I have two dramas on my plate right now:
1. Zombie Detective every Monday and Tuesday
• Starring Choi Jin Hyuk (“Pride and Prejudice”) and Park Joo Hyun (“A Piece of Your Mind”)
It still has 4 more episodes (or 2 weeks) left.
2. Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol every Wednesday and Thursday
• Starring Go AhRa (“Reply 1994”) and Lee Jae Wook (“Extraordinary You” second male lead)
This just started. I’m looking forward to the next 12 episodes (6 weeks). I’m crossing my fingers that the plot doesn’t go out of whack.
Here are the October dramas that I’m interested in:
1. Start Up
•Starring Suzy (remember “Vagabond”?) and Nam Joo Hyuk (the “Habaek” guy and “Weight-Lifting Fairy” guy)
•Starts this Saturday, Oct 17, and airs every Saturday and Sunday
•It’s a tvN kdrama and is available on Netflix.
Two eye candies start up a Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory…err… tech company. According to mydramalist, Nam Joo Hyuk plays a math genius who founded a tech company. But after two years, his company is stagnating. I guess that’s where Suzy comes in. She plays a perky character who’ll revitalize his company because she’s a marketing genius ala Steve Jobs.
.
Note: After that “Vagabond” fiasco, I’m skeptical that Suzy can play a smart character. Because of that drama, I see her as an airhead. That totally inappropriate displays of aegyo are forever etched in my brain. Like this one:
Hopefully, she’ll follow the example of IU who’s unafraid to take on diverse roles.
2. Kairos
•Starring Shin Sung Rok (Suzy’s crush in “Vagabond”) and Lee Se Young (the zombie in “Korean Odyssey”)
•Starts Monday, Oct 26, and airs every Monday and Tuesday
•It’s an MBC drama. Viki will probably sub it.
.
This is science fiction and time travel. I think I need this to cleanse my brain after “Alice.”
SungRok plays a married man whose daughter is kidnapped. His perfect life collapses. (I guess, his wife leaves him too.) According to mydramalist, he gets in touch with SeYoung to change his past.
SeYoung is a student struggling to make both ends meet. But her trouble deepens when her sick mother disappears. Then, out of the blue, SungRok gets in touch her.
On the surface, there seems nothing wrong about two people, with lives significantly altered by recent events, contacting each other. But SungRok is from the future, and SeYoung is from the past.
The interesting thing about “Kairos” is the title. Kairos refers to a concept of time. In Western philosophy, time can be seen as chronos or kairos. Chronos is how we often live our lives. We measure our time “chronologically.” We have seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, and so on. We see time as a quantity.
Kairos on the other hand is how we should experience our lives. We live in THE MOMENT. We should “weather” the emotions of living as a human, in sad times and happy times, in loving times and in lonely time, in hopeful times and despairing times. As such, we’re not simply looking at the quantity of time, but the QUALITY of time. Kairos means being in the RIGHT MOMENT, the appropriate moment, or the best moment.
Thus, the title implies that both lead characters are looking for that critical moment in the past when they can change everything and avert their present misery.
Anyway, that’s enough philosophical musing right now. I don’t know about you, but it’s TGIF for me here.
*TGIF = “Thank God it’s Friday!”
And I meant that in both the chronos and Kairos sense of time. lol.
3. Search
•Starring Jang Dong Yoon (“Tale of Nokdu” and a “A Poem a Day” fall guy) and Krystal (she was in “Habaek”)
•Starts on Saturday, Oct 17, and airs every Saturday and Sunday
•Only 10 episode
•It’s an OCN production, and Viki will probably carry it.
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This is a horror suspense show. I don’t know if I’ll be able to sit through this because I’m the world biggest baby right now. — I’m not in the mood for stress right now. Nonetheless, I want to give this kdrama a try because of Jang Dong Yoon. #JusticeforJDY
In this kdrama, he plays a soldier in the armed forces. His expertise? Handling canines. He’s about to end his duty when he’s assigned to investigate the DMZ for some weird business involving a non-human being.
Krystal is another soldier but she’s a relative newbie. She supposedly trained in the US??
So let me guess how that bit of character trait impacts the plot. She’s going to be brash, badass, and bitchy, isn’t she?
I’m cool with that.
*****************
So there you go: three more kdramas to check out this month.
Kairos and Search look promising, at least on paper.
😂 Call me skeptical but marketing genius and Suzy in the same sentence? 🤔. It’s going to be a hard sell (pun intended). I still can’t get over Vagabond’s “Call Bullet Chicken” as code. 😂.
