The English teacher in me angsts over the title. The glaring misuse of adjective order has been driving me to distraction. I know, I know... it's interlanguage... Who cares... it's a kdrama title afterall? Nonetheless it grates...
The show, on the hand, is off to a flying start. At least I think it is and I approve. Mostly anyway. It's rare for me to like kdrama off the blocks but so far everything looks promising. While I'm completely sold on the two main male leads, the female lead leaves me cold. Still, it's early days yet and kdramas can sometimes go off in unexpected directions. What's not so unexpected are the hints of UST and a love triangle in the winds. I suppose there's a certain demographic that needs to be catered to which consume this stuff for breakfast.
Once again we have ourselves a genius doctor/surgeon (Park Tae Shin played by Kwon Sang Woo) in the lead. But on this occasion, our resident genius is actually a genuinely nice guy with bedside manners to die for. Like Sagara from Doctors, he too, lives by the mantra that the patients come first. Having the courage of convictions in spades, our good doctor spends his waking hours at a free clinic which, unknown to him, is on the brink of bankruptcy. Our country doctor, however, is much sought after, has something of a world reputation and as we see in the first episode, is being headhunted by a hospital from the US.
While Park is in negotiations with an agent of the US hospital at a flash hotel, a private hospital is holding an event announcing the advent of a new initiative called "Medical Top Team". It's the brainchild of Chief Han Seung Jae (Ju Ji Hoon) who seems to be the illegitimate son of the hospital-owning family. He's recruiting internally and well... as with such things, there's a power struggle by different factions to have their people in this team of elite doctors.
So far most of the elements work. My only reservation so far is the brilliant thoracic surgeon who doesn't quite feel as brilliant or ambitious as one might expect. She's set up as a foil to the free-spirited Dr Park and probably the lynch pinch of a potential love triangle. Her first encounter of Dr Park isn't a happy one and quite likely she's disturbed by how unencumbered by pride and ambition he seems to be. Idealism in medicine sees to be a foreign concept in her neck of the woods apparently.
So yeah... Dr Park is a good bloke... down right charming as he does his Florence Nightingale shtick. If he isn't already perfect, he's also a caring diagnostician. What more could his patients want? In one episode we see him perform two emergency maneouvres, diagnose a stranger's limping motions and perform not one but two emergency surgeries.
No wonder Chief Han wants him on his team.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Good Doctor (2013)
I started watching this one after Doctors and did come to love it. The story is centered around an autistic savant who is trying to gain acceptance as a pediatrician. He is ridiculously endearing and soon everyone... even his toughest critics... fall under his child-like spell.
Said pediatrician, Park Si On, is played by Joo Won, who was in the poor excuse of a spy comedy, "Level 7 Civil Servant" -- a cringeworthy shemozzle. Joo Won is good here, going for simplicity and understatement... a relief really when the temptation to ham things up is ever present.
The story begins with a bang as we catch glimpses of Si On's childhood and watch the young doctor perform an emergency procedure in the hustle and bustle of a train station. Si On, we find out, was horribly abused as a child by his father because of his disability but thankfully the show doesn't feel the need to expend multiple episodes sledgehammering us with the horrors.
Not surprisingly, the hospital where Si On is attached to, is a hotbed of infighting among those who support the Director and those who don't. If one doesn't think the stakes are high enough, the facility is also on a verge of a financial crisis.
It has all the classic kdrama elements except that the writing takes characterization seriously and the supporting cast especially the kiddies are very likeable. Yes, there are villains, potential villains and frustrated good guys. In the middle of the storm is Si On, whose presence challenges them to be kinder, gentler human beings.
It wouldn't be a kdrama without some kind of romance. In this case, the woman in question (Dr Cha) is something of a mentor, friend and neighbour. It's the sort of romance I have mixed feelings about... it's sweet and courageous but I'm not sure what the motivations are. I'm not convinced by the 11th hour I feel it in my heart scenario, however, I'm not going to lose sleep over it. Frankly, I didn't think the show needed it.
More importantly, the growth and maturity of Park Si On as he faces the big bad world is really the driving force of this drama. There is something admirable about someone not quite fitting the mould making his mark in a demanding occupation. What I found more admirable is the character's determination to not position himself as a victim or to make excuses but to strive to find his niche in the hospital.
