We are more than halfway through the year, so I thought it would be fun. This includes any drama that aired any part of its content in 2013 and, since I am judgmental, I am ranking them even if I'd only seen one episode. From worst to best.
18. Jeon Woo Chi - this was so bad that another word needs to be invented for this. Horrible acting, atrocious writing, mismatched lead couple, costumes that looked like they were out of a high school production, and a budget of approximately $5 (which is a problem in a period drama with wirework and CGI). Its only value is as an object 'what not to do' lesson.
17. 7th Grade Civil Servant - The only reason that this isn't lower than JWC is because Joo Won can act better than the entirety of JWC cast combined. Not that he bothered to do so here, however. A script written by a braindead octopus, a horrifically miscast leading lady, shrill 'acting' by everyone, an utter and complete trainwreck.
16. The Great Seer - ummm, it had some entertaining scenes. Not for the reasons the makers intended. This 'period drama meets Jerry Springer' had a great turn by Ji Jin Hee but was largely both tacky and boring.
15. Horse Doctor - this sageuk wasn't particularly bad. It wasn't particularly good. It was so plodding, pedestrian and by the numbers in every possible respect, from story to settings, that I think I might have forgotten it before I started watching it!
14. Glass Mask - a bugfuck insane daily that I eventually had to drop due to the sheer number of episodes, this was enjoyable due to its unashamed OTTness, Seo Woo's performance, and some yummy eye candy. Good drama? Heck no. Fun way to spend a long airplane ride? Oh yes.
13. IRIS 2 - bad bad bad bad BAD drama. But I am helpless for sexy angsty bloodied Jang Hyuk. It is his mojo alone that put it this high (well, that, and the fact that it reunites him with Lee Da Hae). Unless you are a helpless and rabid Jang Hyuk fangirl like your truly, avoid it like the plague.
12. School 2013 - by no means a bad drama and with a pleasing cast of rising actors, but I am much too old to find a 'rahrah teachers help troubled teens in a wholesome way' set-up appealing. It doesn't help that there is zip romance in this one due to apparently some complaints that highschoolers 'don't do that.' LOL. (Extra LOL because School's 'high schooler' star Lee Jong Suk went on to romance Lee Bo Young in I Hear Your Voice which is a huge hit, while still playing a high schooler. Apparently high school boys can't romance high school girls, but almost 30-year attorneys are all right. Not that I am complaining! :P)
11. The King of Dramas - good drama, good performances, I am just not big into funny satires with quirky 'perfectionists' when they are drama long. Movies? Sure. Dramas? Not so much.
10. Jang Ok Jung - a lot of people loved the first half and declared the second half derailed. Tbh, I didn't love the first half, either. This is what it is - a very prettily filmed (and prettily costumed) period romance with not much emotional or political helf behind it. The leads are appealing and have good chemistry, but ultimately, this is The Moon that Embraces the Sun for grown-ups and with a sad ending. Points for the sheer balls in transforming the notorious Jang Hee Bin into a tragic romantic victim though! And I mean that unironically.
9. Gu Family Book - I've dropped it because the ending (I was spoiled) gave me rage issues, but this is a pretty, funny, touching fantasy comic book of a period drama, with a highly appealing male lead (or is it my Lee Seung Gi bias talking?) and a wonderful central romance. I am going to finish it once I cool down enough.
8. Cheonamdong Alice - well, this drama is probably now forever going to be overshadowed by the Park Shi Hoo's potential rape scandal, but if you are able to separate CA from that (yes, I realize that is like saying 'but other than that, Mrs Lincoln, did you enjoy the play?), this is actually a hilarious, lovely, romantic, snappy romcom about a plucky Cinderella who actually sets out to snare her eccentric, neurotic prince charming. Park Shi Hoo is wonderful in this and pretty much steals the show (his drama specialty in general) and Moon Geun Young does good. They have lovely chemistry and overall, it's an experience I enjoyed from beginning to end.
7. Monstar - cute and oddly nuanced for a teen drama, this reminds me of a lovechild between What's Up, Dream High and Shut Up Flower Boy Band (no, I don't know how a threesome can meld into a child, don't ask). The yong cast does a good job, the soundtrack is divine, and it's quirky enough to not seem too wholesome or cloying about its message. It's too fluffy to make it into my top dramas, but its heart is in the right place.
6. That Winter the Wind Blows - Noh Hee Kyung can do no wrong in my eyes - if I see her as a writer, I am automatically in. But this also has gorgeous visuals and the long-anticipated (by me, at least :P) return by Jo In Sung and Song Hye Kyo to the dramaworld. They don't play likeable characters, but they are fascinating and I was riveted.
