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Vampire Prosecutor: Episode 2

Why do I like this show? It’s Angel-meets-Bones. What’s not to like? (Okay, it’s more like if Angel were the Batman to Booth’s Bruce Wayne and he starred in an episode of CSI. Details.) It’s glossy and rapid-fire, and the narrative setup is one that follows the tried-and-true American procedural down to the letter. But my favorite thing about it is that it doesn’t assume the audience is full of idiots. It’s not afraid to be mysterious, to keep us in the dark, so that you’re leaving every episode with more questions than answers. It’s smart, and it’s got me clamoring to know more. It’s also a series you have to watch in motion, because the coolest part of it is the editing and the feel of each slow-motion drop of blood, which can’t really be replicated in a recap.

 
EPISODE 2 RECAP: “Death Scene”

We get another mysterious opening, but this time it’s a woman in danger, running from an attacker. He comes up from behind and stabs her, over and over. She teeters on the edge of the pool, spilling a few drops of blood artfully into the water, before falling to her death…

…Is what we think, until she comes up gasping for air, and the director yells, “Cut!” exasperated that she’s ruined yet another take by her selfish need to you know, breathe.

It turns out she’s quite a pill herself, refusing to do any more takes because it’s bad for her skin. That gets director huffypants in a mood, until the producer steps in and makes it worse by taking the starlet’s side.

There’s swearing, accusations of who’s sleeping with whom… until finally the actress agrees to go again, while muttering about the crappy script under her breath. We go in reverse and watch her get stabbed all over again, except this time, she teeters on the edge of the pool, but then we cut to a real murder.

This time the director falls into the pool, where he bleeds out and dies. That must’ve been the scene he wanted. Too bad he had to die to get it.

Our prosecutor duo Tae-yeon and Soon-bum arrive on the scene the next morning, and Soon-bum explains that the victim is an up-and-coming director, just about to debut with a script he spent ten years perfecting while holed up in his apartment. Ten years? On a horror flick? Okay, whatever.

Behind his sunglasses, Tae-yeon goes vampy blue-eyes to see the final moments of the murder in reverse. He sees the director get stabbed with a knife that looks exactly the same as the prop version from his movie.

They laugh to themselves as they watch the overeager Jung-in rifle through the bushes like Scooby-do, but she surprises them both by retrieving the murder weapon. She holds up the bloody knife like she just won the lottery, and Tae-yeon walks right past her, refusing to acknowledge the job well done to her face. Heh.

She sneers and then notices the actress standing in the background, suddenly very upset when she sees Jung-in holding up the murder weapon.

She notes it curiously, and then takes the knife back to the lab, where she ruins the intern’s day by catching him just before closing time. She points out that there’s a hair on the knife – a long curly one.

And then she takes out another hair sample, one she snagged right off the actress, at the crime scene. Ha. She just yanked a hair right off her head? That’s one way to go on a hunch. She tells the intern to compare the two hairs, obviously expecting a match.

In his office, Tae-yeon drinks the victim’s blood sample, reliving the moment of the murder. He struggles, and hunches over in pain. Hm, curious. Is it like a drug trip? Why is it different from drinking bagged blood from the hospital?

He retrieves one clue: the word “nano.” He asks the intern about it, and finds that it’s the brand of a tiny USB drive. Also, Apple makes them. They play music. No? Do vampires only listen to music on record players?

The next day they turn the director’s office upside-down, looking for his USB drive. Tae-yeon sees an article on the movie (aptly named Murderer) that says that a murderer will be revealed through the film. He asks an assistant about it, and finds out that the film is based on a true story – an unsolved case of the murder of a young woman.

Well now they have motive. Tae-yeon lingers at the director’s desk and sees a mugshot of a creepy guy, and Soon-bum grabs it with glee, deciding that he’s their killer. Tae-yeon thinks he’s being a little too quick to jump to conclusions.

Tae-yeon: “It’s: All roads lead to Rome, don’t you think?” (As in: there are many ways to get at the end result.) Soon-bum: “No. It’s: No matter what road you take, you just have to get to Seoul.” Haha. I love their witty banter.

While Tae-yeon gets in quality brooding time in his office, Soon-bum tries to track down creepy mugshot guy, first through police cooperation (that doesn’t go so well), and then by hiring a group of thugs to scour the streets.

Meanwhile, Jung-in follows up on her hunch about the starlet, and armed with a 100% DNA match between the two hair samples, she marches over to the beauty salon to have a word.

The actress doesn’t even flinch at the accusation, and admits that they fought that night, after the shoot. She had packed a bag and threatened to walk off the movie, accusing him of not knowing how to write the ending.

She warned him that pointing the finger at a random suspect would just end in a lawsuit, and he drunkenly slapped her. She slapped right back, and they ended up in a hair-pulling fight. That hardly seems like the precursor to a stabbing.

Jung-in gets interrupted by a phone call, asking if the actress is right- or left-handed. She’s right-handed, and to Jung-in’s dismay, that frees her from suspicion. She’s literally like, AW, man!

