Beanie level: Rooftop room dweller

It’s Queen Cheorin Day! Woohoooooo!

4
0

Happy Boxing Day, everyone! Here’s my review of the KBS Drama Specials – there are some really good ones this year!

https://crabbyfordrama.blogspot.com/2020/12/kbs-drama-specials-2020.html
8
4

I finished my scathing review of Was It Love!

https://crabbyfordrama.blogspot.com/2020/12/was-it-love-no-it-was-not.html?m=1

5
11

    Crabby for Drama is a great URL name

    3
    1

    Great writing, but seeing No Ae Jung’s contorted face again almost made me sick. I could even hear her screaming. 🤢

    If we had a vote for Worst Drama of the Year I’m giving WAS IT LOVE all my votes.

    2
    1

    I really want to read this, but I am going to have to fortify myself for the journey back into something that made me so angry it drained all of my psychic powers.

    2
    0

    This is great, Frabby @frabbycrabsis loves KBS Drama Specials and cathartic too. No one could have said it better. I had to eat some comfort food as I read it (it’s too early in the day for alcohol). It was so bad in so many ways. Ae-jung’s character was monumentally stupid, and more than that, grossly insensitive and damaging to her child. The children were wonderful, and Pa-do and Dong-chan’s moment had truth in it. I wonder about the writer. Was he a middle-aged man? It makes sense to me if he was. Not that I want to dump on middle-aged men, but the whole drama smacks of someone who only sees women through certain stereotypes. Enough said. I do not want to waste anymore of my life on this total waste of space. It’s good that you put up a warning sign.

    2
    1

      Thank you for reading it, despite your physical aversion! Now that I’ve written this, I never have to talk about it again 🎉

      Because you said that about the writer, I went to MDL to see who it was… No one was listed 😂
      If no one wrote this drama, I guess that explains why it was so bad!

      2
      1

        Funny. I looked it up some time again and it was some middle-aged man. I guess he’s gone into hiding. ROFL

        2
        0

But seriously, WHERE IS THE REST OF LOVE ALARM?

7
10

    The “someone nearby likes you” app got rewritten into a “someone nearby is contagious – RUN!” app 🙂

    13
    2

    Good question. I’ve been wondering for some time. WHEN, if ever? Do you think they couldn’t imagine what could possibly happen next? I loved what it was doing by logically extending the technology that was so close to what is happening today, just taking it one step further.

    2
    0

    Comment was deleted

    0
    0

    Script-reading happened several months ago. Netflix dramas always take a long time from production to dropping, be patient!

    3
    2

The female leads I’ll never forget? Easy!
Cha Young-jin (Nobody Knows): Masterfully portrayed by Kim Seo-hyung, Young-jin is at once the cool slick no-nonsense detective the world sees, and a compassionate, loyal woman who will stop at nothing to protect her little friend. Not only is she a competent police-officer (a rare breed in the dramaverse), she has layers and layers of character to her outside of that. Nobody Knows was incredible in general, but it wouldn’t have stolen my heart the way it did without Cha Young-jin.
Makabe Keito (Shiranakute Ii Koto): Oh, Keito! Ambitious, brazen, opportunistic, persistent, skilled, cheeky, wonderful Keito! Yoshitaka Yuriko shone every second she was on screen in this drama, and the heroine she created was so deliciously lovable that I had to know how her story played out. Once again, we have a woman very competent at her job with layers and layers of character outside of that (I’m noticing a theme).
Noh Ae-jung (Was It Love?): I’m gonna remember this one for all the wrong reasons. I have no ae-jung for Noh Ae-jung. She’s a terrible mother, a terrible PD, and a terrible person. Even the best actress in the world couldn’t make such a fundamentally awful character likeable, so I have to respect Song Ji-hyo for even trying.

17
0

I don’t know where people have gotten the 2020 Roundup criteria from, but I’ll play.
So, the male leads I won’t forget right? Well, probably the ones who were most like me.
Im Eun-seob (I’ll Go to You When the Weather is Nice): Im Eun-seob is deeply sensitive and loving, but he’s also a very sick baby who can’t get out of his own head. Seeing him reach out to people and accept their love drove a stake through my heart.
Lee Soo (More Than Friends): Lee Soo is narcissistic and selfish, which turned many people off this show immediately, but there’s more to him. No, I’m not excusing his selfishness. But the fact that he’s never compelled to start something with the people he’s been attracted to, because his desire to not get hurt is stronger than his desire to date them, is deeply relatable. His character growth was amazing.

