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absolutebl · 4 months ago

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Meet You At the Blossom - Watch Along

Maybe a trash watch? We will find out.

But first what do we know about this show?

Well, I can't for the life of me remember the title. The article placement it too weird so it will henceforth be called Blossom okay?

Here's what I learned from @renafire

Duck daddy!!!!! I bring news! China didn't kill the gays! Meet You at the Blossom is an HEA! Golden retriever XiaoBao x ice prince Huaien (who gets the shit stabbed out of him an awful lot for being a ML). A side CP of dumb, pretty bodyguard x eccentric doctor. The background plot was basically a bunch of middle age men fighting about the ML's long dead mother. Needles! So many needles! (It was practically a sickfic tbh) Flapping sleeves! Flowing hair! Poison! Politics! A villain weirdly into kites! Prisoners in chains you can easily slip your hand through! Dimples! Loyal bodyguards becoming family! It's not the best thing ever, but it ends happily! There was even a line about "true love has nothing to do with gender" which I feel like is a big deal for something associated with China?

This convinced me to watch, so I thought I'd just post it verbatim to convince you, too.

So I'd refused to watch Blossom because I assumed the leads would die or at least be torn asunder at the end, and that there would be no kisses.

So this Watch Along is going to be me eating crow.

China pretty much always does censored BL (when they do it at all) since 2017 or so. You can watch something like My E-Sports Genius Brother for the style of "happy but censored BL" that I've grown to expect from China. (Although I wouldn't necessarily recommend it.)

They didn't used to do this! Time once was that China was this chaotic minefield of tasty mess meets terrible tropes (like kidnapping, stepbrothers, rape, whipping boy, and dub con). I had a weird love for it at the time because it was the Wild Wild World of BL beck then and I didn't know to expect better.

I come from 90s Yaoi. Remember?

Ah the bad old days. (You can read a history of CBL here. Not updated in ages.)

Where was I?

So, what I knew about Blossom was that it was a Wuxia BL and that it was made with Thailand, or for Thailand, or something to do with Thailand (there is Thai script on the promo material) and that it wasn't being distributed inside Mainland China. (I still worry about the actors but that's kinda a natural state for me and BL outside of Japan.)

Outside of China Blossom got wide distribution showing up everywhere iQIYI (China based), Viki (Japan based), Gaga (Taiwan based) WeTV (US Based) and YouTube (Thai Channel Artop Media is serving it).

It also looks like Heavenly is involved and they are Korea based. So like, everyone had their mitts on this thing. We live in crazy times.

Okay so, here are my 20 expectations:

Pony tails with a ribbon or two

Lots of questionable older tropes, especially dub-con & kidnapping (the herb that makes you horny maybe?)

Flowing filmy robes wafting everywhere

EXTREMELY PRETTY men, costumes, make up, setting... well, everything

No consent whatsoever

Pokey pokey, but not with the right kind of swords (a naked blade will be grabbed by a naked hand, sadly also not in the preferred way)

A bodyguard hotter than he has any right to be, wearing black

Floaty fighty fighty, including but not limited to: skid backwards through puffs of dust, a leap to land + one knee down + holding sword + head bowed, a twirly protect baby from baddies

A boat in a lotus pond

Poison, probably green, glittery if I'm lucky

Circular architecture

A big fuck off fan

Puppy-cat pairing

They wander through bamboo, sit down at the edge of a lake, probubly on a log

Wound tending, of course, because there will be lots of wounds

Someone pushed onto a platform bed (also kneeling in front of it)

A jail with straw in it

Older men with sparse beards detracting from the romance

Fruit or some other food being thrown

Some serious SLEEVE action.

Li Le as Zong Zheng Huai En

Probably the reserved unhinged one. Has sword, will prod.

He has a solid track record of shows under his belt. So to speak. One wonders how they persuaded him to do BL. He sure is pretty tho.

Wang Yun Kai as Jin Xiao Bao

The son of the wealthiest man in the Jiangnan region, probably the cheerful cute one.

He's an entirely green actor.