5. I Miss You - I confess, I haven't finished it, because I got so invested in Yoochun's tormented cop and Yoon Eun Hye's broken designer that I couldn't bear to watch without knowing they would be allowed happiness. So I stopped and was going to go back until it finished and I knew the ending for sure. Then I went on a huge drama hiatus and thus there it remained. However, I am back on my drama wagon, I have all the eps, and I plan to finish this in a few weeks. People either loved it or hated it. I was in the former camp with both feet - I loved the performances, I loved the nuances and the darkness and the visuals and Yoochun's vulnerability and YEH's anger and and and and...with the possible exception of I Hear Your Voice, to me this was the most romantic drama of the year, and I am a sucker for that.
4. Can We Get Married - this was a cute little romcom that never tried to be more than it was and is rated this highly due to the snappy writing, the perfect cast, and the fact that it made me grin from ear to ear. Oh, and make-outs.
3. I Hear Your Voice - my biggest obsession of the year, the reason this isn't higher is because this drama's take on how a legal system works is...misguided, to say the least. BUT! The relationship between Hye Sung, a jaded 20-something public defender and Su Ha, a mind-reading high school senior, united by a murder case a decade old, with the psychopath perpetrator now after them, is what really makes this drama work - their connection, their protectiveness and teasing and traumas - they are truly an epic OTP, soulmates, whatever have you. They are the definition of 'shouldn't work but does.'
2. The Blade and the Petal - oh boy, do people hate this drama. And the ratings are through the floor. But those of us who love it, really really love it (in a way, even though the two dramas are very dissimilar, the reception reminds me of Worlds Within, arguably my favorite drama of all time). A seasoned cast and an interesting story are both present, but the reason this is rated so highly is because this is a visual poem - with music and jaw-dropping cinematography, silences and lingering shots. This is the closest I've seen a drama come to a purely emotional, operatic experience - it bypasses conventional structure and goes for the dreamlike. It's incredible.
1. Cruel City - is there any doubt? Brutal, stylish, emotional, twisty, melancholy, intense - I could probably stack adjectives by the cartload with the help of a thesaurus. This is what drama should be - smart, fierce, with a once-in-a-lifetime performance by Jung Kyung Ho, an in-the-background-but-incredible romantic thread with Nam Gyuri, magnetic secondary characters - seriously, I could go on and on.
18. Jeon Woo Chi - this was so bad that another word needs to be invented for this. Horrible acting, atrocious writing, mismatched lead couple, costumes that looked like they were out of a high school production, and a budget of approximately $5 (which is a problem in a period drama with wirework and CGI). Its only value is as an object 'what not to do' lesson.
17. 7th Grade Civil Servant - The only reason that this isn't lower than JWC is because Joo Won can act better than the entirety of JWC cast combined. Not that he bothered to do so here, however. A script written by a braindead octopus, a horrifically miscast leading lady, shrill 'acting' by everyone, an utter and complete trainwreck.
16. The Great Seer - ummm, it had some entertaining scenes. Not for the reasons the makers intended. This 'period drama meets Jerry Springer' had a great turn by Ji Jin Hee but was largely both tacky and boring.
15. Horse Doctor - this sageuk wasn't particularly bad. It wasn't particularly good. It was so plodding, pedestrian and by the numbers in every possible respect, from story to settings, that I think I might have forgotten it before I started watching it!
14. Glass Mask - a bugfuck insane daily that I eventually had to drop due to the sheer number of episodes, this was enjoyable due to its unashamed OTTness, Seo Woo's performance, and some yummy eye candy. Good drama? Heck no. Fun way to spend a long airplane ride? Oh yes.
13. IRIS 2 - bad bad bad bad BAD drama. But I am helpless for sexy angsty bloodied Jang Hyuk. It is his mojo alone that put it this high (well, that, and the fact that it reunites him with Lee Da Hae). Unless you are a helpless and rabid Jang Hyuk fangirl like your truly, avoid it like the plague.
12. School 2013 - by no means a bad drama and with a pleasing cast of rising actors, but I am much too old to find a 'rahrah teachers help troubled teens in a wholesome way' set-up appealing. It doesn't help that there is zip romance in this one due to apparently some complaints that highschoolers 'don't do that.' LOL. (Extra LOL because School's 'high schooler' star Lee Jong Suk went on to romance Lee Bo Young in I Hear Your Voice which is a huge hit, while still playing a high schooler. Apparently high school boys can't romance high school girls, but almost 30-year attorneys are all right. Not that I am complaining! :P)
11. The King of Dramas - good drama, good performances, I am just not big into funny satires with quirky 'perfectionists' when they are drama long. Movies? Sure. Dramas? Not so much.
