Tag: live

Dramaland Forecast: May 2018

odilettanteLeave a comment

Previously: Jan – Feb – Mar – Apr

Completed:

  • None

Currently Watching:

  • April was an odd month for me, thanks to an unpremeditated hiatus from dramas. I’m not sure what to put here because I really should go back and finish the shows that I listed as “currently watching” on last month’s forecast, but I also have a tendency to keep moving on and never looking back at the scattered, unfinished dramas in my wake. So… who knows?

Dropping/Skipping:

  • Despite what I said above, I’m not quite ready to admit defeat on the dramas I was watching (Should We Kiss First? and Live), so for now I’m not adding them to this list.
  • I do intend to give Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food a fair chance but the licensing hullaballoo sorta sucked the anticipation out of me. I also have to be in the right mood for a cute romance, and currently I’m not in that mood.
  • I downloaded the first two episodes of The Miracle That We Met and then never watched them, so I guess this drama is technically skipped just because when I do get back into a drama-watching rhythm, it’ll be for the two I put on hold (or for a brand spankin’ new one).

Upcoming dramas of interest:

  • Greasy Melo/Wok of Love – I’m still gung-ho about this drama because it has all the elements that I love (cast! writer! plot! FOOD!), and if anything it’ll be the one to draw me back from my mini-hiatus.
  • Lawless Lawyer – I think I’m one of the few people who aren’t automatically compelled to watch everything Lee Joon Ki is in. I’m also pretty iffy on legal shows. This writer’s drama debut was Remember, which I liked well enough, but I don’t know if I want to be put through the legal wringer any time soon.
  • Investigation Couple – This is a pretty solid cast and I enjoy mysteries, but the writers are unknown and the basic plot (a warm-hearted prosecutor and a forensic scientist with a bad personality solve crimes) sounds so cookie-cutter cliche. For one wild and delirious moment, I though the forensic scientist would be Jung Yumi and the prosecutor would be Jung Jae Young, which I thought would be fun in a Bones kind of way. But no, of course the “warm-hearted prosecutor” is the woman and the “gruff forensic scientist” is the man. This could be good – there are too many unknowns to make a firm decision – but I think I’m already too disappointed by the predictable casting to give it a chance.
  • Come and Hug Me – I don’t know if it’s a season of terrible plot synopsis but honestly there’s nothing appealing about a melodrama about a detective and a popular actress who are somehow connected due to a murder case from their past. I’m all for giving rookie writers a chance, but these vague plots are doing nobody any justice. The cast are a bunch of actors I don’t know (other than Jin Ki Joo) because I haven’t watched anything else they’ve been in, and I don’t know that I will get to know them because unless everyone in Dramaland keeps telling me this is the best thing ever, I’ll likely end up skipping it.
  • Why Secretary Kim – I don’t know anything about the novel or webtoon (also based on the novel), but the brief synopsis sounds like the classic asshole chaebol and spunky Candy set-up. Not that it’s a bad thing necessarily (it’s a classic for a reason), but I don’t know what the hook is. I do really like Park Seo Joon and Lee Tae Hwan, though, so it could be worth it just for the eye-candy.
  • Handsome Guy and Jung Eum – I’m not completely cranky about the ridiculous and vague plot synopses this month, because I totally want to give this one a chance. My cynical heart wants to be warmed by the idea of two people who’ve given up on love/don’t care about love, but who have “theories” about love, putting those theories to the test and falling in love, anyway. I just hope Hwang Jung Eum isn’t too shrieky.
  • About Time – “A woman has the special ability to see the lifespan clocks of other people and meets a man who can stop her time, and he falls in love with her.” Now this is a synopsis, people! I’m already intrigued, not the least because there’s some sci-fi/fantasy element going on. Plus I need to know if the reason she can tell that he stops her clock is because he’ll somehow end up being the death of her (probably not, this is Dramaland after all, but hey it means I’m already hooked). Also Lee Sang Yoon owes me a good drama after making me sit through the entirety of Whisper and his endless eyebrows acting.
  • Miss Hammurabi – About the only thing that will get me to watch this is a wave of nostalgia where I pretend that Reply 1994′s Na Jung and her father are cosplaying as judges (because what else am I going to think of when you have Go Ara and Sung Dong Il in the same drama together?). As much as I declare myself an Inspirit, I just don’t feel that L can carry a drama as a lead (he’s fine as supporting cast, don’t @ me). This director is also seriously hit-or-miss with me. He can do some things really well, and other things absolutely terribly, and often both extremes can be found in the same drama.

