Anyone else been enjoying Marco Polo on Netflix?

[Steve James]

If you can get it, I think you'll enjoy it.

[Bob]

Well my wife, who is from Beijing, finds it slow and boring. My good friend is a martial artist A+ only got through about 30 minutes before calling it boring.

However, I want it to be good so I am biased and I enjoy it. Its, of course, fictional but there are some martial arts scenes such as the blind master training Marco Polo that I really enjoyed. I loved his staff work.

So, I have made it through 3 episodes and given my bias, LOL, it seems to get better and better and better. I am used to watching the Chinese series of 30 + discs so I am willing to be patient with Marco Polo. My good friend, based on my recommendation, is going to give it another try.

However, bear in mind, I thought The Killing was one of the best series I have ever watched and I also like the HBO South American series like Profugos, Epitafios, etc. etc..

[Steve James]

I agree about the blind master stuff.
Fwiw, I also dug Epitafios, especially the first series.

[Azer]

Started watching this last weekend, 3 episodes in. Enjoying it thus far, though I think part of the motivation for this show is to create some sort of Asian Game of Thrones. Still, the Khan's harem sure looks good

[neijia_boxer]

yes so far i saw like 3 episodes. I think the blind teacher was doing some Baguazhang.

[grzegorz]

The reviews also say it's a slow starter. I don't mind though Boardwalk Empire was the same way and it paid off big time.

http://m.sfgate.com/tv/article/TV-revie ... 945430.php

I'll check it out.

[Bob]

I am into the 6th episode - I think it keeps getting better and better and hope it will continue for a second season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TniO-qjPjmg



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB-ltNasHVw

[Steve James]

Complaint about historical accuracy. Khan's use of the trebuchet is attributed to Marco Polo's invention. Shucks, it was called the "Hui Hui Pao."

[Bob]

I finished the series and you know my bias: I want it to work and have a second season. Having said that I would give it an B+/A- with greater potential in the second season. It was a bit slow at points but the fight scenes were well done, a new plot is set for the 2nd season, historical is not important to me as this is simply entertainment, and the blind daoist master is my favorite.

After I finished it I watched a bit of 14 Blades and it has nothing over Marco Polo.

However, the comparison or attempt to imitate Game of Thrones is a serious misdirection. Let the series stand on its own. Netflix ought to pick up some of the Chinese series and subtitle them in English. They tend to be long but some are very interesting. This gives you context for my liking of Marco Polo

My favorite Chinese Series was Chuang Guan Dong and I considered this an A+ in preference notebook LOL:

http://english.cri.cn/4406/2008/03/04/[email protected]

Since the beginning of this year, over one fourth of Chinese television audiences locked their TV channels to a 52-episode television series called Chuang Guandong, literally meaning Path-finding to the Northeast. It's actually based on real Chinese history - from the early 20th century to the 1930s, around 25 million Chinese people migrated from densely populated north China to the northeastern part of China in purpose of seeking better lives. This was the largest migration in China's modern history.

The television series "Chuang Guandong" tells the story of the hero Zhu Kaishan's family migrating from Shandong province to the Northeast. The story spans from the end of the Qing Dynasty to the outbreak of the Second World War, which was a period full of turbulences and even chaos. To make a living, Zhu's family did farming, mining, opened restaurant and coal mines. Although they experienced various hardships and sufferings, they did successfully make a fortune at strange places.

After the first run of the series on China's Central Television, local TV networks all over China immediately started the second and third run. The official website of the series soon received over 2 million viewings and numerous comments from audiences. A blog was even established on baidu.com, China's leading searching engine.

"The meaning is profound, and the characters are vivid."
"It is suitable for old people to watch. I especially like episodes describing the life in the old times and the characters' experiences of farming and mining."

For audiences who are offsprings of the migrants, the story is more touching in their eyes.

"My father ran a rickshaw in Dalian. My hometown is also Shandong. My father moved to the northeast and suffered a lot."
"I am 81 years old. My grandparents and parents all experienced the period and migrated from Shandong to the northeast. I was very touched by the TV series."

The producer Fu Si thinks that the success of the work can be attributed to the realistic meaning it conveys.

"The belief of achieving goals through hard work held by the Zhu family is the traditional spirit of the Chinese people. 'Chuang' means to pioneer bravely. No matter in which era, people may feel dissatisfied with the current situation and want to change it. Then they would have to struggle, with nature, social circumstances, and with themselves, so as to change their destinies."

The famous actor Li Youbin played the hero Zhu Kaishan in the series.

"Zhu Kaishan is a character full of legends. He bears many outstanding Chinese ethos. You cannot simply say he is a man from Shandong province or any other place, I think he is the representative of the whole Chinese nation."

Chuang Guandong is another case of success of TV drama series such as Shi Bing Tu Ji, or The Ace, screened late last year. Chinese people nowadays tend to be more attached to works with realistic topics, while stories of romance, imperial palace and crimes are not as popular as they used to be.

These successful works have one thing in common: they are all about the experiences of the common people. As most of the audiences are ordinary people, they may easily understand the pains and happiness of the characters, and the struggling process of the characters can give them courage as well as some tips for their real lives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag7rMtcqbdE

A crowd of immigrant from ShanDong Province to LiaoNing Province how to live in this land.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH031IqOa48

[Steve James]

I'm one of those few who don't really know GoT that well to note similarities. Actually, the setting in MP seems fairly typical, especially of Chinese dramas. To me, the training room with the blind master looked too much as if it were taken from "The Matrix." But, it didn't spoil it. Btw, Tom Wu, iinm, is a Hung Gar/WC guy who competed in wushu. His character in the show is also my favorite part. I think the soft porn does slow the plot down a bit, and the stuff with the feet is ... uncomfortable. No spoilers, though.

[neijia_boxer]

i finished watching Marco Polo over the weekend and i think I know why I liked it so much:

1. Khans had many concubines. Lined up naked harem women, the simple fact how awesome it must of been to have a harem, a queen that picks and chooses women for you. having sex on a bed and women walking around naked waiting to be picked.
2. the fight scence with the kung fu concubine that kills 3 soldiers while she was naked with hair pin throwing dagger and weapons.
3. did i tell you the harem scenes were really good

[Steve James]

did i tell you the harem scenes were really good

Yeah, I think they had to do that to maintain historical accuracy