The medical examiner calls the crew in after the autopsy to demonstrate how the stabbing could only have been done by a left-handed person. The boys can’t hear a word she’s saying because they’re too distracted by her breasts, but Jung-in asks all the requisite questions before she’s convinced.

Tae-yeon goes to question the movie producer next, who’s sporting a brand new cast on his left hand. Tae-yeon asks why he came back to the set that night, and he says he came to try and reconcile the director-actress feud that had erupted.

In flashback, the actress leaves after her fight with the director, and the producer stays behind to try and talk him into finishing the script. He chastises him for doing that magazine interview without consulting him, and brashly announcing that he’d reveal the true murderer in the film.

The director insists that he’ll do exactly that, and when the producer challenges him thinking he’s just making it up as he goes, the director confesses drunkenly that he finished the script, long ago. And then his friend killed her, following his script. “I designed it all.” And now he’s going to reveal the truth.

Tae-yeon asks again if he’s sure that’s what he said, and the producer confirms his words. He adds that it’s all on his voice recorder, and points to the magazine photo – the one with the director holding up the nano device Tae-yeon saw in his vision.

He asks about the left hand in the cast, and the producer confesses to having hit the guy ’cause he always wanted to, and he figured he wouldn’t remember since he was so drunk. Heh.

Tae-yeon rushes back to the lab to see if they can find a copy of the voice recordings on the director’s hard drive. Score. Yay for victims who back up their files.

At the same time, Soon-bum meets with the uncooperative cop who handled the original murder case again. He pleads with the detective to share info, because he’s certain their suspects are the same guy (creepy mugshot man) for both cases.

Tae-yeon calls with news about the recordings, and Soon-bum puts him on speaker phone in the car. They listen as the director excitedly describes his story idea to a friend: what if there was a murder where the prime suspect was a made-up person… and the real killer was the cop who led the investigation?

Soon-bum freezes. The cop’s eyes dart back and forth.

Oh. Crap.

Another voice on the recording pipes up to tell his friend it’s a good idea – it’s the cop, the same one sitting right next to Soon-bum. But before he can react, the cop pulls out a knife and stabs him in the gut. NO! Not Soon-bum! He’s my favorite!

The team hears Soon-bum’s garbled screams. They call out his name, but the line goes dead. Tae-yeon runs to his boss to ask for the SWAT team or the cavalry or whatever and gets shut down on the flimsy basis of a dropped call. What? You have your prosecutors traipsing around solving their own murders and you won’t even send a rescue team after one of your own? GAH.

But luckily another of his superiors – the mysterious guy who’s seemingly on Tae-yeon’s side – convinces the chief it’s worth the risk. I’d say! Otherwise you’re out of quippy one-liners.

They arrive on the scene and wait for word from the police. An officer comes up to Tae-yeon: “We’ve found a body…”

Trembling, they walk up to the corpse buried under a pile of trash. The others hang back, crying, while Tae-yeon gets closer with a somber look on his face. No! Is that death-somber or just vampire-somber? What does it mean? Is it Soon-bum?

The intern wails as Tae-yeon stoops down close to the body. And just then, a large figure creeps up from behind…

It’s Soon-bum (YAY!), prancing around on his tippy-toes and scaring the life out of them. Well, everyone but Tae-yeon, who must’ve smelled that it wasn’t his friend’s blood. But he still casts a look of relief his way. Aw. The intern hugs him for dear life, crying, and Soon-bum tells them he’s okay.

Tae-yeon reaches over and uncovers the dead body – it’s the cop. What the? Who killed the cop?

Soon-bum’s eyes gape open. “Now who killed HIM?” Yeah, that’s the question, isn’t it?

Once they’re alone in the car, Tae-yeon asks if he’s okay. I love that he’s so sweet to his best buddy, but a total ass to everyone else. Soon-bum sighs that he pretty much died and came back from the dead.

Tae-yeon shares what he’s found so far, and they guess that the murderer saw the magazine story and got squeamish, and started killing again to cover his tracks. And then Jung-in runs up, “The killer just confessed.”

What? This case just gets weirder and weirder.

They get the confessed killer – the original victim’s older brother – in the interrogation room. Tae-yeon locks the door and turns off the cameras to get him to talk. He asks if he went to see the movie director after that magazine story came out.

In flashback we see the oppa storm into the director’s office, in a fit about the movie claiming to reveal the killer in his sister’s murder case. He warns that they’ll both be dead if he does that.

The director then tells him about the cop — his friend, the real murderer. The brother doesn’t believe him at first, but then the director dies a few days later, confirming his suspicions. The brother begins to tail the cop. We speed up to Soon-bum’s stabbing, where the cop runs to his car, only to be murdered by the brother, who’s lying in wait.

Back in the interrogation room, Tae-yeon lets out a bitter little laugh, “I envy you.” There’s something so twisted about being genuinely envious that this guy got to murder his sister’s killer with his own hands.

