The Grand Canal was TVB's 20th anniversary special. It was based on China's history. It begin with the fall of the Sui Dynasty (Dai Tu) and the rise of the Tang Dynasty (Dai Duong). This excellent series had a huge cast and also had beautiful scenes (the cast went to China to film some parts). It had many well known historical people; I believe the only person that wasn't historical was Idy's character, Duong Lan Ling Cong Chua. Tony's character, Troung Tam Lan was more of a legend (just like Robin Hood) rather than a historical figure.

[Idy as Duong Lan Linh] [Behind the Scenes] [others]

I enjoyed both of Idy and Tony's performances in the Grand Canal. They were absolutely superb. I enjoyed watching the scenes they did together, they seemed so compatible. Although their relationship on screen was great, off screen was another story. Tony and Idy didn't get along well during the filming of the Grand Canal.

During the shooting of the Grand Canal, Tony was edgy and acted unprofessional. He would always arrived to the shooting late, which angered Idy. Kitty Le My Nhan (Lai Mei Han), his girlfriend at the time, defended Tony and said that he was tired from shooting this series.

Of course, we cannot blame Tony or Idy for this. TVB sent them to China to shoot some scenes. In some chinese small towns, the living condition was so poor, and there weren't even adequate drinking water available.Tony had brought a bottle of Coke along the trip. He didn't even drink it. He said everytime he took it out and just looked at it, said that was enough to satisfy his thirst. Tony had complained being tormented by TVB. He felt he was being used and treated unfairly by TVB because the long hours of work and unlimited demands on him. Sometimes he had to shoot 20 hours a day, and only slept 2 or 3 hours a day, with no breaks whatsoever. Thus he would always come to the shootings late, which is very unlike Tony. Tony is the kind of person who takes his work seriously. He was too tired from the work, and he couldn't be on time because he was too sleepy.

I am glad that Tony and Idy are really great actors, which prevented them from showing their anger when they were playing the roles of Troung Tam Lan and Duong Lan Linh (Cheung Sam Lung and Yeung Lan Ling, respectively). This series was really incredible and it is worth watching.

Special thanks to Queenie and Sandy for providing this information

This page is dedicated to my friend, Thuy-Linh. She was the one who got me acquainted with the Grand Canal series.