Dorama of the Year 2008-IV Fall - Prisoner

Prisoner was closest to masterpiece and I finished it, that settles the choice.

1. Family's Honor  [가문의 영광] (Finished 1/54) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Drama Ha Dan A is very dignified and beautiful yet she also had a sad life. Dan A was married in her 20s, but her husband died in a car accident during their honeymoon. She is pursued by two men, a man from a new rich family, Lee Gang Seok, and a man who is younger than her, Jung Hyeon Gyu. It chronicles how the Ha Family upholds their aristocratic reputation after Dan A's older brothers, the quiet and serious Su Yeong and the wild and irresponsible Tae Yeong, decide to get divorced and later find new love, and their widowed father decides to marry his girlfriend, Lee Yeong In. The usual trashy recipe - big family for abyssmal length, toxic slapstick relations, melodrama traits. No idea why I should be interested in these characters or caring about aristocratic roots family honor. It's absolutely not story-centered and can rot for all I know, just without me.   Overall Rating: 5/10

2. Kaew Lorm Petch  [แก้วล้อมเพชร] (Finished 1/24) Tags: Romance, Drama Pikul runs away to Bangkok while she is 9 months pregnant. That same night a businessman and his wife, Lada who is also 9 months pregnant, gets into a car accident with the bus Pikul was on. The crash causes both of them to go into labor. Later on, Pikul overhears the police talking about arresting a fugitive, thinking it was her she ran to get her baby and instead took Lada's baby. She makes a run for it. A couple of minutes later she figures out that it wasn't her baby so she goes back but finds out that her baby is ill and needs surgery so she lets the wealthy couple keep her baby so they can afford the needed surgery and medicine to keep her baby alive. 18 years pass and Pikul comes to Bangkok to run a candy shop or candy stall with her daughter, Namphet, who is actually Lada’s birth daughter. Namphet is an obedient and respectable young woman who holds high regards for her mother unlike Gaew Gao, Pikul’s birth daughter. Gaew Gao grows up to be a spoiled little brat and her paternal grandmother Yai Sasee’s favorite grandchild. One day, Namphet helps Lada from getting stab by a robber who is Pikul's husband. From this Pikul and Namphet receive a job from Lada and move into Lada's house and is taken in as servants. Cheewin, Gaew Gao's boyfriend, sees Namphet and falls for her instantly. Gaew Gao notices that Cheewin secretly likes Namphet and becomes extremely jealous of Namphet so this starts to cause chaos in the house. It then becomes apparent that Gaew Gao may not be Lada's daughter and so the race is on to figure out the truth and for Cheewin to fight hard for Namphet's love. Psychotic mess. Unwatchable like every single old lakorn.   Overall Rating: 5/10

3. The World That They Live In  [그들이 사는 세상] (Finished 1/16) Tags: Business, Romance, Life Joo Jun Yeong, a producer working her way in the male dominated world of drama creators. Co-star Hyun Bin plays her mentor, who makes Joo's character's life miserable at first, but later discovers his affection toward the hard-working and passionate newcomer. Wow, one more kdrama around making drama, think it's the 3rd one already. I'm still irritated by the fact they make drama about producing drama while they produce almost entirely unsatisfactory quality shallow stuff. This one is also unserious work full of overreactions, abuse and stupid dialogues. Instead of evolving kdrama keeps resting on imaginary laurels while twitching in the mud.   Overall Rating: 5/10

4. I Love You, Don't Cry [사랑해, 울지마] (Finished 1/132) Tags: Romance, Family Han Young Min and Min Seo Young were engaged to be married; however, Young Min's ex, Jae Hee, dumped their son, Jun, on him. Seo Young broke up with Young Min afterwards because Young Min refused to send his son back to his mother. Jo Mi Soo befriends Young Min and helps Young Min adjust to his new life with his son. Young Min and Mi Soo soon realize their feelings for each other and plan to marry. However, obstacles stand in their way before they can do so. Why stop at 132? Make it eternal show about foolish persons who don't know what they want and keep bouncing. Absolutely boring nonentity.   Overall Rating: 5/10

5. Bloody Monday [ブラッディ・マンデイ] (Finished 1/11) Tags:  Action, Thriller, Mystery, Crime A high school student and genius hacker, Takagi Fujimaru, a.k.a. “Falcon”, uses his sophisticated hacking techniques to indict the fraudulent acts of evil villains. In order to save his family, friends, and the entire world, he fights against “Bloody Monday”, the worst and most evil form of viral terrorism. As spies of the terrorist institution infiltrate into schools and police organizations, and the terrorist threat grows through a chain of treacherous acts, how will Falcon outsmart them in their intellectual battles? I've had my share of students fighting with terrorists to save the world already. Only process matters in thriller mysteries, that's why I seriously dislike them. It irritates me on so many levels.   Overall Rating: 5/10

