Tag: my ahjussi

Dramaland Forecast: December 2018

odilettanteLeave a comment

Previously: Jan – Feb – Mar – Apr – May – June – July – Aug – Sept – Oct – Nov

Eeee, it’s the last Dramaland Forecast of the year! Overall, 2018 maybe wasn’t the best year for dramas for me – not because of the dramas themselves (I still have a mile-long “to watch” list), but my schedule and routine changed quite a bit with my new job, and I think I took more time to focus on other things that were more demanding. Maybe now that I have a better handle on my routine, I’ll be able to make more time next year to watch all the things. Maybe.

But for now, here’s December’s Forecast!

Completed:

  • The Guest – lbr, my primary driving force in watching this was Handsome Oppa, because I’m not exactly a horror fan. But I actually really loved it, and the main trio will have my heart forever.
  • My Ahjussi – I brought this with me on vacation and managed to binge the entire series over a couple of weeks. I’d originally been hesitant to start it because the last thing I need in dramaland is yet another huge age-gap difference, but after being reassured there was no romance, I was happy to dive in. I liked it. I’m not sure there’s anything else I can particularly add that hasn’t been said by others, but for once I think I’m in agreement that it was one of the best dramas of the year.

Currently Watching:

  • Red Moon, Blue Sun/Children of Nobody – oooh, I have no idea where this show is going, and I’m okay with that because the mystery is intriguing. This feels like it’s going to be a complicated story that will be slowly unraveled, and I’m hoping it lives up to expectations and doesn’t self-combust in the end. (Also I want all of Nam Gyuri’s character’s clothes, plz.)
  • Miss Sherlock – I don’t often include non-Korean shows on this list, but this was the other drama I took with me on my trip and am about four episodes into, and because I feel like I’m hardly watching anything, I thought I might as well add it.

Plan to watch:

  • SKY Castle – this is super high on my list and I really, really want to make room for it. I just need to find some time!

Dropping/skipping:

  • Knowing I’d be traveling for most of last month, I didn’t seriously plan on checking out any of the November premieres since I wouldn’t have time to keep up with them. I’ll still monitor the buzz and see if the ones that originally interested me will be worth adding to the watch list.

Upcoming dramas of interest:

  • Fates & Furies – I don’t generally include the Saturday-only dramas on here just because I know I won’t usually watch them (kinda like I automatically don’t include any long-running weekend dramas). Buuuuut this one stars Lee Min Jung and Joo Sang Wook, and I have a sentimental attachment to them since they were the leads in the first drama I ever recapped, so for nostalgia’s sake I kinda want to check this out, even though this kind of old-school melo isn’t my jam.
  • Memories of the Alhambra – I want to watch this, but probably won’t right away because I feel like it’ll be swept up in a hype-train because of the cast, and I just want to enjoy it in peace. It might make the perfect travel drama when I visit my family next year, though.
  • Coffee, Do Me a Favor – Channel A’s rom-coms can be a little… suspect, in that they’re usually pretty cheesy with a low budget. I’m still willing to give them a chance if there’s something that can draw my interest. Buuuuuut I think we can all give a collective groan at the plot conceit of an overweight woman suddenly becoming thin and beautiful by drinking a cup of magic coffee. Yeah. I’ll pass.
  • Bad Detective/Less Than Evil – this was originally listed to premiere in November, but apparently it got pushed back another week. I’m not complaining, because then maybe I’ll have figured out how to squeeze it into watch-schedule by the time it premieres this week. I’m super curious about how this Luther remake will live up to the original (plus I’m always a fan of my ahjussi crush, Shin Ha Kyun).
  • Dance Sports Girls – this looks super cute, and at only eight episodes (which feels more like four eps, due to the shortened ep thing), maybe I could fit it in as an idle binge.
  • My Strange Hero – I like a lot of this cast, but it feels like a revenge melo that heavily emphasizes the “melo” part. Which is a classic drama mainstay, but not generally my cup of tea (although I’m sure there will be lots of scenes of Yoo Seung Ho crying prettily, because that’s what he does).

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.