 = 3

SPW 84 vs SOD 96

Best Look (facial, costume): Neither Chow Yun Fat nor Jackie Lui looked great in their costumes but at least Chow Yun Fat had more than two costumes and he didn't have to wear an ugly headset. He is also more handsome than Jackie. Thus, Chow Yun Fat had the best look as Ling Hu Chong.

Best Portrayal (acting wise): Both are pretty good actors but Jackie was better in this role.

Most Faithful (to the character in the novel): Jackie Lui hands down; he is Ling Hu Chong.

Personal Pick (most entertaining to watch): Jackie Lui

Overall: Chow Yun Fat = 1, Jackie Lui = 3

Best Look (facial, costume): Rebecca Chan and Fiona Leung are not "pretty" enough to be Ren Ying Ying in my opinion but their acting made up for it. Rebecca is a bit prettier than Fiona and I like her costumes better.

Best Portrayal (acting wise): Both are pretty good actresses so it's hard to decide.

Most Faithful (to the character in the novel): This is a toughie since I think they both brought out Ren Ying Ying's personalities with Rebecca being more ruthless and Fiona being more soft.

Personal Pick (most entertaining to watch): I enjoyed both but I felt more for Fiona.

Overall: Rebecca Chan = 3, Fiona Leung = 3

Best Look (facial, costume): Jamie Chik

Best Portrayal (acting wise): Both are pretty good actresses so it's hard to decide.

Most Faithful (to the character in the novel): This is another toughie since I think they both brought out Yue Ling Shan's personalities, but I think Jamie's looks are more accurate to the novel.

Personal Pick (most entertaining to watch): I enjoyed both but I think I liked Jamie a little bit more.

Overall: Jamie Chik = 4, Cherie Chan = 2

Best Look (facial, costume): Dong Wai

Best Portrayal (acting wise): Timmy Ho

Most Faithful (to the character in the novel): Timmy Ho

Personal Pick (most entertaining to watch): Timmy Ho

Overall: Dong Wai = 1, Timmy Ho = 3

Better Couple: Jackie Lui and Fiona Leung

Supporting Cast: Hard to say since I thought everybody was good in their respective role.

Plot: State of Divinity 1996 because it's the only adaptation true to the novel so far.

Most Entertaining: State of Divinity 1996 since it moved at a pretty fast pace.

The Winner (which is the best TVB adaptation?): Smiling, Proud Wanderer 1984 = 3, State of Divinity 1996 = 7

The Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain 1999

I saw this adaptation before "The Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain 1985" and thought it was okay but after watching the 1985 one, this drastically failed. I think if you watch this as a completely different drama then it's okay.

Sunny Chan: He was okay; not my favorite role of his though. 4****

Charmaine Sheh: I started to like Charmaine because of this. She looked so pretty in here. 4****

Annabelle Lieu: She was so annoying in here and honestly, I don't even know what her purpose was in here. 1*

Joyce Tang: A very pitiful character. 4****

Sunny+Charmaine: 4****

Themesong by Jacky Cheung: 4****

Rating: 2**

The Duke of Mount Deer 1984

This is my second favorite "The Duke of Mount Deer" adaptation after "The Duke of Mount Deer 1998" with Jordan Chan and Steven Ma.

Tony Leung: He's good as Wei Xiao Bao but he's too good-looking. 4****

Andy Lau: He's the best Kang Xi Emperor. 5*****

Elaine Chow: She's adorable in here! 5*****

Mirta King: A really pretty Princess Jian Ning but not ruthless enough. 4****

Kiki Sheung: I thought she was miscast as Ah Ke since she's not pretty enough. 3***

Carina Lau: The prettest and best Fang Yi. 5*****

Tony+Andy: The best friendship portrayed. 5*****

Tony+Elaine: 4****

Tony+Mirta: 3***

Tony+Kiki: 2**

Tony+Carina: They finally got married in real-life. 3***

Themesong by Leslie Cheung: 4****

Rating: 4****

The Smiling, Proud Wanderer 1984

I like "State of Divinity 1996" a lot better since Chow Yun Fat is always sad and depressed in here. However, it's an okay watch if you can stand some changes to the characters.

