At one level, it is a Chinese martial arts series, and a good one at that, with excellent and believable action. But it is so much more than this.
The characters have been developed and rounded, so you feel as though you know them. The plots are intricate enough and stretch over a number of episodes, giving the impression that it is not just a number of linked stories.
The Heroes have more honour than any comparable series, whereas Kao-Chiu is as disreputable a villain as you will ever see. But, even the heroes can make mistakes and are defeated fairly often, making them human.
The fight scenes are excellent, especially when Lin Chung bursts on the scene doing his whirlwind impression. One of the episodes has a man being cut vertically in two by a sword, something which had a lasting impression on me as a 14 year old when I first watched it.
All in all, an excellent series.