Kairos sounds interesting but it’s another time warp drama? Sounds like it anyway. After Alice I am not entirely sure I want to start anything in the time travel genre.
PS I have fired up the incubator and we’re going to try to hatch some chicks. If we’re successful I will post pics. 🐣.
It’s said that she aspired to be a Steve Jobs and Steve Jobs is a marketing genius. Soooooo….(shrugs)
Yes, that “Vagabond” sure did a number on us all.
I like the actor in Kairos. I think I need to watch a time travel kdrama to get “Alice” out of my head. lol. Kinda like falling off a horse; you just have to get back on again.
Good luck with the baby chicks. Are you going to EAT them when they grow? Are you allowed to grow chicken in your backyard?
@packmule3 we are allowed up to 5 hens per household in our suburb. We keep them for their eggs. The boys will have to go…I did attempt to sell the whole idea of eating the boys but the children would have none of that. So we will have to just bury them in the backyard somewhere.
Thanks @pkml3
Kairos is the only one that sounds like I may plausibly want to try it.
I don’t go in for eye-candy and I don’t watch a show just for an actor. However the reverse is true ie an actor that will affect my viewing pleasure gives me pause and may stop me from trying a show, unless the premise is intriguing or the catnip trope is there.
With that lengthy intro then, it is rational for me to say that Suzy and Krystal both put me off, and therefore I may not even attempt Start Up or Search. LOL. I’m always open however and if there are rave reviews, I may take a peek.
Me for Kairos!!😆😆😆
I love the Kairos FL more. She is expressive, the way I like it.🥰
Can’t imagine Suzy playing a smart role – so Start Up isn’t for me. May try Kairos.
#nrlee Hope your chicks hatch and are well. My neighbor raised chickens here in NYC. And another friend does too. The rule is no roosters. I live in an outer borough-not Manhattan, where we have lots of wildlife-turkeys, rabbits, raccoons, foxes, deer,harbor seals. My other neighbor has a pumpkin patch. We had the world’s largest garbage dump that’s now closed and is being reforested to become a park. My friends who raised chicks tell me they have distinct personalities. So I hope you and your family derive lots of joy and eggs from them.
@OldAmericanLady thank you for your well wishes on the chicken front. 🙂.
Weird thing: do you know that there’s a job that’s called “chicken sexer”? A chicken sexer determines the sex of the chicks and culls the male chicks from female chicks. If you become an expert at telling males from the females, you can earn up to $60,000 a year and work at a poultry farm.
But it must be stressing to look at chicken butts for 8 hours.
Speaking of derrières…
It grossed me to watch 5 seconds Cardi B’s booty in that yucky music video of hers. Why people watch that vulgarity is beyond me. 🤮
@packmule3 yes I do know that such a thing exists. 😂. Unfortunately I am not one so the only way I can work it out is by the size and colour of their combs as they grow. That and the fact that the boys crow eventually. I am not well versed in the antics of Cardi-B so I cannot comment. Currently Daughter Dear is into so many KPop groups that I start to think they look alike?
Off topic:
I saw about Chicken sexers on a TV show. Some breeds have different markings which makes it easy. The woman I saw was looking at their wing tips. It must be a difficult job; the workers must have to do thousands each day.
It’s also on YouTube. Wing sexing isn’t possible on bantams.
Hello Ladies!
Since I am a K-drama Newbie, I cannot watch all these promising series…
I am finishing Detective Black at the moment and then I want to watch Goblin.
I do hope I will find you again in a new Series to talk!
Have a nice evening!
I’m thinking about checking out Private Lives as I enjoy the con artist/caper type of shows (eg. White Collar, Leverage, Squad 38). Last K Drama caper series I watched was The Player, which was OK. I don’t like the female lead actress in Private Lives, but the rest of the cast is solid so I’ve been waiting to see what the reaction is on the drama before starting it. It’s on Netflix.
Otherwise, I’m waiting on the new Ji Chang Wook rom com with Kim Ji Won and Shin Hye Sun new drama Queen Chorin which is slated for the end of the year.
Luckily I’ve got several Chinese rom coms to watch while I wait. Going to watch the final episodes of Dating In The Kitchen-loving it! So far I’m enjoying Love Is Sweet starring my girl Bai Lu (and she’s got her own hair!). My other addictive watch is Love In Time which is on YouTube and Amazon Prime. Viki is driving me crazy with their super slow editing teams. The editor is MIA for almost 2 weeks now but do they get a replacement? Of course not. Sorry, rant over.
