grapejuice

When you are 50 something, you will have lost photographs. You will have forgotten important things that you did and you won't remember the faces of people you knew when you were 18 ... especially if they were around for a few months and then gone for 30 years. Believe me, it's not a stretch.

@Frost_edelweiss. Thank you SO much for this recommendation. I started it last night and am already on ep8 ... and it's fantastic. I am really enjoying it !!! And, it will be difficult, but I'm pretty sure I'll make it through all 56 episodes if it even comes close to maintaining the interest level that it has already set at this point. So, good :-)

Thank you very much for this recommendation and all the ideas that you've included along with it !!!

I am a little bit frightened of super long dramas of any kind. Usually, I just plow right into the sleepless nights, burn myself out in an exclusive binge, start to feel tortured, lose energy and interest and then quit. Haha. It's not a pretty process.

So I'll give Love Like the Galaxy a try for the drama itself and to try out your suggested watch method. Something to enjoy and something to learn as well.

I won't be able to start a long project for a little while ... but I'll report back when I have. Thx again :-)

That was just lovely; a sweet, easy watch. It rolled out in such a simple, smooth way, with nearly perfect pacing, many genuinely funny moments and so much warmth and charm in, and between, some characters that I really want to remember.

I'm not a huge fan of rom-coms or cdramas. I prefer more realistic slice of life dramas, on the one hand, or adventure fantasy, and gritty murder-mystery, on the other hand.

So this was a random Netflix click for me. But it caught me with that easy going charm, and I just kept thinking that it was surprisingly good ... all the way through.

So you've got the words ... truly enjoyable ... highly recommended ... and 9/10 coming from a dedicated kdrama watcher who often enjoys Japanese and Tai dramas as well.

But are there others like this one? I would love some recommendations if people have them. I did feel that the leads did the major lifting to make the drama feel genuine, natural and charming rather than overly constructed or cute and sweet. But its a fine line to tread, really, and its obvious that the writing and direction were also hitting just the right notes.

Hospital Playlist would help you to end your post-great-drama-suffering, although I think it's best to live with the loss of one show for a suitable period of mourning before you start the next. LoL.

HP takes a few episodes to get going and it is quite different from Dr. Romantic, a little more realistic, a little less over the top with fewer disasters and smaller moments that somehow hit just as hard.

But both are excellent. The things that they have in common are ... great characters, tremendous heart and a deep sense of what humanity can be and often is.

So, maybe give it a little break, rewatch your favourite Dr. Romantic moments and then go on to enjoy Hospital Playlist too. You'll be truly spoiled for great drama.

Excellent writer. Such a deft hand at blending comedy and drama.

I will be ignoring you from now on. But slamming a drama on a different dramas page is really going out of your way to call attention to it in a negative way. It's unnecessary, misplaced criticism ... that won't earn you any respect from fans of either drama.

Yes you said that already. Anything to say about Link: Eat, Love, Kill after ep1? Or nothing yet.

At least you acknowledge that your opinion just applies to you ... My opinion is that the writer is doing a great job and the story is definitely not a drag.

That's ridiculous. A person is so much more than one transplanted muscle so why would it be weird for them to fall in love?

I'm not disappointed in Love All Play ... the chemistry didn't go anywhere ... It's an excellent drama.

There are some incredibly funny moments in it. The cast has great comedic abilities. But it's not a comedy.

It's brutally sad ... but don't write it off ... because it's also really high quality and something of a masterpiece for many people. Just come to it when you're feeling resilient or you need a good cry. Or be prepared to FF through a lot of the final two or three episodes. It really is a great drama but ... tears ...

I totally agree with you. That first episode was easily one of the best drama openings I've ever seen. It was virtually perfect and so incredibly heartbreaking. The relationship between DalMi and her father, and the relationship between young JiPyung and Halmeoni, were just so beautiful written, and so incredibly well portrayed. So, there is no doubt in my mind that the writer and Nam DaReum set up the character of JiPyung extraordinarily well. Kim SeonHo is always good, but he definitely benefited from the character being developed so well in episode 1. We were absolutely predisposed to love him after that so-strong beginning.

Korean dramas just keep discovering (or making?) brilliant child actors and NDR is a prime example. He's a great talent who has done such a great job of playing the younger version of so many main characters ... that it will be a real pleasure to watch him become the adult versions after his enlistment is over.

Out of all the dramas I've seen (or heard about) this one suffered the most from childish shipping wars. There were two quite unique, very engaging male leads, who were obviously walking two very different paths toward success and happiness. So, why did people have to be so ferocious when their favourite didn't get the girl? Was it so hard to see that his path needed to go in a different direction? Was it necessary for people to eviscerate the other character and actor, as well as the writer, and the drama as a whole ... because they would have chosen differently for the FL? No, it wasn't at all necessary ... and it wasn't justifiable either.

So, for those who read these opinions long after the fact, please know that many of the reviews you'll find here, and elsewhere, have little to do with the quality of the drama. Because Start Up is, honestly, an above average drama in just about every respect. The writing and direction are solid with moments of true brilliance. And none of the actors has anything to apologize for. Each and every one of them created a believable, but still vivid, character that will stick with you.

Of course it isn't perfect. But it's an unusual story that's well told; a really enjoyable, feel-good story about some very memorable characters, relationships and dreams.

I'm looking forward to her future works as well!!!
But, to be fair, while you could argue that KES early works contained some misogynistic elements, that really isn't true of the later ones.

I will watch anything that you want to write, Kwon Eun Sol. I think you're a genius.
Search.WWW was excellent, but your Twenty Five, Twenty One is a masterpiece, from beginning to end ... and I'm so pleased that we saw your whole vision despite the public's bullying.
Good for you, strong, wise and talented woman!!!
You've given us a gorgeous story, with layer upon layer of insight, unique characters to adore ... and so many incredibly moving and funny moments.
I love it, the philosophy that runs through it, and all of the wonderful memories that you made for us to treasure. Thank you!!!

you haven't seen many dramas if you think that TKEM was one of the worst ever made ... :-)

If you bail at ep7, you will have given up too soon. You haven't arrived at the real point of the drama yet.

A LOT of people make ridiculous assumptions based on short descriptions, tags. shady rumours, one actor or one previous project from the writer or director. And they do it ALL THE TIME!!! They'll jump all over a drama before it even airs it's first episode. They'll judge it to oblivion, complaining and even getting angry about something that hasn't happened yet. It's actually really a sad phenomenon because all kinds of decent dramas get drawn through the mud this way. And of course, fewer people will even see them because there was so much unfounded but incredibly negative talk before they could even be seen.