Dark Tales

Lore & Background

Dark Tales is divided into two installments: Dark Tales I, which aired from 18 March to 5 May 1996, and Dark Tales II, which aired from 9 March to 1 May 1998. Dark Tales I consists of 30 episodes and features six independent stories adapted from the first ten books of Pu Songling's novel. It was produced by Lau Sze-yu and Chou Ling-kang. Dark Tales II consists of 30 episodes and features eight independent stories adapted from the first fifteen books of Pu's novel, produced by Lau Sze-yu.

Reader's Guide

Dark Tales represents a significant adaptation of classic Chinese supernatural literature for television, bringing Pu Songling's Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio to a broad audience via Hong Kong's Jade network. The series is notable for its episodic structure, with each installment containing multiple self-contained stories that draw directly from specific tales in Pu's collection. The show's cast includes a mix of Hong Kong and Taiwanese actors, reflecting the regional television industry's collaborative nature. As a period supernatural drama, Dark Tales contributed to the genre's popularity in Hong Kong television during the late 1990s, offering viewers a blend of folklore, ghost stories, and moral lessons. Its production by TVB, a major Hong Kong broadcaster, underscores its place in the region's television history.

Did You Know?

• Dark Tales is based on Qing Dynasty writer Pu Songling's series of supernatural tales called Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.
• Dark Tales I consists of 30 episodes and Dark Tales II consists of 30 episodes, for a total of 60 episodes.
• The cast includes mainly Hong Kong and Taiwanese actors.

The Boundaries of the Genre

Fantasy television occupies a uniquely porous space in the medium, where the lines between what qualifies as fantasy and what falls into adjacent categories remain stubbornly blurred. At its core, the genre draws on magic, supernatural forces, and exotic otherworldly settings, frequently adapting material from mythology, folklore, or existing fantasy literature. Yet scholars and critics alike acknowledge that classification is fraught with difficulty. A show might feature a giant talking bird and still not be fantasy, while another with barbarian warriors and enchanted swords might be. The Twilight Zone, for instance, wove together science fiction and fantasy episodes so freely that the broader label of speculative fiction often feels more accurate. Similarly, series that blend horror with fantasy elements, or that incorporate dream sequences and surreal imagery without committing to a fantastical world, resist easy categorization. In the United Kingdom, the umbrella term telefantasy has emerged as a practical way to encompass all programming that touches on the fantastic, sidestepping the need for rigid genre boundaries.

A Spectrum of Subgenres

Television has become a remarkably diverse canvas for fantasy storytelling, encompassing subgenres that range from lighthearted comedy to epic, mythic narratives. Comic fantasy has found a long home on the small screen through shows centered on domestic magic and supernatural romance. Contemporary fantasy, perhaps the most prolific subgenre, has produced an extraordinary run of series spanning vampire mythology, supernatural investigation, and modern-day enchantment. High fantasy, with its fully realized otherworlds and heroic quests, has been represented by both miniseries adaptations and sprawling serialized dramas. Historical fantasy places fantastical elements within recognizable historical periods, while Lost World stories transport audiences to isolated, prehistoric landscapes. Romantic fantasy and sword-and-sorcery adventures round out the spectrum, the latter drawing on the tradition of legendary warriors, magical artifacts, and ancient prophecies. Whether presented as original series or as television broadcasts of fantasy films, these subgenres collectively demonstrate that the genre's creative range on television is as vast as its literary and cinematic counterparts.

The Superhero Question

One of the most persistent debates in fantasy television classification concerns where superhero programming belongs. A faction of critics argues that shows featuring costumed heroes and their adversaries are fundamentally works of fantasy, coining the phrase superhero fantasy to describe them. Others insist these programs align more closely with science fiction, pointing to the technological or pseudo-scientific origins of many characters' abilities. A third camp maintains that superhero stories constitute their own distinct genre of programming, neither fantasy nor science fiction. This ambiguity extends well beyond Western television. In Japan, the Tokusatsu tradition of live-action special-effects programming produces superhero series whose classification is equally contested, with some entries leaning heavily into magical and fantastical elements. The result is that a single show might be shelved as fantasy in one critical framework and as science fiction in another, highlighting how genre labels often reflect the viewer's interpretive lens as much as the program's actual content.

Audience and Adaptation

Fantasy television is not a monolithic category but rather a broad spectrum of programming that serves vastly different audiences and creative purposes. At one end, children's shows may incorporate fantastical elements such as talking animals or magical creatures without crossing into what critics would recognize as the fantasy genre proper. At the other, adult-oriented series may weave supernatural forces into otherwise realistic settings, producing works that critics more accurately identify as magical realism rather than fantasy. The genre also thrives as an adaptation vehicle, drawing stories from mythology, folklore, and existing fantasy literature in other media, translating them for the small screen. This adaptability means that fantasy television encompasses everything from a single-episode anthology format to long-running serialized dramas, from a one-off miniseries to a multi-season saga. The sheer variety of formats, tones, and source materials ensures that the genre continues to evolve, absorbing new narrative traditions while maintaining its central preoccupation with worlds that transcend the ordinary.