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.

Dramaland Forecast: April 2018

odilettanteLeave a comment

Previously: Jan – Feb – Mar

Completed:

  • Misty – I know there was a lot of grumbling about the ending but I genuinely loved this drama, warts and all. But it will probably go down in my memory as me falling in love with Hye-ran’s outfits and all the messages that Mary and I sent each other. It’s so easy for me to watch shows in my teeny, selfish bubble that I forgot that experiencing it others can be fun, too.

Currently Watching:

  • Should We Kiss First – I am a week behind and I’m assuming there’s gonna be new ways to add tragedy to the story, yet somehow I never feel truly weighed down by the melodrama. There’s enough comedy to keep me interested, and I think I just genuinely love the novelty of an older couple falling in love and learning to live together. (And I adore some of the minor characters, like the match-making couple. <3)
  • Live – I’ve only made it up to episode 3 because there’s a bleakness to this show that I find exhausting, but in the good way. Like it’s a little too real, when apparently what I want right now is some escapism. I do really enjoy the “slice-of-life” story and the cast of familiars from Noh Hee Kyung’s other dramas. It’s just not one I can binge, apparently.
  • Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food – Okay, technically this is more of a “plan to watch” once Netflix drops the subs. At least, I assume Netflix has it, because it’s *crickets* everywhere else. We’ll find out in a few days, I suppose. (And yes, unfortunately that’ll be non-US Netflix, but I, ah, have my ways…)

Dropping/Skipping:

  • My Husband Oh Jak Doo – I think I gave this four episodes before dropping it. I was enjoying it as a kind of background noise since the plot was super-predictable so I didn’t have to give it my full attention. Until I realized I was no longer giving it any attention, so why even bother. I still enjoyed what I saw, though.
  • My Ahjussi – I adore this director but until someone convinces me that this isn’t about a 40-something man finding himself thanks to a woman half his age, I just can’t bring myself to give it a chance.
  • A Poem a Day – I love slice-of-life shows and this cast is pretty great, but I just find it impossible to get into medical dramas.

Upcoming dramas of interest:

  • The Miracle That We Met – This writer is so polarizingly hit-or-miss with me (I adored Woman of Dignity and I hated Strong Woman Do Bong Soon) that I don’t know what to expect from this, but the cast is great, even if the director is iffy. So I’m split on whether I’ll devote time to this drama. I won’t be rushing to check it out (because I’m already behind on shows I like), but I’ll probably check it out, at least for an episode or two.
  • Suits – I’ve watched the first 1.5 seasons of the original, which I vaguely enjoyed (enough to get me to start watching another season, which is saying a lot). So I’m also vaguely interested in checking it out, but it’s not high on my list.
  • Mistress – I haven’t watched the original version but I’m all about strong, interesting women, so this definitely has my interest.
  • Greasy Melo – I love this writer and this cast, so this is probably my most anticipated April premiere. Plus I’m hoping for lots of delicious food porn!

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.

Dramaland Forecast: March 2018

odilettanteLeave a comment

Previously: Jan – Feb

Completed:

  • None since last month

Currently Watching:

  • Misty – I feel like it says something about how much I love a drama when Mary wishes there was a hangout or something, and I’m like “game on.”
  • Should We Kiss First – there’s a cringe-level to some bits of humor but it also reminds me of Kim Sun Ah’s earlier rom-coms, so I’m fully enjoying it, especially since it seems like we’re settling into a comfortable balance of humor and seriousness and bittersweet sadness.

