Emergency Couple

Romanization: Eunggeubnamnyeo
Hangul: 응급남녀
Genre: Medical, Romance
Network: tvN
Episodes: 21
Release Date: 2014 -- Jan - April

Cast

Plot

Another Cinderella story about an average girl who meets a wealthy guy from a family of doctors and they fall for each other, go against his mother's wishes, and elope. A year later, they are divorced, and six years later, they bump into one another inside the ER at a University hospital, where they'll both have to learn how to work together as interns. ~me

The Message

This was a good drama despite the worn-out and abused plot line about a mousy chick meeting a handsome prince, they fall in love and elope against his domineering mother's wishes and so are made to 'suffer' as a result of that decision.

"They were too young" and "It wasn't fate" along with "Immature" kept cropping up in the course of this show to, I guess, remind us all that marriage is only for those who are over 30, utterly too mature for their own good, and have received the stamp of approval from their elders.

Otherwise, you're effed.

Got it?

Falling in love and being impulsive are no-no's, too.

So, here's the deal, people.

If you just wait until the stars align themselves correctly, have that final digit securely in place in your bank account, and you honestly can't figure out what else you're supposed to do in life . . . THEN it's time to get married.

If you get pregnant, you've blown the whole deal and the marriage won't work.

If you're the impetuous sort who can't wait for all of those other extraneous issues to fall into place, then you're screwed and the marriage is doomed.

If you freaking fall in LOVE . . . you're doomed.

Marriage isn't about love, people! It's about two like-minded maturey's opening a joint bank account to help the economy, being able to wear name-brand labels with some class, and PLANNING that one (maybe two) child somewhere down the line.

It's a business merger and has nothing to do with emotion, heart, or something as reckless and stupid as love.

Unless you're both super rich, and then it doesn't matter because $$$ happens to be the cure for whatever ails you (and a marriage).

Are we all good on this one now?

(queue the needle scratching the lp here)

This was actually a mixed-bag type drama with mixed messages being dropped at random, so I guess we can take away from it whatever we damn well please.

There were Jin hee (Song Ji hyo) and Chang min (Choi Jin hyuk) being impetuous and too young (lol) ending in disaster, but we also met a mature couple just starting out on the road to marital bliss when things start going south for them (and THEN we're led to believe they are too young).

Choi Yeo jin

There was the knock-out single chick, Sim Ji hye (Choi Yeo jin) with more than just her act being pulled together as a doctor with American ties to everything who just happened to have a child OUT OF wedlock, and that despite her being so pulled-together, she still made an impulsive decision that ended badly.

We also have the hard-nosed ER Chief (Pil mo) who grew up in a broken home and came to the conclusion that anyone who divorces is a piece of crap not worth an ounce of anyone's time.

Chief eventually discovers just how jaded and IMMATURE that kind of thinking actually turns out to be, though.

Pil mo, Lee

Then we have the even more of a knock-out beauty queen, Han A reum (Clara), from a wealthy background with everything going for her in the Korean box-set way of thinking: beauty, body, brains, bank account, who ends up being blown off by Chang min and ends up falling for a no-name brand kind of a guy who flip-flops about his career choice until the last second, and then he takes off for Migu -- the land of milk & honey -- to further his new career choice.

Clara

And, let's not forget Chang min's omanee, shall we? The one who worked so hard at breaking up her son's marriage so that he would turn around and do everything her way. You know the drill, right?

Park Jun keum as Yoon Sung sook

Anymore, when I see this woman in the line-up, I get this creepy chill running slowly up my spine.

And, I never, EVER expect for her to do a 180 at any time in the course of events, either.

Only, this time, I was wrong -- again!

Getting back to the point: Mrs. Chang min turns out to be someone of lesser value than she leads us to believe, and her marriage is much worse than her son could ever hope to aspire to as well.

Chang min's parents marriage and their treatment of one another kind of mirrored that of his 1-year stint with Jin hee.

Like I said, there were tons of mixed signals taking place in this one.

Which might have something to do with why I enjoyed it so much, and why it needed a 21st episode for the hometown crew.

