Hello,
I am trying to identify a TV show from a few hazy memories of seeing a few minutes of footage. It's been bothering me for years, and I thought I'd turn here for help. I'll give you what background information I have, followed by my hazy memories of some odd imagery, and hopefully it will ring a bell for someone.
Let me first state that I believe it would be classified as "science-fiction," though perhaps "modern fantasy" would be more appropriate. It also seemed to have some kung-fu, but all of this leads me to believe that if it's not science-fiction, it's at least in the kind of genre that sci-fi TV fans would be aware of.
I saw the beginning of an episode of this show in a hotel in France, in the summer of 2003. I don't speak French very well, so I don't really know what they were saying - more importantly, I wasn't able to tell if the show was being dubbed in French or if the actors were speaking French (thus, it may have been a non-French TV show). I'm fairly certain it WASN'T an American show, as I didn't (and haven't yet) recognized it. Furthermore, there was something about it that made it seem foreign-made to me (I'm sure you know what I'm talking about - you usually can tell if a show isn't made by TV creators native to your land).
Most of what I caught was in the opening sequence (before the opening credits).
It involved two men running through this odd bamboo forest - the bamboo shoots went above their heads and everything seemed very green (as if light from above was falling down through the green bamboo leaves, above the point-of-view of the camera). I think one man was chasing the other.
Eventually the pursuer caught up to the other guy and they fought one another. I think they were fighting hand-to-hand, though I believe melee weapons were involved - probably swords. They were NOT using guns.
I think one guy killed the other (not sure which). I believe it was pretty bloody. Then comes the weird part:
I remember this image of a fetus-like creature on the ground of the bamboo forest. I don't remember if it was the remains of the dead guy's body, if it originated from his body, or if it was unrelated.
This fetus-thing was inside a transparent sac, like an amniotic sac. Then it began to grow, very rapidly, like a developing fetus. Within a matter of seconds, it progressed from small fetus to large fetus to baby. It kept growing until it was man-sized. Throughout, it remained in the amniotic sac (which grew to accommodate the rapidly-enlarging creature). The special effects were done by what appeared to be very bad CGI (though it might have been more traditional morphing effects). This is another reason I'm pretty sure it wasn't American-made (given the tendency for modern sci-fi TV shows not made in America to have poor CGI effects, given their understandably much smaller budgets).
I think the newly-grown man (which I'm 85% sure was a copy of the just-murdered man) got up and started moving about.
I believe the opening credits began then, but I didn't stick around - disgusted by the grossness and unnaturalness of the special effect, I flipped around the channels for a few minutes. But I soon returned.
The show had resumed, after the opening credits. I think I believe this because there might have been additional credits overlaid during the next scene (you know, like "Guest starring such-and-such", etc.) This was another reason I believed it was a TV show and not a movie.
The next scene took place in the bamboo forest as well (though there might have been a wooden shack/house in the forest that the characters were at). The main character on the screen was probably a new guy (not one of the first two guys in the previous scene). I got the impression he was a police detective - I think he was wearing a grey trenchcoat. I remember there were flashing siren lights because there were some police cars nearby - like at a crime scene. I think this police detective was investigating the recent murder in the forest.
Anyway, that's it. I know it's not a lot to go on, but I'm hoping the very unique imagery of the fetus will most especially ring a bell for someone. The whole thing had a sort of anime feel to it, with the fighting, the unique setting, and the weird effect - but it was most definetely live action. It might have been French or it might have been something else entirely.
I've tried googling some of these terms, but have been overwhelmed with search results, which have come up unfruitful so far.
Can anybody help me out?
Thanks!
I am trying to identify a TV show from a few hazy memories of seeing a few minutes of footage. It's been bothering me for years, and I thought I'd turn here for help. I'll give you what background information I have, followed by my hazy memories of some odd imagery, and hopefully it will ring a bell for someone.
Let me first state that I believe it would be classified as "science-fiction," though perhaps "modern fantasy" would be more appropriate. It also seemed to have some kung-fu, but all of this leads me to believe that if it's not science-fiction, it's at least in the kind of genre that sci-fi TV fans would be aware of.
I saw the beginning of an episode of this show in a hotel in France, in the summer of 2003. I don't speak French very well, so I don't really know what they were saying - more importantly, I wasn't able to tell if the show was being dubbed in French or if the actors were speaking French (thus, it may have been a non-French TV show). I'm fairly certain it WASN'T an American show, as I didn't (and haven't yet) recognized it. Furthermore, there was something about it that made it seem foreign-made to me (I'm sure you know what I'm talking about - you usually can tell if a show isn't made by TV creators native to your land).
Most of what I caught was in the opening sequence (before the opening credits).
It involved two men running through this odd bamboo forest - the bamboo shoots went above their heads and everything seemed very green (as if light from above was falling down through the green bamboo leaves, above the point-of-view of the camera). I think one man was chasing the other.
Eventually the pursuer caught up to the other guy and they fought one another. I think they were fighting hand-to-hand, though I believe melee weapons were involved - probably swords. They were NOT using guns.
I think one guy killed the other (not sure which). I believe it was pretty bloody. Then comes the weird part:
I remember this image of a fetus-like creature on the ground of the bamboo forest. I don't remember if it was the remains of the dead guy's body, if it originated from his body, or if it was unrelated.
This fetus-thing was inside a transparent sac, like an amniotic sac. Then it began to grow, very rapidly, like a developing fetus. Within a matter of seconds, it progressed from small fetus to large fetus to baby. It kept growing until it was man-sized. Throughout, it remained in the amniotic sac (which grew to accommodate the rapidly-enlarging creature). The special effects were done by what appeared to be very bad CGI (though it might have been more traditional morphing effects). This is another reason I'm pretty sure it wasn't American-made (given the tendency for modern sci-fi TV shows not made in America to have poor CGI effects, given their understandably much smaller budgets).
I think the newly-grown man (which I'm 85% sure was a copy of the just-murdered man) got up and started moving about.
I believe the opening credits began then, but I didn't stick around - disgusted by the grossness and unnaturalness of the special effect, I flipped around the channels for a few minutes. But I soon returned.
The show had resumed, after the opening credits. I think I believe this because there might have been additional credits overlaid during the next scene (you know, like "Guest starring such-and-such", etc.) This was another reason I believed it was a TV show and not a movie.
The next scene took place in the bamboo forest as well (though there might have been a wooden shack/house in the forest that the characters were at). The main character on the screen was probably a new guy (not one of the first two guys in the previous scene). I got the impression he was a police detective - I think he was wearing a grey trenchcoat. I remember there were flashing siren lights because there were some police cars nearby - like at a crime scene. I think this police detective was investigating the recent murder in the forest.
Anyway, that's it. I know it's not a lot to go on, but I'm hoping the very unique imagery of the fetus will most especially ring a bell for someone. The whole thing had a sort of anime feel to it, with the fighting, the unique setting, and the weird effect - but it was most definetely live action. It might have been French or it might have been something else entirely.
I've tried googling some of these terms, but have been overwhelmed with search results, which have come up unfruitful so far.
Can anybody help me out?
Thanks!
