Mr. Baek

Title: 미스터 백 / Miseuteo Baek
Genre: Romance, comedy, fantasy
Episodes: 16
Broadcast network: MBC
Broadcast period: Nov to Dec, 2014

 

Main Cast

Shin Ha Kyoon as Choi Go Bong / Choi Shin Hyung Jang Na Ra as Eun Ha Soo Lee Joon as Choi Dae Han Park Ye Jin as Hong Ji Yoon

Synopsis

A conglomerate CEO in his 70s, who has known nothing but money all his life, one day suddenly turns into a young man in his 30s and after 70 years of his life, he discovers love. (DramaFever) Mr. Baek is a successful hotelier who's more interested in hoarding his money than in enjoying his golden years. But in a strange turn of events, this classic scrooge gets a second chance at life when he wakes up as a younger version of himself. With no way to prove his identity, Mr. Baek must enter his own company as a rookie and is forced to work his way up once again. With precious little time, Mr. Baek is given the opportunity to take stock of his life — and to give love a chance. (DramaWiki) An old man is given the power to age backwards, but every time he falls in love he ages forward. (DramaFever)

Judging from the above variations on the same theme, you would guess this drama is all about Mr. Baek -- old and young versions, and you wouldn't be entirely misled -- but you still are if you believe what you just read above ;-)

So, if you haven't watched this one yet, let me explain without spoiling the plot.

It IS about a wealthy hotelier in his early 70s who is as curmudgeonly, cantankerous, and stodgy as the stereotypical old man comes.

He's leaving an award ceremony and being chauffeured back home during a meteor shower when the ground opens up and his car falls inside what the subbers continue to refer to as a sink hole.

He's grasping at life AND one of the pills a doctor recently prescribed, but he mistakes a glowing blue meteor shard and swallows that instead.

This is how he reverts back to age 34 -- Korean male prime as I'm always being led to believe.

Naturally, with a premise like this one, inconsistencies, continuity issues, and just plain stupidity are bound to crop up.

 I wanted to like this one. I really did.

And for the first few episodes, I was actually riveted to the screen.

It was quite fascinating to watch this seemingly interesting concept unfold, and I was curious to know where it would all lead, too. But then the dumb stuff took center stage and I quickly lost that fascination and interest. I did, however, enjoy the theme song.

Very pretty.

First Issue

The love story.

Prior to his reverting in age, he is dumped off at one of his hotels that isn't doing so well profit-wise, and he ends up losing his glasses.

The girl -- Jang Na Ra as Eun Ha Soo -- is working with the elderly there (later we learn that it is a retirement 'hotel') when she happens upon this old man on the ground fumbling around for his specs.

She tries to help him and he pushes her away, snaps at her, and basically behaves in a way that would make any normal, sane person flip him off and walk away to let him fend for himself regardless of his age or circumstances.

But, we must remember that this is a Korean drama and therefore the perfect girl is the perfect lady who will gladly forget herself for any and all men.

She finds him a new pair of clothing, washes his hands, and mends his glasses for him.

She is also involved in the sink-hole incident because his young, handsome son has ordered her to deliver a necklace to the mansion wa-ay after office hours, and she does so without question because she doesn't want to get fired and because he's a guy and she's not.

The son is crushing on Ha soo, which translates to his treating her like shit all the time, walking all over her, making a lot of unnecessary and unreasonable demands . . . you know the drill.

She falls for his young-version father instead, though. And, this, friends, is where everything went wrong for me. He knew the whole time that it wasn't going to last, and yet . . .

Second Issue

Theme time.

The writers juxtaposed these two with Beauty and the Beast.

Can you believe it?

I can't.

I don't get these types of dramas, I don't like them, and I resent being subjected to their trite, make-believe nature when they're using supposedly real-life characters to depict said fairy tale characters.

The Acting

It was good.

A bit over-the-top on his part, but I got to know him better and like what I saw.

I adore her and probably always will. She's cute, pretty, I love her hair, and her eyes.

The voice I can do without, but that is neither here nor there.

My Take

When, I wonder, are we going to start seeing more reality-based drama filled with realistic content?

When, I wonder, will we begin to stray from this formulaic story line of one poor waif versus two hot, rich hunks?

When are they going to stop following a stale, old formula (the same way I ask when are writers going to stop doing the same thing) and start coming up with more original work?

If we've seen one drama that depicts a helpless virgin with two sexy, rich guys vying for her love & affection, we've seen them all.

All 8,603,749 of them.

And, when, for crying out loud, will we get to see nail-biter, cliff-hanger, OMG stuff again?

