I stumbled across this one by pure accident.
Slated for an October release on SBS, it will take over the time slot currently occupied by Mrs. Cop. The only reason I felt compelled to make this into a series alert is because Kim Myung Min is tied to the project. And, I will watch anything that includes him in the cast.
This period drama will focus on six characters, hence the name, and their successes at the start of the Joseon Dynasty. The central figure of the drama is Lee Bang Won (Yoo Ah In), a son of the first king of the Joseon Dynasty that later inherits the throne. Half of the six characters are based on real historical figures from that era and the other half are works of fiction.
Shin Se Kyung (Blademan) and Byun Yo Han (Ex-Girlfriend's Club) are also set to play major characters in the series.
Monday, September 21, 2015
Thursday, September 10, 2015
First Look: September / October K-Drama Premieres
The Guide
♥ = Love it! Watch it!
♥ = So-so start. Might get better. Might get worse.
♥ = Bleh. Hate it!
♥ The Merchant: Gaekju 2015
Tag Line: Money Money Money Money! Money!
Thoughts: Jang Hyuk headlines this series about a merchant that achieves unimaginable success. The series starts with Chun Bong Sam (Jang Hyuk) as a child, who is accompanying his father and the merchant caravan to the international market. But things go terribly wrong and his father ends up dead. Chun Bong Sam swears that he will never become a merchant or the head of a merchant group and spends his days playing around until he's an adult, who ends up working as a peddler. The first handful of episodes are quick but I still found myself counting down until Jang Hyuk makes his appearance (episode 4, I believe). Merchant lacks the grandness of Slave Hunters and the pageantry of Shine or Go Crazy but our hero can always carry a scene with just his trademark laugh. I don't know if it will be enough, of course. Assuming that the ramp-up to action for our lead characters is nearly done, I fully expect things to get more interesting beyond episode 6. Consequently, this one gets the yellow light and I'll hope it improves.
♥ Awl
Tag Line: Workin' 9 to 5 So Take This Job and... Don't Fire Me.
Thoughts: When faced with the moral dilemma of whether or not to unfairly fire his team of employees, Manager Lee Soo In (Ji Hyun Woo) decides that he is going to disobey management's order and protect his people. But things go particularly bad when it is discovered that he's joined the local union to protest against management's actions. This ultimately leads to a 510 day protest by the affected employees. This k-drama is, apparently, based on both a true story and a comic book. Ji Hyun Woo takes the lead with Ahn Nae Sang, who plays a labor attorney. The first two episodes are riveting and I particularly liked the dynamic between the employees and management. The flashbacks were, perhaps, a bit too frequent but well done. Lee Soo In is nicely depicted in these scenes as a deep and complex character worthy of further exploration. I also never found myself counting down the minutes until the present timeline resumes. That's always a good sign. At any rate, this is one of the more promising fall releases. Admittedly, I am a fan of both Ji Hyun Woo and Ahn Nae Sang but I can say with all honesty that my admiration for them as performers has not influenced my opinion. Definitely include this one on your fall Must-Watch-List.
♥ Bubblegum
Tag Line: Another Men & Women Can't be Just Friends RomCom
Thoughts: TvN is generally spot on when it comes to reinventing the romantic comedy in fresh ways that are humorous and touching. But this one feels like a miss. I'll have to verify if it is an original script or based off a webtoon but either way the first episode is thoroughly underwhelming. There is nothing immediately distinct and/or catchy about the story, the characters, or the setting. It's just another BFFs become lovers plot as far as I can tell.
♥ Cheer Up! (aka Sassy Go Go)
Tag Line: U-G-L-Y you ain't got no alibi, you ug - Yeah. Not that kind of cheerleading.
