TV Episodes You Have Just Watched

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Stranger on Netflix, also available on Peacock

Finished season 1 (episodes 5 through 16).

I enjoyed season one. I found myself thinking "I'll watch one more episode." and then think the same thing and hour or so later. Or like last night thinking "I'll stop at 7:00 so I can watch Will Trent." but then just keep watching Stranger and thinking "I'll watch Will Trent and The Good Doctor on Hulu tomorrow morning."

The last episode ends in a way I like about Korean television, at least the ones I've seen. The main arching story line concludes and large chunk of time is used to unwind and address the story for each character. It is not rushed. There does not need to be a season 2. In this case there is, and the hint of a story is introduced in the last ten minutes or so.

I'm looking forward to season 2. All the same actors who did not die will be back, and some of the ones that did die will be back. I imagine in flashbacks or in thoughts. Cho Seung-woo and Bae Doona were very good as prosecutor Hwang and Lieutenant Han. Cho Seung-woo was also in Divorce Attorney Shin. I watched that last year, and I would not known it was the same actor if I had not seen it on IMDB. It is mainly because in Stranger, he does not have much in the way of facial expression.

Stranger (2020) on Netflix

Season 2, episode 1 and 2

Then

Good Doctor (2013) on KOCAWA+

Season 1, episode 1

All the pieces for the U.S. version are there. Differences. I don't recall so many people being so down on people with autism in the U.S. version. For some people in the show Dr. Park Shi-ohn is treated as an a complete imbecile. I'm certain that is just to drive home their reaction as the series progresses and they realize his abilities.

Another difference is in 2013, the Korean script talked about there being a cure for autism. It's nice to know by the time Extraordinary Attorney Woo was made, there was no mention of there being a "cure."

I texted a person I know that watches The Good Doctor (U.S.) that apart from what I just mention, the only other difference is the lack of biodiversity with the cast. Everyone is Korean. It was a joke and likely a bad joke.

There are differences between the versions, but I am still enjoying it.

Bingo - Better Call Saul (Season 1)

The Bad Batch.

Real Time With Bill Maher.
Feud: Capote Vs The Swans.

Fargo S3E1

I finished Good Doctor (2013) on KOCOWA+ streaming service.

It was enjoyable. Different feel from the American version would become. I try not to compare the two because there is the difference in television culture and program budget. It was enjoyable though.

First. All the spellings of the name of the main character I've seen, Park Shi-ohn, Park Shi-on, Shi Ohn, park Shi On, and Park Shion. I have no idea if one is preferred. I tend to include the dash. In Korean is is 박시온 regardless how it is spelled using the typeface we are familiar with.

Television culture difference. In The Good Doctor (American), two residences are sleeping together in the first episode. In Good Doctor (Korean), men and women are not so quick to share close physical interactions. I believe that is something I've noticed in all of the Korean series I've watched. In Korean shows several episodes will go by and when one person catches another person as they are about to fall down some stairs, it is treated like a first kiss in American shows. You can tell by the music that swells up. In Good Doctor, that moment happens with Shi-ohn pulls Cha Yoon-seo from the street so she is not run over. Cha Yoon-seo is equivalent to Claire Brown in the American version, although her role diverges from Cha Yoon-seo. Doctor Cha at first sees herself as a sister to Doctor Park, but that evolves.

The same is true of Doctor Cha, except romance very gradually enters the picture.

The first several episode could be unpleasant to watch. Some adults, nurses, doctors, parents, tend to be very cruel or bullying to Shi-ohn. There was one scene where is leg was twitching very rapidly as he was verbally assaulted. It was like a snapshot from my past, and I almost stopped watching it. I didn't because I knew the story and sentiment would turn around, and it did.

