My Date with a Vampire

My Date with a Vampire
Promotional poster
Genre	Fantasy, jiangshi fiction, horror comedy, supernatural, romance
Written by	Leung Lap-yan Cheung Sai-cheung Shum Lap-keung Yip Tin-sing Fan Lai-ming Wong Chiu-cheung Siu Kwok-wah Kwan Bing-hung Hui Sa-long Kwok Po-yin
Directed by	Chan San-hap Tang Wai-yan Lee Leung-sing Wong Wai-kit Poon Ka-fuk Chan Kwok-wah Tang Hin-sing
Starring	Eric Wan Joey Meng Kristy Yang Kenneth Chan Berg Ng Pinky Cheung Chapman To Cheung Kwok-kuen Wong Shee-tong Lisa Lui Yeung Ka-nok Keung Ho-men Sin Ho-ying Ching Tung Wai Lit
Opening theme	Mung Lei Si Seui (夢裡是誰; Who's in the Dream) performed by Linda Wong
Composer	Michael Lai
Country of origin	Hong Kong
Original language	Cantonese
No. of episodes	35
Production
Producers	Leung Tin Sin Chi-wai
Production location	Hong Kong
Running time	45 minutes per episode
Production company	ATV
Release
Original network	ATV
Original release	30 November 1998 (1998-11-30) – 15 January 1999 (1999-01-15)
Chronology
Followed by	My Date with a Vampire II (2000)
Related shows	Vampire Expert (1995–1996)

My Date with a Vampire is a 1998 Hong Kong television series produced by ATV. The story is based on the future events of the plot of Vampire Expert, a similar two-season television drama aired on ATV in 1995 and 1996. It blends aspects of the "hopping" corpses of jiangshi fiction with those of western vampires, while injecting elements of Chinese mythology and modern horror legends. The series is a tribute to Lam Ching-ying, the lead actor of Vampire Expert and a prominent cast member in the Mr. Vampire franchise, who died of liver cancer in 1997. It was followed by My Date with a Vampire II (2000) and My Date with a Vampire III (2004).

According to Netease Report, Fox Networks Group will remake the series.^[1] Cora Yim, the head of Fox Networks Group Asia, claimed that one-third of ATV's inventory had been acquired by Fox Networks Group, including 28 television series; My Date with a Vampire is one of the 28.^[2]

Plot[]

Fong Kwok-wah is a Chinese guerrilla fighter from the time of the Second Sino-Japanese War. In 1938, he was fighting with Yamamoto Kazuo, a major of the Imperial Japanese Army, when they were interrupted by Cheung San, the progenitor of all vampires. The two men and a boy named Fuk-sang were bitten by Cheung San and they become vampires.

In present-day 1998, Fong lives in Hong Kong under a new name, Fong Tin-yau. His physical appearance has not changed since 60 years ago. He works as a policeman while Fuk-sang lives with him, attends primary school, and pretends to be his son. Fong meets Ma Siu-ling, the heiress to a clan of ghostbusters who have dedicated themselves to ridding the world of evil supernatural beings. Fong gradually becomes embroiled in a love triangle with Ma and Wong Jan-jan, Ma's close friend and confidante.

On the other hand, Yamamoto has become the influential boss of a big company, and he commands a small group of vampire followers. Planning to turn every human being into a vampire, Yamamoto unleashes his minions to attack people and spread the "vampire gene". Chaos break out in Hong Kong as vampires multiply and roam the streets freely. At this point, Fong teams up with Ma and his friends to stop Yamamoto and destroy him.

However, even after Yamamoto dies, not long later, a magician called Yu-meng Sap-sam resurrects him and controls him to do his bidding. The magician is actually Lo Hau, an evil sorcerer from ancient times who wants to dominate the universe. Once again, Fong, Ma and their allies combine forces to confront Lo Hau and put an end to his wicked ambitions.