Thoughts: Put the spirit sticks away and lower your sparkle hands because Cheer Up! is not that kind of cheerleading drama. It is, however, another drama about kids trying to find themselves and figure out life within the microcosm that is called high school. This time it is specifically centered around two competing school clubs that both identify themselves as cheerleading clubs, neither of them being exactly that. Baek Ho is a club for elite students looking to bolster their specs for acceptance into ivy league universities and Real King is a club for the worst students to get away from the stress of high school and dance to their hearts' content. Baek Ho, club #1, is headed up by Kim Yeol (Lee Won Geun), the son of a wealthy household with top grades. Real Kings is headed up by Kang Yeon Doo (Jung Eun Ji), the daughter of a middle-class household with terrible grades. Admittedly, I am struggling a bit with Jung Eun Ji playing a high school student. It has nothing to do with appearances. But she exudes a certain maturity as an actress that makes me feel she'd have been better suited in this role if it were set in college. That all aside, there's nothing surprising or earth shattering with this k-drama. It's lighter fare that blends romantic comedy with a public service announcement. I'll watch it because it's a genre I naturally gravitate to but I'm not expecting to be wow'd by it.
♥ Cheo Yong 2: Ghost Seeing Detective
Tag Line: I Can See Dead People...Again
Thoughts: Technically, Cheo Young 2 is an August premiere but since the episodes just started popping up for US consumption, I'm throwing it into September. This is a sequel to the k-drama that goes by the same name and centers around police detective Yoon Cheo Yong (Oh Ji Ho). He has the special ability to see ghosts, which is immensely helpful when you are trying to solve cases involving murder. He also has his trusty ghost-sidekick Han Na Young (Jun Hyo Seong), whose story we came to know in season one. The series begins several months after Cheo Yong's former partner, who was believed to be dead but was actually possessed by a demon, nearly destroyed the wide area search team. The remaining team members have been broken up and transferred into different units around the country. But when a strange series of murders take place, the team is reassembled for "special investigations." The rest is pretty much what you'd expect from an OCN crime/thriller drama. The production value is high and the cases they solve are interesting. Oh Ji Ho makes the fight choreography look easy and his fellow detectives add a bit of humor. This one has a lot of entertainment value.
♥ D-Day
Tag Line: Gaaah! Earthquake! I need a hot doctor to save me!
Thoughts: This medical drama focuses on a team of healthcare and rescue professionals as they work through the medical, political, and social aftermath of Seoul's worst natural disaster, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake. The first two episodes are primarily an introduction to the characters and the politics of emergency medicine. In one camp, we have the doctors that feel morally bound to save a life if given the opportunity, regardless of the severity of the injury. In the other camp, we have the doctors that are only interested in tackling medical cases that have a probability of boosting profits and personal brand without the risk of medical malpractice lawsuits. Who will win? Kim Young Kwang is compelling in the role of Dr. Lee Hae Sung and Ha Seok Jin is taking a turn toward the darker side in his role as Dr. Han Woo Jin. The first handful of episodes are fast paced and deliver a nice buildup for the main event: the earthquake. The momentum doesn't stop from there as tensions rise and the scrappy band of characters must deal with aftershocks, failing infrastructure, and a lack of supplies. For me, this is the one series that leaves me excited for each new episode. This is my fall favorite for 2015.
♥ Glamorous Temptation
Tag Line: An Innocent Woman Fights for Justice - Maybe?
Thoughts: I am two episodes into this series and still a little confused on the premise. The accompanying description of the television show does very little to clarify it, either. The best that I can tell is that Shin Eun Soo (Choi Gang Hee) has been wrongly convicted of a crime she didn't commit, in part because of a conspiracy involving her presumed-to-be-dead husband and a well-known politician. Several years later, she is trying to rebuild her life and raise her daughter when she crosses paths with people from her past, Jin Hyung Woo (Joo Sang Wook) and Kang Il Joo (Cha Ye Ryun). At the same time, she is receiving phone calls from an anonymous person instructing her that her husband's death was not an accident and that it involves the former prime minister (Jung Jin Young). As she sets out to learn the truth, she will reconnect with her past and change the political landscape of South Korea. The first episode established Eun Soo's run-in with the law and the second was entirely a flashback establishing her relationship with Hyung Woo and Il Joo. It seems the third and fourth episodes will be a continuation of the flashback. There is potential for this drama just based on the cast but the episodes, particularly the flashbacks, are dull and predictable. Joo Sang Wook just came off the Masked Prosecutor, which for me was a dud, but he generally picks good roles so I am hoping this one is a winner, too. I'll keep my fingers crossed that things turn around when the story resumes in the present.
♥ D-Day
Tag Line: Gaaah! Earthquake! I need a hot doctor to save me!
