I need new dramas on my roster as much as I need a hole in my head but what can one do… there’s always a new drama round the corner. One can only hope most of them end up sucking, ha.
The New
Discovery of Romance
I wasn’t initally sure about this one as it’s by the writer behind all three INRs and I didn’t really care a whit for any of those. As it turns out, DoR has so far been pretty enjoyable as fluff goes. It’s just quirky enough to give the story some pzazz and I’ve yet to be irritated by any of the characters, which was my main concern to begin with. Yoon Hyun Min and Kim Seul Gi as trusty sidekicks are all kinds of fun and Eric, Jung Yoo Mi and Sung Joon make an interesting threesome. I really like Sung Joon and have done so ever since SUFFBB, but no matter how deramy his ‘Best Boyfriend in the World’™ is, Eric still pawns him in manliness and screen presence. Gosh, I’d forgotten how mesmerizing Eric can be when he turns on the charm, which btw. seems to be even more potent now that he is older (yummm…). Everyone else sort of fades away, ha. Sung Yoo Mi is always good, even when I can’t stand the character she plays (looking at you INR2). The plot of DoR isn’t exactly new, especially this year, but so far what I’ve seen has left me quite happy and looking forward to what’ll happen next.
Plus Nine Boys
TvN dramas tend to be a bit of a hit and miss with me. Some I’ve loved, some I’ve liked enough to finish them and others I’ve been totally indifferent to. They are rather formulaic and almost perefectly honed to suit the target demographic, but whether they suit me depends mostly on the script and if they’ve managed to find the right actors for the roles. This one was surprsingly enjoyable. It doesn’t feel as calculated as some of the TvN works and the concept is a little bit different from what’s been done before. I quite like the execution, as well as the characters, which is generally the dealbreaker for me. Unless it’s a procedural/crime show and then the plot comes first. 🙂
Three Musketeers
It’s a fun little romp that has mostly kept to the feel of other screen adaptations out there. I hope they don’t loose the humour along the way like so often happens with kdramas. All the (un)necessary angst they love to insert just about everywhere has a tendency to weigh down the stories, sometimes so much so that they become a chore to watch. Yong Hwa still has ways to go before making a competent actor but he is holding his own here, imho. I don’t think any of the main actors are deserving for a gold star. No-one stinks up the place, they are all passable but that is just about it.
Reset
Pretty typical OCN fare, slick and looks good. Not sure if I’ll keep up with this, as the first 2 episodes didn’t quite manage to pull me in. It’ll proably end up in the ‘marathon’ pile, to be watched at some later date.
The Ongoing
Endless Love
Korean melodramas, sigh. I was ‘this’ close to dropping Endless Love as there were just too many episodes of The Weepy. There’s only so much of tears and hand wringing a girl can take. It also felt like everyone had caught a bad case of stupiditis, which lead to copious moments of eyerolling and sighing. Well, the plot finally decided to make a move on so I’m giving EL a few more episodes to convince me that this is still worth my time. Not holding my breath though.
Yoo Na’s Street ♥♥♥
Still my darling and the best of the bunch. I just love it and everyone in it almost equally. I think I could watch just YNS and nothing else on a loop, ad infinitum. XD It is SUCH a satisfying drama to watch, full of nuances and little details that seem unimportantat but actually add meaning to the scenes. There aren’t all that many kdramas with this fully realised and well rounded characters. I’m sure there are plenty of people who’d find YNS too slow but I love the pace and how they are ‘building up’ the story by adding new bits and pieces each episode. The slower pace gives us the chance to relish every new revelation and insight into the characters. Moar please!
A Touch of Drama 