Someone be brave and watch the first episode and tell me if Uncontrollably Fond is worth it or if I should just resign myself to reblogging gifsets of ImJoo2.
Hahahaha I’m so sorry Wales it all happened because I publicly declared I was rooting for you.
I can’t root for Portugal in good faith due to my unfortunate loyalty to England (who hasn’t won anything in years so what’s the point, y’know?) so I’m hoping Wales wins just because they’re not Portugal, plus they’re the underdogs and everyone likes a good underdog story.
But I do love to watch Ronaldo play. He’s such a beautiful player. I mean, he plays beautifully. Yeah, that too.
I’m hoping to get caught up on dramas tonight but there’s also a chance I may fall asleep within twenty minutes because yay holiday weekends aka the busiest, most exhausting time of the year (4th of July is only third to Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year’s).
But once I’m caught up I can hang out here instead of ducking my head, posting, and running out with my hands over my eyes.
Tumblr is threatening to shove DMF spoilers at me despite my attempts to avoid them, so I’mma peace out for a bit until I can watch the eps (which alas may take longer than usual because yay holiday weekend aka super crazy busy work days).
Tableaux in Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Hi :) I love your blog, and was scrolling through it once again when I came upon a few posts about Task Force 58. I’m a sucker for interesting female characters (and especially ones that work together to solve crime haha), but I have a lot of dramas on my to watch/finish list… a list that could turn into an essay haha :D Would this be a drama you’d recommend? Any favourite aspects? Please answer if you have time and want to, and if not it is all good haha :) I’d love to know what you think!
I am loving Task Force 38 (aka Squad 38, which is how I generally refer to it here). It helps that I’m generally a fan of the con/heist genre, and I enjoy watching a bunch of loner con(wo)men gather together to use their various strengths for a big con that will help the underdog.
There’s a cinematic quality to the show, which makes sense, because it’s from the same director as Hidden Identity (where the excellent cinematography was the saving grace). The script is excellent, too, in that it weaves an interesting con with the human drama, and there are curves and surprises along the way. Also, the “bad guy” is smart. I love that, like, genuinely really respect a show that gives us an intelligent bad guy who can outwit the good guys (even though I always hope and expect the good guys will win in the end!).
Plus, Ma Dong Seok is fantastic, although that’s to be expected.
That said, while the ladies are awesome and I lub them dearly (they are so kick-ass and good at their jobs, and I’m still waiting for more of Sooyoung’s character to have more of an impact, since it feels like she hasn’t been utilized as much as I’d expect in the past five episodes I’ve watched so far – although it’s clear her character is important, I just want more of her, y’know?), the show is focused on the main (male) characters as portrayed by Ma Dong Seok and Seo In Guk. That is to say, awesome ladies, but not female-centric, even though they save the day or call out the crap our “heroes” are trying to do.
This is the kind of show OCN does best, and the emotional human drama part of it also means it would fit as a tvN drama. If that makes sense – OCN doesn’t have the nickname of “Only Crime Dramas” for nothin’, and while they have the procedural down-pat, this isn’t exactly a procedural so far as I can tell, even though it could easily have been. There’s a deeper conspiracy here that gets explored layer by agonizing layer each week while there are mini-cons that build on the larger con, and the larger con builds on an even bigger one (or so I’m presuming, just based on the fact that six episodes in and we’ve only just completed the first big con).
Anyway. I love it. It’s my favorite show airing at the moment, now that DMF is over (and I haven’t watched those eps yet, so I swear if anyone spoils the ending for me until I have a chance to watch them, may the drama gods have mercy on your bias and your soul).
That said, I know it’s not for everyone (no drama is!), and just because it suits my tastes, doesn’t mean it will necessarily suit everyone else’s, so I won’t be offended if you give it a chance and decide it’s not to your liking.
Dramaland Forecast: July 2016
Previously: Jan – Feb – Mar – Apr – May – June
Completed:
- Baek Hee Has Returned – super cute and heart-warming, and I loved the relationship between the mother and her not-far-from-the-apple-tree daughter. Also Kim Sung Oh is amazing and should be in more things (er, more things with a greater role and not just cameos!).
- Vampire Detective – it was a decent crime show with a fun cast of characters and nifty camera work, but I still don’t understand why they bothered with a vampire gimmick when it was barely utilized.
Currently Watching:
- Monster – whooooooa, we’re (over) halfway there! Whooooa-OH, livin’ on a prayer (that it will maintain the recentish switch to being actually good).
- Dear My Friends – fave drama of the year so far.
- Squad 38 – fave drama airing right now.
- Beautiful Mind – on paper this is clearly a show that I wouldn’t like but in reality I’m hooked.
Skipping/Dropping:
- Neighborhood Lawyer Jo Deul Ho – I do still intend to finish this show (one day), but I finally had to admit that being stuck on episode 8 for a month means it goes to the drop list. For now.
- Doctors – I love Park Shin Hye and glad she’s back on the small screen, but this isn’t the drama for me.
- Wanted – I still haven’t watched the premiere and don’t know when I will, so it’s safe to say I’m skipping this one.
- Let’s Fight Ghost – Taecyeon in a drama about ghosts?
I’m going to finish this show one day, I swear:
- Six Flying Dragons – still on ep 28. There are just so many good dramas lately that I don’t have the free time to attempt to get caught up! (Yeah, that’s the story.)
Upcoming dramas of interest:
- Uncontrollably Fond – or, as it’s known in these parts, Uncontrollably Woozy. Each teaser seems to cement that this is probably not the drama for me, but… ImJoo2! What to do, what to do. (Uh, watch at least the premiere and go from there, probably.)
- W – the teasers aren’t exciting me, but the premise is interesting and this is generally a trustworthy screenwriter, plus Han Hyo Joo! And my favorite bodyguard!
- The Good Wife – I’m pretty sure you guys know how I feel about this one. CANNOT. WAIT.
- Second to Last Love – I’ve not watched the original Japanese version, so I don’t really have a clue what this is about beyond the basic description, but it has Kim Hee Ae and my girl Kim Seul Gi, so that means it also has my attention.
- Age of Youth – even though there isn’t much info out there about this drama*, I’m excited about it because it’s from the writer of White Christmas and Wild Romance, the latter of which had its issues, but it also gave us the character of Dong Ah who is one of my fave characters ever, and who sounds like she’d fit right in with this drama about five female college students who live in a share-house. (*edit: a teaser has been released since I originally queued this post.)
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.
The Obsessive Dilettante 