Musings of the Obsessive Kind

According to dramabeans, Korea is remaking Proposal Daisakusen, the fluffy jdrama of some years back about a young man given a chance to change things at the wedding of his best friend whom he hopelessly loves. Starring in Yamapi's role is Yoo Seung Ho, finally in an age-appropriate role (I love the boy, but there is no question that his roles in both Flames of Desire and Warrior Baek Dong Soo should have been played by someone 10 years older).

Despite my horror (that continues and will continue forever) at the fact that someone in Japan thought it a good idea to remake Mawang, in general I am quite a fan of remakes. Often, they are better than the original because they have time to work out the kinks. E.g. I think Ikemen Desu Ne is better than You're Beautiful and The Empress is better than Jotei.

But I am puzzled as to why ProDai. Sure, it was a cute enough drama. It was also one I forgot the moment I finished. It seems odd that it got a remake but then Jotei did too and that was a clown trainwreck on LSD and it turned into quite a decent drama.

However, you know something which will make any sane person on my flist run? The writer is the one who wrote the Korean Boys Over Flowers. Dramabeans thinks the problem with BOF was more directing than writing but I beg to differ. BOF was, simply, the most atrociously-written kdrama I've ever had the misfortune to see (and with some of the turkeys I saw, that is saying a lot). By the end, it didn't even make sense and made me hate pretty much every character. Narratively it derailed into second-lead shipping which would have been fine if it carried through but, abruptly, it didn't (probably because the mangaka would have sued). I've ranted enough about BOF to not have to do it now, but think about it, people - if the writer could mess up this badly with something that (a) had a complete and detailed manga out and (b) two previous successful TV adaptations, what is she going to do to poor ProDai?

On second thought, I might tune in out of sheer curiousity.

1. Hideous perm needs to go. What were they thinking of???? Eeek.

2. Even though there was no hot-n-heavy tongue action (in a teen kdrama? Aahahahaha, hell will freeze over before that happens), I much preferred the kiss scene here to the Taiwanese one. I don't know - it was cute and funny and light and adorable and perfect. Seung Jo is such a dork - of course he kisses her right after she declares she is going to move on and find another guy. Bwa! You are totally jealous and posessive (which is why you were being such a jerk earlier - after Joon Gu's song) and you have no idea why but you totally did it to keep her hooked. The smirk and the 'get over me now' thing made me lol and lol forever.

3. The girl who plays OTP interloper is gorgeous. Space-out-staring-at-her gorgeous. Hani is cute and all but going by pure looks, there is no competition.

4. In real life, I'd tell Hani to move on and try dating others and get over Seung Jo - what she has now is no way to a happy relationship. If a guy doesn't love you back (in a 'I can actually tell he does' kind of way) and treat you well, there is no point pining for him. Move on, girl! (I was never able to be interested in a guy unless he was interested in me first, so am coming from different place here than Hani). I sort of want Hani to make a sex tape with Joon Gu and send it to Seung Jo. Because whether he loves her or not is one thing, but he has to treat her well, and he doesn't.

5. I was one of the minority of people who never had any problem with Kim Hyun Joong's acting in BOF to start with (he came across as manga-Rui to me) but he's definitely improved with MK. Actually, out of the main love quartet of doom of actors in BOF, I probably like him the best *gasp* - Lee Min Ho is excellent but his drama choices are trainwrecks (I'd rather have a mediocre actor in a good drama than a good actor in an awful one), Gu Hye Sun cannot act to save her life (I can deal with underacting but over-mugging drives me insane) and I dislike Lee Min Jung enough to automatically avoid any drama with her in it (stayed far away from Smile You just because of her). So KHJ wins by default. It probably helps that by the end of BOF, his was the only character out of the four I did not want to dismember.

1. Hideous perm needs to go. What were they thinking of???? Eeek.

2. Even though there was no hot-n-heavy tongue action (in a teen kdrama? Aahahahaha, hell will freeze over before that happens), I much preferred the kiss scene here to the Taiwanese one. I don't know - it was cute and funny and light and adorable and perfect. Seung Jo is such a dork - of course he kisses her right after she declares she is going to move on and find another guy. Bwa! You are totally jealous and posessive (which is why you were being such a jerk earlier - after Joon Gu's song) and you have no idea why but you totally did it to keep her hooked. The smirk and the 'get over me now' thing made me lol and lol forever.

3. The girl who plays OTP interloper is gorgeous. Space-out-staring-at-her gorgeous. Hani is cute and all but going by pure looks, there is no competition.

4. In real life, I'd tell Hani to move on and try dating others and get over Seung Jo - what she has now is no way to a happy relationship. If a guy doesn't love you back (in a 'I can actually tell he does' kind of way) and treat you well, there is no point pining for him. Move on, girl! (I was never able to be interested in a guy unless he was interested in me first, so am coming from different place here than Hani). I sort of want Hani to make a sex tape with Joon Gu and send it to Seung Jo. Because whether he loves her or not is one thing, but he has to treat her well, and he doesn't.

