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dangermousieAs I posted before, I've seen over 70 kdramas in whole or in part enough to make my opinions on them - I am also addicted to ranking. My previous post dealt with dramas ranked 74-63, basically bottom of the barrel. The below batch is rather better.
While none of them are masterpieces or will inspire me to fork out for box-sets or recommend them to others, you could spend your time watching them and be entertained without wanting to slit your throat. Some of them have very good bits mixed in with some obvious flaws, some were fun dramas ruined by crazy endings, and some are good fun even if not amazing.
(64) 9 END 2 OUTS
Perhaps I was in the wrong mood when I stumbled upon this drama - I was in the mood for something epic, angsty, and larger than life, but instead 9E2O provided me with low-key mellow story about two best friends who might eventually decide they are in love without much drama. Perhaps it was the fact that the two leads, while photogenic and not deficient in acting department, didn't instantly click with me in that irrational way that happens with my kdrama favorites. All I know is that I watched the first four episodes and found it harder and harder going with each successive episode. I finally gave up and turned to something more in line with my cravings. 9E2O is by no means a bad kdrama and a favorite of a lot of people on my flist. I might even check it out again some other day and like it much better because I'll know what to expect. But for now, all I remember is the feeling of slight boredom - it simply wasn't the kdrama for me.
(63) SAY YOU LOVE ME
Lack of drama or being very understated was NOT the problem of this drama. The makers of SYL have never met a dramatic scene they didn't overmug to death - in fact, going by the script, they must have been secret Jerry Springer viewers. Starring a young and floppy-haired Kim Rae Won (again! why does that man pick such dramas), this is a story about a pair of innocents who have been in love since childhood. However, leaving the care of benevolent monks (!) and venturing into a big city, they do not know the danger that awaits them. In a kdrama take on Les Liasons Dangereux or Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, the young couple catches attention of a predatory and powerful older woman. Unable to bear the purity of their love (how does she stand to watch Korean tv then?) she decides to break up the couple by seducing KRW and having her friend-with-benefits seduce KRW's girlfriend. In a scene supposed to be disturbing but coming across as highly ridiculous, she succeeds ripping KRW's 'virtue' away from him. OH THE DRAMA WHAT SHALL HAPPEN. SYL is a ridiculously entertaining trashy and guilty pleasure - if you can tolerate the characters who have the IQ of a weevil. Combined.
(62) DREAM
I like eyecandy as much as the next gal but there has to be something more - this story of a disgraced sports agent and a prodigy rookie boxer boasts some really good actors (Joo Jin Mo and Kim Bum) and some really neat scenes but is brought down by an incredibly wooden female lead (Son Dambi is the worst Korean actress I have ever seen), and a very by-the-numbers story. Plus, to be honest, I've never been much for sports stories.
(61) STAINED GLASS
A melodrama that is both deeply flawed and deeply fun, this story of three childhood friends - a girl and two boys, one of whom is presumed drowned but reappears later as a yummily icy Japanese businessman to create a love triangle, boasts ridiculously sexy Lee Dong Gun as the male lead, has a neat heroine, delicious OTP and melodrama scenes galore, but is brought down by a secondary male lead who is so atrocious (in both character and acting) he must be seen to be believed, but unfortunately gets a ridiculous amount of screentime. Not to mention I adore cheese but there were a couple of scenes which pushed even my cheese-o-meter nearly to breaking point. Despite all of that, SG would be much higher on my list (the gorgeous angsty kissing OMG!) if it wasn't for that ending. I STILL BOIL WHEN I THINK OF THAT ENDING. WTF. WHAT THE FLIPPING FLIPPING FRAK WAS THAT?
(60) MY FAIR LADY
This story of a snooty rich girl (Yoon Eun Hye) and her plucky poor butler (Yoon Sang Hyun) falling in love, makes me think of a lollipop when you are on a diet - it's sweet and easy to crunch but ultimately empty and leaves you feeling vaguely bad. This drama has a fun color pallette, an amazing cast it utterly wastes, and an utter lack of any connection to understandable human behavioral progression or even cause-and-effect. It's ranked as high as it is because of the cast but honestly, whoever came up with that nonsensical script should not be allowed near writing implements ever again except to pen a huge public apology.
(59) WITCH AMUSEMENT
See My Fair Lady. The first few episodes of this drama about a "witch" of a woman looking for a partner were pure delicious goodness. Funny, romantic, clever, light. However, by episode 5 or so, the writer seems to have been kidnapped by aliens and replaced by a hyppopotamus on drugs. The fine cast do their best, and the chemistry between Han Ga In and Jae Hee remains crackling, but they are all wasted in circular, silly script. It's not bad fun if you lower your expectations significantly, but in light of what could have been...
