Shopping for drama

It looks like great deals aren't the only things I'll be watching out for on the Shopee App.

They now have Shopee Drama!

Yup, they're vertical, micro-dramas that run for about 20-ish minutes, but broken down into 1-minute mini-sodes.

I've watched 1 or 2 of these dramas, and they're so cheesy and campy.

So cheesy and campy that they're actually entertaining.

Must. Resist. Watching.

Marry old time

Had dinner with Mark and his friends last night, and the conversation was about KDrama recommendations.

Peter and I shared our faves - some of them they've watched, some of them were new. Some of the recommendations were old, some were new.

On my way home, I remembered one of my faves that I wasn't able to recommend.

"Marry my husband" was a KDrama that aired on Prime Video in 2024. It's about marriage and revenge, and a bit of fantasy thrown in.

It's actually quite campy, which adds to its charm. I've re-watched this twice, and still like it.

Time to re-watch it again.

Wednesday on a Wednesday

As a fan of "The Addams Family," I'm intrigued by the trailer for the soon-to-be streamed "Wednesday, Season 2."

Having grown up on the comic and madcap iteration of the series, seeing this dark, ominous and sinister trailer is both intriguing and unsettling. Where's the wholesome cuteness? Where's the slapstick comedy? Where are the laughs?

Then again, this is just the trailer. Maybe I'll catch an episode or 2 and see if I'll give this series the time of day.

Kate has a point

I'm super hyped to see Kate Hudson back on Netflix.

And she's doing a comedy, which is so up her alley.

"Running Point" will be in my "to-binge-watch-list" now.

I'm Empressed

It started with a youtube video suggestion.

They showed some excerpts from a Chinese drama entitled "Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace."

One video turned to two, and three, and four, and more. Yes, it became a fodder for binge-watching!

The historical drama features the life of Empress Ruyi. I'm not really familiar with her or her character, but this drama piqued my interested.

The actual series had 87 episodes, but youtube only had bits and pieces of different episodes. Despite that, the story was clear, and the ending was heartfelt.

Hope they'll carry this on Netflix soon.

Best Beth

Dad has been binge-watching "Yellowstone." And since I'm in close proximity to the TV while working, it can't be helped to watch along with him.

It's a very riveting series. Whilst the plot is very American - cowboys in Montana - the plot and characters are very relateable.

One of the characters that makes this series so great to watch is Beth Dutton. 

She's the only daughter of John Dutton. She's a headstrong woman who doesn't take anything from anyone. She has a bad temper and a foul mouth. She's very confrontational. But if you look at where all this is coming from, it's coming from a place of love, which makes her character very endearing.

It was great to see her growth from the 1st season to the 5th, and her character arc was so well-made. And her acting gave justice to that.

Kudos to Kelly Reilly for this character. Beth is definitely one of the best things about "Yellowstone."

Ray of Sunshine

Taking a break from K-dramas and J-dramas, opted to watch this Chinese drama or C-drama on Netflix.

"My Sunshine" is your typical romantic dramedy about finding lost loves and prevailing despite the challenges. While the main plot itself isn't new, the little twists and details in the story make it interesting and entertaining.

And engaging! Was planning to watch just 1 or 2 episodes, but ended up watching more than 5 in one sitting.

With 32 episodes, it looks like this will be my daily dose of sunshine.

There’s something about Marry

After looking at the 3 shows and films i’m currently watching, there was a moment of epiphany:

They’re all about “Marry.”

And they’re all so good!

Let loose!

I’m interested in this series that’s currently streaming on Prime.

It’s because of several reasons:

1. It’s set in HKG

2. It has Nicole Kidman

3. The director’s name is Lulu Wang

LULU. WANG.

We should all just let loose and watch this.

Heeeres Hotaru!

There seems to be a Japanese series influx on Netflix. More and more, J-Dramas and J-Rom Coms are popping up on the suggestions list.

After finishing "Atelier" and "Born to be a Flower," a pleasant surprise came into view.

"Hotaru no Hikari" is on Netflix!

Binge-watching this will take me back to my HKG days for sure.

Star Studded

Among the many franchises of "Star Trek," my favourite would be "Star Trek The Next Generation."

No wonder that the series "Star Trek:Picard" has always been on my radar. But since we don't have Prime Video, I still haven't seen the series.

But after seeing the trailer for Season 3 of the series, it might be the trigger for that Prime Video subscription!

Picard, Riker, Troi, Crusher, LaForge, Data - and Seven of Nine. In one series!

Must. Subscribe. Now!

Period

As someone who has always been interested in history, period shows are always on top of my Netflix watch list.

Even before Netflix, in terms of books and other reading materials, stories of ancient civilizations have always been my staple. From Edith Hamilton’s “Mythology” to books on Egypt and Perisa - those were my go-tos.

That’s why this series is something appealed to me when it first played in the trailer suggestions on Netflix.

I’ve been interested in the Viking culture since Asterix. And this series shows the intricacies of the Viking culture in a vivid - and sometimes violently dramatic way.

Which makes it so interesting to watch.

Utterly Fabulous

This is the Kdrama series I've been watching that inspired last week's Friday Magic Madness song.

"The Fabulous" is a series set in the fashion world. The 4 main characters are all in the fashion industry.  Ji-eun works for a PR agency handling luxury brands, Woo-min is a photographer and a retoucher who works with fashion shoots, Seon-ho is a Supermodel, and Joseph is a fashion designer.

After watching the first episode, I was hooked! In fact, it took me just 2-3 days to finish the 8 episodes in this series.

What made this show even more watchable was Park Hee-Jung. Her role as Supermodel Seon-ho is so natural to her, mainly because she's a real-life Supermodel.

