The Season of Fate (Traditional Chinese: 五味人生, literally The Five Flavors of Life) is a 2010 TVB television drama from Hong Kong produced by Nelson Cheung.

The Season of Fate
Official poster
五味人生
GenrePeriod drama
Written byWong Kwok Fai
Yip Sai Hong
StarringRoger Kwok
Esther Kwan
Michelle Yim
Derek Kok
Lawrence Ng Wai-Kwok
Oscar Leung
Elena Kong
Vivien Yeo
Mimi Lo
Regen Cheung
Theme music composerTang Chi Wai
Opening theme"Savour" (細味) by Michael Tse
Country of originHong Kong
Original languageCantonese
No. of episodes25
Production
ProducerNelson Cheung
Production locationHong Kong
Camera setupMulti camera
Running time42 – 45 minutes
Production companyTVB
Original release
NetworkTVB Jade
ReleaseJanuary 11 (2010-01-11) –
February 12, 2010 (2010-02-12)
The Season of Fate
title card
Traditional Chinese五味人生
Simplified Chinese五味人生
Literal meaning"The Five Flavors of Life"
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinWǔ Wèi Rén Shēng
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingNg2 Mei6 Jan4 Sang1

Synopsis

edit

The poor Lin Sheung-Chun (Esther Kwan) was sold into the Kwan family as a concubine to help pay off her father's gambling debts. However, on the night of her marriage, her husband died. Hearing her screams, Wang Yeuk-Lam (Michelle Yim), the first wife, rushes in. Seeing her husband's dead body, she assumes Sheung-Chun is the murderer and tries to stab her, hitting her head on a table in the process. Ever since, Yeuk-Lam believes that she is a young girl, and that Sheung-Chun is her mother. She has no memories of her previous life.

Since her husband is dead, and Yuek-Lam is no longer mentally stable, Sheung-Chun becomes the manager of the family bistro. There she works with her close childhood friend Leung Kau-Miu (Derek Kok). After ten long years of working hard to earn a living, Sheung-Chun finds that the bistro no longer attracts as many customers as it used to.

At this time, con-artist Ma Wing-Ching (Roger Kwok) and his apprentice Lai Shi-Mui (Regen Cheung) arrive in town. The two survive using cunning, wits, and lies. They pretend to be people of Yam Fei-Yeung (Lawrence Ng Wai-Kwok), a wealthy and well-known business tycoon, to get free stuff. When the pair swindle money from Sheung-Chun's bistro, she hunts down Wing-Ching and punches him, leaving him with a black eye. Thus, the rivalry between the two begin. Wing-Ching takes every available opportunity to take advantage of the Kwan family's kindness, but Sheung-Chun knows better and time and time again punishes him for his schemes.

When the rich Yam Shing-Tin (Oscar Leung), comes into town, Wing-Ching tricks him into believing that he is indebted to him. The two become good friends and Shing-Tin makes Wing-Ching his right-hand man. Shing-Tin soon falls for a girl named Wong Kam-Fung (Vivien Yeo), and Wing-Ching is secretly behind the curtains, humorously coaching both of them. The two start out pretending that they like each other in order to get back at the other person, but then they realize that they may have actually fallen in love with each other.

Meanwhile, Yeuk-Lam mistakes Wing-Ching for his father, believing that Wing-Ching is her senior apprentice. She finds herself slowly remembering her old life. Her memory is gradually restored, especially by the reappearance of Yam Fei-Yeung, Shing-Tin's father, who is actually Yeuk-Lam's second apprentice. One night, in an attempt to make her remember her old life, Wing-Ching pretends to be executed and brings back Yeuk-Lam's memories. When she wakes up, she is confused because to her, Sheung-Chun is an evil person who killed her husband, while to everyone else who knows her, she is a kind lady who works hard for her family. Yeuk-Lam decides to pretend she is still mental until she can uncover Sheung-Chun's true disposition.

