You know you're posting too much when you notice that your posts are sandwiching someone else's posts. LOL.

@asianromance,

I think I know what you're talking about, the mystery comedy - Are You the Criminal or something like that? I think that aired when I was super busy so I never got to watch it. And now I remember why Untouchable was on my list of dramas to watch - because Kaname Jun's in it! But (obviously) I haven't gotten to it, and if Kaname Jun is only in it 5-10 minutes each episode... that is quite sad. But then again he is fighting screentime with Nakama Yukie. Lame. How is Untouchable anyway?

happy Friday! Happy drama watching of whatever catching you eye atm! Happy traveling!

@ockoala, wherever u r in wuxialalaland:
LOCH08ep13 only YK (NC) parts.. HR if I feel like it..

*sigh* this ep is TPTBdesigned for YK metafangirling... and this ep is sooooo brilliant in snowballing the swooniness.

this babyboy lost BOTH his parents in heartstabbing way, I love w/ bleeding heart everytime he pleads for them to not leave him alone, at their funeral, if any 18 yo guy earns a right to cry, angst, babywhine, wail, fist ground, he'll be head of line, and only in the wuxia would we get a cremation where the fond memories of the dead were oded by one poetic spear fight of offsprings..he's dashing and masterly with his inherited spear (no pun intended)

I just want all the love that can be showered onto this damaged boy...afterall he only have true love fr NC and GJ, all the other gerbils have auxiliary motives mixed in with their socalledlove(Jin stepdad and that donkeyQiu)
he's washed NC's feet in flowered water twice couple eps ago, fessed up as best he could to his caring for her....and he's going all filial to earnestly swear to be a good productive boy/man! (buying every bit of earnest though I know his later evil booboos)

NC begging the dead parents to exchange her pity existence for YK's, moving ,but I can't help but glee in eeeee at HR there her wryly nonchalant, as if she is sucking up all that naive emo oozing fr both NC and GJ just to not pollute her cool air (haha her smirk and scoff at GJ's promise of good care of YK for life = full meals and sweat dreams). (so kickass)

they did spit banh mi when at the wake, eating, HR responds to GJ, at the table with his 6 masters y she's not eating, 'All your 6 maestros are beyond freaking ugly, I lost appetite with the sight.'
And to that the lady sifu retorts,' Jing, eat your meal properly, don't talk too much.' HAHAHAHA I guess she's around the uglies for too long and HR is speaking her heart?! followed by HR fullfetched jabbings at most of her elders lolz

And to add to the awesome, YK's brilliant idea to break this awkward was to....have a kungfu fighting with his NCbabe to show off her hidden wuxia!!!! *drawing hearts* AND to add more to the awesome, that donkeyQiu grabbed our NCbabe (his broom vs her no weapon) to fight her himself and YK go, 'NC!!!!!' +HR *winkwink* YK, 'ke, now u FEEL, huh?!' YK slighting wavering in composure, 'it's all for ur sake.' AHAHHAHH soo sooo meta. HR witty jabbings @ all those 'maestros', the lines and even who said ...so full of satirical, situation comedy!!!

Wait, the fun just keep rolling and rolling in this ep!! after all that wittiest bickering btn a 16 yo who outsmarted one houseful of wuxia bigguns.. THE YK kneeling for permission of NC's hand in marriage!!!!! So genuine, so earnest and even manning up to his past shit and we got to see all his puppylove sweet grins.. I want to freeze them that super romantic shoe moment at night and keep them in a pretty snowglobe.....but no wait, the scriptwriter just loves us rabid fangirl soooo much, she gave us that awesome bromance 'Brother!' at the very end just to make us madlove our YK more.

that's a very full lunchie of fangirling. :)

I hope subs for Pasta come out soon because I need a weekday drama to kill time between Smile, You! Maybe I'll try Wish Upon a Star... I like fun dramas that don't require m to think (enough of that going on in real life).

Speaking of Smile, I'm sensing the inevitable slowdown that comes with the onset of major angst (or maybe angst is just slow to me; I really really could do without it in most of my dramas). But I will commend the writers for avoiding the obligatory Parental Pressure Breakup. I've never seen a heroine resist it when the long-suffering mother comes and begs her to let her son go... but Jung-in did it! Only about 11 more episodes to go... could this be the couple who finally makes it all the way through the drama without one irrational break up? We might not even need a two year time warp to wrap things up nicely!

