Faith

 신의 (信義) / Shinui / The Great Doctor (神醫)

2012 24-episode Korean Period Drama that starred Lee Min ho as Choi Young, Kim Hee sun as Yoo Eun soo, Yoo Oh sung as Gi Chul, Lee Philip as Jang Bin, Kim Soo yun as Deo Gi, Sung Hoon as Chun Eum ja, Shin Eun jung as Hwa Soo in, Jo In pyo as Goo Yang gak (Yang Sa), Choi Suk jin as Ki Won, Kim Mi kyung as Court lady Choi, and Hwang Woo yun as Ja Woon - to name a few.

Let me start by saying this is the 3rd time I've watched this drama since its release a few years ago - thus the 5 sparkling rosebud vases.

And, if anyone wants to argue with me about my dislike of Heirs, let them join in a face/off between that drama and this one first.

This is how and when Lee Min ho shines; as bright as the brightest star in all of Korea and beyond - even to Hollywood - which isn't saying much, but I'm sure a lot of you out there think that Hollywood is the greatest to ever come along and again, I'd have to disagree. It USED to be that way, but not anymore, and when people freak out over guys like Justin Bieber and Ryan Gossling ... well ... all I can say is I don't even want to waste my breath or time arguing.

Lee Min ho as Choi young

Everyone and their uncle already know what this one was all about, so I'll spare the details and sum it all up by saying it's about a young, gorgeous warrior with two things on his mind: sleep and being a warrior.

He's assigned to protect the king, of course, and the king's new bride from Yuan (China), when something goes wrong and in order to save this woman, warrior Choi luckily discovers a way to travel through time. He ends up in modern-day Seoul and tracks down a flighty plastic surgeon, dragging her back to his time and demanding she save the queen.

Before that, though, he gets into a tussle with the police and ends up stealing one of their bullet-proof shields, which doesn't disappear or disintegrate as he travels back in time, but whatever.

Polymers may have actually existed back then ... you never know.

It added some humor to the show, okay?

The second thing about this drama was the cast, which included Lee Philip and Kim Mi kyung!

Lee Philip as Jang bin

Kim Mi Kyung as Court lady Choi

Now, he might be showing his age a little, but in my book Lee Philip is still one fine looking dude and it'll be awhile before I get tired of seeing his fine face, hearing his sexy voice, and ogling his exceptional frame.

As for Madam Kim, well, she's always going to be up there with the list of greats and will likely never grow weary of entertaining the masses, right?

Philip's character played the court physician, and he spent a lot of time getting to know Yoo Eun soo, the modern-day plastic surgeon thrust into an ancient world and made to do a lot of unsavory bidding as much as she was able to walk alongside our stalwart warrior and try her best to win his stalwart heart.

Kim Hee sun as Yoo Eun soo

Despite what others had to say about her in blogs and at aznv.tv, surprise, surprise! I disagree wholeheartedly with their opinions. This woman blew me away with her acting and made me like her regardless of whatever else it is she's done or said to upset the masses.

She's beautiful and talented, and she reminded me in a way of Grace Adler (Debra Messing) from Will & Grace.

Anyway, next come the baddies; the menacing types who always arrive right on time in any period drama and attempt rather successfully at first to undo, unwind, and unload all the good being done and get away with it for a majority of the show.

Jo In Pyo as Goo Yang Gak (Yang Sa)

Shin Eun Jung as Hwa Soo In

Sung Hoon as Chun Eum Ja

My, my, my.

I even thought the old guy was nice to look at! He's the master-mind of the bad gang and possesses super-powers and an angry heart. 

His sister is very beautiful and did a great job portraying an evil woman with an evil heart who possesses the power of fire to lure and destroy men. 

Then there is our amazingly handsome baby boy with a great head of hair and an obedient heart. He possesses the power of music, or a one-note, which he extracts from his weapon of choice: the flute. The one-note has the ability to destroy the internal workings of the human body.

All three did great acting jobs, were entirely convincing in their roles, and added the right amount of flavor to the show. Their costumes, aside from the king and queen, were the best, too.

