This drama is only 16 hours long; 32 half-hour episodes and I'm ready for season 2! Also, I like the title Partners for Justice best because it sums up the relationship between the Medical Examiner's Office and the Prosecutor's Office.

A well-executed story about humane and inhumane issues surrounding death in our society. A stellar ensemble cast who are convincing in their roles and a soundtrack that perfectly fits the mood in each scene and situation right down to the music at the end of each episode. While this drama took on a very serious topic it also had humorous light-hearted moments and camaraderie. I never watched US CSI however, I did watch the early years of House and Jung Jae Young's character (Baek Beom) as the male lead reminded me of him; a cantankerous tortured soul, which he portrayed beautifully. I liked the fact that the writers made Jung Yoo Mi's character (Eun Sol) as the female lead strong and realistic; a young idealistic woman vying for her independence and identity through her job as a prosecutor. We as viewers can watch her personal growth as she acclimates to her job and various situations. Kudos to the writers for not turning this smart savvy female character into a typical k drama contradiction; unrealistically naive, bratty, turns into simple-minded high school girl in tough or uncomfortable situations. I look forward to season 2 and I hope there will be more character development and back stories for other members of the cast like Lee Stephanie (Stella Hwang) and Lee Yi Kyung (Chi Soo Ho).

Read More

Often when a remake of a drama is produced by another country many of the script changes are adaptations for the purpose of cultural and societal relevance to their country. However, this was not the case with the Thai version of Secret Garden, which I can best describe as misinterpretation that leads to a multitude of misunderstandings. Early on it was evident with their questionable casting choices for the lead roles and from there the drama continued to spiral downhill with a lack of attention to details; the omission of so many relevant scenes and shrinkage of the plot and subplots. Major plot points of the story became anti-climatic or glazed over and the humor is almost non-existent as a result of these omissions. Many of the important nonverbal and subtle nuance scene moments were removed from this version as well, which means they really did not understand their relevance or they just deemed them irrelevant. Character development for the leads never really happens because Ananda Everingham was miscast as the male lead and the lack of attention paid to the details of his character's anal arrogant OCD tendencies and nature; home and wardrobe made the situation even worse. Baifern Pimchanok was not properly trained and conditioned to play a convincing stunt woman, which was very evident and noticeable immediately. Otherwise, she and the remaining cast do manage to pull off acceptable performances with Chin Chinawut Indracusin as Ray (Thanat's cousin and Pop Star) and Chaoey Suthada Jungjaiphar as Mook (Veena's best friend and roommate) giving solid standout performances in their roles. The other real miscast was Vajrasevee Pimpatchara as Adia (Ray's Ex-girlfriend), she lacked the sage and sophistication to pull off the role. The original Secret Garden's OST is meticulous as part of a near-perfect drama and a tough act to follow; they could not possibly put together a decent OST because they clearly did not understand the symbiotic relationship between the music, the scenes, and characters, which is due in part to their disastrous misunderstandings of the original drama. When a great drama series is remade and misinterpreted to the point where its very essence is written out of the script and lost, it becomes painful to watch.

Read More

If you are looking for something lightweight or a good in-between filler drama this may be a good choice. A lovely drama that uses standard tropes but is well executed; delivering both very realistically funny and serious moments. Excellent acting, dialogue, and the overall script makes this series one of the best daily dramas I have seen in a long time. A hundred 30 minute episodes, which moved forward and arced beautifully without going in circles or being repetitive. The family dynamics created in this drama has relatable moments and characters that most of us can identify with on some level or at some time in our lives. I deducted .50 because there is a person who is often discussed and mentioned in the drama that we never actually meet or see even though their spouse is a constant character.

Read More

The lead couple has great chemistry!

A solid Thai light and fluffy standard trope drama, however there a few serious moments and intense scenes. The lead couple has great chemistry and well worth watching even though the story could have been told in fewer episodes. The overall cast acting is a little inconsistent but as an ensemble cast they manage to pull it off., The production and direction is fairly low budget, which suggests this drama was made to fill a certain time slot. However, the finished product turns out well and is very underrated. The low ratings make me wonder if people really just hate ethnic Thai actors or prefer Thai nationals whose ethnicity is half European or more if so, that is very sad and self-hating.

Read More