Categories: K-dramas

Repeated Shade Thrown at Kill Me Heal Me Lands More Negative Press for Hyde, Jekyll, Me

Turns out the drama Hyde, Jekyll, Me is nothing like the story of the webtoon Dr. Jekyll Is Mr. Hyde even though it was licensed from that work. Begs the question of why bother, or if it was just to license the concept only without running afoul of copyright laws, then who in their right mind at SBS gave the HJM screenwriter free reign to make up her own story. Residing in the ratings crapper is a disappointment for the cast and crew of HJM but it’s even sadder to see further negative attention placed on the production aside from the drama not being very good.

The webtoon writer Lee Choong Ho launched the first salvo three weeks ago – after HJM’s less than stellar first episode, he suddenly voiced an opinion that rival same time slot drama Kill Me Heal Me was plagiarized off his webtoon. The timing was so self-pandering it backfired on him and the netizens piled on for his timed attack on a competition drama that is getting better ratings and reviews. I have to agree, KMHM was in the works for months and even aired four episodes prior to HJM’s premiere. If Lee Choong Ho was certain the drama plagiarized him then he could have spoken out anytime prior to trying to get attention for HJM. Unfortunately the foot in mouth disease continues further along with the ratings slide for HJM.

The latest brouhaha came when the publisher of the original webtoon Dr. Jekyll Is Mr. Hyde placed an ad online that read “Kill Me Heal Me and Hyde, Jekyll, Me, neither is as entertaining as original webtoon Dr. Jekyll Is Mr. Hyde.” Understandably audience response to the ad has been overwhelmingly negative and the writer is coming under fire for yet again trying to attack KMHM while promoting his own work. The publishing company immediately took down the ad and explained that the ad was the work of its marketing department and unrelated to the webtoon writer, nor was the ad intended as an attack on KMHM.

The publishing company claims the reference to KMHM was because of the similar subject matter to the webtoon hence there was just a comparison ad and not one that was shading KMHM. Whatever the reason or intent, the result has been more negative press for the HJM webtoon and drama. Speaking of which, apparently the terrible ratings have SBS scrambling to save a sinking ship by doing what amounts to trying to scoop water out with a tinny teacup. The scripts for episodes 7 and 8 were massively rewritten and the cast has been filming nearly 24/7 to do the newly written scenes to make it for this week’s airing of those two episodes.

ockoala

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  • With all the prior casting woes that KMHM had, I would have thought it would be the ratings wreck rather than HJM. ESP since HB actually passed on KMHM to sign on HJM. Who would have thought....

    Anyway way to go Jisung and HJE! You guys r freaking fantastic!

    • Infuriating isn't it. Considering HB chose HJM, over KMHM. The thing is HB has always had a good team, considering how masterfully they planned his enlistment - huge project before leaving, continued releases in his absence, going to the marines and careful picture release of him in combat gear, all to get him such positive ratings, so much so that upon his release, he was even more popular than when he enlisted. So to see them bungle his comeback drama is head scratching.

      What did they see in HJM that made them choose the drama. First of all, they should have realized that just by airing second, it already put them at a disadvantage, especially with such a closely related theme. And then the stations inexplicable decision to air the dramas in the same time slot, they must have felt HJM with its star power, would crush KMHM, but that decision has now backfired.

      KMHM is a acting highlight reel for Ji Sung and he is hitting it out of the park, his eye acting alone shows he is one of the best actors in Korea, he is so underrated and I'm glad he has his time to shine bright. He has definitely made me a fan of his work.

      • I think HB's team know it is not easy to nail 7 different alters, 2 is fine but more than that?, it takes a high acting skill and I don't think HB has it yet. He is pretty decent in his acting but I never 'wow'ed by his acting skills (his dimple might be).

        So, I think the team behind KMHM is very smart of bringing JS and HJE who have proven their chemistry and the story itself though sometimes a bit over the top, in general it is pretty captivating.

      • Such a bad judgments you all have passed about Hyun Bin amd Han Ji Min.. can't you see how much beautifully he can act.. he took responsibility and take the whole drama on his shoulders. You all only know to write bad comments about him... do you have courage and to handle the pressure in the difficult he faced.. all you see the success of BORING KMHM. ... such a boring show with boring male lead.. i cant even stand him in the first episode... Hyun bin atleast showed courage to act in a difficult time... how many of you can stand his shoes.. he is a great actor. I watched HJM five times and never get bored once.. nd KMHM i wont ever watch because of the make lead. Rather than saying foul thibg about hyun bin and other actors.. you people can't praise the cast who worked 24/7 ... does every drama should come with a label of success.. are you all evrn human being.. we all get fail at times... can't he even allow to fail once. You people think that actors are like machine... whay will you command .. they will do... such a low thinking you all have. if you can't appreaciate the drama.. than don't watch it simple.. why to pass tormenting comments to cast... put yourself in his shoes and try to act 24/7.. im sure none of you can do. KMHM is highly bore drama.

