The Life and Times of a Sentinel

The Life and Times of a Sentinel (Traditional Chinese: 紫禁驚雷) is a 2011 Hong Kong historical-fiction television drama produced by Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB), starring Steven Ma, Kenneth Ma, Selena Lee and Natalie Tong as the main leads, with Leung Choi-yuen serving as the executive producer.

The Life and Times of a Sentinel
紫禁驚雷
The Life and Times of a Sentinel promo poster
GenreHistorical fiction
Written byNg Siu-tung
Sit Kar-wah
StarringSteven Ma
Kenneth Ma
Selena Lee
Natalie Tong
Sunny Chan
Power Chan
Ching Hor-wai
Mak Cheung-ching
Elaine Yiu
Ben Wong
Grace Wong
Theme music composerYip Siu-chung
Opening themeBin Tin (變天) by Steven Ma
Country of originHong Kong
Original languageCantonese
No. of episodes26 (total)
25 (with 2-hour finale)
Production
ProducerLeung Choi-yuen
Production locationHong Kong
Camera setupMulti camera
Running time45 minutes (per episode)
Production companyTVB
Release
Original networkTVB Jade
Picture format576i (SDTV)
1080i (HDTV)
Original release25 July 
26 August 2011 (2011-08-26)
Chronology
Preceded byWax and Wane
Followed byRiver of Wine
External links
Website
The Life and Times of a Sentinel
intertitle
Traditional Chinese紫禁驚雷
Simplified Chinese紫禁惊雷
Literal meaning"Frightening Thunder of the Purple Forbidden (City)"

Set in the late 17th century, during the early years of the Kangxi Emperor's reign over Qing China, the drama stars Nip Dor-po (Steven Ma), a third-grade imperial bodyguard. He is used by both the Kangxi Emperor (Power Chan) and Prince Yu (Kenneth Ma) to pit against each other, conflicting Dor-po's loyalty for both.

Plot

The sudden death of the young Shun-chi Emperor (Shunzhi) shocked the whole empire. The second prince Fuk-tsuen, was originally the successor for the throne, but Empress Dowager Hao-chong (Xiaozhuang) changed the successor to the third prince Yuen-yip, who subsequently becomes the Hong-hei Emperor (Kangxi). Angry with this, Fuk-tsuen dispatches a spy, Nip Dor-po, and instructs him to gain Hong-hei's trust.

Main Characters

Note: Some of the characters' names are in Cantonese romanisation.
  • Steven Ma as Nip Dor-po (聶多寶) — an imperial bodyguard. He is sent by Fuk-tsuen to spy on Hong-hei, becoming the emperor's personal bodyguard. As Dor-po spends more time with the emperor, he learns to appreciate the emperor's intelligence and his love for the country. Dor-po ultimately decides to help Hong-hei rebel against Fuk-tsuen. Ma says that Dor-po is the most complicated character he has come across. "I have to officially protect the three (Hao-chong, Hong-hei, and Fuk-tsuen), but at the same time, the three are using me to deal with each other [...] but Hao-chong wants me to die, [Fuk-tsuen] wants me to die, and how can I find ways to save myself and Hong-hei?"[1]
  • Kenneth Ma as Fuk-tsuen, the Second Imperial Prince (二皇爺福全) — officially Prince Yu (裕親王), Fuk-tsuen is the Shun-chi Emperor's second son. For many years, Fuk-tsuen has been plotting to usurp the throne from Hong-hei as he believes that the throne was rightfully his. He sends Dor-po to spy on Hong-hei, which subsequently leads to Fuk-tsuen's downfall. According to Ma, Fuk-tsuen isn't a villain but a tragic figure.[2]
  • Natalie Tong as Kwai-lun (桂倫), Second Princess Consort (二福晉) — Fuk-tsuen's wife. He marries her for her father's great military power.