I get this feeling that if twelve of us Korean drama junkies got together to watch a new release, that we'd be able to foreshadow, accurately guess at, and even recite verbatim the lines prior to their being spoken.

It's just no fun anymore, watching these shows when they are all the same.

Asides

How is it humanly possible for family members to NOT be able to recognize one of their own?

Even his own son didn't recognize him as a younger man?

Am I to believe that there are zero pictures and zero family albums in the Korean household?

I mean, even the faithful chauffeur, who spent a majority of the first few episodes pointing out the fact that he'd been with this old man forEVER, and yet he wasn't able to recognize the man's younger version?

Right.

Oh, and if a DNA test comes back 100%, common sense would raise at least one red flag, wouldn't it?

The Quatrantids occur in early January. The Perseids arrive in mid August. The Geminids usually show up in mid December. So, to ask this man to go back to the scene of the accident on Christmas Day, wait for the meteorites to arrive, and then take care of business is asking an awful lot.

He'd freeze to death waiting for nothing to happen, wouldn't he?

It is also a known/proven fact that any city in any area of the world will lessen the chances of visibility.

You just don't see meteorites flashing by the night sky any more than you can accurately pick out all but two or three visible constellations, if that.

Lastly, he swallowed a meteorite shard.

Which would mean it entered his stomach, which would mean it'll eventually pass when he takes a shit.

So, the writers devised an extremely unlikely get-around-that-fact to annoy me.

I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in fairy tale dream stuff and a stale concept.

I will always hate this stupid ~pop-eye~ kiss scene

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Hotel King #Review

I finally finished the 32-episode Korean drama Hotel King today.

That's right, I typed 32-episodes.

It was another of their drawn-out-deliberately dramas based entirely on ratings and not because the story needed that much time to be told.

Still, it wasn't so bad, or at least not so bad or tiring that I even once felt compelled to skip episodes just to get the thing over & done with, which says something, I think.

 

It was about a guy who started out in a rough situation after being adopted by Americans and then left on the 'mean streets' to fend for himself (LOL).

By age 11, he is picked up by a Korean man who claims to know the boy's background, and that it is the boy's duty to get revenge against the father who abandoned him.

The father in question is heir to a hotel with world-class accommodations and a higher than usual 7-star rating. The man who found the boy is cruel, vindictive, and heartless -- especially to the boy who later becomes General Manager of this hotel. 

The handsome GM believes he is the son of the hotelier and sets out to destroy him when he meets his supposed 'sister', the real heiress to this 7-star, world-class hotel.  

Lee Da hae as Ah Mo ne falls instantly for our charmer with a troubled past while he continues to ignore, resist, and finally self-abuse the budding feelings he's having for what he believes to be his own sister.

Lee Da hae is beautiful. Stuning, even. Great face, hair, eyes, and body. Amazing, really, and a good actress as well.

Long story short, a third of this story had bits of purpose, but it was still a drawn-out Korean affair filled with too much unnecessary angst, pregnant pauses, and recap to truly satisfy my need to know or want of more.

All of the cast gave stellar performances, and while I appreciate the need for levity in a 32-episode nail-biter, sometimes it came at the cost of that tension build-up while at other times it was just inappropriate or misplaced within a scene.

The main reason I chose to watch this drama was because I came from having watched the first season of Roommate in which our handsome hero, Lee Dong wook as Cha Jae wan, stars as well.

During the first Roommate season, Dong wook was filming Hotel King, which worked to intrigue me about him and the drama.

I gave this one 4 out of 5 stars at aznv.tv, where the use of Crunchyroll subs made it nearly impossible to understand what was going on due to an illegible font.

I'm unable to duplicate the issue here, but it went something like this . . .  "I&*%ll have to see if it*(^s okay to go into detail*&%s about the problem%$#s we*%@re having with the font."

Dramafever has yet to upload any episodes, which makes me think they are reworking the Crunchyroll subs so that they are perfect and legible prior to being uploaded to their superior yet expensive website.

 

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Rip Off

someone stole my line. I should have OWNED it - LOL

at least I know Ken is a proper noun and needs to be capitalized :-)

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도망자: Plan B / Domangja: Plan B/ Fugitive: Plan B / Runaway: Plan B

Yes, this goes all the way back to 2010, but whatever.
And, I actually watched it back in early 2011, too. Still, you guys know I've been away for awhile, graduating from College and all.
I'm back now, and have a boat-load of catching up to do, so please bear with me.

For a majority of 2010, all of Korea and much of the outside world hyped this thing to the utmost.
And, why, you ask?
Why, because of it's leading man, of course.

