Lil' Heat!

From the surface, the drama had a decent concept with a functional setup that paved the way for what's to come. However, it lacked the emotional spark needed to fully engage the audience. While the plot for stardom was reasonable, the characters and their relationships didn't click, leaving the overall experience somewhat flat. This was even more true for how they decided to write the climax. They went for old melo tropes for its climax in hope to move the viewers because otherwise they would've had little to nothing for its climax. Big Heat was nothing but a medium heat gradually fading and cooling as it burned through its gas.

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Mamma Mia!

It had all the ingredients to put together a serviceable story but the finished product was rather disappointing. The biggest issue was its terrible pacing. Most of the runtime, the first 10 episodes, were agonizingly slow. Everything about these 10 episodes could've been summarized in 3 episodes with zero compromises. Then, they introduced the main conflict with episode 11 just to solve it nonchalantly within a singular episode. While there were a few love lines but the drama didn't do anything with these at all until the very last episode. Even then, it was rushed, half-arsed and distasteful.

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Fake reality...

Interesting concept but more often than not it didn't blend well together. It felt mostly like a slightly edited behind the scenes fillers than a reality tv implementation. Their "virtual" and "reality" just didn't intertwined as I hoped. Each couple went out on dates irl, but all of these dates were utterly dull and out of touch accompanied by the most boring spectacles. They don't even talk or do anything interesting, they just stand there reacting to the surroundings. You also need to be used to do the editing style of Korean/Japanese TV programs otherwise it will get overwhelming. It's also a bit of extra mental work to keep a mental note of both the cast names and their respective characters names. Honestly, the drama they were filming "iron lady" seems better as a standalone. While I appreciate attempting a different concept for a drama but this execution didn't work. On an unrelated note, about 90% of the runtime consisted of Yura laughing hysterically between every other sentence for some reason.

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2 seasons 2 late...

Finally! It took them 2 seasons to realize there were other gender issues than sexual harassment. Although this season explored other gender issues but it was a bit disorganized. Anyway, it ended when it actually began to get good around episode 7. Despite its very short run but it a good job with the dynamics and characterization nuances. The drama actually provided a complete ending through the characterization of these four leads, it may seems incomplete or rushed on the surface because it didn't lay it out blatantly. On the other hand, they should've doubled the runtime and gave a deeper look into Yoon Ah Young and Young Min, since Do Eun and Hae Joon got the bigger chunk of focus.

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Run, detective! Run!

The drama shouldn't have been split up into 2 seasons since it was a one big continuous story. This split created a few more problems along the way. Some of the baddies cast members had a clearer split between both seasons, focusing on a few of them each season despite having one grand story. This created some coherency problems and made it feel disjointed. Personal stories, relationships and side characters had an unequal amount of focus between both seasons. A case in point, the ML's daughter/family had only some focus in season 1 while being completely absent from season 2 (aside from 1 flashback) which took away from the ML's character and drive. Especially when his entire character was built on the ghosts haunting him from his past. The focus shift was exactly the opposite with Lee Sung Ah between both seasons. Anyway, enough about jumping between seasons. The cast members brought a good performance especially our leading shadow detective. I really appreciate the production not turning on the beauty mode on for Sung Ah & Joo Hyeon. You can see the pressure and exhaustion their carrier put on them over the years. The cinematography was good for the most parts, especially with scenes involving the detective alone, but there were some dodgy shots here and there. The story was well written with a decent pace to match the suspense. The thriller and intrigue were blended nicely with some nice action scenes. However, the last stretch of the story got a bit weak and disorganized after building up the story for a grand finale. Also, some overdramatized deliveries ended up backfiring, making important scenes less impactful. The introduction of the last episode was good, as well as that dream sequence. His speech about him wanting to stop running while reciting his past was the most memorable moment in the drama. If that wasn't enough, the very last scene was the cherry on top to tie it all up.

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Fly Away!

Not good. Sky high was aptly named to the number of love interests roaming around. Trashy love through and through, every man was chasing the same woman and every woman was chasing the same man. Love triangle/square/pentagon/hexagon and other polygons, it was just plain stupid. The story in general was bad, you can tell just from how they made the setup. This also led for it to have a terrible pacing, the plot involving the leads didn't start to move forward until the last 5 episodes, way too much slacking around for absolutely nothing. Even then, their lack of chemistry didn't allow for anything noteworthy to happen. At the very least, they should've gave it a simple reasonable send off instead whatever they did.

