About "Dr. Jin" ...
"Dr. Jin" 닥터진
since May 26, 2012, currently airing on MBC, Fridays & Saturdays, extended to 20 episodes (ending August 3?)
As some of you know, Kim Jaejoong is the cat's cream to me... Because of everything he exposed (get your minds out of the gutter! not like that!) during the DBSK/TVXQ/Tohoshinki craze, but even moreso since then. He still continues to be his own quirky self and yet be a superstar idol, a personal pet to millions as well as an unstoppable creature who's an individual with a highly personal nature/disposition, not solely an "image."
It takes a strong person to be in the public eye the way he does it and to weather the bad as well as the good. The idol trainee system may have taught him how to survive being a workaholic, but he already had scads of ambition and drive since childhood and has not since stopped to rest (other than when being forced to) while creating a solid non-DBSK basis to his career. His entertainer persona may not appeal to everyone, but let's be clear that I'm one of those thousands wrapped securely around his little finger, as the saying goes.
The Review:: AUGH. Excuse me while I get this off my chest. Adoring Jaejoong personally does not mean I will not be critical of his singing, acting, dancing, modeling, other talents, projects, or (please let this never be the case), his behavior and conduct. (on that note - 여보, we all beg you, stop smoking heavily.)
So now I have a few things to say about "Dr. Jin."
This show, aiiiish! I don't like it. I keep watching it because of two people whom I already enjoy the heck out of watching, and I do like a couple of "new" actors. But the screenplay is terrible or else the direction is terrible, I don't know which, or if it's both. I have no hope of this redeeming itself - Episode 15 is in another window and I have zero desire to watch it without subtitles after just completing Ep.14 with subs.. If there was a "Dislike" button I would be tempted to press it *despite* one of the actors being Jaejoong.
I adore Park Minyoung. I don't care if she is or isn't the greatest actress in the K-drama halls, I just adore her and her style. And she is (usually) a damn good actress. Jaejoong was fantastic in Protect the Boss last year and he also did a very good job in Postman to Heaven (it's a telefilm you can watch almost anywhere online legally for free, aka Heaven's Postman.)
I think the only thing saving Jaejoong from actor-disaster here is that he knows everything there is to know about being on film and facing an audience and showing them something to like! So, no matter how trite and unexciting his scenes and lines are, he throws every ounce of stage presence he's got into them... except when he should be reining it in, and then he does rein it in.
I don't think ANY of the leads in the romantic triangle/quadrangle have chemistry or are able to pull off their corny, unexciting, melodramatic storylines.
I don't know if it's accurate to do so, but I'd like to put the fault on Director Han Hee, since he doesn't have a long or a good track record of Kdramas. Also I'm afraid that Song Seungheon just doesn't have the acting skills to wring more out of his pitiful character's script/scenes/lines, than a barely passable performance. He is not carrying the others to higher efforts, that much is clear.
The doctor/time-travel story is supposed to be interesting but in my opinion is not very good, focusing on basics (adult appendicitis, for example), nothing surprising or fascinating. But my standards might be too high, from having watched Science Fiction television since the 1970s. I've seen plenty of stories plunking modern medical knowledge into barbaric or alien situations. It's a big theme of the original Star Trek, etc.
The most intriguing and well-acted parts of the story have to do with royal politics and historical fiction. Lee Beomsu is excellent and I just love seeing him transform in fractions of time, from pathetic fool to scheming patriot! Veteran "character actor" Ju Pali is delightful. Hong Yeonghwi shows he can do subtlety, especially in moments where he wordlessly indicates deep affection for others, and I'd like to see more of his work (where he has a better role.)
Have any of you seen the other dramas by this director, Over the Rainbow (2006) or Super Rookie (2005)?
since May 26, 2012, currently airing on MBC, Fridays & Saturdays, extended to 20 episodes (ending August 3?)
As some of you know, Kim Jaejoong is the cat's cream to me... Because of everything he exposed (get your minds out of the gutter! not like that!) during the DBSK/TVXQ/Tohoshinki craze, but even moreso since then. He still continues to be his own quirky self and yet be a superstar idol, a personal pet to millions as well as an unstoppable creature who's an individual with a highly personal nature/disposition, not solely an "image."
It takes a strong person to be in the public eye the way he does it and to weather the bad as well as the good. The idol trainee system may have taught him how to survive being a workaholic, but he already had scads of ambition and drive since childhood and has not since stopped to rest (other than when being forced to) while creating a solid non-DBSK basis to his career. His entertainer persona may not appeal to everyone, but let's be clear that I'm one of those thousands wrapped securely around his little finger, as the saying goes.
The Review:: AUGH. Excuse me while I get this off my chest. Adoring Jaejoong personally does not mean I will not be critical of his singing, acting, dancing, modeling, other talents, projects, or (please let this never be the case), his behavior and conduct. (on that note - 여보, we all beg you, stop smoking heavily.)
So now I have a few things to say about "Dr. Jin."
This show, aiiiish! I don't like it. I keep watching it because of two people whom I already enjoy the heck out of watching, and I do like a couple of "new" actors. But the screenplay is terrible or else the direction is terrible, I don't know which, or if it's both. I have no hope of this redeeming itself - Episode 15 is in another window and I have zero desire to watch it without subtitles after just completing Ep.14 with subs.. If there was a "Dislike" button I would be tempted to press it *despite* one of the actors being Jaejoong.
I adore Park Minyoung. I don't care if she is or isn't the greatest actress in the K-drama halls, I just adore her and her style. And she is (usually) a damn good actress. Jaejoong was fantastic in Protect the Boss last year and he also did a very good job in Postman to Heaven (it's a telefilm you can watch almost anywhere online legally for free, aka Heaven's Postman.)
I think the only thing saving Jaejoong from actor-disaster here is that he knows everything there is to know about being on film and facing an audience and showing them something to like! So, no matter how trite and unexciting his scenes and lines are, he throws every ounce of stage presence he's got into them... except when he should be reining it in, and then he does rein it in.
I don't think ANY of the leads in the romantic triangle/quadrangle have chemistry or are able to pull off their corny, unexciting, melodramatic storylines.
I don't know if it's accurate to do so, but I'd like to put the fault on Director Han Hee, since he doesn't have a long or a good track record of Kdramas. Also I'm afraid that Song Seungheon just doesn't have the acting skills to wring more out of his pitiful character's script/scenes/lines, than a barely passable performance. He is not carrying the others to higher efforts, that much is clear.
The doctor/time-travel story is supposed to be interesting but in my opinion is not very good, focusing on basics (adult appendicitis, for example), nothing surprising or fascinating. But my standards might be too high, from having watched Science Fiction television since the 1970s. I've seen plenty of stories plunking modern medical knowledge into barbaric or alien situations. It's a big theme of the original Star Trek, etc.
The most intriguing and well-acted parts of the story have to do with royal politics and historical fiction. Lee Beomsu is excellent and I just love seeing him transform in fractions of time, from pathetic fool to scheming patriot! Veteran "character actor" Ju Pali is delightful. Hong Yeonghwi shows he can do subtlety, especially in moments where he wordlessly indicates deep affection for others, and I'd like to see more of his work (where he has a better role.)
Have any of you seen the other dramas by this director, Over the Rainbow (2006) or Super Rookie (2005)?