Rain Ji hoon in Fugitive: Plan Bi

It was labeled as an Action, Romance, Comedy, and for 20 episodes, I'd have to say they were right.
Rain supplied the comedy, Daniel the romance, and the leading lady, well ... Rain provided a lot of the action, too. Not with the leading lady, but whatever.

I like her! Don't start throwing your hate mail my way, because she's one of my favorite Korean actresses.
In Plan: Bi, she is the daughter of some guy who holds the key to the whole reason behind this story being written. She sets out to find the truth, bumps into Rain's character, and for 19 of the 20 episodes, it's cat & mouse, give and take, hot and cold between them.

Daniel's character knew her first, though. He's a big-time, globe-trotting rich guy with a secretary always by his side who more resembles a masochistic playmate in waiting than a secretary.

She likes Danny, doesn't she? Wait ... maybe she really does take her job more serious than her heart? No, wait, she just looked at her boss that way again, didn't she?

Filler

The street cop NEARLY stole the show, and if I remember right, a lot of viewers felt the same way.

Lee Jung jin in Fugitive: Plan B

It wasn't meant as a grabber with lot's of neat eye-candy type drama, but it did star that way.

We got to see Rain half-naked a few times, but for me, it always leaves me craving more.  MUCH, much more, so I'm torn between wanting to see it happen and turning away with a sad pout, "Stop torturing me already!"

Actually, there is enough of his sinewy, tanned goodness to go around online, so it isn't all that agonizing to have to watch in whatever movie or drama he stars.

About the show: Rain's character is this outlandish, it'll never happen in a billion years street-wise punk who ends up, at a relatively YOUNG age, amassing a small fortune. At least enough to get him into this totally amazing office with beyond-technologies-wildest-dreams ... er, technology. It helps him to stay a step or three ahead of the enemy. And the cops.

He's kinda-sorta hired by the leading lady to help her find out why her parents had to die in a hotel back in Migu when people good and bad start popping back into his life, giving him the guarded notion that while he might not be interested in helping her, she did happen to bring along some unanswered questions in the form of these people from his past.

He accepts the offer to help.

Daniel's character vacillated throughout the show. You never knew one minute to the next which side he was really on, who he really cared for, and if he was going to end up being the one to die in a fiery crash first, or pull out one of those last-second change-up's that make you go WHOA.

Daniel Henney in :Plan Bi

His acting actually improved when this aired, but not by much. Stranger still, I watched him in the now defunct American series Three Rivers, and he was a completely different person. Which made me wonder if trying to act like a Korean in Korea versus trying to act like a Korean-American in America are two, separate issues.

In Three Rivers, there were no awkward moments, no uncertainty in his voice, and none of that completely cringe-worthy trying-too-hard stuff. He was just Daniel being a character in a medical drama that wasn't all that bad, except that it didn't fly and got cancelled.

Stranger still, when he appears in a Korean drama or movie, it's much better for him to just take up space as utterly pleasing decoration without speaking (cameo), and in the American drama, it was a sad shame that he didn't have a bigger role with more lines.

Even if he wasn't so amazing to look at, I'll always like him for the simple fact that he hails from Michigan - my fair State - and Carson City is hundreds of miles north of me. I've been there! Before I ever heard of him, though, and before he became a star, which means it's entirely possible that we saw one another, passed each other on a city sidewalk, or even dined in the same restaurant without, even realizing it. It's like that here in Michigan - a tourist destination with tons to see and do, and miles and miles to do it in.

Back to the story

Well, actually, I think I summed this one up already. An action drama filled with chases, shoot-outs, stand-offs, and even a bit of nail-biting instances that made you wonder what comes next.

Rain, I think, debuted as not only a funny man in this one, but also as a legit actor with something to prove.

He went that extra mile in Fugitive, so kudos to him for trying as hard as he did to prove that he isn't just another muscle-bound pop star turned actor.

I think it was worth the watch, and if you haven't seen this one yet, I suggest you fill a free time slot and get going.

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오! 마이 레이디 / Oh! My Lady

2010 SBS comedy/romance drama that starred Choi Si won as Sung Min woo (a Super Junior dude) as a stuck-up, popular actor who can't act, but because he can sing and has a tight bod, the fans adore him even if no one else does.

I kept getting a Daniel Henney vibe for the first, few episodes, which made me laugh (and wonder if he was chuckling about it, too) - but, then things began to get serious and I forgot all about said hunk who can't sing, is making an effort to improve his acting, and has a delicious bod.

Anyway, as all Korean dramas go, this is yet, another Cinderella fairytale thing where rich, snob GUY bumps into poor, forlorn girl who is supposedly unattractive, mousy, but with tons of character NO dude can ignore ... they meet, they quarrel, they meet again, quarrel some more ..............