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Call an ambulance, but not for me

An extremely underwhelming and disappointing medical drama. Every singular frame of this 20 episodes drama screams mediocrity to the nth degree. The medical scenarios were passable but they were stretching it really thin by involving eastern medical practices to perform an emergency procedure to save someone's life! The drama aspect of this drama severely undercut the overall experience. The personal and romantic storylines were its weakest point. The pairings for the romantic relationships, in particular, were straight up bad, out of place and forced, every single one of them. I can't stress enough how bad these romantic relationships and pairings were. The dialogue was generally weak, it often came across as wooden or overly sentimental. The drama struggled to balance its dual focus, with the medical cases usually feeling like an afterthought to the tepid drama. The problems continued with the performances from the cast members, while the main cast were fine, but some side ones like Im Hyung Joon had godawful deliveries for his scenes, he's usually a better actor in other projects. Anyway, there are countless better medical dramas than this one.

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Droughty!

Solid idea and setting with an interesting start but it was missing something to bring it to life. The plot just didn't click, the villains were as generic as they could come and the main uninspired conflict reeked of boredom. Dialogue that aimed for wit and intensity often missed the mark, coming off as either overly dramatic or just plain dull. Honestly, the only thing that was keeping it watchable was the handful of recognizable names from the cast members, at least the characters were well-portrayed by a competent cast. On the bright side, it was just six episodes, so it didn't overstay its welcome.

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Dear Slim,

Right off the bat, the drama did a poor job establishing the mysterious M and its mystery. The story was so soulless and shallow it made the 12 episodes runtime so damn dreadful. The whole trio couples were lackluster from all angles, both the actors and their characters. Dialogue was riddled with platitudes and awkward exchanges, making each interaction painful. Even the central mystery, which could have been the saving grace, was handled so clumsily that it failed to generate any suspense or intrigue. The mysterious M could've been an alien for all I care. The ML's sister was the only real sensible semi-functional piece of story in the entire thing. One more thing: from a production standpoint, it adopted the deplorable style of cutting everything short and prematurely; nothing plays in full.

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Pick a Season

The only valid play here is the nostalgic journey of the female lead and her middling experience of loss. The drama was overloaded with too many trite moments and rundown turns, using molds from far too many clones of its genre. What initially seemed to be promising characters quickly turned into one-dimensional archetypes with limited emotional attachment that gradually weathered away as it got deeper. The dialogues were mostly stiff accompanied by an obnoxious OST. The students from the present were straight up insufferable. Its cinematography was decent, yet it didn't substitute for the hollowness in the text. The cast presented a mixed bag of performances with the teen cast members being mostly awkward and stiff. Although it was short, the drama had some potential if it were to take the more serious route to better fit its themes rather than being excessively bubbly and sentimental.

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The last remnants of the school genre

This drama doesn't compare, but it carries some faint hints from Blue Spring (2001). There's a desperate need for more raw and scuffed school themed dramas rather than the over-saturated soft boys trying to act tough kind of ones, even the highest rated school themed ones fall under the latter. The school genre in Korean drama is practically dead and had been so for the longest time, with the excessive use of bullying, hierarchy play, school pressure and fluffy kids' romance. Extracurricular (2020) is probably the only exception from the recent 10 years, along with this drama. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem they're planning a sequel for this one after a decade already passed.

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Disappointing!

About a few episodes in, there was a clear pattern that seemed it was going to adopt and it did. The drama had the bad habit of always escaping from conflicts, keep dancing around them until enough time had passed and the viewers won't notice. It didn't dare to go for direct confrontations and real dialogues. Take for example the main conflict in the drama between the male lead and the female lead, it kept getting delayed and pushed around until enough time passed and everything suddenly worked out. No real conversations/confrontations/stakes/tension/emotions. This also resulted in reaching the finale early. The drama practically ended with episode 37, not even before finishing the episode. The remainder of the episodes were a disastrous nightmare to sit through. It kept cycling through empty dialogues between the supporting cast with the highest degrees of mawkish sentimentality and cringe. I had to double and triple check, something must've gone seriously wrong with the production for the drama to turn this way. This kind of practice is what keep veteran actors and actresses from picking up daily drama projects. I could feel the pain some of the cast members had to go through enduring this drama reluctantly. Just look at how modern daily dramas projects has become.

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KDramas Second Best Attempt At Comedy

Season 1
The drama did a great job in blending humor and heart, creating an enjoyable mix with a lively dynamic, for the most part. The comedy was sharp and varied, ranging from slapstick to witty banter, however, this didn't apply for every segment and joke. Some of these went on for too long or weren't interesting in the slightest, these were also more present in the 2nd half than the first one. Nonetheless, not only the drama had great humor but also had a progressing story that fit right in. The dynamic chemistry among the cast enhanced the comedic timing, while the well-paced storyline balanced these moments with memorable scenes. Speaking of dynamics, Doo Shik remained a sidekick and a third wheel in every situation and scene, he was never a lead and always the weakest link, even the actor himself. The drama should've wrote him better to fit the dynamic rather than having a wasted slot. Anyway, it's an enjoyable fun watch for what it had to offer. However, I highly advise against watching season 2.