Stellar casting, great chemistry, and a believable plot probably worked to make this a success, too.

Jin hee's younger sister, Jin ae (Jeon Soo-Jin), ran away from home, bar-hops as a singer to make money, and has a baby out of wedlock -- though we later learn that the two are actually married.

baby Gook

This kid cracked me up.  Talk about great acting! lol

Jin ae is supposed to be the quintessential loser by Korean standards, no college education, no big corp job, and married to a guy who doesn't resemble a Ken doll in any way, shape, or form, and yet she turned out to be the most level-headed and down-to-earth of the lot, so go figure.

Maybe that was because she didn't have money on the mind and didn't let it rule her, but I could be wrong.

She followed her dream, doesn't ignore her heart, and works things out by delegation and communication -- two keys to any happy relationship if you ask me.

Yes, she leaned on her omanee and noona, but the mention of  'family' came up enough times to make us see that Jin ae had the right idea going forward.

I really liked her, her acting wasn't fake, and she's very pretty even if she did have dyed blond hair.

Jeon Soo jin

The Love Story

Ubiquitous.

Cinderella.

Au tu kae?

Mousy chick fumbles her way out of disaster and lands at the feet of not one but two hot, eligible bachelors -- both with great hair, tight bods, and impressive incomes.

One is silver spoon and the other is self-made, but both are highly prized for their monetary status.

So now more disaster ensues, making her look stupid and weak at every turn while the dudes just keep moving forward and having accolades bestowed upon them by adoring fans.

But, we must remember that it is her job to find herself.

She needs to freaking find herself if she ever hopes to become a human being with value, and THEN she can be worthy of  'the man'.

And, as far as I'm concerned, she chose the wrong one.

OR! My guy choice escaped with his life.

the macho stand-off

The Marriage Thing

It's never easy to make a call on any private matter involving people we're not intimate with, much less close friends and relatives.

9 times out of 10, we're usually wrong anyway because we don't know everything and aren't privy to all of the details.

Still, and regardless of age or financial status, you either have integrity or you don't, and you are raised with values/morals or you aren't.

And, even if you are and do have those things, if you didn't pick a partner who shares them, you can bet things will get dicey from time to time.

My mother subscribes to Reminisce Magazine, and it is filled with old-school everything, including reader articles about everything from their first car to their first date to their How I Met Your Mother stories.

The latter fascinates me most as a writer of romance, and so I read those stories and try to learn from them.

In every single instance of a couple married prior to 1960, the story is basically the same thing: they met, fell in love, tied the knot, and lived together til death.

Startlingly, most of those marriages had whirlwind romances that lasted anywhere from six weeks to a surprising six DAYS before they said I Do.

And, it worked.

Because the goal in life back then was to settle down, raise a family, and then take care of one another in old age.

Money, looks, and material things weren't involved.

So, when I started to watch Emergency Couple and saw them running slo-mo to the church, being wed, and then having a horrendous fight that led to their separation, it didn't surprise me any.

Money and worth were at the core of that argument, so big surprise!

What bugged me much more than the superficial aspect of the relationship was that Chang min suddenly saw Jin hee as a human being because she had a job.

A job.

Um.

Yeah.

Jin hee had a job before she met Chang min, but for some weird reason, once she said I Do, she couldn't find a job anywhere? No one wanted to hire her? She didn't get pregnant, so, what was the issue?

The script writers tried to get around that little bit of WTF by having Chang min argue that he wasn't after Jin hee because she had become an MD, but for me it was too little too late.

That train had left the station far too long ago for me to suddenly be on board.

So, again, the script writers decide to toss another bone out there to get me to believe that Jin hee is making the right decision after everything she's been through by instigating the family values thing.

A devastating loss is all it takes for Jin hee to get her head on straight and realize that she 'needs to do this' as a woman.

*sigh*

after running a few flights of stairs, but whatever

It didn't work out or end the way that I had hoped it would, and I think that is part of the appeal of Emergency Couple.

The unexpected-ness and plot twists worked.

So, I'm left with sadness and doubt about Chief's happiness, and a ton of pictures you're welcome to use as desktop wallpaper.