Other Characters

  • Sunny Chan makes a two-episode guest starring appearance as the Shun-chi Emperor (順治帝), Kangxi's father and predecessor. Océane Zhu stars as Consort Tung-ngok (董鄂妃), Shunzhi's favourite consort. Upset with his reign and devastated by the death of Tung-ngok, Shunzhi decided to become a Buddhist monk.
  • Power Chan as the Hong-hei Emperor (康熙帝) — The Shun-chi Emperor's third son. He ascends the throne with the help of his grandmother, angering Fuk-tsuen, who was originally the successor to the throne.
  • Ching Hor-wai as Grand Empress Dowager Hao-chong (孝莊太皇太后) — Hong-hei and Fuk-tsuen's grandmother, who helps Hong-hei ascend the throne.
  • Mak Cheung-ching as Po-chai (布齊) — Dor-po's superior.
  • Selena Li as Cheuk Chi-ying / Princess Duen-man (卓紫凝 / 端敏格格) — adopted daughter of Cheuk Shu-tong and Dor-po's primary romantic interest.
  • Elaine Yiu as Man-kwan (曼筠), the Imperial Noble Consort (皇貴妃) — Hong-hei's consort and Fuk-tsuen's true love.
  • Ben Wong stars as Kei To-ting (祈道廷) — Shunzhi's personal bodyguard.
  • Grace Wong as Ngan Yeung-suet (顔映雪), officially Consort Wai (惠妃) — Hong-hei's consort.
  • Christine Kuo as Kin-ching (建澄), Fifth Princess Consort (五福晉) — Sheung-ning's wife.
  • Katy Kung as Fung Sheung-hei (馮雙喜) — Dor-po's younger cousin.
  • KK Cheung as Cheuk Shu-tong (卓樹棠) — secretly part of a group anti-Qing rebels, he owns a large medicine company in the capital city.
  • Jack Wu as Ha-seen (哈善) — Kwai-lun's older cousin who is also an imperial bodyguard. He personally works for Fuk-tsuen.
  • Tsui Wing as Sheung-ning, the Fifth Imperial Prince (五皇爺常寧) — officially Prince Kung (恭親王), Sheung-ning is Shun-chi's fifth son.
  • Stephen Wong as Nap-lan Sing-tak (納蘭性德) — Hong-hei's personal adviser and bodyguard.
  • Fred Cheng as Yan-chak (恩澤) — an imperial bodyguard and Dor-po's good friend.
  • Rosanne Lui as Consort Sau (秀妃) — Shun-chi's consort and mother of Sheung-ning.
    • Yvonne Ho portrays young Consort Sau.
  • Kwok Fung and Helen Ma as Nip Koon-yat (聶貫一) and Ko Choi-king (高彩瓊) respectively, Dor-po's foster parents.
  • Felix Lok stars as Kei Man-cheong (祈萬昌) — Dor-po's father. Lai Lok-yi makes a one episode guest starring appearance as the young Kei Man-cheong.

Awards and nominations

45th TVB Anniversary Awards 2011

  • Nominated: Best Drama
  • Nominated: Best Actor (Steven Ma)
  • Nominated: Best Actor (Kenneth Ma)
  • Nominated: Best Actress (Selena Li)
  • Nominated: Best Supporting Actor (Kwok-keung Cheung)
  • Nominated: Best Supporting Actress (Hor-wai Ching)
  • Nominated: My Favourite Male Character (Steven Ma)
  • Nominated: Most Improved Female Artiste (Katy Kung)

Viewership ratings

The following is a table that includes a list of the total ratings points based on television viewership. "Viewers in millions" refers to the number of people, derived from TVB Jade ratings (not including TVB HD Jade), in Hong Kong who watched the episode live. The peak number of viewers are in brackets.

Week Episode(s) Average points Peaking points Viewers (in millions) References
1
1 — 5
26
 
1.66
[3]
2
6 — 10
26
 
1.66
[4]
3
11 — 15
27
 
1.72
[5]
4
16 — 20
27
 
1.72
[6]
5
21 — 26
31
38/40*
1.98 (2.43/2.56*)
[7]

*The highest rating per minute.

International Broadcast

References

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