Life on Mars

Life on Mars

7.5/10

Life on Mars

Genre:                                                  Episodes: 16                                       Year: 2018

Mystery

Thriller

Synopsis:

Han Tae Joo is a detective who believes in facts and follows procedure. While investigating a case, Tae Joo is involved in an accident and wakes up 30 years in the past.

Cast:

Jung Kyung Ho (Han Tae Joo)

Park Sung Woong (Kang Dong Cheol)

Go Ah Sung (Yoon Na Young)

Oh Dae Hwan (Lee Yong Ki)

Noh Jong Hyun (Cho Nam Shik)

Jeon Suk Ho (Han Chong Ho)

Jeon Hye Bin (Jung Seo Hyun)

Kwak Jung Wook (Kim Hyun Suk)

General Thoughts:

Just to start with, I have never seen the original British show. I’d heard about it, knew the general premise, and remembered seeing ads for it on TV when it was first released, but I have never ever watched the show or heard about its finer details. So unfortunately, I won’t be able to compare this remake to its original.

Beginnings of bromance

That being said, I really enjoyed this drama. You definitely didn’t need to have any knowledge of the British version in order to understand and enjoy this Korean remake. OCN has pretty much got the monopoly on crime and thriller dramas in Korea, and for good reason. The channel is willing to make dramas a little bit darker than others are, and that makes for some darn good thriller watching.

Maybe I'm morbid, but I like a bit of blood

There are certain similarities between ‘Life on Mars’ and another OCN time travel-crime drama that aired last year (‘Tunnel’), but the two had enough differences that it didn’t feel like the station was putting a new face on an old show and releasing it again. ‘Life on Mars’ was a little bit darker than ‘Tunnel’, with more attacks and crimes being shown on screen. Anyone who’s watched a K-Drama knows that they tend to err away from actually showing any sort of violence on screen. And then when they do, it’s usually pretty heavily censored. I cannot forget how annoyed I was with the drama ‘Voice’ because they censored virtually everything, so I wondered why they even bothered filming it at all. The writer and PD behind ‘Life on Mars’ seemed to have a much better understanding of what was likely to be blurred out, and so they managed to create scenes that were confronting and gave you the chills, without snapping you out of the moment by having a big blurry blob across a weapon or a wound or a victim. In fact, the directing of the show was pretty brilliant overall- particularly when it came to traces of Tae Joo’s present leaking into the past.

Jung Kyung Ho acted the crazy really well

The interruptions from Tae Joo’s doctors or family never felt random or unfitting. In fact, the way the show brought snippets of 2018 into the 1988 world was one of my favourite things about the drama. It was unsettling and unnerving, and helped add a sense of urgency to the drama.

First guy to treat her like an actual officer- no wonder she likes him

These moments of breakthrough never distracted from the crimes or relationships that were developing in 1988, but they definitely created an atmosphere of uncertainty around our hero, Tae Joo. Because Tae Joo’s life was never really threatened all that much in 1988, it was nice (in a adrenaline-inducing way) to have these reminders sneak in every now and then telling us that Tae Joo was in a very precarious position. The writing of the show overall was very good- and that’s something the show can boast for itself- because even as it’s a remake, it doesn’t stick exactly to the source material, and created situations and characters that were utterly unique. Tae Joo was a brilliant character to have as our lead- cold, but not completely emotionless, and somehow oddly displaced in both 2018 and 1988. Jung Kyung Ho acted the character to perfection, having a great strait-face and doing a brilliant job at creating a sort of emotional barrier between himself and other characters without ever cutting the audience off.

They suit each other perfectly

Despite Tae Joo’s actions sometimes causing confusion and misunderstandings with other characters, we as viewers pretty much always knew what was going through Tae Joo’s mind thanks to Jung Kyung Ho’s subtle and nuanced performance. Park Sung Woong also delivered a brilliant performance (as usual) as the gruff, fists-first ‘80s detective.

