Top Ten Tuesday: Must Watch Television

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is TV themed, which is absolutely right up our alley! This one is a long one, full of gifs, so bear with us :) 

Mariela covers most of my favorite TV shows in her portion of the list, so I decided to go for part three of Kdramas I wish were made into books! Here you can find parts one and two, if you're looking for more Kdramas :)

Usually, I start my lists with a bit of cheating. But everything this week falls under the Kdrama category, so I don't have to waste time justifying any deviance :p 

What's It About? 

Bride of the Century is all about doppelgangers and mistaken identities. Na Doo Rim is a poor country girl who lives with her grandmother and barely scrapes a living by diving for seafood to sell in their tiny little restaurant. She dreams of owning a huge restaurant one day. Doo Rim manages to save the "lives" of two people, which starts her on a treacherous path to true love. I say "lives" like that, because of the people she saves is a ghost, who has all sorts of plans to help the male heir of her family line find love. Doo Rim has a doppelganger in Yi Kyung, and she is engaged to that cold, unfeeling heir. When her mother discovers that for the past 100 years, the first wives of the male heirs in that family have all mysteriously died, they hatch a plan to have Doo Rim die in Yi Kyung's place. 

Why Would it Make a Good Book?

There is so much drama and intrigue here! And the plot is always throwing curves at you, just when you think you know how someone is going to react, they go and do something completely different. The romance is really sweet in this one, it's great to watch Kang Joo open up and let Doo Rim in and finally learn to love.

Favorite Scene

There are a lot of great scenes in this drama, but their first kiss is always a favorite. Kang Joo thinks that he is with Yi Kyung, and even though there is a lot of animosity between them, he has already started to open up a little. His brother is a famous idol, and he mentions that Kang Joo is getting married. So, the crowd starts cheering for them to kiss, naturally. It's just a really sweet moment and the first time that you can see Kang Joo's armor starting to loosen up a bit. 

I just recently rewatched this drama, and it was even better the second time! It's impossible not to love Ho Goo and root for him to finally get the girl. 

What's It About? 

Ho Goo (which means Fool in Korean) has been in love with Do Hee ever since high school. After seeing her again after so many years, he thinks that they have finally started something up. A night of kissing and soul sharing later, and she says she will see him again on Christmas in a few months. But a chance encounter on the subway right before Christmas shows Ho Goo that the girl he loved is about 9 months pregnant with another man's baby. The rest of the story is all of the drama that comes with being a single mother and Ho Goo falling for her baby. 

Why Would It Make a Good Book? 

Honestly, I was a little hesitant about this one, as I don't know how well some things would translate. First, I think I forgot to mention that Do Hee is an Olympic swimmer and incredibly famous. Second, unwed mothers are treated like absolute garbage in Korea. I mean, just the dirt worst. It's one thing I seriously hate about K-dramas, and why I usually avoid the whole unwed mother trope. So for someone famous to get pregnant, and to not disclose who the father is is a huge deal. In America it's barely even a blip on the radar. In Korea, she risks losing EVERYTHING. That's why it's such a big deal that Ho Goo stays by her side. 

But other than all of that, there are a lot of great things that would translate really well! Let's see if I can untangle this without spoiling too much. Ho Goo and his twin sister Ho Kyung went to school with Do Hee and Kang Chul. Do Hee and Kang Chul "dated" in school. Ho Kyung is in love with Kang Chul, but Kang Chul thinks that he is in love with her brother, Ho Goo. And much like being an unwed mother in Korea, being gay isn't much better. So there is A LOT of drama! And some mystery involved, as we are left guessing as to the father of the baby for quite some time. But really, it's just a super sweet romance that tugs at the heartstrings. 

Favorite Scene

Really, this whole drama is just one ball of cute/adorable/sweet, so most of it counts as favorite. But I love the flash back scene where we see how Do Hee and Ho Goo interacted in the beginning. Ho Goo is threatened with continued beatings by the school bully unless he draws a naked photo of Do Hee. He finally relents, even though he hates doing it, and the drawing winds up in Do Hee's hands. She starts yelling at him, about how could he do that to her, then finally gets down to the crux of her issue, her breast size. I mean, it's obvious afterward that she is upset about more, but I really love how Do Hee knew that if she complained about anything else, she would just be on the losing end in the long run. This way she gets to keep face and still yell at Ho Goo about it. 