(58) STORY OF A MAN
Another example of a good drama, wrong audience. This story of a man whose family is ruined and who comes out to seek financial revenge is well-written and well-acted. It just wasn't my thing - I wanted a different revenge drama and a different outcome for a number of characters and their relationships. You know that old "it's not you, it's me?" It certainly applies to me and this drama.
(57) POWERFUL OPPONENTS
I adored that drama about a pair of bickering, UST secret service agents assigned to protect the President's rebellious son, like burning. I picspammed, watched raws, and shipped ridiculously hard. AND THEN CAME THE LAST EPISODE AND THIS DRAMA IS DEAD TO ME. Don't even get me started - I wouldn't have even minded an open (but hopeful) ending but the ending made no sense and basically negated the last 15 episodes. While making no sense. UGHUGHUGH.
(56) MARRY A MILLIONAIRE
This take on the infamous reality show about a normal guy pretending to be wealthy for a tv show hunt for a bride is...innocuous. That is the best I can say. I normally adore Go Soo but he is wasted here, and the female lead failed to garner my attention for even 5 minutes. It's not bad, it's not good - it's OK.
(55) NINE-TAILED FOX
Also known as "Forbidden Love", this drama is sort of a vampire story - foxes (this version's vampires) subsist on human livers and fight a secret war against mankind. A pity one of their best warriors (Kim Tae Hee) has fallen for a police officer of a secret fox-hunting unity (Jo Hyun Jae). Boasting an awesome cast (also starring Han Ye Seul, Uhm Tae Woong ang Jun Jin) and the prettiest closing credits ever, this is a fun drama. I like it even if I wasn't obsessed by it.
If you expect a really coherent plot, you won't get it, but do you care with prettiness like this:
(54) HELLO MISS
With just a little bit of tweaking, this romcom about impoverished head of traditional household and a businessman who is trying to buy her mansion, would have been pure gold - the colors are bright, the story is full of potential, and Lee Da Hae and Lee Ji Hoon are both as adorable as puppies and kittens. The problem? The director went a bit awol - LDH overacts her role a bit and LJH's character is made so ridiculously nice that it makes one wonder at Da Hae's character's mental capacity when she keeps misunderstanding him as an evil evil thief-villain type. Still, it's fun, fluffy, and relaxing. Perhaps a bit too relaxing - I enjoy it when I watch it but when I put it down I have no problem moving on to something else.
(53) BOYS OVER FLOWERS
Aha. The elephant in the room. The (in)famous BOF. Yet another adaptation of the story of a plucky poor gal, a bad-tempered rich boy, and a bunch of other rich people, this drama has a wonderful 14 eps or so and then becomes progressively worse and worse for the remaining 11, ending up unwatchable by the end and successfully making me loathe every character I spent the first half madly loving. Still, the first half is beyond awesome so I can't dismiss it out of hand - best bet is to watch the first half and pretend the second doesn't exist.
Oh, and I forgot a drama on my earlier list - maybe I wanted to. It's (76) SUPER ROOKIE - I won't bother summarizing it, but it was unwatchable.
While none of them are masterpieces or will inspire me to fork out for box-sets or recommend them to others, you could spend your time watching them and be entertained without wanting to slit your throat. Some of them have very good bits mixed in with some obvious flaws, some were fun dramas ruined by crazy endings, and some are good fun even if not amazing.
(64) 9 END 2 OUTS
Perhaps I was in the wrong mood when I stumbled upon this drama - I was in the mood for something epic, angsty, and larger than life, but instead 9E2O provided me with low-key mellow story about two best friends who might eventually decide they are in love without much drama. Perhaps it was the fact that the two leads, while photogenic and not deficient in acting department, didn't instantly click with me in that irrational way that happens with my kdrama favorites. All I know is that I watched the first four episodes and found it harder and harder going with each successive episode. I finally gave up and turned to something more in line with my cravings. 9E2O is by no means a bad kdrama and a favorite of a lot of people on my flist. I might even check it out again some other day and like it much better because I'll know what to expect. But for now, all I remember is the feeling of slight boredom - it simply wasn't the kdrama for me.
