I admit I don’t watch a lot of traditional television. Apart from the sports programs I follow, I don’t actively open the telly to channel surf and stuff. I don’t watch the news because I prefer to read about in since my memory has a tendency of recording random things I’ve seen with HD quality. I don’t want to run the risk of having nightmares more terrifying than any horror movie could ever cause me.
Most of what I watch is either streamed, DVR-ed, or downloaded to my hard drive. The great thing about that is how you can watch whatever you want whenever you want, and you can go back to the old stuff you might’ve missed from years ago. I especially love catching up on old Asian dramas, but I watch a well-rounded mix of things: American dramas, British dramas, Japanese, Taiwanese, or Korean dramas, I watch them all. Typically I watch dramas in languages that speak to me, I want to learn, or those I have some knowledge of. And much like with books, I get inspired by watching TV shows too.
US/UK SHOWS
There are a lot of quality shows from the West out there right now and I watch a lot of them, but lately I’ve been in a legal drama and comfort comedy kick.
1. Suits / 2. The Good Wife / 3. Hot in Cleveland / 4. The Cosby Show
Can we talk about what just happened with Louis in Suits? Scratch that, let’s not. There has been so much angst on the show lately but what I love about it is that it never seems to lose its edge. Every episode is a brand new battle of wills, and always there are the dialogues that make me smile because of how clever the analogies are. It’s why I’m always hooked! Suits and The Good Wife are two of the best legal dramas on TVLandia right now, but while I’m all caught up on Suits, I’m still catching up on Alicia. I’ve been left behind!
On days when I’m feeling particularly blue or I simply want to kick back and relax, I typically pop in a DVD of one of my favourite old comedy shows. Sometimes it’s FRIENDS, sometimes even the first few seasons of Three’s Company make an appearance, but lately it’s been Hot In Cleveland. I love Betty White. I also love this show a lot. It is hilarious! I love how there are always big guest stars in these crazy roles! I think it’s on its way to becoming a classic like The Cosby Show, which is also on the regular rotation of funny in the house. Raven Symone started out in this show as a cute-as-a-button step-grand daughter of Doctor and Mrs. Huxtable. 🙂
Next on my to-watch list: The Giver, Lucy, The Mentalist
TAIWANESE DRAMAS
English-language dramas are easiest to watch obviously but thanks to my multi-lingual background I have a good appreciation for dramas in other languages. I am of Chinese descent so I studied Mandarin up until high school, but I don’t watch a lot of Chinese-speaking dramas because apart from the wuxie dramas (fantasy-martial arts dramas), all the rom-coms have this way of looking very low-budget. I wish they would make more of an effort with the production value you know? How can they compete with other Asian dramas? That’s my experience with plenty of Taiwanese romcoms/dramas anyway. But the good news is, Taiwan does have a crop of pretty amazing actors that can sell the story. The OTP’s have the ability to make me giddy with adoration and that’s pretty important right?
1. Hear Me / 2. Black & White
I recently watched the old film Hear Me since I became a [new] fan of Ivy Chen and began to search out her filmography. I give it a five out of five because it’s just so touching and dorky and funny and Ivy Chen and Eddie Peng are super cute. The movie is all about persistently fighting for your dreams despite handicap, and I love how it manages to showcase many other things as well, such as siblingly love and first love. Oh, and how sometimes people can overcompensate for when other people they love have some form of shortcoming that they forget to live their own lives. I really just loved this so so much.
Another Ivy Cheng drama I came across is Black & White, in my opinion one of the most well-produced Taiwanese modern-day dramas I have ever seen. The story has mob elements, which is always fun, but cop stories without mob elements are kind of boring, don’t you agree? I enjoyed all the action and the acting. This is the first time I’m seeing Vic Zhou in anything other than Meteor Garden (which I watched with a passing glance because I DID NOT LIKE IT), and I am impressed by his performance here.