Thoughts: This medical drama focuses on a team of healthcare and rescue professionals as they work through the medical, political, and social aftermath of Seoul's worst natural disaster, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake. The first two episodes are primarily an introduction to the characters and the politics of emergency medicine. In one camp, we have the doctors that feel morally bound to save a life if given the opportunity, regardless of the severity of the injury. In the other camp, we have the doctors that are only interested in tackling medical cases that have a probability of boosting profits and personal brand without the risk of medical malpractice lawsuits. Who will win? Kim Young Kwang is compelling in the role of Dr. Lee Hae Sung and Ha Seok Jin is taking a turn toward the darker side in his role as Dr. Han Woo Jin. The first handful of episodes are fast paced and deliver a nice buildup for the main event: the earthquake. The momentum doesn't stop from there as tensions rise and the scrappy band of characters must deal with aftershocks, failing infrastructure, and a lack of supplies. For me, this is the one series that leaves me excited for each new episode. This is my fall favorite for 2015.
♥ Glamorous Temptation
Tag Line: An Innocent Woman Fights for Justice - Maybe?
Thoughts: I am two episodes into this series and still a little confused on the premise. The accompanying description of the television show does very little to clarify it, either. The best that I can tell is that Shin Eun Soo (Choi Gang Hee) has been wrongly convicted of a crime she didn't commit, in part because of a conspiracy involving her presumed-to-be-dead husband and a well-known politician. Several years later, she is trying to rebuild her life and raise her daughter when she crosses paths with people from her past, Jin Hyung Woo (Joo Sang Wook) and Kang Il Joo (Cha Ye Ryun). At the same time, she is receiving phone calls from an anonymous person instructing her that her husband's death was not an accident and that it involves the former prime minister (Jung Jin Young). As she sets out to learn the truth, she will reconnect with her past and change the political landscape of South Korea. The first episode established Eun Soo's run-in with the law and the second was entirely a flashback establishing her relationship with Hyung Woo and Il Joo. It seems the third and fourth episodes will be a continuation of the flashback. There is potential for this drama just based on the cast but the episodes, particularly the flashbacks, are dull and predictable. Joo Sang Wook just came off the Masked Prosecutor, which for me was a dud, but he generally picks good roles so I am hoping this one is a winner, too. I'll keep my fingers crossed that things turn around when the story resumes in the present.
♥ The Merchant: Gaekju 2015
Tag Line: Money Money Money Money! Money!
Thoughts: Jang Hyuk headlines this series about a merchant that achieves unimaginable success. The series starts with Chun Bong Sam (Jang Hyuk) as a child, who is accompanying his father and the merchant caravan to the international market. But things go terribly wrong and his father ends up dead. Chun Bong Sam swears that he will never become a merchant or the head of a merchant group and spends his days playing around until he's an adult, who ends up working as a peddler. The first handful of episodes are quick but I still found myself counting down until Jang Hyuk makes his appearance (episode 4, I believe). Merchant lacks the grandness of Slave Hunters and the pageantry of Shine or Go Crazy but our hero can always carry a scene with just his trademark laugh. I don't know if it will be enough, of course. Assuming that the ramp-up to action for our lead characters is nearly done, I fully expect things to get more interesting beyond episode 6. Consequently, this one gets the yellow light and I'll hope it improves.
♥ My Daughter, Geum Sa Wol
Tag Line: 2 Girls. 2 Boys. Who will date who?!
