Bang Rak Soi 9/1 (2016)

Based on the first 11 episodes: Story wise, the whole series is good, as it is a sitcom, they mixed with some comedy to make the whole series very interesting, score given by me is 7.5, the reason on the score is that the series did not address certain issues by Jatjang and Earth, making the series too draggy, i would personally hope that Jatjang will choose Earth and Ice and the parents will offer their blessings.

Acting and Cast is 9.0 as Chanon (Earth) is not a first time acting (he used to be part of the 2014 Love's Coming) and having a new handsome acting buddy Tongtong (Jatjang), a new chemistry is formed, i wish this couple all the very best and hope that they will end up together

Music is a 9.0 also, interesting soundtracks, i love the theme song too (a complete different feel from the previous edition of a slow, jazz feel)

Rewatch value is priced at 8.5, would highly recommend all to watch

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STORY: A sitcom about a family of four who rent to Earth and Ice, who are siblings. The teen son, Jang, realizes that his heart beats hard for both Earth and Ice but he is confused and scared by his feelings for Earth. This show tackles many subjects like homophobia, unwanted teen pregnancy, and other challenges of raising teens in modern Thailand.

ABOUT THE STORY: Unfortunately, lies and misunderstandings are the heart of this show and used heavily by the writers. It seems almost every episode is some big misunderstanding that is resolved by the end of it. The comedic timing of this show is somewhat different and I wasn't used to it. They add a laugh track or some strange sound effect at oddly inappropriate times. Perhaps it's just me; this is my first foreign sitcom.

ACTING/CAST: The entire ensemble cast are very good actors. This is a sequel to the long running Bang Rak Soi (2003-2012) so there are guests appearances from the previous show.

MUSIC: I liked the music and at the end of some of the later episodes they do a Thai rap ending that is very comical.

REWATCH VALUE: I'm glad I saw it once but I do not feel the need to revisit anything.

OVERALL: I fell in love with this family, the characters, the cast. It is a very well-written show. If you decide to invest the time into this, you won't be let down.

NOTE: The long-running Will-Jang-Choose-Earth-or-Ice plot line does get muddled. If you want to know more, read the comment section for spoilers about this.

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Ambitious but with an identity crisis

** Please be warned that this review contains lots of spoilers **

Watching this series from the vantage point of 2023 was an interesting experience. I can readily see how it must have excited the BL fans of 2016, and can imagine the anticipation for each new episode as the series progressed. Unfortunately, I can also imagine their disappointment over how it eventually ended.

Because, alas, the production ultimately lost its nerve, and it turns out that the conflicted feelings that Jatjang has for his neighbors Earth and Ice are simply overblown.

Well, strike that. The feelings that are overblown are the ones that Jatjang has for Earth in particular.

Because, while Jatjang declares several times over the course of the series that his heart “flutters” for Earth, in the final episode he reveals that he has never thought of Earth romantically or ever wanted to touch him sexually, and he even recoils when Earth unexpectedly kisses him on the lips to help him test how he feels. At the same time, we learn that the one Jatjang has wanted to be with romantically all along is Earth’s sister, Ice.

Jatjang, it seems, has just been a confused straight guy the whole time.

What, then, was all the fuss about? As a viewer I wouldn’t want to endure ten months of suspense only to be let down by such a whopper of a cop-out in the final episode.

Along the way, the series does tackle several contemporary issues faced by teens, and most of the time it handles them well. This includes a nod toward accepting people who are gay, which is laudable, but it must be said that the only two examples of same-sex attracted characters are Jatjang’s flamboyant ladyboy cousin and a closeted art teacher who has molested one of his male students.

Furthermore, once Jatjang’s father learns of his son’s possible bisexual tendencies he’s not happy about it at all. After he discovers that Jatjang has been keeping an online journal, he hacks into his son’s computer so he can read the entries from week to week, and soon pretends to be a concerned stranger in order to exchange messages with him. He repeatedly urges Jatjang not to give in to his feelings for other guys or even believe that they’re necessarily real. Then, once the dad finds out that the boy his son is attracted to is Earth (a friend he's around constantly) just the sight of the two boys alone together drives Jatjang’s dad into panic. This is usually played for laughs but after a while becomes offensive.

By the last episode, Earth and his sister have moved away and Jatjang is back to square one for his romantic pursuits. At the end of that episode (and of the series) someone comes to the house to pick up Jatjang to go to school, and after Jatjang’s sister announces that Jatjang’s “new lover” is outside, the family makes a fuss as though there’s a question of whether this new lover is male or female. We, the viewers, never find out for sure, but based on everything that happened earlier, wouldn’t it have to be a girl? By this point there has been repeated reminders that the only boy that Jatjang’s heart has ever fluttered for is Earth, and of course that was a false alarm—other boys have never appealed to him. The series can’t have it both ways. Once you establish that Jatjang is just a confused straight boy you can’t expect to get away with becoming coy on the subject again.