My favourite moment in the series was the Peter Pan play that the doctors put together for their pediatric patients. It's probably no coincidence that Park Si On would take on the titular role of the Boy Who Never Grows Up with his ladylove playing Wendy. Incidentally, most of my favourite parts in the film involved children... surprise, surprise... and how they interact with the doctors. Perhaps it's a K-Dramaland thing or perhaps ailing kids are smarter than most when they have so much time to reflect but there seemed to be no end of wisdom dripping out of the mouth of babes in this show.
Unabashedly I like my medical dramas to have lots of medical procedures and alas this is where Good Doctor falls short. First and foremost it's a heartwarming tale of an individual overcoming obstacles so there's not a lot of emphasis on actual medical stuff. I am such a sucker for medical jargon and it did feel odd from time to time that there wasn't more Latin or Greek being thrown around.
All in all it was a heartwarming piece of drama and the cast as a whole was a good fit.
My favourite moment in the series was the Peter Pan play that the doctors put together for their pediatric patients. It's probably no coincidence that Park Si On would take on the titular role of the Boy Who Never Grows Up with his ladylove playing Wendy. Incidentally, most of my favourite parts in the film involved children... surprise, surprise... and how they interact with the doctors. Perhaps it's a K-Dramaland thing or perhaps ailing kids are smarter than most when they have so much time to reflect but there seemed to be no end of wisdom dripping out of the mouth of babes in this show.
Unabashedly I like my medical dramas to have lots of medical procedures and alas this is where Good Doctor falls short. First and foremost it's a heartwarming tale of an individual overcoming obstacles so there's not a lot of emphasis on actual medical stuff. I am such a sucker for medical jargon and it did feel odd from time to time that there wasn't more Latin or Greek being thrown around.
All in all it was a heartwarming piece of drama and the cast as a whole was a good fit.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Brain (2011)
Been having a bit of binge of medical dramas of late. As is often the case, it starts with one and then one hears about another must-see and on it goes. "Brain" is the latest of four medical dramas that I was sucked into following the past few weeks.
The great achievement of this kdrama lies in the writing of and the casting of a brilliant performer in the role of the main character. Lee Kang Hoon is a bombastic, unlikable neurosurgeon who has several very large chips etched on his busy shoulders. He's something of a genius with an elephant-size ego to match. To declare him a complex character would be akin to saying that water is wet and as a member of the audience, I alternated between dislike, love, loathing, sympathy and love for this powerhouse of doctoring.
No doubt that the story has its fair share of kdrama histrionics and cliches: There's the traumatic childhood with abusive father who drank more than his fair share. There's a lot of top-down yelling and screaming. A bickering couple. A whisper of a love triangle. An emotionally constipated male lead. Egregious politicking in the hospital hierarchy... etc etc etc...
What makes this piece of television a cut above the usual melodramatic chaff is the handiwork of an actor that shifts seamlessly from chewing up the scenery, to emoting flashes vulnerability and angsting over the injustice of having to kowtow to the whims of lesser men. It's a mesmerizing portrayal on different levels and in the hands of such a skilled performer one inevitably succumbs to the charms of the character to the point of rooting for him. And then, there's that tilt of the head... and that swagger...
Despite his busy schedule and his unerring talent for lurching from crisis to crisis, our protagonist still manages to find time to fall in love. Romance isn't his strongest suit and the young resident neurologist that he's supervising manages to somehow get under his skin. He flip flops between a gruff awkwardness and angry posturing around her which is no doubt a coping mechanism for a man who is more emotionally wound up than a top. When he's really awkward, his voice turns shrill and his chin does an odd up and down movement. Like a Ken doll being manipulated by a child who has an urgent need for Ken to be agreeable. It's all very cute really... to watch an otherwise rambunctious grown man turn into a puddle of goo because he just can't tell the woman he loves how he really feels.
Some of the best bits of tv in this series come from watching Lee facing off with his mentor and adversary Kim Sang Chul, a man considered to be the greatest neurosurgeon in the country. On the surface, both men seem as alike as chalk and cheese but as the story progresses, it's clear that these two men have much more in common. It's fascinating to see a kind of A Star is Born subplot emerging in the latter part of the series -- a juxtaposition of two lives going in different directions.