Hi just wanted to know where can I watch CHUNO even without subs I tried Youtube, can anyone help me please i am dying to watch this series. Thanks have a nice weekend everyone.

I am sending some blue sky, warm breeze from San Diego to everyone back East....It has been a very very hectic Holidays...cooking for 16-18 people everyday for 2 weeks...Lots of memories were made so I can't complaint.
Haven't started any new drama since the New Year...Still watching Autumn Concerto, WISFC( love Go Soo,he is so good an actor) and Creating Destiny....Will start Pasta and Chuno soon...Can't wait for Dream High with Bea Young Joon... Happy Weekend Everyone.

@ mookie

You're just trying to lure me out of hiding aren't you. I'm in the middle of writing my CitC thoughts down, but allow me a moment to take a break and share a revelation that happened last night:

I can no longer finish watching LoCH 2008 right now in its entirety. It will kill me, my soul, my heart, just ripped to shreds. I'm up to episode 29, and that's it for me. The moment Yang Kang makes the decision to steal the Wu Mu Ancient Book of strategy left by Song General Yue and give it to Wanyan Honglie and the Jins, I am officially checking out.

Let me explain: I know the above HAS to happen, in fact the entire Legend of the Condor Heroes cannot move on UNLESS and UNTIL YK continues to make one bad choice after another, right? So, the 20 or so episodes of revisionist YK history can only go so far before even the producer cannot take it one step further, YK has to choose the Jin. You can make the boy choose good first, but ultimately he has to walk the dark path alone.

But I can no longer accept that premise. Nope, and the sole reason is because its Yuan Hong playing YK. I may fan-dream about Joe Cheng playing YK (and I still do), but Yuan Hong has created a YK I cannot root against, hate or even feel annoyance at. I *love* him, I love his arrogance, complexity, inferiority complex, dashing devotion, baby boy lost in hellness, brilliance, you name it, I love it. So this is what happens when you idolify an epic Louis Cha novel and cast the most exciting mainland actor I have *ever* seen.

Mainland dramas may try to shove Huang Xiao-min down my throat every drama they get, or else have Hu Ge's perfection paraded through one random wuxia fantasy drama after another - but I'm not blind, a pretty face can only make me watch so much, then I'm outtie because dude, it's annoying when the person CANNOT emote properly. Yuan Hong - his mere *look* captures every mood, thought, millisecond change in atmosphere, perfectly. In five seconds he's gone from bored smirk to anxious concern with one eye change. Geez, he's made this old ajumma/tai tai (ME) completely and utterly a fan for life. And can I add, the boy is so freaking hot I'm just in bliss having discovered him (thanks to you).

Anyways, I jumped to episode 50 after I checked out (hey, I know LoCH the novel frontwards and backwards, so I shouldn't get docked any points because there can be no spoiling with respect to me) - and I cried, I wept like a baby when in that scene between YK and MNC in the house, and he steps outside, and turns around and the *look* he gives her, OMG *^^&T$$#$%^*&*()$@##, words cannot describe, its a combination of longing, cherish, and finality. And this version of YK is given the most freaking awesome goodbye scene in the history of LoCH versions - yeah, completely the most uncanonical thing, considering how his death triggers a billion things in RoCH, but sh*t, whatever, I can care less, Yuan Hong *owned* it. The last words he says to Ouyang Feng to make him lucid and understand what he has to do, is, beyond words, to me, completely and utterly I am forever shipping this YK. The expression on his face when he's falling and looking back towards the house, holy mother, can I please enter that TV and hold him, please....., I'm just dying here.

So, I'm putting aside LoCH 2008 until I can calm down (and seriously, I cannot watch this version of YK go bad, I just can't), and in the meantime, I have a bunch of k-dramas to catch up on (Pick the Stars and Pasta, I'm a coming).

Oh, and @ mookie, you are one very very naughty girl - you did not tell me in that there is the HOTTEST kissing scene in the history of wuxia dramas btw YK/MNC in this version. So hot my eyeballs melted, but the situation was rather inappropriate, which makes it all the more urgent and those two just oozed chemistry. I heard that Liu Shi-shi's first onscreen kiss and first real life kiss was with Yuan Hong in filming that scene. Lucky, lucky girl. Yang Kang and the actor playing OYK owned LoCH 2008.