So cute you two

Seriously, this role fit him perfectly. While at times I did find Dong Cheol a little bit too fists-first, Park Sung Woong made it easy to like him despite his tendency to beat up suspects before they’re even proven guilty. He has a great comedic streak, and he really used that here to bring out Dong Cheol’s more endearing side. Go Ah Sung really blew me away with her portrayal of the sweet and encouraging Na Young. I think she was perfectly cast, as not only did she bring out Na Young’s intelligent and uplifting nature, but there was something about her voice that just really sold me on her character. Na Young was a quiet and understated character, but Go Ah Sung played her with such impact that she really became one of the most pivotal aspects of the show. Casting these three main characters so perfectly did the show wonders. Even though the writing and directing of the show was brilliant on its own, having these three characters so well cast, and have such great chemistry with each other really elevated the drama to the next level.

Gotta love a solid squad

As I already mentioned, the writing behind this drama was really excellent. As this show was a crime drama, as most crime dramas have there were a fair few crimes sprinkled throughout the show for our heroes to solve. What made the writing feel better than other dramas is that no smaller conflict was dragged on for too long.

Though it did bug me how long it took Tae Joo to realise his Dad was shady

While some crime dramas stretch a case for three-four episodes, ‘Life on Mars’ only gave each smaller plot line enough screen time for it to be concluded, which kept the momentum high and prevented the storyline from dragging. Not only this, but each smaller plot in some way contributed to developing our main story. There were no redundant or unnecessary scenes, and it always felt like what we were seeing on screen was important or relevant to the show’s main plot. Most of the crimes that the squad were solving were related to the mystery of the manicure murders- the case Tae Joo was working on when he was snapped back in time/fell into his coma. The crimes that weren’t related to our main murder duo’s past tended to be cases that developed the relationships between our main trio. With the smaller plot-lines working to develop either the modus operandi of our murderer or fostering Tae Joo’s sense of belonging in 1988, every episode was important and necessary for the development of the story’s main plot. 

What Was Great:

Cohesive: 

Everything in this drama fit together really well. Given that it’s based off some strong source materiel it’s not really a big surprise, but it’s still worth commending. Time travel dramas can be pretty tricky with making the two timelines flow smoothly and making them both seem as important as each other.

Admittedly, 1988 did feel slightly more important

The time travel (or whatever it was) here was done brilliantly. The elements of 2018 that managed to sneak into 1988 reminded us that there was another timeline out there somewhere, and kept us from getting too wrapped up in the 1988 universe. Once Tae Joo was back in 2018, the ghost-like apparitions of the 1988 squad were a great way to keep us pining for what had been left behind,

I mean, no one in 2018 can make Tae Joo smile like that

and make us want some way for our hero to return and save the people we had come to care about so much. Which was also done really smoothly. Tae Joo had no existing connection with the officers in 1988, so it was a hard sell to have this stoic, emotionless man come to love this team. However, as Tae Joo gradually learned about the others through each case in 1988, he came to appreciate their talents, dedication, and most importantly their good intentions. Their 1988 gruffness had a way of getting through Tae Joo’s walls that 2018 politeness just couldn’t. It didn’t feel unrealistic that Tae Joo would come to care about these people as much as he did, as they are the first to really trust him and stand on his side. Tae Joo’s relationship with Na Young was so sweet, and was developed so beautifully. Her soft, caring nature is exactly what Tae Joo needed during his most turbulent time. While I adore the two of them together, I appreciate that the show didn’t push the romance too hard. There were hints of growing romantic interest, and while some small baby steps were taken, there were no big declarations of love or grand gestures- which I think suited 1988 and Tae Joo perfectly. 

Nothing builds romance quite like respect and understanding

Brilliant Remake:

Remakes are nothing new in K-Drama, with there being a pretty wide selection of Japanese to Korean remakes, and even some Taiwanese and Chinese ones. K-Drama also takes its source material from books, manhwas and webtoons. In the past year though I have heard more about K-Dramas taking on some Western materiel.

