Tag: hospital playlist

Week in Review (Sep 12 – 18, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ Leave a comment

What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

Schmigadoon! (2021)

I’ve been waiting for a musical show since ABC’s 2015 production Galavant, and finally the heavens (and Apple TV) have blessed us with Schmigadoon! The cast reads like a who’s who of the musical theater scene, from Kristin Chenoweth and Jane Krakowski to Aaron Tveit.

The conceit of the show, and what makes it so appealing, is that at its center is a couple who are fully aware that they are in a musical, but can’t do a thing about it. Lucky for Melissa (Cecily Strong) she has an entire database of musicals stored in her brain for easy reference. The townspeople on the other hand are completely unaware that they are archetypes from famous stage productions, and they merely follow their cues as they get them.

It was such a delight watching the show and seeing such veteran actors take on parodies of beloved roles. Chenoweth was by far my favourite, embodying the evilness of her character and clearly having fun with it. She’s a scene-stealer like no other, and it’s no wonder she’s a Broadway legend. Jamie Camil’s brief but impactful performance also left an impression on me, and I wish he could have been the one to get the girl in the end (even if said girl may not have been entirely worthy of the greatness that is Jamie Camil). And, of course Tviet going against type by playing the town rapscallion, his beautiful voice on full display along with his incredible dancing.

By comparison our main couple felt lacking, Keegan-Michael Key in particular. Perhaps because Josh was so opposed to being in the world that he was thrust into, Key’s performance felt forced, and I couldn’t buy him as the lead when there were so many more interesting suitors out there.

But the overall experience that was Schmigadoon! was fun filled and exciting and just the kind of thing I love. It was lovely seeing some of the performers I grew up on singing and dancing and having a good time, and I would move to Schmigadoon any day.

Hospital Playlist 2 (2021) – Ep 7-8

I stopped watching this show for a few weeks, because I found myself quoting Marie Kondo: “Does this spark joy?” And I found the answer to sadly be ‘no’ at the end of Episode 6. So I decided to give it a break for a couple of months, and revisit it once it had finished airing.

The nearly 2-hour episode runtimes definitely makes it tougher to watch the show at my usual pace, but I’m happy to take it slow and see the show out. There are things that I genuinely enjoy about the show, like the core 5 spending time with each other (although there wasn’t much of that these past two episodes) and seeing the care and patience with which they deal with both their patients and the doctors working under them. The shows humour still gets me, Jun-wan and Ik joon’s (Jung Kyoung-ho and Jo Jung-seok respectively) bickering being some of my favourite scenes.

The show also built up incredible tension with Rosa (Kim Hae-sook) the last few episodes, and seeing her silent struggles just about killed me. To see that tension finally released, and her voicing her fears to her best friend and her son, as well as getting the treatment she needed felt like a breath of fresh air. It gives me hope for the show to continue in a positive direction for the rest of the season, and going back to being character driven rather than what currently feels like self indulgence.

Perhaps a more ruthless editor could have done wonders with their heavy-handed messages this season, but overall I’m watching the show just for the sake of completionism at this point. Change my mind, I beg you HosPlay crew!

Week in Review (Jul 18 – 24, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ 1 Comment

What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

Loki (2021)

I’m glad I waited to watch Loki in one sitting once it had finished airing, because I felt that not a lot actually happened over the course of the show. Most of the action occurred in the final episode, with the first five mostly just long expositions and a chance to explore the scenery.

While Tom Hiddleston is very good at delivering a complex monologue, it felt like that was just about all he had to do. The entire first episode was exposition and rather than pulling me into the world of the TVA, it actually pulled me out. It made the show feel a little bit flat, despite the grandness of its settings.

That being said, I did enjoy the final episode of the show, which was essentially a battle of wits between the mysterious figure beyond the void (Jonathan Majors), and Loki and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino). Majors adds a calmness to the age-old character that could very easily have been over the top and campy, bringing a much needed weight to the show.

The debate between thinking you are the best version of yourself and doubting that you may not be was captured quite well, with a literal battle between two different versions of the same entity. I did not like the incestuous narcissistic take that the show had on Loki and Sylvie’s relationship, the clash of ideologies was well conveyed.

The idea of multiverses is definitely nothing new in the comic book world, but seeing it manifested in such a fun way is always delightful. I’m looking forward to seeing how the show takes things forward in that direction. I also want to see more of Mobius (Owen Wilson) and Loki together, since the two of them had incredible chemistry on screen.