Did I mention the fact that our hero, Choi Yong, also has special powers? His arm is electrified, which runs straight to his sword, given to him by a great king. This comes in handy in battle against others with special powers - so the playing field evens out instead of being unfair.

Reason three why this was so great: the costumes, the scenery, and even the set decoration. It was simply marvelous and helped to ease the soul instead of making us sit through a lot of strife, grayness, and dismal that usually occurs when a writer and then producer send us back in time.

Treachery, deceit, and nefarious schemes always abound in a period drama - especially those from Korea - and it still amazes me how the writers take fact and twist it enough times to make fantasy seem factual, but whatever. It seems to work, so that's fine.

Reason four why Faith is a fiver for me is Lee Min ho.

Yep, that's right! I said Lee Min ho. Thinking about it some more, I've come to realize that this show has a lot to do with my unfavorable opinion of his work in The Heirs. After seeing him in Faith, and in Boys Over Flowers, it came as quite a disappointment to see the way he acted in The Heirs.

It was his chance to shine; to really step up to the plate and make a name for himself and he didn't.

In Boys, I thought he was funny, commanding, and intriguing enough to want to see more. In Faith, I started to fall in love and came to realize just what it was that had everyone else so mesmerized. Then I watched Heirs, what the rest of the world watched, and with as much dizzying anticipation, too.

What a let-down.

I know he's done more than just these three shows, and I already watched some, will watch others.

He's handsome, I agree. He's talented, too. He's got the goods, to include height, the face, the body, and the smile.

His eyes captivate the soul, and with a little work, he'd make one hell of a true lover in a modern-day or period drama if he learns how to use those eyes of his to draw out what any hetero- female wants in a man like him.

Not even the guy on the left could scene-steal or hold a candle to our Warrior Choi in Faith, though.

Who stole everyone's heart in The Heirs? Eh? It wasn't Min ho-sshi but his angry counterpart, that's who.

Like I said, he blew it for whatever reason, and I'll chalk it up to his having been either burned out or uninterested in the script and let it go at that.

Reason Five why I loved Faith so much: chemistry.

Lee Min ho's Warrior Choi and Kim Hee sun's Yoo Eun soo had great chemistry even if she does and did look a few years older than him. So what. I don't care about things like that unless it's an old, gray-haired fart trying to get with a high school girl, and then GAG.

Even the budding love story that grew between King and Queen and their onscreen performances together were like-able and believable. It was cute, too, the way she behaved both behind his back trying to help, and in his presence, standing up for her heart while making him figure it all out on his own.

There'll always be the constant reluctance to go with ones own heart in these shows, both period and modern, which annoys the heck out of me but there's nothing I can do to change that fact or make it go away, so ...

Warrior Choi spent too much time avoiding the inevitable, and even if there was a reason for it, it is still irritating to have to sit through night after night.

Okay, so that's my review of Faith. (Actually, my review of why I didn't like The Heirs - lol)

Here are a few extra images of the hot guy with the cool weapon.

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Rooftop Prince / 옥탑방 왕세자 / Oktabbang Wangseja

Attic Prince

2012 KDo labeled as Fantasy, comedy, romance, time travel

This interesting, somewhat straying from the ubiquitous formula period/mod romantic comedy drama starred Micky Yoochun (Park Yoochun) as Lee Gak / Yong Tae yong, Han Ji min as Park Ha / Bu Yong, Lee Tae sung as Yong Tae moo, and Jung Yoo mi as Hong Se na / Hwa Yong.

One reason I liked this one was because Micky reminded me of a young, handsome, and very talented actor - Chen Siu chun or Jordan Chan.

The second reason I enjoyed watching Rooftop Prince and gave it 4 out of 5 was because of the supporting cast that included Lee Min ho as Song Man bo (Lee Gak's retainer - Crown Prince's tutor), Choi Woo shik as Do Chi san (Lee Gak's retainer - palace eunuch), and Jung Suk won as Woo Yong sul (Lee Gak's retainer - Crown Prince's personal bodyguard).