While I like the surgery bits, I am reluctant to declare this the best medical drama I've seen (J medicals take the prize for that one, I think). Shin Ha-Kyun, the amazing talent behind Lee Kang Hoon, is electrifying and without him the show, I don't think would have been quite as enthralling. Nevertheless, I liked it a lot and would say that Brain is an example of how having a great actor in the lead role can make all the difference in the world.
The great achievement of this kdrama lies in the writing of and the casting of a brilliant performer in the role of the main character. Lee Kang Hoon is a bombastic, unlikable neurosurgeon who has several very large chips etched on his busy shoulders. He's something of a genius with an elephant-size ego to match. To declare him a complex character would be akin to saying that water is wet and as a member of the audience, I alternated between dislike, love, loathing, sympathy and love for this powerhouse of doctoring.
No doubt that the story has its fair share of kdrama histrionics and cliches: There's the traumatic childhood with abusive father who drank more than his fair share. There's a lot of top-down yelling and screaming. A bickering couple. A whisper of a love triangle. An emotionally constipated male lead. Egregious politicking in the hospital hierarchy... etc etc etc...
What makes this piece of television a cut above the usual melodramatic chaff is the handiwork of an actor that shifts seamlessly from chewing up the scenery, to emoting flashes vulnerability and angsting over the injustice of having to kowtow to the whims of lesser men. It's a mesmerizing portrayal on different levels and in the hands of such a skilled performer one inevitably succumbs to the charms of the character to the point of rooting for him. And then, there's that tilt of the head... and that swagger...
Despite his busy schedule and his unerring talent for lurching from crisis to crisis, our protagonist still manages to find time to fall in love. Romance isn't his strongest suit and the young resident neurologist that he's supervising manages to somehow get under his skin. He flip flops between a gruff awkwardness and angry posturing around her which is no doubt a coping mechanism for a man who is more emotionally wound up than a top. When he's really awkward, his voice turns shrill and his chin does an odd up and down movement. Like a Ken doll being manipulated by a child who has an urgent need for Ken to be agreeable. It's all very cute really... to watch an otherwise rambunctious grown man turn into a puddle of goo because he just can't tell the woman he loves how he really feels.
Some of the best bits of tv in this series come from watching Lee facing off with his mentor and adversary Kim Sang Chul, a man considered to be the greatest neurosurgeon in the country. On the surface, both men seem as alike as chalk and cheese but as the story progresses, it's clear that these two men have much more in common. It's fascinating to see a kind of A Star is Born subplot emerging in the latter part of the series -- a juxtaposition of two lives going in different directions.
While I like the surgery bits, I am reluctant to declare this the best medical drama I've seen (J medicals take the prize for that one, I think). Shin Ha-Kyun, the amazing talent behind Lee Kang Hoon, is electrifying and without him the show, I don't think would have been quite as enthralling. Nevertheless, I liked it a lot and would say that Brain is an example of how having a great actor in the lead role can make all the difference in the world.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Doctors: Saikyou no mei (Seasons 1 and 2)
Crusading doctors are certainly nothing new in the J medical staple -- doctors who are renegades, confrontational and do their best (or worst) to buck the system that they are forced to work in. Kosuke Sagara, a surgeon specializing in gastroenterology, is no different in that respect. However, aside from being the ultimate surgeon, he is a brilliant strategist bordering occasionally on the Machiavellian. Underneath that cloak of smiling affability that wanders around Dougami General Hospital, is a ruthless manipulator whose chief goal is to transform a mediocre hospital into a world class facility. Fortunately, for the hospital and its inmates, this meddling doctor is on the side of the angels and his clarion cry is "everything is for the sake of the patients".
J-medical dramas are almost never just about medical treatments. There's the usual team building and recruitment process as well as the moralizing about the supremacy of patient care. What's different though is the hero of the piece who uses every weapon at his disposal to make sure that his ideal of good medical practice and his own survival is maintained at every turn.
Despite the good doctor trading in some morally dubious tactics, it's impossible to dislike Ikki Saramura's charming portrayal of Sagara. Saramura plays all the different aspects of the surgeon with an understated brilliance and invokes our sympathy for his connivances especially when his main rival is such an obvious lightweight. A buffoon as you will. Suguru Moriyama, successor to the Dougami hospital, has the potential to be a great surgeon but lacks any shred of self-awareness for genuine change much less have any nous to run a hospital.
