Signal Korean Review

Drama name: Signal
Country: South Korea
Year: Jan- Mar 2016

This is the first drama that I've watched solely based on online commentors recommendation. I read a lot of comments saying that this is a really good drama and a must-watch. So I've given it a go and I must say they were pretty right! :D 

So, what's this drama about?

Lieutenant Park Hae Young is a criminal profiler with the Korean police force. His job is to analyse the behaviour of criminals and come up with a basic profile of the suspect based on investigation reports, photos and other evidence.

However, in his free time he would use his profiling skills to provide information about celebrity hook-ups to paparazzis for fun. (I know right?! I bet a lot of people out there would love to know who their favourite oppa is secretly dating right now!)

Lieut. Park was caught one day by violent crime detective Cha Soo Hyun for stalking a female celebrity by going through her trash. The charge was later dropped by the celebrity's management. Lieut. Park was peeved that the violent crime unit was used to arrest him just because the celebrity's manager called them to do so instead of solving real crime.

Lieut. Park had a bad experience in the past with the police force. When he was small, he witnessed a female schoolmate kidnapped and was later found dead. He went to the police station to give information on the kidnapper but the police didn't bother to listen to him. The kidnapper was never caught.

His own brother was also falsely accused of rape and later committed suicide. Ironically, he enrolled in the police university and became a policeman after all. But, his attitude towards all police has never changed.

As he was leaving the police station after being freed from arrest, Lieut. Park found his car being blocked by a truck. Suddenly, he heard a crackling sound and someone calling his name. He found an old walkie-talkie in the back of the truck and started to communicate with a detective named Lee Jae Han.

The detective told him about a body found in a manhole behind a mental hospital. Thinking he was just hearing things, Lieut. Park went to investigate the above mentioned location. To his horror, he did find a skeletal remains in the manhole. Apparently, it was related to the kidnapped schoolmate case of long ago.

Lieut. Park tries to find the detective but then he discovers that Lee Jae Han had disappeared for 15 years already. He realises that the detective that he had been communicating with is from the past.

The story goes on with Lieut. Park communicating with detective Lee Jae Han via the walkie-talkie and solving old crime cases. Lieut. Park discovers that eventually the investigation of these cases might cost the life of Detective Lee Jae Han.

Overall thoughts?

The drama is intense and thrilling. Each episode will keep you on the edge and you'll find yourself screaming out who is the criminal even before they reveal it. :D 

Best parts of the drama?

Unlike other dramas, there isn't any trendy interiors or cafes in this one. However, the overall story of this drama will captivate your attention. 

I enjoyed the conversations between Lieut. Park and Detective Lee Jae Han via the walkie-talkie: 

Teary moment when Lieut. Park knew that Detective Lee Jae Han will die if he continues the investigation: 

The moment where Detective Cha Soo Hyun realises she is talking to Detective Lee Jae Han:

Detective Lee Jae Han chuckles when he finds out that Detective Cha Soo Hyun became a team leader in year 2015: 

Notable scenes:

My favourite duo in this drama are the old detective and forensics guy. :D They do provide some humour amidst the seriousness of this drama:

The profiling of the serial killer (It's Producer Ahn from My Wife's Having an Affair this week! So scary seeing him as a psycho depressed killer here...Nuu!)

Commercials

If you are a kdrama fan you would know by now that Subway is a very active sponsor in many dramas. If I ever visit Korea I would love to look up this Subway! It's the same one in K2 if I'm not mistaken, where Je Ha orders his favourite sandwich... ;D

Conclusion

Lieut. Park realises that by changing the past, the present will change as well. Some individuals will be saved but some others will die instead. Some deaths are also not able to be changed.

Lieut. Park was shot and supposed to have died but he didn't die as the past changed. He awoke to find everything has changed, the cold squad team did not exist and the funny duo in his team does not recognise him at all. He set out to look for Detective Cha Soo Hyun and found her. Detective Lee Jae Han had left him a letter and floppy disc containing the evidence for the bigger case behind the burglaries of 1995. 

The ending is left hanging with Lieut. Park and Detective Cha Soo Hyun driving to a small hospital in hopes of finding Detective Lee Jae Han. The last scene shows that Lee Jae Han is still alive and the signal of the walkie-talkie is on again. 

