geewhiz46 Reviews

An Incurable Case of Love (2020– )

In need of a talent transfusion

[2/10 · 2 June 2024]

It's hard to review a series where there is no discernible story apart from a determined nurse stalking a reluctant doctor. Let's address the elephant in the room to begin with - the doctor is a good looking guy who could date most any nurse in the hospital - it is inconceivable that he would find this young woman attractive - in my view she is very ordinary in appearance. She is not a good actress - all she does is look amazed and pop her eyes constantly - this is interspersed with self criticism and endless bowing which becomes exceedingly irritating. Why a woman who cannot even draw blood without harming the patients is allowed to work on the wards where it is required is beyond belief - didn't she go to nursing school - didn't she have to pass mental and physical exams? Her outspoken declarations of affection for him were totally in appropriate and undignified - particularly when he warned her from the beginning that he had no interest in her. Had this situation been reversed - had he constantly harassed her with his unwanted attentions there would be an uproar from outraged feminists. But women, it seems, are encouraged to approach men and hit on them without being criticised for doing so. I could not suspend my disbelief as the inevitable change in his attitude became obvious. It must have taken all of his acting talents to make their budding relationship seem convincing.

I stopped watching this on several occasions - I think I am about to do so yet again.

Lumberjack the Monster (2023)

Obvious from start to finish

[4/10 · 1 June 2024]

I watched this because I like the lead actor - but it was obvious from the opening scene what the final scene would be.

In between we had abducted children who were being experimented on to turn them into psychopaths - some survived - most didn't.

Akira (the ML) was one of the survivors. He is a lawyer - affianced to a woman whose father is head of a prestigious law firm - but handily poppa pops his clogs by falling from a very high building.

This woman had hardly any place in this story - she did very little - and was only included for one reason which will become obvious.

Now - many years later people are now being murdered by a costumed lumberjack monster and having their brains removed - eventually the cops work out that the killer is after the neuro chips in their brains. Unbeknownst to Akira he discovers after being attacked and injured - that he also has a neuro chip.

Akira has a doctor colleague and they are in sync with killing whomever they think necessary - the doctor says he is tired of cats - yet another hateful aspect of Asian culture. The way he picks up and holds a cat later in the film is distasteful.

One of the cops has a suspect - he attacks him and the man falls and injures himself - he later sues the cop and he is demoted.

This is where the inevitable trope of the maverick female profiler enters the story. Hands up who can tell me any profile of a serial killer that differs in any degree to a thousand others. This profiler immediately homes in on Akira for some reason and goes into a hospital and demands his private records - of course she is refused - but breaks a glass so the only nurse in attendance rushes off to get a dustpan and brush - meanwhile said profiler steals the data from a computer which somehow does not require a password to access sensitive data. That is now inadmissible evidence anyway - but maverick profiler's don't care about that kind of thing. She is suspended from the case.

There are more attacks on Akira and finally he discovers the identity of the person. He was a fellow victim at the orphanage and is trying to kill all the kids that were made into psychopaths.

His chip was damaged after the cop attacked him and gave him the ability to empathise and feel emotional pain - so he wants to save others from feeling as he does.

Their is a climactic final scene which I won't describe which is followed by the obvious ending.

Something in the Rain (2018)

Only for Jung Hai -in

[7/10 · 29 May 2024]

Jin-a is a woman of 35 working in a coffee company along with other women who have to put up with their manager's sexual harassment .

She meets the brother of her best friend who is returning from the military - Joon-he (the ever adorable and endearing Jung Hai-In).

They fall in love - but their relationship is disapproved of - especially by Jin-a's mother. This character is so repulsive and operates on the fringes of insanity every time she appears. Quite honestly - I watched this the first time and put off watching it again for a very long time - purely because of this character - this time I fast forwarded every time she appeared. How a mother could insist her daughter enter a loveless marriage of sexual servitude merely to increase her parents social standing is incomprehensible to me - but this is a common feature of Asian life it seems.

The only disappointment was that this character was not abandoned by all of her family at the end. How any man married her in the first place is a mystery.

