A Pillow Case of Mystery (Traditional Chinese: 施公奇案; literally The Curious Cases of Lord Sze) is a 2006 Hong Kong detective-fantasy television drama starring Bobby Au-yeung as the title character, Mr. Sze (Sze Sai-lun). Produced by Lam Chi-wah and edited by Lau Chi-wah, the drama is a TVB production. The original broadcast was on the TVB Jade network with 45-minute episodes airing five days a week from 31 January to 26 February 2006. The drama is set during the early 19th century Qing dynasty. Sze Sai-lun, the newly appointed magistrate of Kong-do County, accidentally encounters a spirit, enclosed in a magic pillow, who helps him solve cases.
| A Pillow Case of Mystery | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Also known as | The Curious Cases of Lord Sze |
| 施公奇案 | |
| Genre | Costume drama Detective fiction Fantasy |
| Written by | Lau Chi-wah |
| Starring | Bobby Au-yeung Kenix Kwok Benny Chan Tavia Yeung Annie Man Lo Hoi-pang |
| Opening theme | "Sin Chi Sin Kok" (先知先覺) by Benny Chan |
| Country of origin | Hong Kong |
| Original language | Cantonese |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Lam Chi-wah |
| Production location | Hong Kong |
| Camera setup | Multi camera |
| Running time | 42 – 45 minutes |
| Production company | TVB |
| Original release | |
| Network | TVB Jade |
| Release | 31 January – 26 February 2006 |
| Related | |
| A Pillow Case of Mystery II (2010) | |
Due to the drama's popular success, a follow-up sequel, A Pillow Case of Mystery II was produced and was released in 2010.
Premise
editSze Sai-lun (Bobby Au-yeung) becomes the new magistrate of Kong-do County. After a series of unresolved cases, the townspeople begin to see him as pathetic and useless. While Sai-lun was searching for evidence by a hillside, he accidentally injures himself, dropping blood on a mysterious pillow. He faints on it and discovers that the pillow encloses a spirit (Lo Hoi-pang) who can help him solve mysteries by giving him clues and riddles to solve. With the help of the pillow spirit, the townspeople begin to see a new light in Sai-lun.
Cast and characters
editMain characters
edit| Cast | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Bobby Au-yeung | Sze Sai-lun | Kong-do County's new magistrate |
| Kenix Kwok | Mai Heung-yung | the county court's maiden. born Tong Fung |
| Benny Chan | Wong Tin-bah | born Tong Lung Heung-yung's feisty younger brother. |
| Tavia Yeung | Princess Tsanggak Ming-chu | Sai-lun's younger god-sister. |
| Lo Hoi-pang | Tong Doh-fuk | later revealed to be Heung-yung and Tin-bah's dead grandfather. Pillow Spirit |
Other characters
edit| Cast | Role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Lee Fung | Chiu Yuet-ngor | Sai-lun's mother. |
| Rosanne Lui | Pong Got-ngoi | Sai-lun's official wife. |
| Eileen Yeow | Ka Sau-yuk | Sai-lun's second wife/concubine. |
| Annie Man | Chin Lai-shu | Sai-lun's third wife/concubine. |
| Gordon Liu | Sima Jui-fung | the head constable. |
| Mary Hon | Siu Kau-leung | Heung-yung and Tin-bah's foster mother. |
| Cheung Ying-choi | Assistant Lo | Sai-lun's assistant judge. |
| Lee Kwok-lun | Sze Long | Sai-lun's deceased father. |
Viewership ratings
edit| Week | Episode | Average points | Peaking points | HK viewers (in millions) |
References | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
|
January 31 — February 3, 2006 | 1 — 4
|
28
|
31
|
1.78
|
[1] |
2
|
February 6 — 10, 2006 | 5 — 9
|
32
|
35
|
2.04
|
[2] |
3
|
February 13 — 17, 2006 | 10 — 14
|
31
|
—
|
1.98
|
[3] |
4
|
February 20 — 24, 2006 | 15 — 19
|
32
|
—
|
2.04
|
[4] |
| February 26, 2006 | 20
|
36
|
38
|
2.29
|
[5][6] |
References
editExternal links
edit- TVB.com A Pillow Case of Mystery - Official Website (in Chinese)
- TVBSquare.com Archived 2014-10-26 at the Wayback Machine A Pillow Case of Mystery - Review