(2005) Ye Bange Ge Sheng

The 30 episode long, Taiwanese television soap opera version.

Cast: Peter Ho/Liu Lei (As Song Danping) Tong Ruo-fan, Chen Tian-Yi, Liu De Kai, Sun Li

More Information at: IMDB

I actually have this.... I have all of it, all 30 episodes. I've really tried my best to get through them all, but I find myself marinating in my own drool after about 10 minuets each time I try. Its not the language barrier at all that stops this mini series from being enjoyable - its the excessive amount of unrelenting fluff. What's it about? How well does it follow the other films?....I really couldn't tell you! I've spared myself the agony of ever really finding out. Its really sad, that this is what the Ye Bange Ge Sheng series has been reduced to. For a franchise that originated as pure horror, to turn into such cheesy romantic bubble gum... Then again, I guess its not to far off from what's happened to the Phantom in other parts of the world, is it?

Peter Ho is listed as one of the main actors in this series, but in fact, he only really shows up for the first few episodes... He basically playes the pre accident Phantom, and then some other actor took over. So if you happen to be a big Peter Ho fan, you may want to keep that in mind before you buy the whole show.

Another brief thing I wanted to say about this movie, is that I believe this is the one and only Phantom in all of the Ye Bange Be Sheng films in which the Phantom is actually masked. The others usually just settle for a hood or something. I found that interesting. Maybe I shouldn't.

Where to buy: YesAsia.com at one point had the whole series. Every time I've gone back to check in the last few months however, they seem to be out of it. If your really interested in getting this, I would suggest trying back there from time to time, or keeping your fingers crossed that it will pop up on E-Bay. Here are some pictures of what the box sets looks like. I love how big the case is... Its the only thing I love about it actually:

PLEASE NOTE: These episodes are only in Mandarin and Chinese. The DVD's do not have English subtitles.