I felt sorry for Joon-He - he gave all of his heart and soul to her - but Jin-a didn't care for him as much. Though she claimed to care for him more than he did for her - that wasn't true - she put herself first over and over again and when he offered her the chance to get away to the ubiquitous trope of the U. S. she turned him down.

She had things that she wanted to do which were obviously more important to her than he was. It was a long series with long eps and very repetitive - I only watched it all because of Jung Hai-in. The ending was nice - thank goodness - but it took far to long to arrive.

Thank You, Next (2024– )

Philosophical feminist fluff.

[1/10 · 26 May 2024]

Leyla is a lawyer - she has been with Omer for several years - the relationship is failing - Omer has cheated on her on one of his buddy breaks.

She terminates their relationship - she gets to keep the dog they share.

She meets a Chef at a party and before you know it they are lovers - but he isn't the faithful kind. So, thank you, next and next and next.

All Leyla seems to do is get drunk and sleep around. The message is clear - if guys can do it - so can we - female writers (of course) can't seem to realise that by emulating some men they are endorsing their behaviour. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery so the saying goes. They are admiring what they should be condemning.

To continue - Leyla's firm is given the task of contesting the divorce of a guy called Cam and his wife Tuba. Leyla and Cam have an aggressive confrontation when they meet. Oh No - yawn yawn - it's enemies to lovers again.

This series employ the device of showing the end of situations before the beginning of them - so it is totally confusing and unnecessary - not to mention annoying. - but I guess this director thought they were being quirky.

There are endless scenes of people talking - partying - philosophical voice overs - and finally - a revelation for Leyla that informs her final decision - and by goodness I was so glad to see the final scene - it should have come about four episodes ago.

The tens as usual do not reflect the content in my view - you have been warned.

A Beautiful Life (2011)

ridiculous

[1/10 · 25 May 2024]

The "heroine" is a drunken promiscuous woman having an affair with a married man. She latches on to an innocent cop and uses him unmercifully. She takes his shopping and to add insult to injury she makes him come over to her house to make and cook the dumplings for her lover.

Is this supposed to be quirky and endearing?

Not to me.

She is a repulsive human being who has no respect for anyone - including herself. Why this cop didn't block her number and steer well clear of her is a mystery.

He has been the victim of her drunken amorous advances when she didn't know who or what he was - how often and too how many men has she done this?

There is nothing beautiful about a drunken woman latching onto and trying to have sex with a total stranger.

I have no interest in the remainder of this story.

One Spring Night (2019)

Worth another season

[8/10 · 24 May 2024]

Jeong-in is in a four year relationship with Gi-Seok when she meets a pharmacist Ji-ho (the endearing and adorable Jung Hai-In) she is attracted to him and seeks him out on many occasions. Eventually she falls in love with him. She has been on the outs with Gi-Seok for some time - and she tries to end things with him, but he is determined and refuses to let her go. She keeps on telling him - but she dithers - giving him false hope time after time. Eventually she reaches a decision to end things finally - and this is where the conflicts begin. Her father is a bully who tries to control all three daughters - he has already pressured one daughter into an unhappy marriage but Jeong-In is brave and vocal enough to tell him that she won't let him control her life. Her father works for her ex boyfriend's boss and he is afraid for his job so he keeps on at her to reconcile with Gi-Seok. People in Asia tend to look down on single fathers for some reason - and Ji-ho is a single dad - he used to be friends with Gi-seok even though the former looked down on him for his circumstances. The story continues with the efforts of Gi-Seok to regain control of Jeong-in and her steadfast refusal to give in to those people he uses to manipulate her. There are side stories regarding her sisters which aren't particularly engaging and abrupt cuts in editing which can be confusing - and long drawn out scenes where nothing was happening besides people staring into space. There was an unnecessary scene with Gi-Seok meeting another woman with a view to yet another arranged marriage which still seems prevalent in Asia. It was a good enough series - the acting was fine - and the story interesting if a little repetitive - it would be interesting to see how their lives continued after their trials and tribulation.

There weren't many kisses in this series which lost it two points- but the chemistry between the leads seemed genuine.

