It’s Thanksgiving next week, and we’ll have time to start new dramas since “Tale of Nokdu,” “When the Camellia Blooms,” and “Extra-ordinary You.”
Do we have any dramas we can bitch about? I avoid legal, political and makjang dramas because kdramas are my go-to HAPPY place to escape from work burnout.
I’m not into webtoons and love triangles right now. My heart has to recuperate.
So far, we have two new dramas that have potential.
1. Psychopath Diary
Starring Yoon Shi Yoon. It’s a weird mix of comedy and thriller. I want to watch this for YSY aka Donggu. I miss watching him on that variety show 2D1N.
According to wiki, the hero “witnesses a murder and picks up the killer’s diary. While fleeing the scene, he gets into a car accident causes him to lose his memory. Due to the diary in his possession, he mistakenly believes that he is a psychopathic serial killer.”
This starts tomorrow, November 20, on tvN.
2. Crash Landing on You
*This starts mid-December.
Starring Hyun Bin (yes!) and Son Ye Jin (eeks! It’s the Noona who bribes her young Energizer Bunny with food..see what I did there?).
I want to watch this so I can rid myself of that yucky image I have of SYJ cavorting with this toddler.
gif credit: ahjummanshies
Can you imagine the uproar had the guy smacked the girl’s mouth because she was saying something cutesy to him? Uh uh.
I’m not that prudish that I can’t understand the appeal of the naïf, man-boy boyfriend. But I like guy to look like Brendan Fraser or Kang Haneul. Not this weirdo baby. This smacks of cradle-snatching.
gif credit: ahjummanshies
Other options:
Chinese dramas?
Dramas that I missed?
Rewatch and review “Reply 1988” again?
Continue my “Go Go Squid”? lol.
I’ll skip the first one but I’ll watch Crash Landing On You. I’m not into SYJ too but I’ll watch because of Hyun Bin.
I’m going to look for a new cdrama. But Reply 1988 is definitely on my agenda. I will watch North and South too.
You should finish your GGS. 🙂
Okay, I can start reviewing R88 next week then.
lol. GGS…when will I ever finish the show?!!
It depends on your me time. 😀 What’s your last episode of GGS? Finished it off so we can start on a new cdrama together. 🙂
My last review was probably Ep 16, before his trip/her vacation. Then I started skipping some episodes after that.
“A Little Thing Called Love,” isn’t worth it. 🙂 I was going to look through YT Cdramas but kept getting distracted by YT videos of Rowoon, the lead in Extra-ordinary You.
If you skipped a few episodes then maybe your almost there. 🙂
I read your comment about ALTCL, that you woke up in the middle of the night with your head on your ipad while trying to watch it? hehehe Definitely not worth watching.
Yes, Rowoon is cute. 🙂
Okay. Will work on Go Go Squid after this.
I’m transferring the Rowoon’s YT links to the blog. It’s a shame to waste those links. The other ladies here can use them.
I am watching PD (with Yoon ShiYoon) and Chocolate (melo) – I like the male leads in it. After the fluffiness that was EY I think I need something serious…like neurosurgeon serious (turns out the leads play neurosurgeons 😂 so I am tuning in). A neurosurgeon who cooks…
Please do transfer Rowoon’s YT links, I wouldn’t mind watching him. hehehe
@nrllee , I’m not into HJW as well so I’m skipping Chocolate even though it makes me want to have chocolate. hehehe
I’ve never got into Yoon Shi Yoon as a romantic hero, I just don’t find him attractive. Not unattractive, fan girls!, but I need to be able to imagine a relationship between him and his co-star and he turns me off. The age difference between him and his co-star in Mirror of the Witch didn’t help; I dropped it. I don’t know what he’s been in since. But I do quite like shows featuring psychopaths (I’m a bit of an expert now on psychopathy, and the difference between psychopathy and sociopathy, so just ask me if you don’t k ow), so maybe I’ll check it out but unlikely to stick with it if it’s romance.
Melo has to be done just right, and let me say I’ve only finished about five melos after starting dozens. So Chocolate doesn’t draw me in either.