6. Cruel Temptation [아내의 유혹] (Finished 1/129) Tags: Romance, Drama, Melodrama Dreaming of studying in France, Gu Eun, who majored in make-up at university, was taken advantage of one night while drunk. Discovering that she was pregnant, she married her assailant, Jung Gyo Bin, who soon fell in love with her best friend, Sin Ae Ri. One day, while at sea, Gyo Bin, who is sick of Gu Eun, ignores her pleas for help, leaving her to drown and die. With the help of Ae Ri, they frame it as a suicide, not knowing that months later, Eun Jae will come back for revenge, assuming the identity of a deceased woman called Min So Hui. 129 episodes of another stupid revenge story. For me it's brainrot type of story that is not worth any extra invested time.   Overall Rating: 5/10

7. Akai Ito  [赤い糸] (Finished 7/11) Tags: Romance, Drama, Melodrama The story was one of the best-selling novels of 2007, it revolves around the "red thread of fate" connecting the young pair Mei and Atsushi and the trials they face. Drugs , suicide attempt, amnesia - everything goes to use with this melodrama. Well, it's evident how it goes and it's not great overall, level of cheesiness is high.   Overall Rating: 5/10

8. Jai Rao [ใจร้าว] (Finished 1/15) Tags: Romance, Drama, Melodrama Koravic and Aoey were once childhood sweethearts. During a time when Koravic's father was on the verge of death, Aoey left Koravic without any explanation, leaving him heartbroken and bereft after his father's death. Eight years later, Koravic had risen to become one of the most famous and sought-after actors in Asia. Cold, business-like and temperamental, Koravic had finally reached the pinnacle of his career when he was awarded Best Actor in a highly prestigious award ceremony. Surrounded by paparazzi after the award ceremony, Koravic was stunned to find Aoey also there among the crowd, staring back at him. Old feelings and grudges rise to the surface with the return of Aoey into Koravic's life but she hides a mysterious secret and appears to also bring along with her a new lover. What will Koravic do, and will his fractured heart ever heal? Revenge old Thai melodrama is 100% fail, did not even need to check first episode to get that.   Overall Rating: 5/10

9. Star's Lover [스타의 연인] (Finished 2/20) Tags: Romance Lee Ma Ri is a top star in Korea and throughout Asia. The head of her management agency, Seo Tae Seok, hires a ghostwriter to help transform Ma Ri's image. Poverty-stricken university lecturer Kim Cheol Su takes the job in order to earn money to repay his ex-girlfriend, who paid for his college tuition. Whilst they are in Japan he falls in love with Ma Ri. However, when the travel essay book "Lovers in Asuka," written by Cheol Su on Ma Ri's behalf, becomes a bestseller, Ma Ri gets caught up in the controversy generated by the ghostwriting. The two lovers try to continue their relationship away from media attention, but obstacles abound: eligible young executive Jung U Jin, who pursues Ma Ri; Ma Ri's first love Kang U Jin, who suddenly vanished from her life; Cheol Su's ex-girlfriend Choi Eun Yeong; and the manipulative Seo Tae Seok, who seeks to control everything in Ma Ri's life. Very unappealing fooling around with fake talks and one of my least favorite actress as FL.   Overall Rating: 5/10

10. Innocent Love [イノセント・ラヴ] (Finished 4/10) Tags: Romance An arson took it all away from Akiyama Kanon seven years ago. Her parents died in that fire, her brother was arrested as the prime suspect and her carefree life disappeared from that instant. She was shunned by the town as the sister of a murderer, yet she believes in her brother's innocence and often pays him visits with words of encouragement. As life gets harder when nobody is willing to give her a job, Kanon decides to try her luck in the city and there she meets the man of her destiny... All I see is stalker mystery with weird characters, still zero romance. After four episodes I'm absolutly sick and tired of it.   Overall Rating: 5/10

11. Love or Bread (2008) [我的億萬麵包] (Finished 1/12) Tags: Comedy, Romance Frank is a guy who lives his life in a façade, letting the world believe he's a wealthy young gentlemen. When in fact he's a lazy, procrastinating in debt pauper. While Shan Mei is a poor young woman, but kind, filial and very hard-working bread winner of her family. They encounter each other when both are in need of housing, they end up sharing a broke-down old house together. Their characters totally opposite of each other, so they ultimately butt heads with each other, but share in common the need of money and a new destiny. Taiwanese silliness squared here.   Overall Rating: 5/10

