Rants and Weekly Raves #85 (RAWR)

JoAnne: Where are the rest of the squeecappers? I know y'all are watching stuff!  
Jaehyus: I'm here. I just cut my dramas down drastically because I was going crazy. So, below, if I watched it, I've commented. 
kakashi: I'm here. I'm not watching stuff (again). Sorry, JoAnne, it's on you again! And Jaehyus. The good news: I'll soon resume the Nirvana in Fire and the Disguiser recaps!

East

Neighborhood Lawyer Jo Deul Ho 

I think I'm the only one here watching this, and I didn't this week. I spent that time watching Twelve Monkeys.

Jackpot 

Did they have wheel chairs in Joseon? Because I know someone who should need one... permanently.

 

Goodbye Mr Black 

I actually really like this now - it's not quite what I expected. Mr. Black is back, not hiding, even though he's wanted for murder. Apparently almost no one recognizes him in his detailed disguise which consists of saying 'My name is Mr. Black.' His childhood buddy Min Seo is still running Black's family business, living in Black's family house, married to Black's childhood sweetheart, and working 'with' Black to solve the mystery of who framed him. Except Black knows it was Min Seo, so there's this weird little dance going on. I'm glad I came back to it.

Entertainer 

Oh, so this week, everyone stopped sniffing glue? I'm so glad that I'm not hearing crap about how amazingly terrible this is anymore, because that was madness. It's not art, for sure, but it's decently acted and filmed. Some will like it and others will be bored, and that's fine. That's personal taste. But to denounce it as if it were made by monkeys, that's crazy talk. But even if it were true, hey, put me in the cage with the monkeys because I'm enjoying it. I like the story, especially now that we know who's being protected by hanging Ha Neul out to dry. I still don't really want to see Ji Sung and Hyeri as the eventual couple, but if that's how it will go, I'm willing to see if my mind can be changed. I like our scrappy little fighters, though. The band and family members, the Ocean Music staff, and Suk-Ho, who wasn't a deep-down jerk after all. I like them all. Well, I think I'll eventually like Kyle. Probably.
I get the feeling that about everyone except for you and two other people dropped this already :D
Not true! I saw a bunch of people who who said 'oh, I like it better this week.' I have no idea whether ratings rose or fell, though, a quick search revealed nothing.  I'm not saying it's great, just that it didn't deserve the hate it got.
While I mildly got curious about Ha Neul's setup, I'm not going back to this. Ji Sung, pick a better show next time. A comedy.

God of Noodles (new) 

Wow. What a start! I don't think I've ever met a villain portrayed in quite the same way as Kim Gil Do. Cho Jae Hyun (and Baro as the young Gil Do) are giving us a riveting performance as someone who sheds lives as easily as a snake sheds skins (and kills without a second thought to take them.) Other humans simply don't exist as people for this man; they exist in terms of having things he wants or doesn't want. If he wants what you have, he'll kill you to take it. Too bad for him the life he finally settled down with might be hard to hang on to, with Chun Jung-Myung as the determined young man set on revenging his father. This was gorgeously atmospheric and moody and a true pleasure to watch. I'm a huge fan from the start...I hope I remain one!

Five Children

I'm still really enjoying this show although I suppose it will slow down for a bit while we're here in the middle. There are just so many people to keep your interest that I haven't begun to get bored. We have the two older couples dealing with their own relationships as well as worrying over their grown children, and then among the kids, there's plenty of variety. Two single parents figuring out how to juggle love with work and family obligations that precede a new relationship; two young couples figuring out their way toward each other; and then two slightly older couples who have to figure out relationships formed under less than ideal circumstances. My least favorite scenes are those of the cheater ex-husband with his new wife and mother-in-law but if I'm honest, it's not like they aren't showcasing real issues. It's just that those real issues kind of piss me off because I figure they deserve their angst and I don't want to spend a lot of time on it when I could be enjoying the sweetness of new love between Team Lead and Asst. Mgr Ahn, or the heartbreak of Sang Min who has no idea that his Yeon Doo might be thinking about him despite her initial rejection.