5. I was one of the minority of people who never had any problem with Kim Hyun Joong's acting in BOF to start with (he came across as manga-Rui to me) but he's definitely improved with MK. Actually, out of the main love quartet of doom of actors in BOF, I probably like him the best *gasp* - Lee Min Ho is excellent but his drama choices are trainwrecks (I'd rather have a mediocre actor in a good drama than a good actor in an awful one), Gu Hye Sun cannot act to save her life (I can deal with underacting but over-mugging drives me insane) and I dislike Lee Min Jung enough to automatically avoid any drama with her in it (stayed far away from Smile You just because of her). So KHJ wins by default. It probably helps that by the end of BOF, his was the only character out of the four I did not want to dismember.

Because I am so obsessed with the possibly uncanonical ship of Tae Sung/Jae In, I decided to bring you MVs from some ships which started out uncanonical (or at least looked this way to me) but ended up being the main OTP.

I very rarely uncanon ship so perhaps that is why most of those uncanon-looking ships I have ended up canon - I don't swap loyalties without a LOT of canon evidence. If even I uncanon ship, these ships really must be something.

( MVs here )

1. I continue to be boggled by the fact that there are less than 4 weeks until the premiere of Kim Sun Ah's I Am Legend (about girl-rockers, not zombie-fighters :P) and yet the drama still has not cast its leading man. That is beyond bizarre (unless they plan to have an all-girl drama with no romance which, while interesting, would be a guaranteed ratings flop). SBS' decision to bump Bad Guy (which was almost done filming) for later in order to move IAL forward seems more and more bizarre.

2. I don't post much about it because it's not very meta-able, but I keep enjoying Oh My Lady. It's my low-maintenance drama. I don't spend days in fever of anticipation for next eps or hunting for spoilers, nor am I emotionally absorbed but I do enjoy the fluff and like its characters - OML always puts a grin on my face. The romance is rather lacking, but for once I don't mind.

3. I caught up on Prosecutor Princess. The only thing yummier than angsty, drunk, breaking-down In Woo is In Woo taking an angsty shower (does anyone in Korea shower when they are otherwise than angsty? Is it a nation of miserable clean people?)



Much as I love In Woo, I sort of want to smack him for the fact that he's continuing to use HR for revenge no matter how bad it makes him feel. I can understand his desire for revenge (especially since it's looking more and more likely HR's dad was responsible for the death of IW's mother so he is trapped by his plans) but...still. (I loved the scene where he was at the bar with Jenny and was almost crying that he doesn't want to continue his revenge or to love HR either, he just wants her not to be in his life). But all I know is that when HR finds out the truth she will be davastated. I hope she never forgives him. Ever. (Yes, I ship them and I still hope that. I am bizarre.) At least not putting him through hell first. Also, can you imagine those family reunions?

4. Old news but I am still excited by it - Song Seung Heon is coming back to dramas to star in My Princess by writer of City Hall/Lovers in Paris. It's a romance (not sure if comedy or angsty). Yay!

5. Have this angsty Jandi/Jun Pyo vid just because.



6. Newest on Daemul is that it starts filming in July.

1. I continue to be boggled by the fact that there are less than 4 weeks until the premiere of Kim Sun Ah's I Am Legend (about girl-rockers, not zombie-fighters :P) and yet the drama still has not cast its leading man. That is beyond bizarre (unless they plan to have an all-girl drama with no romance which, while interesting, would be a guaranteed ratings flop). SBS' decision to bump Bad Guy (which was almost done filming) for later in order to move IAL forward seems more and more bizarre.

2. I don't post much about it because it's not very meta-able, but I keep enjoying Oh My Lady. It's my low-maintenance drama. I don't spend days in fever of anticipation for next eps or hunting for spoilers, nor am I emotionally absorbed but I do enjoy the fluff and like its characters - OML always puts a grin on my face. The romance is rather lacking, but for once I don't mind.

3. I caught up on Prosecutor Princess. The only thing yummier than angsty, drunk, breaking-down In Woo is In Woo taking an angsty shower (does anyone in Korea shower when they are otherwise than angsty? Is it a nation of miserable clean people?)



Much as I love In Woo, I sort of want to smack him for the fact that he's continuing to use HR for revenge no matter how bad it makes him feel. I can understand his desire for revenge (especially since it's looking more and more likely HR's dad was responsible for the death of IW's mother so he is trapped by his plans) but...still. (I loved the scene where he was at the bar with Jenny and was almost crying that he doesn't want to continue his revenge or to love HR either, he just wants her not to be in his life). But all I know is that when HR finds out the truth she will be davastated. I hope she never forgives him. Ever. (Yes, I ship them and I still hope that. I am bizarre.) At least not putting him through hell first. Also, can you imagine those family reunions?

4. Old news but I am still excited by it - Song Seung Heon is coming back to dramas to star in My Princess by writer of City Hall/Lovers in Paris. It's a romance (not sure if comedy or angsty). Yay!