Most of the cast is from mainland China, with the exception of Achi Sukonlaphat Sribubpha, who is Thai (obvs) and under Artop Media.

Nancy Chen is directing

She is a Taiwanese director and screenwriter, who directed HIStory 4 and HIStory 5 (neither all that great) and was behind very queer friendly Pappy & Daddy.

I wouldn't call her a stellar director. I would say I've been reserving judgement, but if you pin me down I'd call her Taiwan's New.

Pitch

Xiao Bao (cute) falls in love with icy, white-robed stunner Huai En due to an unexpected meeting. Discovers she is actually a boy (and a baddie). Hijinx ensue.

Adapted from the novel Hua Kai You Shi Tui Mi Wu Sheng 花开有时, 颓靡无声 by Shui Qian Cheng 水千丞

Co-production with China and Taiwan. But the country of origin is listed as Thailand.

12 Episodes, 40 min each (or so) for a total fresh content run time of 8 hours.

Aired: Jul 11, 2024 - Aug 15, 2024 on iQiyi, Viki, WeTV, Gaga

Shall we get started?

I had a surfeit of options since Viki, Gaga, and iQIYI all had Blossom. I like Viki's interface best, want to support Gaga the most, but in this case, I opted for iQIYI because... screen shots. So it's all your fault.

EPISODE 1: Nicknames, pretty men, dimples, twirly, stabby, floof!

I don't like the intro music, it's too slow and tinkly, but classic for the genre I suppose. Still I'm fast forwarding through all the falling cherry blossoms.

All right. Now it's about time for... YES...

Emperor Infodump

Chancellor of Extraneous Explanations

As You Know Bo

Sorry sorry. The puns must flow.

The deets: layabout emperor = chaos & suffering. New emp = strong & popular but his baby bro wants to rule. New emp exiles bro to obscurity. New emp = good ruler. Order established through patriarchal dominance. Children laughing in the street. Got it.

I will not be remembering names, FYI.

We open on kid in trouble over a kite killed(?) by baddie.

Enter pretty spangled skippy puppy McDimples. I shall call him Dimples. Dimples = spoiled rich kid having trouble finding a wife - presumably because they all know he gay.

Enter hottie evil cut-glass cheekbones McPoutypants. Haven't decided what I shall call him. It'll come to me.

Extremely pretty men. CHECK.

Ooo, a big hat on horse back!

Of course, how could I not have had that trope on my checklist? My bad.

And a bunch of assassins slow-dropping out of trees like lazy fruit. I forgot that, too.

I gotta say, fairy prince or high elf is not a bad moniker for twirly-sword cheekbones supreme.

Floaty fighty fighty! CHECK

Oh, I thought they'd go in for crossdressing at the very least but I guess they went for Dimples is an idiot instead. Interesting choice. I see we also have the "baby is a clumsy bunny" trope all set to deploy. Carry on.

Grab the sword and skid through the dirt. CHECK!

And a fainting!

Pony tail with ribbons. CHECK

Dimples might be a bit too much of a prat and an idiot for me.

[Have begun watching at 1.25 speed. Don't fault me.]

I always find the orange/yellow eye makeup that Cdramas put on characters of questionable morality fascinating. Why those colors specifically? And why eye makeup specifically?

We arrive home. It fancy. Daddy doesn't want an unknown lady for his baby (silly daddy, ladies are for ladies, boys are for boys).

Everyone acknowledging that elf prince is, in fact, The Prettiest is very pleasing to me.

Meanwhile, there is some kind of list/stuff/thingy and Prince Shen wants it and is a bad guy, maybe? I can't remember names from the beginning so I have no idea what's going on with the plot but also, it is only going to get more convoluted. Plus the weekend is coming so I'll eventually be drinking and watching this. Plot is for people who don't like BL. And don't have six bottles of sake in their fridge.

Snicker.

Where was I?

Oh yes. Judiciously NOT following the plot.

Dimples and his 2 enablers seem to share about 1/3 of a braincell between them. But they're sincere about it.

Engage secret identity trope and the expected cross dressing.

Ooo Shen is The Prettiest's uncle? Damn it I'm trying to follow the plot again. Must not get sucked into plot. This is a Cdrama therein lies madness. Ah, Prettiest is the son of the emperor's exiled younger bro? Got it.

Twirly protect baby from baddies! CHECK

And that's episode 1 in the bag. In the sheath?

My thoughts so far:

This couldn't be more exactly what I expected if it tried. I mean it is trying. And it's succeeding in being a Wuxia BL. So. Yay! Performing to the packaging. I appreciate that in a show.

I'm looking forward to more.

(On the advice of one of my spies I've switched to watching on YT when I can, YT and Gaga are supposed to have the better subs than iQIYI and Viki. That said I found iQIYI's serviceable.)

EPISODE 2: Checking a bunch of stuff off my list in rapid succession

Poisoning?

No. Sex herb? CHECK

Discovery that she is in fact he?

Dominance Tussle? Dub con? Rape? Already? CHECK

Well that came fast (presumably so did he).

There’s a lot happening all at once at the beginning of just ep 2.

It’s an ACCOUNT BOOK that’s causing all this fuss? Hilarious.

Enter the anticipated hottie (bodyguard? spy?) in all black wearing a hedgehog. CHECK

(I didn’t expect the hedgehog, I have to admit.)

Oh is the single brain cell society is trying to grow additional brain cells? That's not gonna work.

Cheekbones is still the prettiest.

Oh HELLO stern grabby Daddy not-older brother of yummy. We likey.

Who do you belong to?

Why do you have The Biggest Sleeves?

Do I take that as a sign of gayness?

Please?

Ooo looks like I’m right.

Also this is very silly.

And "I never said she was a woman."

It’s just so funny.

OH NO!

Stern prince bro is leaving already?

I only had Grabby McDaddy for a very short length of time. I already miss him.

Meanwhile, Dimples apparently has no compunction about being in love with a man, we blew through a bisexual identity crisis while I wasn't looking, and now we exist inside the gay=okay bubble? I did not expect The Bubble(tm) to show up in a Wuxia, but I guess this is a BL universe and we all just float around in it…

Cheekbones is a bit of an asshole. Quite apart from the, ya know, bit of rapey rape thing.

I also did not have absolutely terrible VO dubbing on my bingo card. I forgot about that one in Cdramas.

EPISODE 3: Distracted by the pretty

Some kind of dark past for dimples and his little (not blood ) sister.

Sniff test, the greatest trope of 2024 apparently. Nice to see the execution of a modern trope in a vintage style BL.

Aa ha! Kneeling next to a platform bed. CHECK

And more poisoning and drugs.

Wound tending. CHECK

Aweeeee Dimples is worried about Cheekbones! How cute.

Also, the ice queen appears to be melting.

Ooo. More sexitimes? Consensual this time. Okay. I guess Taiwan did get its nuts all over this show. (Honestly, that was a mistype but I'm keeping it in.)

The bit with all the bodyguards was great.

And my love for Mr. All-Black Clued-in Hottie persists.

We are now in the “does he like me back?” phase of the high school narrative. We are also in the "do I like him at all?" part of the narrative. Suddenly, this is an angsty YA.

Ice queen has melted and is now turning into jelly. (Can you tell I’m very pleased with myself and this metaphor?)

And now, Dimples is sick?

Boy, is this fast moving! I have to say, that is something I did not expect at all. Usually Cdramas are much slower than this.

I do love how shameless D imples is. It’s kind of delightful. He’s definitely in his bisexual awakening slut phase.

Cheekbones is also a doctor, apparently. Useful man.

In other news: I would really like to add a full length crossover wafting robe into my wardrobe. I have no idea why I feel compelled by such a thing.

EPISODE 4: Gay sleeves AT last

Not a lot happened in this episode. Mostly flirting. More backstory and plot that doesn’t really matter. Presumably this intended to be character motivation?

We do not need him to be motivated we need him to be pretty. Understand the brief please.

Why no more floaty floaty sleeves?

Oooo, because sleeves in gay! CHECK

I did like the scene of the blood being cleaned up after the assassination attempt(?). It’s kind of nice to see that depicted for a change. I always worry about all that blood on that nice stone work.

