196. Come Back, Mister 돌아와요 아저씨 (2016) Korean

Jung Ji Hoon (Rain), Kim In Kwon, Oh Yeon Seo, Kim Soo Ro, Lee Min Jung, Lee Ha Nui, Choi Won Young, Yoon Park, Lee Tae Hwan, Kwak Deon Yeon

Drama Rating: 7/10     Neck Score: B

I didn't exactly expect this one to be quite this serious.  I mean, they die they come back as Rain and a woman.  That part has to be hilarious.  But then again, they are dead, so what happy ending would there be?  Can I just day that Oh Yeon Seo is amazing?  I already loved her, but she played Han Gi Tak, or Kim Soo Ro, so well, especially at first.  A gangster dude in a tiny girl's body?  Amazing.  The walk, the talk, she had it all down.  It wasn't just a dude, it was Soo Ro.  Rain also did a great job of capturing the mannerisms of Kim In Kwon.  The second male leads, Choi Won Young and Yoon Park, were probably the most confusing part for me.  They were either completely crazy (with jealousy) or a complete slimeball one moment, and then strangely sympathetic at the next.  I hated Slimeball (Yoon Park) more because he should have been a nicer person as the friend of Kim Young Soo (Kim In Kwon), while Cha Jae Gook was just always a crazy nom.  But maybe I am prejudice because I frankly just love Choi Won Young... like a lot.  He plays creepy and crazy so well... well, just everything so well.  Also, huge shout out to Lee Ha Nui.  She's my woman crush for forever.  She did so well!

So, the ending made me cry.  I didn't cry during the end of Descendants at all, but this one had me almost balling.  I didn't love everything about the ending, but it was well written at least.  It was not cheesy, it was bittersweet and good.  There were a lot of tropes or plot twists in the show that I thought I was going to hate that were written well enough that I was pleasantly surprised.  I ended up liking most every episode.  The only thing I didn't like was their attempt to redeem Slimeball.  I say no to that.  Although I saw it coming for him and Crazy Ex.  Scarface is probably the worst person, so I'll leave it at that.  Also Puppy Namja (Lee Tae Hwan) and Kang Ki Young were together again.  I love those two and their bromance.  Best thing that came out of King of High School, so yay.

71. A Gentleman's Dignity 신사의 품격 (2012) Korean

Jang Dong Gun, Kim Ha Neul, Kim Min Jong, Kim Soo Ro, Lee Jong Hyuk

Drama Rating: 8/10     Neck Score: B+

Probably one of my favorite dramas of all time... still.  That is saying something, and it's not just for the multiple G-Dragon references (though those don't hurt).  This show is hilarious.  The antics of the F40 are so great.  This is the story of a bunch of 40 year old men who have been best friends since high school.  The main point of this is that even though they are all 40, all of them well set in their careers and well established gentlemen, they are at heart still 18, especially when together.  Each episode begins with a scene that doesn't usually have anything to do with the current episode plot but gives us more background as to their characters and past history.  These scenes range from when they first meet to just random occurrences in their friendship (such as them watching the final episode of Sandglass together or meeting Sooyang from SNSD at a coffee shop).  Also, the cast is stellar, even though they are all definitely ahjussi, they are super sexy mens.  I never thought the drama was ridiculous or over the top, maybe because of the mature cast, the normal even mom drama wasn't going to be a part of this, since they are all old enough to be the parents.  Even as ridiculous as they are, all the characters seemed very realistic or at least relateable, and though I am nowhere near 40 yet, it was way easier to relate to the 35-40 year olds than the 24 year old girl (who was much closer to my own age at the time).  Go figure.  Other bonuses are Kim Woo Bin and Lee Jong Hyun playing high schoolers.