(63) SAY YOU LOVE ME
Lack of drama or being very understated was NOT the problem of this drama. The makers of SYL have never met a dramatic scene they didn't overmug to death - in fact, going by the script, they must have been secret Jerry Springer viewers. Starring a young and floppy-haired Kim Rae Won (again! why does that man pick such dramas), this is a story about a pair of innocents who have been in love since childhood. However, leaving the care of benevolent monks (!) and venturing into a big city, they do not know the danger that awaits them. In a kdrama take on Les Liasons Dangereux or Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, the young couple catches attention of a predatory and powerful older woman. Unable to bear the purity of their love (how does she stand to watch Korean tv then?) she decides to break up the couple by seducing KRW and having her friend-with-benefits seduce KRW's girlfriend. In a scene supposed to be disturbing but coming across as highly ridiculous, she succeeds ripping KRW's 'virtue' away from him. OH THE DRAMA WHAT SHALL HAPPEN. SYL is a ridiculously entertaining trashy and guilty pleasure - if you can tolerate the characters who have the IQ of a weevil. Combined.
(62) DREAM
I like eyecandy as much as the next gal but there has to be something more - this story of a disgraced sports agent and a prodigy rookie boxer boasts some really good actors (Joo Jin Mo and Kim Bum) and some really neat scenes but is brought down by an incredibly wooden female lead (Son Dambi is the worst Korean actress I have ever seen), and a very by-the-numbers story. Plus, to be honest, I've never been much for sports stories.
(61) STAINED GLASS
A melodrama that is both deeply flawed and deeply fun, this story of three childhood friends - a girl and two boys, one of whom is presumed drowned but reappears later as a yummily icy Japanese businessman to create a love triangle, boasts ridiculously sexy Lee Dong Gun as the male lead, has a neat heroine, delicious OTP and melodrama scenes galore, but is brought down by a secondary male lead who is so atrocious (in both character and acting) he must be seen to be believed, but unfortunately gets a ridiculous amount of screentime. Not to mention I adore cheese but there were a couple of scenes which pushed even my cheese-o-meter nearly to breaking point. Despite all of that, SG would be much higher on my list (the gorgeous angsty kissing OMG!) if it wasn't for that ending. I STILL BOIL WHEN I THINK OF THAT ENDING. WTF. WHAT THE FLIPPING FLIPPING FRAK WAS THAT?
(60) MY FAIR LADY
This story of a snooty rich girl (Yoon Eun Hye) and her plucky poor butler (Yoon Sang Hyun) falling in love, makes me think of a lollipop when you are on a diet - it's sweet and easy to crunch but ultimately empty and leaves you feeling vaguely bad. This drama has a fun color pallette, an amazing cast it utterly wastes, and an utter lack of any connection to understandable human behavioral progression or even cause-and-effect. It's ranked as high as it is because of the cast but honestly, whoever came up with that nonsensical script should not be allowed near writing implements ever again except to pen a huge public apology.
(59) WITCH AMUSEMENT
See My Fair Lady. The first few episodes of this drama about a "witch" of a woman looking for a partner were pure delicious goodness. Funny, romantic, clever, light. However, by episode 5 or so, the writer seems to have been kidnapped by aliens and replaced by a hyppopotamus on drugs. The fine cast do their best, and the chemistry between Han Ga In and Jae Hee remains crackling, but they are all wasted in circular, silly script. It's not bad fun if you lower your expectations significantly, but in light of what could have been...
(58) STORY OF A MAN
Another example of a good drama, wrong audience. This story of a man whose family is ruined and who comes out to seek financial revenge is well-written and well-acted. It just wasn't my thing - I wanted a different revenge drama and a different outcome for a number of characters and their relationships. You know that old "it's not you, it's me?" It certainly applies to me and this drama.
(57) POWERFUL OPPONENTS
I adored that drama about a pair of bickering, UST secret service agents assigned to protect the President's rebellious son, like burning. I picspammed, watched raws, and shipped ridiculously hard. AND THEN CAME THE LAST EPISODE AND THIS DRAMA IS DEAD TO ME. Don't even get me started - I wouldn't have even minded an open (but hopeful) ending but the ending made no sense and basically negated the last 15 episodes. While making no sense. UGHUGHUGH.
(56) MARRY A MILLIONAIRE
This take on the infamous reality show about a normal guy pretending to be wealthy for a tv show hunt for a bride is...innocuous. That is the best I can say. I normally adore Go Soo but he is wasted here, and the female lead failed to garner my attention for even 5 minutes. It's not bad, it's not good - it's OK.