Eventually, Wing-Ching, Sheung-Chun, and Kau-Miu discover that they were childhood friends during the time of the Qing Dynasty. The three make a heartfelt reunion and Wing-Ching begins to change for the better. Slowly, Wing-Ching and Sheung-Chun start to fall in love. Kau-Miu secretly harbors feelings for Sheung-Chun, but decides that he should be happy for her now that she has found her true love.

In the end, the true, nightmarish face of Yam Fei-Yeung is revealed. Together, the characters must stand together and they soon begin to truly understand the five flavors of life. The sweet, happy times, the sour and sad times, the bitter times, the spicy, exciting times, and the salty, difficult times.

Cast

edit

Lin family

Cast Role Description
Felix Lok Lin Yee-Fat
連二發
Sheung-chun's father
Yvonne Lam Lang Yue-Bing
冷如冰
Sheung-chun's stepmother.
Esther Kwan Lin Sheung-chun'
連雙春
Restaurant owner.
Ma Wing Ching's lover
Cousins with Wong Kam Fung
Oscar Chan
(陳堃)
Lin Yun-Yut
連潤月
Lin Sheung Chun's little stepbrother
Cousins with Wong Kam Fung and adores her
Lang Yue Bing's and Lin Yee Fat's son

Yam family

Cast Role Description
Lawrence Ng
(伍衛國)
Yam Fei-Yeung
任飛揚
Kwan's husband
Tin's father
Elena Kong Tse Yuen-Kwan
謝婉君
Yeung's wife and Tin's mother.
Oscar Leung
(梁烈唯)
Yam Shing-Tin
任勝天
Yeung's son.
Wong Kam Fung's lover
Ma Wing Ching's biological younger brother

Kwan family

Cast Role Description
Teresa Ha
(夏萍)
Chiu Sing's mother
Peter Lai
(黎彼得)
Kwan Chiu-Yan
關照仁
Leung Kin Ping
(關照義)
Kwan Chiu-Yi
關照義
Savio Tsang
(曾偉權)
Kwan Chiu-Sing
關照星
Wang Yeuk Lam and Lin Sheung Chun's husband
Michelle Yim Wang Yeuk-Lam
汪若嵐
Kwan Chiu Sing's first wife
After losing memory, Lin Sheung-chun daughter
Esther Kwan Lin Sheung-Chun
連雙春
Kwan Chiu Sing's second wife
Ma Wing Ching's lover
Cousins with Wong Kam Fung
Ngo Ka-nin Kwan Cheat-yim
關哲嚴

Other cast

Cast Role Description
Roger Kwok Ma Wing-ching
馬永禎
Con artist.
Lin Sheung Chun's lover
Tai Kat's master
Yam Sing Tin's biological brother
Derek Kok Leung Kau-mui
梁九妹
Qing dynasty's last eunuch.
Admires Lin Sheung Chun
Vivien Yeo Wong Kam-fung
王金鳳
Yut and Chun's cousin
Yam Shing Tin's lover
Mimi Lo Law Man-tai
羅曼娣
Yam Fei Yeung's assistant and lover
Regen Cheung Tai Kat
戴吉
Wing-ching's apprentice.
Irene Wong
(汪琳)
Lily Li
Lo Mang Shing-tin's bodyguard

Viewership ratings

edit
Week Episodes Average Points Peaking Points References
1
January 11 – 15, 2010
1 — 5
28
[1]
2
January 18 – 22, 2010
6 — 10
28
30
[2]
3
January 25 – 29, 2010
11 — 15
27
[3]
4
February 1 – 5, 2010
16 — 20
26
[4]
5
February 8 – 12, 2010
21 — 25
26
[5]

Awards and nominations

edit

TVB Anniversary Awards (2010)

  • Nominated: Best Drama
  • Nominated: Best Actor (Roger Kwok)
  • Nominated: Best Actress (Michelle Yim)

References

edit
edit
  • TVB.com The Season of Fate - Official Website (in Chinese)
  • K for TVB The Season of Fate - Series Synopsis (in English)