KS writes:
Can you suggest some dramas that are thought-provoking? As in, you get life nuggets from them; dramas that are not easy to watch but are interspersed with thoughtful life lessons?
A Poem A Day
Dear kfangurl: What are some underrated gems that need more love?
MC writes:
Another idea for a Dear Fangurl post – would you want to do a list of shows that you love but are often passed over or neglected / underrated?
Cos every year there are so many new shiny shows but there are so many good ones that pass under the radar because of low ratings or are older etc.
This could be a love note or shoutout to them.
Dear kfangurl: What are some dramas where the leads are nice?
Reaper525 writes:
So my question is: Is it just me or is it really hard to find likable leads these days in dramas? I mean most female leads these days annoy me compared to older dramas.
But also male leads are just sometimes you know …. facepalm material.
Is that me or is there actually something changing in dramas? Back in the day I liked 9/10 of the dramas (and their leads) that I watched but now it is more like 3-4/10…
Am I getting old? 😀
Review: Hospital Playlist
THE SHORT VERDICT:
Warm, wholesome goodness dressed in hospital garb, Hospital Playlist is the medical themed drama that even the medical drama-averse can easily love.
Hospital Playlist checks a lot of boxes, for me. The writing and directing is assured; the cast is outstanding individually and together.
The overall feel is balanced, with enough attention given to the cases of the day without losing focus on our key characters; the music is heartfelt and breezy, made even more special when performed by the cast.
The slice-of-life approach might feel meandering and slow to some, but in exchange, you really feel like a fly on these characters’ walls, in their professional and personal capacities.
The long episodes might feel intimidating at first, but once you grow to love the characters, the length of the episodes become more of a boon than a bane.
I legit didn’t want this one to end; highly recommend.
Review: When The Weather Is Fine [I’ll Find You When The Weather Is Nice]
THE SHORT VERDICT:
Measured, quiet and thoughtful, I really liked this show, for the most part.
I enjoyed the deliberate, considered vibe of the writing and the overall handling, and the small town setting feels refreshing and different. For a good stretch, watching this show feels like a nice dose of therapy, away from the roar of current affairs and world events.
However, I struggled quite significantly from episode 13 onwards, with certain plot developments making me legit angry with Show. BUT, Show manages to turn things around just enough in its final steps, to end on a sufficiently positive and uplifting note.
I wanted Show to be better, especially given its strong start, but I suppose it could’ve been worse. For the record, I really enjoyed Seo Kang Joon in this.
Review: The Tale Of Nokdu
THE SHORT VERDICT:
Show starts off fresh and cute with an emphasis on hilarious cross-dressing hijinks, but changes gears abruptly in its second half with an amped up focus on birth secrets and political machinations. Viewers set on a fizzy rom-com might be turned off by this.
On the upside, Show manages to retain its emotional core and heartfelt tone through to the end, and it’s not too hard to stay engaged with our main characters, even in the heavier stretches. And as a silver lining, the feel-good cute makes a comeback by Show’s end.
Jang Dong Yoon shines extra in the midst of a solid cast, and is break-out fantastic in his role as the titular Nokdu. His cross-dressing turn as a timid widow is so memorable, that it’s worth tuning in for his performance alone.
Show has its flaws, but is pretty solid, overall.
Year In Review: 2018
What a year, I say.
I know I said last year that Dramaland was exploding with more dramas than ever before, but Dramaland basically outdid itself in 2018 – and then some.
You know when you have only 2 ice-cream flavors, and only room in your stomach for 1 scoop, it’s really easy to choose, but you still wish you had more flavors to choose from?
Well, it’s all fine and good when it increases to 5 flavors, or 10 flavors, right? But when it gets to like, a thousand flavors, your eyes glaze over, you get hit by decision paralysis, and it just feels impossible to choose, anymore? Same thing.
I used to try and keep up with Dramaland, especially after I started blogging. I’d try to stay on top on what dramas were airing, and which ones were good, and I’d try to watch all the reportedly good ones, because I’m a curious cat and FOMO is real, yo.
Well. I think 2018 is the year that I realized it is humanly impossible to keep up with everything that Dramaland is putting out, and there is just not enough time in one person’s world, to watch all the reportedly good ones, and take time for the ones that you wanna watch, whether anyone else is interested or not.
So 2018 is the year that I stopped trying. Uh.. Kinda.
Review: Fox Bride Star [Where Stars Land]
THE SHORT VERDICT:
The characters and their journeys are the stars of this warm workplace drama with an emotional, humanistic sort of touch.
We get to know and care about key characters and their personal journeys, even as Show serves up human interest side stories relevant to the management of a world-class airport.
Even though large chunks of the cinematography feel quite pedestrian, there are very prettily shot, beautiful poignant scenes sprinkled through the drama as well. The music is also quite lovely and atmospheric, and effectively lifts the watch experience.
Unfortunately, Show’s narrative gets muddied by too much emphasis on shady gangster dealings, which overshadow our key characters in regrettable ways, particularly towards the end of our story.
Show also has a habit of introducing story threads and then dropping them, sometimes without even a hint of resolution. This was a downer.
Still, I found this to be a warm and enjoyable watch overall.
Flash Review: Your House Helper
One of the struggles that I keep mentioning to my friend Timescout, is finding the just-so, perfect balance between just watching what I want to watch, and liking what I like, and paying attention to positive buzz on – and therefore trying out – dramas that I wouldn’t normally have on my radar.
Sometimes, that curiosity serves me well, and I end up finding gems that I would’ve otherwise missed (OMG I freaking loved Money Flower, and My Mister, and neither of those were really on my radar to begin with).
Other times, though, I’ve lived to regret my curiosity, when the show in question just doesn’t grab me the way it’s grabbed other people.
So here’s the thing. Originally, I was going to give Your House Helper a pass, since the premise didn’t appeal to me that much.
But then I saw a fair number of comments floating around, saying that this one is surprisingly good, so I felt almost compelled to give it a chance.
Long story short, I had to work to get into this one, and while it had its moments in the middle stretch, by the time I got to the end, I have to confess, I felt a tad underwhelmed.
Not underwhelmed enough to give this show a terrible review, but underwhelmed enough to feel like I could’ve maybe spent those drama hours better elsewhere.
I don’t know if I’ll ever find that elusive balance between having the gumption to fly solo, and wanting to follow positive buzz so as not to miss any of the good stuff, but I’m certainly gonna keep trying. In the meantime, let’s dive a little bit into my experience with this show, shall we?
Disclaimer: Like I said, lots of folks liked this one, so your experience might vary from mine.
Flash Review: A Poem A Day [You Who Forgot Poetry]
If you’re on the market for a show that’s small, simple and sweet, this drama just might be the one for you.
As those of you who’ve been around the blog for a while would likely know, I am always on the look-out for suitable drama nightcap material.
Yes, I like my dramas exciting too, but suitable drama nightcaps are just as important to me; I need a show that’s not too complicated nor intense, so that it won’t keep me up, but still engaging and interesting enough, that I’ll still enjoy the watch.
I first tried this show as regular drama fare, and to be honest, it didn’t grab me much, in its first episode. But once I tried it out as a drama nightcap, it fit the bill quite perfectly.
Not only did it strike just the right balance between interesting and easygoing, it even has a sort of (found-) family drama feel to it, thanks to our story being more character- and relationship-focused than patient-focused. Not bad at all, I say.