Chow Yun Fat: Jackie Lui is hands down the best Ling Hu Chong even though Chow Yun Fat is more handsome. 4****

Rebecca Chan: I really like her in here but I think her portrayal of Ren Ying Ying is more ruthless than Fiona Leung's since Fiona's is a lot softer. 5*****

Jamie Chik: She's probably the best Yue Ling Shan in terms of looks. 5*****

Chow Yun Fat+Rebecca: 4****

Chow Yun Fat+Jamie: 4****

Themesong by Johnny Yip and Francis Yip: 4****

Rating: 3*** I would have rated this higher if I haven't seen "State of Divinity 1996".

The Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain 1985

This is not my favorite Jin Yong novel but I thought it was a decent adaptation. I think this is the closest to the novel so by default is the best adaptation of "The Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain" and "Other Tales of the Flying Fox".

Ray Lui: He's really handsome and fits the character Hu Fei very well. He also did a good job as Hu Fei's father. 5*****

Elaine Chow: I love her in "The Duke of Mount Deer 1984" but I found her annoying in here. She's not really lovable in here. 4****

Mirta King: She's really lovable in here and a pretty good actress since she was completely different in "The Duke of Mount Deer 1984". 5*****

Margie Tsang: She's so cute in here although her role was extremely small. 4****

Jamie Chik: I consider her one of the prettiest actress during the 1980's since she was breathtaking in here. It's a pity that her character died too early. 5*****

Ray+Margie: They're cute together but I wished they were developed more although that's Jin Yong's fault. 4****

Ray+Elaine: I didn't really like them as a couple but they suited in terms of looks. 3***

Ray+Jamie: They were a pretty "hot" couple since they are both good-looking. 4****

Ray+Mirta: I felt sorry for Mirta but the friendship they shared was nice. 4****

Themesong by Lui Fong and Susanna Kwan: 3***

Rating: 4****

The Return of the Condor Heroes 1983

I love Andy Lau but this is not my favorite adaptation of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" since I like the 1995 adaptation a lot better. The biggest reason I don't like this as much as everybody else is because I find Idy Chan as Xiao Long Nu extremely annoying. I like the character Xiao Long Nu because of Carmen Lee but I was even feeling hatred towards Xiao Long Nu because of Idy Chan's portrayal since I found Idy Chan overrated as Xiao Long Nu, as an actress, and in terms of looks. I also found the plot to be a little bit draggy since I couldn't feel the love/chemistry between Andy Lau and Idy Chan.

Andy Lau: I think he's the best Yang Guo in terms of personality and looks. 5*****

Idy Chan: She's not cold and elegant enough as Xiao Long Nu in my opinion. 3***

Andy+Idy: 2**

Themesong by Cheung Tak Lan: 4****

Rating: 3***

The Legend of the Condor Heroes 1983

This is my favorite adaptation of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes". Although it's not the most true to the novel, the brilliant acting from the main and supporting casts can never be replaced by any of the newer adapations. Because of some deviations from the novel, LOCH 1983 is sometimes draggy and inconsistent to the plot. However, all of these flaws can be forgiven since this is truly the classic TVB drama of the 1980's.

Felix Wong: Felix is the best Guo Jing and nobody is as good as Felix when it comes to portraying a slow but honest hero. 5*****

Barbara Yung: R.I.P. Barbara; such a pity that she passed away at such a young age. Barbara is Huang Rong and Huang Rong is Barbara. Barbara was so lovable as Huang Rong and no other actress has come close to replacing Barbara as the best Huang Rong in my mind. 5*****

Michael Miu: He's extremely charming so he fits Yang Kang perfectly. Michael is the best Yang Kang. 5*****

Sharon Yeung: I never really liked the role of Mu Nian Ci since she is too blindly trusting and in love with Yang Kang, but Sharon portrayed her well. 5*****

Felix+Barbara: They are adorable together and one of my favorite couples so it's sad that this is the only drama that they are a couple together. 5*****

Michael+Sharon: They were okay but that's because I never really liked Yang Kang and Mu Nian Ci as a couple. 4****

Themesongs by Roman Tam and Jenny Yan: 5*****

Rating: 5***** The perfect adaptation to show TVB that it's okay to deviate from the novel as long as you keep the characters intact.

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.