Suzie Wong gets sucked into the supernatural world of 'Spirit Warriors.'

Suzie Wong's rating 4.5/5

It's an old formula that's been done to death. Five kids with superhuman powers, led by an older/wiser benevolent entity who only gives advice in riddles (or in this case a dragon spouting proverbs) fight an evil adversary, collect all the tokens (or in this case twelve ‘spirit-pieces' that look like amulets) and in doing so save the world and make it back home in time for tea. 

No I'm not talking about Dungeons and Dragons (remember Venger and Dungeon Master and the five high school kids always trying to make it home after getting transported via a magical rollercoaster ride?) I'm talking about the new Children's BBC drama Spirit Warriors which is quite frankly every bit as good as it looks.

Cos it would be all too easy to dismiss Spirit Warriors as simply another spin-off of the current in-vogue for teens with supernatural powers in the vein of Twilight, Heroes, Buffy etc and to be honest I almost did.  Not another one leaping onto the bandwagon I thought rolling my eyes. But dear Reader I am quite happy to say that I was proven deliciously wrong! 

Because quite honestly, Spirit Warriors blew me away - with its snappy dialogue, well-crafted storyline and simply superb acting. None of that irritating plummy middle-class overtones, that makes me want to shake the characters and scream ‘no not everyone went to the Sylvia Young Theatre school and talks about Mummy and Daddy and what Cook is making for dinner that day!'  No, in Jo Ho's creation, the realism sits quite nicely alongside the fantastical.

Bo (played by newcomer Jessica Henwick) and her little sister Jen (Alica Lai) are transported to the spirit world after going on a school trip to see an exhibition of the Terracotta warriors. They and three others - Vicky, Trix and Martin, discover they have special super powers and find an ally in a supernatural (animated) Chinese water dragon Shen who talks in ancient proverbs. 

Bo and Jen's mother Fei-Yan falls ill in the real world and her recovery is also tied up with the saving of the world. (No don't ask me about the logics of it all, I've come to accept that's just how fantasy dramas are played out, some kind of personal as well as worldly victory is needed to make it more vital to our heroes).

The feel of the series is resolutely Chinese, yes the evil overlords (Li and Hwang - played by Benedict Wong and Tom Wu respectively) do ham it up but in such a deliberate tongue in cheek way that it's hard to take offense.  The youngster Jen is always thinking of her stomach and comes back with food when she should have been looking for the amulet (ah a girl already after my own heart!)

Finally there are Chinese faces on TV - yes we do exist o world! I feel like holding a party to celebrate. Watching Spirit Warriors is like finally meeting a friend who's ten years late for a party - you're disappointed that they've taken so long but once here you can't help smiling. For truth be told a drama starring East Asian actors as the leads has been long overdue. How long has it taken? At least a year going on what the writer Jo Ho reveals in her interview (See interview here).

The five kids are pupils from a London comprehensive and reflect a good sense of multicultural Britain.  Stripped down, Spirit Warriors ticks all the right boxes.  What makes it come into its own is the sheer quality of its script.  There is an integrity and authenticity there that is thankfully not diluted or dumbed down (too much anyway) for a western audience.

The characters are well-drawn and I find myself having a love-hate relationship with the most acerbic of the group - Vicky. The loud and cocky one in the group with all the smart-aleck retorts - if you grew up watching Dungeons and Dragons you'll remember the sarcastic knight Eric who was forever moaning and whinging and then getting the team into the worst scrapes.  Needless to say he was my favourite.

What I also like is how Chinese philosophy is brought to the forefront of a children's drama. The waterdragon Shen is full of great proverbs. I'm a sucker for proverbs.  I have a heap of books on the things - their literal meaning, and where they came from etc. It's tried-and-tested portable wisdom in a nutshell. 

Played by Burt Kwouk (star of the Pink Panther movies and Last Of The Summer Wine actor), Shen makes the characters reflect on their actions as they learn how to work together. It's a case of teenage impulse meets ancient philosophical wisdom. He is the Mister Miyagi to Daniel-San; Dungeon Master to Eric, Hank, et al; The Psammead to E.S Nesbitt's Five Children.

What Spirit Warriors does is that it finally brings Chinese culture and traditions to the forefront of BBC drama, in a light-hearted, entertaining way. I truly enjoyed it and can only say I wish something like this had been around when I was a kid growing up.  I haven't seen a children's drama this good since Five Children and It or T-Bag and T-Shirt.  Yes O 80s reader, they surely don't make them like they used to. But in this case I think there may be an exception.

The special effects are superb and under the helmsman-ship of director/producer Jon East, Spirit Warriors is given the five-star treatment it deserves. The BBC have obviously pushed the boat out and got fully behind this series which is great to see.

My only niggle now would be to see Oriental actors play ‘normal' roles, roles not defined by their background or ethnicity. I want to see an Asian actor play a romantic or funny lead, and not just in a karate-kicking way.  Maybe this could give the big cheeses at the BBC and ITV something to chew upon. In the meantime make sure you catch the first episode on CBBC on 22^nd January on CBBC at 5.45pm and tell me your thoughts

Over and Out,

Suzie Wong

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Watch the trailer for Spirit Warriors here: