Here are the dramas I’ll be watching and bitching about, HongShim…errr… HongMoon. lol. Why did you pick that name??
I was listing them down last night because I needed to organize my schedule and reassess my priorities.
Monday and Tuesday:
-100 Day My Prince.
Nope. Am not dropping this because of the actor despite the uneven writing and directing. Are the writer and director newbies?? They sure act like one.
-Fox Bride Star, alternate title: Where Stars Land.
I’m giving it another week. For now, I consider this a workplace drama, more than a fantasy drama. If this female lead character doesn’t tone down with her unprofessional behavior, I’m going to terminate this drama from my workload.
Besides, I’m not attracted to Lee Dong Gun. If his character is going to take minutes away from Lee JeHoon’s character, then what’s the point of me sticking around?
-The Beauty Inside
Haven’t started this one, but it’ll likely move up on my queue to replace Fox Bride Star Devil’s Bride from Hell.
Wednesday and Thursday:
-The Ghost Detective
Will stay on this as long as I’m not given insufferable OTP moments. I was looking for a good thriller, and a romance with somebody suffering from post-traumatic stress (she hasn’t recovered yet from grieving!) doesn’t sit well with me.
-Devilish Joy
Show’s annoying as fingernails on a chalkboard but I’m here because I want to see my level of tolerance to cheesiness.
Friday and Saturday:
-Third Charm
I watched the first episode and skimmed through the second. I think there’s some problem with the timeline but I’m waiting for them to clear this up.
This was what the guy said in the trailers.
Girl: Today marks our first day as a couple
Boy: Spring in our 20s. Summer when we were 27.
Girl: No matter what others say all I need is you.
Boy: Fall and winter when we were 32. We met like that for the third time. The two of us
But it doesn’t make sense. See it? The New Year’s Eve meeting at the beginning of Episode 1 was in New Year’s Eve 2013. New Year’s Eve doesn’t take place in the summer so this must be the fall/winter meeting when they were 32 years old. That was their third time meeting. So… are we to expect a fourth meeting in the current year, 2018? Or is the whole kdrama a flashback??
-ID: Gangnam Beauty.
I know this show’s done already. But I haven’t finished this yet. I wrote a review for Episode 3 but forgot to post it. I actually liked the plot of this one. It made sense to me.
******************
So, there you go. Although it SEEMS like I’ve plenty of kdramas on my plate right now, I’m afraid that I’m in a drama slump. None of them are grabbing me viscerally. None of them are inspiring me to think outside the box. And none of them are consuming my time and passion that I need to drop the others.
Maybe I’ve become blasé about kdrama.
I’ll try to post at least once a day, if I’m not out of the country on some impossible mission. I do have a family life revolving around one generous and forgiving husband. I tell people that he’s a “keeper” (meaning, somebody I want to “keep” for the rest of my life), but he teases me that he’s actually a zookeeper because living with me is like living with a menagerie.
My sons have all grown and flown but we try to get together with them and their girlfriends on the weekends for hiking, wine-tasting, day trips to the beach house, and Sunday brunch after church. My brothers and their families often drop by too to visit the Smithsonian or just hang out in the backyard and cook barbecue. Weekends can be more hectic than more workdays.
I try to get all my writing done on Thursdays and stagger their publication over the weekend.
Wow! You’ve got a full schedule with your dramas! Although I uderstand where you are coming from regarding a K Drama slump. I’m feeling the same-nothing has grabbed my attention for weeks. People were raving about What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim? but I had to force myself to get through it. I love rom coms, I loved the leads but for some unknown reason it was a chore. My next drama was My ID is Gagnam Beauty, which I enjoyed, but it certainly wasn’t “must see TV” status where I was trolling for clips and refreshing all the time. I will be interested to hear your thoughts on Gagnam Beauty as it does have a lot to say about beauty image and society. Now I’m watching The Beauty Inside and The Smile Has Left Your Eyes/Million Stars Falling From The Sky. I’m quite excited about Smile Has Left Your Eyes, with it’s mystery elements and “is he bad or good” tension on the main lead, so I think I may have finally ended my own slump. We’ll see. Anyway, you’re not alone as I’ve seen many K Drama fans posting that the’re feeling a slump, that the dramas aren’t as exciting or good thse days. I’ll look forward to your reviews!
Yes, it’s counter-intuitive. You’d think that since I’m watching a lot of dramas, that I’m not in a drama slump. But that’s exactly it: I’m in a drama slump because nothing is dominating my thoughts to the EXCLUSION of other dramas. 😂🤦♀️
I thought ID Gangnam was surprisingly well-written (at least till Ep 10). Meaning each episode was coherent and naturally flowed into the next one. There was an intelligent order in which details, emotions, thoughts and background stories were revealed to the audience.
Unlike 100 Days My Prince. 😂 The writer definitely has no clue on how to WEAVE stories. It’s not so much the storytelling but the storyWEAVING that determines a good drama for me or not. It’s not as if we’re going to get a new script with characters that we haven’t seen before (aliens? Done that. Monkeys? Did that, too, Cartoon character? Done. Goblins? Check. Zombies? Check. Kings and Princes. Done and done.) And it’s not as if kdramas have tackled the seven cardinal sins of greed, pride, envy, lust and anger in their varied form.
