The Last Healer in Forbidden City
The Last Healer in Forbidden City (Chinese: 末代御醫; Cantonese Yale: Muhtdoih Yuhyī; literally "The Last Imperial Physician") is a 2016 Hong Kong historical fiction television drama produced by TVB, starring Roger Kwok and Tavia Yeung as the main leads, produced by Nelson Cheung.[1] It premiered on March 28, 2016, airing every Monday to Friday on Hong Kong's TVB Jade, Malaysia's Astro on Demand and Australia's TVBJ channels during its 8:30–9:30 pm timeslot, concluding April 22, 2016 with a total of 20 episodes.[2]
| The Last Healer in Forbidden City 末代御醫 | |
|---|---|
 The Last Healer in Forbidden City official poster | |
| Also known as | The Last Imperial Physician |
| Genre | Historical drama, historical fiction |
| Created by | Hong Kong Television Broadcasts Limited |
| Written by | Wong Kwok-fai |
| Starring | Roger Kwok Tavia Yeung Helena Law Pierre Ngo JJ Jia Jonathan Cheung Rebecca Zhu Jazz Lam |
| Theme music composer | Alan Cheung |
| Opening theme | Agony (靈魂的痛) by Hubert Wu |
| Country of origin | Hong Kong |
| Original language | Cantonese |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Catherine Tsang |
| Producer | Nelson Cheung |
| Production locations | Hong Kong Panyu District, Guangzhou, China |
| Editor | Wong Kwok-fai |
| Camera setup | Multi camera |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Production company | TVB |
| Release | |
| Original network | Jade |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) |
| Original release | March 28 – April 22, 2016 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Short End of the Stick |
| Followed by | My Dangerous Mafia Retirement Plan |
| External links | |
| Website | |
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| Traditional Chinese | 末代御醫 | ||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 末代御医 | ||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | "The Last Imperial Physician" | ||||||||||||||
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The Last Healer in Forbidden City is a fictional telling told through the account of a physician played by Roger Kwok, of the Guangxu Emperor mysterious death at the age of 37. It has long been rumored that the Guangxu Emperor was actually poisoned to death. In 2008, forensic tests done on the Guangxu Emperor remains revealed that high levels of arsenic was found in his remains. The arsenic levels were 2,000 times higher than that of ordinary levels.[3]
Synopsis
Story takes time period in between 1898 (24th year of Guangxu) and 1908 (34th year of Guangxu), the late reign of the Qing dynasty. Skillful physician To Chung (Roger Kwok) is named the new Imperial Palace Physician when he successfully heals Empress Dowager Chee-Hei (Law Lan) from her illness. To Chung eventually grows close to the Gwong-seoi Emperor (Pierre Ngo) who is under house arrest at the Forbidden City and stripped of his powers after angering Dowager Chee-hei due to losing the First Sino-Japanese War and rebelling against her authority. To Chung also heals Gwong-seoi Emperor from his illness and helps the young emperor with his relationship with Consort Tsan (Rebecca Zhu).
However how great he is as a physician to the imperial family, To Chung cannot heal his crippled wife Hung Bak-hap (JJ Jia). Desperate to heal his wife he seeks out the services of bone-setter Fuk Ling (Tavia Yeung). Fuk Ling's treatments helps Bak-hap relieve some of her pain. Impressed by Fuk Ling, To Chung refers her to the Forbidden City where she becomes Empress Dowager Chee-hei personal bone-setter.
To Chung and Fuk Ling's friendship eventually turns romantic but his loyalty to his wife Bak-hap prevents him from further pursuing his romance interest in Fuk Ling. Fuk Ling however has ulterior motives with getting close to the imperial family as she has been tasked to kill the Gwong-seoi Emperor.[4]
Cast
Character names are in Cantonese romanisation.
Main cast
Names of the main cast are all homophones to Chinese herbs.
- Roger Kwok as To Chung (杜仲), the imperial doctor who enters the office of imperial doctors by successfully heals Empress Dowager Cixi's sleepwalking.
- Tavia Yeung as Fuk Ling (伏苓), the revolutionist and a bone doctor.