Cast[]

• Eric Wan as Fong Tin-yau (況天佑; Kuàng Tiānyòu), the protagonist of the series. Originally named "Fong Kwok-wah" (況國華; Kuàng Guóhuá), he was the chief of a group of Chinese guerrilla fighters during the Second Sino-Japanese War. He led an operation to blow up a Japanese military base and killed Yamamoto's father. However, he was also injured during the attack but managed to escape to a nearby village. Yamamoto brought his soldiers to the village to hunt for Fong and started killing civilians. Fong showed up, stopped Yamamoto and engaged him in a one-on-one fight, which lasted until nightfall. Yamamoto's men seized the boy Fuk-sang and used him as a hostage to threaten Fong. Cheung San interrupted the fight and bit Fong, Yamamoto and Fuk-sang, turning them into second generation vampires. Fong survives until the present-day (1990s), renames himself "Fong Tin-yau", and works as a policeman in Hong Kong. Fuk-sang lives with him and pretends to be his son. Both of them have not fed on the blood of living humans for the past 60 years and have been drinking expired blood samples from hospitals.
• Joey Meng as Ma Siu-ling (馬小玲; Má Xiǎolíng), the heiress to the Ma family, a clan of ghostbusters who have dedicated themselves to ridding the world of evil supernatural beings. She earns a living by helping people "clean up" haunted locations and perform exorcisms. Her ancestors had established a rule forbidding her from shedding tears for a man or she will lose her magic powers. Her most powerful skill is a nine-character mantra, which, when chanted, will summon forth a Divine Dragon to destroy any evil being. She starts a romance with Fong Tin-yau.
  • Joey Meng also portrayed a young Ma Dan-na (馬丹娜; Mǎ Dānnà), Ma Siu-ling's grandaunt and predecessor. 60 years ago, she tracked down Cheung San and attempted to destroy him moments before he bit Fong, Yamamoto and Fuk-sang, but he still escaped. After she died, she appears as a "floating ghost" to her grandniece, giving her advice and poking fun at her. She sacrifices herself to restore her grandniece's powers after the latter cried for Fong and lost her abilities.
• Kristy Yang as Wong Jan-jan (王珍珍; Wáng Zhēnzhēn), Ma Siu-ling's close friend and confidante who works as a teacher in Hong Kong. She falls in love with Fong Tin-yau after their first encounter in Japan. Yamamoto sees her as his deceased wife because of the striking resemblance, and develops a crush on her. After she is mortally wounded, Fong reluctantly bites her to save her life and transforms her into a vampire. Towards the end, Lo Hau captures her and wants to use her a sacrifice to complete a ritual so that he can dominate the universe. Later on, after she is revealed to be a reincarnation of the Heaven Warrior's fiancée, she dies trying to persuade Yamamato (who has been possessed by Lo Hau) to give up on his wicked ambition.
  • Kristy Yang also portrayed Yamamoto Yuki (山本雪; Shānběn Xuě), Yamamoto's wife and Mirai's mother. Her death causes Yamamoto to become depressed and more obsessed with turning all humans into vampires.
• Kenneth Chan as Yamamoto Kazuo (山本一夫; Shānběn Yìfū), a major of the Imperial Japanese Army and the primary antagonist in the series. After his father was killed by Fong Kwok-wah, he pursued Fong and fought with him near a village. The two men slashed at each other with swords, drawing blood and arousing the attention of Cheung San, who was in a nearby cave. Cheung San interrupted the fight and bit the two men and Fuk-sang, transforming them into second generation vampires. Yamamoto is deeply traumatised by his encounter and behaved oddly after returning to Japan. When his wife died, he sank into despair and was afraid of losing his daughter as well, so he bit her and turned her into a vampire too. He lives until the present-day (1990s) and becomes the influential boss of a big company in Hong Kong. He intends to turn every human being into a vampire just like him and unleashes his minions to attack people in Hong Kong. Fong, Ma Siu-ling and others combine forces to defeat and destroy him. However, after his death, Yu-meng Sap-sam resurrects him and controls him to complete a ritual so that he can dominate the universe. During the final battle, he recalls his past life as the Heaven Warrior (天勇者), one of the Five Warriors who fought against Lo Hau in ancient times. He uses his power to assist Fong in destroying Lo Hau, who has possessed his body.
• Chapman To as Kam Ching-chung (金正中; Jīn Zhèngzhōng), a resident in Ka-Ka Building. He claims that he is an incarnation of a deity and earns a living by conning people and pretending to be a ghostbuster. After his lies are exposed, he decides to be a real ghostbuster. Ma Siu-ling accepts him as an apprentice and gives him a flyswatter-like implement as his weapon, which can be used to summon a "Buddha's Palm" to attack evil beings. During his romance with the White Snake, he is revealed to be actually a reincarnation of the White Snake's lover, Xu Xian (許仙; Xǔ Xiān), as told in the Legend of the White Snake. Lo Hau kills him in the final battle.