The story begins over 300 years ago, during the ever-popular Joseon Dynasty era in Korea.

The crown prince and his crown princess are enjoying their pre-wedding days together (as together as is possible back at that time) and her donsaeng is their escort a majority of the time.

The younger princess (Bu yong) has to wear embroidered masks because of a burn scar induced by the crown princess in an act of jealous rage at the ripe old age of twelve or ten or something weird, scary ridiculous like that.

The younger daughter was supposed to be the crown princess (for whatever reason) and when the older sister found out, well ... that was her response.

So, with the younger sister out of the way, she is crown princess and promised to the prince.

And, we all know you can't have a period drama without a lot of palace intrigue, cut-throat dealings, and down-right hate thrown in the mix. Which is precisely what occurs at the very start. The crown prince has this older, just-as-vindictive half-brother who wants the throne. We all know, too, that the only way to obtain this greedy desire is through devious, deadly means.

The crown princess' father instructs his daughter to lace the prince' persimmon treats with arsenic, and the dongsaeng princess learns of this dastardly scheme, so she bursts in on the two betrothed's (whatever) and begs the prince to let her have her wish to consume all of the persimmon treats since she finally figured out the answer to his latest riddle.

The prince liked talking with second princess and always made up a riddle for her to solve in an allotted amount of time, with the winner being granted a wish.

The prince encourages second princess to do as she pleases, and while the older crown princess looks on in mild horror, her little sister consumes all of the treats.

Later, the crown princess finds her little sister, and the dying princess encourages her older sister to switch outfits and hide until the whole mess blows over, at which time she can return and marry the prince.

Unfortunately, the ousted prince who wants the throne finds out that the prince didn't die, so he sets out to slay everyone involved, including the two girls and the prince.

Second princess dies, first princess hides, prince is beside himself with grief, ousted prince orders his enemy guards on a rampage, and the prince is forced to flee with his three, faithful retainers.

They end up under a tree in the woods, and suddenly ...

they find themselves inside the rooftop apartment of modern-day second-in-line princess Park ha (Bu yong).

She screams, they panic, and then they settle down long enough to explain their unusual predicament to the girl with cute eyes.

She leaves to go downstairs and talk to her neighbors when the four newcomers proceed to destroy the tiny apartment.

Park ha is upset, obviously, and in complete control despite our confused Prince' adamant refusal to accept the newness of his reality or the fact that he isn't as in charge as he once was over 300 years ago.

He insists that she take them back to the palace, so Park ha tosses them inside her delivery truck and drives to the palace, dumping them off at the curb and driving away.

A funny romp with the cops ensues.

The palace tutor, Lee Min ho's Song Man bo remembers the license plate of the truck, and they end up back in Park ha's custody. She takes them shopping and is quite deliberate with the humorous Power Ranger's garb that she dresses them in.

In the meantime, there is a modern-day Prince by the name of Lee gak - Yong Tae yong's wealthy relative of sorts - since this is supposed to imply that reincarnation is real, in which case there can be no counterparts, offspring, or relatives if that is the case. You give birth to phantoms, I think.

Lee gak is in a coma in the states because his modern-day counterpart to the evil prince wants the Home (&) Shopping company that Lee gak is heir to.

For 18 of the 20 episodes, the prince has to figure out riddles about the past by learning from the present. Park ha's older sister is a secretary at the Home (&) Shopping company, and when Lee gak's grandmother sees the prince, she thinks it is her long, lost grandson returned from Migu.

The prince refuses her offer to stay at her home because he feels that if he is going to return to Joseon, then he needs to remain at that rooftop apartment. Halmeoni agrees and gives him credit cards and a design firm to remake the apartment to his specifications. Park ha eventually ends up on the street and with the prince and his faithful cohorts taking over the place.

There is a plot twist new from old in that the two sisters still hate each other and the older is still vindictive, hateful, and greedy while the younger is Polly pure-heart and C.I.N.D.E.R.E.L.L.A.

The oldest's mother took the youngest in after she married the youngest daughter's father.

The older sister lets the younger sister get carted off in the back of a truck, which overturns on a highway miles from home, and then she is adopted by Americans.

