lilili

Loved getting a phone notification with your comment this morning 🙃

I'm not trying to ruin anyone's enjoyment of the drama. I'm speaking to people like me who are disappointed. But if you love it don't let my comments detract from that, you should honestly ignore me.

The blog post is snarky but I clicked through to the Korean article and translated it and the critiques are real. The drama is a commercial disaster that is going to reset the entire drama industry. There's going to be a lot fewer big budget projects and a lot more inexpensive romances that recoup their investment.

This is a blog post about the failure of When the Stars Gossip: https://koalasplayground.com/?p=139126

Here's the opening paragraph:

There is a very comprehensive and in depth Nate news article (here) going into detail with hard numbers on why the breadth and scope of the failure of space romance K-drama When the Stars Gossip will have "heads will roll" and "things must change" type ramifications across the industry.

So let's get to it as I explain the highlights of this article (my comments in italics) on what the failures are with the drama: (1) Stars is the first tvN weekend drama in 6-years to hit 1% ratings since Melting Me Softly, (2) it's also fallen of the Netflix top 10 by the second week of streaming, (3) none of the uploaded videos to tvN's Youtube channel have over 100K views, (4) the production started at 10 billion won and went up to 50 billion won with Lee Min Ho and Gong Hyo Jin's salaries and will end between 60-70 billion won after post-production work and special effects, (5) initially it was aimed to be a Netflix original but Netflix refused, then tvN held it back waiting for Mainland China to lift the ban on Korean entertainment believing Lee Min Ho was super popular there, but in the end tvN couldn't wait any longer, (6) the premise of an OB/GYN going to space to artificially inseminate the lazy sperm left by the dead son of a chaebol (hahahah, even writing this out is lolz) was far-fetched, (7) despite being billed as a romance, the chemistry between the lead doctor and space commander was not good and their emotional line was not relatable (to any human) and the bed scene at the end of episode 8 was not touching and instead bizarre with old-fashioned CGI special effects (double lolz), (8) supporting characters did not have good story lines and many feel miscast, (9) the directing was choppy and would transition suddenly like being cut off, (10) this will be a big stain for both leads - Lee Min Ho for having a series of dramas not do as well in ratings as expected for an actor of his level, other than good reviews for Pachinko, and Gong Hyo Jin finally getting called out for acting the same way every time, this time even more obvious and blatant.

ETA: Here's the link to the Korean article: https://m.news.nate.com/view/20250128n03135?mid=e02&list=recent&cpcd=

It's the writing, it's a pile of 2010 era cliches dressed up in a space plot. The actors are doing the best they can with what they're given.

It's incredibly lazy writing, not just the science but the thin plot too. I'm kind of stunned that the producers didn't care given how much money they sunk into this.

I love this intro to your reviews, it kills me every time 🤣

It's a very strong pro-natal message: have babies, create life, destroying morulas is murder.

TV ratings for Ep 9 are 2.075%. I'm curious if more people will tune in for ep 10 because they will have heard about the space sex.

I suppose the rest of the drama is going to be Eve getting pregnant and then the possibility of the baby being harmed by the gamma rays and whatever but obvs they'll decide to have the baby anyway. I do wonder what's going to happen to the morulas, is the daughter in law going to be the only person inseminated or will it get even weirder and the sister will get inseminated as well.

ETA: wait, someone told me that there's only one morula. Maybe the one morula will fail but Eve will get pregnant and it'll be some creepy messaging that getting pregnant by natural methods is the best.

There's no way she doesn't get pregnant. Her name is Eve and the entire drama is about creating life

Here's a profile of him: https://abcnews.go.com/International/doctor-north-korean-defector-soldier-aided-american-master/story?id=52269307

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"He rose to fame after saving the life of an abducted ship captain shot multiple times by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden in 2011. That widely reported national rescue operation and the story of Lee’s relentless devotion to save his seriously wounded patient led to series of television medical dramas based on the 49-year-old surgeon who works tirelessly running the emergency trauma center at the Ajou University Hospital in Suwon, South Korea."

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“I am a Jedi on a mission to fight stigmas in Korean medical system,” he said. “It is a failed system -- so inefficient that critically wounded patients, who could have been saved had they been treated within the half-hour golden time, lose [their] lives.”

He started off his “mission” by insisting a helicopter landing pad be installed at the Ajou University Hospital. After he says was ignored, he bought a can of white paint himself one day, seven years ago, and went out to the hospital compound and painted a giant “H" in the middle of a road.

“It was my way of telling authorities how desperate I felt to facilitate critical care patients,” Lee said."

In real life, Korean women in their 40s and 50s don't all look alike. What you're seeing is very expensive skin care, plastic surgery, similar hairstyles and clothes in dramas that are based on whatever is in fashion at that moment

You should try it for yourself because everyone has different taste but in my opinion yes it's that bad. It's offensively bad.

When the Camellia Blooms is a more recent drama and she's very good in it. Oh Jung Se is in it too.

💯💯💯 I gave it 8.5 for Ju Ji Hoon's performance and the production quality but it's not on the level of the shows you mentioned

I agree, I really enjoyed it, it's a fun ride, but a lot of the drama is very silly (not a complaint). I gave it an 8.5. I save 9+ for dramas that are truly excellent.

I ended up dropping at episode 5 😅 it got so bad so fast I couldn't do it anymore

Thank you for giving us detailed synopses so I don't have to watch, I'm interested in keeping up with the plot but not enough to watch it myself 😅 also good God is it on the nose to call the FL Eve. Forget that exposing an embryo to gamma rays in space can cause birth defects, she's going to become the mother of the new era of humanity. Or something. The birth rate messaging is as subtle as a brick to the head.

Him: MURDERER

Her: Take me, daddy

Me: 😐