Tag: imaginary cat

Dramaland Forecast: Feb 2016

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So, I started this just idly last month, but maybe it might be a good thing to do monthly. Maybe? I dunno. I’m going to give it a shot to try and be more organized as well as chart my interests/commitments/where Dramaland has failed in meeting my expectations. Gonna stick with “Dramaland Forecast” because it makes for a nifty unique tag (for me) and will be useful to go back and weep over the “what could have beens” versus the reality of casting choices and writing flops. Yes, I’m so optimistic.

Actually, I ought to be a little optimistic because so far 2016 has been absolutely delightful. 2015 was a disappointing drama drought, so to be awash in shows that interest me and that I genuinely enjoy and make a point to watch (even sacrificing sleep!), well, that means something.

Right, so let’s get caught up from where I left off last month:

Completed:

  • Imaginary Cat – overall thoughts here. The cat was cute and I thought the story had potential, but it felt like a confused mess most of the time.

Currently watching:

  • Remember
  • One More Happy Ending
  • Signal

Currently watching, kinda, I swear I’ll get caught up eventually:

  • Six Flying Dragons – I made it to ep 22! There’s still hope for me yet. (I mean I’m only a little over a dozen episodes behind.)

Skipping/dropping:

  • Moorim School – I said I wanted to check it out for Sam Okyere but that was pretty much it, and honestly that’s not enough to get me to watch. Which means I won’t.
  • Madame Antoine – this show could turn out to be better than its introduction but wow yeah I just couldn’t get past that and there are other dramas I’d rather spend my time and fury.
  • Cheese in the Trap – I downloaded the first two eps when they first aired and they’re still sitting on my hard drive, untouched. I haven’t deleted them to free up space because I think that I’ll eventually watch one day but we’ll see how long it’ll be for that day to come.
  • Neighborhood Hero – I’m not not-watching it, it just isn’t high on the list and I have too many dramas right now as it is. I’m still curious about it, but I’m also aware of the drama surrounding what’shisface. But I also want to see Soo Hyuk in a different role. Plus based on the teasers, I have a feeling it’ll be more Fugitive Plan: B than Basketball, and that intrigues me (I put most of my stock in the production team, y’know).

Upcoming:

  • Tyrant Monster – AIIIEEEEEEE!!!! I am so excited!!! I’m Park Ki Woong’s #1 fan and to read the news that he’s signed on to a new drama pretty much immediately once he’s freed from army life is definitely reason to do the happy dance, not the least because the last time we saw him on the small screen as Full House Take 2, and, well, I feel I’m owed another Gaksital or Story of a Man or something. (Okay, the fictional small screen, because he was also in Beating Hearts which is a reality show about a bunch of actors/entertainers learning what it takes to become a cop/fireman/paramedic. It has a bunch of familiar names but also Choi Woo Shik for you flower boy fans). POINT IS this was a show I’d already decided to keep an eye on because it’s by one of my favorite writers and that was even before Kang Ji Hwan signed on and much much before the news about PKW broke. I wonder if he’s taking the role that was originally offered Seo Kang Joon because if so, I bet the production team are thrilled that SKJ passed on it because now they get PKW which is a better deal no matter what. Still a little bummed there’s no word about a leading lady (and they’re going to start filming next week!), but they’ve managed to find amazing actresses for their other works, so I hope the production team won’t let us down.
  • Hwarang – when I last wrote, nothing was confirmed, but now this historical flower boy drama is actually set to air this summer and it will indeed star my girl Go Ara with her boy toys Park Seo Joon and Park Hyung Sik. It’ll be pre-produced, which… okay, I love Harvest Villa and What’s Up?, but the last pre-produced drama I touched was D-Day and, well… pleaseletthisbegoodpleasepleaseplease. At least the director knows his way around historical matter, plus the cast and the production company (that brought us all our favorite “Flower Boy” branded shows!) should make for a pretty (literally) and entertaining show.
  • Come Back Ahjussi – this is one of those dramas that I feel like is doomed to mediocre failure, but… it’s Rain. Possessed by a ghost. Who is apparently delighted to be in such a handsome body. How can I resist that? IMAGINE THE SHENANIGANS. It’s supposedly based on Jiro Asada’s novel, and a ghost haunting happens in Oh Yeon Seo’s body, too, so I guess it’ll follow it, kinda, maybe? I dunno. Point is I’m pretty sure I’m guaranteed some shirtless Rain, and that’s what really matters.
  • Vampire Detective – it has an airdate! March 27th! Other than that the only thing I know is it’s started filming. I don’t care. I will watch a vampire drama on OCN any day.
  • Pied Piper – I’m still all-in for this (despite my general misgivings about Liar Game, it was a well-produced drama), and now I know that it’ll follow Cheese in the Trap.