 

This drama is rough! I mean, it's amazing, but I'm not gonna lie, it will make you cry! I suppose it's not as bad as say, 49 Days or Scent of a Woman. But it still hits you right in the feels!

What's It About?
This drama is all about the "broken" people. People who society deems weird, mentally ill, off. Except, it is all about how these people who face such awful stigmas from society are really no different from the rest of the world. Just because you have issues or difficulties, you still want a lot of the same things everyone else wants. To be loved, to be accepted, to feel a part of something. And this drama delivers that for these characters so perfectly. Of course, you are going to cry and be sad that some people are so narrow minded and hurt these characters we have fallen for. But the story is absolutely worth it.

Why Would It Make a Good Book?
If you love really character-driven stories, you would absolutely love reading this one as a book. There is so much growth in this story, and such good relationships that it's addictive. If you watch the show, it's hard to stop. There isn't anything to hate here, all of the characters are so strongly tied together, they can face any of the hardships that come their way. And who doesn't want to read a story like that?

Favorite Scene
There are a lot of great scenes in this one. However, a lot of anything I can say would be huge spoilers, so I am going to go with the scene where Hae Soo stays the night at Jae Yeol's house one night when she is drunk. She sets up her phone to record in his bedroom, since she is drunk and wants to make sure in the morning that he didn't try anything. The next day, as she is going home on the bus, she watches the video and sees him doing this cute little dance before going and sitting beside her and just watching her sleep for a bit before retreating to his bathroom for the night. Which is a whole 'nother story, which speaks to Jae Yeol's trauma about only being able to sleep in his bathtub.

Where all of the other dramas on this list so far have quite a bit of melodrama, this one is mostly frothy fun!

What Is It About?
This drama focuses on Joo Jang Mi, a department store worker who thinks she is about to get engaged to her boyfriend, Hoon Dong. When Jang Mi finds out that Hoon Dong isn't really interested in her, she goes a bit crazy and ends up getting arrested. Hoon Dong's best friend, Gi Tae, is getting constant pressure from his mother to get married. She owns the house he lives in (and seriously loves) and threatens to take it away from him if he doesn't get married immediately. Thanks to his parents horrible marriage, Gi Tae is absolutely against marriage and doesn't want any kind of relationship with anyone. He just wants to be left alone. When he sees Jang Mi's crazy actions, he hatches a plan. If she agrees to pretend to be his girlfriend and act just as crazy in front of his mother, he will get all of the charges dropped against her. As with any good romance, though, Gi Tae starts to forget that it's all a lie, and realizes that when it's the right person, being alone isn't all that great.

Why Would It Make a Good Book?
The story isn't really anything revolutionary, I mean, I have read several fake relationship books. However, the hilarity that this series pulls off is just freaking perfect. It's so much fun and just so cute, it's hard not to want more. While Jang Mi is faking it with Gi Tae, she starts to fall for the incredibly beautiful Han Yeo Reum. And of course, Gi Tae has an ex-fiance that is sniffing around, and Jang Mi's ex, Hoon Dong, realizes that maybe he was too hasty to ditch Jang Mi. And let's not forget Gi Tae's crazy family who start to sense something is up! It's a really fun time to be had, and would make an excellent book :)

Favorite Scene
I couldn't find a gif of the scene that I want to talk about, so I will briefly mention what's going on down below. Jang Mi gets roped into wedding dress shopping with Gi Tae's mom. At this point, his mom has a strong feeling that it is fake and is torturing Jang Mi to the point that she runs away in her dress. Gi Tae, whom she had texted to come save her is outside and when he sees her, they have this moment where Gi Tae realizes that maybe he isn't so sad about the idea of marrying her. My real favorite scene, and the one I think about first whenever I think about this drama has to do with a tsunami, and I just can't spoil that for anyone :p

That I have made two other lists of K-dramas and this drama is just now making the third list is kind of insane. Hands down, this is my favorite K-drama. It has the absolute best romance I have ever seen of anything. I do have a reason for it not making a list before now, though, which is all of the Joseon Era stuff. I wouldn't say any of it is confusing to the uninitiated, but when I first started Dramas, sageuks (historical dramas) were so far from anything I even wanted to watch two minutes of, that I hesitated to add it on here, in fears that people would feel the same.