Imperial Qing
- Law Lan as Empress Dowager Chee-hei (慈禧太后)
- Pierre Ngo as Kwong-shui Emperor (光緒帝)
- Rebecca Zhu as Consort Chun (珍妃)
- Jonathan Cheung as Tsoi-fung, Prince Shun (醇親王載灃)
- Regen Cheung as Yau Lan (幼蘭)
- William Hu as Tsoi-yi, Prince Tuen (端郡王載漪)
- Pauline Chow as Empress Lung-yue (隆裕皇后)
- Janice Shum as Noble Consort Wai (慧貴妃)
- Amy Fan as Noble Consort Yue (瑜貴妃)
- Lee Yee-man as Consort Kan (瑾妃)
- Kirby Lam as Princess Yuen Kai (涴佳格格)
- Rainky Wai as Tak Ling (德齡)
- Jazz Lam as Kot Kan (葛根), Fuk Ling's Chuen Yan House staff and later an imperial guard.
- Tsoi Kwok-hing as Yuan Sai-hoi (袁世凱)
Extended cast
- JJ Jia as Hung Bak-hap (洪百合), To's wife who is a disable, and using a wooden wheelchair to walk instead
- Stanley Cheung as Yam Sek-gang (任錫庚), an imperial doctor who is a closed friend of To
- Eileen Yeow as To's elder sister who always worries about To's heritage.
- Yu Chi-ming as Lee Lin-Ying (李連英)
Development
- The costume fitting ceremony and blessing ceremony was held together on May 12, 2015 at 4:00 pm Tseung Kwan O TVB City Studio 15.[5]
- A promo image of The Last Healer in Forbidden City was featured in TVB's 2016 calendar for the month of October .[6]
- The Last Healer in Forbidden City was one of five dramas shelved by new TVB CEO Mark Lee (李寶安) in early 2016, as he considered the drama low quality and not fit to be broadcast.[7]
Viewership ratings
| Timeslot (HKT) | # | Week | Episode(s) | Average points | Peaking points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon – Fri (8:30–9:30 pm) 20:30–21:30 |
1 | Mar 28 – April 1, 2016 | 1–5 | 25 | – |
| 2 | April 4–8, 2016 | 6–10 | 23 | 25 | |
| 3 | April 11–15, 2016 | 11–15 | 22 | 23 | |
| 4 | April 18–22, 2016 | 16–20 | 23 | 26 | |
| Total average | 23.25 | 27 | |||
International broadcast
| Network | Country | Airing Date | Timeslot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Astro on Demand |  Malaysia | March 28, 2016 | Monday – Friday 8:30–9:15 pm |
| 8TV (Malaysia) | June 26, 2018 | Monday – Friday 7:00–8:00 pm | |
| TVBJ | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Australia | March 28, 2016 | Monday – Friday 7:15–8:15 pm |
| Starhub TV |  Singapore | July 4, 2016 | Monday – Friday 8:00–9:00 pm |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | StarHub TVB Awards[8] | My Favourite TVB Drama | The Last Healer in Forbidden City | Nominated |
| My Favourite TVB Actor | Roger Kwok | Nominated | ||
| My Favourite TVB Supporting Actor | Pierre Ngo | Nominated | ||
| TVB Star Awards Malaysia | My Favourite TVB Actor in a Supporting Role | Pierre Ngo | Nominated | |
| My Favourite Top 15 TVB Drama Characters | Roger Kwok | Nominated | ||
| Tavia Yeung | Nominated | |||
| TVB Anniversary Awards | Best Series | The Last Healer in Forbidden City | Nominated | |
| Best Actress | Tavia Yeung | Nominated | ||
| Most Popular Series Song | Agony (靈魂的痛) by Hubert Wu | Nominated | ||
Related history events
References
- Roger Kwok and Tavia Yeung on Filming TVB's "The Last Healer in Forbidden City"
- TVB新劇《末代御醫》劇情介紹（1﹣20集大結局）ihktv.com. (in Chinese) Retrieved February 26, 2016
- Chinese emperor was poisoned with arsenic. Retrieved February 26, 2016
- TVB Period Drama "The Last Healer in Forbidden City" Premieres March 28. Retrieved February 26, 2016
- 《末代御醫》 "The Last Imperial Physician" Blessing Ceremony. Retrieved February 26, 2016
- TVB Releases 2016 Calendar and Teases Upcoming Dramas. Retrieved February 26, 2016
- TVB Shelves 5 Low Quality Dramas from Broadcast. Retrieved February 26, 2016
- StarHub TVB Awards 2016 Nominations. Retrieved September 10, 2016