Doctor Stranger

Title:	Doctor Stranger
Alternate Title(s):	N/A
Genre(s):	Medical Drama, Political Drama
Episodes	20
Network:	SBS
Year Produced:	2014
Available to Watch On:	DramaFever, viki, Hulu, dramafans.org

Summary: Doctor Stranger is an epic tale of true love conquering insurmountable obstacles. Park Hoon (Lee Jong Suk) is abducted as a child in order to force his father, a gifted heart surgeon, to perform surgery on the North Korean leader. The understanding is that they'd be returned to South Korea when the surgery is completed successfully. But a corrupt South Korean politician arranges for their execution instead. The North Korean government fakes the execution and the two become stranded in a foreign country without the means to return home. It is there that Park Hoon meets his first and only love, Song Jae Hee (Jin Se Yeon), and the two grow-up together with dreams of becoming doctors. But Park Hoon is placed into a brutal medical program where he is forced to experiment on living people - often taking their lives in the process. Meanwhile, Song Jae Hee is placed into a labor camp with her father. Fate plays a cruel trick on the star crossed lovers as they struggle to reunite and free themselves from the political machinations of the people that destroyed their lives.

RATING:

♥♥½
Dr. Stranger - Just Strange. 

Recommendation: The first two episodes of this k-drama are thrilling. They move fast and take the audience on a globe trotting adventure through South Korea, North Korea (at least a set that looks like it), and Hungary. It is exciting! I even believed, very briefly, that the prospects for this to be a "k-drama of 2014" were very good. Then, the show fast forwards a few years and permanently relocates to South Korea where it all falls apart. It feels a little bit like a k-drama written by committee: one person wanted it to be a medical drama, someone else wanted it to a suspenseful espionage thriller, and another person wanted an epic romance. Unable to make a decision, they added everything into the series. Perhaps if Dr. Stranger had focused heavily on one or the other the outcome might have been more satisfying. Even the relationship between Park Hoon and Song Jae Hee feels awkward and forced at times, the chemistry lacking. Eventually, I began to wonder if they knew what their characters were doing or thinking: "Am I a spy? Am I a doctor? Do I want to kill you or love you? I don't know!" At the very least, the surgeries were nicely choreographed and tense. I was reasonably sold on Lee Jong Suk and Park Hae Jin as talented surgeons. That's something, I suppose.

Three Days

Title:	Three Days
Alternate Title(s):	3 Days
Network:	SBS
Year Produced:	2014

Summary: Three Days is a 2014 South Korean drama produced for SBS. This dark political thriller follows Secret Service Agent Han Tae Kyung (Park Yoo Chun) as he races against the clock to prevent the financial ruin of South Korea and the deaths of innocent civilians. The story begins with the mysterious death of his father and quickly escalates into an assassination attempt of the S. Korean president. But as Agent Han discovers, those events are just the tip of the iceberg. Now, he must unravel a decades old conspiracy in search of clues to prevent another tragedy. The series also stars well-known actors Park Ha Sun, Choi Won Young, and So E Hyun.

2.5 = I really wanted to like this one...

Recommendation: Here's the thing: I feel absolutely nothing about this k-drama. I don't love it and I don't hate it. It's just kind of... there. It was difficult to empathize with any of the characters' plights and I was indifferent to the outcome right up until the end of episode 13. Sure, there were some exciting action sequences and staring at Park Yoo Chun for 16 hours isn't a bad way to spend my free time. But I want to cry, laugh, and feel emotionally invested in the fates of the characters when I watch a movie, television show, play, etc... So, I'm sorry to report that this k-drama is a no-go for me. If you like political-conspiracy-action k-dramas, it might be worth your time.

Golden Rainbow

Summary: Golden Rainbow is a 41-episode South Korean drama produced for the network MBC. It's a complicated story set in the backdrop of the fishing industry that follows a group of orphans adopted by Kim Han Joo (Kim Sang Joong), who was raised as an orphan himself. The show spans a period of 18 years and there are multiple plots intertwined with one another ranging from corporate fraud, star-crossed love, family dysfunction, and the slippery slope of power and wealth. It's a mixed bag of everything. Prominent stars in the series include Uee and Jung Il Woo.