Dropping/Skipping:

  • Cross – I really have no desire to watch tons of painfully detailed surgeries, no matter what sort of revenge I’m eventually promised
  • Laughter in Waikiki – not my cup of humor tea.
  • Children of a Lesser God – this director is on my blacklist, plus after the hours I spent analyzing Black, I’m not ready to jump back into an OCN supernatural thriller.
  • The Great Seducer – I don’t understand how this is supposed to be a remake of Dangerous Liaisons yet not be on cable, but whatever. “Loosely based” makes me wonder just how loose. If this had a more seasoned cast, I might consider it, but nothing about the production appeals to me so it’s an easy skip.
  • That Man Oh Soo – OCN keeps trying to break into the romance genre (and apparently cast as many idols while doing it), but I’m just not buying it.
  • Switch – I keep trying to write something vaguely upbeat about this but honestly the last thing I liked Jang Geun Suk in was Mary Stayed Out All Night. I don’t know enough about this production team to make an educated decision, but this legal drama is probably one I’ll skip.

Upcoming dramas of interest:

  • Live – this is my most anticipated drama of the year because it’s Noh Hee-kyung’s latest drama, and she’s paired up with her fave director (Padam, Padam…; That Winter, The Wind Blows; It’s Okay, That’s Love) so you know it’ll be visually gorgeous. I’m also looking forward to a different take on police officers. It’ll be interesting to see them portrayed in a more human-interest focused story, where they’re just people living their lives as best they can and not merely there to solve the case of the day. Plus it’s Lee Kwang Soo’s first major drama starring role so I gotta support my twin, the giraffe.
  • Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food – I’m a sucker for a good noona romance, and I trust this director (Secret Love Affair; A Wife’s Credentials; Heard it Through the Grapevine) to make a show that’s more than just a cheesy rom-com. Part of me is secretly wishing it’ll be like a What’s Up Fox? remake, though (okay, maybe not a remake, but I’d really love to revisit that emotional journey).
  • My Husband Oh Jak Doo – even though I like the cast line-up, I’m a bit iffy on this, and it’ll probably take me watching the first few eps to decide if it’s worth it. But hey, contract marriages are generally a drama winner, right?
  • Let’s Watch the Sunset – this one is on the “maybe” pile, although I fear it’ll be too tear-jerking for my taste and will easily go into the “dropped” pile. But I like the cast and I at least want to support all the female directors I can.
  • My Ahjussi– I really love this director but I’m still skeeved out that this sounds like some manic-pixie-dream-girl in her twenties helps a 40-something man find meaning in his life. Maybe if they surprise me and she turns out to be his long-lost daughter and he has to figure out what it means to be a dad, I’ll be all-in, but right now I’m just, ehhhhhhh…
  • Life on Mars – I’ve mostly focused on March premieres, but the tentative cast for this remake has me excited. Jung Kyung Ho as the Sam character, Park Sung Woong as the Gene character, and Go Ah Sung as the Annie character seem pretty ideal to me. It helps that this would be airing on OCN, which not only has a proven track record for crime procedurals with a twist, but has also shown us through Tunnel that they can handle “time travel” as well. I know the default is to be suspicious and wary of remakes, but I think this could be excellent, especially since the PD in charge was the one who also did The Good Wife, which is perhaps one of my favorite remakes – there was respect for the original yet it incorporated elements that fit the culture.

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.

Dramaland Forecast: January 2018

odilettanteLeave a comment

Previously: 2016 –2017

Well, here we are – another year over, and a new one filled with promising dramas… that I will probably not end up watching. Heh.

Thanks to these regular “forecasts” (even the ones that were thrown together in a last-minute “wait it’s the end of the month already???” panic), I’ve discovered that a lot of the dramas I look most forward to, I inevitably end up dropping. But maybe 2018 will mean more success for me drama-wise. Although I did, apparently, complete seventeen dramas last year, which is a pretty decent run.

Completed:

  • Black – I spent literally 100,000 words on this drama (although maybe only 85,000 were actually published) so I don’t want to spend too much more on it, but it was a fascinating journey and one I’m really glad I experienced. It was also one of the trickiest dramas I’ve ever recapped, thanks to the endless challenge of trying to sum up over an hour of plot crammed with important details while trying to not to exceed my word count (too much). I think I’ll remember this drama more for the experience than for the actual drama itself. I do recommend more people giving it a chance, though, because it gets more and more compelling (don’t just base your opinion of it on the first couple of episodes!). But I also want to warn everyone to stop watching before the last twenty minutes. Ugh. All that effort, and we get THAT ending.