She is a 30+ divorcee with a child she can't support anymore, so until she gets back on her feet, she dumps the daughter off at no-account ex-husbands place and ventures forth into the world of (get this) Hallyu.

She had a rich friend doctor (married, but we never see her husband - as usual), who does what she can to help out.

She can't, even find work through a temp agency, but SOMEHOW, she winds up at the office of an uppity man obsessed with (of all things) musicals.

He hasn't had any success over the years and is heavily in debt, but that hasn't stopped him from continuing to try, so if she wants to work there, she has to get mega-star Min woo to be the lead in his latest play.

"Sure, no problem!"

See, a chance encounter before this dream job came about WITH aforementioned actor meant that she could easily slip inside his hotel room, hand over the contract, and insist that he sign so she can get her daughter back.

(She was his cleaning lady for an entire, twenty minutes when something came up and she had to run out - leaving an iron on a shirt he intended to wear to an autograph session that afternoon).

She also knows that he has a HUGE, Korean actor secret to hide, so she holds that one over his head, forcing him to give in via blackmail.

In exchange for his services, he demands that she return as his housemaid and take full responsibility for the HUGE Korean actor secret so that he can carry on with his flamboyant lifestyle - no worries.

She agrees, and for a ton of episodes we watch as they slowly start to acquire feelings for one another yet hold them back for such & such reasons until the very end, when all hell breaks loose, the secret is out, and Min woo falls from grace.

Personally, I can't imagine being allowed to act the way Korean fans do.

They're the ones who put these guys up on pedestals NO ONE other than God can justify, and yet when their idol does something 'human', they get all pissy and throw eggs in complete and understandable, mature fashion.

HER attitude, though, prevented me from tuning out with a loud groan, and some of her sentiment rang true of my own ~ which ended up feeling kinda creepy, I must say.

Yes, the actor is partially responsible since he signs contracts that include clauses about 'behavior' and 'norm' being just this side of impossible to pull off, but there you go ~ I mean, is it really such a wonder when 'humans' who pretend to be 'gods' end up falling from grace?

Silly, silly garbage.

What saved this one for me was Choi Si won and his beautiful-ness ^^ to include a great head of hair, sexy eyes, a slammin' bod, and interesting acting ability.

I know I've said this before about other actors, but I can't help myself sometimes, and this was one of them ... when I first saw him on the screen, he gave off a Takeshi Kaneshiro vibe like you wouldn't BELIEVE!

The lead actress (Chae rim as Yoon Gae hwa) did a great job, too, as did her no-account ex, the stuffy man who strove for perfection in the performing arts department, and even Min woo's Kkangpae agent.

The ratings for this over there weren't, too shabby, either, and a majority of the votes at aznv.tv gave it a 5.

I reserved the coveted, fifth star on account of the fact I'm sick & tired of the same-old, same-old from Korea, and I want something new, something different, something exciting and so, totally unexpected that it knocks me off my feet!

And, I want So Ji sub to be the leading man starring alongside Kim Nam jin, too.

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내 사랑 팥쥐 / Nae Sarang Patjwi

My Love Patzzi

2002 MBC Drama that starred Kim Rae won as Kim Hyun sung, a young zoologist hopeful working the summer at the American equivalent of a theme park that also has a zoo and banquet facilities.

He meets a girl who started work there after losing a teaching position at a local pre-school, and from there the sparks begin to fly.

Yes, it's an oldie, so you can expect there to be a love triangle, unnatural hatred among 'friends', and the ubiquitous bitch there to spoil things until the last, few frames of the show.

Oh, and there is even the medical malady thrown in the mix as well.

According to someone at wiki-drama:

"Patjwi (pat-jwi) is the name of a Korean folk tale character. It is also romanized as Patji and Patzzi."

According to Dictionary.com:

pat·sy[pat-see] –noun, plural -sies. Slang.
1. a person who is easily swindled, deceived, coerced, persuaded, etc.; sucker.
2. a person upon whom the blame for something falls; scapegoat; fall guy.
3. a person who is the object of a joke, ridicule, or the like.

There is no, such word as patzzi in the English language, so I'd have to read up on Korean folklore to get the message, unless  that's someone's weird way of spelling what the English term is, who knows.

Jang Na ra as Yang Song yi is that 'patsy' in this drama since it's her 'friend' who constantly sets her up for the latest fall.

Kim Jae won as Kang Seung joon is the son of the park owner (naturally) - and, naturally, he falls for our Song yi instead of for the rich, pretty girl (Hong Eun hee as Eun Hee won) who hates Song yi for whatever reason.