12. Ties of Shooting Stars [流星の絆] (Finished 8/10) Tags: Thriller, Mystery, Comedy "When we grow up... We'll kill him together." Koichi, Taisuke, and Shizuna are three siblings whose parents had been brutally murdered when they were just in elementary school, and they vowed to avenge their death. Fourteen years later, their vengeful plan unravels countless new facts. A shocking revelation leads to an overwhelmingly emotional ending. What will become of the siblings who have lived their lives solely in reliance on their bond alone? So many revenge thrillers lately, but among them only Japanese ones really deserve a chance. Well, I tried to get the appeal of it for many series, but it's just a strange detective mysetery with con artists and unbelievable moves. All I know is that I'm not enjoying it at all.   Overall Rating: 5/10

13. Scrap Teacher  [スクラップ･ティーチャー] (Finished 2/9) Tags: Youth, Drama Nakajima, Yamada, Chinen, and Arioka play a group of junior high students who transfer to a school on the verge of collapse, and take on the role of reforming their incapable teachers. This GTO spinoff is fine, but not particularly interesting. All teachers are morally poor and main leads aren't great while rest of students don't stand out. Cases so far are exactly ones from GTO so far, just handled by students.   Overall Rating: 6/10

14. Terroir [떼루아] (Finished 1/20) Tags: Comedy, Romance, Drama Lee Woo Joo meets Kang Tae Min, a man who was taught in the art of tasting wine. Tae Min inherited the wine production from his family and opens Woo Joo's eyes to the world of wine. He has a steady relationship with his girlfriend, Ji Seon, but wavers when he meets the spunky Woo Joo. Joey Park has a deep, dark secret that has haunted him for most of his life. He accidentally set the fire that killed Tae Min's parents. How will Tae Min feel when he learns that a friend caused his parents' death? Sommelier was not actually that bad compared to this. Another horrible ill-mannered psychotic heroine, superelite ML that makes me puke, and I can't even imagine the horrors when drama kicks in.   Overall Rating: 5/10

15. Oh! My Girl!! [オー！マイ・ガール！！] (Finished 1/9) Tags: Drama, Family Yamashita Kotaro was living a peaceful life as a publisher part-timer aspiring to be a mobile phone novelist until two females suddenly appeared in his life. One is his six-year-old celebrity niece and the other is the little girl's stern manager. As he is forced to live under the same roof as the little prodigy, their differences soon manifest and disputes ensue. However, through co-habitation, Yamashita slowly comes to appreciate having a family and the warmth it brings, all the while developing a love-hate relationship with Fuji Mineko, the manager. Normal childcare with deliberately set up conflics due to three different personalities, so it depends on whether something here can catch your attention or not. Did not work our for me.   Overall Rating: 6/10

16. Love Strategy [恋爱兵法] (Finished 1/32) Tags: Comedy, Romance Kim Jung Ho, a rich and famous film director, recently arrived in China from Korea. By chance, he sees a poster of Ouyang Ming Ming, a new idol who also happens to be his ex-classmate and first love. He decides to consult an old uncle of his to teach him The Art of War so that he can employ the strategies to woo Ming Ming. But the story isn't so simple after all when he meets Ming Ming's sitter Yu Xuan. Love is war concept is horrible in any hands.   Overall Rating: 5/10

17. Fight (2008) [맞짱] (Finished 1/8) Tags: Action The drama about men who engage in fights and the deep bond that develops between them. Spokon.   Overall Rating: 5/10

18. Celeb & Poor [セレブと貧乏太郎] (Finished 1/11) Tags: Comedy, Romance Wealthy daughter of a hotel chain mogul meets poor widowed father of three. Despite their vastly different values and beliefs, will their chanced encounter blossom into something more? It manages to combine two among my least favorite concepts - faking relations and poor vs rich, so result is easily guessed.   Overall Rating: 5/10

19. My Precious You [내사랑 금지옥엽] (Finished 1/54) Tags: Romance Jang In Ho is a radio PD who grew up without a mother. Jeon Seol is a talented singer and composer, however, a scandal about beating his ex-wife caused him to quit his job. He also has a dark past as his father committed suicide after his business failure. When they first meet, they don't get along, but as time passes they begin to fall for each other. However, a secret between their families threatens their relationship. 54 episodes usually means a big family, but not this time, because now we have two big families to observe! Same immature and offending for watchers as usual.   Overall Rating: 5/10

20. Silamanee (2008) [ศิลามณี] (Finished 1/17) Tags: Historical, Romance, Drama The precious emerald necklace of Chiangrath has been given to the family of Parote Rachasena, whom is proud in his dignity and looks down upon Northern women like his mother. In which has created his feud of hatred for Princess Saengfarng so she must go undercover as Ngam Saenluang and Mae Liang in order to get the Silamanee back. Between “him” and “her,” the fued that they have created towards each other, can it be turn into “love” or not? Only “Silamanee” will be the significant key to unlocking this puzzle. This crappy lakorn can't even be called historical since it's about imaginary country Chiangrath. But even as fantasy it's no better than other old lakorns .   Overall Rating: 5/10

