Ironically, the more dramas I watch, the less time I have to write full reviews, so I thought I would try out this bite-sized review format for a few. Note: the enjoyment factor is how much I enjoyed it, not how much I think someone else will enjoy it.
______________________________________
9 Ends 2 Outs/9회말 2아웃 (Jul – Sept 2007) 16 eps, MBC
Two longtime arm-punching type buddies Lee JungJin and Park SooAe start to develop romantic feelings for one another only to find the transition from friend to lover may end up being the very thing to tear them apart forever. Occasionally strayed toward dull, but for fans of the friendship genre like myself, a definite pleaser overall. Fairly grown-up observation about the ins and outs of falling in love with one’s hot best friend.
______________________________________
49 Days/49일 (March – May 2011) 20 eps, SBS
Fans of Jung IlWoo will definitely get a kick out of this one, as his portrayal of the grim reaper—the Scheduler—was uniquely fun. An unexpected car accident starts a young woman on a quasi-spiritual journey for 49 days where she must borrow the body of another woman (Lee YoWon) in order to fulfill a task that will gain her a second chance at life. Plenty of interesting performances in this one, but most notable was that of body sub Lee, who was alive but lived as if she was in a walking coma. A pretty decent supernatural dramedy, heavier on the drama than comedy, and rest assured, not as goofy as it sounds.
Read my First Impressions
______________________________________
A Love to Kill/이 죽일놈의 사랑 (Oct – Dec 2005) 16 eps, KBS2
A macho guy wanted to get revenge on the girl who dumped and broke his brother’s heart, which was the catalyst for the bro’s attemped suicide. An emo-robotic Shin MinAh played the depressed actress while kpop star Rain played a hot thug (in both charisma and temper) who wanted to destroy her. How, you ask? By becoming her bodyguard. Beautifully filmed show with a laughably melodramatic scenario that had a low-reaching plot, and the whole thing ended in typical kdrama fashion for its day—miserably and unhappily. If you think death is the ultimate end to an epic romance, this one is for you. Admittedly hot though, Rain was all thugalicious in it, and he really knew how to enjoy a lollipop.
______________________________________
All My Love/몽땅 내사랑 (Nov 2010 – Sept 2011) 210 eps, MBC
First half: 8/10
Second half: 2/10
Sitcom hijinks followed two families connected to a hagwon, a private tutoring academy. In real life, scandals and scheduling conflicts forced disruptive cast changes, and still an unnecessary greedy extension was added, causing this one to turn into a slapdash and tiresome rambler. After nearly a full year of airing, a drama that started with so much potential with its combo cast of eager young actors and idols, simply ended up in the loser pile after going through too many personality and plot shifts. Highlights: acting newbie DooJoon (of idol group B2ST) was surprisingly fun to follow, as well as popular former We Got Married variety couple JoKwon (of idol group 2AM) and GaIn (of idol group Brown Eyed Girls).
Read my First Impressions
______________________________________
Arang and the Magistrate/아랑사또전 (Aug – Oct 2012) 20 eps, MBC
Most anything starring Lee JunKi usually amuses me, even when it’s not very good, because Lee is a very bombastic actor—his emoting style is all about going big or going home. Here he played a local magistrate who could see spirits, and Shin MinAh was the ghost Arang that haunted him. Both sought answers about their past while gods and death angels ran amok among the living. Very little of this show’s canon actually made any theological sense but it wasn’t the sort of show that required lots of sense to be enjoyable. It was mostly about Shin and Lee being in a drama together, a combo attack of pretty and flirt.
______________________________________
Faith/신의 (Aug – Oct 2012) 24 eps, SBS
For a fact, Lee MinHo for me is what kryptonite is for Superman—some shiny foreign bauble that creates weakness and disorientation. I know this wasn’t a good drama. I know most people would probably toss it in the drama trash bin. I, however, found in it the opportunity to bask in the glory of a long-haired, sword-wielding, hottie musa Lee MinHo. Stuffed full of comic book one-dimensional characters, most of them machismo men, alongside some time travel to make it even more mental, this was a crazy supernatty mess. The ending sucked, but still worth the watch. For those who follow the Lee MinHo—a course requirement.
______________________________________
Fashion King/패션왕 (Mar – May 2012) 20 eps, SBS
SO AWFUL. Yoo AhIn fans especially should stay away, go watch his film Wandeuki instead. Yoo paired up with Shin SeKyung to deliver not only one of the worst dramas of 2012, but one of the worst dramas ever. I suppose that is impressive in its own sad way. There was a lot of painful dialogue, a lot of painful acting, and a lot of painful everything in it. I pretty much disliked every character and every plot move. Oh, the headache, this one punished any viewer determined to stick it out. I cannot think of one positive thing to say. Even the poster was such a generic awful.