Oh the handholding it was very cute.

Ice queen has melted and now turned entirely to jelly. Very very jelly.

Dimples is so stupid proud of his tall deadly wife. It's flipping adorable in a very goofy way.

I guess Cheekbones has come around and now Dimples has officially been claimed, multiple times and in multiple ways. He can't change his mind or anything now. Trouble is afoot...

asleeve?

ahead...

ahem.

I'll stop now.

EPISODE 5 - It is a Thing I guess?

OMG Cheekbones just loves his stilly bint of a bf. It’s absolutely absurd. The ultimate puppy/cat pairing.

I love it that he’s just casually walking around with a knife sticking out of his back and only cares that baby may have gotten a splinter in his finger.

Now we are in the vows portion of the early romance. I am assuming betrayal is coming soon?

Grabby McDaddy! I missed you! Here to perform the part of Basil Exposition I see? No grabby for me? Sad. Unfortunately, if you aren’t flirting with a man I’m going to be fast forwarding. Although your sleeves are very nice.

Uh oh, Dimples is in trouble.

Okay that was that. No screen caps, I lazy.

EPISODE 6 - DOOOMMMM

Oh lovely. More rape. I guess Dimples went looking for that response? Is that the implication? Does Dimples have a rape kink? What is with this show?

No brothels for a baby I guess.

It’s not gay... it’s poison?

It’s not bisexuality... it’s the slut herb?

The single brain cell club is now the wailing fates.

I guess cutting off a man’s hand out of jealousy is no biggie? Well this is a BL. Jealousy is the #1 excuse!

Fighty floaty blood spatter death! This time on wooden planks. Those are impossible to get clean.

Meanwhile, there’s a lot of backstory and stuff I don’t care about, and probably can’t follow even if I did care about it.

I don’t like the Emperor at all. But then I don’t think I meant to. I am a little shocked that there aren’t more men with sparse beards distracting from the romance. But I guess this is a BL, they go for youth even in wuxia.

EPISODE 7 - You know what they say about a man with big sleeves?

Oh, Daddy McGrabby is back and he's a good guy (?)! He’s also in love with Dimples.

Oh no!

What is this sensation I feel being thrust upon me?

Is that…? Is that second lead syndrome? I think it is.

Oh well, it was fated the moment I saw the length of his... sleeves in episode 2.

Meanwhile?

Dimples gets tortured by acupuncture.

Poisonings are always so elegant and classy in Cdramas.

Blah blah captured rescued captured rescued again sort of. Cheekbones is now seriously imperiled. We swap one for the other in Grave Danger (TM).

Enter the Divine Doctor character! Who (Dr) I have been told reliably by previous witnesses is A Favorite. I do love this particular archetype (quirky healer wise beyond his years - sometimes actual immortal. ) I am prepared to be delighted.

EPISODE 8 - Divine Doctor is Emperor of the Gays

The divine doctor and 1/3 brain cell is not a pairing I thought was going to happen. Frankly it doesn't seem like the writers thought about it much either.

But it did make me laugh out loud.

It’s fantastic. I love them. I love this for me. I love a secondary couple for this show. Carry-on.

I LOVE THE DOCTOR SO MUCH.

Everyone was absolutely correct. He is the best character. He is my favorite. He is openly gay and a troublemaker and absolute queen. And I adore him forever. No notes.

King Emperor behavior!

The evil crown prince has a crush on Daddy McGrabby. With good reason, he does have the biggest sleeves.

(I have a crush on Daddy McGrabby.) And he clearly likes brats, so I think the crown prince is in with a chance, actually.

(Not me, sadly. Despite the rumors I am not a brat. I make no case for this.)

EPISODE 9 - The Plot Thickens like Shampoo

Oh, Cheekbones is the new crown prince? We have a whole Snape situation going on here?

And finally Cheekbone knows what is happened to his poor little tortured Dimples. (oof that acting tho. before you say "what acting" i KNOW.)

In all honesty, I’m quite engaged by the drama of the show at this point and kind of losing my snark because of it. Don't get mad at me.

