Also known as Cheung Po Tsai Country of origin Hong Kong Final episode date 25 October 2015 Production company TVB | Theme music composer Alan Cheung First episode date 21 September 2015 Number of episodes 32 Language Standard Cantonese | |
 | ||
Written by Leung Choi-yuen
Law Chung-yiu
Sin Chui-ching Starring Ruco Chan
Tony Hung
Grace Chan
Maggie Shiu
Mandy Wong
Joel Chan
Elaine Yiu
Kelly Fu Opening theme "Sailing" (揚帆)
by Fred Cheng Genres Historical drama, Science Fiction, Adventure fiction Similar Under the Veil, With or Without You, Momentary Lapse of Reason, Lord of Shanghai, Every Step You Take | ||
Captain of Destiny (Chinese: 張保仔; Jyutping: Zoeng1 Bou2 Zai2; Cantonese Yale: Jēung Bóu Jái; literally "Cheung Po Tsai") is a 2015 Hong Kong historical fiction sci-fi television drama created and produced by TVB. The drama is a retelling of the story of 19th century Chinese pirate Cheung Po Tsai and his conflict with the Qing imperial army, meanwhile encountering a time-travelling police constable from the 21st century.
Contents
- Synopsis
- Main characters
- Pirates
- Qing Imperial Court
- Wong family
- 21st century Cheung Chau
- Cameo
- Development and filming
- Soundtrack
- Release and promotion
- Historical inaccuracies
- References
Development for Captain of Destiny began in mid-2014. A two-minute trailer was unveiled at the 19th Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (FILMART) in March 2015, and a second trailer was revealed at the 21st Shanghai TV Festival in June 2015. It was the first of four grand productions to celebrate TVB's 48th anniversary. The drama aired on Hong Kong's Jade and HD Jade channels from 21 September till 25 October 2015, every Monday through Sunday during its 9:30-10:30 pm timeslot. It aired for 32 episodes.
Captain of Destiny received mixed reviews during its run, mainly directed at the story's historical inaccuracies and inconsistent characterisation. However, the serial built a popular fanbase, winning My Favourite TVB Drama at the StarHub TVB Awards and the 2015 TVB Star Awards Malaysia. Ruco Chan received acclaim for his lead performance as the Eleventh Prince, winning My Favourite TVB Actor at both award ceremonies. Captain of Destiny received two awards in the TVB Anniversary Awards, including Most Popular Male Character for Ruco Chan and Best Supporting Actress for Elaine Yiu.
Synopsis
During a high-speed motorboat chase with a criminal, Cheung Chau police constable Wong Tai-mui gets herself trapped in a waterspout, accidentally opening a time portal. She travels back 200 years to early 19th century Hong Kong, a time when the island was under Qing rule. She encounters a family of Canton pirates, led by Cheng Yat, his wife Shek Giu, and their adopted son Cheung Po Tsai. Using her knowledge of the future, which she keeps in an E-book, she saves the pirates from a deadly naval battle against the Qing naval fleet led by Prince Man-ho, the eleventh son of the Jiaqing Emperor. Puzzled by her mysterious origins, Cheng Yat and Shek Giu remain wary of Tai-mui and are hesitant in trusting her.
At Beijing's Imperial Palace, Imperial Consort Yim and Imperial Consort Shun manipulate Man-ho to get themselves into a position of higher power. Jaded from politics and family feud, Man-ho decides to let go of his ambition for the crown and flees the palace.
On the day the tiangou covers the sun, another waterspout appears over the Canton sea. Cheung Po Tsai helps Tai-mui open the time portal so she can return to 21st century Hong Kong. In the end they both travel back to the future through the portal.
Main characters
Pirates
Qing Imperial Court
Wong family
21st century Cheung Chau
Cameo
Development and filming
In November 1999, TVB pitched a series called Cheung Po Tsai at its annual sales presentation event. A co-production with Mainland China's CCTV, the project was to star Louis Koo, Jessica Hsuan, and Joe Ma. However, Cheung Po Tsai was later scrapped after a series of cast dropouts and high production costs.
In May 2014, TVB announced that it had green-lit a time-traveling series, which would be produced by Leung Choi-yuen. Ruco Chan was the first actor to be cast in the new series. In August, TVB confirmed that the new series would be called Cheung Po Tsai, and had cast Bosco Wong in the titular role, with Aimee Chan to star alongside. Both Wong and Chan later turned down their roles due to schedule conflicts. Raymond Wong Ho-yin was then reported to star.
A costume-fitting press conference was held on 3 September in the common room of TVB Studio 1 at Tseung Kwan O. Principal photography began in Cheung Chau a few days later. A week into filming, Raymond Wong was diagnosed with Behçet's disease and had to withdraw from the series. Tony Hung was cast to replace him. Hung only had one week to prepare for his role. Wong, however, did return to make a brief cameo appearance in the last episode of the drama.
A blessing ceremony was held on September 12. Filming moved to Hengdian World Studios, Wuxi, and the Lake Tai Region in November, where they shot at Hengdian World Studios and CCTV Wuxi Film & TV Base. The final phase of production officially ended in early January. At least a million HKD per episode was invested on the project, and an addition $3 million HKD in post-production, which took at least six months to complete due to the series' heavy demand for CG effects.
Soundtrack
Hong Kong musician Alan Cheung and lyricist Yeung Hei were hired to compose and write the drama's official soundtrack. The main opening theme, "Sailing" (揚帆), is performed by Fred Cheng. The ending theme "Next Century" (下世紀), is performed by Ruco Chan. Linda Chung performs the drama's episode plug, "Everlasting Heart" (一顆不變的心), which has lyrics written by Sandy Chang.
Release and promotion
In October 2014, TVB released a promotional poster for Captain of Destiny as an image for TVB's 2015 calendar. The image was attached to the month of October 2015.
In March 2015, TVB released the first look of Captain of Destiny at the 19th Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (FILMART), unveiling a two-minute trailer that primarily featured CGI footage. During an episode of the entertainment program Scoop in April, TVB introduced the early post-production stages of Captain of Destiny and interviewed the drama's visual effects team. In June, Ruco Chan, Tony Hung, and Grace Chan went to Shanghai to promote the drama at the 21st Shanghai TV Festival, where they introduced the drama's second trailer.
Captain of Destiny was announced as the first of four grand productions to celebrate TVB's 48th anniversary on September 3. It is slated to premiere on Hong Kong's TVB Jade and Malaysia's Astro On Demand on 21 September 2015, airing seven days a week from 9:30 to 10:30 pm.