Time for broody workout. Tae-yeon works out his aggression as he flashes back to glimpses of his sister, his human past, the accident where her body was found with puncture wounds in her neck, him identifying her body in the morgue, and then crumpling to the ground.

And then a few flashes of the accident that opened Episode 1, where he had been turned.

He prosecutes the brother’s case, arguing for a lenient sentence given the circumstances of his sister’s murder. It’s granted. Mysterious Boss points out that Tae-yeon went pretty easy on the guy. Was it sympathy because of the sister?

He clearly knows a big chunk of Tae-yeon’s backstory, considering his string of pointed questions every time they cross paths. Tae-yeon says nothing in reply, though clearly the boss is not wrong.

He goes to see the movie’s producer, who hands him the final script pages that the director had written just before his death. He reads the ending, astonished to find that he had predicted exactly what happened in real life.

Tae-yeon envisions the script’s version of events – the brother attacks the cop when he finds out that he’s the killer. Tae-yeon (as the stand-in for the fictional prosecutor) tries to stop him, saying that it’ll make him a killer too. The brother doesn’t care.

The cop runs. The brother gives chase. Tae-yeon follows. He tries to stop the brother, but he’s too late, and the cop dies. Then Tae-yeon tells the brother to go.

Back in reality, Tae-yeon marvels at the realistic predictions in the script. The producer says that life is a movie, movie is life, and points out that Tae-yeon went easy on the brother in the courtroom, just like the fictional prosecutor let the brother go.

He asks if the movie’s back on, and the producer smiles. Tae-yeon looks over the city at night and tosses the latest news story on the ground – the one announcing that Murderer is back in production. He marches ahead with a renewed sense of purpose, perhaps fueled by one brother’s closure in avenging his sister’s death.

He heads to the vamp bar for a drink. His blood dealer warns him about the effects of drinking murder victims’ blood: “Drinking a dead person’s blood means feeling the moment of their death with them. Can you handle that pain?”

Tae-yeon: You have to feel the victim’s pain to catch the culprit.

He smiles, flips his lighter on and off, and adds: “And to catch him.” He walks out. Nice. I like that we finally get our first consequence that counters the benefits of being a vampire prosecutor – he pays in pain to find out the truth. It’s also a nice metaphor for identifying with a victim’s pain in order to solve a case.

At home he flashes back to receiving a deed transfer, and he wonders aloud why he left him this house. It was the suspect he was questioning and chasing in Episode 1 – the guy who said he wasn’t the killer, and then got killed by the vampire who then turned Tae-yeon.

He wanders around the house, looking for something to explain why he’d leave the prosecutor his home. He comes across a wine cellar in the basement. And behind one of the shelves is a secret door.

He opens it and steps inside, and finds a massive collection of newspaper clippings, covering an entire wall. They’re all missing persons or murder victims, one after another. He scans them all, and then lands on one – his sister.

 
COMMENTS

Ooh, I like the series-long mystery of this vampire serial killer and all the different players in the underground world who help Tae-yeon along. I want to know more about the vampire bar owner. And who was this guy – Tae-yeon’s original suspect – the guy who was chasing the real killer? A hunter? A detective? Another victim’s surviving family? Tae-yeon must’ve mistakenly caught his scent while he was investigating the same crime. But why didn’t he share what he knew? I also can’t wait to find out more about the mysterious prosecutor boss, who seems to know way more than he’s letting on. And in this world, there’s no telling whether he’s human or not.

While I like that this show is essentially a crime procedural with just a few supernatural elements thrown in, I’d like to see a little more vampire mythology worked in, for my taste. ‘Cause so far, being a vampire in this fictional universe doesn’t seem at all to be a disadvantage. There’s usually a balance – a trade-off of uncontrollable evil, insatiable thirst… something so that it’s not just immortality and awesome crime-solving tricks without a price to pay. The dead blood is a good start in that direction, but I want more. I want to know that our hero is as vulnerable as he is strong.

How do you kill a vampire in this ‘verse? How come they just walk around in sunlight? Do the vampires in this world remain with their souls intact, so they’re just super versions of their human selves? Clearly he has the memories, and he’s still heartbroken. They aren’t things that would bother me if they just got explained – a throwaway line of dialogue about how Buffy‘s bit with mirrors was lame or how Twilight‘s vamps are shiny pansies. Whatever. I just wanna know the vampy rules.

That’s really my only gripe, because the show is nicely balanced with a mystery-of-the-week and an overarching personal journey, and some fun side characters. Hopefully we’ll get more time with character beats like the bromance between Tae-yeon and Soon-bum, as we go along. I hope we get a flashback episode where we find out how and why he knows that Tae-yeon is a vampire. With lots of hugs. That’d make my day.

 
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Thanks for the recap! Oooo, these visuals are just...gorgeous. The urbane sharpness of the directing is as good as City Hunter. *ogles*

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Thanks for the recap! Are there any ratings reports for this drama? What kind of rating is "good" in cable?