Romance Gone Wrong

made me squeal and cry

now he knows

Yeppeun Stuff

she's cute, and I like the orenji lipstick

want to eat here

 

cool bar decor

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Infinite Power

Title: 무한동력 / Moohandongryeok
Genre: Romance, drama, family
Format: Web drama
Original Webtoon: Infinite Power by Joo Ho min (주호민)
Episodes: 6
Networks: Naver TV Cast, Daum TV Pot
Broadcast period: 2013, Nov

Cast

• Im Seul ong as Jang Sun jae
• Kim Seul gi as Kim Sol
• Ahn Nae sang as Han Won shik
• Choi Hyo jong (최효종) as Jin Ki han
• Woo Hee (우희) as Han Soo ja
• Gong Myung as Han Soo dong

Synopsis 

A drama about unemployed Jang Sun Jae, whose goal is to get employed at a large corporation, belatedly finding his hopes and dreams by encountering Han Won Shik, the owner of a boarding house. Meanwhile, Kim Sol is a girl who works at a nail salon. She lives in the same boarding house as Jang Sun Jae who she gets involved in a romance with. ~DramaWiki

Review

I really like these mini-series web dramas that run approximately fifteen minutes each and usually star some big-name ATM actors/musicians/models.

This one, though, wasn't all that great, but it wasn't horrible, either.

A slow-paced, sweet story about a man and his dream of creating infinite power to replace fossil fuels.

He runs a boarding house -- or, rather, his high-school aged daughter does while his younger son remains glued to his headphones and doesn't say much.

At the start of the brief story, we meet Sun jae as he's being rejected at another job interview. He's asked to reflect on it and so heads just outside the big city to the boarding house and takes some time off to do that reflecting.

His only goal has been to work in a large corporation to be able to put food on the table, and as a high schooler, he was the most popular, best looking, and voted most likely to succeed.

At the boarding house, Sun jae meets Kim Sol, a young girl with her own life issues who currently works hard and for long hours at a nail shop owned by her friend. The two meet a few times and discuss their problems while drinking a few beers or some soju.

He's tall and handsome, so she likes him right away, but with Sun jae, one can never be too sure what he's thinking or feeling . . . sometimes if he's even breathing, he's that laid-back.

Heck, the dude even shuffles instead of actually walking with any amount of purpose.

The 2 a.m. hotty, Im Seul ong, is adorable with that baby face of his, a cheesy grin, those winsome eyes, and as mentioned already, the tall, strapping male appeal that lends itself so effortlessly to a natural charm.

There is a happy ending for everyone at the boarding house.

A short, sweet drama to be watched in less time than it would take to make popcorn and sit down to enjoy it, but still worth watching anyway.

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You Are All Surrounded

You're All Surrounded

Title: 너희들은 포위됐다 / Neoheedeuleun Powidwaessda
Genre: Action, comedy, romance
Episodes: 20
Network: SBS
Broadcast: 2014 - May to July

 Cast

Synopsis

Four newly recruited policemen in their 20s have never thought about becoming detectives, but end up entering the violent crimes unit at the Gangnam police station. The drama will follow their journey to become good detectives. ~~ Koreandrama.com

Review

Well, for one thing, this wasn't an awful production, and for another, we got to stare at a darker, slightly more mature Lee Seung gi for 20 episodes.

However, it's tough to look beyond the slacker writing and mish-mosh second-half and come away feeling great about having watched this one.

It's been awhile since I did the as-they're-released watch, and I actually had to go back to some of the videos for a refresher course in order to write this blog post.

Which says something about the memorable moments factor (the script) of this drama.

For the first few episodes, we're introduced to early-age and then at-the-moment character leads and how they tie in for the eventual climax, which usually occurs toward the latter half of Episode 19 or the middle of episode 20.

We got right away how the two leads (love interests) met and developed their lopsided love affair with him being interested and her being flighty start to finish, but this is a crime drama more than it is a romance.

Something horrible happens to our nerdy, uptight Eun Dae koo that throws him into a vengeful, dark persona for the rest of his days. He seeks vengeance by growing up to become a cop and joining the force in Gangnam.

