Musings of the Obsessive Kind

So, my current drama watching list is as follows (I am only including dramas I am actively watching).

China:
Jade Palace Lock Heart
Three Kingdoms

Taiwan:
K.O. 3an Guo

Korea:
49 Days
Can You Hear My Heart
Crime Squad
New Tales of the Gisaeng

I think the list shall stay pretty much the same (though I am woefully behind on my kdramas) until the new batch of kdramas arrive in May. None of the upcoming twdrama/cdrama offerings interest me, and as to kdramas - I am going to check out Royal Family and Thorn Birds properly when they finish airing (I liked the first eps for both but they really are dramas better off watched in a marathon).

Oh, and I tried Manny.

No.

Just. No.

It's not a bad drama, but entirely not to my tastes.

1. The title. Manny. Unless you name is Manuel and you prefer diminutives, nobody should be referred to this way. I hate this word with a passion, the way I hate portmanteau words in general. What next, a drama called 'Absitively?"
2. I have a (reasonable or not) prejudice against male nannies. I'd never entrust my kid to one. (Not that I would be keen to entrust one to a female one, either).
3. I was till willing to give it a chance because I adore Suh Ji Suk, but then he came on my screen and I had to stifle a gasp. WTF? Did a labrador die on his head? Just no.

So yes, not for me.

So, my current drama watching list is as follows (I am only including dramas I am actively watching).

China:
Jade Palace Lock Heart
Three Kingdoms

Taiwan:
K.O. 3an Guo

Korea:
49 Days
Can You Hear My Heart
Crime Squad
New Tales of the Gisaeng

I think the list shall stay pretty much the same (though I am woefully behind on my kdramas) until the new batch of kdramas arrive in May. None of the upcoming twdrama/cdrama offerings interest me, and as to kdramas - I am going to check out Royal Family and Thorn Birds properly when they finish airing (I liked the first eps for both but they really are dramas better off watched in a marathon).

Oh, and I tried Manny.

No.

Just. No.

It's not a bad drama, but entirely not to my tastes.

1. The title. Manny. Unless you name is Manuel and you prefer diminutives, nobody should be referred to this way. I hate this word with a passion, the way I hate portmanteau words in general. What next, a drama called 'Absitively?"
2. I have a (reasonable or not) prejudice against male nannies. I'd never entrust my kid to one. (Not that I would be keen to entrust one to a female one, either).
3. I was till willing to give it a chance because I adore Suh Ji Suk, but then he came on my screen and I had to stifle a gasp. WTF? Did a labrador die on his head? Just no.

So yes, not for me.

I have just finished the first episode of Crime Squad and I am almost shaking.



It is so so good. It is amazingly good. It has killed my kdrama slump dead (there is no kdrama except for it that is airing right now that I want to watch but it doesn't matter because CS is so amazing it compensates for all).



A gritty police drama with a dual structure I adore (ep-long cases and an overarching, drama-long arc), this is dark and smart and heartbreaking (when was the last time I cried in the first ep of the drama?) and occasionally very funny.



It is anchored by a rock-solid cast led by Song Il Gook and Lee Jong Hyuk as two very different police officers, a subordinate and his superior, both irrevocably scarred by their shared past. SIG and LJH are both powerhouse actors and this drama benefits hugely from their presence as so much of their dynamic, their personalities, their scars are unspoken - just the way they hold themselves or the look in their eyes. I love the way SIG's character maintains his humanity, despite it all. I love his barely controlled rage and his familiar grief. I love how LJH's coldness and control hides regret and ever-present devastation (though honestly, I don't blame him for his choice 5 years ago. But to say more would be spoilery). This is so good.



I am also very fond of Song Ji Hyo (Jumong reunion for her and SIG!), playing a smart, compassionate crime reporter. That lady is fierce and funny and awesome. I want her to heal SIG's horrible emotional scars and become a crime-fighting power couple. Sun Woo Sun (who hs yet to appear but I am sure I'll love her) should get LJH :P



Oh, and everyone's favorite mobster prince Woobin, i.e. Kim Joon, is in this too.



So, why are you guys not watching it yet? Darksmurf has subs.

I think FWC insanity has driven me back to kdramas.



A pity none of my current favorites are doing well. Both Thorn Birds and Royal Family are being killed in the ratings (which are in the single digits) by Sign, the popularity of which I do not get - if I wanted to watch CSI, I'd just watch CSI. That's a pity because I really liked TB's first ep and, while I haven't seen RF yet, I cannot imagine it appealing to me less than Sign.