Refresh Man 

Is Yu Tang close to figuring out Wen Kai's secret? He sure isn't hiding it too well, especially in front of Secretary Zhang. I'm okay having him suffer jealous fits a bit longer, but I won't lie...I'm ready for an Aaron Yan kiss right about now. I remain very grateful that Aisha continues to be a kind and generous person despite her long affection for Wen Kai and sad realization that for him, it's probably always been Yu Tang. There is literally nothing else to talk about in this drama. I guess there'll be some rework for the Mei Mei cream but it's such a thin veneer it's really not worth mentioning. We have Aaron looking hot and being sexy, or we have Aaron looking hot and being silly. It's enough to fill 45 minutes, though, because he's ghost pepper level hot and I just don't get enough Aaron Yan in my life.

Vampire Detective

Absolutely the strangest 'vampire' story I've ever seen.  Nothing is ever going to top the blood inhaler. And yet, I am watching.  I don't even think I'm behind.  I have to know what happened to his friend and girlfriend, and that lady vampire is a TRIP.

Ode to Joy (Chinese)

The reason I had to cut down on dramas is that Ode to Joy sucked my brain and heart out. I binged on it, even raw, and now I feel icky. I can't decide who I hate the most: mean rich girl throwing her money and nasty around, or that old guy who keeps trying to touch An Di even though she's clearly uncomfortable. Why she's not stopping him is beyond me. I spent a lot of time complaining about both on viki comments. So, anyway, thanks to this drama, I'm drama-ed out, and don't want to look at tv again beyond the ones I mentioned.

My Amazing Boyfriend (Chinese)

Supposedly this is a remake of My Love From The Stars or whatever that Kdrama was called. Since I couldn't get through 30 minutes of the Korean version and yet have loved this zany Chinese show, I don't care: remake-scheemake. This show is so fun! We've got one 6'2'' gentleman who is 500 years old thanks to some overzealous herbal medicine for a poisonous leopard bite (no, really, this happened) back in the Ming Dynasty.  
I wanted to check this out. It sounds like they cobbled something together from Queen In Hyun's Man and My Love from the Stars and maybe a bit of Starman, too. Since I enjoyed them all, there's a chance I'll be happy - but there's always the cautionary tale of Frankenstein to keep in mind, too. This could be a mess that only slightly resembles a story!  Update:  Just when I was mentally writing (a few minutes into the first episode) 'wow, this is very badly edited' - they got me.  That pretty girl down there is seriously funny and that dorky looking guy is sort of compelling.  The wirework is hilarious, always a plus for me. Definitely liked it enough to check out episode two, and soon.

He's human, from Earth, and can only take liquids, no solid food, and, like all attractive, expressionless, superhuman men in Chinese dramas these days, has magic healing blood.

Yang Yang here because he's another example.

Our hero, whom the heroine calls Monster Wue, was in some sort of controlled coma in a private museum for 100+ years, and escaped, not sure how, in the first episode, to find that the Qing dynasty is long gone and that he is in the modern era. It takes Monster Wue a few hours to catch up at the library, and, because he and the heroine share a heartbeat, explained below, he decides, though I'm not sure why, that he should live with her. It was a bit of a stretch, but whatever. Basically, he wants to find the person who put him that coma.

Our lead actress

who claims to have terrible luck despite being a top actress living in a palace,

is rather cute and funny. She shares a heartbeat with our hero after he saved her life with his blood magic (ew, but whatever). She has this assistant who also falls in love with our lead.

 

That was pretty funny.  

Heroine also has a Yummy Mummy, and a regular dad who just want her to marry rich.  

One day, when I get married, I want to coordinate my colours with my husband. I also really love these colours.

She's friends with another actress who gets all the first female lead roles,

but always recommends her for the second female lead.  This is a point of contention for our heroine, but regular work in the arts is a good thing in my view. 

And this is our villain.

He likes to stay up all night in his pleather hood watching old movies.

The only people who are a bit tedious are our heroine's ex-boyfriends numbers 6 and 7. They're a bit dull.

