Network TV in the USA has been a chaotic in recent years and that has led cable networks to provide with alternatives, some of them very successful e.i. Monk, Burn Notice, Leverage, etc. I now watch, now and then, a few network shows (NCIS, Law & Order). I found refuge on cable shows because I got sick and tired of the networks canceling some of the shows I had started watching and became interested in. Others, such as Will & Grace, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, to name a few , but I soon lost my interest too. Thank God for Asian miniseries. I have become an ardent fan of them.

I love the fact that they don’t drag for years and, if they are bad, their run is limited. I love to watch the romantic stories that do not use sex to boost viewership, but focus more on the emotional aspect of love. Except for horror movies, I love all genres. The writing, acting, directing, production of many of these series is amazing. Even those who critics pan, like Winter Sonata, have brought to audiences around the world the romantic genre that I thought no longer existed (at least not in Hollywood) , that’s why they are so beloved.

I don’t know what American TV needs to do, but I have seen a lot of smartly written series that have crashed and burned after a few episodes.

One thing I do know: I do not want Korean series to become Americanized. This would make them loose their appeal to the rest of the world that like them just for the way they are.

Is there a way for us foreigners to let the Korean networks know not to break something that does not need fixing?

Friends (3 (or 4) seasons good, 7 (or 6) seasons bad); Lost (1 season good, the rest WTF?);

…It’s a matter of opinion. Lost is filled with so many philosophical subtext, and Friends isn’t on a definite storyline, but rather something amusing I can watch any day without having to be kept updated on its plot – those two have, and always will remain on my favourite shows. Shows aren’t solely based on characters, which I find most Kdramas are about, because most of their plots are rather dry and cliche. For Kdramas, it’s about making the cliche plots as fresh as possible, and finding ways for characters to keep it that way – whereas American shows are more focused on the storyline itself. I say, for Lost, they do it well enough that the characters don’t lose touch.

Although, I do agree that with the shorter format of the KDramas, they have a much more satisfying end and leave more of a mark, if you will. You’re more likely to remember a shorter drama that had a large impact over a large-scale show with a mediocre impact. It’s good if a large-scale show can reach a large-scale impact, but few rarely do (I know for a fact Friends did, with many – although the newer episodes near Seasons 8, 9, and 10 you can see the decline, it didn’t completely lose its original recipe).

I’m a follower of so many north american drama/series since dynasty and falcon crest (up until the asian invasion) now am only watching HOUSE MD…. and yes they (no. american) may give full swing of excitement in the first season ( or few more afterwards if lucky). I have watched BH90210 until that part they chalked out perry’s and doherty’s love angle ..then it went on with too many transitions on stuff – i thought ’twas tiresome to continue… there was melrose place that got too entangled on good girl turned bad, to many ’sleeping around’ going on – i stopped watching … I liked will and grace but never get to watch the 3rd season (did it have that?) …I liked charmed until they axed doherty (? what’s with her?) …buffy the vampire – until buffy lost her innocence to angel and he moved on to have his own show…. prior these, I liked tour of duty and way before it – 21jump street … but yes like you said unless they keep on with new twists it wont last too much to be interesting… well there’s McGyver – I enjoyed it, though they did a lot of replay afer sometime but still its’ stayed tooooooo long ….

In our case, we used to have long running tv shows in manila but i cant say they were a series like they do now… tear jerkers and comedy shows w/political satire, during those days, for me they were addictive…they changed formats now and then but am still hoping for more improvement – since plots never really chge much… I’d recommend the first book of ENCANTADIA for a fantasy flick, i liked the fact they used traditional filipino language on tv ( – that’s it! ) and the whole brouhaha about the godesses and their source of powers (love the costumes too ). On other dramas… my work takes me away from prime time television… never get to see them, so i couldn’t give much of an opinion… but i know for sure, they’re different from the no. american series.

Before Korean series’ there was a japanese series that was aired in the philippines back in the 70’s … i liked it however it looped on lone samurai assassin commiting genocide in every airtime (something like lone wolf and a cub) – it was full of action, back then it was sort of a hit i guess, (’was too young then to give an accurate viewers pulse) the popularity of television just rising due mainly on the fact that only a few could afford it ..

… come 2004 (?) then there was that taiwanese drama – meteor garden … which paved way for korean tv series to be brought into philippine tv (thanks to tv network competion of course!) … that did it … I then believed asian fared better in this genre (don’t have a word for it, sorry) I like the fact that the whole series move around an ultimate ending, revolving around almost real to life stories which are more straightforward however dreamy, sad, tragic or comic… I think that it appeals more to the heart … well am a sucker for love stories and family oriented shows… I like the fact that it comes out like an extended movie shot with almost the same quality as one would make a film…. and when it ends you’ll remember the character and would distinctively remember the whole storry and compare to whatever new series coming…

I talked too much… sorry