I have watched the pilot or more of four shows recently, and I have two I recommend, one I semi-rec, and one I don't rec at all.
Let's start with the bad news, shall we?
Riverdale: I'm sorry,![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
slitherhither, but this show is not good at ALL. The writing is bad, the acting is... not terrible, but not great, certainly not enough to overcome the bad writing, and the overarching mystery feels like such a retread of shows that actually did it well. Basically, this is another CW shallow teen drama. And I'm not necessarily anti-shallow teen dramas as a rule, but you have to give me something to hang my interest onto (like Vampire Diaries). Going in, I didn't even have the reservations that jade_okelani and adelagia had about the show; they both said the same thing, that they were really into the comics as kids and what they were doing with the show felt "wrong." I read Archie a bit and shipped Archie with Betty, but it wasn't a passionate interest of mine. So I was more than willing to be swept up in whatever guilty pleasure Riverdale had to offer. Sadly, there was no GP to be had at all. ( Spoilers. )
Goblin: This is my semi-rec. I'm enjoying it, but also... not. I was realllllly excited about this one, because the story sounded good and Gong Yoo was cast as the lead -- I believe it's his first drama since being discharged from the military -- but the reality of it has been somewhat lacking. The theme song is haunting and lovely, the cinematography is gorgeous, the acting is great... basically everything but the story itself. ( Spoilers )
The OA: I knew almost nothing about this show going in; I had learned about it in an article about the lead actress. I knew it was sci-fi, and that was enough for me to give the pilot a shot. Unlike Goblin and Riverdale, its overarching mystery is pretty intriguing, and they are able to successfully balance the mystery with giving the audience enough bits and pieces to keep us interested. I'm not crazy about the lead actress, but the story and writing are good so far, and the characters aren't two dimensional. It kind of feels like a sci-fi version of The Breakfast Club, lol.
Strong Woman Do Bong Soon: I rec this one unreservedly, with my whole heart. <3 Park Bo-young is almost impossibly adorable, sweet and likable. Well, to me, anyway. I've liked her in everything I've ever seen her in, starting with You Call It Passion, a movie I saw on one of my flights somewhere. She seems to be transitioning from doing movies to doing dramas, and so far, I'm loving it. Oh My Ghostess was her first drama in awhile, and her transitions from being the mousy restaurant worker to being the bubbly ghost were impressively night and day. I don't think she looks as good with the lighter brown/orange hair she's rocking as Bong-soon, but she's a different character so I'll live. ;)
Park Hyung-sik is a very pleasant surprise as Ahn Min-hyuk. I've never seen him in anything before, and usually when I watch K-drama these days, part of me laments that the hero isn't being played by SIG. ;) In this case, there's no lamenting at all! Jade and I both loooooooooooooove him!
I also love Ji-soo as In Guk-doo. I first saw him in the movie One Way Trip, and I had liked him very much there, too. Jade isn't as crazy about him, but honestly he's helping me like even the secondary pairing. I like the actor, I like the childhood friends thing (hello, Answer Me 1997!), etc. I do prefer her with Min-hyuk, but I can enjoy the Guk-doo ship too, which is a nice change of pace from my usual feelings about K-drama triangles (that the second lead should just GO AWAY).
( Spoilers. )
Let's start with the bad news, shall we?
Riverdale: I'm sorry,
slitherhither, but this show is not good at ALL. The writing is bad, the acting is... not terrible, but not great, certainly not enough to overcome the bad writing, and the overarching mystery feels like such a retread of shows that actually did it well. Basically, this is another CW shallow teen drama. And I'm not necessarily anti-shallow teen dramas as a rule, but you have to give me something to hang my interest onto (like Vampire Diaries). Going in, I didn't even have the reservations that jade_okelani and adelagia had about the show; they both said the same thing, that they were really into the comics as kids and what they were doing with the show felt "wrong." I read Archie a bit and shipped Archie with Betty, but it wasn't a passionate interest of mine. So I was more than willing to be swept up in whatever guilty pleasure Riverdale had to offer. Sadly, there was no GP to be had at all. ( Spoilers. )Goblin: This is my semi-rec. I'm enjoying it, but also... not. I was realllllly excited about this one, because the story sounded good and Gong Yoo was cast as the lead -- I believe it's his first drama since being discharged from the military -- but the reality of it has been somewhat lacking. The theme song is haunting and lovely, the cinematography is gorgeous, the acting is great... basically everything but the story itself. ( Spoilers )
The OA: I knew almost nothing about this show going in; I had learned about it in an article about the lead actress. I knew it was sci-fi, and that was enough for me to give the pilot a shot. Unlike Goblin and Riverdale, its overarching mystery is pretty intriguing, and they are able to successfully balance the mystery with giving the audience enough bits and pieces to keep us interested. I'm not crazy about the lead actress, but the story and writing are good so far, and the characters aren't two dimensional. It kind of feels like a sci-fi version of The Breakfast Club, lol.
Strong Woman Do Bong Soon: I rec this one unreservedly, with my whole heart. <3 Park Bo-young is almost impossibly adorable, sweet and likable. Well, to me, anyway. I've liked her in everything I've ever seen her in, starting with You Call It Passion, a movie I saw on one of my flights somewhere. She seems to be transitioning from doing movies to doing dramas, and so far, I'm loving it. Oh My Ghostess was her first drama in awhile, and her transitions from being the mousy restaurant worker to being the bubbly ghost were impressively night and day. I don't think she looks as good with the lighter brown/orange hair she's rocking as Bong-soon, but she's a different character so I'll live. ;)
Park Hyung-sik is a very pleasant surprise as Ahn Min-hyuk. I've never seen him in anything before, and usually when I watch K-drama these days, part of me laments that the hero isn't being played by SIG. ;) In this case, there's no lamenting at all! Jade and I both loooooooooooooove him!
I also love Ji-soo as In Guk-doo. I first saw him in the movie One Way Trip, and I had liked him very much there, too. Jade isn't as crazy about him, but honestly he's helping me like even the secondary pairing. I like the actor, I like the childhood friends thing (hello, Answer Me 1997!), etc. I do prefer her with Min-hyuk, but I can enjoy the Guk-doo ship too, which is a nice change of pace from my usual feelings about K-drama triangles (that the second lead should just GO AWAY).
( Spoilers. )