Dexter (2006–2013)

A cut above the rest

[9/10 · 13 May 2024]

I enjoyed this series mostly. I am British - a country whose parole board regularly frees convicted killers - sometimes serial killers - over 100 of such killers have been released and gone on to kill again.

So my sense of justice is satisfied with this series.

There are some things I question - Dexter is so careful - yet he hides his slides in a place that the police routinely search in crime scenes - even when it has been discovered once - he hides them there again.

His father - Harry - how could he take one child from such a horrendous scene - and leave the other one there? They were brothers - how could anyone separate them?

Again - how could Dexter bundle a man into the trunk of his car and not notice his rather large boot was missing?

And his foster sister Deb - did they have to make the character so foul mouthed and promiscuous and so damn clever.

She finds leads/solves practically every case in the first few series - it was ridiculous for a novice to perform better than the entire police department.

And those children of Rita's - I know kids are easily influenced - I have one of my own - the little boy I could accept - he was too little to see his father's violence against his mother - but the girl? She saw it all and was quite happy to forgive and forget for some candies and pancakes. And then when her father was gone - she returned quite happily to Dexter - as did the little boy.

Rita got on my nerves - she was never off the phone to Dexter - bossing him about - it was all about what she wanted/needed - it was her way or the highway. And all done with that sickly smile.

I felt bad for Noakes - I don't like innocent people being killed - but there was no other option in this case - but at least Dexter avenged him.

Lastly - Dexter's son - Harrison - seriously? Harry's Son?

Much fun has been had from this character already - so I will stop here.

Military Prosecutor Do Bae Man (2022)

What a carry on

[2/10 · 8 May 2024]

This series should have had a comedy rating.

Doh Bae Man and his female partner deal with military cases whilst trying to take down the female head of a division who is seemingly untouchable.

The cases they deal with are nonsensical in their resolutions - this pair of incompetents don't bother with silly things like evidence or building cases with incontrovertible proofs - nah - just pretend to be helping the criminals and then double cross them in the end because they were really bad people that the writer forgot to mention.

The female becomes a superwoman when she dons a red wig and has no trouble taking down a dozen or so armed thugs with a windscreen wiper - she does this on numerous occasions and never suffers a broken nail. I guess the writer is appealing to his feminist audience - as later in the day - just to be fair - he appeals to his gay audience also.

Of course the army is a brutal place - corruption rules the higher ranks - but this pair are so incompetent they wouldn't have a chance of taking any of them down. Doh in particular tells a villain he has a witness who will testify against him in his upcoming trial - he tells him who the witness is - and doesn't provide protection or an armed detail to get said witness safely to the trial - result? Another chance to see the red avenger take down kidnap gang with a BB gun and yet another foolish feminist fight scene.

Sixteen episodes of this was eight too many.

Catering Christmas (2022 TV Movie)

No seasoning whatsoever

[1/10 · 4 May 2024]

In a word BLAND.

Little known actors with no charisma and no chemistry between them whatsoever. The - I hesitate to say plot - is two people from different social backgrounds falling in love. She is a caterer - he is a corporate heir. The acting is typical day time soap - as are the actors - half baked would be an exaggeration - there is no sexual tension anywhere. To reply to the poster who complained of it being white - did they not notice the black lady looking after the kids in the foundation hall? The backgrounds and the extras were so fake - the camera had to keep shifting to avoid them looking straight into them - the scenes as they travelled in the car were funny - they were so badly done - the dialogue was banal - the direction - decidedly dull. The outcome glaringly obvious.

This is no Christmas cracker.

What Jennifer Did (2024)

A lesson to be learned

[4/10 · 4 May 2024]

Whenever I watch Asian related shows I am amazed at the way many Asian parents treat their children - i.e. As commodities. They seem to be born simply to be of use to their parents - in business - in society - in the community. Jennifer was more than their daughter - she was their victim. Her parents dominated her life as if she belonged to them, like a dog or a horse - she was given no rights to control her own life - to like whom she wanted - love whom she wanted - no doubt they would have chosen her husband for her as well. They forced such high expectations on her - as if she could control her own intelligence - were they particularly intelligent - what wondrous educational achievements did they obtain? They forced her to lie - she had no other options. I felt sorry for her - she wasn't evil - she was desperate to have what everyone is entitled to - their own life.

Of course she did wrong - I am not condoning her actions - but desperate unhappiness clouds the mind and leads to foolish actions. Had her parents allowed her to be herself and live life to her own abilities and desires this would never have happened. She is not innocent in all this - but neither are they.

Queen of Tears (2024– )

Another fail from Studio Dragon

[4/10 · 29 April 2024]

I don't know what happened to Studio Dragon. There was a time you could rely on them for good stories with good actors. That time is past.

This writer is simply following in the footsteps of hundreds that have gone before her. Her heroine (Hae-in) is a CEO of a huge company founded by her grandfather - her brother is not as intelligent as she is and is jealous of her. He is married but his wife has nothing but contempt for him and the child they have together is not his. In a scene of typical over the top portrayal of this we see him trying to ride a bike with stabilisers and later falling off said bike several times in the silliest unbelievable fashion.

Hae-in's husband is Woo - a man from a much poorer family. And what a family - every one of them wants to use him for their own benefits. The son looks older than the father.

After a couple of years of happiness the rot sets in - Hae-in is terminally ill and her personality is cold and hard and ruthless towards Woo. He is desperately depressed and unhappy and wants a divorce. The trouble is that he doesn't know whether he loves her or hates her.

There is the usual big business machinations and betrayals - this family are portrayed as being so stupid that one has to wonder how on earth they became successful in the first place.

I stopped and started a lot in this series - more than any other - the situations were so silly and unbelievable and contrived and deliberately extended with pointless conversations that led nowhere.

There is a scene regarding a divorce lawyer (Vincenzo?) Played by Song Joon Ki. - but it is treated in a humorous fashion which is totally out of keeping with the subject. One wonders what a star of his magnitude is doing in such a minor role in this.

The script is awash with people not explaining themselves and misunderstandings which are totally obvious and unnecessary.

It is hard to have sympathy with Hae-in - she comes across as a nasty selfish narcissistic piece of work - one is sorry for Woo and wonders why he perseveres with her. For a brilliant lawyer he is portrayed as a man who cannot express his feelings and who simply stares with tears in his eyes instead of opening his mouth and explaining himself. He wouldn't last a minute in a courtroom.

The writer is not good enough to make you understand why - maybe because she doesn't know a trope that works in this regard.

The episodes are far too long for the content and stretched out with needless scenes with his repulsive family. Once again food is featured unnecessarily - South Korea has a fixation with food and scenes with people filling their mouths to capacity litter their series.

Studio Dragon really needs to hire new writers with new ideas before they offer any more inferior series like this one.

Killing Eve (2018–2022)

MI6 - Who knew?

[2/10 · 25 April 2024]

This is the story of Eve - a happily married woman working in a minor capacity in MI5 who picks up the trail of a female assassin - Villanelle.

They each become fascinated with each other to a dangerous degree and Eve cannot give up her pursuit.

This puts a strain on her marriage.

Villanelle is a dangerous psychopath who is capable of killing those she loves - and she loves Eve.

That is the basis of the story. Despite the books being written by a man the head writers here are all women - and my goodness - isn't it obvious. The majority of the cast and crew are women - and Sandra Oh is a co-producer - so compliments to her litter the script.

The humorous conversations could have come out of a 1930's British comedy in both content and delivery.

It seems most of the workers in MI5/6 are gay - and some of them are extremely foul mouthed. What do they think this proves?

By the middle of Series 2 the show is beginning to run out of steam with the increasingly silly antics of Villanelle and the introduction of another assassin - female (what else?) nicknamed "The Ghost".

Eve is now in a position of greater authority - despite her stupidities resulting in the deaths of many people - which nobody seems to hold her accountable for. Well - she is the star of the show I suppose.