But I want the writer to give me a story that would enthrall me for more than 8 weeks.
Ghost Detective would have been good until this whole plot twist of the detective turning up to be alive after all. Grrr. That’s why I’ve serious trust issues with Kdrama writers…. 😂 but we’re only in Episode 8 so the mess could be fixed again.
packmule3, hi!! And welcome back!
I missed visiting you blog &a reading your posts
I wanted to recommend a great k-drama for you but since comments under recommendation posts are closed already I was wondering if it is appropriate to do it here:) I have finished “Life” and it was just mesmerizing show for me. Most of international viewers seem to agree that Secret Forest was better (same write& leading man in both shows) but I loved Life much much more.
I loved 17/30 as well even though it wasn’t a perfect drama but still very solid. I have noticed recently that while k-dramas have become more expensive and professionally filmed it is rare for me to finish the whole show 🙁
And sometimes good dramas that you love just burn you. Do you remember A Poem a Day days? And that director’s interview after the final episode? Ugh…
Life?? How long is it? 16 episodes? Hmm… I’ll take a look at it this weekend.
Wait… this isn’t hardcore melodrama, right? You know, I break out in hives and my hair frizzes whenever there’s a highly emotional scene. I barely survived Joy’s The Greatest Seducer.
Don’t mention that “A Crap A Day” shitshow. That director and that writer are dead to me. D.E.A.D. 😀
No, this show’ genre is thriller mixed with slice of life. I would say that the later prevails. And don’t be afraid about it being a medical drama shot in hospital as it doesn’t have surgeries in every episode & countless patient’s stories. I tend to drop medical dramas (American or Korean) because they introduce new characters in each episode and cut off main leads screen time. “Life” is about modern hospital and medicine & the problems that occur when business is involved. In my country medicine is kind of free so it was even more interesting for we to watch.
But more than that, this show has many characters that I happened to care about and love. Even though Cho Seung Woo steals the show, Lee Dong Wook was also impressive and made me appreciate his acting. I sort of liked that we didn’t have righteous candy doctor as a main for once (or genius doctor you know). It is a pity that Dong Wook will be reuniting with his Gonlin’s actress. I can’t stand her acting which killed their love story for me in Goblin
Oh! It has Lee Dong Wook? Why didn’t you say so in the beginning? hahaha. I like that actor. And like you, I didn’t like that actress he was paired with in the Goblin. I didn’t like her breath-y, air-y way of speaking in some scenes, and her aegyo. I so dislike a grown-up woman (she’s 36 mind you) acting like an innocent teenager and a cutie.
Hey PM3! Finally here again after a few months’ hiatus. Work has been short staffed and slammed; killer combo.
Glad to see you’ve been liking My ID is Gangnam Beauty! I finally finished it last weekend and actually really liked it. Can’t wait to see more of your thoughts on it!
Hey there, phikyl!! Glad to see you back! I was beginning to suspect that you were avoiding me because the admins/mods had banned you from showing up over here. Hahaha.
Yes, I liked “ID: Gangnam Beauty.” I haven’t finished it yet though. I think I only reviewed Ep 1 and Ep 2. Was writing review for Ep 3 when I was interrupted. Hmm let me finish that. What did you think of the show? It did end happily, right?
As if they could keep me away! Lol.
It does have a happy ending and I really liked it as far as growth goes. Love that the male lead doesn’t falter in his love for the female lead but helps her see herself as he sees her. It’s nice to see her get over her insecurities about her looks though at some points, I wished she hadn’t gotten plastic surgery. For being such a rookie actor Cha Eun Woo did pretty well in this role.
Isn’t he such a cutie? Hahaha.
I wouldn’t mind a do-over of “Playful Kiss” with him as the lead AS LONG AS the script also eliminates the misogynistic elements. I think the Thai version adapted it (weren’t you the one to recommend it to me?) and attributed his bad treatment of the girl to a mistaken identity or something.
I was rewriting my Ep 3 review shortly before you posted. I’m hoping to post it tonight. Have Sunday dinner to get ready now.
He is. I’ve liked him since Astro did that pre-debut mini drama [though I hated the ending. =p]
Yes, I was the one who recommended the Thai version. I never liked in the other versions how he hated her for no reason. At least in the Thai version there was rhyme and reason to his actions; even if it was a bit ridiculous.
I don’t think I watched the entire Thai drama, only segments to see how the script handled the scenes I found disturbing in the original.
I watched the Japanese version. The heroine there annoyed me with her exaggerated facial expressions. She acted like she was character in a cartoon strip (an anime??) but she was consistent throughout the kdrama so I guess that was a directorial choice.
I’ve never heard of Astro. Is that really a boys’ band’s name? Reminds me of the baseball team or a bowling club to me. 😂
I’m finishing up The Beauty Within tonight. That Lee MinKi is one ugly actor but I’m just mesmerized by his unblinking stare. If he were to look at me with those eyes, I wouldn’t be able to look away. Creepy.