I've a feeling we're not in England anymore

I haven’t actually watched any of them, but I know they’re out there. This takes on a slightly different tone, as American series tend to have waaaaaaaay more than a single season. In this case, the British version had 2 seasons of 8 episodes each- so that’s the same amount as the Korean remake. Despite not knowing much about the original, I have heard that the Korean version stays pretty in tune with tone of the original. However, it also isn’t simply a copy-paste scenario. The drama took the tone, themes, and heart of the British show, and wrapped it up in pretty Korean packaging. The characters and their environment do not feel British. At all. The show takes place in 1988, which is a pretty memorable year for Korea, what with the Seoul Olympics and all. The cases in the Korean version felt much more geared toward a Korean audience, with one of them even being based on an actual hostage situation that took place in Korea.

So I doubt that case is in the BBC version

The way the 1988 detectives were more brawn than brain, and the way their very competent female officer was constantly overlooked made the 1988 characters fell very real, and most importantly very Korean. While the drama probably would have still been very enjoyable if it had followed the script of the original exactly, where the real magic of this show came was taking a great idea that had worked previously and giving it a fresh new coating.

And I must say, I like this coating

The two shows felt the same, and had some very similar ideas, but as far as I’m aware they were very different shows. The Korean version definitely made a space of its own beside a very well loved and well regarded show. 

What Wasn’t:

More Questions Than Answers:

As this drama went on and I got more and more invested in the story, I did start to wonder if it was going to end in a way that I found intellectually satisfying. Arrogant and obnoxious as that might sound (particularly as I’m not outstandingly bright), I do prefer it when dramas don’t treat me like a complete idiot

This mystery wrapped up pretty well

and actually have a conclusion to the mystery that makes logical sense. I adored all the different questions the show was throwing out there, and there were so many ways the show could have wrapped up. Overall I am satisfied with the way the drama was concluded, but I must say that it didn’t exactly answer all the questions that were raised throughout its 16 episodes. The big main mystery of who the serial murderer was and who was helping him was wrapped up pretty perfectly, and I can’t really fault how the show got to its conclusion on that front- it all made sense, and I was happy with how both the brothers were arrested in 2018. But to me, the mystery that was far more compelling was whether or not Tae Joo had actually gone back in time, or if the whole 1988 world was actually just a big dream while Tae Joo was in his coma. There’s evidence to support either way. Tae Joo was looking at the files of cold cases that included the murder of our 1988 squad, so it’s possible that Tae Joo’s brain turned the stories in those files into a detailed world for him to live in.

But I so desperately want these guys to be real

There’s also the whole thing where Tae Joo’s family and doctors were communicating with his coma-body and that was leaking through to 1988 Tae Joo. But on the other hand, these were cold cases, and 1988 Tae Joo was able to solve some of them while he was there. Being a cold case, the information to solve the cases wouldn’t have been in the files,

I feel like he'd notice if the detective chasing him hadn't aged

so there was no way that Tae Joo’s brain could have incorporated an accurate solving of cases into a dream. Also, the squad was an actual group of people that did exist in 1988. But on the other, other hand, no one who Tae Joo interacted with in 1988 seemed to remember him being there. Like I’m pretty sure his Mum might have noticed if her son grew up to look exactly like the detective that was investigating her husband who had the exact same name as her son. But nope, nothing from Mum. So what is really going on here? We’ll never know, because the show never decided to tell us. It left it all open for people to wonder and be confused and debate over what was real and what wasn’t. And I can kinda, sorta see the fun in that. But I also really don’t like open endings and generally prefer when dramas actually tell me what is happening. Or at least give pretty big, decisive hints.

Come on show, I want to know if these people are real or not and if they're dead or not

With Tae Joo jumping of a building to get back to 1988 and save the lives of his squad, I am hoping that it was a time-travel or alternate reality sort of thing, because otherwise he just tried to kill himself in order to get back to a dream that isn’t even real, and all his family have to suffer through him being comatose or dead in the real world. And that’s pretty bloody grim. 