Lastly, there is a dearth of ongoing Chinese romance dramas right now that are any good. I’ve tried almost all of them I bet. Begonia Rouge might be okay but I’m bored with it so quitting. The only recent one that looks good that I haven’t tried is The Untamed, but it’s based on a Boy Love novel so it’s a (censored) bromance not a hetero romance. Sue me, but since I can never imagine myself as a guy, BL has never appealed as a romantic equivalent. Still, I hear such good things about it, I am tempted.
I am therefore checking out a few things on Amazon Prime for their free 30 day trial. I figure I can watch what I want in that time period. Carnival Row, Good Omens and Hanna – started them all. But not much else appeals, so likely will discontinue membership. If anyone knows of a can’t-be-missed on Amazon Prime let me know!
Thanks for the update on the cdrama front @Barbrey . That Begonia Rouge was on my lookout because of Deng Lun but maybe not anymore too. I want cutesy and romantic ones. 😄
The Crown is already in Netflix? So maybe I’ll start on that too but I love Claire Foy from the original series so I’m not sure I can like this one as much.
Hi Everyone, I’ve been in a sort of drama slump and busy, but at the same time, I’ve been very into the cdrama The Untamed and I see that @Barbrey has even mentioned it here.
First about what to watch this Winter, I’m more inclined towards the Psychopath’s Diary. Psychopaths and Sociopaths intrigue me, and I like most shows in the murder-mystery/crime-solving genre.
About The Untamed, as a production it is actually not one of the best: it was a low-budget web-drama after all, but as a story that brings together characters with good hearts to overcome the evil or unfairness, that gives the warm feels and a satisfying resolution, I recommend it. It is good that the drama does not (as it cannot) go into the heavy BL part and it is portrayed as a warm bromance. Show becomes more interesting much further into the series ie around episode 10-13 onwards. It would help if a viewer knows a bit of the background of the main protagonist before diving in, but not essential. What I did was to ask a friend of mine who knows the web novel inside out for info and got enough explanation to understand what was going on. It is one of the shows that I find strangely hard to let go off and which I can keep re-watching and still notice new gems that I missed, and still get the warm feels that it elicits.
It is also so popular because of the large international fan base for the novel (English translated) and anime. The drama did the wise thing (finally after protests) and followed the novel closely enough so that most fans are happy. It is also super well-acted, surprisingly, by idols who are the main protagonists (especially after the rougher start).
It seems that lots of viewers have been sucked in and are addicted to the show. Guess the only way to find out why, is to try it?
We’ve missed you @GB ! 🙂
I saw The Untamed in Netflix too. I might check it out later after my lined up dramas.
I definitely want to check out Crash Landing On You-it looks cute and I like the leads.
In terms of Chinese language dramas, I’m watching Taiwan rom com Hello Again!
It’s at Viki. So far, I like it. it’s a cute, easy watch. If you like a bit of silly along with some good kisses, check it out.
I’ve heard buzz about The Love By Hypnotic. Apparently made by the same production company that made The Eternal Love ( the crazy rom com, not Peach Blossoms). I might check it out later-it’s available with english subs at the Tencent Youtube Channel.
The other Chinese language drama that I’m hearing about is Flavor It’s Yours/Instead of Tipsy Why Not Get Drunk starring Song Yi Ren and Simon Gong. It just started over at Viki. I saw the teaser and it looks interesting. Over at Soompi forums they are really liking this drama and say it’s got some substance. So I’m thinking about checking it out once I finish Hello Again.
Dramas You May Have Missed:
K Drama: Just Between Lovers, 1% of Something
C Drama: About Is Love
North & South
Rewatch any of those? Heck, Yeah! They are all drama crack. You guys are just lucky you can binge watch.
@Barbrey: For Amazon Prime “must watch” I will recommend Imogene’s Face, a 3 episode British miniseries. I watched this drama when it first broadcast years ago and I haven’t forgotten it. Totally planning a rewatch now that it is available on Amazon Prime. It’s a family drama about 2 sisters, and I was hooked from ep. 1.
