I was thinking how I’ve been watching lots of first episodes of dramas these days, but haven’t found anything to dive into since the end of Who Are You? It’s starting to feel like going on a string of disappointing first dates — measuring up expectations versus performance, anticipation versus letdown, etc.
You know, there’s that date you’re really looking forward to, so you get dressed up and put on your heels and makeup and count down the hours, and he turns out to be a total dud. Or the date you agreed to because it was easier to give the guy your number than to try to invent an excuse not to because those excuses always come out embarrassingly half-assed — like you say you don’t have a phone and then it rings, or something — but then you end up having a good time.
I didn’t exactly intend to go off on an extended metaphor, but when I thought about all the recent dramas I’ve caught, they all seemed to fit (more or less).
I think I’m pretty fair with drama ratings, in that I don’t add anything to my Ratings Chart that I have not watched in its entirety. If I have not seen every single episode of a drama, I don’t think I’m qualified to give a totally objective opinion on it, so I refrain. That’s why there are a lot of series missing from that list, although I HAVE seen many, many more series than those named; I just haven’t finished them and therefore won’t grade them.
Fair enough, yeah?
Of course, that doesn’t mean I won’t ever weigh in with my opinions on a drama at any given point in its run — I just won’t couch it as a comprehensive review. For instance? I still hate On Air. I still think Three Dads, One Mom is benign but dumbed-down. And I still am totally comfortable skipping shows that are supposedly good that don’t somehow grab me on a more gut level. Because enjoying something with my brain is only fun when I’m also enjoying with my emotions. (The converse = also true.)
Here are a few shows I’ve started but have, for one reason or another, put on the back burner. Think I should continue? (Or drop?) Let me have it.
SONG OF THE DAY
Why Did You Come To Our House OST - “다시 시작해” (Start Over) [ Download ]
SBS’s current Monday-Tuesday drama, sageuk King and I, is coming to a close, and moving to replace it is the upcoming drama billed as “a lively and sweet love story for a different, new-generation couple,” I Love You. The romantic-comedy series is based on a manhwa of the same name, whose creator also wrote the manhwa upon which the upcoming drama Gourmet is based. Following in the newer trend, the 16-episode drama has already finished filming, meaning its production will have completed well before its premiere date in March.
Starring are Ahn Jae Wook (Oh Pil Seung Bong Soon Young, Star in My Heart) and Seo Ji Hye (Over the Rainbow) in a somewhat mismatched pairing — he’s 36 (counting by Western standards), she’s 23 — although the unlikeliness of the couple is part of the point. Her naive 21-year-old bank employee character meets his 35-year-old comic-book-writer character on the subway, and mistakes his behavior for harassment. Thus begins their relationship, which complicates when she becomes pregnant and he’s less than thrilled about it.
Also cast are Hwan Hee of pop ballad duo Fly to the Sky in his second acting gig (his first was alongside Seo Ji Hye in Over the Rainbow), who’ll be paired with new actress Park Hye Young, as well as philandering lawyer husband Gong Hyung Jin (who played philandering Sae Do from Dal Ja’s Spring) and his long-suffering wife, Jo Mi Ryung.
The drama differs from its original source — the manhwa starts with the couple’s marriage, whereas the drama starts pre-wedding — and handles such issues as premarital pregnancy, abortion, cheating, and other sex-related topics “in a light fashion.” Ahn Jae Wook explains, “If the topic of premarital pregnancy is treated overly seriously, the drama becomes less like a light show that can be watched with family and more like a documentary.” Seo Ji Hye adds: “Filming this drama has made me think lots of happy fantasies of married life, and it makes me want to get married.”
Hmm, I’m on the fence about this one. I’m all for a light-hearted series, but Seo Ji Hye and Ahn Jae Wook seem such an awkward pairing — which I know is the point — that I’m not sure how I’ll like it. And I haven’t really enjoyed anything SBS has put out recently — their series have nice acting and nice moments but the ones I’ve seen recently tend to the low-stakes, low-tension end of the spectrum.