It’s not a bad show. I mean it’s a melodramatic soap opera, but that’s to be expected. It's so soapy it's like one of those extra foamy soap dispenser soaps.

To be entirely fair most gay men of my acquaintances have very similar relationship trajectories. Minus some of the casual murder (aside from character assassinations of course).

EPISODE 10 - Oh Noes All Round

Not enough of my beloved divine doctor emperor of the gays. But you can’t have everything.

Oh noes, my babies are fighting.

But he brought you a big thistle! Don't fight!

Oh they get to kind of make up, or something. It’s sweet. Puppy Dimples accidentally caught himself a psychopath. To be fair tho, all cats are psychopaths at heart.

Oh noes Daddy McGrabby is planning on killing Cheekbones. No Daddy. Not the Cheekbones!

The cheek kiss from Cheekbones was so romantic. Normally I’m not a huge fan of this particular smooch, but under these circumstances it was very good.

EPISODE 11 - So Many Gay Emperors no one cares about the actual emperor

I wish I could shut somebody up by a simple double tap to the collarbone. It’s like the wuxia version of a block feature on tumblr.

Meanwhile, the part where 2/3 of a brain cell are comparing how hot their respective fierce gay emperors are to each other is truly hilarious. I actually clapped.

This is so ridiculous.

Epic eye roll from the remaining 1/3 of a brain cell. And I have to say I’m on his side in this matter.

Oh noes Daddy McGrabby is not, in fact, on the side of twrew lurve after all.

How sad.

EPISODE 12 - The Bisexual In the Bathtub & other nursery rhymes of my youth

I love this silly bint of a bisexual in the bath between two fierce gay dudes who are about to give their life force to keep him alive.

Someone definitely once drew this as Lord of the Rings fanart 20 years ago.

I guess our single brain cell has been torn asunder. And Daddy McGrabby never did get his man.

Next series?

Bing him back to me.

With EVEN BIGGER SLEEVES!

IN CONCLUSION

All cards on the table?

This was undeniably a wuxia and most definitely a BL.

Evil stunning princely Cheekbones meets and falls in love with the bisexual Disaster dimples of his dreams. There’s a lot of floaty fighting, tangled plot, and overworked emotions. From start to finish it was exactly as it claimed to be, including more than the expected amount of sexual claiming.

I’m not wild about the wuxia genre, but I will tell you what I do like:

Very pretty men in flowing robes + eye makeup + hair ribbons wafting about stabbing and kissing each other plus ridiculous soap opera machinations. I also like cheekbones and dimples. AND I love a stupid gay sleeve, okay? There was also truly epic levels of stink-eye, and that too is to be lauded.

This show left me grinning like crazy. Was it great? Not really, but it was a great experience and I enjoyed it immensely.

I’m so glad you all persuaded me to watch it in the end.

Thank you!

I should probably give it an 9/10 because I had such a good time watching it. But I’m not going to, because it isn’t a 9/10 drama. It had a lot of flaws chewing at that pretty (boom mic riddled) scenery, not to mention all the rapey rape.

It’s a solid 8/10

(source)

#ABL trash watches BL #ABL trash watch #well sort of a trash watch #Meet You at the Blossom #Chinese BL #Taiwanese BL #Thai BL #BL watch along #ABL binge watches BL #Li Le #Wang Yun Kai #Nancy Chen #Hua Kai You Shi Tui Mi Wu Sheng

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ljones41 · 9 days ago

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"NOBLE HOUSE" (1988) Review

Between 1962 and 1993, author James Clavell wrote and published a series of novels centered on Europeans living in Asia. Some of the novels featured a family founded by a Scottish-born sailor named Dirk Struan, who became a trader in early 19th century China. And one of those novels was "Noble House", published in 1981.

