The one hundred and ninety-ninth TV show: #966 My Love from the Star
Since we've been focusing more on Korean variety, we haven't looked at Korean drama as much as we could have. Having loved My Lovely Sam-Soon and Winter Sonata, as well as various movies, it's a shame it keeps falling by the wayside. There are some ridiculous plot beats and the premises can seem odd or overblown, but they make it work, with a levity that papers over a lot and keeps the mood quite right for it. My Love from the Star has its sci fi elements - the male lead is an extraterrestial who has the standard super powers (strength, super speed, stopping time, that sort of thing). Here it makes for a twist that works really well, having the fantasy elements be a part of the plot without dominating it or making for easy ways out. It lets other people be more competent as he has the tools to go around, for example, the bad guy of the piece, who otherwise stays competent while being villanous.
Special praise in all of this for Jun Ji-hyun, the lead of the show. She goes from a bratty celebrity who you occasionally empathize with to a character with depth, a slow and realistic change as the series progresses. She never loses that edge, but she plays it so incredibly well. Kim Soo-Hyun is as good, but as he plays the distant alien, he doesn't get to play as much, so doesn't stand out as much. The surrounding cast all play their role as well and live up to this, but ithe lead performance is such a tour de force that it puts everything in perspective, until the last episode.