Hospital Playlist 2 (2021) – Ep 5-6

It was an interesting two weeks on HP, with Episode 5 setting up the time jump and Episode 6 showing us how everyone has changed (or stayed the same) in the past year. For the most part, not much seems to be different for our main 5. Jun-wan (Jung Kyoung-ho) still can’t seem to move on from his relationship. Song-hwa (Jeon Mi-do) and Ik-joon (Jo Jeong-seok) are still comfortable with one another, with just the tiniest hint of tension under the surface. Seok-hyung (Kim Dae-myung) has decided to open himself up to the possibility of dating Min-ha (Ahn Eun-jin). And Jeong-won (Yoo Yeon-seok) is still keeping his relationship with Gyeo-ul (Shin Hyun-bin) under wraps; although it definitely feels like she wants more out of it.

Now that Song-hwa is back for good, I think that the writes will start to establish a more concrete arc for her future relationship with Ik-joon. With only half the season left, it seems very likely that we will get to the point of a confession by the end of the season, with actual dating happening in the next one. I hope that if that is where the show is heading, we don’t just get the two of them in an isolated bubble, but rather get to see the effects of it in their existing lives, especially how it might impact U-joo (Kim Jun).

Jun-wan is definitely being written as the most tragic of the characters. All his friends seems to have something else to do or somewhere else to be. Even his devoted resident Jae-hak (Jung Moon-sung) hasn’t got the time to spend with him, and it’s really taking a toll on him. While he isn’t showing it outwardly yet, I feel that the hints about expressing your emotions this episode will apply most aptly to him, and he’s going to have a breakdown soon. Even though his friends will be there for him, it seems that the show is hinting that he isn’t complete without a partner. While I dislike this line of thinking, I do understand that Jun-wan’s prickly exterior often makes him unapproachable and therefore harder to befriend.

Seok-hyung and Jeong-won seem to have the least amount of change in their immediate environment the past year, but I feel like the more interesting changes are going to unfold in the latter half for the two of them. Both seem to have marriage in the periphery, Seok-hyung because of his mother and Jeong-won potentially from Gyeo-ul.

We seem to be getting a few more scenes of the friends interacting with one another, which is by far my favourite part of the show. The actors really pull off that decades-long-friendship vibe, and they feel comfortable and homey in those moments. Their band practices are only getting better and better, and I can’t wait to see the uproar when they finally have to let Song-hwa sing for her birthday.

Week in Review (Jul 4 – 10, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ Leave a comment

What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

Youth of May (2021)

Youth of May explores an era of Korean history that I’m unfamiliar with, The Gwangju Uprising of 1980. My love for historical dramas is no surprise, neither is my love for the acting chops of Lee Do-hyun and Lee Sang-yi. So of course I was going to watch this show. I was just a bit apprehensive about starting it knowing that the material would be heavy, and that I would be in for an emotional ride.

The show definitely maintains a strong focus on character development, and the setting of the show is really just that: a backdrop that provides conflict for our characters, but not something they ever directly involve themselves in. Our heroine, Kim Myung-hee (Go Min-si), could not be more run of the mill. She’s quite plain on first glance, dressed in muted colors and seemingly a pushover. But the more time we get to spend with her, the more we’re charmed by her boldness. It comes out in burst when she sees those in a weaker position mistreated by those in power. Lee Do-hyun’s Hwang Hee-tae in contrast is uninterested in the conflicts and protests going on around him, despite having had a hand in helping the people on the front-lines. We get the impression that he wants to blend into the wall. Their paths cross in a very cliché way, and if not for the setting, this show could easily have been a rom-com drama. A case of mistaken identity, love-at-first-sight, arranged marriage and love squares, it’s all there.

But what makes this show different is exactly that setting, and the raised stakes because of it. Hee-tae’s father (played by the incredible Oh Man-seok) is the absolute scum of the earth, bringing a real sense of danger for our four leads. Add to that the individual hurdles that Myung-hee and the Lee siblings have to tackle within their respective families, and we have rife territory to explore.

There’s nothing quite like opposing parents to bring a couple closer, and that’s exactly what happens with Myung-hee and Hee-tae. Go and Lee have worked together before, and that prior relationship definitely seems to influence their performance here. They seem comfortable with each other from the first encounter, and I was invested in their journey from the very beginning, despite knowing it may not end well for them. What I found particularly interesting, is that despite having Soo-chan and Soo-ryun (Keum Sae-rok) set up as potential romantic rivals for our leads, they never felt like actual threats to their relationship.

Despite all the blood and gore that the show portrayed there was one bright ray of sunshine in the show: the friendship between the little brothers, Jung-tae (Choi Seung-hoon) and Myung-soo (Jo Yi-hyun). These two boys were the embodiment of adorable, and despite their rocky start, they ultimately became inseparable.

While the show does end on a bittersweet note, it leaves a lasting effect and a message of hope. To not give up, to not forget the difficulties of the past, and to stand against injustices despite your fears. Youth of May wasn’t perfect by any means, and it definitely had its fair share of issues, but the final impression it leaves you with is a good one, of having been glad to be along for the journey with these characters.