Both girls knew Hyun sung in elementary school, and they both had a crush on him (as did all the other, little girls at the school), and when Hee won tells Song yi to go for it, she does so with vigor when Hee won suddenly butts in and takes him away ~ thus the constant rift between the now sworn enemies.

Now that they're adults, Hee won thinks that Hyun sung, while handsome and dashing, isn't cut out to be her likely mate since he's not going anywhere financially - but, Hyun sung still thinks that Song yi is a jerk and he continues to pursue the snobby chick while putting down Song yi.

Now, to finally exact her revenge on Hee won, Song yi gets it in her head to muck up the works inside a brand new parade train in the hopes that Hee won will be blamed.

Bad turns to worse when that train is taken for an early spin by the park owner's son, the electric works start to spark and then smoke - and then the whole, expensive machine is ablaze.

Stunned but valiant, Song yi rushes to the aid of the unconscious rich guy, drags him out of the flames, and when he finally opens his eyes, she begs him to forgive her before running away.

Seung joon falls for Song yi, but guilt prevents her from returning the favor just then, and when Hyun sung finds out what a bitch Hee won is, he turns his attention toward Song yi while Hee won does whatever it takes to get Song yi out of the picture so she'll have a clear shot at Seung joon.

For a majority of the ten episodes, we watch as Hee won works her evil magic on Song yi, Song yi falls for Seung joon at about the same time our Hyun sung falls for her, and then when Seung joon learns the truth about the train debacle, it's tissue time for the viewer.

The ending received mixed reviews at aznv.tv, and I think I know why, but it wasn't as bad as some led me to believe, that's for sure.

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신입사원 / Shin-ip Sa-won

Super Rookie

2005 Korean Drama that starred Eric Moon as Kang ho, the super rookie who lands a job at world-class LK Corporation despite his slacker mentality and the simple but complex fact that he scored a big, fat ZERO on the entrance exam.

A computer glitch no one at the prestigious corporation wants to admit to, much less take the blame for or let the secret be told for the whole world to hear forces the big-wigs to take Kang ho in and hide him away in an unused office until things calm down or Kang ho decides to walk.

Unfortunately for them (or maybe not) Kang ho isn't the type to just sit by idly and let the world pass him by even if he is a slacker!

He's already met with some interesting characters before landing the to-die-for position in the Administration department, and one of them is a mousy chick he caught trying to throw her heartbroken ass off a bridge after being dumped by her boyfriend - Kang ho's old elementary school chum.

Oh Ji ho plays Park Bong sam; a dashing but ruthless character hired by LK through their up & coming prodigy program after having paid for his overseas education and all.

Oh is full of himself and latches onto the daughter of the LK Corp owner, so it seems obvious to him he has to get rid of old baggage (namely his school chums who didn't, quite make it in high society, and the mousy chick working as a temp at the same corporation).

Suh Hyun ah (Ye So yeon) is beautiful in every sense of the word; even when she's wearing Clark Kent glasses and ahjuma ankle socks to go along with the drab, tan uniform required of all temps at the Corporation (so as to distinguish themselves from the upper crust, no doubt).

(An aside ~ I watch Tokyo Fashion Express on a nightly basis, and it never fails to make me giggle when, at the end of almost every episode, they bother to show off the 'latest trends' in office/school uniforms - even going so far as to claim that some students/workers try to get in based on said uniform.

um ~ LOL!)

As the show went on, she did begin to unshed the mouse and transform into a lovely swan, getting to wear chic garb instead - but by the last, few frames some office hags put their fat feet down and Hyun ah was forced to don the drab uniform again.

Anyway - this is the story about a go-nowhere dude pushing 30 who ends up working at this world-renown firm because of a computer malfunction, and instead of letting the man stomp on him, Kang ho takes things in stride while also managing to thwart one disaster after another without the aid of brains, experience, or even foresight.

He's simply 'the man' and has amazing connections is all.

He's a happy-go-lucky type who always manages to land on his feet despite himself, and to the utter consternation of Bong sam and those in power at LK.

He's got the hots for Hyun ah, who is taking her time getting over Bong sam, who has since been dumped by the upper-class bitch so she can pursue Kang ho.

There was a lot of 'English' in this drama, and as a Linguistics/English major, I found myself shaking my head and groaning a lot to say the least.

They even made it a point to poke fun at the sorely lacking skills of the educators over there, who managed to drop the ball in that regard (though I still can't figure out why or even how, other than they use native-born Koreans to teach English, and THAT won't work).

