The Guide
♥ = Love it! Watch it!
♥ = So-so start. Might get better. Might get worse.
♥ = Bleh. Hate it!
♥ All About My MomTag Line: I Hate My Mom. I Hate My Mother-In-Law More.
Thoughts: Eugene stars in this family-themed k-drama alongside hottie Lee Sang Woo. Part comedy and part melodrama, the story centers around the Lee family and their relationships with one another. This slower paced series is one of a handful of k-dramas exploring mother-daughter and mother-in-law-daughter-in-law interactions. The first handful of episodes in this series have established a suitable foundation of family dysfunction worthy of psychiatric evaluation. But it has been a bit slow. At eight episodes, I am still waiting for the proverbial sh** to hit the fan. Our leading lady is still single and the pace of her relationship development with the leading man is slower than a snail. I think there is potential here but it will require some patience. I am still going to green light this one because the cast is more than enough compensation for the gradual build up of the plot.
♥ Assembly
Tag Line: Out-of-Work Welder Goes into Politics
Thoughts: Coming Soon
♥ I Order You
Tag Line: Divorced Man Falls in Love...Again.
Thoughts: This Monday-Thursday food drama is adequately portioned with just enough idols and models to keep things light and refreshing. U-Know Yunho headlines the series as a divorced chef that owns his own gourmet lunchbox service.
♥ Last
Tag Line: Riches to Rags. The Wolf of Seoul Goes Bust.
Thoughts: Jang Tae Ho (Yoon Kye Sang) had it all figured out. He'd play the stock market, make it big, and then run off to the US with his beautiful girlfriend and a pocket full of cash. But when he manages to lose 35 billion won in a handful of minutes, he finds himself wanted by both the police and gangsters. There's nowhere for him to go except to the streets - with nothing but the clothes on his back. Now that he's homeless, he's desperate to reclaim his old life any way that he can. And, that means defeating the seven bosses of Seoul's underworld. The first two episodes are exciting. Yoon Kye Sang is always flawless on screen and is the perfect anti-hero. Surprisingly, Lee Beom Soo takes his turn as the bad guy this time around, which I'm excited to see. The premise for the series, though, feels a bit like a video game adapted for TV. "Beat the seven bosses and you win!" Naturally, each boss is more difficult to beat than the next. But, never fear, Jang Tae Ho has a trusted teacher (Park Won Sang) showing him how to kiss a$$ and take names. Still, I feel good about this one. Give it a watch.
♥ Mrs. Cop
Tag Line: She's a mom. She's a cop. Shouldn't she be Mom Cop?
Tag Line: Coming Soon
♥ My Eccentric Wife (aka My Virtual Bride)
Tag Line: A Down-on-Her-Luck Celebrity Gets a 2nd Chance at Fame & Love
Thoughts: This is the k-drama that I needed to round out the seriousness of Assembly and Last. It is pure goofy fun wrapped up in a package of reality television and k-pop idols. Oh In Young (Dasom) is an idol whose market value has been decreasing for years. In a last ditch effort to reclaim her former glory, she agrees to star in a reality television series where she is "married" to the eldest son of an established family in a traditional house. She must cope with all the daughter-in-law duties and navigate the politics of the family with no skills or experience to handle it. But when sparks fly between her and the eldest son (Ryu Soo Young) will her mother-in-law sit still and let her precious son fall for a k-pop idol? Chances are... no. The series strongly focuses on the relationships between the daughter-in-laws and the mother-in-laws with an emphasis on outrageous borderline crazy behavior. It's one k-drama in a series of them on the subject that have been unleashed this late summer/early fall season. I hope it isn't a trend... but it looks like it might be. Vampires out. Crazy mother's...in. That said, I like it for the laughs (fart jokes and all) and the chemistry between Oh In Young and Cha Myeong Seok. If it stays light and quirky, it's a shoo in for a bump to green.
♥ Oh My Ghostess
Tag Line: Virgin Ghost Seeking Sex... Or, so she thinks.
Thoughts: If I have to pick a hit for 2015, I think this is the one. Park Bo Young steps up her game in this suspenseful thriller about a young woman that makes a strange connection with a ghost that is trying to resolve her grudge before ascending to heaven.
♥ Scholar Who Walks the Night
Tag Line: Vampire Conspiracy in the Palace
Thoughts: This vampire k-drama follows on the heels of Orange Marmalade and Blood but adds the twist of also being an historical drama. Lee Joon Gi headlines the series as Scholar Kim Seung Yol, who has befriended Crown Prince Junghyun. When he learns that an evil vampire named Gwi (Lee Soo Hyuk) is threatening to kill the Crown Prince if he doesn't swear fealty, Seung Yol vows to help his friend rid the palace of the creature. But the plan goes wrong, the Crown Prince is killed, and he finds himself a newly made vampire. The series fast forwards 120 years and then it just gets confusing. It's like reading a Robert Jordan novel where you need a companion book just to keep track of the character names and how a person is relevant to the story. Now, some of it may be the translations. I made the mistake of watching the first two episodes when they were about 80% translated and I missed critical pieces of information that I had to pick up with a 2nd viewing. Overall, it's not a bad series but it won't blow your socks off. WARNING: There's definitely a "cheese" factor to this series with all the fangs and the fake blood. The camera is constantly zooming in to catch eyes that flash red and lips quivering at the sight of fresh blood. But, what can I do? I am a sucker (pun totally intended) for anything with Lee Joon Gi's name attached to it.
♥ The Time that I Loved You, 7000 days
Tag Line: "When Harry Met Sally" K-Drama Style
Thoughts: Coming Soon
♥ Twenty Again
Tag Line: The unplanned pregnancy...20 years later.
Thoughts:
♥ Yong Pal
Tag Line: I work at this stinkin' hospital and I can't get a discount!
Thoughts: This is arguably one of the more anticipated series of the year with its powerhouse combo of Joo Won and Kim Tae Hee. The story is centered around a young doctor struggling under the weight of debt he acquired to pay for his sister's medical expenses. In order to pay back the loan sharks, he makes "house calls" to gangsters and other unsavory characters that need to avoid the hospital and, ultimately, avoid being arrested. He's known among that crowd as Yong Pal. By day, however, he is Kim Tae Hyun, a gifted surgeon at Hanshin Hospital. The chief physician of the exclusive 12th floor ward, which is reserved for the rich and famous, discovers Doctor Kim's secret and uses it to draft him in to help manage the ward. Doctor Kim soon finds himself at the center of a conspiracy to eliminate the comatose heiress of the Hanshin conglomerate, allowing all her assets to pass to her half-brother. This sounds riveting and there are some very flashy action scenes in the first couple episodes. But the progression of Dr. Kim's relationship with Kim Tae Hee's character, Hanshin's absentee heiress Han Yeo Jin, is inadequate. It's missing something. I don't see the sparks flying. Throw in some other corporate machinations and police investigations and things get hazy. It suffers a bit from "Doctor Stranger" syndrome - trying to do too much and losing focus of what's really important. I want to love this series but I'm feeling just okay about it. I don't want to discredit the performances of the actors, though, because they are good. But the writing and direction are pulling things down a few notches.
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