______________________________________
Fermentation Family/발효가족 (Dec 2011 – Feb 2012) 24 eps, JTBC
There was a lot of mouthwatering Korean food publicized, kimchi especially, and the show was about lots of sad people with stories of lingering heartache, but ultimately this show was centered around the certainty that a meal shouldn’t only be about chewing and swallowing, but about bringing people together. Although a little long at 24 episodes, a memorable and touching dawdler. Sadly but also gladly, the first Song IlGook drama I’ve liked since Jumong. And, naturally, Park JinHee was as always a ray of integrity. But you know what killed me about this one? It was about dads, not the bad kind that are so popular in dramas, but the hero kind.
______________________________________
Flower Boy Neighbor/이웃집 꽃미남 (Jan – Feb 2013) 16 eps, TVN
What is loneliness? Hiding alone in a room while life passes you by (Park ShinHye) or yelling at the top of your lungs only to realize no one is listening (Yoon ShiYoon)? Park played a traumatized young woman who could do little to control her social anxiety. She spent much of her time hiding at home and spying on the handsome stranger across the street, and thereby accidentally triggers the interest of her crush’s yappy younger brother. The third installment in the popular Flower Boy franchise, this one kept true to the formula of mixing attractive oddball characters in a uniquely narrow world. As people find more ways to connect while shielded by the safety of technology, it is easy to see the social disconnect in our modern lives, agoraphobic or not. And this drama’s world was about this type of isolation. The ambience here was good, acting was good, the message in it relevant, but while it started off with a pleasant indie flavor, it rambled too long for a series that was really just a character study. Yoon ShiYoon’s bubbly character was a nice comedic lift, but the show was carried mostly on Park’s shoulders, who offered up a new type of heroine—soft looks, sharp defensive edges. Unfortunately, the show itself was less interesting than the enigma behind Park and Yoon’s neuroses, and when those got tiresome, little else was left. Besides, sadly, many of the secondary characters weren’t given the same love and development as the two main leads.
______________________________________
Friend, Our Legend/친구, 우리들의 전설
(Jun – Aug 2009) 20 eps, MBC
The drama was based on the classic Jang DongGun film Friend, and the story was a pretty bible example of a tragic gangster story, and kind of even reminded of Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America. It was a sweeping crime drama that followed four boys into a brutally fractured adulthood, and like all mob stories, it was about loyalty, betrayal, and the kind of pointless violence that both cements and destroys friendships. Oh, and of course, the ruin of the woman caught in the middle. Made watchable because of a confidently swag Hyun Bin who delivered quite the vicious enigmatic antihero, but probably not the sort of drama for everyone. Far from a good show, this one was all about the Hyun Bin. And well, we took a glance into the seductive powers of violent brotherhoods, and were reminded once again that grief will always follow—so kids, stay out of the gangs.
______________________________________
Full House Take 2/풀하우스TAKE2 (Oct – Dec 2012) 16 hours, SBS
I really do feel a little apologetic to fans of this one for not being able to turn off my fangirl hate, but I really, really, really disliked it. I will concede that possibly some of my negative feelings stem from my love for the original, which caused an epic disappointment when I saw this one, and then in turn fueled the angry disbelief that the creators dared to take the name Full House to capitalize on the iconic branding. But come on, it was an absurd show, wasn’t it? Absurd hair. Absurd story (about a stylist and two poprock stars). Absurd characters. All of it simply absurd. Were there likely some moments of fun and laughter in it? Even the rock bottom dramas usually have something to like about it, and this wasn’t dirt poor, so I’m sure this one had its good moments too, but for me, nothing in it will convince me to say anything nice in this blurb.
______________________________________
Gloria/글로리아 (Jul 2010 – Jan 2011) 50 eps, MBC
A thirty-something cocktail waitress steps onto a stage for the first time in her life and realizes it is the key to her happiness. This one is about a woman’s late-life dream to become a singer. Aside from the main star, Bae Doona, this show also had a mentally disabled woman, a night club songstress, a kickboxing bastard, a secret murderer, a small fry thug, and a suicidal ballerina...pretty friggin’ strange collection of ideas. The drama was named after a 80’s song and there was something about this one that felt dated, too. Not a horrible watch, but at 50, not worth going out of your way to find. Sure, Bae Doona is such a fascinating creature actress, gawky and unconventional being the skeleton of her craft, but despite her efforts here, the drama ends up staying forgettable.
Read my First Impressions
______________________________________
Greatest Love/최고의 사랑 (May – Jun 2011) 16 eps, MBC
A has-been idol turned bottom feeder variety star attracts the attention of an A-list actor, and from there the imbalance of fame kicks start the romcom frivolities. Noteworthy: it was written by writers who have proven in the past to be good at creating specifically defined worlds that elicit wild hilarity, such as awesomes You’re Beautiful, My Girlfriend Is A Nine-Tailed Fox, Fantasy Couple, and My Girl. This one was a lighthearted poke at celebrity culture in the ROK entertainment industry, and for sure Cha SeungWon was peculiar enough to be funny, but I found, as usual, that I went against trend. More than the main characters, I preferred the more tamed secondary characters Yoon KyeSang and Yoo InNa, and while the drama did snag my interest at first, and gave me a few passing giggles, in the end, many liked it but I think I rather disliked it.