Also, if a Korean citizen wants to watch OCN, do they have to pay extra for it like HBO?

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Cable came with my apartment in Korea, so I think OCN is more like TBS. Something that you pay a little extra for, but most people would have in their houses. We'll put it this way. I haven't come across a television in Korea that DOESN'T have OCN.

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Thanks for the clarification! :) Do you know why OCN gets to take more liberties than, say, KBS? I was always curious.

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What do you mean liberties? Language, violence and sexy times?

I don't know for sure, but I would just assume it's the same as the US. Theoretically fewer people have the channel, so they just have more freedom from the government.

Or it could also be that because KBS, SBS, etc are older and have a more 'prestigious' or 'wholesome' image. They don't want to ruin it, so they just stay away from racier stuff, while cable channels don't care. Heck, they probably get more viewers because they DO have racy stuff.

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That's exactly what I meant. :) Stuff like language, violence, sexy times, etc. Not blurring out knives (like KBS) or being able to show chopped off legs and arms but blurring out a chopped up thumb (like in Warrior Baek Dong Soo) orrr blurring out cleavage (like in Chuno).

But if they have more freedom than KBS, SBS, and MBC then I am so excited for cable to start putting out more dramas.

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They definitely have more freedom, but I wonder how much it'll be. A US movie on cable here is kind of like an airplane movie, where they only get rid of the most extreme stuff, but a US movie on KBS, etc is like a movie on ABC. Ev-er-y-thing gets taken out.

But I don't know if it's the same requirements for original content. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they WERE different.

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Vampire Prosecutor has Korean television rating of 15+

If South Korean television ratings did include content descriptors or viewer advisory like the United States what would it be?

While looking up TV Parental Guidelines for the United States on the internet I found this:

South Korea – Television content rating systems
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The South Korean television rating system has been in force since 2000, and it started with only four classifications which are All, 7, 13 and 19. In February 2001, all programs except domestic dramas (which had been enforced since November 2002) has required to have a rating system. In 2007, rating 13 was changed into 12 and a new rating, 15 is introduced. Most programs have to be rated, except the “exempt” rating below. Even if it qualifies for being exempt, a broadcaster may apply a rating.

• All (모든 연령 시청가, Mo-deun yeon-ryeong si-cheong-ga) – This rating is for programming that is appropriate for all ages. This program usually involves programs designed for children. For example: Pocoyo and Teletubbies. This rating doesn’t have an icon.
• 7 (7세 이상 시청가, chil-se ii-sang si-cheong-ga) – This rating is for programming that may contain material inappropriate for children younger than 7, and parental discretion should be used. Examples include SpongeBob SquarePants, Fairly Oddparents, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and the edited version of Crayon Shin-chan. Similar to TV-Y7 or TV-Y7-FV.
• 12 (12세 이상 시청가, sib-ee-se ii-sang si-cheong-ga) – This rating is for programs that may contain material inappropriate for those younger than 12, and parental discretion should be used. Usually used for animations that have stronger themes or violence then those designed for children, or for reality variety programs that have mild violence, theme, or language. Examples include Naruto, Infinite Challenge and One Piece.
• 15 (15세 이상 시청가, sib-o-se ii-sang si-cheong-ga) – This rating is for programs that contain material that may be inappropriate for children under 15, and that parental discretion should be used. Examples include most reality variety programs, dramas, and talk shows on OTA TV (KBS, MBC, SBS), and many American TV shows/dramas on Cable TV channels like OCN and OnStyle. The programs that have this rating may include moderate or strong adult themes, language, sexual inference, and violence. Since 2007, this rating is the most used rating for TV. Examples include The Simpsons.
• 19 (19세 이상 시청가, sib-gu-se ii-sang si-cheong-ga) – This rating is for programs that are not recommended to those younger than 19. 19-rated programming may air only after 11:00 PM and before 7:00 AM[citation needed], thus after the watershed. Examples include CSI: Crime Scene Investigation on MBC, and Grey’s Anatomy on KBS. If a program is classified as this rating, the icon has to be displayed through the duration of the program.
• Exempt (no icon or name) – This rating is only for knowledge based game shows; lifestyle shows; documentary shows; news; current topic discussion shows; education/culture shows; sports that excludes MMA or other violent sports; and other programs that Korea Communications Standards Commission recognizes. Disclaimer or rating icons are not needed.