• Pinky Cheung as Yamamoto Mirai (山本未來; Shānběn Wèilái), Yamamoto's daughter. When her mother died, her father was afraid of losing her as well so he bit her and transformed her into a third generation vampire. When she first became a vampire, she was unable to control herself and bit her lover Domoto instinctively, turning him into a vampire too. She hates her father, leaves him and moves to Ka-Ka Building, where she meets Fong Tin-yau and his friends. After her father's death, the vampire gene in her and those linked to her father are destroyed, so she marries Domoto and bears him a son (Domoto Sei) and they become normal human beings. However, after Yu-meng Sap-sam resurrects her father, her father takes back the vampire gene from her and destroys her in the process.
• Berg Ng as Ken / Domoto Shingo (堂本真悟; Tángběn Zhēnwù), Mirai's lover and Yamamoto's henchman. When Mirai first became a vampire, she was unable to control herself and bit him instinctively, turning him into a fourth generation vampire. He appears as Yamamoto's right-hand man but he actually hates Yamamoto and secretly harbours the intention of killing his boss. After his plan to assassinate Yamamoto fails, he is seriously injured and forced to take shelter under Fong Tin-yau and his friend. He then helps them in the fight against Yamamoto. When Yamamoto dies, the vampire gene in Domoto is destroyed and he reverts to the life of a normal person. He marries Mirai and has a son with her, but their romance does not last long, because Yamamoto is resurrected later and he takes back the vampire genes from them and destroys them in the process.
• Cheung Kwok-kuen as Fuk-sang (復生; Fùshēng), a boy vampire who lives with Fong Tin-yau. Originally from a rural village, he was captured and held hostage by Yamamoto's men during the fight between Fong and Yamamoto. Cheung San appeared and bit the three of them, transforming them into second generation vampires. He survives until the present-day (1990s) and lives with Fong in Hong Kong, pretending to Fong's son and attending primary school. He is kidnapped by Yamamoto's henchmen and forced to suck the blood of a woman, arousing his bloodlust. He is unable to control himself and starts killing people and drinking their blood. When Fong learns the truth, he reluctantly allows Ma Siu-ling to cast a freezing charm on Fuk-sang and temporarily put him to sleep.
• Wong Shee-tong as Ho Ying-kau (何應求; Hé Yìngqíu), the successor to Mo Siu-fong (the protagonist in Vampire Expert) and an ally of Ma Siu-ling and Fong Tin-yau. He runs a small shop selling ghostbusting equipment disguised as a video game arcade. He also conducts experiments and invents new equipment, one of which is the "Blood Angel" (血天使), which can boost a vampire's powers when consumed. He keeps the spirit of his deceased son by his side. He is killed by Yamamoto in a fight shortly after sending off his son's ghost for reincarnation.
• Kam San as Cheung San (將臣; Jiàng Chén), the progenitor of all vampires. He bit Fong Kwok-wah, Yamamoto and Fuk-sang, turning them into undying vampires. He is the most powerful vampire in the series because he does not fear sunlight, religious symbols and other things that normal vampires fear. His descendants become weaker than him as the generation gap between them increases.
• Sin Ho-ying as Master Peacock (孔雀大師; Kǒngquè Dàshī), a Buddhist monk from Mount Kōya in Japan and an ally of Fong Tin-yau. He first appears when Fong, Ma Siu-ling and Wong Jan-jan visit Japan. He loses to Ma when they engage in a contest to subdue a ghost. He is later revealed to be a reincarnation of the Fire Warrior (火勇者), one of the Five Warriors who fought against Lo Hau in ancient times. He dies in the final battle against Lo Hau.
• Ching Tung as Lo Hoi-ping (羅開平; Luó Kāipíng), a tailor living with his mother in Ka-Ka Building. He is honest, simple and filial. After his mother dies, he commits suicide, becomes a vengeful spirit after death, and returns to seek revenge on his neighbours, whom he perceives to be responsible for his mother's death. He is eventually subdued and reformed. He studies supernatural arts under Mo Siu-fong in the underworld and is brought back to life by the Air Pearl. He is revealed to be a reincarnation of the Air Warrior (空勇者), one of the Five Warriors who fought against Lo Hau in ancient times. He dies in the final battle against Lo Hau.