Next week, 49 Days takes over from Sign and we'll see how ratings shake out then. I hope at least one of these dramas is a hit though it's pretty hard for me to pick which one I'd root for seeing that I like Thorn Birds a lot already and want Joo Sung Wook's first starring role to be a success, 49 Days has a fascinating concept and a screenwriter I love (even if the leads - Jo Hun Jae and Lee Yo Won - leave me cold. Why couldn't Jung Il Woo be the main lead?), and Royal Family stars my crush Ji Sung and I am a sucker for dysfunctional rich family infighting stories.

I wonder how Crime Squad, which just premiered, did in the ratings? I am a lot more interested in it than its competitor The Duo, and I don't even know what the third rival is, so that shows how much I care about that one.

ETA: Midas. I think it's Midas. Talk about a drama designed not to appeal to me.

Oh, and the only weekend drama I am following, New Tales of the Gisaeng, is apparently averaging low teen rating, which I wouldn't think is too bad for a drama starring a bunch of nobodies and few sets (how expensive could this drama have been to make?), but apparently upsets execs because this writer's previous dramas have all been hits. I don't care if they cut the ep number down actually, as long as they do it enough in advance so the story could accomodate it. 50 eps is a LOT.

What are you guys watching/planning to watch?

I think FWC insanity has driven me back to kdramas.



A pity none of my current favorites are doing well. Both Thorn Birds and Royal Family are being killed in the ratings (which are in the single digits) by Sign, the popularity of which I do not get - if I wanted to watch CSI, I'd just watch CSI. That's a pity because I really liked TB's first ep and, while I haven't seen RF yet, I cannot imagine it appealing to me less than Sign.

Next week, 49 Days takes over from Sign and we'll see how ratings shake out then. I hope at least one of these dramas is a hit though it's pretty hard for me to pick which one I'd root for seeing that I like Thorn Birds a lot already and want Joo Sung Wook's first starring role to be a success, 49 Days has a fascinating concept and a screenwriter I love (even if the leads - Jo Hun Jae and Lee Yo Won - leave me cold. Why couldn't Jung Il Woo be the main lead?), and Royal Family stars my crush Ji Sung and I am a sucker for dysfunctional rich family infighting stories.

I wonder how Crime Squad, which just premiered, did in the ratings? I am a lot more interested in it than its competitor The Duo, and I don't even know what the third rival is, so that shows how much I care about that one.

ETA: Midas. I think it's Midas. Talk about a drama designed not to appeal to me.

Oh, and the only weekend drama I am following, New Tales of the Gisaeng, is apparently averaging low teen rating, which I wouldn't think is too bad for a drama starring a bunch of nobodies and few sets (how expensive could this drama have been to make?), but apparently upsets execs because this writer's previous dramas have all been hits. I don't care if they cut the ep number down actually, as long as they do it enough in advance so the story could accomodate it. 50 eps is a LOT.

What are you guys watching/planning to watch?

Withs2 picked Royal Family for subbing. Out of the new crop of the dramas, this was my most anticipated, so hooray!



Ji Sung, chaebol family manipulations, younger man- older woman! Bring it on, say I!

I also plan to check out 49 Days, Crime Squad and Thornbirds. I've given up on Midas (boring, plus a number of deal breaker concepts) and The Duo (I get my period drama caving satisfied through cdramas now) entirely.

In news that are not about a period cdrama (and half the flist breathes a sign of relief), the upcoming kdrama I am most excited for is actually the cop drama Crime Squad. I feel like a cop show for some reason. Plus the cast, with Song Il Gook (Jumong), Lee Jong Hyuk (Chuno), Song Ji Hyo (Jumong), Sun Woo Sun (Christmas) and Kim Joon (BOF) makes me salivate in glee.

( A few promo shots )

And a teaser which I also like:

( Teaser here )

And because you can't get off entirely Three Kingdoms-free, I must interrupt my scheduled obsessing over Lu Bu/Diaochan and my fixation on Cao Cao, to mention my love for the Sun brothers - the sibling love really gets me, every time. Here they are in the aftermath of their father's death:

In news that are not about a period cdrama (and half the flist breathes a sign of relief), the upcoming kdrama I am most excited for is actually the cop drama Crime Squad. I feel like a cop show for some reason. Plus the cast, with Song Il Gook (Jumong), Lee Jong Hyuk (Chuno), Song Ji Hyo (Jumong), Sun Woo Sun (Christmas) and Kim Joon (BOF) makes me salivate in glee.

( A few promo shots )

And a teaser which I also like:

( Teaser here )

And because you can't get off entirely Three Kingdoms-free, I must interrupt my scheduled obsessing over Lu Bu/Diaochan and my fixation on Cao Cao, to mention my love for the Sun brothers - the sibling love really gets me, every time. Here they are in the aftermath of their father's death: