The Legendary Ranger
The Legendary Ranger (Chinese: 原振俠, Yuan Zhen-xia) is a 1993 Hong Kong cross-genre television miniseries produced by Mui Siu-ching and aired by TVB. The series starred Leon Lai,[1] Michelle Reis[1] and Catherine Hung,[1] and featured a supporting cast of veteran actors, stars, and future stars, including Faye Wong and Athena Chu. It is based on Ni Kuang's fictional surgeon/adventurer Yuan Zhen-xia and is set in the Wisely fictional universe, a setting in which extraterrestrial aliens, magic and wuxia heroes co-exist.
| The Legendary Ranger | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | 原振俠 |
| Genre | Wuxia, fantasy, science fiction |
| Starring | Leon Lai Michelle Reis Catherine Hung Athena Chu |
| Opening theme | Wishing That You'll Not Leave Tonight |
| Country of origin | Hong Kong |
| Original language | Cantonese |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Mui Siu-ching |
| Production location | Hong Kong |
| Running time | 45 minutes (each) |
| Production company | TVB |
| Release | |
| Original network | Jade |
| Original release | 3 January – 26 March 1993 |
At the time Leon Lai was at the beginning of the Four Heavenly Kings period of his career and the series' was filmed and edited, especially the fight scenes, with a pop video sensibility. The series cross-genre setting and visual aesthetic was at the time groundbreaking in comparison to the historical costume wuxia that Hong Kong audiences were used to.
Plot
Yuan Zhen-xia is a top class surgeon, amateur detective and martial artist with an insatiable curiosity and the moral code of the traditional youxia. His curiosity draws him into investigating a slew of seemingly unrelated kidnappings and other bizarre crimes. However, as Yuan investigates deeper he discovers all the crimes are in fact linked and are part of a plot by a doomsday cult. Convinced that mankind is due to be wiped out by an extraterrestrial source, the cult's crimes are carried out to hide and fund the theft of genetic material from the brightest and fittest human specimens in order to create a master race with which to repopulate the earth. Despite becoming an implacable enemy of the cult, as an example of what the cult considers to be a perfect human, Yuan himself becomes a prime candidate for recruitment into the cult. To this end the cult sends its top agent, the beautiful model/actress Huang Juan to recruit Yuan.
Despite its illegal activities the cult's crimes are carried out in a perverted desire to protect humanity and to ensure its survival. Yuan discovers his true enemy is someone closer to home. Jin Shí, an adventuring companion of Yuan, a fellow surgeon and martial artist, becomes frustrated at always coming second best to Yuan, especially in the pursuit of the love of the dancer Lan Ling. Twisted by his own inferiority complex, Jin sets out to gain his revenge against Yuan, by destroying all that Yuan loves, starting with Lan Ling.
Cast
| Cast | Role | Description |
| Leon Lai | Yuan Zhen-xia (原振俠) | surgeon, amateur detective, martial artist, adventurer |
| Michelle Reis | Huang Juan (黃絹) | model, cult agent |
| Catherine Hung | Lan Ling (藍綾) | dancer, Yuan's lover, murdered and her soul/memories transferred to Huang Juan |
| Hugo Ng | Jin Shi (金石) | surgeon, amateur detective, martial artist, adventurer, comes to hate Yuan and begins to kill those who Yuan loves |
| Chin Ka-lok | Mo Ming (莫名) | cult enforcer |
| Athena Chu | Yun Cai (雲彩) | Yuan's nurse and companion, precognitive fortune teller |
| Marco Ngai | Prince | Prince of an island sultanate, kidnapped for genetic material |
| Faye Wong | Hai Tang (海棠) | The prince's bodyguard |
| Kwan Hoi-san | Rong Yao (榮耀) | Millionaire philanthropist, secret leader of a doomsday cult |
| Lily Li | Ru Yin (如茵) | Rong's companion and second in command |
References
- "《原振俠》港劇星味不復返" ["The Legendary Ranger" unrepeatable star quality in Hong Kong dramas]. Wen Wei Po (in Chinese). 16 October 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- Character names and broadcast dates taken from the Chinese article of this subject