Miss Temper and Nam Jung Gi

She accepted this kid's marriage proposal saying she'd wondered what she'd do when she was old and wrinkly. See ep 13. 

Miss Temper is Lee Yo Won!  How did I not recognize her?  Oh wait, it's the hair colour. 
I'm so happy I'm watching it, because I like employment-based anything really.  For people interested in workplace issues plus some comedy, this is a good show.  Plus, every single character is interesting, from the harabeoji to the little boy, to the villains that we're dying to see lose. And our female lead rocks.  I love charismatic, intelligent women in shows, and she's exactly that with her sense of right and wrong, her determination, and her loyalty.  

Ugh really? I could barely make it past minute 30 in episode 1.

Shin Ha-kyun Things

I finished Brain! Hey, I loved it. I keep repeating this because it's a surprise. It tells us something about the state of KDrama that I am so surprised it a) stayed good until the end and b) did not really use any of those tropes I've come to hate and c) managed to actually flesh out its characters. I tried a few episodes of Grey's Anatomy afterwards, but Brain is like 1000000times better. I think I'll just rewatch Brain.

Then, I started Harvest Villa. I haven't had much time and have only seen one episode, but quite clearly, it's pretty hilarious. More proof that KDrama was much better 6 years ago.
I'm excited, I'm going to watch this! I love Lee Bo Young as well as Shin Hakyung. 

West

Lucifer (Season Finale)

Okay! Been there, done that. I won't watch the 2nd season, cause this show bored me while it entertained, but it was okay while it lasted. The finale was okay, I really liked the two angels working together.

Me too, and I definitely will be back next season. Where I will probably be crushed with disappointment *coughcoughSleepyHollowcoughcough* but no matter. I will be there eagerly, at least for a minute. You always say such good things about the comic that I thought I'd check it out, and I did go to Amazon to do that, but then I was looking at stuff, and then other stuff, and instead I thought maybe I should start with Sandman, since I like Neil Gaiman, and I haven't committed to anything but I did download a sample of volume 1. Because the thing is I like the Hellblazer character and I like Constantine too. So why not see them all? This could be expensive... but probably not. As I mentioned previously, I don't actually enjoy the experience of reading graphic novels all that much. Too much on the page.
Neil Gaiman's Sandman is an absolute classic (and it's where Lucifer Morningstar first appears), so yes, it's a must. And I'm sure you'll like it. Great characters (my favorite always was Sandman/Dream's older sister Death). The Lucifer spin-off is interesting because of the different styles throughout the different volumes (so many different artists), but also because of the story. As I said before, its is among my favorite in the comic book universe. Second comes Preacher, for it's craziness. Garth Ennis is a genius. If you do not want to buy them, come visit me! We have a comic book library in the guest room.    

Jane the Virgin

I want to see the wedding, already. Can we get on with this? I feel like that's a good stopping point.
So.... you don't really believe we'll actually GET this wedding, right? I saw this week's episode but already forgot all about it. Ah, no, the "sex sniff"! That was funny. But I think I'm dropping this. Maybe not for good, but I have lost all interest right now. 
We could get it... what could stop it? Will Matteo get kidnapped again? Will they postpone the wedding when Rafael gets busted for insider trading? Will anyone care?  

Game of Thrones

Let's see whether Jon Snow is still dead this week!
Oh. Hmmmm.... oooooookay. Ah! Stop killing people off, show! Yikes. Alright! Ohhhhhh. OHHHHHHHHHHH! Spoilers. Spoilers. SPOILERS. SPOOOOILERS.

Fear the Walking Dead

This title seems a bit short of the mark, since clearly they also swim. Or at least float with direction and purpose. I wondered what they could do with the story on a boat. Turns out they can do plenty. The airplane that crashed, it seems there's a story you can read online that ties in to that episode. I have to check that out. Makes me think this is Walking Dead: The Lost Zombies. Maybe the Dharma Initiative was a response to the virus and all the rest of it was a dream. They're still dead, that way...just not in Purgatory.
No picture for this show. I still fear zombies like nothing else.