Currently watching:

  • Wise Prison Life/Prison Playbook – I’m still crawling through each episode at my turtle pace (DON’T SPOIL ME), but I don’t regret my slow speed, because it’s a drama that requires my full attention – unfortunately my full attention can only last so long. I’m still amazed that I can love a show with so few women in it, but I adore these characters. Ensemble pieces will forever be my weakness. I’m also happy to be reminded how delightful Jung Kyung Ho is, since he’s been busying himself with projects these past few years that haven’t interested me until now.
  • Just Between Lovers – I love it so much. So much. I’m still a couple of episodes behind (DON’T SPOIL ME) but this is in the running to be my favorite of 2018, even if half of it aired in 2017.

Dropping/skipping:

  • Two Cops – I tried, but it just wasn’t working for me. Which means my track record for dropping Jo Jung Suk’s dramas (ever since King2Hearts) is still perfect. Although fair warning that you’ll eventually see some gifsets reblogged whenever they reach my daily Hoya queue.
  • Jugglers – the first ep didn’t do anything for me, even though I really wanted to like this show. I planned to give it a few more episodes but never got around to it.
  • Hwayugi – I was delayed in starting this show due to a very busy couple of weeks, but now I think it’s the kind of show that might be best skipped and more entertaining to follow the drama about the drama itself. I’m still hoping it turns out okay, though, since it has so many of my faves in it (Lee El deserves a good role!).

Upcoming dramas of interest (this will probably be the longest one of the year, since I’m looking at the entirety of 2018 as “upcoming”):