I don’t think I have any other updates beyond what I’ve mentioned previously. Any dramas not on the list aren’t there for a reason, because why waste energy hunting down information about a show I’m not going to watch (or even maybe kinda think about watching) in the first place.

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I finished Imaginary Cat.

It was entertaining enough but not something I’d recommend or go back to. I’m not sure if I’m glad it was only eight episodes or if there could have been a deeper exploration offered in terms of characters and plot-points if it were a full-length drama. Probably the former, considering the acting skills were just tolerable and the characters didn’t have much depth. I didn’t feel the connection with the lead actress and her obsession with cats was understandable but lacked that little extra something for me to actually care.

The cat was excellent, though, and I’m impressed with the way the production team (especially the editing team!) managed to get the cat to “act” and the actress who did the voice-over was fabulous. 

The minor characters were pretty fun, though, but then again, when can Lee El can go wrong in my eyes? It does make me think that my dream job is to be a webtoon editor, considering that once again my favorite characters were a webtoon editor and the sidekick who supports the lead’s webtoon. I guess I have a type.

I haven’t read the source material but I hope it was better than the drama production, because I liked the concept of a man clinging to a cute cat as his only real friend and family after the death of the woman he loved. I’m a firm believer that pets are therapeutic so I think I actually would have enjoyed more back story, watching him project his protective side onto Bokgil as he tries to come to terms with feeling responsible for a loved one’s suicide. There was some interesting potential there, and I feel like it got lost a bit with the bizarre “oh this is actually my cat I lost when I was child!” plot.

Then again, I just didn’t connect with that character, so that’s largely my fault, but I think the actress didn’t fully realize her character, either. She felt like a harsh, shrill one-note representation of what could have been a cute and fun character with a deeper back-story, but all I really got out of her was that she’s obsessed with cats and doesn’t think through her actions. Too childlike for me to approve of her invading Jong Hyun’s space, and I, like Bokgil, had no desire to befriend her. Which meant that whole potential romance was uninteresting and I just wanted to get back to the cat.

As an aside, while I was first annoyed that the vet was someone who became a vet just for Na Woo (yes, I finally cracked and looked up her name – that’s how much of an impression she left on me), I did really appreciate that he seemed like a good vet, and I appreciated his counsel when it came to Bokgil’s final days. I love animals, but I could never be a vet predominately because of having to make those decisions. While the ending wasn’t a surprise, it was, of course, touching, and whatever cat Jong Hyun adopts in the future is one lucky kitty.

tl:dr – The drama was worth it for the cat, but not for much else.

Planning Ahead

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When I made the vague resolution* to become more organized, this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind, but procrastination knows no bounds.

*tbh this organizational battle is just a continual thing in my life, nothing new for 2016 – just a skill my ADHD brain will probably never master yet it’s essential for being a responsible adult, apparently.

So here’s what the Dramaland forecast looks like:

Currently watching:

  • Remember
  • Imaginary Cat

…I’m not a Yoo Seung Ho stan, I swear. But Imaginary Cat is only 8 eps so why stop now, and I’m obliged to Remember (but I’m not complaining. Yet).

Currently watching, kinda, I swear I’ll get caught up eventually (curse you busy holiday season!):

  • Six Flying Dragons – I still haven’t gone past ep 10! My life is a failure.

Plan to watch once drama is over/is already completed:

  • Reply 1988
  • Oh My Venus – mebbe; the only draw for me is Shin Min Ah and Henry-puppy, which is never enough for get me to stick with a show, but it could make for some decent background noise while I’m pretending to organize my household.
  • Awl

Dramas I’m anticipating for 2016:

  • Signal – the only that really matters, tbh, because one of my favorite writers paired with one of my favorite directors with an awesome cast and intriguing concept, on tvN? Yeah, pretty much has “FAVE DRAMA OF THE YEAR” written all over it. Fingers crossed it isn’t as disappointing as Three Days, although I have high expectations for this director (*clutches Misaeng tightly*), so if nothing else it will be absolutely gorgeous to watch. 
  • Moorim School – I’m iffy on the production team and cast, but I’m curious about the premise and I want to see Sam Okyere play a teacher – with such shallow reasoning, there’s a strong chance I won’t last past the first few episodes unless the show pleasantly surprises me.
  • Madame Antoine – I know I should probably walk away from Sung Joon forever, but I just can’t give him up. Not yet. Despite my bitterness, my hope remains that he’ll finally get the role that does him justice. At least the production team seems dependable, even though it’s about 50/50 for a hit or miss just based on their previous works.
  • Lightly, Ardently (or whatever the heck we’re calling it) – tbh I am only excited about this because of Im Joo² – not only do I always need more Im Joo Eun in my life, but to get Im Joo Hwan as well is just a little too much for my eager heart (and What’s Up? obsession) to handle. Pretty sure I’ll hate the drama but love them. Yep, I’m calling it now. Not even gonna take bets on whether or not I stick with it because the odds aren’t that great.
  • Descendants of the Sun – not planning to watch, but I am anticipating the reactions of everyone else watching, because I’m curious to know if pre-production (plus a co-writer) has tamed KES’s predictably frustrating ways.
  • Vampire Detective – it’s on OCN, which is where all vampire dramas should be hosted; it has Oh Jung Se, Lee Chung Ah, and Lee Joon; and it has my attention, if not an airdate as of yet.
  • Pied Piper – trustworthy production team, on tvN, and Shin Ha Kyun back on my screen? I’m in!
  • Dear My Friends – Noh Hee Kyung’s love fest starring Go Hyun Jung, who definitely deserves my attention because she’s amazing, and it also has Shin Sung Woo who’ll you’ll remember me adoring as Shin Umma during the first season of Roommate. Tbh the whole cast is excellent – the ahjummas and ahjussis deserve some prime-time lime-light. I am excite, even if Noh Hee Kyung’s dramas sometimes leave me cold.
  • Tyrant – there’s not much out there on this yet, but it’s from one of my favorite writers Jang Young Chul (or at least one half of my favorite writing team, because he and his wife were responsible for Giant, History of a Salaryman, Incarnation of Money, and Empress Ki), so I have hopes.
  • Mermaid’s Prince – again, not much about this, but it’s an adaption of a webtoon that is about a contract marriage between two opposite personalities and sounds like it could be either cracktastic or a lackluster failure, but still holds that classic rom-com potential.
  • Hwarang – an historical drama presumably about flower boy warriors, from the production company that brought us treasures like Flower Boy Ramyun Shop, Flower Boy Next Door, Shut Up Flower Boy Band, and Cyrano Dating Agency. My interest is definitely piqued, especially since roles have been offered to Park Seo Joon, Park Hyung Sik, and Go Ara. (And I need Go Ara on my screen some time this year; why not let her be surrounded by the pretty?)

All around, 2016 is looking much more exciting compared to 2015, and hopefully that remains true. I need to believe in Dramaland again!

odilettanteLeave a comment

dahliabunches:

obsessivedilettante:

Imaginary Cat is giving me SUFBB feels because the lead’s bestie is the cutie-patootie Busan keyboardist from Eye Candy and the lead’s rival is the leader of Strawberry Fields.

Side note: does Kim Hyun Joon ever get to play the good guy? Because the last thing I saw him in was Hogu’s Love where he was the rapist swimmer pretty-boy.

Also anything with Lee El automatically gets an extra star just because it’s Lee El and she’s a goddess.

Well dang it, now I have to try watching Imaginary Cat.

(Though I totally thought you meant Jung Eui Chul at first and got super excited that he hadn’t actually dropped off the face of the Earth. Alas.)

Oh yeah, sorry for the confusion.

The drama itself is just ok. The bits with the cat are the most interesting. Yoo Seung Ho clearly has chemistry with animals but I’m not really feeling it with the other actors, especially the girl (and I don’t want to be the typical “idols can’t act” drama fan because I think some of them can, but she’s not winning me over. She’s cute and I can tell she’s trying, but I’m not feeling it).

But a drunk Lee El is glorious. She saves the day. As does Park Chul Min as the annoying boss.

Cute’n’pretty faces may be good for promotional material, but veteran actors are so important in keeping a show grounded.

EDIT: wait I thought the lead girl was the idol but apparently it’s the flashback girl? I’m sorry pretty faces all look alike to me, apparently. Flashback girl seemed cute for the twenty seconds she was on screen, so I take back my previous statements about idols and append it to rookie actors. At least she’s getting practice?

Clearly I’m not paying close enough attention to the cast except for the divine Lee El.

odilettanteLeave a comment

Imaginary Cat is giving me SUFBB feels because the lead’s bestie is the cutie-patootie Busan keyboardist from Eye Candy and the lead’s rival is the leader of Strawberry Fields.

Side note: does Kim Hyun Joon ever get to play the good guy? Because the last thing I saw him in was Hogu’s Love where he was the rapist swimmer pretty-boy.

Also anything with Lee El automatically gets an extra star just because it’s Lee El and she’s a goddess.