I’m sure many of you have seen many (maybe even all) of the dramas on this list. But some others who haven’t racked up as many drama-watching hours may want a guide to help them navigate the many, many offerings out there.

First, we’ll start with the other the Hong Sisters dramas…

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Read the rest of Romantic-comedy drama recommendations (2,941 words)

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Post tags: Bad Family, Coffee Prince, Dal Ja's Spring, Delightful Girl Chun-hyang, Fantasy Couple, Full House, Goong, Hong Gil Dong, My Girl, My Name Is Kim Samsoon, Soulmate, The Last Scandal of My Life, What's Up Fox

2007 was a rich year for drama-land. There was something for everyone, whether your tastes ran toward dark thrillers (Devil), intense dramas (White Tower), heart-warmers (Thank You), off-the-wall eccentrics (Mixed-up Investigative Agency), trendy fare (Coffee Prince), romantic comedies (Dal Ja’s Spring), and so on.

2008, on the other hand… not so much.

Every drama has its good and bad points, but it’s a lot easier to decide how you feel about one when those qualities are expressed in the extreme — i.e., very good, or very bad. When everything is a muddle in the middle, though, it’s harder to draw the lines.

That’s why in contrast to last year’s “Best” and “The Rest” designations, this year I don’t really distinguish “good” versus “bad” — or even “favorites” and “hated dramas” — and can only grade on a spectrum. I call that spectrum “MEH” with the extreme poles representing “generally watchable” and “generally unwatchable.” It’s just been that kind of year.

SONG OF THE DAY

Painter of the Wind OST – “색” (Color) by JOO [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Finding Merit in the Mediocre [Year in Review, Part 4] (4,967 words)

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Post tags: A Star's Lover, Beethoven Virus, Bulhandang/Robbers, East of Eden, Gourmet, Hong Gil Dong, I Love You, Iljimae, Love & Marriage, On Air, One Mom, Rivals, Strongest Chil Woo, Tazza, The Last Scandal of My Life, The World They Live In, Three Dads, When Night Comes, Who Are You?, year in review

MBC hosted its awards ceremony for the 2008 Acting Awards on December 30. Let me first reiterate that I think these end-of-year broadcast-station awards are mostly meaningless. That said, this year’s Daesangs were TOTAL WEAKSAUCE, MBC. Top honor (the “Daesang” grand prize) went to…

Oh, you mean it was split this year? Between Beethoven Virus‘s much-lauded epitome of awesomeness, Kim Myung-min, and East of Eden‘s overblown and overrated Song Seung-heon?? I mean, I could understand going for the sentimental vote and awarding deceased Choi Jin-shil (she got a lifetime achievement instead), but Song Seung-heon winning acting awards is in itself a joke.

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Read the rest of 2008 MBC Acting Awards (1,572 words)

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Post tags: awards, Bae Yong-joon, Beethoven Virus, Choi Jin-shil, Dennis Oh, East of Eden, Han Ji-hye, Han Ji-min, Jang Geun-seok, Ji Sung, Jung Il-woo, Jung Jun-ho, Kim Min-jung, Kim Myung-min, Lee Dong-gun, Lee Hana, Lee Jia, Lee Jun-ki, Lee Jung-jin, Lee Mi-sook, Lee Yeon-hee, Moon Sori, New Heart, Seo Shin-ae, Shin Sung-rok, Song Seung-heon, The Last Scandal of My Life, Yoon Eun-hye, Yoon Jin-seo

How should one convey bad news in writing? By creating a buffer first. Avoid traumatizing your audience with the bad news all at once, but instead cushion the blow so that you can maintain goodwill. That textbook approach (business communication, by the way) would be dandy if the crop of 2008 dramas I watched was anything like the stellar quality of 2007. But no, this was a harvest to make one downright grumpy.

This time last year, eight dramas vied to be in my Top 3. Even the ones that disappointed weren’t half bad and at least I finished them. Not this year. I picked up around twenty dramas and dropped at least fifteen. “Dropped” is putting it mildly. I ran from some of them like a kid fleeing an apparition: hands in the air and hair standing on end. As the year wore on, my patience wore thin and my grumpiness increased.

So, no, I can’t use the buffer approach when reviewing this year’s dramas. Hedging doesn’t work for this grumpy cookie. I will present to you the worst dramas first, followed by the so-so ones, and then the few gems of 2008. Even though the year was overcast and gloomy, the sun broke through the clouds occasionally and when it did the effect was glorious. Let’s get the bad news out of the way and we can enjoy the good stuff, shall we?

SONG OF THE DAY

Jin Yi-han – “This is the Moment” which he sang (live!) in Episode 3 of Who Are You. [ Download ]

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Read the rest of A Grump Reviews 2008 [Year in Review, Part 2] (4,881 words)

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Post tags: Beethoven Virus, Bulhandang/Robbers, Conspiracy in the Court, East of Eden, Gourmet, Hong Gil Dong, I Love You, Kingdom of Wind, La Dolce Vita, On Air, One Mom, Rivals, Strongest Chil Woo, The Last Scandal of My Life, The Painter of Wind, The World They Live In, Three Dads, Who Are You?, year in review

MBC won’t be awarding its end-of-year winners until December 30, but it has revealed its acting award nominees, and the name of deceased actress Choi Jin-shil has been included as a candidate for the acting Daesang, or Grand Prize.