(55) NINE-TAILED FOX
Also known as "Forbidden Love", this drama is sort of a vampire story - foxes (this version's vampires) subsist on human livers and fight a secret war against mankind. A pity one of their best warriors (Kim Tae Hee) has fallen for a police officer of a secret fox-hunting unity (Jo Hyun Jae). Boasting an awesome cast (also starring Han Ye Seul, Uhm Tae Woong ang Jun Jin) and the prettiest closing credits ever, this is a fun drama. I like it even if I wasn't obsessed by it.
If you expect a really coherent plot, you won't get it, but do you care with prettiness like this:
(54) HELLO MISS
With just a little bit of tweaking, this romcom about impoverished head of traditional household and a businessman who is trying to buy her mansion, would have been pure gold - the colors are bright, the story is full of potential, and Lee Da Hae and Lee Ji Hoon are both as adorable as puppies and kittens. The problem? The director went a bit awol - LDH overacts her role a bit and LJH's character is made so ridiculously nice that it makes one wonder at Da Hae's character's mental capacity when she keeps misunderstanding him as an evil evil thief-villain type. Still, it's fun, fluffy, and relaxing. Perhaps a bit too relaxing - I enjoy it when I watch it but when I put it down I have no problem moving on to something else.
(53) BOYS OVER FLOWERS
Aha. The elephant in the room. The (in)famous BOF. Yet another adaptation of the story of a plucky poor gal, a bad-tempered rich boy, and a bunch of other rich people, this drama has a wonderful 14 eps or so and then becomes progressively worse and worse for the remaining 11, ending up unwatchable by the end and successfully making me loathe every character I spent the first half madly loving. Still, the first half is beyond awesome so I can't dismiss it out of hand - best bet is to watch the first half and pretend the second doesn't exist.
Oh, and I forgot a drama on my earlier list - maybe I wanted to. It's (76) SUPER ROOKIE - I won't bother summarizing it, but it was unwatchable.
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no subject
Date: 2009-09-29 03:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-29 03:47 pm (UTC)Btw, speaking of revenge dramas, I recommend Green Rose highly.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-29 04:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-29 04:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-29 05:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-29 06:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-29 07:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-29 09:25 pm (UTC)Hero and Heroine are happy in their love, resolved family issues, are set to get married, etc. Secondary Guy, who's spent the whole drama stalking and trying to guilt heroine into a relationship (she has never given him any indication she likes him and rejected him repeatedly) and do crazy things to the hero, decides best thing to do is to throw a giant pity party and then drown himself with some more guilt-tripping as a parting gift for the heroine and hero.
So, presumably out of guilt and feeling that they cannot get married at such a cost (they never explain in any way), instead of having a wedding, hero and heroine decide to separate. Cue them saying goodbye at the airport - they have plans to meet again in 10 years and if they still feel the same way about each other they'll get married then, because 10 yrs is their self-allotted punishment for their 'crime.'
And they walk off their separate ways.
The end.
I sit there flabbergasted and go "What. The. Fuck."
On the plus side, this is the hero:
The only more WTF ending is that of Glass Slippers.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-29 09:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-29 10:05 pm (UTC)One of the few endings that ruined the drama for me.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-01 01:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-10-01 03:56 pm (UTC)Powerful Opponents
Date: 2009-09-30 07:02 am (UTC)And I got Worlds Within because of you and even though I really don't like Hyun Bin and the whole "let us teach you about how dramas are made" bits are bit of hammer in the head variety, I loved the show and want to take this opportunity to thank you for your recommendation.
I'm now thinking of approaching Hong Gil Dong since I liked HJK in Rough Cut.
Re: Powerful Opponents
Date: 2009-09-30 03:30 pm (UTC)HGD is one of my all time favore dramas - give it a couple of eps.
Re: PO. The two bodyguards don't get together - in fact all the previous UST is sort of negated and they are kind of set up with other prospective partners. Lady bodyguard doesn't get together with the President's Son either - it just sort of all left...everything was such a mess I have seen people even saying she died - it's really unclear. I have yet to see anyone who liked the ending.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-30 12:55 pm (UTC)(57) WITCH AMUSEMENT - I like the Han Ga In & Jae Hee pairing. I was
like "What was that?! What was that?!" when the end came.
(53) NINE-TAILED FOX - I sympathized with the little sister and the
scruffy-looking Gumiho with the deadly top.
(52) HELLO MISS - Cute pairing, but got dragging and there wasn't even much romantic scenes to fawn over.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-30 03:28 pm (UTC)Omg!
Date: 2009-12-04 08:10 am (UTC)