Tags
Blog, Drama, Hyun Bin, Lee Jun Ki, Lee Min Ho, Park Min-Young
It was a long hiatus, isn’t it? Yeah.
ANYWAY, I suspect it’s going to be a long post today so here is the summary:
1- Bad things first! I’m at war with the KDramagods these days. Grrr…
2- There is still some good stuff in SK: What are my crack dramas now?
3- I love my JDoramas. They saved my life.
4- Good news and dramas I’m anticipating. Because I want my readers to leave my blog with warm fuzzies.
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1- Alert! KDramaland is making me starve. Hungry me is dangerous for the National Security World Peace. You’re warned people.
→ Yes, KDramaland has become a desert full of contrived twisted overdone melodramas with stories as engaging as a nest of snakes. I’m getting tired of the word makjang: I feel like I’m using it 100 times a day on my comments everywhere. I’m also tired of screencaps of crying people on my favorite blog *hides Magic Red Eye Lotion™ of actor XX*.
At one point (Golden Age!) we had 1 melo for 4 rom-coms: Was fine with me. Now the ratio is reversed. WTH! Is SK preparing itself for the Mayan Apocalypse? Doom, gloom, boom?
→ Also, how many bad fusion sageuks in a row? *Counting on my fingers*:
Dr Jin. Gold Medal in WTFry. My IQ has nosedived because of it.
Faith. They should have rewritten the whole thing if they didn’t have the money for the blockbuster version. Plus Lee Min-ho as a warrior Super General is the worst casting mistake of the year. So many things went wrong in so many ways with that production. Maybe they shouldn’t have done it in the first place?
Arang. I’m sorry. Lee Jun-ki is sexy, no doubt about that. He is also a good actor. But filming him walking by night like a ghost, with double eye bags, surrounded by smoke… ZZZZzzz. Thanks Lord we had 1 fighting sequence here and then or I would have fallen asleep. Maknae oppa kept me aboard this slowly sinking ship. And no one can convince me than Shin Min-ah is an exceptional actress: She has 2 expressions: Fox Smile™ and Poker Face. She is an upgraded version of Park Min-young.
The Great Seer: Started well then now it’s becoming your average sageuk next door. Why am I still watching this? Dropping it right now and removing it from my list of “currently watching” (updated and always there at the bottom of the main page).
I think Fusion Sageuk as a genre has a problem: Fantastic = Special Effects. It’s expensive. It takes time to be done well. The script can’t be changed and you can’t improvise. There is very few qualified technicians to do the job and they are humans, not gods. Also, actors need to learn how to act in front of green screens: Ask Hollywood, it’s difficult! In fact I believe than those dramas shouldn’t be produced at all with the Live Shooting System: Filming a battle in the snow with super powered baddies and filming a couple bickering at a Gangnam’s caffe is not exactly the same thing in terms of scale and workload…
So, is Jeon Woo Chi going to break the curse? Well, I’ve been burnt enough. I will let the others be the Guinea’s pigs for this one and if it turns well I will take a look.
→ Now, the real tragedy of my life. The last good rom-com I can remember is A Gentleman’s Dignity. 4 MONTHS AGO! How sad is that? I may have started shows labelled rom-com since then but I can’t even remember the titles! Haeundae Gangsters? To The Beautiful Someone? The tvN rom-com disguised as a medical drama The 3rd Hospital was great until that last infuriating shitty episode: No kiss, no wedding, no hug, nothing! My, my… The review at the end of this year won’t be pretty, I tell you! I had so much hope in Ohlala Couple and see what happened: It had a good start then it became an awful comedy and now it decided to be a good serious (melo)drama for the last episodes. I’m lost in perplexity with that Frankenstein creature.
You could object than there is Full House take 2 to occupy the land but who’s kidding: It’s not a rom-com. It’s a farce. It’s a troll sitcom. It’s a mutant who started as a funny live action-manga and who’s trying to be serious now. Nobody even knows the exact number of episodes! Really, Dr Victor, you should close the doors of your lab before heading back home at night. Just saying. So, how do I survive these days? I rewatch Secret Garden for the 589554th time… Or A Gentleman’s Dignity. And I laugh. And I open my eyes to drool over all the pretty. And I close my eyes to listen to the OST. Pathetic.
2- Looking for the diamonds in the coal:
Now than all of you want to shoot yourselves from despair, let’s see what I can find so we can all feel better. Yes, I like to give the pain and the medicine…
- The King of Dramas:
Because JR and Dallas are no match for these characters. Give me a sexy bad boy with a brain and I’m on your side. I also want to know the little dirty secrets of Dramaland so I could blackmail an oppa I know… The ink on the marriage contract is drying.
- Can We Get Married?
Is it a rom-com? Is it a melo, is it your classic family drama with the 4 siblings? It’s everything at once and it’s GOOD. Psychology of the characters, dialogues, situational comedy, music… That drama is a gem. 6 episodes in and I just want the next right now.
- Horse Doctor
Aka “Jewel in the Palace all over again”. Well, if there is something dramaland does well, it’s recycling. I keep hearing good things about that Dae Jang Geum but I didn’t watch it yet so it doesn’t affect my viewing experience of Horse Doctor. I’m just a sucker for all those stories of “success from scratch”. It’s light, it’s always moving, the characters are intriguing and endearing. We have plenty of cute animals and just the perfect dose of romance. Politics kept to a minimum. And the OST is beautiful.
3- JDoramas: So reliable. They provide the funny with so much HEART.
- Priceless: Not everything is about money but everything comes back to it…
- Kekkon Shinai: To explore how people manage their couple life in the modern Japan.