• Chan Lai-wan as Lo Hoi-ping's mother. She lives with her son in Ka-Ka Building. She has a weird temper and is easily agitated. She is also overly protective of her son and controls him strictly. She is chronically ill and dies at one point. Lo pleads with Yamamoto Mirai, who passed by, to save his mother, so Mirai uses one drop of her vampire blood to revive Lo's mother. Lo's mother is brought back to life as a half-human-half-ghost and she stirs up much trouble in Ka-Ka Building when she insists that Wong Jan-jan marry her son. After being subdued by Ma Siu-ling, she realises how she has negatively affected her son by being too controlling, and agrees to let him make his own choices.
• Mak King-ting as Pak So-so (白素素; Bái Sùsù) / Pak So-ching (白素貞; Bái Sùzhēn), the White Snake in the Legend of the White Snake. She runs the Waiting Bar near Ka-Ka Building. She meets Kam Ching-chung, falls in love with him, and learns that he is the reincarnation of her lover Xu Xian. She dies of natural causes and transfers her powers to Kam before her death.
• Wong Mei-fan as Siu-ching (小青; Xiǎoqīng), the Green Snake, the White Snake's companion. She disguises herself as an estate agent in Hong Kong and meets Kam Ching-chung by chance and leads him to Pak So-so. After Pak dies, she starts a romance with Kam and helps Fong Tin-yau and his friends in the battles against Yamamoto and Lo Hau. She dies from her injuries when Yamamoto comes to kidnap Wong Jan-jan for the ritual.
• Keung Ho-man as Ko Bo (高保; Gāo Bǎo), Fong Tin-yau's colleague in the police force. He joins Fong in the fight against Yamamoto and his vampires. He is revealed to be a reincarnation of the Earth Warrior (地勇者), one of the Five Warriors who fought against Lo Hau in ancient times. He dies in the final battle against Lo Hau.
• Chung Yeung as Peter, a Catholic priest and Ma Siu-ling's friend. Ma often consults him over the Internet on matters regarding exorcism and ghostbusting. He is revealed to be a reincarnation of the Wind Warrior (風勇者), one of the Five Warriors who fought against Lo Hau in ancient times. He dies in the final battle against Lo Hau.
• Lisa Lui as Au-yeung Ka-ka (歐陽嘉嘉; Ōuyáng Jiājiā), Wong Jan-jan's mother and the owner of Ka-Ka Building.
• Lau Kwok-shing as Kam Shau-cheng (金守正; Jīn Shǒuzhèng), Kam Ching-chung's father. He is bitten by a vampire during Yamamoto's terror rampage and blows himself up with the vampires to buy time for his family and companions to escape.
• Ng Wan-yee as Kam Ching-chung's mother. She is greedy for money and used to collaborate with her son to con people before their lies are exposed. She is killed by Yamamoto when he comes to kidnap Wong Jan-jan for the ritual.
• Wai Lit as Yu-meng Sap-sam (御命十三; Yùmìng Shísān), a traitor of the Mount Kōya school. He pretends to be a servant of Yamamoto and resurrects him after his death. However, he is revealed to be actually Lo Hau (羅侯; Luóhóu), an evil sorcerer of ancient times, and he intends to control Yamamoto and use him to complete a ritual so that he can dominate the universe. He is defeated by the combined efforts of Fong Tin-yau, the Five Warriors, and others, but only Fong survives the battle.
• Alice Chan as Miu-sin (妙善; Miàoshàn), the incarnation of the bodhisattva Guanyin. Every 33 years she will appear in a different location and meet only 33 people. Each person she meets is entitled to ask her three questions.
• Raymond Tsang as Lau Hoi (劉海; Líu Hǎi), Fong Tin-yau and Ko Bo's boss in the police force. He is bitten by Yamamoto and becomes the latter's henchman, helping to spread the vampire gene throughout the police force.
• Yeung Ka-nok as Lam Kwok-tung (林國棟; Lín Guódòng), the executive director of Yamamoto's company. He suffers from liver cancer and refuses to undergo medical treatment. He is attracted to Au-yeung Ka-ka when she comes to work in Yamamoto's company as a secretary. He knows that Yamamoto is a vampire and often begs his boss to bite him and make him an undying vampire so he can be spared from suffering. Yamamoto grants him his wish eventually.
• Leung Bik-tze as Bik-ka (碧加; Bìjiā), a vampire working for Yamamoto. Before she became a vampire, she already possessed psychic powers. The people around her thought she was a demon and persecuted her. Yamamoto saved her, bit her and turned her into a vampire. She develops a crush on Yamamoto and becomes jealous of Wong Jan-jan when her boss feels affection for Wong. Yamamoto kills her in anger after she attempts to harm Mirai.
• Lee Yung as Herman, a male vampire serving under Yamamoto. He works as a model in his boss's company and uses his charming good looks to seduce female employees and suck their blood. He is seriously injured in a fight against Ma Siu-ling.
• Lau Shek-yin as Vairocana (大日如來; Dà Rì Rú Lái), the omnipotent divine being in the series. When Lo Hau becomes a serious threat to the universe, he attempts to cast a Universal Cleansing Spell (淨世咒) to end all life in the universe to make way for a fresh beginning. Guanyin manages to persuade him to wait and give Fong Tin-yau one last chance to stop Lo Hau before casting the spell. Fong succeeds and Vairocana grants him his wish to go back in time and be a vampire no more.