Dear friends, I am watching Start-Up and while I find Suzy sexy and stunning, her acting is still wooden. I am a guy so I appreciate the eye candy, but at my age I appreciate nuance even more. I am also waiting for a Cyrano de Bergerac style tragedy for the investor guy. Still in the fence and struggling with episode 2.
And @Packmule3, there are worst jobs: reading a Mary Roach book about sex I found all the process involved in making female pigs more fertile… lets say that anytime I see a pork product I salute those brave souls.
Hope to read you all soon!!!
I am watching search, it is quite good. Justice for JDY indeed haha, he is so good in the drama department, ‘search’ and then he has new drama from the writer of nok doo.
I am also watching samkwang villa, do do sol sol (they are just so cute), and kairos is in my watch list as well.
Hi there, nearsea!
Right? Justice for JDW!!! I’m still pissed off with “A Poem a Day.”
@agdr03 will be happy to hear that he has another drama with the Tale of NokDu writer. 🙂
Aww JDW has another drama? ☺️ I’m definitely in since I can’t watch his Search one. 😱
I’ll always have a soft spot for him. Love him with KSH in Tale of Nokdu! 🥰
Is anyone watching “Search”? I liked the first 2 episodes. JDY is good in his role. His character is sensitive yet down to earth, and JDY pulls it off very well. The story is intriguing and suspenseful.
Hi PM3! Hahah, yes, justice indeed served. Also you know what’S funny, lee yoo bi is also in the drama I think. But she is probably the second lead. Hahah I would love to see her pine after him now. 😀
You’re talking about “Joseon Exorcist,” right? I’m looking forward to Lee YooBi’s character FAILING to get Jang Dongyoon’s character this time around.
But you know what I really want most? I want Jang Dongyoon to reject any work made by the director of APAD. The director screwed him over but since JDY was a relatively unknown actor with a small fanbase, JDY couldn’t make a fuss.
I plan to watch “Search” Friday night. 🙂
Packmule3, Omg so true. That indeed would be the best revenge. I remember how he said, that the initial decision was that JDY would be the main lead. I hate it when directors play their petty games based on the popularity of the actors. I hope JDY gets that chance to say no to him. :/
Haha, I have yet to watch search second episode. Although the CG looks pretty terrible, I am impressed with what they are doing, considering the budget of the drama is probably not that high, as it is an OCN drama. But I read that this is the fourth one of OCN’s dramatic cinema project. And it is also nice to see something outside of the typical Korean drama box haha.
Packmuleshi are you planning to watch start up? I really enjoy the writing so far and I’m so intrigued by where the storyline is going. Apart from the two main actors Everything else so far has been so unexpected and i adore the directing and writing.
Yes, I like the story, BeingWritten. Will try to finish my “First Impressions” before Saturday’s new episode.
Glad to hear you’re writing first impressions about Start Up, Packmule! I’m like 3 pages into meta already because I sense some Reply 1988-esque story telling shenaningans to sort through. Maybe your insights will help me get out of this rabbit hole (or not, either way the show is really fun).
I’m just putting this here after watching the first 2 episodes, for everyone’s consideration.
Kdrama: The Spies Who Love Me>/b>
Episode 1 and 2 First Impressions
I just picked this show up for no particular reason. I didn’t mind watching Eric Mun again and Yoo In Na is eminently watchable. The only character I may not care for is Im Joo Hwan’s, more because his characters give off the smarmy and suspicious vibe. Maybe I find that his smiles don’t quite reach the depths of his eyes.
The theme of marriage, in the midst of espionage is an interesting one. There’s the familiar conflict where a relationship that is supposed to be built on total self-giving, openness and trust, is paradoxically lived out in a climate of secrets and lies.
Even in the best of circumstances, marriage is not easy, but marriage with a spy (or two) stacks more against the success of married life. Our heroine has not one, but 2 marriages, with men, who unbeknownst to her, have secret lives.
I’d normally avoid shows where divorce is the baseline for the premise, but this one analyses couple relationships, and hints that there is still hope for a divorced couple. That gets complicated when the ex-wife has remarried.
Premise (that I want to see mostly overturned by end of show): Marriages (and dating) are transactions and implicitly a battle, with the man and woman on different sides, and the possibility of double-crosses, etc like with espionage. When reality sinks in after the honeymoon, war will begin, (but as long as no third party comes into the picture, it can still work out).
I like the first 2 episodes. I don’t mind the espionage genre with or without romance thrown in. Show covers the espionage bits believably while giving a good deal of focus on the relationships, past and present. That got my attention at once, because in the thick of the action, relationships were being re-examined. While characters were of necessity lying and hiding information about themselves, they were at the same time confronting truths and being as honest as they could.
There was one longish scene after what looks like a sincere apology, of the exes on the motorbike together along a long, dark road, reminiscent of traveling the road of life together into unknown territory. It’s interesting that he’s carrying with him a body full of scars and a new wound, and she’s carrying with her a blood-stained (his blood) short wedding veil. I’m tempted to read more into this.
What I like about it:
1) The 2 main characters are immediately being fleshed out from the start. We get to see them in the present and we are given their back stories in some detail. The 2 actors together work well in the scenes.
2) There are spy missions going on, and we get sufficiently briefed on them, but this does not detract from the development of characters and their relationships.
3) It’s interesting that we have a Catholic nun (she may or may not turn up again) on one side of the ML, and a Muslim Interpol Head on this other side. The fact of their faiths may have no bearing at all on the story however.
4) In the international field, it’s a relief to see, for a change, that an interpreter is used in a briefing for the CIA (better than other shows where everything is understood when 2 parties are speaking different languages), and that the scientist (actress Yoon So Hee) can speak good English.
5) The fun dialogue between the exes where they can discuss intimate apparel like girdles and stockings with aplomb and without embarrassment.
Hi @pkml3 and Everyone, did anyone watch Kairos? I just watched the first episode and the word ‘intense’ does not begin to describe it. Too much tragedy, and quite dark, in the first episode but it certainly gave us the set up for everything.
Instead of a walkie talkie as in Signal, the mobile phones wires get ‘crossed’ across time. I felt that this supernatural phenomenon happened because of Ae Ri’s prayer, but her prayer was for her mother, not for the kidnapped child. So the prayer wires got crossed as well LOL. I enjoyed watching Shin Sung Rok and Lee Se Young in action.
@pkml3 I second @Fern on the Zombie thread about creating the Ep 11 and 12 Open Thread. May we have that please? Also may we please have a ‘November Shows Open Thread’ so that shows that have started and will continue in November can be posted there?
Will do, @GB. 👍
Give me half an hour to get back home. 🏃♀️
OK, after 2 episodes of Kairos, I’m definitely on board. This is the way a time merge/skip/travel story should be written. It’s tight and coherent.
I’ve heard of kairos time before. In matters of faith, I’ve known of God’s time or kairos time, where all time is one, where in the Memorial of the significant event of God giving all of Himself to all people of all time, what happened in the chronological past is made present now, and we of the now are present in the event of the past. With kairos, there is no past or present.
Wikipedia says “Kairos (Ancient Greek: καιρός) is an Ancient Greek word meaning the right, critical, or opportune moment.[1] The ancient Greeks had two words for time: chronos (χρόνος) and kairos. The former refers to chronological or sequential time, while the latter signifies a proper or opportune time for action. While chronos is quantitative, kairos has a qualitative, permanent nature.[2] Kairos also means weather in Modern Greek. The plural, καιροί (kairoi (Ancient and Modern Greek)) means the times. Kairos is a term, idea, and practice that has been applied in several fields including classical rhetoric, modern rhetoric, digital media, Christian theology, and science.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kairos)
Several aspects of show necessarily reminds me of Signal. There is
1) a device (and telephone number) that links 2 people in different times. Signal had the walkie talkie.
2) there is only specific time (1 minute a night) in which they can make contact but at least with a mobile phone, they can send each other messages and electronic files so it was not as limited as the Signal walkie talkie.
3) it took some convincing in order for the one party to convince the other that they were really living in different times.
4) what they did in the past really had an impact on the present.
This immediately gives us hope that the evil that took place can be stopped before it happens.
Good things about this show: Great actors who carry the emotional weight well, a clear demarcation about whether we are in the past or present (as the scenes of the past have a yellow cast), and show exudes a sense of assurance so that I can believe it knows where it’s going with the story.
Watching a few C dramas these days
Oh! My sweet liar – series now ended and nice and fluffy most the way through. Fun and happy ending.
General’s Lady – nice romantic series. Princess marries Buster Keaton. She has a nice natural smile, but no sign of a smile on him at all. Nice twist the way she gets back at her husband in Episode 9. Wait for the episodes with Babel Fansub subbtitles.
Overlord – and the prize for the most badly behaved leading lady is here. She’s a gang leader and he’s a serious silk merchant. Her eating habits leave much to be desired. You know it’s going to happen, but how there is going to be a romance between them is anyone’s guess.