Read my First Impressions
______________________________________
Gu Family Book/구가의 서 (Apr – Jun 2013) 24 eps, MBC
Prince Lee SeungGi makes an odd choice to accept another role centering around the gumiho mythos. In this one, however, he is the lovesick supernatural entity (unlike his previous My Girlfriend is a Nine-Tailed Fox). Like any good monster story, this one was about creatures misunderstood by the torch-wielding public. Like a lot of vampire, werewolf, and zombie tales (if Warm Bodies has taught us nothing at all, it has taught that even death can’t stop love), this one started with tender-hearted gumiho Choi JinHyuk falling in love with a human girl, only to find betrayal at the end of his tale. Lee SeungGi played his gumiho heir doomed to repeat his father’s mistakes when he fell for not one, but two human girls. Delightful Lee YooBi and popular Suzy were the gals who wanted to rub furs with him. SungJoon of stewy hotness and deep chocolate voice fame popped up as a musa here, but one that was of few words, so that kind of sucked. Questionable mythology, questionable style direction, and even more questionable plot revolutions. A lot of questions, really. I liked the whole attractive cast but didn’t believe a single glowy-eyed magical forest minute of it. Major positive: Choi JinHyuk (Pasta, I Need Romance), who I personally adore, finally saw his star rise with mainstream audiences as they swooned over for his sad sack father-gumiho love story.
____________________________________
I Live in Cheongdam-dong/청담동 살아요
(Dec 2011 – Aug 2012) 170 eps, JTBC
The better sitcoms have less poop jokes filling the minutes but instead use the long enduring run as an opportunity to genuinely color in their usually large ensemble cast. The better ones also know they exist to make people chuckle, but they still make an attempt to be meaningful, too. This one was definitely one of the rare ones that surprised with the creativity of the writing. Silly at times, but never head-punchingly stupid, it gave us a hopeless but endearing family worth investing in for 5 days a week for 9 months. A tough task, in terms of impatience, when watching daily as I did, but lucky for those coming in late, all 170 eps can be watched in a marathon of cute. A great show to cuddle up with on a long rainy weekend to combat the gloomy.
____________________________________
I Need Romance 2012/로맨스가 필요해 2012
(Jun – Aug 2012) 16 eps, tvN
Jung YooMi and Lee JinWook were roommates, but they were also friends with benefits, the carnal kind. Both had strong feelings for one another that went beyond just sex, but they took a frustrating 16 episodes to admit it. The only thing I’ve liked Lee JinWook in was 2006’s Someday with Bae Doona, and in here, again I found I preferred his rival Kim JiSuk’s charms over his kinda douche idea of romance. Maybe if Kim wasn’t so classy cool, I may have found Lee’s floppy haired, crabby writer character more appealing, but I preferred the sexiness of the jazz and latte guy. And well, it’s hard to love a show that gives you the worst case of second lead syndrome.
____________________________________
It’s Ok, Daddy’s Girl/괜찮아, 아빠 딸
(Nov 2010 – Jan 2011) 17 eps, BSB
Smack me dumbfounded but I really liked this very imperfect show, and I’m still surprised by it. Moon ChaeWon was the pampered daughter of a man accused of negligent homicide. Choi JinHyuk (meowrr) and Lee DongHae were brothers of the victim, however, they too believed Moon’s father was not responsible, and set out to help her prove his innocence. Lots of earnest young people trying to undo lazy police work/illogical plot contrivances. This is what happens when you have really bad writing being delivered by a sweet and likable cast—against reason, you can’t help but still enjoy it.
____________________________________
More Charming By The Day/볼수록 애교만점
(Mar – Nov 2010) 138 eps, MBC
A sitcom following the Im family and a Korean mother’s pretty typical goal to marry off her three daughters to upstanding rich men. For me, the most enjoyable duo from the cast was the goofy and slightly ditzy nurse Choi YeoJin and stuffy but famed shutterbug Lee KyuHan, whose relationship progress began as antagonistic strangers, then upgraded to frenemies, only to inexplicably end up in a fake couple scam, which eventually lead to real feelings. In all honesty, the latter half of the drama started to bore a little, but a decent watch. The couple mentioned above was worth the time. And it was nice seeing Lee KyuHan in a handsome role like this one.
__________________________
My Girl/마이걸 (Dec 2005 – Feb 2006) 16 eps, SBS
Another one of my favorite romcoms that came out during that sublime 2004-06 period, and probably a lot of other peoples fave as well. Also probably one of the few Lee DaHae dramas where I found her charming and lovable—makes me wish she took more comedic leading lady roles. In fact, this might have been the one that cemented her stardom. This classic also featured [now] big names Lee DongWook, Park SiYeon, and megastar Lee JunKi, the last sporting throughout the show the most awful hairstyles, all of which could probably be described as somewhere between hilarious and poofy. The show: silly, but great fun. A must-watch for sure.
i love Fashion king. It is my best asian drama only due to it i start seeing asian dramas.
ReplyDelete