What cannot be faulted here are the performances of the main leads, Tongtong (Jatjang) and Nonkul (Earth). Tongtong has the most difficult role and completely owns it. His emotional range is amazing. Regarding Nonkul, by the time he was in this series he was already an experienced actor and had previously been in a pioneering BL film, 2014's “Love’s Coming”. (In that film, as here, his character is straight.) His performance perfectly balances the tough and tender aspects of Earth’s personality.

In the role of Jatjang’s dad, Jatjen, Saksit Tangthong is also very good, despite the flaws in his character’s approach to his son. As for the mom character, Pang, I must admit that she really annoyed me. In one satisfying scene she gets called out by the kids for always being a scold, and that’s exactly what she is. By the end of the series her voice grated on me and I couldn’t wait for her scenes to be over. I probably shouldn’t blame actress Aom Piyada for what I didn’t like about the mom. I’m sure it was the performance that they wanted from her.

The series is filmed like a traditional sitcom, mostly on a soundstage with occasional outdoor locations, but not with a live audience. Instead, canned laughter is inserted constantly. The fake laughs seem to become less intrusive as the series progresses, but I can’t say if that’s simply because I got used to them.

One last comment. For the files I used to watch this series, the subs were done by a team that called themselves EarthBangJang Subbers. That name was displayed at the upper right corner of the screen for each episode, serving as a constant reminder of how everyone back in 2016 must have been counting on the series becoming a bonafide BL. How disappointed they must have been when it ended without Earth banging Jang.

So, this is not a BL. I'd even say that there's not a "Bisexual Character" as the MDL tag suggests. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, unless you want to spend 55 episodes to get disappointed for yourself.

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I like the ambiguous chemistry between the two male leads, but anyone hoping for anything to happen between them ought to take note that this series cannot be described as BL, so don't set your hopes too high! The canned laughter and slapstick sound effects are, to me, an unnecessary distraction and worse, they sometimes come on at inappropriate moments. The laughter especially sounds very obviously fake, since they start and end abruptly. The incidental music is also out of place with some of the scenes. The theme song is not bad but is typical of most contemporary Thai series. Watch this series once and then move on to the next series.

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Gente do céu, não é nem uma série, é mais um sitcom, pois 55 eps é muito pra se ver!!!
A atuação de todos é muito boa e cativante. De repente eu me vi apaixonada pelos personagens até quando a história estava super chata, e em tantos eps, óbvio que em algum momento vão encher linguiça!
Um ponto negativo que vi, foi que a série passa uma ideia de que o Jatjang vai se decidir em algum momento por um dos irmãos e isso não acontece, mas em compensação, apesar do casal não acontecer, a cada episódio uma nova história se desenrola envolvendo os personagens e geralmente essa história traz mistério e um pouco de ação, além de muita comédia. Não cheguei a perceber a ost, não me marcou em nada, e no geral eu só indico se vc é bem paciente para ver histórias que se arrastam lentamente sem uma definição de casal.

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Komedi dengan bumbu cinta segitiga.

Hal pertama yang mungkin kalian tanyakan adalah, "apakah ini bL" - dan kalian bertanya ini setelah menonton series "To sir with Love". Jika tebakanku benar, simak jawabannya di review kali ini. Menceritakan Jatjang dan Panghorm sepasang kaka adik yang tinggal di sebuah perumahan di jalan "bang rak soi 9/1", hidup mereka awalnya ya biasa saja, menjalani kehidupan keluarga sebagaimana mestinya - sampai akhirnya, ada seseorang yang menyewa sebagian rumahnya yang kosong (di sebelah rumahnya), orang tersebut menitipkan kedua anaknya bernama Earth dan Ice untuk tinggal di sana. Masalahpun muncul ketika Jatjang ternyata menyukai Ice (wanita) dan di saat yang sama juga menyukai Earth (pria), bagaimana kisahnya?. Dari sinopsis singkat, sudah diketahui ya bahwa series ini mengangkat triagle relation, hubungan segitiga seperti ini, Jatjang adalah seorang Bi, jadi apakah ini bL ? menurutku "tidak", ini adalah sebuah series komedi sederhana, yang menceritakan Jatjang dan kehidupan keluarganya, masalah lain muncul tidak hanya untuk romansa cinta, melainkan hal lain. PangPhorm dan tokoh lain pun punya masalahnya masing-masing ; bentuk bL di series ini menurutku hanyalah sebuah bumbu sederhana, yang membuat series ini menjadi menarik dan membuat kita penasaran akan endingnya. Dari segi dialog mudah difahami ya, tetapi kalau ditanya mengenai alur, aku kira tidak terlalu bagus ya karena episodenya terlalu banyak dan punya base "one title one conflict", sehingga sebenarnya satu episode dengan yang lainnya tidak terlalu berhubungan (walaupun ada sebagian yang membawa impact ke episode selanjutnya) mungkin istilahnya terlalu banyak "filler" di series ini. Dari segi warna, sangat datar dan flat ya, terlebih ini series yang lumayan jadul, mungkin pallete warna yang apik mulai sangat diperhatikan diseries tahun 2020an. Jadi, apakah ini rekomended ? menurutku "tidak ya". Lebih baik anda menonton series To Sir with love saja jika ingin merasakan Jatjang dalam dunia bL yang lebih intens.

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