Clavell's novel centered around one of Struan's descendants, Ian Dunross, who struggled to save the family company from a precarious financial position left by the previous CEO or "tai-pan" in the British colony, Hong Kong. Dunross sought a partnership with an American billionaire named Linc Barlett of Par-Con Industries, in the hopes of rescuing Struan's from financial ruin and a possible takeover by his family's long-time rival, Quinlan Gornt of Rothwell-Gornt. However, matters grew worse for Dunross and the company when the oldest son of Struan's comprador, Philip Chen, sold both company secrets and "coin debt" in the form of one of four half-coins that was given to Dirk Struan 146 years ago, to Barlett. This enabled Barlett to seek a partnership with Gornt in the hopes of making a raid on Struan's. When Philip's son, John Chen, ended up kidnapped by a local street gang, the value of the "coin debt", which ended up in the hands of wealthy smuggler named Four Fingers Wu. And this left Dunross and Struan's vulnerable to another threat.

I first read "Noble House" in my early twenties. Looking back on it, I now realize it was a good thing I had read previously read Clavell's 1966 novel, "Tai-Pan" and saw the 1986 movie adaptation. If not, I would have found myself confused over the family feud that served as a backdrop to the Dunross-Gornt feud and the history of the "coin debt". This involved four half-coins given to Dirk Struan by a Chinese trader named Jinqua in "Tai-Pan", as repayment for the loan of silver. Any CEO or "tai-pan" of Struan's must fulfill the request, whether legal or illegal, to anyone who presents one of the half coins that Jinqua originally kept. I ended up enjoying the 1981 novel very much. But I had some issues with it. Issues that had thankfully failed to materialized in "NOBLE HOUSE", the 1988 miniseries.

One of the issues centered around secret intelligence documents that Dunross found himself in possession of, thanks to his MI-6 contact. These documents ended up being sought by various intelligence agencies, including the MI-6, the C.I.A. and the K.G.B. However, this story arc had nothing to do with Dunross's efforts to save Struan's, so screenwriter Eric Bercovici ditched it. He also removed another story arc featuring an entourage of visiting members of Parliament - which included Dunross' Labor brother-in-law. Again, this arc had very little to do with the main one involving Dunross's business situation.

The miniseries had also removed several characters, including K.G.B. agent Captain Suslev, a visiting author and former Royal Air Force veteran named Peter Marlowe (from the 1962 novel, "King Rat"), Dunross's wife and children (he is a childless widower in the miniseries), Dunross's brother-in-law Robin Grey (also from "King Rat") and especially Dunross's wife Penelope and their three children. In the miniseries, Dunross is a childless widower, enabling him to have a romance with Par-Con executive Casey Tcholok. The biggest change proved to be the story's timeline. Bercovici updated the story's setting from August 1963 to November 1987, allowing it to be a modern tale. This enabled several characters like Linc Barlett and Casey Tcholok to mention Great Britain's future 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China.

I do have some minor complaints regarding "NOBLE HOUSE". One, I found Paul Chihara's score for the miniseries unmemorable and almost pedantic. And speaking of the score, I really disliked the cheesy aspect of the theme Chihara had created for the Orlanda Ramos character. It almost sounded like something for a soft-porn movie. Very insulting for a character like Orlanda, who proved to be more complicated. I also had a problem with some of the dialogue featured in "NOBLE HOUSE". This especially seemed to be the case in scenes featuring dialogue between European and Chinese characters or simply between Chinese characters. I found the dialogue rather awkward, exaggerated and very stylized. I realize the screenwriter was simply copying some of James Clavell's dialogue from the novel. But I really wish he had not.

Despite my complaints, I really enjoyed "NOBLE HOUSE". Every time I watch it, I am always surprised at how epic it seemed by the end of the last episode. And mind you, this story had very little to do with history. It was simply a mixture of the usual melodrama involving sex, romance, financial dealings and family conflicts. Even one of the story arcs, which featured Cold War espionage, managed to have an impact on the narrative's main arc regarding Ian Dunross's financial situation. Most people would be disappointed that this television adaptation was not completely faithful to Clavell's novel. Frankly, I am relieved. Bercovici managed to cut some of the superfluous story arcs and prevent the miniseries from becoming bloated. Yet, he still managed to retain Clavell's epic feel for the narrative. And he achieved this with the help of director Gary Nelson, who provided an overall steady pace in scenes that range from dramatic and action moments. Nelson's handling of the floating restaurant fire and the landslide that destroyed an apartment complex in the final episode really impressed me.

