lime_pickle

Yes, I wasn't drawn in by the 1st two episodes. And part of the premise - if that you are a disturbed, stalker fan you will eventually 'get' your idol - is a massive cringe, for me.

I don't like that a disturbed, stalking 'number one fan' is being set up as the FL/romantic lead. Also, the 1st two episodes were quite . . . dull.

I think Goblin is very overrated, too. Yes, I watched to the end, though I was bored much of the time. It wasn't so much that she was 19 and he was 900 . . . but the fact that she acted like she was 9, after too much sugar, for much of it.

Won Ji An completely stole the show in the hospice one.

I feel the same about Taxi Driver (and also about dramas like Move to Heaven, Tomorrow, Missing: the other side). Because they're topical, don't rely on getting thickies invested in cliched 'romance' arcs and because they are case-based, they can maintain quality and interest over much longer periods.

They shouldn't be suggesting she is 35 though (in the writing). She is quite obviously not. What's wrong with a mid/late 40s woman and a late 30s/early 40s man being romantically involved?

I'm not complaining about the casting. She's an excellent actress. I'm complaining about some of the cheesy, unnecessary, moronic dialogue which tries to suggest she's much younger than she is (even though her age is perfectly fine to start with). Trying to suggest that she can only be attractive, for example, if she's 15 years younger than her obvious age seems mysoginistic to me.

Alcoholics are often paranoid.

I don't think the FL is too old for the role overall. It's completely believable that the ML and FL are attracted to each other. Unfortunately there's been some thick-as-mince writing choices (see also Jinxed at First and Cafe Mimindang) where dialogue or timelines try to make the FL seem much younger than she is (or younger even than the ML). When I heard both the ML and his assistant, in one of the early episodes, say "She looks too young to have a teenage daughter" (she bloody-well doesn't) I thought . . . Oh god, not this nonsense again . . .

Looking forward to this, but would also love a film/drama version of either The Plotters or The Old Woman With a Knife. Or both.

"It is available to watch on Viki. " Not in Europe it isn't.

That particular 'writer' constantly vomits up trash/gossip plagiarised from other sites. Though usually he adds some poor grammar for giggles. And MDL, of course, lets him.

I love the lack of commentators/presenters - that's a technique that other shows could learn from.

I like how respectful the show is of the contestants (helped by the lack of presenters, I guess).

I love the lack of backstories (My granny died of cancer, I'm doing this for her).

I think the challenges effectively showcase brawn AND brains (strategy), e.g. taking time to build a good bridge.

I particularly like how nice/decent/humble (most of) the contestants are (except for the assholes who bragged about an easy win and then, satisfyingly, lost).

I think the difference is not the fans, but the respect/airtime/attention that the media (and agencies) give to them. And that's partly to do with how Korean dramas are funded - by crappy beer/makeup/other product companies who want these nutbars to continue to buy product.

Mine, too. But not of all of these sad-sack people are Korean (or even Asian). So while I can say "this wouldn't happen in my country" I'm not at all confident that no-one from my country would ever act like that.

I used to think it was just hormonal teens, as per the popular belief. But a run in with 'Wookie' fans expanded my brains - we're talking well-nourished women in their 40s. I doubt they have children, mind. They seem pretty lonely - which is possibly why they fantasise, beyond what's rational, about impossible men.

Because the hairy-faced ajummas who sniff around Korean male celebrities imagine that they'll be 'picked' one day, that their 'oppa' will notice their comments on MDL (or similar) and decide that she's the one. They are, in other words, batshit crazy.

This will be the third drama in a year where this plot point (a female producer casts a man she fancies in a dating show) is used. Too many crap, idea-less writers, I guess.

"The wedding will be held privately" except for the fact that we've just announced the venue, so all the nutters can turn up.

Sadly it's not available on Viki in my region (Europe). One of the many reasons I cancelled my Viki pass (and it will probably come to Netflix eventually anyway).