Thoughts: This k-drama is the brain child of the writer that brought us last year's mega-popular drama - Jang Bo Ri is Here. So, it is no coincidence that the description of the show struck me as oddly familiar. Baby swapping? Back-stabbing siblings? Skeletons in the closet?! Yeah. You get it. Unfortunately, there's no avoiding a comparison with Jang Bo Ri. The first several episode of the series set the stage for what will come throughout the rest. The story largely revolves around a construction company and the two architects aspiring to be its next leader, Oh Min Ho (Park Sang Won) and Kang Man Hoo (Son Chang Min). Both talented, Min Ho has been earmarked as the successor and is set to wed the daughter of the owner, Shin Deuk Ye (Jeon In Hwa); and, Kang Man Hoo has been pushed aside because of critical flaws in his character. Man Hoo is desperately in love with Shin Deuk Ye and unable to accept defeat so he sabotages the company, frames Min Ho, and ultimately marries Deuk Ye. This sets the stage for the turmoil that follows and the revenge plots that develop. Ultimately, though, their children will be left to carry the burden of their parents' sins and stop the vicious cycle of revenge. Baek Jin Hee takes the lead as Geum Sa Wol, the daughter of Oh Min Ho and Shin Deuk Ye. And, Yoon Hyun Min plays her counterpart Kang Chan Bin, the son of Kang Man Hoo and his ex-wife. I have a lot of hope for this series provided the script and direction give the audience dynamic characters capable of expressing themselves. With 50 episodes, there is a lot of opportunity to go wrong, especially with the female characters. Give it a watch and I'll let you know if it takes a turn for the worse.
♥ She was Pretty
Tag Line: She was pretty. Now, she's not. But her BFF is...
Thoughts: This is tough. I have seen two episodes. It is pretty standard fare for a romantic comedy. However, it features Park Seo Joon, who is just the cutest thing ever. AND, it also stars Choi Si Won, who is one of my many not-so-secret crushes. This means that I will probably say good things about it even if it is total crap. But, I digress. She was Pretty follows Kim Hye Jin (Hwang Jung Eum), a young woman struggling to find a job and self-conscious about her appearance. Out of the blue, she receives an e-mail from her old friend and first love, Ji Sung Joon (Park Seo Joon). He wants to meet. Hye Sung remembers him as the chubby boy next store that she protected from bullies. But Sung Joon is all grown up, slimmed down, and a total hottie. She, on the other hand, has gotten less attractive with age. At the last moment, she convinces her best friend to meet him in her stead. It goes as planned until he shows up as the boss at her new job. Sound like another well known story? Probably because there have been a hundred different takes on it since Cyrano de Bergerac was first published as a play in 1897 (thank you wikipedia). Sadly, even the combined superpowers of Choi Si Won and Park Seo Joon can't turn my heart green. Hwang Jung Eum has either made some bad character choices or received bad direction because her performance is ruining what would otherwise be a decent series. The physical mannerisms of the character are so over the top that they have ceased to be comedic and have become a distraction. It's painful to watch. What are your thoughts? Let me know.
♥ Six Flying Dragons
Tag Line: Not your everyday dragons. Flying dragons. (Dragons being important people.)
Thoughts: Kim Myung Min may be influencing my decision to flag this one green. I just can't help myself. It must be the voice. That aside, Six Flying Dragons is an historical k-drama set right at the founding of the Joseon Dynasty. It follows six characters, as some of you may have already guessed, as they work to achieve their goals during the tumultuous transition of political regimes. Three of the characters are based on actual historical figures and three are works of fiction created to enhance the store. Lee Bag Won (Yoo Ah In), Jeong Do Jeon (Kim Myung Min), and Lee Seong Gye (Cheon Ho Jin) are the historical figures. Boon Yi (Shin Se Kyung), Ddang Sae (Byun Yo Han), and Moo Hyul (Yoon Gyun Sang) are the made-up characters. The first four episodes begin with many of the characters being children and the series will ultimately leap ahead to their adult years. The first three episodes move at a steady pace and the audience is introduced to a dozen or so characters that are influencing the current politics of Goryeo.
♥ The Village: Achiara's Secret
Tag Line: I'm supposed to be dead. My sister's supposed to bead. We're alive. Or, not. What?
Thoughts: This is a pleasant and seasonally appropriate addition to the fall line-up of k-dramas that have premiered over the past month. Set in the small community of Achiara, this murder mystery focuses on death of an unknown person whose corpse is found in the woods by a newly hired middle school teacher, Han Soo Yoon (Moon Geun Young). At the same time, Han Soo Yoon is trying to solve her own mystery involving the death of her parents and her sister in a car accident when she was five years old. She has lived in Canada for as long as she can remember and there is no record of her existence in South Korea. The more she discovers the more she realizes that things aren't as they seem. Is there some link between her and the corpse in the woods? Why is everyone in the town so weird? These questions and many more will get answered across this 16 episode run. The first three episodes have been just creepy enough to be engaging and there's a feeling to the production that rings of an M. Night Shyalaman film. The dark... the foreboding.. the hint of something otherworldly at play. Moon Geun Young is excellent, as always, but I can't help feeling that the styling choices between hair and wardrobe have aged her by 10 or more years. That aside, I am really enjoying this series and I hope the build up of the mystery and the resolution are handled in the same manner as the introduction. I'm looking forward to seeing more!