This threw me, because he isn't from Seoul, and Seoul isn't where the horrible incidents took place, but I guess I'm not supposed to think or worry about that bit of fact.

So, in present day, the four rookies are thrown together and end up under the care and disinterest of a grizzled veteran on the force (Seo Pan seok) and his milquetoast side-kick (Lee Eung do); a fat guy with a wife and six+ children at home.

Dae koo behaved far more elusive than I expected (or wanted).

I also had to believe that Soo sun cared only about becoming the best cop this side of Seoul, and that nothing and no one was going to prevent that from happening . . . because that is something EVERY drama and EVERY novel touts as being right, fair, and expected of today's woman.

**sigh**

In the first few episodes, it was great to have these four enter another incident and practice their crime-solving skills. They are four unique characters with their own special abilities who don't get along all that well together yet end up making a crackerjack TEAM when push comes to shove.

In-between these great situations, we are led down a slow and repetitive path toward the solving of that case from the past, and the turtle pace at which we discover these truths becomes annoying.

How the relationships are tied together, what ones involvement actually is in that earlier case, and who some of the aside characters actually are instead of making us believe something false for 12 or even 18 of the 20 episodes.

Then the episode capers just stopped coming, and the story concentrated solely on the decades-old case from Dae koo and Soo sun's past.

Repetition ensues, with a few more glimpses into Pan seok's past and his tie-in with that case.

Dae koo's character was too hard-ass for me to believe he was capable of falling in love with anyone besides his late mother. The passion for revenge consumed him to the point where he became this one-dimensional character with a one-track mind and nothing or no one would stand in his way.

So, the aside romance aspects fell on deaf ears for me.

But! There were enough cute and humorous instances to make me want to keep watching just to find out how it all turns out for everyone.

It was too much information about too many aside characters and too little information about what we really needed and wanted to know for my taste.

My Take

If you're going to delve into the depths of an aside character, you need to see it through to the end before moving on to someone else and not dabble here and there without really coming to any conclusions at all.

And, speaking of carrot dangling: when your viewer figures out the answers before they're revealed, then you know you're doing something wrong.

Timing is key, I think, and this drama starred a few actors I'd watched in other dramas prior to watching You're All Surrounded, which cast a strange, biased effect on my feelings for them in this drama.

Go Ara starred in Answer Me, 1994 -- perhaps the worst of the Answer Me series -- so, it was tough trying to be objective about her here.

Seo Yi sook was in Unkind Women, my introduction to her, and BOY was she ever the quintessential Korean Hag in that one. Here, she's a department head inside the police and a mentor to Dae koo, but about mid-way through the story, we're led to believe she's batting for the wrong team.

Cha Seung won came to me via The Greatest Love, City Hall, and the episodes of Athena that I watched, but even in You're All Surrounded, he still has a jarring presence, doesn't he?

So unlike Korean stereotype and yet full-blooded Korean with all of the Korean-like mentality and mannerisms.

He's a true conundrum in the human spectrum of things, and I can't honestly say whether I like or hate him, can tolerate or cannot abide by him, think he's hot or not, etc.

Dude takes some getting used to, that's for sure.

Finally, there is the main (and only) reason why I watched this drama clean through despite its flaws: Lee Seung gi.

And, I warned myself going in that it wouldn't be fair to compare his acting ability with the last drama we saw him in, Nine-Tail Fox.

Trouble is, that's asking a bit too much of a fan, right?

The expectation bar was raised way, too high after that one for me not to want to see him in anything, but to see him elevated to the next level of acting ability and quality product.

Unfortunately, for me, You're All Surrounded was pure hype because he starred in it, and very little in the way of compelling substance.