The writing is poor - situations are just too easy for Villanelle to get in and out of - there is the shock value of female functions and products mentioned and seen throughout the episodes - but this is a compulsory inclusion in all feminist outings. They can't seem to identify themselves by any other means.

Would have been much better with better writers.

Still 17 (2018)

Leisurely Love Story

[7/10 · 21 April 2024]

I am not usually a fan of Shin Hae-Sun - she tends to overact in some things notably Mr Queen - but she was acceptable in this as the young violinist Seo-Ri, involved in a multi vehicle accident which took the life of her best friend. She survived the crash but ended up in a coma for thirteen years. After escaping the hospital on her awakening she ends up back in her old house which now has new occupants. A man Woo-Jin, traumatised by guilt over the same accident - his nephew - Chan and his two young friends are frequent visitors. Needless to say she ends up living with them and their house-keeper - Jennifer - another woman affected by the same accident. This is somewhat coincidental- as is the fact that Jennifer's brother? Is a doctor who looked after Seo-Ri and developed feelings for her. The story involves the emotional trials and tribulations of this household.

It was somewhat long for the content - but when you have two handsome males like Yang Se-Jong and Ahn Hyo-Seop it is worth the time spent watching!

Entre tierras (2023)

A fail on many levels

[3/10 · 13 April 2024]

Like a previous poster - I was happy enough to watch this until about episode seven - when out of the blue a gay storyline was shoe horned in for the sake of political correctness - I assume - or maybe to use sex as a lure for more viewers.

To begin - Don Ramon - a wealthy land owner - travels hundreds of miles to find a wife for his nephew Manuel - who is a hopeless drunkard following the disappearance of his wife, Llanos.

He decides on Mary - the youngest girl - her mother is quite prepared to sell her even though she is only fifteen - there are three adults in that house - none of them working - so this is unforgivable. Maria is accepted in her place.

There is a woman at the house Justa - who is in. Love with Manuel - and whilst posing as Maria's friend does everything in her power to break them up.

There is a mystery regarding Llano which is cleared up in the most simple and implausible fashion.

This is the basis of the story.

Just when they are beginning to connect, Maria's old lover turns up - Jose - this actor just grins and grins to a noticeable and annoying degree. That Manuel trusts him in business matters knowing who he is and what he is trying to do is ridiculous.

The series doesn't seem to know in what timeline it is set - they dance the twist - early sixties - they wear bright middle sixties fashions - and then they wear seventies flares and wide collars.

Suddenly the youngest girl is an actress - no explanation of how a girl from a tiny village who is penniless achieved that. The brother Guillermo is "special" - and here comes the unbelievable section of the story which exists purely to titillate. He is bullied then seduced by a worker in the factory who is engaged to a woman.

As usual contrived situations drive the plot forward and the worst villains are rehabbed by the end of it.

Not something I would watch again.

Crooks (2024– )

Totally unbelievable

[3/10 · 10 April 2024]

Joseph is a taxi driver for a gang that includes a prostitution ring - he is in love with Alina - one of the "working girls" - such a misnomer for a prostitute and an insult to ordinary working women. His rumoured father is leader of the gang but he is on the verge of death and his brother, Red, can't wait for him to die so as he can take over. When the death occurs he discovers through the will that Joseph is the real son and heir and he puts out a hit on him.

Charlie - he is a safe cracker with a woman Samira - and her son - Jonas.

Out of the blue he is lured to a meeting with his former gang and the stage is set for the theft of a valuable coin from a safe they want Charlie to open.

This is where it all goes to pot - there are so many factions with so many agendas and so many situations that it would be impossible to escape from. Professional hit men who run out of bullets - five of them attack Charlie and Joseph and an elderly woman - guess who wins? Samira who turns down help at every opportunity and can't even open a door. Friends who turn out to be enemies at every turn - ridiculous resolutions of conflicts - you killed my brother I will hunt you and your family down and kill each one of you - no I didn't I tried to help him - oh - ok then lets be friends.

The writing is beyond stupid and full of lazy tropes we've seen a million times before. I sincerely hope there is not the obviously hoped for second series.