13
2

Sunwoo Jun can go to Hell, but Sunwoo Hwan is welcome in this house anytime~

#480p-shining-inheritance-rewatch-number-238
8
8

Episode 14 of Start-Up was glorious. It was the epitome of: \”We\’re getting the band back together!\”

12
0

Okay, that\’s it, I can\’t hold it in anymore. DO DO SOL SOL LA LA SOL SPOILERS BELOW.

7
10

    HE LET HER BELIEVE HE WAS DEAD FOR FIVE YEARS.
    Lala deserves better. Jun will torture her until the end of time with his malicious fucking lies.
    He lost me in episode 14 for telling Lala that he didn’t like her anymore. As shown in episode 15, he could have just said he was going abroad. That was the first indication I really had that Jun was too immature to date Lala.
    And then it’s revealed that he was Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol all along. Am I touched? No, I’m not. That’s ridiculous. I hate it. I hate it so much. Jun being Lala’s guardian angel has been stretched too far, it’s not cute anymore. The only way they could have fixed this was by Jun dying.
    And then he did! They could have foreshadowed it more, but with his constant unexplained nosebleeds, it was plausible that Jun had cancer! If Lala was never going to pay him back, then him dying was the perfect resolution to the story. He was the star watching her from Heaven all along, it’s perfect!
    BUT OH WAIT, HE JUST PRETENDED THAT HE WAS DEAD FOR. FIVE. YEARS.
    *banshee screams*

    11
    4

      Truthfully this show made me decide to take a drama break. It’s ridiculous the nonsense they decided to just throw out towards the end. I don’t know how anyone read these episodes scripts and thought “yep, we good to go”

      4
      0

      I’m not watching this drama but what storyline did I just read?? Who comes up with these stories?

      4
      2

      Except, I have to say it was almost worth being this pissed off just to read “but with his constant unexplained nosebleeds, it was plausible …” because that made me CRACK UP. While he was dead I kept thinking, omg I don’t think anyone’s died in a kdrama I ten years – but I never thought about the nosebleeds! 😁 wow, it’s been a while since that trope for me, thanks!

      1
      0

      does he actually die in the end? and do they get back together after this five years nonsense?? what happens in episode 16? i’m so thankful i stopped watching at ep 13 😱

      1
      1

Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol, who hurt you??

6
0

This year\’s KBS Drama Specials are SO GOOD! 😭

4
3

Once upon a time there was a kind, brave and generous woman. Because she acted more like an old man than a woman, the world told her that no-one would ever fall in love with her. The woman liked who she was – she didn’t want to change! But she was also very lonely. One day, a snake disguised as a young man approached her. He planned to win her love and then abandon her. As he planned, the kind and generous woman came to love him. However, it was impossible for the snake not to love the woman too. Miraculously, her kind heart affected him and the snake transformed into a real man. The two of them lived ever after.

I wrote a very long, heartfelt love letter to Last Cinderella: https://crabbyfordrama.blogspot.com/2020/07/last-cinderella-fairytale-we-needed.html
6
3

I wanna play too! Except I realised I have just as many Japanese favourites as I do Korean favourites, so there are two lists:

10% Age of Youth 2
10% I Hear Your Voice
10% Reply 1988
10% Thirty But Seventeen
10% Shining Inheritance
10% Cheese in the Trap
10% Go Back Couple
10% You From the Stars
10% Let’s Eat
10% Live

Honourable Mentions: Be Melodramatic, Your Honor, Healer

8
20

So I started watching My First First Love on a whim, and I’ve now finished the first “season”. This is what I was initially wanted to say about it: It’s a cute time-pass! Predictable yet fun, with likeable characters. But it is also a shameless copy of 2015’s Because It’s the First Time.
I joked to myself that someone had watched The First Time, was appalled by the ending, and made their own show just to correct it.
Until I realised that it is LITERALLY what happened. It’s been tweaked in places and jazzed up a little, but this is the same story. A little confused research uncovered that this is considered a reboot, and the writer of The First Time is credited as the series’ creator.
So now I can’t tell if I’m amused or disappointed that I didn’t figure it out sooner.

4
5

    The older, BITFT was a very good show! MDL says MFFL is a sequel not a reboot. Since I thought the ending of the first was excellent I don’t know if I should bother with the sequel.