Recommend:
Yes- if you’ve seen the original series and what to watch the remake, or if you just enjoy a good crime drama I definitely recommend giving this one a go.

This picture sums the squad up pretty well

Another Oh Hae Young

Another Oh Hae Young

7.5/10

Another Oh Hae Young

Genre:                                 Episodes: 18                         Year: 2016

Romance

Comedy

Synopsis:

Two girls share the same neighbourhood, school, class, and even name. ‘Just’ Oh Hae Young is always compared to ‘Pretty’ Oh Hae Young, and always comes up short. The day before her wedding she is dumped out of the blue, and things only get worse when ‘Pretty’ Oh Hae Young joins the same company in a higher position. ‘Just’ Oh Hae Young continues to have chance encounters with the emotionally detached sound engineer, Park Do Kyung. Unknown to Hae Young, Do Kyung has been having strange futuristic visions about her that all come true.

Cast:

Seo Hyun Ji (Oh Hae Young)

Eric (Park Do Kyung)

Jeon Hye Bin (Oh Hae Young)

Ye Ji Won (Park Soo Kyung)

Kim Ji Suk (Lee Jin Sang)

Heo Jeong Min (Park Hoon)

Lee Jae Yoon (Han Tae Jin)

Kim Mi Kyung (Hwang Dook Yi)

General Thoughts:

While I do wish that the series hadn’t been extended by two more episodes, ‘Another Oh Hae Young’ still managed to be extremely enjoyable as a whole. What really sold the show was its leads- both characters and actors.

Definitely the heart of the show

Although Eric might not be one of the greatest actors, he delivered an endearing performance as Park Do Kyung- expressing the loneliness and guarded nature of Do Kyung’s heart, even when we weren’t explicitly shown why he became that way. And I just adored Seo Hyun Ji as Oh Hae Young. She was charming in an underrated way and Seo Hyun Ji made us feel every once of emotion that Hae Young felt.

All kinds of adorable. All kinds.

Simplicity was one of this drama’s greatest aspects both for its characters and its plot. It’s not to say that either was without depth, but we happily avoided having the drama be dragged down by complications that weren’t necessary. The overall plot was pretty basic- an insecure woman meets an emotionally stunted man and sparks fly. Throw in his ex-lover who is the source of our leading lady’s insecurities and you have enough conflict to work with. Add in his accidental meddling in her marriage and it’s just plain juicy. The writers didn’t try to milk these situations for more than they were worth, and that’s always a bonus. As for our heroine, it was her simplicity that I loved most because it meant I could always understand her. In a K-Drama universe that is filled with heroines acting stupidly and unreasonably, it was nice to have a heroine that was so easily understandable. Hae Young smiled when she was happy, cried when she was sad, and said she loved someone when she did. It was awesome. I also enjoyed the simple way that the ex-lovers were dealt with. Neither was painted with the ‘villain’ brush, nor were they playing the sympathy card. While it’s sad that their loves couldn’t work out, there were exact reasons why those relationships failed. Mainly that they were Noble Idiots. Which tickles my fancy so much. Because I hate Noble Idiots. More than almost anything else.

You know you've got a great heroine when I hate a character just because she does

I always enjoy watching a drama were the characters that make decisions on behalf of other people don’t get what they intended. I mean, it’s nobody’s fault except Tae Jin’s that Hae Young didn’t end up with him, because he called off the wedding with a stupid lie believing that was best for her (which c’mon dude, really?). While Tae Jin was definitely a victim of Do Kyung’s revenge plan (albeit revenge on the wrong Hae Young), it’s his choices afterward that show why he’s not the man our heroine should be ending up with.