Dakteoseu (2016)

Needs a transfusion

[3/10 · 6 April 2024]

Mr Hong is Hye-Jung's teacher- she is probably about 18 - so an adult - he is probably about thirty - so not that huge an age difference. There are two scenes which could be misunderstood - one sitting closely together in a classroom looking through a microscope - the other chatting and eating ice cream outside. How these pictures could be grounds for accusation is beyond me - she is not twelve years old.

However - when reported by a jealous student - See-Woo - (who also likes him) he chooses to leave the school.

Thirteen years pass - this is where coincidence rears is its silly lazy head - now Hye-Jung and See-Woo are both doctors in the same hospital and See-Woo has never forgiven Hye-Jung for being the favourite of Mr Hong - their old teacher. Now she is in love with a doctor - Yoon-Do - but he won't accept her feelings, Pretty soon he falls for Hye-Jung - (gee - whooda thunk it ! ) Now the stage is set for a love triangle - but Hey-Jung - who has acquired MMA skills along the way - is reluctant to engage in any kind of loving relationship because she has daddy issues - he ignored her when she was young. (Gimmee a break) Both men pursue her whilst Seo-Woo vows vengeance.

The usual hospital tropes crop up - the gory operation scenes - the political issues of the hospital going private blah blah blah.

What I couldn't ignore was the kiss in the park in the rain scene - I was shocked that they even allowed that scene to be shown because that kiss was a non event - a passionless pressing of closed lips and no jaw movement whatsoever. They should either have told him to get it together and force himself or not included a kiss at all.

If this is all they have to offer - I am discharging myself.

Doctor Slump (2024)

So Disappointing

[3/10 · 1 April 2024]

I like Hyunsik - I was looking forward to seeing him as the ML in this series - he has proved he can act in other series that I have seen him in. So I guess it depends on the content and the co-star - whether he displays the same degree of ability. There is nothing you can do if the writing is bad and the co-star is unresponsive.

The situation - I can't call it a story - is such that two doctors in different fields who were high school rivals find themselves in bad situations as adults. Naturally they end up living in the same building and eventually becoming friends after far too much anguished self analysis and chopping and changing for no reason.

Then the contrived problems begin and my interest begins to end.

I don't know what is the matter with the FL - she looks drawn and ill and has no natural ebullience at all - whilst the ML is the complete opposite - although they are roughly the same age she looks much older than him. The high school scenes were not convincing regarding her - Hyunsik got away with looking eighteen - she didn't.

There is far too much talking and not enough action in this series - the family were featured too strongly - viewers want to see the lovers together - they want to see them kiss - they want them to see them be happy - writers ignore your audience at your peril - your job is to please them - not yourselves.

You Are Beautiful (2009)

Oh no - not again

[2/10 · 31 March 2024]

Ok - so this is an old series - maybe we have this one to blame for the endless girl as boy tropes that we are inundated with today.

Thanks for that A novice nun who endlessly repeats that fact - just happens to have a twin brother who is away in America (Where else?) and likely to miss the chance of signing with a hot Kpop boy band. Enter the nun - and what an entrance - overacted and overdone to a nonsensical degree. She is persuaded to sign with the band - but - hang on - the boss boy won't allow it until - guess what - she sings - ohhhhhh - cue for amazed and startled faces - she is wonderful.

Yawn.

There is one comment on how small she is - nothing about no facial hair - no Adam 's apple - no musculature - no sign of anything masculine at all - making you wonder at the the intelligence and observation skills of Korean men.

I was too irritated by the endless tropes to see this through to the end - life is too short.

Lady Macbeth (2016)

Starring the sofa

[3/10 · 27 March 2024]

Katherine - a young woman sold into a loveless marriage with a man who only wants to humiliate her as he has a black mistress and a black son with her which Katherine knows nothing about. It is set in Victorian Northumberland. Most of the cast is black which is the first hint of political correctness which telegraphs that more is on the way.

We see two maids heading somewhere excitedly - later when Katherine follows them she witnesses one of them being abused and the beginnings of a gang rape - lead by a black man. She is attracted to him and he realises it enough to enter not only the house but her bedroom where she doesn't fight him off as he has sex with her.