Here’s the link with information: https://www.amazon.com/Imogens-Face/dp/B07ZS3QPNT
@Table12200 I loved Just Between Lovers. Won JiAh was gorgeous there. I tuned into Melting Me Softly for her and JCW and was bitterly disappointed…such a waste of good talent. 🙄
Is Sanditon worth a watch? I saw trailers recently… and it looks sumptuous. I will see if I can track down Imogen’s face.
Missed you, GB! Will check out Untamed.
@table, thanks so much for recommending Imogen’s Face and Hello Again. You always know the best ones! Will try soon.
I did try watching the Hypnotic cdrama and the Tipsy one (great title! and the female lead is Canadian, the little lady from Evernight) for pure fluff, and the first episodes are pretty fun, but after ten or twelve, the protags are in love, and it all becomes too fluffy because too predictable. Neither is as good as some of the other cdrama fluff I’ve watched lately. Like I said, because of censorship there’s just not much decent cdrama action lately. Did you ever watch Perfect Couple or the King of Lan Ling, Table? For ages, those were the only cdramas I had enjoyed, so I will recommend them as fun, funny, fluffy but with stakes that matter. That’s so often I find what is missing in recent cdrama romances: stakes.
I’m with GB though YSY is not for me: I will at least check out the Psycho one but not the Chocolate.
@PM3 , I’m getting everything on email now. Thanks ☺️
@Table122000 , I’ve seen About Is Love and I enjoyed it. 😊
I think most cdramas that are out mostly have about 50 episodes and that stops me because it’s just too long. Though if I really like the main leads, only then can I do it. 😄
I’ll try to watch North and South so I can come back to you.
If you didn’t watch Be Melodramatic, I recommend it to you. The first episodes are not the best and the leads characters not very nice but it becomes better after.
There is Chocolat with Ha Ji Won that looks good, the one about baseball with Park Eun Bin (in the both there are a male actor but if I remember the face, I’m really bad with names…).
@nrllee- Yes, Just Between Lovers was soo good. My favorite drama for 2018. Also my introduction to Won Jin Ah and she was fabulous in that drama. Cinematography was also so pretty-director really knew how to frame a shot. The story and the world created felt Dickensian to me too, and I really liked that aspect of the drama. Sometimes you just want to watch a romantic drama, and this one delivered for me. It covered other themes as well but I liked that the romance development was front and center. Sorry to hear Melting me Softly was a disappointment for you. I too put it on my watch list because of the main leads of Won Jin Ah and JCW.
For Sandition, I heard mixed reviews. It’s coming to PBS in January so I’ll check it out then because I am a Jane Austen fan, although I’m a bit scared because apparently the ending was not satisfying some viewers. Imogene’s Face is definitely worth checking out if you know someone with Amazon Prime it’s free to watch there.
@Barbrey- I hope that you enjoy Imogene’s Face and Hello Again! I’ll be interested to read your thoughts on those dramas.
Sorry that you lost interest in Love By The Hypnotic and Favor It’s Yours/ If You’re Tipsy Why Not Get Drunk. I’ll agree it is difficult to find a well made Cdrama these days that can hold a person’s interest all the way through. Apparently, things get pretty serious in Flavor It’s Yours after Ep. 18, according to other forums.
I have seen a few episodes of Perfect Couple. I enjoyed the premise and Tiffany Tang & Wallace Huo do a nice job with their acting and characters. I had to put it on hold because of the episode count. 45 episodes for rom com was getting too long for me and I felt the drama pace was dragging.
I also have watched a few episodes of Prince of Lan Ling starring Ariel Lin. I enjoyed the beginning episodes but I put it on hold because people told me it was a tragic ending. I may go back to them later.