That's how you know you f*cked up

Instead of wishing happiness for the woman he loves, he sets out to destroy her new relationship- which while understandable, is not commendable. It’s impressive that he’s a character that gets so little screen-time, yet still has a fully fleshed-out character arc- asshole-victim-villain. At times he was one of those things and at times he was all those things, making for a pretty interesting side-character. Compared with Tae Jin, the other Oh Hae Young had a much more neutral path. She never outright does anything nasty (except maybe leave Do Kyung at the alter), but after seeing high school through our Hae Young’s eyes it’s so easy to dislike her and her confidence. She isn’t actually a villain herself, as it’s other people that make comparisons between the two Hae Young’s, but she’s dislikable all the same simply due to her apparent ignorance of the situation. By the time her side of the story is explained, our main couple are so happy and in love with each other that it makes little difference to how her character is viewed. She had a hard time in school too due to growing up without the familial love and support that our Hae Young had- but at the end of the day, it was her choice to leave Do Kyung on their wedding day with no explanation. Along with its characters, another thing the drama did well was to balance its tone.

Perfect balance of humour and heart

Our main Oh Hae Young was funny for the most part even in her more emotional moments, with her drunken antics and pure dislike of the other Oh Hae Young. However the writing flowed smoothly between its humour and its more melo moments. It didn’t feel awkward or out of place when Hae Young or Do Kyung were sad as we understood the exact emotional turmoil of these characters, but the drama never lingered too long on these angsty moments (thank goodness).

And a bromance to add to the fun

The drama knew what is was and never wasted too much time trying to draw emotion out of the audience- because it knew that the situations and emotions of our characters could produce that feeling on their own. While I appreciated the fantasy element in there of Do Kyung seeing future visions of Hae Young even before they met, I do wish it had been a tad more explained. If indeed it was Do Kyung remembering and regretting how he spent his time with Hae Young while he died, then no matter what he did, those visions should have come true and Do Kyung should have still died. However, Do Kyung was able to see why he didn’t want those visions becoming an actuality, changed the way he acted by opening up more to Hae Young and being honest about his feelings, and thus changing the outcome of his visions. Which means he was never remembering the past, he was seeing the future. But that all goes rather unexplained. I loved the concept of the visions- Do Kyung could see what would happen if he continued to be guarded and closed-off to the woman he loved. Ultimately she would leave him and he would be left with nothing but regrets about not loving her when he had the chance. It was poignant and to the point in delivering the drama’s main theme- love as much as you can while you can because you could be dead tomorrow. I just wish the execution has been a little smoother.

What Was Great:

Understandable Leads:

I understand why everyone did everything they did in this series. How often can you say that about a K-Drama? Although I might not have agreed with every discussion and I might have done things differently if I had been in our characters’ shoes, I still had a firm understanding of why they acted the way they did, which increases my sympathies for the characters and lessens any frustrations with the drama.

They both just...made sense

Our main leads made perfect sense in all their flaws. Oh Hae Young was fantastic and could be straight-shooter about her feelings, but lost all her spunk around the other Oh Hae Young when her insecurities gave her a punch in the gut. Do Kyung was caring yet serious and was so clearly damaged by both his parents and the Oh Hae Young that left him on their wedding day. It made perfect sense why Hae Young wanted to pull closer to him, and why he was afraid of that closeness (not to mention he totally trashed her wedding and relationship). I even understood Hae Young’s Mum. So often I’m left confused at K-Drama parents when it appears that they are acting completely selfishly and care nothing about their children- but here I loved both of Hae Young’s parents. Dad was the calm to Mum’s storm, gentle with both of Hae Young’s love interests while Mum was ready to rip them to shreds for hurting her daughter.

You know the characters are written well when even the parents are understandable

Although Mum’s actions could be a bit over the top and meddlesome, it was always apparent that she was acting in what she thought was her daughter's best interests- as Mum has watched Hae Young have a hellish couple of months due to these two men. It just makes a drama so much more enjoyable when every single character has clear motivations and their actions are understandable rather than confusing. 

No Noble Idiocy:

I fully expected Do Kyung to run off and abandon Oh Hae Young for her own good at some point in this series.