Season 2
In comparison, season 2 was a complete utter failure in all regards, however, as a stand alone drama, it was a passable cheap inoffensive forgettable watch, for the most part. It failed miserably to capture the same magic that made the first season so endearing. The second season felt like a pale imitation, struggling to find its footing. One major issue was the lack of continuity in the cast, with many beloved characters and dynamics from the first season absent with no worthy replacements. This shift disrupted the chemistry and dynamic that were crucial to the show's initial charm. The new characters, while sometimes amusing, didn't bring the same level of depth, humor and relatability, resulting in a series of forced and often flat comedic moments. Speaking of comedy, the writing in season 2 leaned heavily on repetitive gags and clichéd scenarios, lacking the creativity and originality that kept the first season fresh and engaging. Not to mention its poor job in recycling some of the gags and scenarios, as well as most of the romances and its archetypes from season 1. Seriously shameful! The brief storylines were disjointed, and the emotional moments that once balanced the humor now came across as contrived and artificial. The romantic relationships, while they never were the main focus, were really stupid and tasteless. The pacing also suffered, with episodes dragging without the slightest engaging interplay of humor and character moments that previously defined the show. Second season tried to replicate the success of its predecessor but fell quite short, the charm, wit, and warmth that made the first season a hit were noticeably missing. I highly advise watching S1 and ignoring S2.

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Wasted!!

Season 1
The drama did a great job in blending humor and heart, creating an enjoyable mix with a lively dynamic, for the most part. The comedy was sharp and varied, ranging from slapstick to witty banter, however, this didn't apply for every segment and joke. Some of these went on for too long or weren't interesting in the slightest, these were also more present in the 2nd half than the first one. Nonetheless, not only the drama had great humor but also had a progressing story that fit right in. The dynamic chemistry among the cast enhanced the comedic timing, while the well-paced storyline balanced these moments with memorable scenes. Speaking of dynamics, Doo Shik remained a sidekick and a third wheel in every situation and scene, he was never a lead and always the weakest link, even the actor himself. The drama should've wrote him better to fit the dynamic rather than having a wasted slot. Anyway, it's an enjoyable fun watch for what it had to offer. However, I highly advise against watching season 2.

Season 2
In comparison, season 2 was a complete utter failure in all regards, however, as a stand alone drama, it was a passable cheap inoffensive forgettable watch, for the most part. It failed miserably to capture the same magic that made the first season so endearing. The second season felt like a pale imitation, struggling to find its footing. One major issue was the lack of continuity in the cast, with many beloved characters and dynamics from the first season absent with no worthy replacements. This shift disrupted the chemistry and dynamic that were crucial to the show's initial charm. The new characters, while sometimes amusing, didn't bring the same level of depth, humor and relatability, resulting in a series of forced and often flat comedic moments. Speaking of comedy, the writing in season 2 leaned heavily on repetitive gags and clichéd scenarios, lacking the creativity and originality that kept the first season fresh and engaging. Not to mention its poor job in recycling some of the gags and scenarios, as well as most of the romances and its archetypes from season 1. Seriously shameful! The brief storylines were disjointed, and the emotional moments that once balanced the humor now came across as contrived and artificial. The romantic relationships, while they never were the main focus, were really stupid and tasteless. The pacing also suffered, with episodes dragging without the slightest engaging interplay of humor and character moments that previously defined the show. Second season tried to replicate the success of its predecessor but fell quite short, the charm, wit, and warmth that made the first season a hit were noticeably missing. I highly advise watching S1 and ignoring S2.

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Stealer: He Steals Stuff

The drama should've been called Karma or Skunk, more appropriate than whatever this mouthful title is. Anyway, the drama was quite average, delivering a forgettable experience that was hard to get excited about. Despite the intriguing concept of treasure hunting, it quickly devolved into a series of predictable and uninspired scenes. The characters and their backstories were bland, making it difficult to care about what happens to them and round them. The dialogue was often stale and lacked the sharpness or humor that could have added some much needed zest. Speaking of humor, while the drama was structured as an action comedy but the latter often fell short on delivering good material, with barely a couple of memorable comedic moments at the end. On the other hand, the action was a constant juggling act between enjoyable performances and half-arsed imitations. The police force in this drama was as incompetent as every other drama involving police work, as expected. They went out of their way to shamefully show how bad the police force was and subsequently made Skunk step down to an equal level just to make the dynamic between the two work, forcefully. The drama had an idea to work with but it barely done anything worthy with it.

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