the great doctor/faith (eps 1-2)
Aug. 15th, 2012 09:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
walkwithheroesThe Great Doctor/Faith started this week on SBS. I wasn't really looking forward to it, but I was interested in checking it out. After watching the first two episodes, my snap judgement on it is: it has some flaws, but it's a good drama. Basically the story is about a modern day surgeon who is brought back 660 years in time by a general, in order to save a Queen.
It's tagline: Fantasy and history will meet. Person and person will meet. Person and heaven will meet. - Sounds exciting and life changing!
The summary from dramawiki is as follows:
Yoo Eun Soo (Kim Hee Sun) is a 33-year old plastic surgeon in the year 2012. She was originally a general surgeon, but quickly found that it was an overworked, under-paid profession and jumped ship to plastic surgery. Her dream is to someday open her own practice. But one day, Choi Young (Lee Min Ho) kidnaps her and takes her back to the Goryeo era because needing her medical skills. Their love story spans centuries but also warring beliefs. He gave up on love to be an unflinching warrior.
Cast and Characters:
If Lee Min Ho has proven anything, it's that he can play a slightly aloof man. Choi Young is a cool general, whose hobby is sleeping. He acts more on impulse than intelligence, but it always works out for him. I love that there are moments when you can see a tiny cocky grin on playing on the edges of his lips. He's just so cool. CY is the type of hero all other heroes in this genre wish to be. He's a more quiet Hong Gil Dong in a way. His word is his life and he's loyal. I just really like the character.
Kim Hee Sun is our heroine. KHS is making her drama comeback after six years away from the small screen. (She's gotten married and had a daughter in the last six years. And she's stuck with this drama since it was first talked about. . .oh, two or three years ago.) Despite her long career (seriously she was it from 1995-1999) I've only seen her in 2005's Sad Love Song. I love KHS in that drama, btw.
All that aside, let's talk about her character, Eun Soo. ES is a fairly modern woman. Sure she wants a rich husband, but she also wants to start her own plastic surgery office. She's a little quirky, a little loud, but damn good at her job. I really love that the writer had her hang on to the insane belief that she had been kidnapped and brought to a movie set. In so many time travel dramas, the displaced person gets over that culture/time shock so easily. Not ES - she held on to that belief for a while; until nearly the end of episode two, actually. That's not to say she's inactive - when it's time for surgery (the second time) she's ready. Some people have complained that ES is "old" and "shrill", but I dig her.
Lee Philip is Jang Bin, a healer. He's doing well in the role: very serious. I haven't really gotten a feel for his character, but I believe Jang Bin is very into to his work. I believe he and ES will learn a lot from one another. I also believe that the lovely Lee Philip has improved in his acting since Legend.
Ryu Duk Hwan is playing King Gong Min. RDH is young, but has made a name for himself in the cable drama series, God's Quiz. King GM didn't have too much to do in the first episode, but RDH did a great job in the role: lots of little looks gave a lot away. In the second episode, I believe we saw the real King: scared, weak, unsure, easily lead by his minister; but, he generally wants what is best for his people. He's been raised away from Korea and he's been married to a Chinese princess. Understandably, he's nervous and willing to listen to anyone that will offer advice. His scenes with CY and his wife were amazing. He's a stiff man that wants people to see him as a King. But, he's just not sure how to be a King. I honestly look forward to his development and growth.
Park Se Young is Princess/Queen Nogook. Nogook was literally asleep for most of the two episodes, but from what we saw of her - I dig her. She's strong, sure of herself, and it's afraid to give orders nor is she afraid to be a little sassy toward her husband. As long as she doesn't fall for CY, I think Nogook will end up becoming one of my favorite characters.
The men in CY's group of guards are all lovely. My favorite is the young man, Deok Man, who basically fights via dance.
P.S. How awesome was Ahn Jae Wook's cameo as ES's old boyfriend? If you're not in the know, they played together in the '90s drama, Sunflower, where they were surgeons!
The Story:
I feel like a lot happened in two episodes. Than again, I feel like hardly anything happened. ES has gone back in time, saved the Queen, and is now no longer able to get back to 2012. A lot, right? But, I feel like there was something missing. Clearly there is something going on in the capital - people who don't want the King on the throne. Great plot line, but we only saw that in the first act of episode two. Which is fine. I think the flow of the drama is fine; though, the editing is odd in that there is a cliffhanger about 50 minutes into each episode and than it goes on for another 15 minutes. Makes me think the drama was supposed to be 45-50 minutes, but than SBS gave it a longer time slot, so they had to reedit the first few episodes.
The Effects:
CY and JB's energy powers are alright. Weirdly better than most tv dramas. HOWEVER, Eum-Ja's (Sung Hoon) flute playing? It was so fake it was embarrassing! The music kept going, even when his fingers and mouth weren't moving. Please drama, fix it, or I won't be able to take him seriously as a villain.