Oh, and thank you for summarizing episode 13, truly a wonderful bit of your thoughts that are priceless. The bromance in that episode was off the wall adorable and hilarious.

Thanks Sarah for OT.

I've watched a few, several, many dramas and one question always creeps up particularly in the way daughters-in-law are treated. Can someone explain to me why they are considered as "maids". I recently saw My Too Perfect Sons, The Road Home and am now watching Three Brothers. In a society where "marriage" is strongly touted, I can't imagine that Korean women look forward to living with the in-laws and being the housemaid. I hope this is just a drama ploy and not typical, but maybe it's my western ways that makes me recoil at the treatment the women receive or it could be that I'm not seeing the "big picture".

.

@ 51 & 52 - Oh my gosh! I'm so glad someone else likes Kaname Jun! I can't stop looking at him! I would love to see him play the lead for once! Untouchable is ok - not the greatest but at least some nice eye candy!

I'm very concerned about Kame playing Kyohei. I love the manga and was slightly disappointed with the anime, so I don't know about a live action version. Plus, and this really petty - he's so short! In the manga, I picture him much taller....we'll see.

@ockoala,

LOL I have not watched the LoCH 2008 (I have seen enough versions of that story, and seriously the best version is still the '83 version in my heart, sort of like how the best RoCH is the one with Louis Koo, forever and ever), but your description entices me to watch it a little bit - although I will probably not because I don't want to watch Ariel Lin ruin Huang Rong (if she does) and Hu Ge, I can not imagine him as the dull Guo Jing... Anyway. Beside the point - your point about Huang Xiaoming caught my attention.

I agree - Huang Xiaoming needs to improve his acting. Yes, I enjoy going goo-goo-ga-ga when he's on screen. But the only one where his acting has not been bad, of all the stuff he's been in, I have to say the New Shanghai Bund. If you have not seen that, do go see it. It is so so good and Huang Xiaoming nicely fits the character of Xu Wenqiang - the cinematography, everybody looks gorgeous. I haven't seen the original version, but according to my dad, the newer version is pretty good in comparison.

That aside, I cannot wait for the New Water Margin which has Yan Kuan, OH. SO. HANDSOME. And he can act too! (Except he's like never ever been a lead unfortunately) But he plays Yan Qing in Water Margin - EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!

@ A.

I cannot wait for Water Margin either - just the thought of the massiveness of the production makes me breathless.

Okay, you missed the entire TVB/Mainland/Louis Cha-Jin Yong discussion mookie and I had in the last OT. But the entire genesis of it was that I missed Barbara Yung, the quintessential Huang Rong from LoCH 1983. And mookie mentioned Ariel was pitch-perfect and the closest portrayal of HR to the novels. So it made me curious and I watched LoCH 2008, and setting aside my love for Yang Kang in this version (which mookie warned me would happen) - Ariel Lin is as good, if NOT better, than Barbara's version of HR. And I am a complete Louis Cha adaptation oldie, I've watched ALL of the TVB productions many times, and I love them.

LoCH 2008 is completely different than the 1983 version, it really is apples and oranges, you can love both without feeling guilty (like you're cheating on your BF, trust me, I worried about that, if I love it more than the original, would that be heresy?). And Ariel Lin not only rocked Huang Rong, she literally stepped off the pages of the novel (which I've read) and onto the screen, it's her best performance IMO, on par with her dumb as a doorpost turn as Hsiang-qin in ISWAK.

I've seen parts of the remake of The Bund - HXM is a good lead, because he looks the part, but his acting is still very far from good. The original had a much tighter story and execution (as befitting the golden era of TVB drama-making), and Chow Yun-fat unfortunately can act circles around HXM with his eyes closed and hands tied. I think HXM does try, and he's so easy on the eyes, with his dimples and manly cleft.

Anyways, mookie and I have been dissecting LoCH 2008 to pieces for 2 OTs now, so check it out (LoCH 2008, not our silly discussion), you may be pleasantly surprised.

Btw, @ mookie, I found the cutest, sweetest and most adorable BTS video of the four leads filming LoCH 2008, it's an automatic fave now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRmwedyAWgk

When Ariel smiles, the world just lights up, she's adorable as HR.