  • Radio Romance – I don’t know what more I can say about this than has already been said. I love the concept and I love Doojoon, but I’m not a fan of casting such a young actress as his love interest.
  • Return – the teasers for this look terrible, but I love the cast (my queen Go Hyun Jung! And maybe Park Ki Woong in a post-enlistment role I won’t hate!), so I’m tentatively hopeful, even if it is a legal drama.
  • Longing Heart – OCN has yet to prove to me it can do a decent rom-com. I don’t think this will prove it to me.
  • Mother – I liked the original Japanese drama, so I’m curious how they’ll handle a remake. I feel like I should be able to trust a drama with Lee Bo Young, but I also wasted countless hours recapping Whisper, so… yeah… At least I feel like this director (My Beautiful Bride, On the Way to the Airport, Chicago Typewriter) is up for the remake challenge, and hopefully he’ll keep the atmosphere of the original.
  • Cross – It’s no secret I love Go Kyung Pyo, but I’m kinda squinty-eyed at the thought of a medical drama, even one billed as a revenge drama. The production team is a relative unknown for me, so there’s a 50/50 shot I’ll give this one a chance.
  • Goddess of the Court – I only watched maybe 2/3 of the first season of Drop Dead Diva, but I remember generally enjoying it and I can see how this could be a fun kdrama adaptation.
  • Devilish Joy – a rom-com centered on a condition called “Cinderella amnesia.” Yeah, I dunno either. Choi Jin Hyuk is rumored to star, but not even Sexy Demon Daddy can convince me this won’t be anything but disaster (at least, for those of us who are uber picky about rom-coms).
  • Grand Prince – despite the intriguing cast (Joo Sang Wook, Yoon Shi Yoon, Kim Mi Kyung), my sageuk track record is officially terrible, so this will be a pass just by default.
  • Mystery Queen 2 – I never watched the first one so this will probably be the first and last time you see me mention it. Not that Korean sequels necessarily have anything to do with the original series, but yeah, it’s not on my radar and will probably stay that way.
  • Misty – the fact that this on JTBC makes me more interested than if it were airing on a non-cable channel, because just based on the premise alone, I think I’d give it a pass, especially with a production team that I don’t know much about. But since it’s on cable, I have hopes that it will defy expectations and be something to sink my teeth into, if only to see Kim Nam Joo’s long-awaited return to dramaland.
  • Should We Kiss First? – the plot is about four “ajusshi/ajumma” age adults who’ve lost their faith in love, and it stars two of my favorite goddesses: Kim Sun Ah and Park Si Yeon. Give it to me noooooooooow.
  • Children of a Lesser God – no, this apparently has nothing to do with the old movie/play of the same name, but it is the next OCN thriller so of course I’m going to watch it.
  • Eulachacha Waikiki – it sounds like a remake of Three Men and a Baby but I actually really hope that JTBC can do a decent sitcom. I’d love more goofy drama rom-coms that don’t make me want to tear out my hair.
  • Sketch – who cares what this is about, it stars Rain so of course I’m going to at least watch the first episode, maybe even two episodes.
  • Live – this is perhaps my most anticipated drama of the year since it’s from one of my favorite writers, Noh Hee Kyung, and it starts Lee Kwang Soo, who I’ve wanted to star in his own drama for ages. Apparently Noh Hee Kyung agrees, since he’s been a supporting character in two of her previous dramas. I also really like Jung Yu Mi, so even though the plot is utterly vague right now, I do know I will probably love it – provided it’s more Dear My Friends and less That Winter, The Wind Blows.
  • Suits – I watched the first two seasons of the original show, and I liked it, but have pretty much forgotten anything about it beyond the basic premise. The way dramas have been adapting US shows, this could be a brilliant success (The Good Wife) or utter disaster (Entourage, Criminal Minds). I’m pretty neutral on it over all, and only the whims of fancy (and free time) will decide if I make time for it.
  • Miracle That We Met – it’s being described as a body-swapping melodrama, which is a genre I never seem to watch (er the melodrama genre – I’ve definitely enjoyed a few body-swapping dramas before!), but it stars Choi Ji Woo, Kim Myung Min, and motherfreakin’ Ra Mi Ran. Like, hot damn, what a cast. I just hope it’s more drama than melo.
  • Mr. Sunshine – siiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh. On the one hand, there is so much about this that sounds awesome: a period drama (turn of the 20th century), it stars Kim Tae Ri, Yoo Yeon Seok, and Byun Yo Han (squeal!). Buuuuuuuut it also stars Lee Byung Hyun, who I’m still side-eying after he walked away scot-free from all his scandals, and (most importantly of all) it’s written by Kim Eun Sook. SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGH.
  • Yeonnamdong 539 – I’m always a sucker for an ensemble cast, although I’m not sure what to expect from this roommate sitcom yet.
  • Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food – I literally know nothing about this drama except the title and that it’ll air on JTBC, but tbh that’s all I really need to know. What can I say? I’m weak for noona romances.
  • Let’s Hold Hands and Watch the Sunset – okay, so that’s a mouthful and let’s hope they find a better English title soon. But even though the plot sounds like it could be overly melodramatic (death is a catalyst for a married couple to rethink their lives), this is also from the same director of Radiant Office, so I feel like there could be some cute moments. Plus, I just want to support women directors, of which there are too few in dramaland (or the rest of the world, tbh).
  • Are You Human Too? – this drama sounds ridiculous enough to make me want to watch it (a woman makes an android that looks like her son to fool people into thinking he’s not in the coma that he really is), and I love Kim Sung Ryung and want to watch her play the mad scientist that came up with this idea. It also has Gong Seung Yeon, who I thought was fabulous in Circle, and of course, the always beloved Lee Joon Hyuk. BUT. It stars Seo Kang Joon. I don’t know what beef I have with him, but he falls into the Lee Jong Suk category of “pretty-boy actors that everyone else seems to love but who rub me the wrong way and I struggle to watch them play leading men in dramas, but find them tolerable when they play secondary or minor characters.”
  • My Ajusshi – do I want to see a twentysomething woman help a man in his 40s get over his mid-life crisis? No, I do not.
  • Fall From the Sky – don’t know much about this other than its based on the fantasy webcomic of the same name, the director also worked on Arang and the Magistrate, and Yoon Hyun Min is supposedly starring in it (but that’s really all I need to know, right?).
  • RUMORED SEQUELS: Signal 2, Voice 2, Neighborhood Lawyer Jo Deul Ho 2, Let’s Eat 3. All of which I will probably check out, but I’m not holding my breath that they will actually get made, or, if they make it to air, be as good as the original.

I did my best to make note of as many 2018 dramas as possible, but dramas that I have no interest in (i.e. weekend family dramas) or dramas that are still so vague on details that it would be just me putting the name of the drama and nothing else weren’t worth the effort to add. That said, I still probably missed some upcoming dramas. But I tried! And ran out of tagging space to prove it!