What's It About?
Choi Hee Jin is an actress in present day Korea. Kim Boong Do is a scholar in the Joseon Era (just over 300 years ago) of Korea. Back in the past, the Queen has been deposed thanks to the King's concubine scheming against her. Boong Do lost his whole family thanks to that same scheming, and so he supports the Queen's return to power. There is a gisaeng (think geisha) who is in love with him, and so she gives him a talisman to protect him while he strives to return her to power. In present day, they are making a drama telling Queen In Hyun's story, and Choi Hee Jin gets cast as In Hyun. Cue Boong Do's desperate fight to the death with one of Lady Jang's (the concubine) minions. Just as Boong Do's life is about to end, he is transported to the present day, where he meets Choi Hee Jin. With her help, he restores Queen In Hyun to power, and falls in love along the way.

What Would Make It A Good Book?
The romance! Oh my god, it's so addictive. I can't even tell you how many times I have watched this drama! Boong Do is just seriously the ideal man. He is smart, he is protective and when he falls for Hee Jin, he does something about it! He doesn't keep it a secret or try to deny it. He embraces it wholeheartedly. And of course, Hee Jin doesn't have a bad bone in her body. She loves him completely, and how much she cares about him even from the very beginning just speaks to what a kind character she has.

Favorite Scene
Every single one of them. I am not kidding! It's a great drama. The scenes that I get the biggest kick out of, is when Hee Jin is explaining modern day customs to Boong Do, and uses them as an excuse to kiss him. Like when they meet for only the third time, she can't help but grab him for a kiss, then explains it away as just something modern day people do to say goodbye. Or when he asks what a tie is for, and she says that wives tie them for their husbands so that they can pull them down for a kiss before they leave. It's all just so adorable! I'm gonna bomb you with a bunch of gifs now :)

Easily the most melodramatic of all of the dramas on this list, Mask is an intense drama that is easy to get addicted to.

What's It About? 
This one is a little convoluted, so bear with me! Like Bride of the Century, this one deals with doppelgangers. Except, instead of the doppelganger being an evil harpy, she is just a girl who is in love with a boy who agrees to marry a different boy in order to save the other boy from making a very evil mistake. Which barely even touches the tip of the iceberg that is this drama. One thing leads to another and the girl ends up dying. But thanks to the drama gods, the evil boy finds out about a girl who looks exactly like her, one who works in a department store and whose family owes thousands and thousands of dollars to loan sharks. After engineering a plan that almost kills her, he gets her to agree to take over the original girl's life and go through with the marriage. The man she is marrying is a troubled guy who has a lot of problems, and also a lot of money. There are so many plots and twists and lies here, it's hard to untangle all of it.

Why Would It Make a Good Book?
All of those plots and twists and lies come in handy here. It always keeps you guessing! And hoping that our lead girl will finally break away from the evil and fix things with her husband and that her husband will finally break down his walls and let her in. There's lots of danger and action here, lots of scheming and plenty of love.

Favorite Scene
When all of the bullshit finally falls away! I don't want to get too spoilery, but when the two leads stop playing the "It's what the other person wants" game and admit to what they really want from each other. Seriously, so freaking satisfying!

I don't have a list of new shows that I want to watch, since I do not have cable! Everything I watch is either on Netflix or Amazon, so I am just going to share with you some of my favorite shows that I watch on there ;)

OK, seriously, who doesn't love Sherlock?

I still need to catch up with this show. The last season I watched was 5, but I still haven't finished it.

This one I still need to catch up on, too! I need more time to watch tv shows and read more!

I have started season 11 on Netflix, but due to the latest event from the shows, I don't think I will be watching the next season. Without Hotch and Morgan, the show just won't be the same. Even though Reid is there, it is not enough.

Of course, Outlander! Lord don't I love this show!! Everyone should watch it.

I loved the first season, but I still need to keep watching season 2.

I love Poldark! I still need to find time to finish it.

OK, here is one that is upcoming! I want to watch this from Starz, but I need to read the book first.

I still need to watch season 2 of this one.