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Time Taxi

Romaji: Suteki na Sen TAXI
Genre: Human, Slice of Life
Episodes: 10
Viewership ratings: 9.4%
Broadcast network: Fuji TV / KTV
Broadcast period: 2014, Oct to Dec

 

Cast

Takenouchi Yutaka as Eda Wakare, taxi driver, Cafe Choice = Bakarythm as Sakoda Hiroshi, Minamisawa Nao as Usami Natsuki, Seino Nana as Seki Kanna, and Masu Takeshi as Shirushi MichioSynopsis

Synopsis

Edawakare (Takenouchi) is the driver of Sentaxi, a marvelous vehicle which is able to take a passenger back to his or her "life's turning point".  His cool appearance is at odds with his talkative, meddlesome, sweet-toothed character. He gives advice to passengers who are flustered after failing in their life's choice. (Jdrama Weblog)

My Take

Thoroughly enjoyed this!

Of course, it helped that our sexy Take-san was the lead, and with a bonus episode that included Toru Nakamura, well, what can I say?

A two-fer if ever there was one.

We don't find out the whys behind this gem of a tale until the last episode, so I can't spare much in the way of details without there being spoilers.

Let's just say this was another genius bit of silly that employs the idea of a taxi that is capable of turning back time for whoever is lucky (or not) enough to hop in the back seat and ask to be taken somewhere.

Edawakare's cool stems not from his appearance (obviously) but in his calm nature.


Nothing appears to rattle this dude; not even when a passenger is belligerent or on the lam.

Not even as the driver of a taxi capable of time travel, nor from the amount of sweets this guy consumes.

Each episode offers us a new passenger with a new set of problems, but I think the twist came in not all of these situations being predictable, similar, or happy-ending.


Heck, one of them actually made me cry.

Not being used to, ever being able to understand, or even liking Japanese humor, I did not get the point of there being sporadic instances of a silly crime drama being shown at certain times and in every episode.


Which is why I gave it 4 out of 5, and for no other reason.


This was a drama that made me wish it was Korean 20 and not typical Japanese 10.


I wanted it to go on and on . . .


However!


And, I could be wrong, but, I think it may have hinted at a sequel somewhere down the road,

. . . so let's hope that 9.4% rating is a high number, eh?

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The Producers

The Producers

Title: 프로듀사 / Peurodyusa
Genre: Drama
Episodes: 12
Broadcast network: KBS2
Broadcast period: 2015 - May to Jun

 

Main Cast

 

 

Synopsis

At the center of Yeouido, there is a building which never goes to sleep 24/7; It's Korean Broadcasting System (KBS). And inside the building, on the sixth floor, people are busy working between the partitions who to produce renowned variety shows including and more. Here, which seems to be an ordinary office, the highly-educated are being treated as a fools when their programs record low ratings even after hectic work schedules of filming, editing, and all-night meetings. This drama features various anecdotes about producers and non-producers happening in the Entertainment Department. (KBS World)

Plot

 

Okay, so that is what the head honcho's at KBS World want you to believe, but it isn't entirely true, surprise-surprise.

This was a cut-short, supposed to be reality-based and semi-live action drama ABOUT working in the KBS studios and what a day in the life of a PD is 'actually' like.

Only, it wasn't and it didn't happen the way it says it would or even the way I had anticipated.

This was about 3 PDs, one a rookie entering the world of KBS on a whim because of a pretty sunbae who isn't the least bit interested in him.

He's heartbroken and drags his feet for a few episodes before turning his amorous intentions on one of the other 2 PDs.

That female PD is interested in the other PD, though, and throughout this show, he behaves about as clueless to her vibes as a piece of debris being whipped around in a hurricane.

My Take

 

It was different, I'll definitely give it that much.

It had loads of potential with its being different, the use of a dynamic cast, and with heaps of material to lean on in the form of the REAL ins and outs of a day in the life of a PD.

Trouble is, none of that worked to make this the high-value form of entertainment it set out to be and what I anticipated would occur throughout.

Shocking, really.

The first episode was completely boring.

The second episode was utterly boring.

The third episode was yawn inducing.

The fourth episode was blah.

The fifth episode was [face palm].

The sixth episode was fail.

The seventh episode was just like the previous episodes.

And, the eighth episode was more of the same bland boring-ness.

Then about a third of the way through the ninth episode, it actually picked up and was worth watching.

Sadly, the tenth, eleventh, and last episodes reverted back to boring, bland, go-nowhere, do-nothing, slow-paced . . . meh.