Next on my to-watch list: Bu Bu Jing Xin
JAPANESE DRAMAS
I have a special affinity for anything Japanese and have some grasp of the language thanks to years of anime-watching, but it wasn’t until lately that I begun to actually watch real-people dramas from this country. What I like about Japanese dramas, and this is a turn-off point for some people I know, is that it is short and sweet. If it needs an extension then we get a season 2. But other than that most of the stories get wrapped up within 10 or 12 episodes, and that’s really good for a busy life.
1. Nodame Cantabile / 2. Itazura na Kiss / 3. Rurouni Kenshin / 4. Shinobi Heart Under Blade
Possibly one of the craziest and most outrageous things I’ve seen, and yet… I don’t know. I laughed my face off as I watched Nodame Cantabile. It was shockingly fun! Somehow when the Japanese adapt their mangas they can make anything work like no one else can, including the anime hair. I would typically get easily annoyed by characters like Nodame but somehow the actress sold her character as cute and funny for me instead of over the top. She has so much heart and is so happy-go-lucky I enjoyed watching her antics. It’ll be a challenge for the Korean actress to beat that portrayal now that they’re adapting it. (But I’d probably still watch it for Joo Won! Hehe!)
Another super cute series is Itazura na Kiss: Love in Tokyo. I loved Ariel & Joe’s It Started With A Kiss because the whole cast in that one was superb, but I must say Itazura na Kiss follows closely behind thanks to the casting of the three leads. It’s a tie when it comes to Miki Honoka and Ariel Lin for the female lead, but I like Joe Cheng just a tad more than Furukawa Yuki. I like Kinnosuke immensely more than Ah-Qing though. I loved the portrayal of the main couple for both versions but admittedly Ariel and Joe made my heart flutter more. Might have something to do with the fact that the actors are closer in age compared to the Japanese actors.
I’ve also been watching a bunch of movies, all a mishmash of genres but all pretty awesome. For one, I caught up with the first Rurouni Kenshin movie because the new one is out and the next film is coming out soon as well! I. Am. Psyched! I really loved this movie. I am only a so-so fan of the anime but the way this movie was shot, all dark and grey and ominous, added so much to the feel of the whole Himoura Battousai lore. The actors did a fantastic job, especially Takeru Sato who played Kenshin. He executed Kenshin’s patented head-inclining “Oro?” dorkiness without overdoing them. The action scenes are freaking amazing. Also the lead actress Emi Takei is super pretty!
I watched Shinobi Heart Under Blade right after Kenshin, riding off the high from that film I still thought this one was okay though not as good. I really watched it because of Yukie Nakama. That lady is gorgeous and I thought she had some nice chemistry with her leading man here though the story is a little tragic.
1. I Give My First Love To You / 2. Kimi ni Todoke
I also watched a couple of contemporary dramas, the first being Mao Inoue’s I Give My First Love To You. Two words: I cried. Man this was such a heart-wrenching tragic movie that I couldn’t help but tear up! I became an instant Mao Inoue fan after Hana Yori Dango (the best adaptation of that manga, period!) and thought I would try out a movie of hers. This was poignant and well-acted, with eye-candy aplenty. Just get your tissues ready. Me, I love a good tearjerker every once in a while.
On the other hand, I thought Kimi ni Todoke was an adorable offbeat film. You know how there are super awkward people in the world? Well in this film you will see one of them, albeit maybe a little exaggerated since it’s based from a manga after all. But it’s also a heart-warming high-school movie about friendship and first love and finding yourself. And I enjoyed it a good deal. 🙂
Next on my to-watch list: Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno
KOREAN DRAMAS
It’s funny how I haven’t fully bought into the Korean wave that has seemingly seized the world in recent years. I don’t listen to Kpop as I prefer watching the dramas only. I mean there are a lot of attractive Korean actors (I’m not a fan of the boy groups, sorry) but I don’t fangirl over them. I do like to watch them for eye candy though. I am a girl after all! And I guess the reason why I’ve been watching plenty of Korean dramas lately is because any Korean production is always so well-done.