@agdr03- oh, so glad you liked About Is Love! It was one of my favorite dramas for 2019. I loved how we got 3 couples/love lines in the drama, one for each of the roommates. And the female friendships were just so nice. It’s just so cute! (Also, it had some nice kiss scenes which was a definite plus) I totally understand you about the CDramas and their lengthy episode counts. I am the same way-very leery about watching the C Dramas because of the bloated episode counts can make the story draggy and boring due to fillers. I try to focus on C Dramas with shorter episode counts. I also look at the episode length because sometimes it will only be a content of 30 minutes per episode, so that even if there are lot of episodes the pace is good because it’s short time frame.
I’ll look forward to reading your thoughts about North & South. Ooh, that Richard Armitage!
👍 My pleasure.
There you are! We missed you, @growing_beautifully.
So you’ve been watching “The Untamed” all this time, eh? It doesn’t get too involved with the spirits and otherworldly things, does it? That’s what turned me off with Deng Lun’s Ashes of Love. There was plenty of backstory, rivalry, and mythology involved which I didn’t care for. I was only “passing through” the series, I didn’t want to get in too deep with all the world-building.
I felt like Alice falling down the rabbit hole.
Hi @packmule3 Thanks! I’m glad to be back … well sort of, as back as I might be able to be, while work and Church stuff are happening. 😆
Being a Wuxia show, The Untamed is definitely in that other world of magic, spiritual energy and people who’ve augmented their energy/made themselves better/stronger/more magical by something called ‘cultivation’. In this show, they go around vanquishing supernatural (and human) baddies to save the normal people. There are the usual (but not too many) ghosts, souls, … but the emphasis is really on the characters, the decisions they make, the bonds they forge and the questions of what is right/wrong, whether one gets glorified/vilified and how. There’s also the mystery about what’s really going on, who’s doing what, and who’s the ultimate chess master.
The emotional engagement for viewers turned out to be very great as the show progressed. So while on the technical side, lots can be criticised, in the end it’s mostly all forgiven, because of how show made viewers feel.
On Sandition … if I can get access to it, I’d definitely watch it, bad ending or not. It’s a Jane Austen!!! I should re-read it. It was a whole lot of letters wasn’t it? Where and when is the show out?
Actually correction: The Untamed is more a Xianxia show with some swordfighting in it. The swordfighting and martial arts is more Wuxia.
Forgot to mention that they did a good job with the green screen sets and the OSTs. Not so much with some of the CGI, and all of the zombies LOL.
Hi @GB!
Glad to see you back here. Sanditon will premiere on PBS Masterpiece Theater Jan, 12, 2020 if you live in USA. Not sure about other countries. In Britain, the drama has already finished.
Here is link to PBS Show page for more information about the drama: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/shows/sanditon/
Glad to read your take on The Untamed. I’ve been hearing about it but I have held off because of the 50 episode length. That and people say the drama is romance free, not just of M/M but also M/F. I still have it on my watch list so i may check it out later on. I actually prefer the China films for the action stories. I get great fight/sword sequences and only 2 hour commitment so it works better for me. Shadow is now on Netflix so want to check it out.
The length does make them lag, Table, in parts but they at least change the plots up in the middle so better than a lot of them.
North and South is the bomb! It and Pride and Prejudice are my favorite period pieces.
And Sanditon wasn’t even on my radar so thanks ladies and gents for the heads up.
Try “Our Mutual Friend” by Dickens. It was a late 1990s production. It’s on Amazon prime, too.
@Table122000 I agree about the PD and cinematography for Just Between Lovers. The acting was great. The minor characters so varied and layered. My favourite was the potty mouthed, cigarette puffing Grandmother. I cried when she passed. Explored the varied ways people coped with trauma and grief so well. And the love line was organic and thoughtful. With none of the histrionics of the usual KDrama. A+++
@nrllee- Totally agree with you about Just Between Lovers. A wonderful drama.
Pkm3, I saw it! Never miss a Dickens. My favorite shows are the original A Christmas Carol (Scrooge), original Great Expectations, and the 1960’s musical Oliver!
Let me know if any promising new rom com starts and you’ll be reviewing, Packmule3. I’m geeking out on The Expanse on Amazon Prime (my favorite book genre is sci-fi and fantasy) for now. Good space opera.