This is the beginning of her lust for power and control which drags her ever deeper into evil actions.

She poisons her father-in-law - later blaming the black maid for it - she provokes a fight between her lover and her husband which the latter does not survive.

When she thinks she is finally queen of her own castle the grandmother of her husbands child arrives with the boy and promptly takes over the running of the household.

Katherine sits for long periods on the sofa - staring at the camera - it doesn't take her long to figure out how to get rid of the black grandmother - Katherine is pregnant now and wishes to be alone - and in complete charge of her own destiny.

She persuades her lover to kill the child - and the grandmother leaves the house.

When suspicion falls on her she promptly blames her lover and the black maid and they are taken away to their deaths.

I don't know what the writer was trying to say - I don't think it was a protest against attitudes to women in the past - I think it was more a comment on absolute power corrupts absolutely - which is true of both sexes.

Rewind (I) (2023)

Bad decision

[3/10 · 27 March 2024]

We are shown a married man with a son - he works too hard which makes him impatient and short tempered at work and withdrawn and moody with his family. There is no communication between himself and his wife - but he seems to love his son who is a budding piano player.

He comes across his son talking to a picture of Jesus whom he calls Lod. One day at a work celebration he finds out that he has been passed over for promotion so he resigns. Later he is taking his wife to see his son's recital when they start to argue and his wife tells him that she has been meaning to tell him something for some time - she handily takes off her seatbelt and demands to get out - then - in the middle of nowhere some person appears in the middle of the road causeing them to swerve and end up hitting a tree. His wife goes through the windscreen and is killed.

He is full of grief and remorse - when suddenly here comes Lod - in the shape of a handyman and tells him he can get her back - but somebody must die in her place.

He offers himself and suddenly she is alive again and they have a loving reunion - but hang on - do you remember she had something to tell him? Yep - she intends to leave him and take their son to Singapore where she can realise her own dreams. What a wonderful mother - she knows he is making a valiant effort to change that he and his son adore each other - but what the heck - her ego is more important. They go to see their son's play - but 3pm is approaching - the time she died originally - and hubby aint feeling too grand.

He begs Lod to let him off the deal. - Lod says everything will be OK - hmmm - what version of OK do you mean Lod?

Not for Hubby - he's having a lie down in the foyer.

If only he could go back !!!

The Rational Life (2021– )

Exhausting

[4/10 · 26 March 2024]

This is a 35 episode series - most of which were one long relentless advertisement for electric cars.

The rest of it consisted of a very long drawn out love story - which failed to convince at any level. The ML and the FL have absolutely no chemistry - the only vibe I got from them was friendship. Their non affair was interrupted briefly by her boss - but it had no serious competitive edge and he departed the scene quite quickly.

The ML's friend and his love interest only served to spin out an already overlong series and didn't add anything of interest to the story.

We had to wait until the last episodes for a kiss - and when it happened it was disappointing to say the least with absolutely no hint of passion or desire. A romantic hero needs to be a very good at this aspect of his craft - it's what series are judged on.

You will need the ff button to skip the endless car promotions and political machinations regarding their sales.

Too long - too obvious - too boring.

Good Morning Call (2016–2017)

Just a mishmash

[1/10 · 25 March 2024]

When watching this I had several incidences of deja-vu - I kept on thinking I have seen this scene before - but I knew I had not seen this series. Again and again the scenes cropped up - sometimes exactly the same as I remembered from other shows.

I had the distinct impression that the writer/s had sat down one night with some pizza and beer and binge watched about ten kdramas - they then seemed to have decided to take the bits they found entertaining and make a patchwork quilt of them for their own series. The trouble is that KDramas are written (mostly) by adult writers with good plots and dialogue- and more importantly actors who are good at their profession. None of this was reflected in this series. The FL acted like a five year old - the ML simply didn't act - the kisses - if you can call them that - were merely two faces pressed together and meeting at lip level - so very poor and unconvincing. I couldn't tolerate more than a few episodes - I'd rather watch paint dry.