So many reasons to Noble Idiot...but he still didn't ♥

But thank the good K-Drama gods that it didn’t happen. Even though Do Kyung thought he was going to die at some point in the near future, he never broke up with Hae Young under the guise of ‘I’ll hurt you now to save you from hurting in the future’. Instead, Do Kyung had the attitude of ‘f*ck it, let’s love each other as much as we can so I don’t die with regrets’. Hooray! Finally a drama that gets it! Despite leaving Hae Young making perfect sense (because having a loved one die is really, really sh*tty), it would have brought no enjoyment having the leads separated in the later stages of the drama. So thankfully it just plain never happened. Do Kyung was open and honest with Hae Young, no matter how hard that was for him, and ultimately changed his fate into one where the two of them were happy for (hopefully) a long time. 

Hugging:

While good snogs always improve a drama (and this drama certainly had them), a good hug can be just as effective, if not more so.

On point hugging

Kissing tends to have the underlying subtext of lust and passion- but a hug is generally softer and more about the love. It’s not always the case, but generally so.

He also snogged her like he meant it

And our leads were such good huggers. In lots of K-Dramas the leads seem almost awkward around each other as if they want to touch as little as possible, which often results in awkward looking skinship. Dramas also like to have everything look very, very pretty, so can sometimes pull back on the intensity of a moment in order to make it look ‘prettier’ on screen. We’ve all seen those no movement, lips-barely-touching kisses while the cameras spin around the couple so we can see it from every angle. But in ‘Another Oh Hae Young’ it felt like our leading couple actually wanted to be with each other. I believed the skinship which helped with the overall believability of the emotions and the relationship. Eric hugged Seo Hyun Ji like he meant it, and that really makes for a believable romance.

What Wasn’t:

Mild Drag:

I blame most, if not all, of the drag on the two episode extension. There were just a couple of episodes towards the end there where the plot slowed right down and Do Kyung seemed to be getting a little too caught up in his angsty emotions. It wasn’t enough to ruin the series, but it did slow the pacing of a show that was rather perfectly paced. While Do Kyung is getting bent out of shape about what his visions mean and how to avoid his death, a lot of the humour and cuteness disappears from the series.

At least the added angst gave us the cute duckling bros

It gets back on track after a while, but it could have been such an excellent drama if not for the slight lag towards the end when it should have been ramping up for its final conflict. 

Noona Romance:

I love a good Noona Romance, but this one just didn’t cut it for me. There are several ways the drama could have made the relationship work, and I’m a little dissatisfied with the way they chose.

Not a fan of all the awkward

While it makes sense on paper- Soo Kyung and Jin Sang do their relationship backwards (baby, getting comfortable, falling in love), it just didn’t translate to the screen all that well. The two felt awkward and I didn’t really buy into their relationship at all. I think what really killed it for me was the all-or-nothing vibe. Jin Sang either had to marry Soo Kyung or get out of her life completely- and that just doesn’t really work for me. Why did no one entertain the idea that Jin Sang could still be the baby’s daddy even if he didn’t marry Soo Kyung? He could stick around and help her raise the baby, but that doesn’t automatically mean he has to enter into a loveless marriage with her. Wouldn’t being two friends raising a kid together be better than that? And that’s not saying they couldn’t fall in love later. It wouldn’t be the first time someone had a baby first and got the loving relationship second. Soo Kyung and Jin Sang had some nice emotional beats, with them understanding each other completely due to a lifetime of growing up together, but I didn’t feel satisfied at the conclusion of their story-arc. While I did buy the emotion on Soo Kyung’s part, I felt like Jin Sang was forced into the relationship. I totally believed that he would fall for Soo Kung later on, I just didn’t think it was time yet, and their awkwardness only further enforced that idea.

Re-watch?

Probably not. While thoroughly enjoyable and bursting with charm, it’s somehow not something I’d go out of my way to watch for a second time.

And they both finally got married