- Monsters: For the best collection of derp faces in the world. Ever.
-Doctor X: Because House has retired and it’s all right: We found a genius Doctor even more asocial than him.
4- What’s in store for the future?
→ First, the formula of my blog is going to change a lot a little bit. First thing, I will not recap episodes like I previously did: Too time consuming, too tiring. I will do shorter reviews for each episode instead, with my usual writing style. I will start that new format for the next drama of Yoon Shi-yoon, Flower Boy Next Door which starts 2013-Jan-7. Welcome back Sunshine!!!
→ The other dramas I’m waiting for:
School 2013 with Daniel Choi, Jang Nara, Lee Jong Suk and Kim Woo-bin. Is that an incredible casting or what? Even if the script sucks donkey balls (and really I hope it won’t be the case), we will still have GOOD actors who look FINE on our screens. Drama starts 2012-Dec-03.
Rude Miss Young Ae 11 (tvN) I didn’t watch the older seasons and I’m already curious. The synopsis says: “A drama that revolves around unmarried miss Young Ae and how she deals with stress from work, friends and overwork and the prejudice against overweight, unmarried women.” Drama starts 2012-Nov-29
→ Also, I’m working on a special serie of crazy posts. Something about pop culture icons and Korean rom-coms. The first installment should arrive soon, stay tuned!
→ Unless you’re a Martian, you probably know than Hyun Bin comes back from the military in a few weeks. I politely affirm than he is not authorized to sign for an intellectual abstract movie: A rom-com as a come-back project is mandatory unless HE wants to really experience the Apocalypse.
“The bitch in the house is me”.
Final word: I’m glad to be back in the blogosphere! I hope this post will find my readers in good shape and happy.
“me too”
)) sorry, can’t stop it 
)
I don’t have the energy to write about all the dramas of this year, cause there are so many, unfortunately too many of them are too bad, boring, ridiculous. AGD was a good drama (bad ending, I am still ashamed in the name of the actors).
This days I follow KoD – wow, I fell in love with the Kings acting – what an actor, what a voice <3 The girl is better and better with every drama she's in. SW has one of the funniest character of this year – good acting (with such a wonderfull sunbae, he has to be good).
This winter gives me the good vibes of the last one, when it aired Tree with deep roots.
ps – good to have you back (I have less and less time for dramas, but will keep close to you)
Mysti, your posts were dearly missed, I am so glad you’re back! Looking forward to the crazy stuff – I expect lots of off the wall associations and overall fun.
You’re right the recent landscape of dramaland is somewhat empty – nothing to really sweep you of your feet and keep on the edge of the chair till the next episode airs. My thought is that whatever drama I like at the moment, it is mainly because of single characters. Like the spunky-EunKi in Nice Guy, functional idiot Nam NaBi in My Love, Madame Butterfly or Engineer Oppa in May Queen. I watch Five Fingers for shrewd stepmom and some other, superficial reasons, that is zoolander JJH and all the cool cars he gets to drive. Other characters are usually cardboard or wooden, or great but hidden among the cardboard ones, the plots are either too convoluted or too cliche. Or both at once. Or plain ridiculous.
I must say, I stay open minded for what is to come, but I don’t get really excited about any upcoming drama. I only hope for a nice surprise. Lots of pretty surprises. Lots of pretty surprises with killer smiles and choco abs. Lots of pretty surprises with killer smiles, choco abs and a functioning brain. *Should have started with brain and pretend to be spohisticated.*
So Girl, whatever you’ve got for your readers – bring it on!
I think we are looking at party here ppl, Myst is on fire! We are waiting for the same dramas, I have to add Bummy and Jo In Sung in 2013. welcome.
I’m torn about the Bummie drama: I loved Padam Padam and him in it but it was emotionally taxing. Starting all over again that rollercoaster? Maybe once it’s over and if the ending is as “cool” as the one of Padam.
I came over here from DB…what a crazy-fest! I think you make valid points and I appreciate it.
Fighting!
I saw your back-up comments. Thanks for the support.
Yehey! I’m so glad you’re back!
Did you save all your mini-updates and drop them all in one post? 
My sister has been watching AGD and for some reason, it looks less fun without your recaps. She doesn’t get it when I refer to Baby Stalker and Timebomb. I don’t have the heart to explain to her what Timebomb means. (She’s a dongsaeng so that will be an awkward conversation.)
Regarding the too-much-melo thing, we seem to have differing opinions but we can agree to disagree.
Too bad some of the people at *our favorite blog* tend to get easily butthurt when presented with an opposing point. *hug* Don’t mind ad hominem attacks. They just don’t know that you have a strong personality so they take what you say personally.
Cheer up, the holidays are just around the corner.
PS Am also excited for the 2013 dramas and will read anything you write, even if it’s just a short episode recap!
PPS Sung Joon is mine, please? Pretty please?
I’m just so bad with Korean names… It’s a shame really. Nicknames are so practical. Plus they have a prophetic quality. ^^
About the harsh comments: It’s upsetting for 10 seconds then you realize they just don’t get it. I’m sad than people can be so “in the box” but fighting lost causes is not for me. At least some of the leaders had interesting ideas. The ones with “me too” and “well said” just make me yawn.
About Sung Joon, he is yours, no problem with me: My hands are full. lol.
Poor Myst. You’ve been burned a lot with the last batches. I….still kinda wish you had watched Gaksitaaaaaaaaal. Hehe.
*Salt over my shoulder and head immersed in holy water*. Gaksital and me: It can’t work. Joo-won, I like him a lot. I don’t know how he could survive the shooting of that drama and do so many other sings in the mean time. He must have a twin.