21. The Legend of Bruce Lee [李小龙传奇] (Finished 2/50) Tags: Action, Historical, Drama, Martial Arts The Legend of Bruce Lee is a Chinese biographic television series based on the life story of martial artist and actor Bruce Lee. Not fond of biopics and martial arts, but should at least glance at it since it should be done with maximum possible for Chinese production quality for that year. Everything is as expected really. Story is slow and unexciting, but focused, reasonable, logical even though ML personality is far from adequate. My verdict is that story must be much shoter since there's not that material.   Overall Rating: 6/10

22. Room of King [ルームオブキング] (Finished 5/9) Tags: Comedy A game is initiated between four roommates, and the winner will gain ownership of their luxurious apartment in the Aoyama district. How will the battle unfold between a freeter, an OL, a gynecologist, a cook and a stylist? There are nice characters and vibe, but for nonsense plot like there's just cohabitation SOL with glimpse of mystery by the end, and it's not interesting to watch.   Overall Rating: 6/10

23. Prisoner [プリズナー] (Finished 5/5) Tags: Thriller, Drama Based on a true story of a Japanese man falsely imprisoned in Thailand who attempts to escape from jail. Wow, did not expect anything worthwhile from it, but here I am having finished the show. I expected something like half a year of Tom Hanks in the airport, but here we have absolutely failed state and a whole bunch of murders and betrayals. But in the end I just wanted to learn how seemingly unsolvable situation is going to be solved, and can't call solution reasonable or logical, so can't really rate it as masterpiece.   Overall Rating: 6/10

24. Kaze no Garden [風のガーデン] (Finished 3/11) Tags: Drama Despite being a respected anesthesiologist at a famed Tokyo hospital, Shiratori Sadami has a disastrous family life. Before his life in Tokyo, his infidelity prompted his wife's suicide and the incident separated him from his two children ever since. Seven years later, as he is being diagnosed with late-stage cancer and inevitably on the brink of death, he finds himself making way towards his hometown Hokkaido, his estranged children and his final moments in life. Only Kuroki Meisa saves from this boredom with multiple terminal conditions, but in the end there are too many terminal conditions for one Kuroki Meisa.   Overall Rating: 6/10

25. White Lies [하얀 거짓말] (Finished 1/159) Tags: Romance, Family Seo Eun Young and Kang Jung Woo are happy, engaged-to-be-married couple. Suddenly, when Eun Young was pregnant, Jung Woo abandoned her to marry Na Kyung, a rich woman. The new couple then went to study abroad for 5 years. Meanwhile, Eun Young works as a nurse in a hospital. Kang Hyung Woo, who is one of her patients, becomes obsessed with her. Hyung Woo's mother, Madam Shin, a department store owner, then wants Eun Young to marry her son. Another worthless Korean SOL soap opera.   Overall Rating: 5/10

26. True Love Next Door [เนื้อคู่ประตูถัดไป] (Finished 1/24) Tags: Comedy, Romance When a woman’s fiancé disappears, her true love may be right under her nose. Kwanjai is devastated when her fiancé vanishes without a trace right before their wedding. She asks her roommate and best friend, Thida, a fortune teller who writes a horoscope column, where her soul mate could be. Thida has visions that tell Kwanjai that her true love could be living right next door. Could it be Joe, the childhood friend who’s a total womanizer, or Mr. Vee, the nerdy new neighbor? I welcome the change from traditional lakorn to sitcom, but laugh track and silly sounds are an overkill and would better be out. It's primitive, but watchable thanks to fine actors.   Overall Rating: 6/10

27. Yume wo Kanaeru Zo (2008) [夢をかなえるゾウ] (Finished 1/13) Tags: Business, Comedy Hoshino Asuka is dumped by her boyfriend, who is a colleague at the same workplace, on her 25th birthday. To make matters worse, her apartment catches fire and she can't return to live in it. Asuka finds herself wishing for happiness and the elephant god Ganesha suddenly appears. He had lived with Nogami Kohei in that apartment several years ago. With the appearance of Ganesha, Asuka learns what true happiness is. With nonsense concept like this there was little hope. And it did not go well.   Overall Rating: 5/10

28. Memoirs in China [中国往事] (Finished 1/42) Tags: Historical, Drama It tells the story of the grudges and love affairs between the Zheng family, a wealthy family in Sangzhen Town, Canghe County, and the Cao family, a wealthy family in Yuzhen Town, in the late Qing Dynasty. Half a hundred episodes, two huge families, border of XIX-XX century timeline, Chinese production - everything is just as I like (Not). Dreadfully boring.   Overall Rating: 5/10

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