She returns to Seoul to find her father and learns that he is dead. She moves back in with her stepmother. The older sister finds out and warns Park ha not to get in her way or destroy the beautiful lie of a life she has weaved for herself.

But, then the stubborn prince lays eyes on his gongju and a hot, one-sided pursuit ensues.

Wow ... I so feel like taking a red tulip away now.

Okay, guys, I'll leave it at 4.

I think they would have to agree with me, though, that there were quite a few inconsistencies throughout this good/bad drama.

Examples include the part where Park ha takes their Joseon costumes to the cleaners and asks the man to hold on to them for her. Toward the end, though, when the guys start to realize their time in modern-day society isn't going to last much longer, they suddenly have said garments at the ready.

The two neighbor girls were a huge part of the action for the first, few episodes, and then they became sporadic, and then they just 'poof' and disappeared.

Lee gak was in NYC when he got hurt, but he was in a Chicago hospital.

When the lads return to Joseon, they are able to walk around in modern clothing that consists of things like nylon, Dacron, polyester, synthetic wool blends, etc. instead of being in tatters, if not just naked. And, the eunuch managed to hang on to a ketchup packet made of PLASTIC while the two others kept their nylon backpacks AND a few c.a.n.s. (aluminum) of beer.

The woman who ended up being the real mother of the girls had been to their stepmother's house numerous times, and yet it suddenly became imperative that Se na (the evil princess) go there and remove all of the pictures so that the real mother wouldn't figure out who Park ha actually was to her.

I could go on, but it is depressing me even more.

Yes,  - gwaenchanh-ayo, gamsa

I still liked the story enough to watch it clean through ... twice. Once when it first aired, and again for this blog.

Despite everything I just said, too.

It had its moments, but good outweighed the bad I think.

Maybe as a writer I could see potential and misstep that can be easily rectified if anyone is interested in a re-make, but that doesn't happen that often.

Wiping the slate clean and making a second run sounds awesome in some cases, doesn't it?

Let's give this one another chance, shall we?

Different writers, same cast, different plot, same intrigue, different modes/methods, same angst/drama etc.

So, we can agree that this was yet, another story that had über potential but sadly went astray in the writing department.

Another thing that seems glaringly apparent to me and not to anyone else is the simple fact that if anyone from one-hundred and fifty years ago or more EVER set foot on modern-day soil, anywhere in the world, the first thing that would hit them (like a ton of bricks) would be the air.

Just because we take the foul, rotten egg pollution smell for granted, don't think that anyone from a pre-industrialized era would not notice as well.

Fried foods, for gosh sake! Sorry, but that would give an ancient the trots quicker than drinking water. Their drinking water had better potential to kill than ours does, but not our food. Theirs was hazardous, yes, but it wasn't deep batter fried in chemical oil.

Then there is the noise factor.

Sure, if they were plunked down in a remote area of Alaska or Siberia, then they could get acclimated to their new surroundings as they slowly trekked their way to civilization and slowly had their ears adjusted to louder, more active areas of the planet. But, to go from birdsong, chirping crickets, and the occasional loud mouth at the pub to ... a major metropolitan area in a matter of seconds would definitely be a shock to ones system. When they returned to their original time, they would be like our modern thirty-somethings and SHOUTING at everyone because they are already deaf and don't know it yet.

Heck, who DOESN'T want to time travel, eh? Until we could perfect the obvious, though, it would be best to have it done in a dream, or in a protective, invisible bubble.

So, anyway, this show is 20 episodes of good stuff, and with a bit of nonsense thrown in the mix to confound people like me, who don't get it and yet watch because it's fun to watch - no, other reason. It's fun, it's cheap thrills, and the guys are a major draw.

Which is why I'm big on the pictures and not the story line in most of my blogs.

If you haven't and are planning to watch Rooftop Prince, don't let the deceiving cover or anyone's personal opinion sway you. Just watch a to z and then decide for yourself if they hit it or missed the mark.

Jury is obviously still out deliberating in my mind.

 

yeppeun

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