Review extravaganza time!
I know: Already? It feels like just the other day I was killing myself to corral all my thoughts in coherent fashion in a monster review of 2011′s dramas, and already it’s time to lose sleep wrangling my thoughts together for 2012. Time sure flies when you’re having fun, or old. Guess which one I am?
These days I shy away from blanket statements like “This was an awesome year” or “This was a terrible year.” Dramaland has been putting out so much material that all the nuance gets sucked out of a flattening statement like that. If anything, 2012 was the year it overflowed with variety—so yes, there were terrible shows, and there were awesome shows, and there were shows every step in between. But thanks to the explosion of cable programming—aided by the launching of not one, not two, but four new cable stations boasting big drama lineups—there was just about something for everyone.
I’ll start with the non-drama series, since they’re a different format than our standard prime-time miniseries. It seems apt to talk about them together, to compare apples to apples. As with all years, I add the caveat that not all the year’s dramas are talked about in this post, but future reviews in our year-end series will do a pretty good job covering the spread.
THE SITCOM
MINI-DRAMA
( Ma BoyCollapse )THE DRAMAS
( Color of WomanCollapse )STILL IN PROGRESS…
I’m setting these dramas off in their own section, because as of this writing they’re all still airing. But some are already near the halfway mark and next year’s a long way off, so I’ll touch on them briefly here.
( I Miss YouCollapse )( King of DramasCollapse )( Jeon Woo-chiCollapse )( School 2013Collapse )
Source: Dramabeans
Poll #1883777
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 162
What did you think of dramaland this year?
View Answers
| The best |
   58 (35.6%) |
| Meh |
| 68 (41.7%) |
| The worse |
| 5 (3.1%) |
| Didn't watch any |
| 22 (13.5%) |
| Old school dramas were the best anyway |
| 10 (6.1%) |
My favourite by far this year (and one of my favourite period) was Arang. What about you guys?
currently I'm watching King of Dramas,I really like it is not the best thing ever and not as funny but is quite entertaining and refreshing ~
I'm so super psyched about school 2013 though. It feels like the promised land of k-drama
Gaksital was superb and packed a real emotional punch. It was very tough viewing at times and I give all props imaginable to our two leads because they had to do some pretty devastating stuff on a long shoot and they really delivered. I liked the slight staginess of the sets and art direction and the occasional logic gaps (where did Kang To do all those quick changes?) as it seemed to reflect its manwha roots well.
Gentleman's Dignity was let down by a weakish ending and occasional resort to cliche, but was otherwise very good and grittier than you would expect for a rom-com. Acting-wise, the younger cast members didn't do so well next to the older cast (see Reply 1997 for a good mixed-age cast) so that was a weakness too, but generally I loved it as a piece of frothy fun with a few interesting sharp edges. Big up Hong Pro! You were great!
Edited at 2012-12-09 07:51 am (UTC)
gaksital which everyone loves was soooo boring to me. i didn't buy anyone's emotionsl
reply1997 and arang were my favorites.
i'm watching salaryman and enjoying it.
oh and the main pairing in Reply 1997 ruined the whole thing for me. they were awful
+ May Queen is still airing and it's gr8!
Edited at 2012-12-09 11:23 am (UTC)
cause ive seen this drama like 4 times and never scene it
Dropped Big, Dream High 2, and Faith.
Not done with Arang and the Magistrate (but this is probably one of Lee Junki's best work as a drama actor; less overacting and more depth).
Skimmed I Do, I Do (oddly watchable) and Color of Woman.
Never planned on watching Dr. Jin lol.
My favorite this year: Answer Me 1997. So awesome I actually kept up with the subs as they came out; I usually watch dramas only when they're done. I do agree with Dramabeans though. I did feel like the first half was the drama's stronger point. The longer last few eps didn't pack the same punch as the rest of the series, but by then, I was so invested in the characters that it was all good to me.
Followed by: Shut Up Flower Boy Band. Pacing more even. Although I did find the lead girl annoying sometimes? I think it's what kept me from rating this higher than Answer Me 1997.
