…though you couldn’t tell from its promo material. Syndrome‘s newly released posters and trailer are pretty standard stuff, which I could swear I’ve seen tons of times before. Seriously, is there a medical drama template setting in Photoshop, where you insert actors’ faces and out it spews a generic-looking promo shot with the requisite scrubs, scalpel, and body part of interest?

True, medical dramas are always going to be popular and a great number of them are quite different from each other (see: House versus Grey’s, or New Heart vs OBGYN vs White Tower), so I don’t dismiss Syndrome for being yet another entry in the field. Occupation dramas are just a reason to change the scenery for universal stories of love/ambition/rivalry anyway.

Even still, I just can’t get my interest up for this show, because, well, we just saw Brain, right? The show ended not long ago, aired on Mondays and Tuesdays, and was about neurosurgeons. Syndrome, like Brain, revolves around a motley collection of familiar personalities, from your young female resident to the perfectionist colleague to the cold-hearted surgeon. You may as well call this Brain No. 2 (no relation to HeadsNo2). Or Brain Again. Re-Brained? No-Brainer?

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Read the rest of Medical drama Syndrome is no Brain (229 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 79 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cable programs, Han Hye-jin, Song Chang-eui

We’re at the end! You know, I’m not a big fan of rushed endings (unless done right), but I’ll take what I get for this one. You’ve Fallen For Me is too lovable for me to ditch it in the dust after all I’ve been through. At least we do get a nice, neat ending tied up in a little fancy bow!

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Read the rest of You’ve Fallen For Me: Episode 15 (Final) (2,542 words)

© kaedejun for Dramabeans, 2011. | Permalink | 138 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Jung Yong-hwa, Lee Hyun-jin, Park Shin-hye, Song Chang-eui, You've Fallen For Me

It’s the last week!! I was sad, but after this episode, I’m not that sad. I think it’s commendable that the actors have really made this series more interesting than the story presents itself to be. The weaknesses in the writing are far more blatant now, especially with the musical and obstacles all resolved now. What are our characters going to do now?!

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Read the rest of You’ve Fallen For Me: Episode 14 (2,837 words)

© kaedejun for Dramabeans, 2011. | Permalink | 61 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Jung Yong-hwa, Lee Hyun-jin, Park Shin-hye, Song Chang-eui, You've Fallen For Me

More songs! And this time, they’re sung by some of your favorite (or not) actors. This list is hardly comprehensive, and I picked mostly those actors who weren’t singers first. (And if they were, they are generally stars who are not known for their singing, despite their origins. See: Kim Kang-woo’s awesome beginnings as a soft-ballad rapper. That video takes forever to load, but trust me, it’s worth it.)

Some of these songs come from OSTs, some from digital singles, and some as featured tracks on other singers’ albums.

Enjoy!

Moon Geun-young – “그 바람소리” (The sound of the wind) [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Javabeans Playlist #3: Actor edition (306 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2011. | Permalink | 120 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bae Doo-na, Chae Jung-ahn, Choi Jin-hyuk, Daniel Choi, featured, Gu Hye-sun, Han Hyo-joo, Han Ji-hye, Hyun Bin, Kang Ji-hwan, Kim Haneul, Kim Kang-woo, Kim So-yeon, Lee Da-hae, Lee Jia, Lee Jun-hyuk, Lee Jun-ki, Lee Min-ki, Lee Shi-young, Moon Geun-young, Park Shi-yeon, Park Yong-ha, Song Chang-eui, Sung Yuri, Uhm Tae-woong

To my massive relief, things finally sort themselves out in this episode. The underdog-theme in this drama is especially emphasized in this episode. You become so invested in this group of students that it doesn’t matter what craziness and power-manipulations are going on around them – all you care about is seeing this group succeed.

And that’s probably why underdog dramas get to me, because it makes me that much more excited to see the final act, when the character puts it all out there and does his/her best.

Also, of all things, Kang Min Hyuk – you’re cute, but not in this episode.

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Read the rest of You’ve Fallen For Me: Episode 13 (3,328 words)

© kaedejun for Dramabeans, 2011. | Permalink | 95 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Jung Yong-hwa, Lee Hyun-jin, Park Shin-hye, Song Chang-eui, You've Fallen For Me

Just to note, You’ve Fallen For Me is officially going to end at 15 episodes. That means, we’re only 3 episodes to the end on August 18, as originally planned (and therefore it won’t conflict with the premiere of Can’t Lose). Boohoo. I don’t like that it’s ending so early, but it simply forces the production team to make a tighter, faster paced story as they have 1 hour less to tell everything they want to tell.

As for this episode – can I just have a boyfriend like Shin?! I mean really, can he be any more perfect? Also he can punish me any time.

That came out wrong. But you (will) know what I mean.

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Read the rest of You’ve Fallen For Me: Episode 12 (3,223 words)

© kaedejun for Dramabeans, 2011. | Permalink | 110 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Jung Yong-hwa, Lee Hyun-jin, Park Shin-hye, Song Chang-eui, You've Fallen For Me

It’s all dates and scandals in this episode. One of the strengths of this series is the comedy and the young romance – Park Shin Hye and Jung Yong Hwa really sell it when it comes to the romance because they are comfortable around each other – on and off screen. The melodramatics? Not so much. All this scandal-mongering from Team Hee-joo is actually quite banal…

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Read the rest of You’ve Fallen For Me: Episode 11 (3,628 words)

© kaedejun for Dramabeans, 2011. | Permalink | 185 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Jung Yong-hwa, Lee Hyun-jin, Park Shin-hye, Song Chang-eui, You've Fallen For Me

This episode was all about the cute, as Shin becomes the most supportive boyfriend in the world. Now my favorite character of this episode? Bo-woon, Bo-woon, Bo-woon!

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Read the rest of You’ve Fallen For Me: Episode 10 (3,718 words)

© kaedejun for Dramabeans, 2011. | Permalink | 131 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Jung Yong-hwa, Lee Hyun-jin, Park Shin-hye, Song Chang-eui, You've Fallen For Me

ACK! Um. I think I should just get on with the episode, yeah?

P.S. Favorite man of the hour? Grandpa. He’s the cutest, most annoying, most meddlesome, and sweetest Grandpa there is.

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Read the rest of You’ve Fallen for Me: Episode 9 (3,357 words)

© kaedejun for Dramabeans, 2011. | Permalink | 171 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Jung Yong-hwa, Lee Hyun-jin, Park Shin-hye, Song Chang-eui, You've Fallen For Me

AAAAND we’re back in business! Oh man, can I just have a huge free space to SQUEE in delight? THis episode is allll about Jung Yong Hwa‘s soft smiles.

SONG OF THE DAY

모르나봐 (“I Don’t Know”) – M Signal – You’ve Fallen For Me OST [download]

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Read the rest of You’ve Fallen For Me: Episode 8 (3,528 words)

© kaedejun for Dramabeans, 2011. | Permalink | 109 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Jung Yong-hwa, Lee Hyun-jin, Park Shin-hye, Song Chang-eui, You've Fallen For Me