Ratings are displayed every ten minutes, lasting 30 seconds. It also has to be displayed after every commercial break. Ratings may be displayed either on the upper-left or upper-right corner of the screen, with a size of at least 1/20 of the screen, and in black writing on a yellow circle with a white outline, except for the “All” rating, which doesn’t have an icon. A rating disclaimer is displayed on the start of the program for five seconds explaining “Because this program is not appropriate for children/youth under the X years old, parental viewing discretion is required”(이 프로그램은 X세 미만의 어린이/청소년이 시청하기에 부적절하므로 보호자의 시청지도가 필요한 프로그램입니다, I peu-ro-geu-raem eun “X: se-mi-man ui eo rin-i/cheong-so nyeon-i si cheong hagi e bu-jeok jeol ha-meu robo hoja ui si cheong-ji doga pir-yo han peu-ro-geu-raem ipnida) for 7, 12, and 15 ratings. “All” and “19″ ratings have a different disclaimer, which say “This program is watchable by audience of all ages”(이 프로그램은 모든 연령의 시청자가 시청할 수 있는 프로그램입니다) and “This program is not suggested for children/youth under age 19″(이 프로그램은 19세 미만의 어린이/청소년이 시청하기에 부적절합니다) respectively.

South Korean television ratings do not include content descriptors or viewer advisory as they do in the United States and Australia. The ratings are therefore used in a broader sense. Based on the impact of one element, for example, an otherwise “12″-rated show with occasionally stronger violence (or other element) may receive a “15″ instead of an additional advisory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_rating_system#South_Korea

Work Cited:

“South Korea – Television content rating systems”. Welcome to Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. October 10, 2011

TV Parental Guidelines for United States - content descriptors or viewer advisory -
Ratings

TV-Y
(All ages 0 and older)

Whether animated or live-action, the themes and elements in this program are specifically designed for a very young audience, including children from ages 0–6. These programs are not expected to frighten younger children.[1] Examples of programs issued this rating include Little Einsteins, Bob the Builder, Thomas and Friends, Dinosaur Train, Curious George, Sesame Street, Barney & Friends, Dora the Explorer, Magical DoReMi, and others.

TV-Y7
(Directed to children 7 and older)

These shows may or may not be appropriate for some children under the age of 7. This rating may contain crude or suggestive humor, mild fantasy violence, or content considered too scary to be shown to children under seven. Examples include SpongeBob SquarePants, Jimmy Two Shoes, Kid vs Kat, Pair of Kings, The Garfield Show, and others.

TV-Y7-FV
(Directed to children 7 and older with fantasy violence in shows)

When a show with a TV-Y7 rating has noticeably more fantasy violence, it is assigned the TV-Y7-FV rating. Action-adventure shows such as Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Pokémon, G.I. Joe: Renegades, Sonic X, Transformers: Prime, Yin Yang Yo!, The Powerpuff Girls and The Amazing World of Gumball have been given this rating. Most Japanese anime dubbed targeted for young adult audiences in the United States are suggested with this rating, such as the edited version of Dragon Ball Z Kai, Bakugan: Gundalian Invaders, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and Beyblade: Metal Fusion.

TV-G
(General audience)

Although this rating does not signify a program designed specifically for children, most parents may let younger children watch this program unattended. It contains little or no violence, no strong language and little or no sexual dialogue or situations, and can be enjoyed by a variety of age groups. Networks that air informational, religious, how-to content, or generally inoffensive content (such as the Food Network and HGTV) usually apply a blanket TV-G rating to all of their shows (unless otherwise noted). Programming directed at preteens and teens on Nickelodeon and Disney Channel are rated TV-G for mild language and innuendo. Some of TeenNick's programming, such as Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide and Drake & Josh are rated TV-G. During the 20th century most cartoons used this rating as a sign that the show contains comic violence or animated smoking that is suitable for family viewing (i.e. Looney Tunes).

TV-PG
(Parental guidance suggested)

This rating signifies that the program may be unsuitable for younger children under the age of 9 or 10 without the guidance of a parent. Many parents may want to watch it with their younger children. Various game shows and most reality shows are rated TV-PG for their suggestive dialogue, suggestive humor, and/or coarse language. Some anime are given this rating, such as Dragon Ball Z, some episodes of the uncut version of Dragon Ball Z Kai, Dragon Ball GT, Fullmetal Alchemist and Full Metal Panic. Many prime-time series are given this rating, such as Everybody Loves Raymond, The King of Queens and The Simpsons. The latter two alternate between TV-PG and TV-14, with some recent episodes of The Simpsons carrying the TV-14 rating, while the syndicated versions keep TV-PG. Primetime Cartoon Network series such as Regular Show, Adventure Time, MAD, and all WWE programs (including those aired on Pay-Per-View) after 2008 are also rated TV-PG.
The TV-PG rating may be accompanied by one or more of the following sub-ratings:
• D for some suggestive dialogue
• L for infrequent coarse language
• S for some sexual situations
• V for moderate violence

TV-14
(Parents strongly cautioned/May be unsuitable for children under 14 years of age)

Parents are strongly urged to exercise greater care in monitoring this program and are cautioned against letting children under 14 watch unattended. This rating may be accompanied by any of the following sub-ratings:
• D for strong suggestive dialogue
• L for strong coarse language
• S for intense sexual situations
• V for intense violence

Many programs that air after 9 p.m. are rated TV-14, including late-night staples like The Tonight Show and Saturday Night Live. Certain PG-13 or R-rated feature films are rated TV-14 when edited for broadcast. Anime series Bleach, Inuyasha and some episodes of the uncut version of Dragon Ball Z Kai alternatively switch between a TV-PG and TV-14 rating, while most anime such as Dragon Ball, Fullmetal Alchemist, Ghost in the Shell, Black Butler and Cowboy Bebop are TV-14. Most hour-long dramas, such as House, Glee, CSI, Hawaii Five-0, and Grey's Anatomy, are rated TV-14, as are prime-time sitcoms aimed at adult audiences, such as American Dad!, Family Guy, Futurama, The Simpsons (a few recent airings) and Scrubs (the shows airing on Fox have a viewer discretion advisory as well). Some shows on Animal Planet that contain gruesome animal violence (i.e. Lost Tapes and Untamed & Uncut) hold a TV-14 rating. Some music video shows, mainly during late night hours, also have this rating. Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) bears a rating of TV-14 in all of its programs due to its violence and sexual dialogue, unlike its competitor, WWE, which bears a TV-PG rating.
Live programming like televised awards ceremonies, concerts, and some specials are sometimes issued a general TV-14 rating, because of the possibility that profanity or suggestive dialogue may occur.

This was once TV-13 but got changed to TV-14 to avoid confusion with PG-13.

TV-MA
(Mature audience — unsuitable for audiences under 17)

A TV-MA rating means the program may be unsuitable for those below 17. This rating was originally named TV-M in early 1997, but was changed because of a trademark dispute and to remove confusion with the ESRB's "M for Mature" rating for video games.[2] Programs rated TV-MA may contain extreme graphic violence, strong profanity, overtly sexual dialogue, very coarse language, nudity and/or strong sexual content. The vast majority of television shows that carry this rating air on cable and satellite television; network television rarely airs any programming that would warrant such a rating due to FCC indecency and obscenity guidelines that prevent most of this type of programming from airing on broadcast television. The film Schindler's List was the first film broadcast on network television to display this rating, and the pilot episode of the CBS police drama Brooklyn South was the first series on network TV to display the rating. Original programming airing in the late evening on some cable networks generally will carry this rating.
This rating may be accompanied by any of the following sub-ratings:
• D for intensely suggestive dialogue (unused for different TV-MA shows)
• L for crude indecent language
• S for explicit sexual activity
• V for graphic violence

The implications of these ratings, particularly the TV-MA rating, vary greatly depending on the situation. For example, South Park, which airs on Comedy Central, generally contains explicit language, so it carries a TV-MA rating; syndicated versions of South Park, however, are heavily censored and cut, and employ a TV-14 rating instead. Other TV-MA programs on Comedy Central have no restrictions on language (including the late-night "Secret Stash" airings of films such as South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, movies directed by Kevin Smith, the Jackass Clifford Adventures, uncensored airings of stand-up comedy specials and the Comedy Central Roast series). Language may still be censored by a network or air completely unfiltered, depending on such factors as creative network choices or the need to appeal to advertisers leery of placing spots on a TV-MA program. Adult Swim shows (particularly The Boondocks, Moral Orel, Xavier: Renegade Angel, and later seasons of Robot Chicken and Aqua Teen Hunger Force/Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1) are rated TV-MA for racism and strong sexual humor. Other shows that are frequently rated TV-MA include original series on the FX cable network, such as Nip/Tuck, The Shield, Rescue Me and Justified, as well as original programming on premium television services such as Showtime and HBO. A blanket "TV-MA" rating is also usually given to softcore pornographic films or TV series airing on channels such as Cinemax and most of the Showtime networks, due to full-frontal nudity and the depiction of simulated sexual intercourse.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_Parental_Guidelines

Work Cited:
“United States – TV Parental Guidelines”. Welcome to Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. October 10, 2011

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Q: If South Korean television ratings did include content descriptors or viewer advisory like the United States what would it be?

A: Hard to decide. Maybe TV-14 with VL or TV-MA with VL

Therefore, Vampire Prosecutor is put on cable-tv because
The Korean FCC (known as KCC stands for KCC - Korean Communications Commission) might penalized.

For example: 49 Days Penalized for Suicide Plotline
Posted on June 20, 2011 by kaedejun

http://blog.dramafever.com/2011/06/49-days-penalized-for-suicide-plotline

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Funny thing, I guessed the bit about the moment-of-death-pain from the blood in the first episode :D.

Thanks for the recaps!

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That was kindof a given for me. You know, sort of like in Paul where he can heal others but have to take on the pain himself, even if momentarily. There's another closer reference I can give that's just at the tip of my tongue (fingers?), but at the moment I'm blanking. XD

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:) Yay! Thanks for the recaps :)

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Thanks for the recaps GF!!!...just finished watching raw..can't wait to be sub... and I got to say that VP really is intriguing and keeps the story going. I love how we are getting to know Tae pass little by little..but yes I agree that we need to know more about the Vampire world and its rules..cause the first thing I notices was "hey he can go into the sunlight!"...loool I guess I watched too much "Angel" and "Buffy"...but I guess the PD doesn't want to do the big reveal yet and I'm ok with. VP is indeed a solid winner so far and the editing is amazing so many great shots just really stunning work.

Bring on the Bromance!! I love it....

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My current guilty-pleasure. Thank you for the recap girlfriday!

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omg... i suddenly want to watch this drama coz of your reference to BONES.... hahahaha... :p

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First of all, there's really no telling about vampire rules because as far as i know, vampire stories are all fiction. there's no real vampire in this world (though i'd hope to see one..if ever they exist which i highly doubt) so we don't know what the rules are. But here's a common thing..they can't be staying under the sun unless they have a ring? (vampire diaries), turning into a shiny diamond skin(twilight), a gift??(Underworld).
and what's with the blue eyes, i thought their eyes will turn golden brown (twilight) or red (in most vampire movies), we'll i guess everyone have different interpretation of vampires.
But seriously, i think im gonna like this drama, it has a different feel to it than any other drama.

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Well, that's kinda what she means, is that other Vampire series kinda make up their own rules, specific to THIS drama's universe (like Vampire Diaries and how they need a ring to be in the sun, or in Twilight how... uhh. They don't like werewolves and have that council or whatever.. I dunno, I just remember thinking that Dakota Fanning looked silly), so she wants this series to establish their own Vampire world rules, too. Other than his reaction to victim's blood, they haven't given us a lot of that, yet.. she didn't mean that there are universal rules of vampires that will occur in every vampire story :)

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walking in the sun with a ring was in vampire lore before vampire diaries. buffy had it with the gem of amara.

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i will be watching this..

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Saw the first episode. And now want to watch them all.

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love line? mystery is fun and all but a little romance won't hurt anyone.

the prosecutor looks like he needs some lovin.

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cant resist but comment on your nick.

it's delicious!

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Thanks for the recap :)

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Thanks for the recap! <3

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Wow!!! I'm puzzled so many people liked the second episode !? I'm really curious if Javabeans liked it too.The 2nd episode is not even half as good as the first one ; if after the first episode I thought this is going to be one of the best series of the year, now after the second episode I wonder if I should watch the third episode or not. The case was just a cliche unlike the first case, the cinematography which blew my mind in the first episode was just tedious in the second episode because it's nothing new,really...they changed absolutely nothing so the stylish scenes are getting old really fast. There was too much CSI stuff instead of focusing on the only element that makes the show original and interesting : the fantasy stuff ; This episodes was basically another God's Quiz episode.
I wonder why I'm the only one noticing this stuff. Anyway,the creators they'd better do something about it (I really doubt they will), otherwise this show will be remembered as a mediocre show which had great potential - a lost oportunity. They really shouldn't transform a drama with this unique plot into a simple procedural series!
These things make me appreciate 'JOSEON X FILES' even more,I don't know how they pulled that off but tvN managed to create 12 brilliant episodes.

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same here. I enjoyed the first episode much much more. The second episode...i thought the plot line was a bit confusing (or maybe it's just the subtitled version i watched). I was like wtf is going on?? Who kills wha? Then when the prosecutor was reading the final script and recreating the whole scene in his head, i was confused too. I eventually got it, but i thought the direction could have been better. The narration seemed really choppy.

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i'm totally agree with yoU!!..the 2nd episode starts make me wonder whether i watch a vampire series or just CSI-made-in-korea tv series..the prosecutor starts looked like "human being"..the different is he drank blood,his eyes change colour and his psikik's abilities..what else?? even he cnt be more faster than criminal in chased scene (i'm sorry if he want to looks like human based on what the director write)..but please convinced me that now i'm watching a vampire investigation.i love this show and i dont wanna this simple thing ruined this show

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i think you should watch the 3rd episode..the plot become more interesting and mystery..if you want to watch the preview you can find in at OCN CHANNEL on youtube..

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I love this show!

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waiting for ep2 on dramafever!

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Just finished watching it.

Have to say, the blood drinking is starting to creep me out...though I know it's not real blood.

Also, the night-scape! So GORGEOUS!!!

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I also love this show!

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thanks for the recap. loving this series!

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I love how the director is really using the city as a whole instead of just specific locations. In most dramas, other than establishing shots, we don't really get to see the outsides of things, the larger picture.

I love the story, and I love the characters, but I'm totally whipped by the directing. I keep falling in love with the color palette the director is using, and the lighting and the edgy feel to the shots and angles. I like the way he visually tells the story; even though it feels very much like an American procedural story-wise, visually it doesn't look like one at all, which is awesome.

I'm so addicted to this drama.

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thanks for the recap!! =)

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Thanks the recap!

I like that the episodic nature allows for a rotation of guest actors.

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heh - when the actress Jiyeon tried to walk off the movie, i instantly got reminded of Han Ye Seul and their similar getup... :P

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Great episode! This show is amazing!