The positive reviews don't reflect what I watched.

Give this a miss - because it is one.

Triad Princess (2019)

Tropes galore

[2/10 · 25 March 2024]

This series tries to combine comedy and drama and fails on both attempts. Angie is the daughter of a Triad boss - she is rebellious and doesn't want the marriage her father plans for her- She is in love with an actor - Yu-Hi (Jasper Liu) and manages to become close to him via his managers request. Her father sends out his gang to catch her - they fail - so many times it becomes predictable and boring. The gang is led by her adoptive brother - Giu - and guess what - he is gay and falls in love with a shop assistant - he stands outside and takes photographs of his butt in a distastefully crass scene. The language is coarse and unnecessary - and the comedy is not really funny. The series is unfinished (Thank you Netflix) and quite frankly I couldn't care a jot - I have no interest in what happened to any of them. I watched it for Jasper Liu - he has a beautiful smile that reaches his eyes every time - I don't know what he was doing in this rubbish.

Xia Yi Zhan, Xing Fu (2009–2010)

Too far

[4/10 · 23 March 2024]

The usual rich guy poor girl trope with a lot of distasteful scenarios thrown in. It's a typical enemies to lovers story with the inevitable forced separation for good measure.

The FL is a poor girl who lost both her parents at an early age - she has been brought up by her aunt and her aunt's husband. They run a cafeteria owned by the ML's mother - he too lost his father at an early age. The step father has lusted after the FL since she was young unknown to her aunt. He spies on her in the shower and stalks her outside. As if this wasn't bad enough the aunt encourages her to sleep with the ML - in her words "let him violate you" - I cannot believe that this was allowed to be said in this series - it is beyond forgiveness. When the stepfather tries to "violate" her the aunt does not believe that the stepfather was at fault - despite witnessing the incident. This too, was beyond belief. I lost interest in the series after this - and I certainly couldn't tolerate any more past their sell by date tropes of amnesia and new lives.

I'm bailing now.

The Club (2021–2023)

Spoiled by unbelievable change of character

[5/10 · 19 March 2024]

Matilda comes out of prison after sixteen years for killing her lover who betrayed her family and sent them to their eventual deaths.

She finds work in a club - run by Celebi - and they are at loggerheads to begin with. But she soon rises to managerial status by her friendship with Selim - the gay headliner. She has a daughter Aysel - who has significant emotional problems. She is a Jewess who falls in love with Izmet who is a Muslim. She converts to Islam.

They separate but she is pregnant with a daughter - Rana. She does not tell Izmet. Later she changes her mind and does everything she can to get him back - including leaving Rana alone at the Post Office knowing that he gets mail from there and would be told of the child's presence.

This is where all sympathy for her is lost - she teaches the child to steal - she abuses her verbally and physically - she slaps her face hard at one point and tells her she is the cause of all her problems and she wishes she had never been born. - she betrays her family and friends and colludes in attempts to destroy them which results in massive difficulties for them.

Her selfishness and cruelty are beyond redemption.

The scenes of the child in the club are saccharinely sweet - everybody making a fuss of her as she runs through the rooms - I expected her to sit on the stage and sing "I was born in a trunk" at any minute.

Then there is Keriman - the woman who wants to replace Selim as headliner at the club. Selim had taken her in when she was starving and alone on the street - fed and clothed her - saved her from that life -but is she grateful - no - she finds reasons to make him the villain and herself the victim.

She spies for Fikret - the man whose father wants to destroy the club and he is very abusive to her. He is a vicious killer who wants the club for himself.

Selim - although played by a good actor - is over the top out and proud in 1950's Turkey where homosexuality was not tolerated.

This is only a brief glimpse of some of the characters involved - I found the ending beyond belief and simply not acceptable given the way that Aysel treated her daughter - she was beyond rehabilitation.

Her refusal to accept Fikret at the club table and his reaction was ludicrous - this was a ruthless man who had already killed at least twice - who had threatened Matilda with harming her daughter and her granddaughter - and he simply walks away?

Sugary - fake - and ultimately unbelievable.

Summary: Good acting but poor writing.