The two-part TV miniseries
The Lost Empire was loosely based upon Chang-En Wu's classic 16th century Chinese novel, -His Yu Chi (-Journey to the West). Updated to the present, the series was set in motion when American journalist Nick Orton (
Thomas Gibson) agreed to track down the lost manuscript of Chang-En Wu's masterpiece, which had fallen into the proverbial wrong hands. Accompanied by a curious collection of mythical creatures, including the Monkey King (
Russell Wong), a piglike human and a former cannibal, Nick found himself fighting evil and sorcery at every turn, secure in the knowledge that he would win the love of Kwan Ying (
Bai Ling), the Goddess of Mercy, if he successfully completed his mission. Filmed partially in Prague by Hallmark Entertainment,
The Lost Empire (later released to video as a 132-minute feature titled
The Monkey King) was broadcast by NBC on March 11 and 12, 2001. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide