I had a dream that I got to go on a special backlot tour (a very bizarre one, with spaceship and things, idek) of The Good Place and meet a lot of the people connected to it, not just the actors, but the writers and set designers and minor assistants and just, well, everyone.
We got to ask one question of everyone we met and I can’t remember all my questions but apparently my one burning question for Manny Jacinto was if he’s naturally skilled with lollipops or if it took a long time to learn how to catch one in his mouth.
I just don’t understand how a show that clearly says it’s based on Agatha Christie’s “Miss Marple” is about a mother seeking revenge for her dead daughter.
I just… I mean… It’s not… I can’t… *deep sigh*
For starters, Miss Marple never married. That was her thing. A spinster. Never married, never had kids. She was a sweet, crafty old biddy who solved crimes by relating them to the seedier side of St. Mary’s Mead.
She solves crimes by going “oh that reminds me of…” Her powers of observation and intelligence are why she’s so good at what she does. She’s an amateur detective almost accidentally solves crime – she can’t help that crimes just seem to happen wherever she goes.
This Miss Ma Nemesis nonsense is… NONSENSE. It’s making me so angry.
Here’s the thing, though. It’s a pretty decent crime show so far. It’s got a compelling start and a kick-ass lead.
BUT IT’S NOT MISS MARPLE wtf did these writers even try, couldn’t they at least opened a wiki like c’mon.
Watching YG Future Strategy Office on Netflix (freakin’ hilarious, btw, especially if you are or have ever been a YG stan), and it’s made me relive this glorious collaboration.
Your House Helper– I was really worried about the ending since the few eps before the final weeks were starting to focus on the main romance which was the least interesting part of the show. But it wrapped up pretty well (although I think we can all agree So-mi’s resolution with her step brother was a total cop out), and I loved this little show for tackling difficult issues in a thoughtful way and bringing me another group of female friends to love and adore.
Meteor Garden 2018– I did it! Finally! I’ll admit I didn’t play close attention to the last dozen episodes or so, but dammit I watched all 49 eps and now I can move on with my life.
Currently Watching:
The Ghost Detective – I’m two weeks behind but I still plan to get caught up, eventually.
Devilish Joy – I’m two weeks behind and plan to get caught up, eventually (oooh, deja vu!). I’ve only been paying attention to Hoya’s parts, though, because yes I am that fangirl (and lbr he’s the cutest thing in this).
The Guest– I was watching this despite my squeamishness when it comes to horror because I’m an OCN fangirl and a Handsome Oppa fangirl, but episode 6 made me realize that things are getting good and I’m eager to see how our characters work together to defeat literal evil.
Player – I just started it and make no promises but omg it’s totally my jam! I’m a sucker for stylish heist stories with a bizarre collection of characters that have very specific skills. I’m still hesitant since there will undoubtedly be a loveline between Song Seung Hoon’s and Krystal’s characters (because lbr this is still Dramaland, even if it’s OCN). But gdi I need all the Robin Hood heist stories I can get my greedy hands on.
Dropping/Skipping:
Everything else! There were just so many premieres, I couldn’t keep up even if I wanted to. I’m still tempted by a few, but I can’t even watch what I already am trying to watch.
Upcoming dramas of interest:
Where Stars Land – the last thing this writer and director created together was Gu Family Book, which I feel like should be a warning, but I actually was one of the few people who genuinely enjoyed that show. I do like this writer, though (Dalja’s Spring, King of Baking Kim Tak Goo, Romantic Teacher Doctor Kim) plus the cast is great, so I’m willing to give it a chance.
The Greatest Divorce – what an excellent cast! (You know how much I love me some Lee El, so Cha Tae Hyun and Bae Doona are almost like a bonus.) I haven’t watched the original Japanese drama, but I’m already trying to figure out how to squeeze this into my schedule.
Dae Jang Geum is Watching – I’m such a sucker for food shows, and this one looks cute and sweet. I’m rooting for sitcoms to make a comeback, anyway (especially shorter ones!), so this might find a way into my already overly-packed viewing schedule.
Room No. 9 – my kneejerk instinct is to stay far away from this (a lawyer and a doctor? But legal and medical dramas are my least favorite!). But then they’re gonna throw in bodyswap hijinks that involve Kim Hae Sook and Kim Hee Sun – and oh yeah, there’s a woman’s prison. So I’m conflicted.
Bad Detective – it’s a remake of BBC’s Luther, which makes me both excited and wary. I really like the cast, though (Shin Ha Kyung is a total ahjussi crush!), but I don’t know enough about the production team. This could be a disaster of Criminal Minds proportions or a Life on Mars success. I want to check it out, anyway.
Miss Ma, Goddess of Revenge – this is supposedly based on Agatha Christie’s “Miss Marple” series but the synopsis makes me go, “…are you sure? Because it just sounds like a random mystery series based on nothing I remember about Miss Marple. But okay, you got my mystery-loving attention…”
As always, any drama not listed means I have nothing new to add since the last mention and/or it’s not something I care about enough to add to the list.
Today I took my car’s title to the mechanic, since he offered to buy her from me for a few hundred dollars. Since she’s twenty years old and has gone through a lot, she really wasn’t worth anything, and I’d planned to have her towed to a junk yard and donated to charity.
But he said – other than needing a new transmission – her insides looked pretty good and he wanted to fix her up to get back to working condition for his own family’s personal use. Fine with me – I’m happy that someone will continue to love her instead of thinking about her being chopped up into parts.
So I brought the title to him today, and realized that I put over 133,000 miles on her, since I’d forgotten the original odometer reading. She decided to need (another) new transmission at 195,000 miles. She’s had a good life, now it’s time for peaceful retirement.
My visit to the mechanic didn’t take as long as I thought, so in an effort to kill time and celebrate selling the first-ever big thing I owned as an adult, I stopped at the convenience store by work to get a drink. I’d been hoping for a brand of tea I’ve recently fallen in love with, but they didn’t have it, so I decided to get my old standby, my beloved Cherry Coke.
When I walked to the case, this is what greeted me:
All the other bottles had the regular Coke label facing out – this is the only one that had a name.
The name I gave my car when I first got her, the car I’ve driven over a decade and had been my loyal companion through apartment/job/relationship changes?
Veronica.
Maybe it’s silly to have such an emotional attachment to a hunk of steel and rubber, but I can’t help thinking this was a little way that the universe was letting me know that my car enjoyed her time with me, too.
So maybe I won’t ever drive her again, but I will “share a Coke” with her one last time.
The Obsessive Dilettante 