Vampires[]

The vampires depicted in this television series trilogy are based on the Chinese jiangshi and the western vampire, although they resemble the latter more. They are creatures that do not belong to the Trailokya or any of the six domains in the desire realm as described in Buddhist cosmology. They do not age and need to regularly feed on blood to sustain themselves. They may also possess powers such as superhuman speed or the ability to shapeshift, in addition to their "immortal" status. Their powers and invulnerability to sunlight, religious symbols and other things that typical vampires fear, however, become weaker as the generation gap between them and Cheung San (the progenitor of all vampires) increases. An example to illustrate this concept of "generation" is as follows: Person A, who became a vampire after being bitten by Cheung San himself, is known as a second generation vampire. Person B, who became a vampire after being bitten by Person A or another direct victim of Cheung San, is a third generation vampire, and so on.

At the end of the second season, it is revealed that Pangu, the creator of the universe in Chinese mythology, is not a single entity, but rather, a clan of divine beings who are all first generation vampires. Unlike others, these vampires do not need to feed on blood to survive. It is hinted that Cheung San is a member of the Pangu clan. In the third season, two important Chinese mythological figures, Fuxi and Yaochi Shengmu, are depicted as first generation vampires.

A vampire's generation or type can be identified by his/her eye colour when he/she is in "vampire mode". See the table below for details.

Production[]

The script for My Date with a Vampire was written by Leung Lap-yan in 1997. Leung attempted to market the script to TVB but was rejected, so he went to ATV instead. Chan Sap-sam, who wrote the script for the two sequels, revealed that Lam Ching-ying, a prominent cast member in the Mr. Vampire franchise, was their original choice for the lead actor, and that Joey Meng did not have a place in their initial cast list. However, after they finalised the script, they were unable to contact Lam, who was critically ill. Besides, ATV's top management was not pleased with the script because they felt that it did not fit people's impressions of how vampires should be like. ATV's top management wanted to cancel the project after Lam died of liver cancer in 1997. Faced with these problems, Chan decided to make bold changes to the script and create a new character — Ma Siu-ling, a female ghostbuster wearing high heels and a miniskirt who is greedy for money. Sin Chi-wai, the producer for the series, recommended Joey Meng to play Ma Siu-ling. When Eric Wan was offered to play the male lead character in the series, he wanted to turn down the offer because he felt exhausted, but eventually agreed as he became more interested in the story.

See also[]

• Vampire film
• List of vampire television series

References[]

External links[]

• (in Chinese) My Date with a Vampire official page on ATV's website