5. Have this angsty Jandi/Jun Pyo vid just because.



6. Newest on Daemul is that it starts filming in July.

Here this is as a separate entry (it is also in the comments to the watchalong post) because I am still having issues figuring out the stickying part with the watchalong post.

Yes, instead of catching up on my backlog of dramas I have started watching BOF instead. I got about halfway into first ep before I had to run but I've been in a good mood for hours - it kicked in as soon as I heard the first strains of that silly Almost Paradiiiiiise :)



Random caps/thoughts follow.

( Enter behind the cuuuut )

So yes.

I tried to resist the impulse, brought on by the expected bout of recurrent BOF fever. But the impulse won!

Please join me for 25 episodes of fun, angst, insanity, and some spectacularly terrifying fashion choices! Discussion can go in this post - I am going to be stickying this shortly.

I am thinking 4 eps a week is doable, to start every Friday - this Friday we start with eps 1-4.

Normally I'd ask to use spoiler tags but is there anyone left in the world my flist who does not know the story inside out? Still, it would probably be good to put in the subject line which eps your comment relates to or if it relates to spoilers about the ending - you never know when a spoilerphobe might stumble in. Not mandatory but appreciated. :)

No rules or restrictions - anything goes - plot discussions, comparisons to other versions, drooling over the cast, snark about Ji Hoo's penchant for all-white clothes or Jun Pyo's hairstyle.

Oh, and no requirement to stay the course - I know views on the latter parts of BOF are mixed :) Also, it goes without saying (but I am going to say it anyway), that you don't have to do 4 eps a week to participate - you can do more or less or just drop in to chat because you've watched this drama previously. 4 eps is more of structural guideline than anything.

So, who's in?

Anyone, anyone, Bueller? :P

Tentative schedule:
April 30-May 6 - eps 1-4
May 7-May 13 - eps 5-8
May 14-May 20 - eps 9-12
May 21-27 - eps 13-16
May 28-June 3 - eps 17-20
June 4-June 10 - eps 21-25

This can be the bucket post unless you'd rather I did a separate post each week.

So yes.

I tried to resist the impulse, brought on by the expected bout of recurrent BOF fever. But the impulse won!

Please join me for 25 episodes of fun, angst, insanity, and some spectacularly terrifying fashion choices! Discussion can go in this post - I am going to be stickying this shortly.

I am thinking 4 eps a week is doable, to start every Friday - this Friday we start with eps 1-4.

Normally I'd ask to use spoiler tags but is there anyone left in the world my flist who does not know the story inside out? Still, it would probably be good to put in the subject line which eps your comment relates to or if it relates to spoilers about the ending - you never know when a spoilerphobe might stumble in. Not mandatory but appreciated. :)

No rules or restrictions - anything goes - plot discussions, comparisons to other versions, drooling over the cast, snark about Ji Hoo's penchant for all-white clothes or Jun Pyo's hairstyle.

Oh, and no requirement to stay the course - I know views on the latter parts of BOF are mixed :) Also, it goes without saying (but I am going to say it anyway), that you don't have to do 4 eps a week to participate - you can do more or less or just drop in to chat because you've watched this drama previously. 4 eps is more of structural guideline than anything.

So, who's in?

Anyone, anyone, Bueller? :P

Tentative schedule:
April 30-May 6 - eps 1-4
May 7-May 13 - eps 5-8
May 14-May 20 - eps 9-12
May 21-27 - eps 13-16
May 28-June 3 - eps 17-20
June 4-June 10 - eps 21-25

This can be the bucket post unless you'd rather I did a separate post each week.

I just felt like doing this because they ended up my favorite thing about Boys Over Flowers. :) Warning - this turned into a monster picspam. Be warned.



First, let us introduce the parties:

So Yi Jung:



Background: Womanizer (specialty - threesomes) and a talented and award-winning pottery artist. Filthy rich but with a filthy dysfunctional family attached (mother's specialty is suicide attempts, father's specialty is banging girls younger than his son, and older brother has gone AWOL).
Hobbies: Pottery, neckscarves, hanging out with his three equally rich and equally dysfunctional friends, pottery, self-destructive acting out and drinking, preventing weddings, pottery, matchmaking, horrible sax-playing, pottery. But definitely not good girls.

Chu Ga Eul:



Background: Commonsense and spunky "commoner" who works in a porridge shop, hangs out with her best friend Jandi, and develops a liking for the emo basketcase that is one of her best friend's boyfriend's best friends. (Say THAT 3 times fast). Does not back down from anything.
Hobbies: Getting revenge on evil ex-boyfriends, standing up for her friend, match-making, So Yi Jung, preventing weddings, pottery as taught by crush's ex-girlfriend, teaching kids, So Yi Jung, making a man out of emo basketcase through sheer strength of will, pouring water on dates who try to set her up with their fathers, knitting, So Yi Jung. Definitely, definitely bad boys.

( And now enter here )

You get a medal if you finished this all!

Not enough?

Have a MV!