The Great Doctor, also known as Faith airs on Mondays and Tuesdays on SBS in Korea. If interested, you can check it out(legally and with English subtitles) at Viki or Drama Fever
It's tagline: Fantasy and history will meet. Person and person will meet. Person and heaven will meet. - Sounds exciting and life changing!
The summary from dramawiki is as follows:
Yoo Eun Soo (Kim Hee Sun) is a 33-year old plastic surgeon in the year 2012. She was originally a general surgeon, but quickly found that it was an overworked, under-paid profession and jumped ship to plastic surgery. Her dream is to someday open her own practice. But one day, Choi Young (Lee Min Ho) kidnaps her and takes her back to the Goryeo era because needing her medical skills. Their love story spans centuries but also warring beliefs. He gave up on love to be an unflinching warrior.
Cast and Characters:
If Lee Min Ho has proven anything, it's that he can play a slightly aloof man. Choi Young is a cool general, whose hobby is sleeping. He acts more on impulse than intelligence, but it always works out for him. I love that there are moments when you can see a tiny cocky grin on playing on the edges of his lips. He's just so cool. CY is the type of hero all other heroes in this genre wish to be. He's a more quiet Hong Gil Dong in a way. His word is his life and he's loyal. I just really like the character.
Kim Hee Sun is our heroine. KHS is making her drama comeback after six years away from the small screen. (She's gotten married and had a daughter in the last six years. And she's stuck with this drama since it was first talked about. . .oh, two or three years ago.) Despite her long career (seriously she was it from 1995-1999) I've only seen her in 2005's Sad Love Song. I love KHS in that drama, btw.
All that aside, let's talk about her character, Eun Soo. ES is a fairly modern woman. Sure she wants a rich husband, but she also wants to start her own plastic surgery office. She's a little quirky, a little loud, but damn good at her job. I really love that the writer had her hang on to the insane belief that she had been kidnapped and brought to a movie set. In so many time travel dramas, the displaced person gets over that culture/time shock so easily. Not ES - she held on to that belief for a while; until nearly the end of episode two, actually. That's not to say she's inactive - when it's time for surgery (the second time) she's ready. Some people have complained that ES is "old" and "shrill", but I dig her.
Lee Philip is Jang Bin, a healer. He's doing well in the role: very serious. I haven't really gotten a feel for his character, but I believe Jang Bin is very into to his work. I believe he and ES will learn a lot from one another. I also believe that the lovely Lee Philip has improved in his acting since Legend.
Ryu Duk Hwan is playing King Gong Min. RDH is young, but has made a name for himself in the cable drama series, God's Quiz. King GM didn't have too much to do in the first episode, but RDH did a great job in the role: lots of little looks gave a lot away. In the second episode, I believe we saw the real King: scared, weak, unsure, easily lead by his minister; but, he generally wants what is best for his people. He's been raised away from Korea and he's been married to a Chinese princess. Understandably, he's nervous and willing to listen to anyone that will offer advice. His scenes with CY and his wife were amazing. He's a stiff man that wants people to see him as a King. But, he's just not sure how to be a King. I honestly look forward to his development and growth.
Park Se Young is Princess/Queen Nogook. Nogook was literally asleep for most of the two episodes, but from what we saw of her - I dig her. She's strong, sure of herself, and it's afraid to give orders nor is she afraid to be a little sassy toward her husband. As long as she doesn't fall for CY, I think Nogook will end up becoming one of my favorite characters.
The men in CY's group of guards are all lovely. My favorite is the young man, Deok Man, who basically fights via dance.
P.S. How awesome was Ahn Jae Wook's cameo as ES's old boyfriend? If you're not in the know, they played together in the '90s drama, Sunflower, where they were surgeons!
The Story:
I feel like a lot happened in two episodes. Than again, I feel like hardly anything happened. ES has gone back in time, saved the Queen, and is now no longer able to get back to 2012. A lot, right? But, I feel like there was something missing. Clearly there is something going on in the capital - people who don't want the King on the throne. Great plot line, but we only saw that in the first act of episode two. Which is fine. I think the flow of the drama is fine; though, the editing is odd in that there is a cliffhanger about 50 minutes into each episode and than it goes on for another 15 minutes. Makes me think the drama was supposed to be 45-50 minutes, but than SBS gave it a longer time slot, so they had to reedit the first few episodes.
The Effects:
CY and JB's energy powers are alright. Weirdly better than most tv dramas. HOWEVER, Eum-Ja's (Sung Hoon) flute playing? It was so fake it was embarrassing! The music kept going, even when his fingers and mouth weren't moving. Please drama, fix it, or I won't be able to take him seriously as a villain.
The Great Doctor, also known as Faith airs on Mondays and Tuesdays on SBS in Korea. If interested, you can check it out(legally and with English subtitles) at Viki or Drama Fever