Season 1 sees Sagara transform Dougami from a three ring circus into a quality medical facility through his machinations. It's all done gently and subtly, without fanfare and before anyone else knows what's happening. From poor work ethic to disputes with nurses, the doctor steers the ship slowly, slowly catchy monkey. On top of that I've never seen anyone so chuffed about getting cancer but Sagara even manages to deploy that to shake things up within the team.
Season 2 delves into the the succession issue. The incumbent director of Dougami is desperate to retire and take a round the world cruise but her immediate successor is not up to the task and the whole world knows it. After some clever manoeuvering in the background with no substantive progress, Sagara throws down the gauntlet and puts his hand up as a contender. This brings Sagara into conflict not only with Moriyama and his sycophantic lackeys but with those loyal to the director. In spite of the mammoth task of continuing transformation, Sagara shows repeatedly why he is the master of the game.
It's a terrific show and my only complaint is the paltry number of episodes. There's even hints of romantic possibilities between Sagara and nurse Miyabe which may or may not be one-sided. The cast is good overall and there's the usual jdrama hamming around but all in all it's a blast. Bring on Season 3!
J-medical dramas are almost never just about medical treatments. There's the usual team building and recruitment process as well as the moralizing about the supremacy of patient care. What's different though is the hero of the piece who uses every weapon at his disposal to make sure that his ideal of good medical practice and his own survival is maintained at every turn.
Despite the good doctor trading in some morally dubious tactics, it's impossible to dislike Ikki Saramura's charming portrayal of Sagara. Saramura plays all the different aspects of the surgeon with an understated brilliance and invokes our sympathy for his connivances especially when his main rival is such an obvious lightweight. A buffoon as you will. Suguru Moriyama, successor to the Dougami hospital, has the potential to be a great surgeon but lacks any shred of self-awareness for genuine change much less have any nous to run a hospital.
Season 1 sees Sagara transform Dougami from a three ring circus into a quality medical facility through his machinations. It's all done gently and subtly, without fanfare and before anyone else knows what's happening. From poor work ethic to disputes with nurses, the doctor steers the ship slowly, slowly catchy monkey. On top of that I've never seen anyone so chuffed about getting cancer but Sagara even manages to deploy that to shake things up within the team.
Season 2 delves into the the succession issue. The incumbent director of Dougami is desperate to retire and take a round the world cruise but her immediate successor is not up to the task and the whole world knows it. After some clever manoeuvering in the background with no substantive progress, Sagara throws down the gauntlet and puts his hand up as a contender. This brings Sagara into conflict not only with Moriyama and his sycophantic lackeys but with those loyal to the director. In spite of the mammoth task of continuing transformation, Sagara shows repeatedly why he is the master of the game.
It's a terrific show and my only complaint is the paltry number of episodes. There's even hints of romantic possibilities between Sagara and nurse Miyabe which may or may not be one-sided. The cast is good overall and there's the usual jdrama hamming around but all in all it's a blast. Bring on Season 3!
Sunday, July 28, 2013
"Mischievous Kiss" (2013) Part 3
So why did Smart Boy agree to an arranged marriage? Aside from the financial benefits... that is. Was it because his ego was stoked by the thought of all these women falling at feet. The show never quite goes into that. Would Oizumi have withdrawn his interest in the family business if Smart Boy had said "no". I'm not convinced that he would have.
I suspect an element of guilt in all of this. Smart Boy had strenuously resisted every effort on the part of his parents... his mother in particular, to manipulate his love life and his career choices. Dad collapses after a major family showdown and then Smart Boy feels obligated to reverse the family fortunes. No doubt he is racked with guilt, believing himself, at least in part, responsible for the deterioration of his father's health. That he has the brains to comprehend what is at stake is never in doubt. However, under that bravado is still a 19 year old adolescent struggling to find himself. At the end of the day, he is a boy playing a man's game.
Quite likely too, he underestimates the extent of his feelings for Lead Girl, believing some how that the head will overcome the whispers of the heart. It's not hard to see where the thought processes come from: The fiancee is nice to look at, intelligent and proves to be handy in the kitchen -- everything Lead Girl isn't. On paper, she's perfect. Except we don't marry paper. People are flesh and blood with feelings even geniuses with IQs of 200. Once the interloping fiancee realises where Smart Boy's heart truly lies, she's not inclined to play second fiddle.
