ATV's Fatherland is the station's most classic drama from the RTV years, even beating out TVB in the ratings battle when it started airing in 1980. Fatherland was broadcast in three installments - Home on the River Pearl, Radical City, and American Dream - with the most memorable being the first installment. Set in the late Qing to the early Republican era, Fatherland - Home on the River Pearl is an epic story of small rural life and sweeping historical changes. Hailing from a small Guangdong village, the humble Yeung family and the trials and tribulations they face paint a realistic portrait of the times, from the major historical events and political winds - the establishment of the Republic of China, the Yuan Shikai era - that serve as backdrop, to the individual ordeals that tell the story of so many. With a cast that included David Lau, Ngok Wah, Candice Yu, Poon Chi Man, Bill Tung, and Moon Lee, Fatherland - Home of the River Pearl's sweeping depiction of family, romance, timeless values, and heartrending struggles in rural China served as the model for TVB's later series of Plain Love dramas. (yesasia)