This is going to be so epic it’s not even funny. The Big Kahuna of K-pop boy bands is back together again and ready to rock the stage. Shinhwa, consisting of Eric, Hye Sung, Dong Wan, Jun Jin, Andy, and Min Woo, is gearing up for the release of their 10th album plus a Pan-Asia concert tour after a three … Continue reading →
The short list of Taiwanese male stars just decreased by one, at least for the next twelve months. Trailed by the hordes of paparazzi, Ethan Ruan was whisked off to Cheng Gong Ling (成功嶺 Success Peak), the training camp near Taichung where all mandatory service members start their training. The tabloids groused about Ethan’s private car being allowed through the … Continue reading →
And…..it’s a wrap, folks! At over six months long in filming, Office Girls is one of the longest running TW idol dramas in recent memory, and is also the longest live-aired drama I’ve followed. The start date for Love Forward has been moved back one week, thereby finalizing the last episode of OG at 25. Based on the preview for … Continue reading →
The upcoming K-drama season is going to be littered with Kings and Princes, as if the current runaway hit The Moon that Embraces the Sun didn’t already have enough of an angsty King plus and angsty Prince. I remember K-dramas always trending the same topics, whether it was a slew of sports, medical, or music dramas in short order. While … Continue reading →
Another solid if not spectacular episode of The Moon that Embraces the Sun. I’ve given up hoping for the return to the cohesive clarity of the earlier episodes or for some much needed secondary character development. I’m still entertained, but I’ve accepted this is about as deep as it’s going to get. As the drama continues to steer its trajectory … Continue reading →
The drama adaptation of Da Mo Yao, the novel from writer Tong Hua (who wrote Bu Bu Jing Xin) is rumored to have finally confirmed its cast! Oh heck yeah. To the surprise of NO ONE, Tangren picked as the leading lady of its biggest drama production of the year as none other than resident number one gal Liu Shi … Continue reading →
I can’t believe the ratings legs on this drama, which almost hit 35% today. While I like and enjoy it, I admit that quality-wise it’s nowhere near deserving that kind of ratings based on a really heavy handed story, laughable sageuk politics, inconsistent casting from various leads, and general just-okay feel of it. I suppose a runaway train chugs along … Continue reading →
It’s press conference time, and time for me to unleash my snarky side. Thankfully the cast of the upcoming cable drama Operation Love was dressed so age-and-situationally appropriate I didn’t need to describe anyone as dressed like a skanky ho. In the drama, Yoo Seung Ho plays professional baseball player Kang Baek Ho, who discovers much too late at the … Continue reading →
Ahhh, episode 9 was solidly good, but all my previous gripes haven’t gone away. It’s good, I can live with those issues and still enjoy the drama. One thing I like about how the drama deviates from the novel is that it gives me the sense of freshness, like seeing something from a different angle almost. So far I don’t … Continue reading →
Downside of a live shoot is the inevitable delay of any previews week-to-week. The upside might be that any preview that comes out suddenly seems chock full of goodies. It’s weird how I know The Moon that Embraces the Sun is not a good sageuk by any measure of expected quality, yet I’m pretty hooked on the central love story. … Continue reading →
This is it, folks. The penultimate episode of Office Girls, which pretty much readies itself to tie up all the loose ends. Mama Shen appears to survive her cancer surgery, Xing Ren and Zi Qi make up without even really discussing things through since the whole issue was never such a big deal, and Kai Er is so thwarted she … Continue reading →
Love Forward with Amber Kuo and Tammy Chen is gearing up for its premiere in two weeks and the first teasers are finally out. I really love what I’ve seen so far. The music is lovely, the scenes are shot beautifully, and the two leading ladies are really channeling their respective characters. SETTV made off like a bandit last year, … Continue reading →
So I finally finished reading the novel version of The Moon that Embraces the Sun. While the drama hasn’t deviated so significantly from the novel that I would accord it an “inspired by” moniker, its deviated enough in major enough ways that I have no clue what parts of the novel might make it into the drama intact. With rumors … Continue reading →