@ KORN : Have a great trip. You can plan a drama location filming sites tour... which I did last year and thoroughly enjoyed :

http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_4_2.jsp

They don't have You're Beautiful listed yet, but they do have City Hall (attn Samsooki?).

@momosan: Totally agree, "making" pasta is now boiling product and seasoning it. Is there a designated space for "cold side" in that kitchen setup, or is it me not paying attention?

@61 ockoala: SQUEEEEEEEEEeeeeEEEE! o gosh soo adorable, thanks wuxiasis! :) I really really respect them, they r these babies born in the 80s (newly coined the term Generation post80/ 八十後 http://www.rthk.org.hk/asx/rthk/tv/hkcc/20091220.asx) and in many ways they have a harder life than my gen in our 30s...but yet seeing them giving their all, and w/ such a harsh walk of life... takes after takes of backbreaking wuxia moves +acting and still able to laugh and have fun be goofballs, living life the fullest...I'm quite ashamed of my usual whines, but it give me a warm fuzzy hug watching that vid. (thanks ockoala *hug*!)

I'm firmly holding my opinion that Ariel did the performance of her career (atm) in LoCH08. I loved ISWAK, but this is couple lvl upped. and If YuanHong does a RoCH1?, I bet that will the version that'll knock my AndyLau's off for sure.

o there is a remake of Water Margin in the works?!?! I didnt know!!!!

@ 43 A. : Perfect Girl Evolution is going to be a drama? I just started the manga (finished Vol 1 last night!). Wow. Something else I'll need to watch.

@ mookie

Isn't that just the best BTS video, like, EVER!!! Because LoCH 2008 is an idol-drama through and through (I would have titled: The Young Yang Kang Chronicles - loosely based on the seminal novel Legend of the Condor Heroes by Jin Yong), watching that BTS video was the most wonderful way to get me to cheer up from being too depressed my baby boy died. Yeah, he was a *bad* boy, but c'mon, can you blame him? Not in this version, I can't.

As for Ariel's performance as HR, I agree, she's raised her craft since ISWAK, but ISWAK she had that perfect chemistry with Joe that you can't bottle (and I don't care how many dramas she stars in witb Hu Ge, they don't have it). I love both performances equally. AL is the best actress of her generation in TW.

Water Margin is being remade with Yan Kuan and Ady An (whose currently all moo moo over in AC with Vanness). Along with remakes of Journey to the West, Dream of the Red Chamber, AND Romance of the Three Kingdon (hee hee, not the Red Cliff version, to be sure). It's a killer year of literary classic adaptations.

Honesly, only Water Margin gets me interests up - I can't wait to see the 108 Outlaws!

I was excited for both Pasta and Wish Upon a Star because of Gong HyoJin, Lee SeonKyun for the former, Kim JiHoon and Shin DongWook for the latter, but Pasta's the drama that's reeled me in. I endured the first episode of Wish Upon a Star because I love Kim JiHoon and Shin DongWook, but Choi JungWon kinda annoys me. I'm gonna give Wish Upon a Star another shot because I don't want to give up on KJH and SDW just yet.

Pasta, on the other hand, is awesome. I haven't seen Lee SeonKyun in anything before (I still refuse to watch Coffee Prince because I'm not a fan of Yoon EunHye), but I was aware of his appeal as The Voice and I've also been a fan of Gong HyoJin ever since I watched Biscuit Teacher and Star Candy. Javabeans, you're so right about the sizzling chemistry between the two main leads. Lee SeonKyun cracks me up because of his assiness, but his charisma keeps him from seeming two overbearing. Pasta hwaiting! :D

Conspiracy in the Court (also known as Seoul's Sad Song) - 2007, 8 episode saguek

I went into CitC pretty much straight after I marathoned Damo, and so I must say this review must be read in the context of mine own drama viewing likes (love melodramas and trendy/idol dramas with a fanatical devotion to classic wuxia dramas), and my personal history (I'm not Korean, and know next to nothing about Korean history).

CitC tells the story of a young woman of noble class who has lost her family and status and is now a medicine woman, her former would-be husband who is now a police inspector in the capital, and her former servant and ardent admirer. The three are forever bound together by their history and their roles in a conspiracy that aims to change the political landscape.

Telling anymore about the plot is both unnecessary and a distraction. There is no lead, secondary lead, ancillary characters in the traditional k-drama sense, everyone who is a part of the story will catch your eye and is crucial to the story.