Because It's the First Time
♥ She was Pretty
Tag Line: She was pretty. Now, she's not. But her BFF is...
Thoughts: This is tough. I have seen two episodes. It is pretty standard fare for a romantic comedy. However, it features Park Seo Joon, who is just the cutest thing ever. AND, it also stars Choi Si Won, who is one of my many not-so-secret crushes. This means that I will probably say good things about it even if it is total crap. But, I digress. She was Pretty follows Kim Hye Jin (Hwang Jung Eum), a young woman struggling to find a job and self-conscious about her appearance. Out of the blue, she receives an e-mail from her old friend and first love, Ji Sung Joon (Park Seo Joon). He wants to meet. Hye Sung remembers him as the chubby boy next store that she protected from bullies. But Sung Joon is all grown up, slimmed down, and a total hottie. She, on the other hand, has gotten less attractive with age. At the last moment, she convinces her best friend to meet him in her stead. It goes as planned until he shows up as the boss at her new job. Sound like another well known story? Probably because there have been a hundred different takes on it since Cyrano de Bergerac was first published as a play in 1897 (thank you wikipedia). Sadly, even the combined superpowers of Choi Si Won and Park Seo Joon can't turn my heart green. Hwang Jung Eum has either made some bad character choices or received bad direction because her performance is ruining what would otherwise be a decent series. The physical mannerisms of the character are so over the top that they have ceased to be comedic and have become a distraction. It's painful to watch. What are your thoughts? Let me know.
♥ Six Flying Dragons
Tag Line: Not your everyday dragons. Flying dragons. (Dragons being important people.)
Thoughts: Kim Myung Min may be influencing my decision to flag this one green. I just can't help myself. It must be the voice. That aside, Six Flying Dragons is an historical k-drama set right at the founding of the Joseon Dynasty. It follows six characters, as some of you may have already guessed, as they work to achieve their goals during the tumultuous transition of political regimes. Three of the characters are based on actual historical figures and three are works of fiction created to enhance the store. Lee Bag Won (Yoo Ah In), Jeong Do Jeon (Kim Myung Min), and Lee Seong Gye (Cheon Ho Jin) are the historical figures. Boon Yi (Shin Se Kyung), Ddang Sae (Byun Yo Han), and Moo Hyul (Yoon Gyun Sang) are the made-up characters. The first four episodes begin with many of the characters being children and the series will ultimately leap ahead to their adult years. The first three episodes move at a steady pace and the audience is introduced to a dozen or so characters that are influencing the current politics of Goryeo.
♥ The Village: Achiara's Secret
Tag Line: I'm supposed to be dead. My sister's supposed to bead. We're alive. Or, not. What?
Thoughts: This is a pleasant and seasonally appropriate addition to the fall line-up of k-dramas that have premiered over the past month. Set in the small community of Achiara, this murder mystery focuses on death of an unknown person whose corpse is found in the woods by a newly hired middle school teacher, Han Soo Yoon (Moon Geun Young). At the same time, Han Soo Yoon is trying to solve her own mystery involving the death of her parents and her sister in a car accident when she was five years old. She has lived in Canada for as long as she can remember and there is no record of her existence in South Korea. The more she discovers the more she realizes that things aren't as they seem. Is there some link between her and the corpse in the woods? Why is everyone in the town so weird? These questions and many more will get answered across this 16 episode run. The first three episodes have been just creepy enough to be engaging and there's a feeling to the production that rings of an M. Night Shyalaman film. The dark... the foreboding.. the hint of something otherworldly at play. Moon Geun Young is excellent, as always, but I can't help feeling that the styling choices between hair and wardrobe have aged her by 10 or more years. That aside, I am really enjoying this series and I hope the build up of the mystery and the resolution are handled in the same manner as the introduction. I'm looking forward to seeing more!
Coming Soon
Because It's the First Time
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