Slow, I think, is the key to this drama's failure.

A failure to go anywhere, do anything, and capture my interest so that I would want to watch more.

The potential, though.

Think about it.

What actually goes into the production of a variety show, the how and why of its success or failure.

What it takes to become a PD, and even the occasional use of live interviews or commentary from actual PDs in the business.

Instead, they gave us more of the same.

Too much dwelling, reflection, and struggle to get a point across in the love sequences.

The audience gets it within the first 2 seconds, so to continuously beat any aspect of cat/mouse over our heads episode after episode is annoying as much as it is redundant.

JUST DO SOMETHING!

And, not that romance is a bad thing or didn't belong here!

The aside characters did a better job of getting that out of the way than our 3 leads, so what was the point?

The Acting

 

Sun-A rocked it

Right out of the gate, I didn't like IUs character.

Even after it was revealed just how awful it can be to become famous in la-la land, I still didn't want to root for her or hope that our young bit of male eye-candy fluff would set his sights on her instead of the elder PD.

Hardly anyone at the few message boards I browsed after watching each episode agreed with me.

#DramaFever viewers agreed with me about it being too slow and surprisingly boring while die-hards kept insisting that the two younger leads needed to get together and the two elder leads needed to either get together themselves or back off.

Soo hyun is cute, a good actor, and he did really well portraying the thoughtful, introverted, tongue-tied bumbler who is heedless to wearing his heart on his sleeve yet possesses the wherewithal to plod ahead regardless of minor/major set-backs.

We learn at the last second that he is a reprint of a younger Joon mo, who basically behaved a lot like Su hyun's character when he first started at KBS - and for a similar reason as well.

Tae hyun, being a veteran actor, pretty much carried the others along in typical sunbae fashion.

I kind of felt sorry for him as he infrequently struggled with the SOLE issue of attempting to save his flagging variety show, 1N2D, which I'll always prefer to refer to it as IL - BAK - I - IL.

In the last episode they did something unique by bringing back the original host of some 80s show for an impromptu interview.

And, for a brief 5 seconds, we got a glimpse of live 1N2D during its hey-day.

After dwelling on it for a time, I realized that this was where the show failed to win my heart.

The potential thing being lost somewhere in all of the boring dialogue, go-nowhere romance, and same scenario throughout when it could have been riveting with the continued use of real, actual footage from the variety shows we all know and love.

Yes, Lee Seung ki made an appearance and made us all laugh, too, by portraying the guy everyone wants to believe he is, but that was for all of ten minutes in one episode.

Cindy had a rough time and it showed in everyone but her.

That deadpan, fuck you attitude that got under my skin right away and made me not care.

Still, it was good to know that the industry is at least aware of the issue with agent/star and that things need to change.

I think it's been long enough now and damaging enough now to want to change the way these kids are farmed, don't you?

Hyo jin was actually the only one who behaved like a PD and an actress.

There was and continues to be nothing phony and presumptive about her, which is refreshing.

 Her PD position on Music Bank could have been thrilling if they had bothered to use a live performance or even actual footage, but that didn't happen, either.

Final Thoughts

 

To be perfectly honest, I watched all 12 episodes because I kept hoping something would happen, but aside from episode 9, nothing did.

The aside characters and their stories were actually more entertaining than the leads, and I wanted to see more of them, discover more about their stories, and even rooted for a few of them to get together.

Heck, I was even hoping that bombshell of a newbie writer at Music Bank would end up with dork Soo hyun's character.

I found the Neilson chart for the South Korean audience participation and was quite shocked by it:

Maybe it was a curiosity thing with them, just as it remained for me over here in Migu, but despite the surprisingly high ratings toward the end, the bounce rate is more consistent and makes me wonder if 12 episodes was planned or became necessary.

Instead of chalking it up to experience and moving on, I'd like for the big-wigs in the entertainment industry to keep this one on their desks as a reminder of what great viewing CAN be as opposed to what it turned into via this drama.

They were sooo close to a hit, it isn't funny, so I'd rather they go back to the drawing board and try again rather than never touch on this kind of formula again.

You can do it. I'm rooting for you.

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