+1/2 heart for the children

Recommendation: This is another series that has me feeling particularly conflicted and that makes it difficult to recommend it wholeheartedly. The show starts out really strong and I enjoyed the performances of all the children. In particular, I thought the young Baek Won (Kim You Jung) and the young Seo Do Young (Oh Jae Moo) were wonderful. The cast of veteran actors all had flawless performances and laid out a great foundation for the remainder of the series. Then.... it fast forwards 14 years and it all falls apart. The transition to the adult cast wasn't as smooth as I'd have liked and a lot of the drama became boring, repetitive, and exhausting. How many times did the audience have to watch Uee and Jung Il Woo cry and pine for one another? Too many to count. Then, after sticking with it for 41 episodes, it all wraps up with a terrible ending. It very well may rival Bride of the Century for the worst ending...ever.

Bride of the Century

Summary: Bride of the Centrury is a 2014 k-drama produced for CSTV. This sixteen episode series is centered around the Choi family, owners of the multi-million dollar conglomerate Taeyang Group. As their eldest son Choi Kang Joo (Lee Hong Ki) prepares for his arranged marriage with Jang Yi Kyung (Yang Jin Sung), the rumor that the family is cursed resurfaces. According to the legends, the first wife of the eldest son in each generation will die on her wedding night. When mysterious forces begin plucking at the threads of fate, the lives of everyone involved are irrevocably changed.

-2 1/2 hearts for bad casting and a bad ending

Recommendation: My opinion regarding this drama will probably be unpopular. But, I didn't love it. This is another one of those k-dramas that had a great set-up but ultimately failed to deliver. There were a lot of great moments in the first half of the series and I was excited to see how everything connected. But the explanation was...meh. And, frankly, this wasn't a great role for Lee Hong Ki. I struggled through the entire series to see him as Choi Kang Ju - a cold and logical businessman afraid of love. Sung Hyuk as Jang Yi Hyun was equally unimpressive as the rival for Na Doo Rim's heart. Then, the series ends with what has to be one of the most anticlimactic wrap-ups in k-drama history. It came across as, "...and then everyone said they were sorry. The end."

Hundred Years' Inheritance

Plot: There are about 4-5 different plot lines throughout this 50 episode drama. This drama is centered predominantly around the Uhm family and their 100 year old noodle company. The audience follows the journey of various family members as they work through professional crises, money issues, romance, marriage problems, divorce, sickness and other hardships. The primary focus is on the character Min Chae Won (Eugene), her divorce from Kim Chul Kyu (Choi Won Young), and her subsequent marriage to Lee Se Yoon (Lee Jung Jin).

Too Long. Too predictable.

Recommendation: Honestly, I'm really torn on how to recommend this one. If you are a die hard k-drama addict, you will probably enjoy it. Everyone else might be better off investing their time elsewhere. The truth is that I fast forwarded through most of the family plot line and only focused on the parts involving Min Chae Won (Eugene) and Lee Se Yoon (Lee Jung Jin). I loved the chemistry between the leads but everything else was just noise and didn't add any particular value to the story.  By episode 35, I found the constant obstacles to the main characters' marriage to be repetitive, boring, and unoriginal. The audience knows exactly how this drama will end by the third episode. That means the focus is on the the journey and, IMO, the trip should have been cut in half.

My what big teeth you have....

Other Thoughts: There are really two things that stuck out for me while watching this drama.

The first is Chae Won's crazy ex-mother-in-law, Bang Young Ja, played by Park Won Suk. She is a phenomenal actress that has a list of credentials that started before I was even born. I've seen her in several other dramas and she is currently playing the grandmother in the series, Golden Rainbow. For Hundred Years' Inheritance, she really channeled some serious Crazy. And, I mean CRAZY! It was a little over the top. I think my illustration captures the expression she wore for about 90% the show.

The other thing that caught my attention was the styling. One reason that I love watching Korean dramas is because the fashion is so interesting. The stylists are really thinking outside the box and producing looks that are innovative and creative. But, in the case of Kim Chul Kyu, there should have been some editing and a little WWTGD (What Would Tim Gunn Do). There are only so many ugly sweaters and clashing patterns that my eyes can handle. A few examples are on display below but they are not by any stretch of the imagination the worst offenders.

Make it stop. Please.