Hospital Playlist 2 (2021) – Ep 3-4

The highlight of the past two weeks has definitely been the PICU moms. Eun-ji’s mother (Lee Eun-joo) in particular stole the show. I loved how she managed to show the duality of being supportive of the parents who got their miracles while also desperately hoping for one for her own child. To see her finally admit that it was difficult to keep going, and that she was on the verge of giving up on her child was heartbreaking. However, the moment when she finally got good news was equally joyous.

Being with the moms meant we also got to see more of their doctor. Jun-wan (Jung Kyoung-Ho) has been visibly struggling in his long-distance relationship and things finally came to a head this week. Ik-soon (Kwak Sun-young) was becoming more and more withdrawn from him, and even the medical staff around the hospital felt the need to comment on how haggard Jun-wan seems, throwing himself into his work. While I’ve never been particularly invested in their relationship, I do feel badly for him and how Ik-soon doesn’t seem to be very considerate of him. Ik-joon’s (Jo Jeong-seok) indirect talk with her about how his girlfriend isn’t being good to him seemed to have the opposite effect of what he intended, and she broke up with Jun-wan with what I suspect was a lie, rather than trying to be a better partner to him.

I was a bit disappointed at the lack of Seok-hyung (Kim Dae-myung) recently. It seems like the writers are setting him and Min-ha (Ahn Eun-jin) up as the next targets of Ik-joon’s matchmaking, but I really just want to see him interacting with his patients and medical team. That has been the one weak point of this season so far. I’m uninterested in any of the lovelines that the show is trying to push on us, despite the hammer-to-the-face approach they took with Lee Kyu-hyung’s cameo. Rather than wondering whether Song-hwa (Jeon Mi-do) will end up with Ik-joon or if Jeong-won’s (Yoo Yeon-seok) relationship will be exposed, I’d like the show to be more about the friendships and the hospital.

Week in Review (Jun 20 – 26, 2021)

~ colourfulgranny ~ Leave a comment

What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

*Note: My reviews usually contain spoilers. You have been warned. Proceed at your own risk.*

TV

Hospital Playlist 2 (2021) – Ep 1-2

The Yulje crew is back!

And they are just as good as ever. The show picks up exactly where it left off, and it feels like the cast hasn’t missed a beat since they ended the last season. With a few meta jokes about how Ik-joon’s (Jo Jeong-seok) kid seems to have grown overnight, the show returns to all it’s usual shenanigans.

The first episode seems intent on wrapping up all the cliffhangers it left us with at the end of the first season, and staying true to her signature style, most of them turned out far less dramatic than they seemed. Seok-hyung (Kim Dae-myung) goes to see his ex-wife after he learns that her father is admitted to the hospital. Jun-wan’s (Jung Kyoung-ho) returned ring was cleared up with a quick phone call and it turned out that Ik-soon (Kwak Sun-young) just wasn’t home when it was delivered. Jeong-won (Yoo Yeon-seok) and Gyeo-wool (Shin Hyun-bin) are officially a couple, and Song-hwa (Jeon Mi-do) neatly turns Ik-joon down on his hypothetical offer to date.

I like that the show continues to give us interesting doctor-patient interactions. It can often get quite boring when you have a case-of-the-week format, but Hospital Playlist has always excelled in making us connect with the patients that visit Yulje, because they aren’t there just for the week.

The most interesting patient so far was Kim Su-jeong (guest star An Si-ha), who comes to the ER after she realizes that her water has burst before her baby has even completed half its term. Not only does she serve to provide an interesting medical situation, but it also helps to show us the contrast between the different doctors at Yulje. Min-ha (Ahn Eun-jin) notes how the same patient examined within the space of a few hours by two different doctors completely changed the outlook. It also gave us an incredible insight into how Seok-hyung works as a doctor, something that did not get nearly enough attention last season. I want to know more about the inner workings of his mind, since he seems like the most thoughtful of the group.

On a personal front, they all continue to have various levels of struggles and success. Jun-wan and Ik-soon are going strong, and it makes me happy to see them communicating with one another. Song-hwa’s mystery coffee fairy on the other hand makes me nervous for another one-sided crush, much like we were teased with Ahn Chi-hong (Kim Joon-han) and the shoes last season.

I have no doubt that the show will continue to be insightful and heartfelt, and I’m excited to see what Writer Lee Woo-jung and Director Shin Won-ho have in store for us. I’m equally excited to see some excellent covers by our in-house band, Mido and The Parasols.