Thanks for the recap, Girlfriday!

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Thanks for the recap!!!

(and I love your reference to Bones!)

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The one thing I don't like about this show is that its one in a long line of new age vampire stories where being a vampire is really just an excuse to have superpowers and little to no drawback.

Sunlight? I laugh at you sunrays!
Stake to the heart? Annoyance.
Crosses? Funny.
Fire? I'll be better next morning.
Consume human blood? Conveniently have another source so I won't have to hunt for my own food.
Silver? I wear mah bling bro.
Holy Water? Water park.
Head cut off? ....I'll just roll my head.

Vampirism is supposed to either be a curse or just outright turn you into a monster. I like that the dead blood causes him pain and all that but some more drawbacks about being a vampire please or if this guy starts whining in the future about being one, I won't take him seriously (Edward anyone?) at all.

Well enough whining on my part, I do like the show alot. I'm totally into procedurals and was also a big Angel fan.

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DramaFever - Fever Watch is doing a Vampire Prosecutor Week 23 Caption Contest

Posted on October 10, 2011 by kaedejun states:

And now I present to you this week's caption photo – from Vampire Prosecutor! Yeon Jung Hoon stars as a prosecutor who happens to also be a vampire. I love this drama for its suspense, killer effects, and it's tight story telling. And this vampire is cool because he can stand in the sunlight! (Without burning into crisp or being all sparkly.)

So what is Yeon Jung Hoon thinking here? Go crazy with your imagination! Enter each week by putting your caption in the comments below. The winner will be announced each Monday, and be eligible to win a DramaFever T-shirt. There is one winner every month who will win the DramaFever T-shirt, and it could be you! Good luck!

For those who are interested at the hyperlink listed below:

http://blog.dramafever.com/2011/10/vampire-prosecutor-week-23-caption-contest/

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i do enjoyed this series at the first place...unfortunately, when i start watching the 2nd episode,i felt like i didnt watch a vampire series.just a regular crime investigation TV show like CSI,NCIS and ETC..the PD just show that the prosecutor drank blood,a psikik and his eys can change colour..what else?? even he run slower than the criminal on chased scence..i hope in the next episode the PD'll show more than this coz i really like this show

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I agree. The 1st episode combined a vampire and a prosecutor very well. The 2nd episode was not bad but lacked some kind of surprise...? I would say the 1st episode was going to tell us a story and the 2nd episode was just a case...

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This show have some similarities of the cancelled TV series "Moonlight" (also inspired by the Twilight book). A second season of that show would have been interesting though...

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While I like this show very much and I will continue to watch it, I keep comparing it to Forever Knight. It too was a show about a vampire investigative cop in Toronto and ran from 1989-1996. Vampire Prosecutor just doesn't seem that original of a concept.

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lol I was going to comment on the Forever Knight similarity (practically identical). I guess what makes it "original" is the fact that dramas are not like this in South Korea. With this show they are delving into new territory, unexplored by them outside some awesome horror movies.
And, you have to also keep in mind, that not many people watching now, may have been around or remember or watched Forever Knight when it aired. Which is a shame, because I really liked that show.
They do, however, recall other classics like Buffy, Angel, the short running Moonlight, and are familiar with Bones and CSI.

As for the show. I really like what they are doing. The plot is moving along smoothly, but surely. And I'm already interested in what part each of the characters will play.
Wouldn't it be awesome if the Tae-yeon's sister was a vampire, after he thought her dead all along and then there is this big final face-off, between him and her so he can get to Darth Vampire?

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I got a good laugh watching these guys being completely captivated by the coroner´s breasts... just a pinch of humour in this quite dark story

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Ok, does anyone see the strong resemblance of this episode's plot to Jo In Sung's "Dirty Carnival"?

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Question -
I thought the vampire who turned him was the guy the first vampire killed, which would mean that the vampire who made our prosecutor also left him the house.

Also, now my head is full of crazy scenarios:
1. The prosecutor's mysterious boss is also a vampire. Perhaps the über vampire? Perhaps not? Perhaps also a victim?
2. The blood purveyor. Is he more than what he seems to be? How did our prosecutor even learn of this blood purveyor?

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Like Anais, I'm beginning to think the mysterious boss is the vampire Tae-yeon is looking for.

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Woah...just woah. I LOVE IT! SO MUCH!!

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Love the way you described the connection between Booth and Angel. I'm a huge fan of both characters (and David B. of course!), but I've never been able to put into words the connections between the two. I'm enjoying the overlap in this show. I too wish they'd explain some of the vamp mythology though. I think I'll keep watching.

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wait...so who killed the director? Wasn't that the original case they were trying to solve? Then they ended up prosecuting the brother for killing the cop....I'm so confused....
I was trying to work out what happened when I was watching it. But thanks for the recap though!
Although this show does re-use some of the common American television concepts this kdrama is definitely a breath of fresh air from the millions of other sappy romance comedies I've been watching.

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