This is such a fun series to watch that I've re-watched it once. And I have no plans of stopping just yet.

So, like the FMM song, this series is: "Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa, Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa, Fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fa-fabulous!"

If Andy met Betty in Japan

Before following K-dramas, I've always been interested in Japanese drama series or J-dramas.

It began during my HKG stint, and one of the shows I'd watch daily was "Hotaru No Hikari." This series starting Ayase Haruka (one of my super faves) is one of those shows I've seen from start to finish.

Netflix currently has a roster of J-dramas, one of which was a recent binge-watch.

"Atelier" is a dramedy about the fashion industry. It's the story of a plain-jane textile geek named Mayuko who finds a job in an ultra-chic, luxury lingerie brand headed by a headstrong fashion designer named Mayumi.

Mayuko's nerdy and lack of knowledge in fashion causes her to often clash with Mayumi who's very stylish and fashion forward. But as the series progresses, we see Mayuko slowly transform from drab to fab, thanks to Mayumi's guidance.

The transformation angle is very "Ugly Betty," and the strict-fashionable boss is very "The Devil Wears Prada." The fashion influences of this series are so notable, with Mayuko wearing an Anna Wintour bob.

Watching this was a joy. Not just because of the fashion theme and the style references, but also because it's set in Tokyo. There were areas shown in the show that are familiar, including the Mikimoto building and the fashion streets of Omotesando and Harajuku.

This series was such an easy watch that I've actually seen it twice.

And it looks like I'll continue to watch even more. 

So extraordinary

The Korean Nettflix series, "Extraordinary Attorney Woo", appeals to me because of 2 reasons:

1. The lead character - Attorney Woo - is in the autism spectrum, just like my nephew.

2. She's also a lawyer - something I aspired to be when I was younger.

Aside from these, the stories per episode are engaging, surprising and timely. And true to the Korean genre, they're also unexpected.

Particularly, the twist of Episode 2 caught me unaware, and in a good way. Seeing the character development of the bride just made me smile.

It's rare that I watch a Korean series. But this series wooed me and has me hooked.

Mamah Mia!

There are many iterations of the "Try videos." Although the "Try guys" series is probably the first one that I watched.

Recently, I've been binge-watching the "Mexican Moms Try..." series on the Mamah youtube channel. It's a series that has 2 to 3 Moms from Mexico trying everything. From Mexican classics like Pan Dulce and Aguas Frescas, to international snacks from all the different continents.

Including Asia. And the Philippines!

It's such a joy to watch this series. And the Moms are super nice! They remind me of our "Mexican Mamas" when we stayed in Mexico - including Nora, Betty, Rosie and Guada.

Watching this makes me want to go back to Mexico and meet Lucy and Xochitl in person! I'm sure I'd enjoy trying new food items with them.

P.S. Xochitl is on the money with the Shrimp Chips. That's my fave, too!

Half-Hearted

It's a fact. Most people are into Korean Drama Series in the country. Whether it's on free TV or Netflix, someone's always watching a K-Drama Program.

Heck, even D' Frendz has the occasional discussion on K-Dramas. Which ones they've watched, which ones are good, which ones are highly-recommended, plus post-game analyses on their favourite shows.

But in this K-Drama universe, I'm the outlier and the minority.

I've only watched one series from start to finish a few months ago. And I wrote about "Lie After Lie" as some sort of an accomplishment.

While I"m not a huge follower of K-Drama, I've been watching other Asian Drama shows, particularly from Japan and China. The reason why I got into these shows was because during my stint in HKG, they'd show a lot of J-Dramas and C-Dramas on free TV. (Which is what you watch when you don't have cable subscription at home.)

Recently, there was this C-Drama which found itself into my youtube show options. The promos suddenly appeared on my feed, I clicked, then my interest was piqued. 

That show is "The First Half of My Life."

To cut a long story short, I binge-watched this series from Episode 1 to 42! And every episode was awesome and worth watching.

This was actually an old series that aired in 2017. Despite the 4 year difference from the production to watching, the story is still very current and compelling. And because the series is about professionals in their midlife, it also struck a chord with me.

Now, I'm joining the millions of people who are saying the same thing: 

"The First Half of My Life, Season 2 please!"

Pudding on the Ritz

To take a micro-break from work, there's this series on youtube that I follow. 

It's a series where different cooks try each other's dishes and rates each one. Then, the cook with the highest score wins this "micro-competition."

The first time I saw this was in 2019, and I've been going back to it ever since. My favourite episodes include "Grandmas try each other's Pumpkin Pie" and "Dads try each other's barbecue."

Today, another episode is added to the list. And it's about a very random but interesting food item - Banana Pudding!

Gosh! I'm suddenly craving for some Banana Pudding now.

Of Biblical Proportions

One of the things that I look forward to during Holy Week are all the religious-themed shows that are airing on Free TV.

As kids, we'd often watch "Jesus of Nazareth" and "Ben Hur", as well as "Jesus Christ Superstar."

Today, I was able to catch the newer version of "Ben Hur." Aside from that, there was a mini-series on-air that which retold Bible stories. 

It was great to relive all the stories again, and this Holy Week is a great time to do it.

FMM: More Moore!

It was a hit show back in the 70s, and it had an equally hit theme song. Back then, it was everyone's favourite show, and even Oprah swore to this show and its lead actress.

That show was "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."

Aside from the effervescence of its lead star, the show's theme song was also very happy and uppity. It was filled with hope and positivity, and filled the air with good vibes.



I think this is what we need these days.

Positivity.

Hope.

And the feeling that "we're gonna make it after all."