Racket Boys (2021) – Ep 1-8

This show is so wholesome it’s killing me with cuteness! It’s not everyday that we get to see a show about competitive middle school badminton, but Racket Boys is about so much more than that. The show manages to encompass the financial struggle of family forced to move from the city to the countryside, and how they try to fit in with the people around them. The school itself is looking for someone to turn their team around and bring back their former glory. Finally, it deals with the stresses of being a teenager, especially teenagers that have adults constantly pushing them and relying on them for their own glories.

After having watched Prison Playbook, and knowing that the same writer was in charge here, I was sure that the ensemble dynamic would be excellent. What I wasn’t expecting was how I would love each one of them. From the hot-headed Hae-kang (Tang Joon-sang) to the reserved Se-yoon (Lee Jae-in), I have yet to find a character that I dislike. The coaches may seem strict and the townspeople prickly, but ultimately those are just facades they put on to protect themselves, and you understand where they might be coming from.

By far my favourite character is Hae-kang. I love how he so many dichotomies in him. He’s competitive but carefree, walking with an air of confidence that only a fourteen-year-old kid can. However, he often shows a maturity far beyond his year, whether it’s towards his sister (Ahn Se-bin), Se-yoon or the kindly halmoni Ome (Cha Mi-kyung) next door, that I sometimes forget that he’s just a middle-schooler who likes playing video games and wants his mom (Oh Na-ra) when he’s hurt. I was already blown away by Tang’s acting prowess in Move to Heaven, but Yoon Hae-kang is a masterful character when placed in his capable hands. He is absolutely slaying it, and I love him even more every time he smirks and says “It’s me! I’m Yoon Hae-kang!”

When the rest of the kids are added into the mix we get true magic. Each of them brings their own brand of charm, whether it Yoon-dam’s (Son Sang-yeon) leadership, Se-yoon’s cool-headedness, or the optimistic dynamic duo of Woo-chan and Yong-tae (Choi Hyun-wook and Kim Kang-hoon respectively). They really take Coach Bae’s (Shin Jung-keun) words to heart: “We win as a team. We lose as team.” And they do pretty much everything else as a team too, including being embarrassed by Coach Yoon (Kim Sang-kyung) and protecting other teams from Hae-kang’s violent outbursts.

Going forward, I’m looking forward to see how the team continue to bond. Now that they know Hae-kang isn’t going anywhere, the Racket Boys seem much more at ease. I’m also loving the lovely innocence of the way that the writer is developing the lovelines between Se-yoon and Hae-kang, as well as the more direct approach with Han-sol (Lee Ji-won) and Yoon-dam.

Week in Review (Jul 26-Aug 1, 2020)

~ colourfulgranny ~ 4 Comments

What have I been doing this week? I’m glad you asked! Here’s what’s been on my watchlist this week:

TV

Hospital Playlist (2020)

Hospital Playlist has the kind of vibe that makes you feel like you’re part of the gang. You laugh with them, and you cry with them. You root for them through their successes and hope for them through their hardships. This show highlighted the beauty of different kinds of relationships, that between parent and child, between siblings, and of friends who have become family. It has the signature pop culture references and musical flair of Writer Lee/PD Shin that make you feel a sense of nostalgia and longing even as you’re watching it, and the characters are so inherently true to self you feel like they’ve been plucked from real life. I can’t wait to continue on this journey with our Yulje crew. I need Season 2 yesterday!

Harley Quinn Season 2 (2019)

What a great first half, and what a disappointing second half. It felt like the writers were unsure who their characters were in the latter half of this season, with Dr. Psycho turning supervillain, the Joker’s unnecessary reappearance, and Harley’s completely out of the blue love for Ivy. Perhaps it was a case of confused feelings that made Harley confuse love for her friend who supported her with romantic love, but Ivy’s motivations seemed completely opaque. Poor Kiteman got the short end of it, leaving a very bitter taste after seeing two seasons of build-up on their relationship end in rejection. I’m not sure what the writers were thinking, but I hop they remember who their characters are in time for the next season.

Books

A Court of Thorns and Roses (Ch 1 – 28) – Sarah J. Maas

Feyre’s journey seems familiar, with common themes of poverty and self-sufficiency and hardship being ones repeated through many young adult novels. However, she is not your typical protagonist, in that she is very rarely seen wallowing in self-pity. She gets on with life, and makes do with what she has, which makes her infinitely more likeable in my eyes. While the story is building towards her relationship with Tamlin, it sometimes feels like that is almost secondary, with her need to figure out herself and her surroundings taking precedence. Whether that be in learning to paint or in figuring out the lay of the land and the creatures that occupy it, Feyre has a voracious appetite for learning her environment – which also gets her in trouble on more than one occasion. On the whole, I enjoy learning the mythology of Maas’s universe, and just like Feyre, I’m curious about the vast expanse that lays ahead of me.