Essentially, these year-end fetes are just a way for stations to hand out trophies to all their actors, to keep them feeling special. Of all the awards ceremonies, I feel that these broadcast station awards mean the least, since practically any lead actor in a drama will be given one that year. Like a mere token. One look at the full list (posted below) should show you that most of these are a joke. (I mean, General Hospital JUST started airing, what, a week ago?)

Still, the Daesang probably carries a tiny bit more weight, since it’s the one that’s singled out as the top honor. And while Choi may not have had the meatiest role of her career in 2008 (that title goes to her 2005 tearjerker A Rosy Life), there’s a chance she may end up with the Daesang as a sort of posthumous tribute.

Other Daesang nominees who are having big years include East of Eden‘s Song Seung-heon in his comeback drama and Kim Myung-min as the House-esque insult-slinging maestro in Beethoven Virus.

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Read the rest of Choi Jin-shil up for posthumous Daesang award (738 words)

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Post tags: awards, Beethoven Virus, Choi Jin-shil, East of Eden, Kim Myung-min, Song Seung-heon, The Last Scandal of My Life

Almost-38-year-old actor (39 by Korean standards) Jung Jun-ho had announced his wedding plans following the successful finish of his last drama, the romantic comedy series The Last Scandal of My Life.

Well, the whirlwind romance is over and the wedding is off.

The couple had initially intended to marry this year, but had pushed back plans once already due to Jung’s filming schedule. At the time, he’d explained that the date would be set for early next year, because of his work schedule and also because of the health of his father, who had recently undergone surgery for stomach cancer.

His management company rep didn’t have any further information regarding the cancellation of the engagement, saying, “As this is a private matter, we at the management company are also waiting for his official statement.”

Meanwhile, plans for the second season of The Last Scandal of My Life are still on, with a projected November airdate.

Via My Daily

RELATED POSTS

• So, I guess it wasn’t the LAST scandal of his life
• Wedding bells (almost, kinda) for Jung Jun-ho
• The Last Scandal of My Life: Episodes 1-4

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Post tags: Jung Jun-ho, star romances, The Last Scandal of My Life, weddings

There’s something to be said for a drama that ends just the way you expected but manages to be satisfying just the same. Which doesn’t mean it was flawless (and I’ll discuss that later) but for the most part, I ended this series with a satisfied sigh. Despite having a second season planned for later this year, we get a nice wrap-up for the characters and a general sense of well-being for their future.

SONG OF THE DAY

Sweet Sorrow – “예뻐요” (You’re beautiful) [ Download ]

 
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Read the rest of The Last Scandal of My Life: Episode 16 (Final) (2,879 words)

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Post tags: Byun Jung-soo, Choi Jin-shil, Choi Jung-yoon, Jung Jun-ho, The Last Scandal of My Life

As I’ve said in practically every recap, I’ve really enjoyed Last Scandal. Now that we’re almost at the end, I don’t feel it would ruin anything to say that I found the ending satisfying and happy, which are the only two components (or, practically the only two) that I absolutely require in a romantic comedy.

However, that isn’t to say that the series is perfect, and every drama has its little blips here and there. There have been a few of those in Last Scandal that haven’t bothered me because the rest of the drama was so enjoyable, but Episode 15 is the first time I felt an actual sense of disappointment. I still found it very good, however, so without further ado…

SONG OF THE DAY

8eight – “I Love You” [ Download ]

 
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Read the rest of The Last Scandal of My Life: Episode 15 (2,453 words)

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Post tags: Choi Jin-shil, Jung Jun-ho, The Last Scandal of My Life

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).

SONG OF THE DAY

G.O.D. – “Falling” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of First-date dramas (1,378 words)

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Post tags: Bulhandang/Robbers, Coffee Prince, Hong Gil Dong, I Love You, Iljimae, La Dolce Vita, On Air, ranty/ravey, Rivals, Spotlight, The Last Scandal of My Life, Tokyo Showers, Who Are You?, Why Did You Come To Our House, Yi San

Some good news, and some potentially worrying.

MBC’s hit “ajumma Cinderella” drama The Last Scandal of My Life has been officially confirmed for a second season, to air on Wednesdays and Thursdays (moving from family-friendly weekends to prime trendy-drama territory) in October.

Not one to mess with a good thing, the production is keeping their talent pool intact, bringing back director Lee Tae Goon, writer Moon Hee Jung, and the two stars Choi Jin Shil and Jung Jun Ho. They’ve discussed the possibility of following this with seasons 3 and 4 (going for a more long-running, American serial feel, perhaps) if the second season proves to be a hit; the target ratings number given is 25%.

However — and this is what troubles me — apparently the characters’ occupations and situations are all undergoing a “change,” although the nature of those changes hasn’t been specified. Oh, please don’t muck this up, MBC.

Via MagazineT

SONG OF THE DAY

Hooligan – “기적” (Miracle) [ Download ]

RELATED POSTS

• Extending the Choi family line
• Wedding bells (almost, kinda) for Jung Jun Ho
• The Last Scandal of My Life

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 18 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Choi Jin-shil, Jung Jun-ho, The Last Scandal of My Life