Anyway, between Kang ho saving the day, getting into scraps with Bong sam, and trying to win Hyun ah's heart, we have a lot of inter-office BS going on to include collusion, insider trading, espionage, and moonlighting to mess things up even more.

Honestly, by the end of this MARVELOUS drama, I had to ask myself why ANYONE, let alone Kang ho, would want or even desire to work at such a place (madhouse is more like it, but whatever).

Personally, I'd give a rat's ass if they paid me a billion bucks a year to work there, the answer would undoubtedly be N.O. loud & clear, thank you very much.

These shows continue to give me a twisted, if not completely unrealistic view of what life is REALLY like over there - but anymore, I'm not so sure they are straying that far from the truth now.

Everyone hates everyone else, no one wants to see anyone succeed, they've all got a massive chip on their shoulder, and no one knows how to be nice or say a kind word to their kin, much less a stranger on the bus or beside them at the corner pojangmacha.

I would work my fingers to the bone day in and day out, til late at night and the ruination of my marriage for THAT?

If it had been me in Hyun ah's place, I'd have told everyone there to kiss my big, fat, white ass five HOURS after being hired and not wait five, long years of being trampled on, overlooked, and abused by pompous jerks at the top, but that's just me.

That aside, she lived above the coolest, run-down bar in all of Seoul, with two of the cutest, if not unbelievable bar maids in all of Korea.

Better still, the Yakuza doing all of Miyazaki's bidding was none other than Kim Hun goo from the earlier and BETTER days of 2 Days and 1 Night!

She also had a bad case of zits atop her forehead while the guy mucking up the works for everyone at the Corporation had a herpes outbreak that couldn't be denied.

Kang ho's younger brother (Suh Dong won as Kang min); the Bruce Lee wannabe, almost stole the show, he was that funny.

Also gave me a bad case of the munchies every night I watched, until I began to crave chicken wings since Kang ho and his educated but unemployed buddy tended to eat them every time they got together to bitch at one another out of spite.

How many chicken bones DID he chuck at Kang ho in the course of this drama, anyhow?

(do they REALLY talk with their mouths full over there?)

AND!

For the first time EVER, I actually hated Oh Ji ho's character start to finish, and I never thought that would ever happen, either.

As for the star of the the show, I still don't know what to think - I know he's the lead singer for one of my favorite, KPop bands, and at that time he had a mighty fine head of hair - but, I just, don't know how I feel about him in the love-interest category.

Let's just say he isn't bad and leave it at that.

He could certainly pass for Rain's older brother if they every decide to put those two together in a movie or drama!

It might not sound like it, but the longer that I watched this drama, the more involved that I became until I found myself staying up til WAY past my bedtime just to find out what would happen next.

LOVED it, and I think you will, too, if you haven't watched yet.

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Haven't Abandoned Ship!

It isn't that I stopped blogging, and for awhile, I was actually juggling three dramas at once, which kept me busy compiling notes for my latest blogs when suddenly ... aznv.tv just went kaflooy on me.

By kaflooy, I mean ... the site just, stopped working.

There are certain files I am able to open, but even those tend to up & quit a few minutes in or sooner.

aznv.tv is still there, they are still uploading material, and I have no trouble accessing the main page, but no matter what file I click on, it will either not load at all, or like I mentioned, it starts and then freezes or 'ffft' disappears into thin air.

To say I'm pissed off about it is putting it way beyond mildly, and even though some of you might think I'm a raving b*tch who hates everything, this was the FIRST TIME that frustration led to my writing to the 'so-called' devs to ask what was going on.

Ironic or not, they have had advertised on their main page for weeks now a POLL asking us to please take the time to fill out the (lengthy) questionaire about what would help to make aznv.tv better - and naturally, MY list of complaints aren't jiving with the list of perks they offer in the form of 'what would you prefer we do' questions in the poll.

Anyway, in response to my 'what the hell is going on?' query, I received replies more snarky, smart-ass, and unhelpful than anything you've ever read here - but wit is something I have plenty of, and the b*st*rd whom I will presume to be a hacker and not someone who actually runs the show received more than enough from me in reply.

Funny thing was, the last thing he said to me about why I was having such a hard time enjoying my movies & dramas at their website was that '...losers like me who don't pay for the service have no right to complain'.

I know, right? BIG, gaping hole for me to jump through and grab the little sh*t by the throat, eh?

"I see," began my last response. "So, you're suggesting I pay someone as belligerent and rude as you are so that I can experience hangs, freezes, or nothing at all? Correct me if I'm wrong, but you're asking me to fork over hard-earned money for something that is broken, and this makes me a thousand times smarter than you are since I refuse to go along with the idiotic plan."