Last comment about Korean shows in general. I find it funny, and I'm sure it is a cultural difference, but people frequently call other people "punk" or at least that is the closest translation. It seems to indicate someone being disrespectful or obnoxious. The first time I saw this I thought it was a bit harsh, but as said, it pops up quite a bit. Also it is not always said in derogatory way. It is definitely something meant to be an informal expression. Whether is is derogatory or not depends on the context.

Finally, I watched some YouTube videos on the channel Doctor Mike. First I watched his first look at episode one of The Good Doctor. Then I watched his first look at Good Doctor, which he did some time after seeing The Good Doctor. He had nice things to say about The Good Doctor. Less glowing things to say about Good Doctor. I don't think he took culture and budget into account, but it wasn't bad. He has also done several videos about House, MD. Those are actually funny because he sounds like any of the other doctors on the show or Cuddy. He has other videos for Greys Anatomy and Scrubs. I've only watched The Good Doctor, Good Doctor, and House, MD videos, and not all of them.

There you go. More opinions than you asked for. Sorry.

The Walking Dead: The One Who Live.

I'm watching an animated sitcom called Ugly Americans. Highly underrated show.

Doctor Cha (2023) on Netflix

Season 1, episode 1

Cha Seong-suk, or Cha Jung-sook. Sigh, I have to admit, the spelling difference is tiresome today. Anyway, she is a doctor. She was going to be a surgeon, but she gave that up to be a mother. Her husband is also a doctor and having an affair. He also tends to be critical of her. Then while buying him some sunglasses, she gets dizzy, and weak. She then faints. Meanwhile, he is with his mistress, buying sunglasses. She wakes up in the hospital. Long story short, her liver is shot. It was something she ate. I'm not sure what she ate, because as I said, interruptions. She needs a transplant. Her husband is going to donate a portion of his liver. His mistress says he should, and while he is at it, donate his kidney and heart as well. He tells he mother, and she forbids it. To paraphrase, he married the wrong woman. A bit later, he at the hospital, filling out the transplant form. He mother waltzes up and forbid it, and rips up the form. Seong-suk witnesses this. She has the surgery, and I'm not sure where the liver came from. It's not his. She wakes up, surrounded by her two children, and her husband. She leans towards him. He moves in. She moves closer. He moves closer. She grabs him and calls him a bastard.

I'm watching episode 2 now. It starts with her coming home to her family, and mother-in-law. Mother-in-law is totally two-faced explaining all she's had done for her, like hire someone to clean the place. So far, instead of buying things for her family and husband, she goes on a spending spree buying things for herself. These are things she has gotten as hand-me-downs from her mother-in-law for the past twenty year. Mother-in-law lives with them.

Seong-suk's mom is the same actor (Kim Mi-kyung) that played a near perfect mom in It's Okay to Not Be Okay. It seems she is a mom to everyone in that show. It's easy to like her.

Actor Kim Mi-kyung


Apologies for the length of this, and if I've left any sentences dangling and going nowhere. I have a sinus infection, and I'm feeling very run down.

Started American Dragon Jake Long
Watched Amphibia: Battle of the Bands. Loved the song at the end.

RICO - Better Call Saul (Season 1)

The Dark Side Of The Ring.

I know I'm late to the party, but I just finished watching season 2 of Fear the Walking Dead. I'm an absolute fanatic of The Walking Dead, and I must say that Fear has a bit of a different vibe from the original series. The original series is like a typical action/adventure cowboys & Indians type serial with frequent cliffhangers. Fear is more of a dark, surreal descent into an even more insane world than the Atlanta crowd. I like the character of Nick, who tells his mother that the world no longer knows where it's going, but that he - as a heroin addict - has never known where he was going, so that the world has finally caught up with him. Those of us on the spectrum know exactly what he's talking about, for we all live in a zombie apocalypse.

The Regime.

An unstable female dictator of a fictional European country comes under the influence of a brutish soldier who has been assigned to the presidential palace to detect bad air and mold (she's extremely germophobic, among other things). So far a very good dark comedy.

Ken Burns' Civil War.