Also finished The Moon that Embraces the Sun (started off well--I really loved the kids--but when they grew up, things got really weird. Also didn't think there was chemistry between the leads. The heroine as a character lost what made her strong and interesting when she was young) and Rooftop Prince (adorable characters, great chemistry between the leads, but plot meandered after a good start and sort of got lost as it went along. Villains got all confused about what they were doing too lol).
I wasn't planning on watching I Miss You because I haven't liked a melodrama in a while (and I kind of got traumatized by how bad Miss Ripley was), but I somehow found myself picking it up anyway because I liked the kid actors from The Moon that Embraces the Sun. Plot is really heavy and, of course, the characters are crying in every episode. Lots of triggery stuff (at least for me), but I keep watching it anyway. There's something oddly compelling about it. Will withhold full judgment until I finish it. :P
I'm watching Faith at the moment, about half way through, and I'm enjoying it so far.
Vampire Prosecutor 2 is pretty high on my list for this year too. Though it wasn't quite as consistent as the first season I still felt it was well put together and personally I think one of its strengths is in the casting! Roll on Season 3!
I mean the ending, no Shin, really? just the back of his head, really!? after waiting for idk how many episodes watching his pretty face sleeping in hospital bed, REALLY!???
and it's not like he is a bad actor or sth.
gaksital was great as well, though i wasn't as emotionally invested as everyone else. joo won's acting was brilliant, the boy deserves his growing popularity. faith and love rain were oddly compelling for me, though they had alot of flaws. acting/directing was great in nice guy and i'm happy for the whole cast for getting the recognition they deserve (especially moon chae won, loved her in the princess' man last year) but i couldn't connect with the show at all and dropped it around the halfway point. same with missing you, though i love yoon eun hye and yoo seung ho, the writing is so uneven.
huge disappointments: big (what a waste of gong yoo), a gentleman's dignity (hated the main guy with very fibre of my being, had zero plot, all the dude's were so sexist. loved kim woobin though), moon/sun (i watched it all the way to the end for kim soo hyun, but gdi it was just SO boring).
currently i'm enjoying school 2013 and cheondamdong alice.
Sadly it looks like I haven't seen the best dramas of the year, off to download Queen Inhyun's Man and Bridal Mask after reading the post :)
Big and I Do, I Do (the role reversal was very promising) left me disappointed in their endings. Though I must say I ADORED all the shoes in I Do, I Do. Oh the shoes! Dr. Jin had so many dumb and gross moments. I only watched to Jaejoong, and then I loved the eye candy that was Dr. Jin. Reply 1997 was so amazing! I may not have grown up in Korea in the '90s, but as a fangirl, I could connect with the fangirls on the show. I also agree that the series lost some of it's charm after the character left high school. I like that it didn't shy away from having a gay character like some shows do. Oh and the leads Queen Inhyun's Man had the best chemistry I've seen in any Kdrama. OTP for life!
Edited at 2012-12-10 03:32 am (UTC)
followed by shut up flower boy band
and then the first half of may queen. the second half nty.
It was flawless past the first 5 episodes.
Dream High 2....I still don't know how I made it through that drama. Maybe it through the power of Jiwoon's face. I liked Kang Sora's character but that whole drama needed something.
Big... It was a big UH-OH! While the comedic side was entertaining, the plot sank to the damn sea.
FAITH. I love Lee Minho and I watched that drama for Lee Minho. I came to like the plot but the progression was slow which made it boring.
Arang...it was good. But still...story progression was slow and I got bored.
Ma Boy was a really good mini-drama. I really enjoyed it. I laughed I aww'd. I loved it.
I Do I Do, I can't say much because I didn't make it past episode 3.
The Moon Embraces The Sun was really good. I loved Kim Soo Hyun (except for his loud wailing's) in this. It dragged but I enjoyed watching them all.
I really loved the amount of thought they put behind QIHM. The ending wasn't a cop out IMO..