    2
    1

      The first was definitely subversive – although I didn’t enjoy it back then (you know being a teenager that craved textbook happy endings), I think I would enjoy it now. The hero learning to aveiro that his relationship with the heroine had to change was a good message, so for My First First Love to undo that kind of undermines what made the original interesting!
      Buttt saying that, I like the characters much more here and In having more fun watching it.

      1
      1

        Yes, the whole drama was sweet and charming but the choice of ending was what made it really special. I was far from a teenager then, I kept thinking the FL had no romantic feelings for this guy how would it be possible for her to change her mind so quickly? Besides I was probably already tired of the kdrama rule of always making people love the person they met as children. Since you said the sequel changes that I’ll just pretend it’s not related to the first drama and ignore it.

        2
        0

    Is the ending hanging and we have to wait for a second season? I have it on my watchlist but not sure if i want a cliffhanger end.

    1
    1

“If you think about it… all relationships are amazing, and precious.”

The curtain drops, and the audience sits, awed into silence.

Thank you, My Ahjussi. That’s what I needed to hear. Thank you.
22
5

It comes out today! I really need to curb my excitement for this one though – at this point, it’s impossible for the show to be better than the trailer.

12
4

    Thanks for the reminder. (Let’s see if Netflix reminded me.) Go to check. Yes!!! First thing up when I logged on.
    This will be my third reality show and introduction to Jasper Liu. Seriously both these guys are 33 years old. Don’t they look more like 23?

    2
    0

    Oh I love these two and will definitely look for it!!!
    thanks for the reminder!

    2
    0

    I love how they’ve released the whole thing! Will binge this tomorrow since it’s midnight on my side.

    2
    0

    I’m deliberately trying not to binge, but it’s hard! My inner fangirl has been waiting for this for ages lol

    2
    0

1% of Anything (2003), Episode 1: The more I ponder on it, the more I’m frustrated by the set-up of this drama. Magical Chaebol Harabeoji runs into Da-hyun once, and touched by her kindness (or, you know, common decency) at saving a seat for him on the train and helping him with his bag, puts her in his will. She doesn’t even give him her name, but he somehow tracks it down along with her social security number. I’m not missing something, right? Yeah, this is ridiculous. Either Harabeoji has been so beaten down his whole life that giving up a seat is the kindest thing someone has done for him, or he’s a complete stirrer. He’s seen an opportunity to stir the metaphorical pot that is the growing conflict between his grandsons, so he throws this unsuspecting woman in the mix and watches what happens. And it can be fixed so easily! Instead of painting Da-hyun as a Disney Princess with her life-changing everyday kindnesses, how about if she did something truly admirable and brave by maybe saving Harabeoji’s life? She could pull him away from a Truck of Doom or something! Then I would believe his reasoning about how Jae-in needs someone like her. The audience knows that it’s Da-hyun’s forthrightness that he needs, but Harabeoji hasn’t seen this side of her! He just met a slightly nice young lady, there’s no insight into her soul there! Then, she could buy him a drink to settle his nerves, where he learns about her name and profession, allowing him to track her down. I get that Chaebol Harabeoji is just a plot device disguised as a character, but still. Come on.

2
4

    I had the same issue with the 2003 version too. In this regard, I think the remake justified the setup a little better to let Da-hyun save harabeoji life and pay for his hospital fees. I don’t remember why 2003 Da-hyun agreed to date the guy but at least in the remake, he offered her something worthwhile to her in return so the setup feels much better. Even so, I’d have been pissed too if I involuntarily got entangled in another family’s feud.

    2
    1

      The remake did do that, didn’t it? Gosh, I’m starting to see why someone thought a remake had to be made 😂

      1
      1

        Haha I guess someone rewatched the 2003 version after ~10 years and decided that they liked the concept but the old 2000s kdrama setup was too obnoxious so entered the remake 😀

        I watched the 2003 version when it was first aired and I liked it then, but after I watched the remake, I can’t recall why I liked the 2003. I’m so grateful that Kdrama writers have gone through a major overhaul of their ideal couple and given us more likable/relatable characters now.

        1
        0

    It was in 2003, 17 years old ago when suspension of belief is a prerequisite of kdrama watching. We are surely in a better place now – but those oldies have their own magic in their mysterious way back then.