I am a bit disappointed with the ending, Lieut. Park didn't manage to meet his long time friend after all. There are some questions also left unanswered, like why did the signal only appear at 11.23 pm? Was it the time where Lee Jae Han was shot and presumably died? Also, why Lieut. Park? Is it because the case has something to do with his brother's death? 

As I was watching this series I read the comments that there is a season 2. I'm not sure if the same cast will continue but I also have some fears as with many second seasons it's not as nice as the first. Let's hope there will be an ending in season 2... 

Entourage Korean Review

Drama name: Entourage
Country: South Korea
Year: Nov- Dec 2016

I saw the promo ad on my local cable TV (Yes again! They are promoting their Korean pack) and I was super excited that there is a Korean version. I didn't watch the original version even though it was advertised heavily on HBO last time. 

So,what's this drama about?

The story revolves around a young actor named Cha Young Bin. He has three best friends, Ho Jin, Cha Joon and Turtle. Ho Jin is his best friend cum manager; Cha Joon is his cousin, also an actor but not a famous one and Turtle is jobless. They all live with Young Bin in his penthouse and hang out together all the time.

Young Bin belongs to a talent management company which is run by Mr Kim Eun Gab. Mr Kim is always hard at work finding roles for Young Bin but Young Bin has his own opinion which puts his manager, Ho Jin in a difficult position most of the time.

The rest of the story goes on with the struggles faced by Mr Kim and Ho Jin in the entertainment industry just to get Young Bin the roles that he wants. They will face powerful people behind the scenes and their friendship will be stretched to the limits. 

Overall thoughts?

As I have not watched the original version so I can't compare them both. However, I do think that they did manage to capture the overall vibe with this series. It is not the usual Korean drama story with romance and all that. The show is a little bit slow, it gives you a relaxed, chill out feeling and it maintains consistency throughout the series. 

Best parts of the drama?

There are a lot of nice bits that made this drama work. It starts out with the glitz and glam of the movie star world at the Busan Film Festival, also the hometown of Young Bin and his friends... 

Then there are the wild parties and fast cars... 

Not to mention the celebrity cameos... I only recognised a few of them, especially those from Running Man (Because of Kwang Soo of course!) 

Young Bin's penthouse is to die for... (Haha! I just love the interior as usual! ;D) And the sweet Evoque he bought for Ho Jin as a present for becoming a real manager... 

Some nice scenery from Jeju Island... 

More awesome cars... (Why yes, I love cars too.. how did you know?! ;D) Amber's Suzuki car is too cute! It has left-hand drive which is perfect for us here... and check out that Rolls Royce with suicide doors!

Notable scenes

Joon and Turtle's scenes were hilarious. They have such good chemistry together. But I must admit halfway through the series I got a bit tired of them, especially Joon... Nevertheless they did a great job entertaining us! 

The bromance. Yes, the four of them posing together for most of the time. I absolutely love it! I'm so envious of their friendship. Where to find besties like them??!! 

Conclusion

Young Bin did manage to star in the movie he wanted so much, "Lim Hwa Su". Although the movie did not manage to beat the other movie, "War Terminator" but it did score a very high premiere screening number of about 480,000 viewers. It was a good result and everyone celebrates and it ends there with the future uncertain but they'll certainly continue to work hard and push forward to success. 

Ironically, it's the total opposite in real life for this drama. This drama did not do well at all in South Korea. One of the factors would be the time slot, it was aired at 11pm at night and also the plot without the usual cheesy over the top romance. Some were even bashing the actor of Young Bin, Seo Kang Joon for taking this role and that he should stick to rom-coms. 

I'm just thinking that is precisely the story of Entourage, he did a brave thing for doing this drama. Even though it flopped, I think he did a great job of portraying Young Bin. Not only him, but the entire cast of Entourage acted really well. Mr Kim and Ho Jin definitely stole the show. It's a shame their efforts were not recognised in their home country, but I think internationally this drama did pretty well. Maybe someday South Korea would be more open to these kind of dramas. 

Party on, you guys deserve it! Rock on! ;D