Tuesday, 22 November 2016

Martial Universe

Drama: Martial Universe
Chinese Title: 武动乾坤 / Wu Dong Gan Kun
Broadcast Network: Dragon TV
Broadcast Website: Youku

Broadcast Period: August 7, 2018 - September 19, 2018

Air Time: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 22:00 (two episodes), VIP users watch online 21:00, VIP users watch three episodes in advance
Genre: Fantasy, Historical, Martial Arts, Wuxia, Xuanhuan
Language: Mandarin
Episodes: 40
Director: Zhang Li
Screenwriter: Li Jingling, Jiang Lai
Production Company: Azure Media Corporation, Youku, Yuekai Entertainment, Beijing Century Partner Culture & Media Co. Ltd., China Literature
Origin: China
Related: Martial Universe Season 2
Source: Adapted from the novel Wu Dong Qian Kun by Tian Chan Tu Dou
Watch Episodes On: Viki (eng subs), Youtube

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Synopsis and Plot Summary

A young man who is looked down on by his own clan overcomes great challenges as he defeats the enemy one at a time and transforms into a hero.

Due to his poor background, Lin Dong (Yang Yang) has always wanted a chance to prove himself. One day, he chances upon an ancient talisman that changes his life. People from different walks of life in the martial arts world appeared around him and even Lin Langtian (Wu Chun) who is the strongest his his clan started to develop interest in him.

Lin Dong's hard work pays off when he masters an extraordinary martial arts technique. He also draws the attention of two women - Ling Qingzhu (Wang Likun) and Ying Huanhuan (Crystal Zhang). However, the evil beings that have been annihilated many years ago have resurfaced and Lin Dong must depend on his new skills and new friends to defeat them.

Fun Facts

Filming took place in Xiang Shan.
Martial Universe took up 60,000 square meters of Xiang Shan's 200,000 square meters of land.
There were initial troubles over casting. Gina Jin was rumored to be casted as the second lead Ying Huanhuan. There is even a promotional photo of her as Ying Huanhuan circulating online. However, it was later announced that leading lady Crystal Zhang will be playing the role of Ying Huanhuan instead. Although Gina Jin didn't mention any names, she wrote a post on weibo saying good riddance.
Director Zhang Li admitted that after meeting Crystal Zhang, he finds that she is the only choice for Ying Huan Huan.
It was later announced that Wang Likun will be playing the second lead in the drama as Ling Qingzhu. In the novel, Ling Qingzhu is the main character.
It is Yang Yang and Crystal Zhang's second time working together since they worked on the movie I Belonged To You. They weren't playing a couple at the time.
Martial Universe which began filming in November 2016 did not wrap until after a year later. This is because the show was delayed due to Yang Yang's ear injury. Even though he never complained, the Director felt that Yang Yang needed time to recover from his surgery. Yang Yang also sustained many injuries prior to that. Filming resumed in September 2017.
It is Wu Chun's comeback drama and his first historical drama.
Liu Yan who worked with Director Zhang Li on the drama Marshall Junior reunites with him for the second time.
It is the first time that web novel author Tian Chan Tudou's drama is being adapted into a drama though many of his other novels have also gotten their respective drama adaptations since then.
The drama relies heavily on CGI and has many scenes where the actors had to act opposite things that weren't there. As such, the cast came to the set a month earlier to get used to the process.
There were 1,060 members of the crew. Off location filming took place in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Yunnan and many other locations.
Ashton Chen said that his character Lin Yan's simple and honest nature is similar to him in some ways.
Translated from the novel, "With a despairing father, a heartbroken grandfather, and a suffering family, ever since that fateful day, Lin Dong has been driven by a deep purpose; to take revenge on the man who had taken everything and more from his family. Armed with nothing but willpower and determination, join Lin Dong as he unknowingly discovers a destiny greater than he could ever hope to imagine when he stumbles upon a mysterious stone talisman…" (Source: DramaPanda)
Despite low ratings on TV, Martial Universe did much better online to reach 100 million views 12 hours after it was released.
Season 1 ended with over 3.1 billion views on Youku. Although online views were far from spectacular and word of mouth was mostly negative, Yang Yang consistently ranked within the top 1 and 2 based on celebrity rankings. Single-day numbers online reached a high of 200 million views.
The novels that Battle Through the Heavens, Martial Universe and The Great Lord are based on share the same universe.

Cast

	Yang Yang as Lin Dong
	Crystal Zhang Tianai as Ying Huanhuan
	Wu Chun as Lin Langtian
	Claudia Wang Likun as Ling Qingzhu
	Suo Xiaokun as Xiao Diao
	Ashton Chen as Xiao Yan
	JoJo Chen Miqi as Mu Xinqing
	Ada Liu Yan as Mu Qianqian
	Dong Qing as Lin Qingtan
	Yang Haoyu as Yan Dashi
	Feng Junxi as Mo Ling

Supporting Cast

Tse Kwan-ho as Lin Xiao
Kuang Can as Lu Yun
Li Xinliang as Teng Lei
Huang Haibing as Lin Fu
Xiao Siqin Gaowa as Xuan Su
Wang Haitao as Chen Feng
Ning Xiaohua as Mo Zu Liu Wang Dian
Wu Yajun as Mu Lingshan
Qian Long as Jiang Hao
Zhao Dan as Su Rou
Zhou Yiwei as Zhou Tong
Gong Lei as Lei Zhong

Soundtracks

Mi (谜) by Zhang Jie (张杰)
Xing Kong (星空) by Nan Zheng Bei Zhan (南征北战)
Jiang Mo (降魔) by Zhang Lei (张磊)
Ni De Jing Zi (你的镜子) by Zhang Lei (张磊)
Chuang Guan (闯关) by Suo Xiaokun (索笑坤)
Ni Wo Zhi Jian (你我之间) by Cai Jian Ya (蔡健雅)

Episode Ratings

Dragon TV
Date	Episode	CSM52 Cities (%)			CSM Nationwide (%)
Date	Episode	Ratings	Audience Share	Ranking	Ratings	Audience Share	Ranking
2018-08-07	1-2	0.333	2.196	12	0.190	1.390	20
2018-08-08	3-4	0.285	1.858	14	0.190	1.400	17
2018-08-09	5-6	0.563	3.683	7	0.280	2.090	12
2018-08-14	7-8	0.432	2.723	10	0.190	1.400	18
2018-08-15	9-10	0.458	2.994	11	0.170	1.240	23
2018-08-16	11-12	0.643	4.177	7	0.230	1.800	15
2018-08-21	13-14	0.293	1.908	12	0.100	0.760	30
2018-08-22	15-16	0.373	2.412	12	0.160	0.240	22
2018-08-23	17-18	0.469	2.647	13	0.180	0.360	21
2018-08-28	19-20	0.656	4.150	5	0.250	1.860	15
2018-08-29	21-22	0.653	4.158	7	0.260	1.920	15
2018-08-30	23-24	0.669	4.371	5	0.270	2.140	10
2018-09-04	25-26	0.547	4.102	8	0.160	1.550	24
2018-09-05	27-28	0.485	4.729	10	0.130	1.790	22
2018-09-06	29-30	0.612	5.391	6	0.220	2.590	17
2018-09-11	31-32	0.525	3.966	9	0.160	1.490	21
2018-09-12	33-34	0.539	4.230	7	0.160	1.620	23
2018-09-13	35-36	0.660	5.287	6	0.220	2.300	16
2018-09-18	37-38	0.434	3.321	9	0.150	1.410	21
2018-09-19	39-40	0.430	3.341	9	0.160	1.560	20
Average	1 - 40	0.503	3.582		0.192	1.546