CitC is the most exquisitely filmed and acted drama I have ever watched. I will walk away remembering the film direction of this drama, where the camera angles, scene placement and atmosphere evokes the perfection reaction the director intended to do. Its a masterclass in drama making, with a tightly plotted story, revealed in a combination of flashbacks with the present, and propelling the viewer along by a train continuing to pick up steam. The acting of every single actor in the drama is so organic you don't even feel like you're watching "acting." It's almost like you are a fly on the wall, back in Chosun era, secretly watching something happen in real-time. And the tension is palpable and the screen fair bursts with both silence that is deafening and action thats fast and furious.

The drama does not revel in ah-ha moments or heart-breaking melodrama, but it delivers in both because by anchoring the drama in such a riveting story, the emotions are brought forth naturally from the viewer instead of manipulated and extracted. I felt like watching CitC needed to be followed by a seminar to discuss it, because I simply could not fully understand all the exquisite details in the drama.

CitC gets put in its own place in my drama viewing shelf - the near-perfect drama. But Damo I loved much more, and moved me much more. And that is the essence of watching dramas which makes everyone of us different. I can't tell you with a very coherent reason why Damo made me bawl like a baby for 4 episodes straight and I needed a support group afterwards, when CitC watching was like a calm yet razor-sharp experience.

I highly recommend CitC, and I will in fact watch it at least one more time, if not many more, because it's like a magic box filled with treasures, and I barely scratched the surface. I regret that as a non-Korean, I did not truly *personally feel* the gravity and heavy heart that pulses through the story. But I know that I've watched something unparallel in its lyrical perfection.

These are just my simple thoughts on watching CitC, many many seasoned k-drama viewers have expressed a much deeper and more profound understanding of CitC, and I highly recommend reading those reviews. I'm just a newbie to k-dramas, but I know when I see something revelatory, and needs to be watched by more people.

and a shout-out to my drama-sis hjkomo who highly recommended CitC, and of course, a belated thanks to javabeans for a wonderful forum to share drama love!

Watching Episode 2 of Wishing on a Star... I gotta admit, it's making me wan to cry a little... cute, homeless children get me every time.

@ackoala
I totally agree with you about needing a seminar to really understand CITC, and yes, you really will benefit from watching it several or more times!

Did you also watch Hwang Jini?

@ A. and mookie

Sorry, A., I'm going to have to differ (but its just my personal taste only), I consider the best Yang Guo (so far) is Andy Lau in RoCH 1984. Hard to re-watch b/c RoCH is so heavy on the special effects, but Andy and Ady were together the best portrayals of one awesome character (YG) and one lousy character (XLN).

@ mookie - "If YuanHong does a RoCH1?, I bet that will the version that’ll knock my AndyLau’s off for sure."

I'm with you. Joe Cheng can do Yang Kang circa LoCH 2008 version of YK I believe on-par with Yuan Hong, maybe even a tad more evil, but Joe cannot be a Yang Guo. Nope, no way jose. But Yuan Hong can be both, he's that versatile based on scenes as Yelu Xie that I've watched as well, and if he's YG, it will blow my socks off. I doubt they'll do another remake so soon though, sigh.

Making a saguek-wuxia drama is really so taxing mentally and physically (hearing those QSD stories filtering out made me really worried about the actors wellbeing), and watching the LoCH BTS only reinforces how hard much these actors train and suffer to produce this wonderful entertainment, I'm very thankful and feel encouraged that I can enjoy the drama and recommend it.

@ anon lurker

Yes, I've seen Hwang Jini, but stopped after episode 9 when someone's character dies, I liked it, but have yet to finish.

Hello A @ 43.

I too am trying to master Shinee's Ring Ding Dong (foolish me)! Whenever it pops up on my mp3, I stop what I'm doing and break into dance. I feel like an elephant when trying to swing my hips and do other steps, which amazingly require lots of energy . The boys make it look too easy and graceful, yet manly. Just love it, but It's definitely a challenge (and a good workout)

To all interested: YA announced the release of 21 episodes of Tamra the Island in a couple of months.

Enjoy your weekend fellow OTers!!! :D

So I noticed that Dramafever added SANDGLASS.
I've heard it's good, but has anyone here seen it and like it enough to recommend?