10. Jang Ok Jung - a lot of people loved the first half and declared the second half derailed. Tbh, I didn't love the first half, either. This is what it is - a very prettily filmed (and prettily costumed) period romance with not much emotional or political helf behind it. The leads are appealing and have good chemistry, but ultimately, this is The Moon that Embraces the Sun for grown-ups and with a sad ending. Points for the sheer balls in transforming the notorious Jang Hee Bin into a tragic romantic victim though! And I mean that unironically.
9. Gu Family Book - I've dropped it because the ending (I was spoiled) gave me rage issues, but this is a pretty, funny, touching fantasy comic book of a period drama, with a highly appealing male lead (or is it my Lee Seung Gi bias talking?) and a wonderful central romance. I am going to finish it once I cool down enough.
8. Cheonamdong Alice - well, this drama is probably now forever going to be overshadowed by the Park Shi Hoo's potential rape scandal, but if you are able to separate CA from that (yes, I realize that is like saying 'but other than that, Mrs Lincoln, did you enjoy the play?), this is actually a hilarious, lovely, romantic, snappy romcom about a plucky Cinderella who actually sets out to snare her eccentric, neurotic prince charming. Park Shi Hoo is wonderful in this and pretty much steals the show (his drama specialty in general) and Moon Geun Young does good. They have lovely chemistry and overall, it's an experience I enjoyed from beginning to end.
7. Monstar - cute and oddly nuanced for a teen drama, this reminds me of a lovechild between What's Up, Dream High and Shut Up Flower Boy Band (no, I don't know how a threesome can meld into a child, don't ask). The yong cast does a good job, the soundtrack is divine, and it's quirky enough to not seem too wholesome or cloying about its message. It's too fluffy to make it into my top dramas, but its heart is in the right place.
6. That Winter the Wind Blows - Noh Hee Kyung can do no wrong in my eyes - if I see her as a writer, I am automatically in. But this also has gorgeous visuals and the long-anticipated (by me, at least :P) return by Jo In Sung and Song Hye Kyo to the dramaworld. They don't play likeable characters, but they are fascinating and I was riveted.
5. I Miss You - I confess, I haven't finished it, because I got so invested in Yoochun's tormented cop and Yoon Eun Hye's broken designer that I couldn't bear to watch without knowing they would be allowed happiness. So I stopped and was going to go back until it finished and I knew the ending for sure. Then I went on a huge drama hiatus and thus there it remained. However, I am back on my drama wagon, I have all the eps, and I plan to finish this in a few weeks. People either loved it or hated it. I was in the former camp with both feet - I loved the performances, I loved the nuances and the darkness and the visuals and Yoochun's vulnerability and YEH's anger and and and and...with the possible exception of I Hear Your Voice, to me this was the most romantic drama of the year, and I am a sucker for that.
4. Can We Get Married - this was a cute little romcom that never tried to be more than it was and is rated this highly due to the snappy writing, the perfect cast, and the fact that it made me grin from ear to ear. Oh, and make-outs.
3. I Hear Your Voice - my biggest obsession of the year, the reason this isn't higher is because this drama's take on how a legal system works is...misguided, to say the least. BUT! The relationship between Hye Sung, a jaded 20-something public defender and Su Ha, a mind-reading high school senior, united by a murder case a decade old, with the psychopath perpetrator now after them, is what really makes this drama work - their connection, their protectiveness and teasing and traumas - they are truly an epic OTP, soulmates, whatever have you. They are the definition of 'shouldn't work but does.'
2. The Blade and the Petal - oh boy, do people hate this drama. And the ratings are through the floor. But those of us who love it, really really love it (in a way, even though the two dramas are very dissimilar, the reception reminds me of Worlds Within, arguably my favorite drama of all time). A seasoned cast and an interesting story are both present, but the reason this is rated so highly is because this is a visual poem - with music and jaw-dropping cinematography, silences and lingering shots. This is the closest I've seen a drama come to a purely emotional, operatic experience - it bypasses conventional structure and goes for the dreamlike. It's incredible.
1. Cruel City - is there any doubt? Brutal, stylish, emotional, twisty, melancholy, intense - I could probably stack adjectives by the cartload with the help of a thesaurus. This is what drama should be - smart, fierce, with a once-in-a-lifetime performance by Jung Kyung Ho, an in-the-background-but-incredible romantic thread with Nam Gyuri, magnetic secondary characters - seriously, I could go on and on.