In all of this, I sense a gentle repudiation of traditional familial strictures for personal choice and freedom. Family is important... but mainly as a place where individuals can find love and acceptance. For instance we see a motherless girl who craves for romance, gains a de facto family first then marries into it. That aspect especially had resonances of While You Were Sleeping.
Yes, Dumb Girl marries Smart Boy. With all the frills... and for her part, with no small amount of glee. The strange thing is you don't wonder why. On paper it feels odd and yet seeing them together it all makes sense. It's a challenging coupling from the start but there's beauty in the chaos as each demands the other to be better than what they are.
This version of ItaKiss isn't perfect but the casting of the leads was wondrously inspired. If it hadn't been for their palpable chemistry, I doubt I would've continued watching after the first episode. I think I fell in love with the show about the same time Smart Boy started to see Dumb Girl in a different light. Poor fellow, he would never be the same the day she moved in. Watching all those tender looks he cast her way when she wasn't looking, I was urging my screen to: "Kiss her already, you know you want to."
And so he does...
In the rain, no less...
I suspect an element of guilt in all of this. Smart Boy had strenuously resisted every effort on the part of his parents... his mother in particular, to manipulate his love life and his career choices. Dad collapses after a major family showdown and then Smart Boy feels obligated to reverse the family fortunes. No doubt he is racked with guilt, believing himself, at least in part, responsible for the deterioration of his father's health. That he has the brains to comprehend what is at stake is never in doubt. However, under that bravado is still a 19 year old adolescent struggling to find himself. At the end of the day, he is a boy playing a man's game.
Quite likely too, he underestimates the extent of his feelings for Lead Girl, believing some how that the head will overcome the whispers of the heart. It's not hard to see where the thought processes come from: The fiancee is nice to look at, intelligent and proves to be handy in the kitchen -- everything Lead Girl isn't. On paper, she's perfect. Except we don't marry paper. People are flesh and blood with feelings even geniuses with IQs of 200. Once the interloping fiancee realises where Smart Boy's heart truly lies, she's not inclined to play second fiddle.
In all of this, I sense a gentle repudiation of traditional familial strictures for personal choice and freedom. Family is important... but mainly as a place where individuals can find love and acceptance. For instance we see a motherless girl who craves for romance, gains a de facto family first then marries into it. That aspect especially had resonances of While You Were Sleeping.
Yes, Dumb Girl marries Smart Boy. With all the frills... and for her part, with no small amount of glee. The strange thing is you don't wonder why. On paper it feels odd and yet seeing them together it all makes sense. It's a challenging coupling from the start but there's beauty in the chaos as each demands the other to be better than what they are.
This version of ItaKiss isn't perfect but the casting of the leads was wondrously inspired. If it hadn't been for their palpable chemistry, I doubt I would've continued watching after the first episode. I think I fell in love with the show about the same time Smart Boy started to see Dumb Girl in a different light. Poor fellow, he would never be the same the day she moved in. Watching all those tender looks he cast her way when she wasn't looking, I was urging my screen to: "Kiss her already, you know you want to."
And so he does...
In the rain, no less...
Friday, July 26, 2013
"Mischievous Kiss" (2013) Part 2
While I am taken with Itazura na Kiss, I worry about the heroic dumb girl role model. It seems incredible that a girl who has grown up without a mother for most of her life has such woeful culinary skills especially if Dad is supposedly a chef of some renown. One would’ve thought that if there was something a motherless girl would be good at, it would be cooking – having to fend for herself and all that kind of thing especially when Dad’s working late nights.
Yes, I know, it’s fiction and it doesn’t have to make sense except within the schema of the story. Only I suspect it’s a necessary contrivance because it opens up avenues of humour throughout the story. Clearly, it’s a running gag that Lead Dumb Girl can’t cook to save her life and it’s a point on which her good nature is sorely tested. The fact that she’s surrounded by good cooks, only serves to exacerbate her incompetence in cringeworthy fashion. There’s one occasion where Lead Girl takes it upon herself to cook her way into smart boy's heart (spurred on by well-meaning friends) and there are no prizes for anyone who guesses how that misguided notion turns out. Smart boy doesn't appreciate burnt offerings as love tokens no matter how good the intention so he takes a turn behind the stove and show why he is the prince of men.