    • I totally agree with you , look at Yoon Eun Hye (Marry Him If You Dare), Moon Geun Young (Goddess Of Fire) ,and still I pass as it , It's talented actors who fell with hideous scripts duh !!

  • Well Since it has been an upward track since ep4, (not ratings wise obviously but in terms of storyline and enjoyment) I'm cautiously optimistic.
    Then again that's me. I'm just watching hyun bin do his thing. Seojin is the only character with some emotional arc worth watching, robin..well at least he IS cute and hot. The rest can be killed off for all I care.

  • At 6 eps/20, the best they can do is to avoid sinking lower, forget about increasing the ratings. The actors must feel terrible (lesson learned the hard way: Good writer matters! Not like they are newbies in the Drama Ent. >.>).
    I'm so angry at SBS right now.

  • I almost feel bad for the webtoon author. He probably thought he would hit it big, but now his work is totally trashed and associated (rightfully or wrongly) with a massive flop/badly reviewed drama. Doesn't excuse his behavior though.

    SBS can try to salvage something these next two episodes. It will be difficult though. Once people dump dramas They rarely go back and nobody was that interested in this in the first place. Though I really think what kills HJM is airing against something with a similar theme that is seen as much better. There's just not saving it.

  • Even in tha first puc ji sung is slaying!!! The man just OWNS this part... This should teach a lesson to everyone that hsd made up their opinion and judged something beforehand...

  • i don't know why, but from start my thought telling me that HJM is gonna be one of overrated drama this year with so much anticipating at beginning but then went meh :-/

  • The actors in Hyde Jekyll must be beyond exhausted and if it shows in the new episodes it won't help anything.

    I tried to watch it. I watched episode 5 and 6 because some people were saying they were the best so far and I was bored to tears. If that is the best than the writer needs to be replaced.

    But Hyun bin is out of practice and it shows on this drama. His acting feels flat. This robin character reminds me of billy bob's movie sling blade. The supporting cast is also weak.

    I hope they fix whatever is wrong so this would get better.

    • Such a bad judgments you all have passed about Hyun Bin amd Han Ji Min.. can't you see how much beautifully he can act.. he took responsibility and take the whole drama on his shoulders. You all only know to write bad comments about him... do you have courage and to handle the pressure in the difficult he faced.. all you see the success of BORING KMHM. ... such a boring show with boring male lead.. i cant even stand him in the first episode... Hyun bin atleast showed courage to act in a difficult time... how many of you can stand his shoes.. he is a great actor. I watched HJM five times and never get bored once.. nd KMHM i wont ever watch because of the make lead. Rather than saying foul thing about hyun bin and other actors.. you people can't praise the cast who worked 24/7 ... does every drama should come with a label of success.. are you all evrn human being.. we all get fail at times... can't he even allow to fail once. You people think that actors are like machine... whay will you command .. they will do... such a low thinking you all have. if you can't appreaciate the drama.. than don't watch it simple.. why to pass tormenting comments to cast... put yourself in his shoes and try to act 24/7.. im sure none of you can do. KMHM is highly bore drama.

  • In order of importance:
    Kill Me, Heal Me / What Happens to My Family?
    Hogu's Love / Ouroboros (jdrama)
    Heart to Heart / Persevere Gu Hae-ra
    Healer / Hyde, Jekyll, Me / Shine or Go Crazy

    I'm behind on the last 5 dramas and would probably catch up on Healer first (haven't watched the last 6 eps) since it ended finally ;)

    As to KMHM, I like HJE's over the top acting because she's able to deliver on the serious scenes. She's funny and she looks like she's having fun as opposed to HJM in HJM (heh). Ji Sung is awesome. Plus the other side characters in KMHM is more interesting however hateful they might be.

    • For me it's shine or go crazy/kill me heal me
      Hogu's love/ heart to heart
      WHTMF/healer
      Hyde, jeckyl, and me? Nope... I'm giving up even if the charming hyunbin is in it

    • You are watching the same dramas as me. I haven't watched several weeks of WHTMF, because I just got bored with it. Its okay, it is a family drama and all, but it just lacks something, after the father's reveal.

      Healer, I watch because of the hype, and I find it tolerable, just don't know why I am not enamored with it. It's like Pinocchio, another drama I just couldn't get past the first 3 or so episodes.

      Watching Shine or Go Crazy, I really need HJ to tone his acting down, his comedy bits are way too exaggerated, and Honey Lee is a terrible actress or maybe she just can't play the villain role. Overall, I want to like the drama, because I miss watching sageuks and it is not the worst sageuk that has come out in recent years, so meh.

  • Poor Hyun Bin... I love him but HJM doesn't have THAT thing that makes you want hooked and keep watching. And Ji Sung just hits the right spots all the time!

    • That thing is called Chemistry.
      I have seen worse dramas but you'll watch it for the OTP. Usually you blame the actors but here it's the writer. Haven't seen a female lead written so bland. She's no candy neither is she a heroine. Even my life is more interesting than her lines. AND yet she gets to romance 2 hyun bins. Yeah right...Like that will connect to the viewers.

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