Top Star U-Back (Korean Drama, New)

Tricked into going on a vacation by his manager, our top star hero ends up getting stuck on a tiny island that is completely cut off from everything that is modern. Used to his glamorous life, our haughty hero could hardly believe it when he meets our heroine who thanks to a cell phone and internet free life, has no clue of his fame. Putting on her best welcoming attitude to greet the so-called “top star” into her home, our spunky heroine soon realizes the island’s arrogant and rude VIP guest is going to need some getting used to…and maybe a whooping.

The hero sure doesn’t come off very likable at all but I guess that’s to be expected considering the story premise. The first episode, being the set up episode, is of course fairly predictable right now but I am hoping tvN could show us something refreshing from this point on.
My Goddess (Taiwanese Drama, New)

I checked this one out on the same day I watched Top Star U-Back and it sure felt like I was having a deja vu moment. Our hero in this one is not a top star but instead, he is a songwriter who had produced some very popular hits before but has been in a funk for a long time. Our hero will also get stuck in a small village (instead of an island, he will be in a rural farming village) and will have many struggles adjusting to his new environment. Our heroine is considered to be the goddess of the village (because of her beauty, brains, and ability to farm) and will also be the one housing our hero.

It is totally unfair of me to compare these two shows but how could I not when I happened to watch them one right after another…

While there ARE a lot of similarities between the two shows (especially in the first episode) but it is pretty obvious that the show will diverge from this point on. I think Top Star will be more focused on our hero’s own personal growth while My Goddess will be about our hero joining our heroine’s fight to save the village.

It is way too early to make a judgment on these two shows but right now, Top Star does look more interesting out of the two. However, it has been way too long since Taiwanese show has made it onto my watchlist so I might give My Goddess a few more chances.
The Family (Chinese Drama, New)

This one is actually a remake of the 2014 K- family drama, What Happens to My Family? While I liked the K-original I haven’t been big on remakes lately so I didn’t think I would be interested in the C-remake. However, after checking out the first few episodes of The Family, I was pleasantly surprised and is reconsidering my initial plan on passing over it. In the K-original, there were a few glaring issues that really dragged down the overall enjoyment of the show but it looks like the C-version has made some changes to avoid those pitfalls. For example, out of the three siblings who were the focus of the story, the son was such a cold and selfish person that it was entirely impossible to like him no matter how the writer tried to redeem him later. (In fact, I think the writer pretty much gave up because his scenes became less and less as the story went along.) It didn’t help either that the son ended up marrying an equally unlikable and annoying woman very early on in the show. Thankfully, judging by the first couple of episodes, the C-version made just enough tweaks to the son and his wife’s character that I am hopeful this couple’s story will actually add to the story instead of dragging it down.

ps. I would still highly recommend the K-version even though it obviously had some issues but overall, it was still a great K-family drama with a great cast.
The Unknown (Chinese Web Drama, New)

This one is a detective mystery set in a fantasy early 19th century Shanghai where the secret underworld is filled with familiar organizations from Wuxia novels. The premise is quite intriguing especially for Wuxia novel fans since not many have attempted to mix modern fantasy with Wuxia elements.
When We Were Young (Chinese Web Drama, New)

This one is wacky, funny yet tender coming of age story about five high school friends. The wacky comedic tone of this one actually kinda reminded me a bit of Reply 1997 which of course is saying a lot since that particular K-drama was super popular.
Children of Nobody (Korean Drama, New)

Kim Sun A’s new mystery thriller where she plays a child counselor whose’s peaceful life is shattered by an accident and she embarks on an unexpected journey to discover the truth behind a series of strange incidents all involving children.

This one is intense! At first I thought we were dealing with ghosts…but by the second episode, it is starting to look a whole lot more complicated…and sinister than that. I have always liked Kim Sun A and was not disappointed thus far by her portrayal of a character who is trying to grapple with a daunting mystery even though her world has been completely turned upside down, putting her under intense emotional stress. The story is fast paced and quite intriguing… even though I always struggle with shows that deals with kids suffering in some manner.
The Last Empress (Korean Drama, New)

Set in a world where Korea is still under the rule of a constitutional monarchy. Jang Na Ra plays our heroine, a struggling musical actress who becomes the nation’s Cinderella when she marries the handsome charming Emperor after a fairytale romance. Unfortunately, fairy tales are never the real life and our heroine will soon discover that the royal family is nothing like what they appear on the surface. Our hero (played by Choi Jin Hyuk and the one the show’s synopsis promise will eventually have a happy ending with our heroine) is actually not the charming Emperor but is an imperial guard who is secretly trying to seek revenge against the royal family.

I was surprised by how dark the first couple episodes were (the body count piled up quite fast…) and a bit grumpy we didn’t even get to see our hero (Well…that’s not entirely true. Let’s just say we didn’t get to see Choi Jin Hyuk playing the hero.) BUT I am staying pretty hopeful about this one and will withhold making a judgment on the show until Choi Jin Hyuk shows up…which better be soon.

Pandora IV: AI War (Japanese Drama, New)

Holding firmly onto his belief that AI technology will lead the world to a future when patients will no longer die from human errors, our hero develops the first AI that will do exactly that. Not about to sit back idly while their very livelihood is threatened, doctors and hospital administrators prepare for a counter-attack and they might have just found the perfect ammo when a patient died after trusting the diagnosis of our hero’s AI.

Not really my sort of story so not planning on following it.

 

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