What the cis call an "End of Year Challenge" we just call a #TransitionTimeline.
Strange to think that this will probably be the most striking year-long timeline I'll ever have. Transition will continue, of course, but probably not at the pace of Year Two.
Also what the fuck, that's me?
Day 30: Was 2023 a good drama year?
Again I can only base my answer on which 2023 dramas I have been able to stream and on which platforms. My platforms are primarily NFx, PRIME (yes IK, Bezos) and occasionally VIKI and Disney+.
With that in mind, to me 2023 was an average year. Only one or two and at a push three dramas stand out in my mind as having really delighted me and kept me transfixed and fully entertained.
Day 29: Drama(s) that I am looking foreard to in 2024
Big List
I know these 2 started in Dec 2023
#DeathsGame with #SeoInGuk
and
#GyeongsangCreature with #ParkSeoJoon
Mystery & Sageuk:
#HongRang with #LeeJaeWook
Romantic Comedy:
#MrPlankton with #WooDoHwan
Fantasy:
#EverythingWillComeTrue written by woman behind #Goblin, #DOOS
Fantasy & Comedy
#QueenOfTheScene with #GongHyoJin
Melodrama:
#QueenOfTears written by woman behind CLOY and starring #KimSooHyun
Melodrama & Mystery:
#TheTrunk with #GongYoo
Sageuk Drama:
#QueenWoo with #JiChangWook
Drama:
#WhenTheStarsGossip with #LeeMinHo and GongHyo Jin
Slice of Life:
#YouHaveDoneWell written by writer of #WhenTheCamelliaBlooms with #IU and #ParkBoGum
Political Drama:
#TheWhirlwind
Those should keep me busy! 😉
Day 28: Theme or premise I would like to see more of in a drama
Relationships between persons in an older demographic, like #CrashCourseInRomance. #DearMyFriends from the writer behind #OurBlues looked at couples and friends in their 70s and up apart from 1 couple.
Also single parents who are men and also including more than just tiny inferences about the LGBTQ community
Day 27: Drama I believed that was missed by some folks
I think that #BehindEveryStar really flew under the radar. Korean language version of French tv show, #CallMyAgent.
Takes a look at the business of show business from the viewpoints of agents at an entertainment agency and their clientele. Witty, quirky, absurd and at times sweet in tone.
Day 23: Longest drama that I have watched
In 2023ish that would be #AlchemyOfTheSouls. I say that because Part 1 with16 eps was in 2022 and Part 2 with 16 eps ended in 2023.
Longest ever to watch:
2019
#MotherOfMine kdrama, a Sat &Sun drama that was 108 episodes
2018 #RyuisRoyalLoveInThePalace #cdrama with 87 episodes
2019
#ArsenalMilitaryAcademy cdrama with 48 episodes
Day 22: Shortest drama that I have watched.
The ok but not great #TheKillingVote at 12 episodes.
Day 21: Name a drama that was better than you expected.
#UnderTheQueensUmbrella . I had never seen the FL in a costume drama before so that is why I checked it out. Nothing earth shattering or frustrating, just a nice drama.
Day 20: Tear worthy scene
Nothing stands out from a 2023 drama. However, in my rewatch of several older dramas, I once again found myself crying during #ItsOkayToNotBeOkay.
The scene is where Sang Tae is painting a mural and overhears that Gang Tae was away overnight with Moon Young. Realizing that he has been lied to, ST confronts his brother and unleashes his hurt and anger. He recalls hearing GT say that he wanted ST dead and accuses him of leaving him to die in a frozen lake. Both men are crying in pain and oof, gets me every time.
Day 19: Laughable moment
This will require some thinking but off the top of my head, #CrashCourseInRomance gave me quite a few chuckles.
Day 18: Favourite Scene
I have 2 tied for first place:
1. #CrashCourseInRomance
The hallway scene in episode 12. ML treats FLs injured hand then asks her to spend the night at his place. It's kind of tentative, awkward and kind of sweet. Yeah, I am a hopeless romantic 😍
2. #UnderTheQueensUmbrella
Episode 3, the painting scenes at the end of the episode.
Set up: Queen discovers her son's secret room filled with female attire and makeup. The Queen burns it to the ground to keep him safe. He is heartbroken.
In the painting scenes, the Queen has given women's attire to the prince and arranged for them to have their portrait painted not as a prince but as a princess, their true self. They know that they are loved and accepted. The Queen gives the prince the hairpin meant for a daughter. As the pair walk back to the palace in the rain, they are at first seen as a woman and a man under an umbrella. As the scene ends, the pair becomes two women.
Day 17: Favourite actor
Of 2023 dramas, I am giving a huge thumbs up to #JungKyungHo in #CrashCourseInRomance. In the drama he was an asshat, a bumbling idiot, a know-it-all, a romantic sap and a knight in shining armour. 👏
Overall and in order, faves are:
#JangHyuk who I have yet to see in 2023s #FamilyTheUnbreakableBond but I would watch him watching paint dry.
#ParkHaeJin. 2023's #KillingVote was not his best work but I am shallow and he is pretty to look at. 😉
#SeoInGuk
#HyunBin
#KimSooHyun
#LeeDongWook
#ParkSeoJoon
Day 16: Favourite Actress.
If it is 2023 then I would say #SongHyeKyo from #TheGlory. Hands down.
Overall my top fave and despite my thoughts on the drama #dailydoseofsunshine, #ParkBoYoung. She is always a joy to watch.
#GongHyoJin always brings in a good performance too as does #KimSunYoung who was last seen in #mylovelyliar.
Lastly I enjoy the acting of the drama mother to all #KimMiKyung.
Day 15: favourite trope found in 2023 drama is the "rain" kiss. I am thinking specifically of #kingtheland when the sprinkler goes off after a kitchen disaster. What made this one nice for me was the fact that the ML asked the FL's permission.
Day 14: Production crew member who caught my attention.
I couldn't tell you who is a production crew member on any of the dramas.
Day 13: Which dramas did I find boring?
All of those that I listed previously as having been dropped.
Day 12: Favourite platonic relationship
Anything I have been adding is based on 2023 shows and what is available for me to watch. Having said that, I didn't really see/notice any wholly platonic relationships from 2023 dramas. Instead I trawled through my watch list and found this from a previous drama.
#SheWasPretty 2015
He may develop a crush on her later but I like the buddy relationship between Choi Si Wan's character and the FL
You could also argue that Deok Sun has a platonic relationship with each male on the cul de sac in #Reply1988