Even though I’ve been watching Korean dramas for years it was only recently that I actually found the ones I would gladly point to and call my legitimate favourites! It was a lucky streak for me to be able to say that all the four dramas I watched recently are all daebak and are officially on the list of my fave Kdramas for varying reasons. This seems to be a good year for me in terms of drama-watching! (And consequently it inspires me to write more.)
1. The Master’s Sun / 2. Gaksital / 3. Arang and the Magistrate / 4. Queen In Hyun’s Man
I became a Gong Hyo Jin fan after watching The Master’s Sun. She was so good in this! And the chemistry between her and So Ji Sub was off the charts! I don’t believe I have ever squealed so much as I watched a drama. You’d think that it would only happen with shows featuring 20-something idols, but no. The So Ji Sub-Gong Hyo Jin ship is one I am hoping would set sail again in another drama, hopefully in one that is equally as funny and not too heavy on the crying. I love how it’s different but it has the charms of a typical heart-fluttering Kdrama. I even bought myself a DVD so I can watch it anytime! That’s how much I love it!
Now speaking of heavy-crying stuff, if you’re ready to shed some tears and face the brutality that is the Japanese’s attempt at world domination during World War II, then you should probably try watching Gaksital. It means Bridal Mask, which is what our freedom fighter wears to hide his identity. Maybe my only qualm about this is that it doesn’t have a very happy personal ending for our hero, but it’s a big-picture type of story and the message about Korea’s fight for freedom probably wouldn’t be as effective if things did not happen that way.
Joo Won might just be my first Korean crush. He is such a cutie and he is so so excellent in this! (It’s also the first time I am seeing the 20-year old actress Jin Se-Yeon and she caught my attention enough that I actually want to see more of her other stuff.) Just a word of warning though, this show is brutal, and I’m not just talking about the war and the cruelty of the Japanese. I’m talking about the deaths and the twisted relationships within the show. (Check out this great write-up for an idea of the characters and their complex web of connections with each other.) I’m talking about the heart-wrenching events that pretty much leave you feeling gutted at the end of it all. The reason why this show is amazing is because it is very honest about what life and death and war and freedom mean. Hell the last episode is still replaying in my mind days after I finished it!
Dunno if Arang’s and Queen In-Hyun’s leading men borrowed their period costumes from each other, but damn those two look like they’re exactly the same, right down to the colour! It’s great though that apart from the costumes I adored both these sageuk fusion dramas though they aren’t by any means similar in nature. Arang is set completely way back when and is mostly creepy and moody, while Queen In Hyun alternates between the present and the past. Both have a love story that transcends time, though if you’re looking for something that’s fun and light-hearted with a bit of drama then Queen In-Hyun’s Man is it. I laughed so much, became crazy with giddiness at all the kissing (no wonder the two ended up as a real-life couple), plus the series was a quick watch. It’s literally a love story with an interesting spin, and most importantly there were none of those dumb protagonists that seem to have no idea what’s going on even though they’re staring right at it. Thank goodness!
Arang and the Magistrate is at first a ghost story but it quickly turns into a mystery story that is tinged with an adorable love story. There’s also a lot of awesome action. I must admit I enjoyed the acting here, and seriously who will not get won over by Shin Minah? This is my first Shin Minah drama and I love her already! I think she’s one of the prettiest Korean actresses out there, with a presence that lights up the screen like a ray of sunshine. And even when she played a ghost she was shining, and with that dimpled smile it’s no wonder the magistrate fell for her hard. This was such a good drama for many reasons aside from the OTP. The story is unique, the folklore is interesting, the pacing is great, the acting is superb, and the mood is dark and creepy. The whole effect of the drama was ghastly and ominous and it meshed well with the storyline. I wouldn’t mind rewatching this some time!
Next on my to-watch list: My Love From Another Star, Rooftop Prince
Anybody having any recommendations of dramas in any of the above languages, please drop me a line! It will be much appreciated! 🙂
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Life outside the lines 