Okay, so I was on episode 48 of Happiness in the Wind (on, actually, but why quibble at this point?), otherwise known as "A Nice Day for the Wind to Blow" (literal, and more stupid) - but, lawdy the man-candy in this one!

It's one of those predictable, Saturday afternoon things that take 178 half-hour episodes to explain, but even without seeing the last episode, I'll bet everything works out just fine in the end.

Believe it or not, I started watching Fugitive: Plan B back in October, and even before aznv.tv decided to take a nose-dive on me, their uploads were sub par, the timing was off in nearly every episode, and it took WEEKS for each to be uploaded. I made it as far as 14 when the website took a sh*t, and I haven't found anywhere else that has better, more stable videos, either.

'Mary Stayed Out All Night' (or, "Marry Me, Mary!") has so, much potential, it isn't funny, but alas, I never made it through the first episode thanks to aznv.tv, and I know it is available on YouTube, but that is a last-resort for me since you know how I feel about that ten-minute cut-off thingy that drives me nuts and makes me tune out regardless of the eye-candy factor, the storyline that sucks me in, or what-have-you.

I can't, even watch anymore Two Days, One Night or Let's Go Dream Team! now, even though aznv.tv continues to send me e-mail updates about both TV shows from Korea - but, if I can't watch it there, why are they bothering?

Yes, I updated winamp, I deleted and reuploaded vlc, and even tried using an older version of both video players, but to no effect whatsoever.

I tried watching them on campus, on a laptop, and at someone else's house, and still NOTHING.

I miss my daily dose of unrealistic, campy silliness stuffed with gorgeous guys, stupid chicks, and hilarious dialogue!

I will say, though, the one thing that sticks out more than anything else now that I have more time to dwell on past watches, and the simple fact that my mom is as addicted to black & white movies on TCM than I am to Asian Drama, is that I believe the Korean script writers WATCH them old movies and get their ideas from them.

Koreans canNOT be that backwoods, that dark-age to make me believe they think, act, and even talk like they did over here back in the 1930's and 1940's - yet, the resemblances between them old movies and the dramas I watch today are uncanny if you ask me.

So, the Japanese are on par with 1950's America, and Koreans are at the same level as pre-post WWII America.

Go figure.

Now, if I could only figure out some way to get aznv.tv into the twenty-first century ELECTRONICS-wise, that'd be awesome.

UPGRADE YOUR DANG SERVERS ALREADY!

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Still, Marry Me / 아직도 결혼하고 싶은 여자 / Ajikdo Gyeolhonhago Shipeun Yeoja

2010 MBC winner that stars Park Jin Hee, Uhm Ji Won, Wang Bit Na, Kim Bum, Choi Chul Ho, and Lee Pil Mo to name a few.

Honestly, I'm really, REALLY glad to know that Pil mo has begun to make positive headway since Here Comes Ajumma - and I'm even more thrilled by the fact that Oppa Bum is beginning to have a positive affect on me.

Still, Marry Me is about a 34 going-on 35 female who works as a news reporter for a television station in Seoul.
While still in college, her heart was torn between a huge career move and marriage: she chose the career.
Later, (at the beginning of the drama, actually) we see her gushing over a handsome man who proposes marriage, and she accepts in the fashion of a blushing, Asian twenty-something.
Naturally, life then smacks her in the face in a most-interesting way, and for the next, fifteen episodes of this 16-episode drama, we watch while she and two of her closest friends go through a series of do's & don'ts in the convoluted world of romance.




Park Jin hie is Lee Sin yeong, the star and 35-yr-old news reporter.
Her best friend is Kim Bu gi (Wang Bit na), a cool chick with a terrific head on her shoulders and enough money to keep her self-sufficient enough not to need a man.
They both bump into Jeong Da jeong (Uhm Ji won), a professional translator working for the government who by outward appearances seems pulled together and refined when in reality, she's actually a very flaky female with low self-esteem who is hell-bent on marriage.

All, three ladies have been burned by love and tend to believe they have the answers to life's many and complex issues.
Bu gi, though, happens to be the only one of the three who actually knows what is going on, why it is happening, and what the other two need to do in order to be happy.

Okay, so here we go:

Sin yeong delves back into her work with full-force when she bumps into a young musician, Ha Min jae (Kim Bum).
She's trying to record a program outside the university and he's playing his guitar too loud, so she marches up to his recording studio and proceeds to cut the cord of his amp.
No, she didn't die because this is make-believe drama and not real life, so no sizzling electrocution fx, sorry!
Anyway, she marches back outside and records her program for the studio and that is that.