    1
    0

1% of Anything (2003), Episode 1: Errrrrr…












0
1

    He’s my favourite haroboeji back in the old days – always playing crazy And stubborn grandpa.

    1
    0

1% of Anything (2003), Episode 1: This isn’t a comment on the actual episode, I just wanted to say that the subs are bad. It’s like the subber is trying to be as lazy as possible, like they’re writing clues about what the dialogue might be rather than just translating. I don’t think it’s affecting my enjoyment too much though – the sentiment of the lines are still mostly there, and I know enough Korean to get by. Plus, every now and then you get one like this:



2
3

1% of Anything (2003), Prelude: Okay, confession – I’ve only watched 15 minutes of the 2003 version so far because I ended up getting swept up in a rewatch of the 2016 version. And I’ll tell you what, 2003 Da-hyun has a lot to live up to. Wow. I don’t remember Jeon So-min’s Dada being so fantastic, but she’s possibly one of my favourite heroines now.

6
13

    I love this scene! The way DaDa looks at her! Like. Yeah I COULD take her gets me every time!

    2
    0

    Damn this was amazing

    1
    0

    I really loved this show. Even if it’s low-budget (i.e. Jae In’s wardrobe), the writing just wins the score. I loved how they wrote the main leads. DaDa was confident and yet not arrogant, kind and yet not a doormat. And I loved how even though Jae In was somewhat still a tsundere, his actions were well explained and reasonable. Ugh. These two is still one of my favorite OTP in dramaland.

    2
    2

      And I fell in love with both Jeon So Min and Ha Seok Jin because of this show. Still waiting for another great project for them both. And would it be a pipeline dream to wish for a major network drama with them as the OTP again? 😁

      1
      0

      The show clearly relied on the chemistry between these actors and the good writing to shine though, and it did. I’m so glad I watched it again, it’s just short and sweet.

      0
      0

    It’s been long enough for me to forget this scene. Clearly time for a rewatch! Wonderful scene!

    1
    1

    1% of Anything (2016) had pretty awesome leads and I loved the OTP! Though i don’t buy the whole “grandpa and i’m a chaebol i’m so busy i don’t have a life” issue, the chemistry of the two was enough to make me stick with them to the end.

    1
    1

      Hahahaha, the chaebol harabeoji was clearly just a plot device and the writers were shameless about it 😂

      “Here’s this important reason why you two must be together!”
      “What? I don’t see the reason?”
      “That’s because it’s invisible! Important, sure, but invisible. Now we’ll hide it in a corner until the drama ends.”

      1
      0

    The 2016 version is an example of how re-make should be done with updated character treatment. I hope Jeon So-min gets better recognition to have more lead roles as 1% and Top Star Yoo Baek show she’s got what it takes to be a credible lead and can carry a show on her own.

    I watched the 2003 version during my early kdrama years and like it a lot – because of Kang Don-won (who no longer does drama anymore unfortunately). The pace is very slow especially by today’s standard and drags a lot.

    KDW is very raw acting-wise back then but has a lot of charisma and good chemistry with Kim Jung-hwa (who has cameoed recently as Yi-sang’s ex in Oh My Baby). Just wonder if some of the current top writers can lure KDW back to drama land as he’s doing so well in his movie career. It’s a pity that the newer generations of drama watchers miss out such a charismatic actor. Heard he was Kim Eun-sook’s target for DoTS or Goblin but without success.

    3
    1

      Something I’ve noticed from watching the 2016 version is that Ha Suk-jin’s performance really feels like an homage to Kang Dong-won’s, he’s channeling him completely! I’m glad I know Kang Dong-won from Vanishing Time, he’s such a talent.

      0
      0

    These could be considered as two different dramas given the more than decade between them (the 2003 ver. doesn’t hold up as well as a drama like Dal-ja’s Spring). The 2016 ver is a much more stripped down version of the 2003 ver. Some aspects of the 2003 ver were cut from the 2016 ver which allowed the latter to be a lot more of a cute/sweet drama than the 2016 ver was. Having said that, some of my favourite moments were cut from the 2016 ver. I will not spoil too much for you other than to say that.

    Where are you watching this by the way. I wanted to watch a few scenes a while back and couldn’t find a good quality version.

    1
    1

      You are right – they share a main story line but could be regarded as two different dramas as the old version have so many subplots on both families. The old version has also devoted more time to the bickering-and-falling-in-love which is delightful.

      1
      0