Aug 18, 2008 16:47
1. I went out and bought a couple more books by L.J. Smith. Basically, she is like Stephenie Meyer but without the sparkling. She is trashy, sure, but it is enjoyable trashy, not painful and idiotic. Sort of like the difference between shoujo manga and a Cassie Edwards novel :P The two novels (of a quadrology) of hers that I've read, also involved a bored high school girl and a sexy vampire who decides that going to school might be fun. They were written 20 years ago, however, so I think someone has been borrowing :)
This said, while they will never be characters I dream about, Elena and Stefan are much much less irritating. Elena is supposed to be beautiful up-front (no silly fake modesty) and Stephan does not sparkle and does not seem to believe in frigidity waiting until vamp marriage. Also, nobody imprints. And there is angst. I bought a few more of her books, too.
2. I think I will start watching Utahime. I give up on KKK2003. It's too depressing and twisted even for me. It's like artistically slashing your wrists and looking at pretty colors.
3. So, I am faced with the realization that the only upcoming kdramas I am interested in are (in order):
a. East of Eden: star-studded historical epic set in 1960s-1970s, about tangled families, politics, and revenge. Starring Song Seong Heon, Lee Da Hae etc etc.
b. Tazza: story about gambling and revenge and organized crime. Starring Jang Hyuk, Kim Min Joon (yum on both!) and Han Ye Seol.
c. The Kingdom of the Winds: a period epic starring Song Il Gook (be still my heart!) as the most capable warrior son of an elderly king slowly going mad. Guess who has to deal with it!
d. Painter of the Wind: in this one, Moon Geun Young masquerades as a man in medieval Korea, in order to be able to learn how to paint and to solve her father's murder. Also with Park Shin Young.
Did you notice something about all these dramas? They are all period (with the possible exception of Tazza. Not sure when it's set, but it does have a retro feel). With the exception of Iljimae, no Korean period drama, whether it's very traditional, like Jumong, or very fusion, like Hong Gil Dong, whether it's set in prehistory, like Legend, or 1930s, like Capital Scandal, has yet to disappoint me. And even Iljimae was merely mediocre, rather than a total disaster. Also, except for EoE, they are all based on either novels or mangas. And not a single one of them is a romcom. I am burned out on them, after a spate of really disappointing ones recently. So let's hope they get my kdrama love back.
3. They are making a Taiwanese adaptation of Skip Beat apparently with Jerry Yan and Ariel Lin as Ren and Kyoko. Heeee. I like SB manga OK but am not a huge fan. Could make a cute drama though. Mainly, I am so amused at the height difference. Ariel is always super-tiny (she could be tiny even in jdramas :P) and Jerry's what, 6'1"? Or more? Heeee.
Though if it's also true that Joe Cheng is going to be this version's Sho, the casting director has been doing bad drugs. Sure, take one of the most popular twdrama pairings and make one the heroine and one the other guy. How well is it going to work out? Yeah...
east of eden,
l j smith,
skip-beat,
the vampire diaries,
the kingdom of the winds,
doramas,
books,
painter of the wind,
tazza