"NOBLE HOUSE" proved to be one of those productions that featured an international cast. Aside from a handful of performances, most struck me as being pretty solid. I must admit that I found those from the likes of Burt Kwok, Lim Kay Tong, Gordon Jackson, Denholm Elliott, Lisa Lu, Michael Siberry, Tia Carrere, John Houseman, Brian Fong, Ric Young, John van Dreelen, Nancy Kwan, Damien Thomas, Galen Yuen, George Innes and Dudley Sutton rather memorable. But there were certain performances that I truly enjoyed.

One of those performances came from the always memorable Khigh Dhiegh, who struck me as very colorful as one of Hong Kong's premiere smugglers, Four Fingers Wu. Ben Masters' take on the Lincoln "Linc" Bartlett characters seemed less boyish and more mature that Clavell's literary version. And to be honest, Masters' interpretation struck me as a lot more plausible as the witty and ruthless corporate CEO. I am more familiar with actor Ping Wu, thanks to his frequent appearances on NBC's "SEINFELD". But I really enjoyed his performance as Four Fingers Wu's youngest son, the intelligent and frustrated Paul Choy, who seemed incapable of impressing his father with his more modern outlook on how to profit outside of smuggling. Julia Nickson gave a very poignant performance as Orlanda Ramos, a local Eurasian television journalist and former mistress of Quillan Gornt. Thanks to Nickson's skillful performance, Orlanda evaded the superficial trope of a one-dimensional, walking sex toy; who became an intelligent, yet emotional woman who desired to be more than someone's bed warmer.

I might as well confess. Despite James Clavell's efforts, the character of Quillan Gornt never became a favorite of mine. His role as Dunross's main rival had nothing to do with my attitude. But I cannot deny that John Rhys-Davies gave one hell of a performance as the ruthless CEO who seemed to radiate wit, presence and a penchant for petty behavior. Casey Tcholok seemed like a difficult character to portray. Actress Deborah Raffin could have easily portray her as this ideal, "Mary Sue" type. Fortunately, James Clavell never portrayed Casey in that manner and neither did Raffin. Although the latter's take on the character seemed a bit more mature than her literary counterpart, Raffin expertly conveyed many of Casey's nuances - her razor-sharp intelligence, impatience, her talent for observation, her fears of being overlooked as a more than competent business person and her wit. However, Raffin's Casey struck me as a bit more sardonic than Clavell's literary version. Pierce Brosnan looked nothing like the literary Ian Dunross. Although both are tall, the latter possessed slightly wavy blond hair and the actor is definitely a brunette. The literary Dunross was in his early 40s, whereas Brosnan was only 34 years-old when he shot "NOBLE HOUSE". And yet . . . the Irish-born actor more than lived up to the role of Struan's CEO with a commanding performance without trying to hard. Brosnan wore the role very well - tight on the inside and relaxed on the outside. He not only portrayed Dunross's intelligence and ruthlessness with great skill, but also conveyed the CEO's growing concerns over losing the company and desperate attempts to save it without resorting to any kind of histrionic acting. By the time the miniseries ended, Brosnan had embedded into the role so well that I had completely forgotten that he was the wrong age to portray Dunross and possessed the wrong hair color.

"NOBLE HOUSE" never really acquired the acclaim that both television versions of James Clavell's 1975 novel, Shōgun or the movie version of the author's 1962 novel, "King Rat" had. But thankfully, it was no "TAI-PAN". Not that I care. I am not claiming that "NOBLE HOUSE" was mediocre. On the contrary, I thought it was a skillful and excellent adaptation of the 1981 novel. The latter is my favorite Clavell novel and I was more than happy that NBC had did more than simply justice to it, thanks to Gary Nelson's well-paced direction, Eric Bercovici's tight screenplay and performances from a first-rate cast led by Pierce Brosnan and Deborah Raffin. It has been years since I first saw it and to this day, I have yet to grown tired of it.

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