As a mother of two girls, I find the dumb but lovable girl scenario both cloying and disturbing. I don't see the attraction myself but it's a common characterization in these kinds of stories.
The saving grace for me is that Lead Girl here oozes her own brand of likability. It’s a relief that despite her sometimes masochistic attachment to smart boy she’s no doormat. And that dogged persistence to win his heart is almost admirable.Thank God too, there’s something called character development... and I’m relieved to say that she comes out smelling like roses. When the time comes for her to walk away graciously, she does so with dignity.
It's never quite clear why he feels the need to go this far.It confuses dumb girl no end because despite what is commonly thought about her, she has enough nous to notice that he is gradually thawing out. Thawing out, however, is not the same thing as saying, "I love you".
So he's not game to throw in his lot with Lead Girl until he thinks that she might be ripe for the picking by her long time admirer. It's a headscratcher that one... what he was thinking when he agreed to the arranged marriage... Was he thinking of building a harem... Didn't think polygamy was still practised in Japan in any meaningful fashion. Well, he does have an ego the size of China so I probably wouldn't put it past him to harbour fanciful ideas about Lead Girl pining away for him for the rest of her pitiful days on earth. Luckily for us and Lead Girl, the fiancee sees his hidden fires... Then he has an epiphany in rain, comes to his senses and makes his confession in first rate egotistical fashion:
You love me
Funnily enough... it all ends well. For Lead Girl and Smart Boy. Conveniently well. As it should... It's a rom com after all. Who wants to watch a rom com that ends badly.? I certainly don't. :D
So he's not game to throw in his lot with Lead Girl until he thinks that she might be ripe for the picking by her long time admirer. It's a headscratcher that one... what he was thinking when he agreed to the arranged marriage... Was he thinking of building a harem... Didn't think polygamy was still practised in Japan in any meaningful fashion. Well, he does have an ego the size of China so I probably wouldn't put it past him to harbour fanciful ideas about Lead Girl pining away for him for the rest of her pitiful days on earth. Luckily for us and Lead Girl, the fiancee sees his hidden fires... Then he has an epiphany in rain, comes to his senses and makes his confession in first rate egotistical fashion:
You love me
You can't love anyone but me...
Don't say you love any man besides me
Funnily enough... it all ends well. For Lead Girl and Smart Boy. Conveniently well. As it should... It's a rom com after all. Who wants to watch a rom com that ends badly.? I certainly don't. :D
"Mischievous Kiss" (2013) (Jap: Itazura Na Kiss -- Love in Tokyo)
Last Saturday (Aussie Time) saw the end of Itazura na Kiss: Love in Tokyo, a Japanese live action, television adaptation of a ridiculously popular manga of the same name. I gather that it’s the Pride and Prejudice of shoujo manga as this is the fifth version to grace television and computer screens worldwide. It is, to all intents and purposes, a farcical rom com that begins as an unrequited high school romance and then moves into angst territory. It is loads of silly fun and features characters with personalities at opposite ends of the spectrum. The fact that I liked it surprises me... I’m not a fan of high school romances as a rule... and I’m certainly getting too old for egregious slapstick. Nonetheless, I was charmed almost instantly by the plucky (though underachieving) female lead who has a talent for getting things wrong and who has a penchant for stalking the object of her affections. With admirable fearlessness, she sets herself the mammoth task of winning the heart of the smartest boy in school, whose icy declaration that he doesn’t care for “dumb girls” becomes the catalyst for a rollercoaster “will they, won’t they” journey.
Okay... it sounds fairly pedestrian as romances go but the familiar can be oddly addictive. Especially if it is oozing with all manner of cuteness. Before you know it, the show seduces you into rooting for the most unlikely couple in Dramaland. At first, smart boy maintains his distance and disdain but much to his own surprise, dumb girl turns out to have an unexpected streak of deviousness and determination. In spite of himself, he begins falling for her while still maintaining a facade of disinterest. Oh, he likes her... it leaks when she's conveniently not looking but he’d go to hades in a hand basket first probably before admitting to it. Not helping the course of true love, however, is his somewhat overbearing mother whose tireless insistence that he marry dumb girl pushes all the buttons of his already well-developed rebellious radar.
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