Later, her old flame returns (Lee Pil mo as Yun Sang-woo) to inform her of his impending marriage, and while she is ready to rip out his heart, he insists with a smile that she show up at the wedding hall on his big day.
Sang woo is a pilot who travels the world, and it was great that he was able to provide comic relief while also having to cast an aura of dramatic flair once in awhile.
He's awesome.

So, Sin yeong ends up with this facial malady from working too hard and has to go to the hospital for a cure.



Doc (Choi Cheol ho as Na Ban seok) just happens to be a close friend and roomy of Min jae (imagine that!).
Ban seok falls for Sin yeong right away, but she is oblivious at the start.
Then, she thinks about getting serious with him, but Sang woo keeps popping in and out of her life to make things difficult for her.

She also keeps bumping into Min jae at the studio, which doesn't help matters any.
Min jae is also crazy about Sin yeong, and he starts to go out of his way to make a positive but lasting impression on her hardening heart.

OMG ~ what he did for her at the studio one night was amAzing --- and I know my heart wasn't the only one to flutter unceasingly as I watched it unfold, either.

LOVE these boots!

Sin yeong doesn't want anything to do with Min jae because of their ten-year age difference.
Of course, he cares less about such a silly matter and continues to try and win over her reluctant heart.
She now has three, hot dudes on her aging ass, yet she can't forget about Sang woo and what happened between them to destroy her hopes for a happy future.
She tries to go out with Ban seok, but that never, really materializes.

Blessed relief comes when her goofy friend, Da jeong, meets Ban seok, and then it's love at first sight all over again for the flighty doc.

Just as Sin yeong begins to let go of her past and grow more interested in Min jae, poor Sang woo bumps into a most beautiful woman and his previous generalizations about age and love start to fade away.




Dude gets down to business right away - ;-)


(my kinda guy)

Choi Sang-mi (Park Ji yeong) is nearer to my age and quite a breathtaking beauty in this drama, too!


Its no wonder our heartbroken Sang woo fell so hopelessly in love upon first glimpse

She's the wife of a wealthy man who constantly has affairs, (I know - wtf?), but we learn later that she got pregnant at age 20 and had to get married, so naturally, the relationship was doomed from the start (right?).

That makes Sang mi 45, Sang woo 35, and Sin yeong 35, Min jae 25.

Ar ra so?

YES!

Sang mi gave birth to Min jae.

That means, if she continues to mess around with Sang woo, Sang woo would be Sin yeong's father-in-law if she continues to mess around with Min jae.

Is this cool, or what?

Here's how it comes to a dramatic climax in the show:



SO cute how Sang woo is doggedly determined to keep a relationship with Sang mi going and is damning the consequences by insisting on such a meeting.

Min jae is devastated at first, and now, instead of having Sang woo constantly tell him to butt out and leave old lady Sin yeong alone, Min jae is now butting in and warning Sang woo to stay the hell away from his omanee, Sang mi.

The only relationship that is making any headway thus far is that between Doc and the translator ---but, as soon as they say 'I Do', the party is suddenly over and Ban seok's disapproving family barge in to make their newlywed lives miserable until Da jeong ends up contemplating divorce.

Without having checked the data, I know this script had to be written by a woman and not a man.
The candle-lit hallway scene alone screamed FEMALE IMAGINATION!

However,

the clincher for me came when Ban seok shyly suggested to Da jeong that she spend the night with him and at first she's like, "YES!", but then an horrific memory about her having decided to wear a slip with a hole in the side comes to mind and she ends up thinking of a way to back out without chasing the horny guy away.

At that point in the drama, I couldn't help but to imagine every one of the male actors who read that part in the script pausing to breathe, "Seriously?!"

Sheer brilliance, and something only a woman could have conceived to have occur in actuality or fiction.

I highly suggest this drama and have even linked the title to the aznv.tv website for your convenience.

Now, on to the images I captured while watching this wonderful show.

Ok - is the black thing clinging to the curtain a giant bug??

I'm sorry it's blurry - but as an amateur photographer, I would kill for the op to be there during the holidays!

I don't know why, but this wallpaper really appealed to me

and --- I want this lamp!

Now for my Kim Bum pics:















I think I've decided that his ability to portray the suave, dashing dude with a whole lot a cool is what sucked me in and made me become more interested.
He's still got a baby face to work on, but oh well.

no---I just thought he looked mighty fine here

Sang mi shows up unexpectedly at Sin yeong's place while Min jae is living there

Min jae's idea of a joke - though not the least, bit funny - yet, he manages to pull off the gray somehow

the



end

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