In yet another round of “Which Drama Wins the Time Slot”, the three new horses took off at a mild trot if the ratings for the first episode are any indication. KBS wins the first round as its Bridal Mask with Joo Won garnered a 12.7% ratings on AGB, following by MBC’s I Do I Do with Kim Sun Ah and Lee Jang Woo getting 10.5%, and poor So Ji Sub has to bring up the rear as Ghost was pretty much a non-entity with only 7.6% in ratings for SBS.
Of course these ratings can change around rather quickly but the first impressions from the Korean audience have spoken. They are apparently in the mood for some period heroic action from Joo Won more than they want slick procedural crime solving from Ji Sub. And in between, I think Sun Ah’s I Do I Do will do just fine. Of the three, I only watched IDID (like I said I was going to), and to my happiness it wasn’t bad at all. Dare it say that it actually had plenty of potential and I like the directing and writing quite a lot.
So apparently word around the web is that Bridal Mask is easily the best of the three new dramas in terms of quality. Sadly I am completely immune, and rather turned off by, Joo Won. I find him unattractive and his type of shouty acting style is totally not my thing. Plus my last Korean period drama was Capital Scandal, and despite it starring my beloved Kang Ji Hwan, I really didn’t like it much (good concept, uneven execution, an OTP I really couldn’t connect with). But if you lurve Joo Won, BM looks like the real deal, so off you go to happy land! As for Ghost, apparently it should just call itself Sign 2, but since it can’t even get half the ratings Sign’s first episode got, perhaps the Korean audience is over the taste of slick procedurals?
Which brings me to the only drama I did watch, the drama that has the acronym of IDID (as in I did), and despite all the lackluster posters (and this drama has A LOT of posters, as evidenced above) and previews turning me off, episode one turned me back onto this sucker again. It wasn’t perfect, what with Lee Jang Woo overacting and directing that needs a bit of fine tuning, but overall the set up and the execution is solid and enjoyable. It wasn’t shrill or screechy at all, and Kim Sun Ah is once again doing her thing the way I like it – outwardly confident mature woman with hidden insecurities. The OTP has great chemistry right off the bat, but it’s not overwhelming or feels contrived. I find the slow pace of developing the story really refreshing and I enjoy getting to know all the characters so far. I’m pleased IDID ended up not being a I Don’t I Don’t, leaving me with a pleasant Wed-Thurs diversion.
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i tried out all the drama today had to offer, but the only one that i actually watch with subs on viki was bridal mask. i do i do, i had fast forward it to pieces to it reducing to just blurs of variations of pink. same goes for ghost except it was with blurs of variations of gray and blue. this doesn't mean that I'm not interested, just not intrigue me enough to watch it with subs yet. bridal mask action had a bit too much slow motion and offbeat for my taste, also joo won's hair kind of turn me off. however, i still luuuuve him. he was my not so secret guilty pleasure in baking king kim tak gu, whom i rooted for all the way. drama status right now is agd is the fluffy and bridal mask is the heart stopping for me right now.
i just realized how out of the world cute my avatar is
It's very cute... :)
WOW i just came here to see if you watched bridal mask! im curious if is ok to wacht it or not! but i saw a little and i dont know what to think!
but well i will wait for more comments about bridal mask until my resolution!
I just want Arang & the Magistrate. Hee.
LOL...I just want the Magistrate.
Aren't u scared of Arang?
Hi!
Thanks for the week's recap. I never really knew what was off with Joo won until you pointed it out that it was his slight overreacting. I watched IDID, and Ghost, and a bit of Bridal Mask and I have to say that the ratings were as I expected.
LYH in Ghost was at best serviceable, even though she is pretty. And the premise is slick, but as always, lacks the skill to support it. IDID, I'm not into it yet, but I'm willing to give it a chance, and as for Bridal Mask, it's the best executed of the three, but is thus far lacking a bit of soul.
By the by, I wondered why you never mentioned about I love lee tae ri. The drama isn't half bad. It's nothing serious, but with enough light mindless humour for the season.
Thanks JB. :)
I was originally planning to start with IDID, so I will stick to that. I am also not a fan of JW, but I imagine for those that are and those who will be, he seems promising and sageuks always do quite well (or periods I suppose). I will marathon this one once it finishes airing.
I love procedurals, however, I'm not sure if I can get on board with JS. We'll see... maybe another marathon once it's over for me.
Overall, none of the series previews excited me at all. I know that can change in a second.
JB?!
OMG!!! Capt K! Sorry! For some reason, I thought I was on the other site. I'm an idiot. Rough night. Don't know what I was thinking there.
I'm glad IDOIDO didn't live down to your expectation.
I was a little disappointed that you had such a strong negative reaction to the publicity.
I'm a big Kim Sun Ah fan. She and Gong Hyo Jin are the two K-actress I find interesting and distinctive. For the most part the rest tends to blend together. I usually watch dramas for the male leads and the story.
I'm looking forward to reading your responses and the series progress.
I'm a big Sun Ah fan, but I don't need to like everything she does just because she's in it. The promos for I Do I Do sucked donkey balls, and I would have to be blind to have a positive reaction to it. The person who cut the trailers needs to be sacked. Such a travesty of making this interesting and mature drama into some sort of cartoon shriek fest. I'll always check out what she does, but it has to actually be good for me to continue. I'm so happy IDID is wonderful so far.
My prediction came true! I just knew Bridal Mask would come out on top. Joo Won <3 He was okay for a newbie in BK but man, OB just brought out the cute, jealous and angry side of him. I'm still marathoning OB but I finally understand what's with the craze over that drama. I really recommend it despite it's length. :D
I'm glad Koala-unni liked IDID. Now I feel like I should try it. Lee Jang Woo is relatively a new face. He'll probably improve his acting in the next episodes. After all, he's working with the great Kim Sun Ah. :))
I hope the subs come out already so I can watch.
I love, love, love Kim Sun Ah and have watched all her dramas. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed Lee Jang Woo, his character flaws and his boy/
man/sensitive male role.. I think he looks real fine (not some anorexic leading man)
and has a banging body. KSA seems to have lost weight again for this role and
let me tell you I went into shock when she visited her doctor 'cause I was almost
certain it was going to be another cancer diagnosis, thus the reason for her
being so thin. Good thing she's just got 50 yr. old ovaries. Who would of thought
that would be the premise? I laughed and must admit she looks damn good and
the age difference is not as noticeable as I thought it would be. How about 2nd
lead "Mr. Mommy"? My mommy this, my mommy says that...
I loooove mr mummy....i want to go for prenatal checkups to him...so much cuteness
I think it's time So Ji Sub does a rom-com, where he actually gets the girl at the end. I am tired of these dramas that he is in, although I am a big fan. It's time to break out of the mold and does something completely different for once, and while at it, give him a matched leading lady too.
Yeah, i also vote for So Ji Sub in a rom-com, i don't mind seeing Lee Yeon Hee and SJS in a rom-com, it will be fun. I find that i like him most in his old drama Glass slippers where he got quite a funny and cute character there. He was great in I'm sorry i love you too but after that drama, he kept on choosing serious dramas which i'm getting tired of seeing him as similar type of characters.