TV You're Watching

[maryslittlegarden]

Upstairs Downstairs

The original? I found the original on Youtube, and I love it! My favorites are Mr. Hudson, Rose, and Edward. And Lady Marjorie. 

The most recent one - I got it from the library. I love the original.  The new one was ok - Rose is the only character that carries over (unless you count the house as a character. )

[piabee]

The most recent one - I got it from the library. I love the original.  The new one was ok - Rose is the only character that carries over (unless you count the house as a character. )

I haven't seen the old one but the new one is ridiculously soapy and just gets worse as it goes on.

[piabee]

The first of the final six episodes of Nikita.

[Maximilian]

We just finished watching the final episode of "Jumong" (also spelled "Chumong"). The series was awesome.

http://www.dramafever.com/drama/11/Jumong/

[maryslittlegarden]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmYrWGLL-0I[/yt]

[Ancilla Domini]

We just finished watching the final episode of "Jumong" (also spelled "Chumong"). The series was awesome.

http://www.dramafever.com/drama/11/Jumong/

That looks awesome! Do you have a particular interest in Korea, Maximilian?

[Maximilian]

We just finished watching the final episode of "Jumong" (also spelled "Chumong"). The series was awesome.

http://www.dramafever.com/drama/11/Jumong/

That looks awesome! Do you have a particular interest in Korea, Maximilian?

I do have a particular interest in Korean culture dating from some years ago when I studied Buddhism under a Korean Zen Master. I learned to like Korean food and culture at that time. We have some home-made kim chee in the refrigerator.

The interest in Korean television, however, is much more recent. It mostly comes from the fact that Japanese anime and drama have so much good stuff, but it's just too dangerous to watch because it's mixed with so much stuff that's immodest or outright pornographic. But in Korea, the media still follows censorship guidelines, so mostly everything is safe for family viewing.

And more than just the absence of negative stuff, what I really appreciate is the presence of positive stuff. The emotions portrayed are simple and naive feelings of love and loyalty and devotion to family and nation. There is no irony, no sophisticated winking at the audience to say "You and I are above these childish things."

The theme of "Jumong," for example, is that a true leader is the one who follows the "will of Heaven." The leader who follows his own will always fails to inspire his followers. The leader must be obedient to the will of heaven, and then everyone else must subordinate their own will for the common good of the cause. People cry tears of real emotion, especially if they have disappointed the leader.

Also, good people are the ones who accept suffering and humiliation. When something goes wrong in the drama, the good characters immediately take the blame, even when it's not their fault. They examine their conscience to see what they could have done better. You can tell who are the bad characters because whenever something goes wrong the first thing they do is blame someone else instead of examining their own consciences.

And then at the very end of the series, when you expect to see the final mano-a-mano confrontation between Jumong and his step-brother who has been the villain throughout the series, instead of killing each other, they unite to confront a common enemy, which is the Han empire. So the ultimate theme is about drawing everyone together under the aegis of a common goal of doing the will of heaven, winning over even your enemies, not by force but by getting them to serve the will of heaven together with you.

Jumong was a huge hit around the world, drawing 80 - 90% ratings in Iran. Korean drama is becoming very popular in Japan, it's called the "Korean wave," kind of like the "British invasion" that hit American in the sixties, I think for a lot of the same reasons that I listed above, for the Japanese people who are sick of their own pornographic culture. The poster above is all in Chinese characters, not Korean or Japanese, so I'm guessing that it was created for the broadcast of Jumong in Taiwan. It wasn't shown in mainland China because the censors objected to the portrayal of the Han Chinese as the villainous bad guys.

[Cesar_Augustus]

That looks awesome! Do you have a particular interest in Korea, Maximilian?

I do have a particular interest in Korean culture dating from some years ago when I studied Buddhism under a Korean Zen Master. I learned to like Korean food and culture at that time. We have some home-made kim chee in the refrigerator.

The interest in Korean television, however, is much more recent. It mostly comes from the fact that Japanese anime and drama have so much good stuff, but it's just too dangerous to watch because it's mixed with so much stuff that's immodest or outright pornographic. But in Korea, the media still follows censorship guidelines, so mostly everything is safe for family viewing.

And more than just the absence of negative stuff, what I really appreciate is the presence of positive stuff. The emotions portrayed are simple and naive feelings of love and loyalty and devotion to family and nation. There is no irony, no sophisticated winking at the audience to say "You and I are above these childish things."

...

I have seen some episodes of various Korean dramas, and are way better than the western series regarding the elements you are menctioning.

About anime and manga, I avoid the ones with that kind of stuff. Before watching or reading a series, I check reviews and a wiki sites,  and I usually get a detailed descirption of the contents and elements present in the work.

[Kaesekopf]

I've really only been watching the Amazing Race, NFL football, and some basketball on the television. 

Other than that, nothing has really piqued my interest, besides wanting to watch a few documentaries (BBC's Life, with Attenborough, comes to mind).

[Ancilla Domini]

I do have a particular interest in Korean culture dating from some years ago when I studied Buddhism under a Korean Zen Master. I learned to like Korean food and culture at that time. We have some home-made kim chee in the refrigerator.

The interest in Korean television, however, is much more recent. It mostly comes from the fact that Japanese anime and drama have so much good stuff, but it's just too dangerous to watch because it's mixed with so much stuff that's immodest or outright pornographic. But in Korea, the media still follows censorship guidelines, so mostly everything is safe for family viewing.

And more than just the absence of negative stuff, what I really appreciate is the presence of positive stuff. The emotions portrayed are simple and naive feelings of love and loyalty and devotion to family and nation. There is no irony, no sophisticated winking at the audience to say "You and I are above these childish things."

The theme of "Jumong," for example, is that a true leader is the one who follows the "will of Heaven." The leader who follows his own will always fails to inspire his followers. The leader must be obedient to the will of heaven, and then everyone else must subordinate their own will for the common good of the cause. People cry tears of real emotion, especially if they have disappointed the leader.

Also, good people are the ones who accept suffering and humiliation. When something goes wrong in the drama, the good characters immediately take the blame, even when it's not their fault. They examine their conscience to see what they could have done better. You can tell who are the bad characters because whenever something goes wrong the first thing they do is blame someone else instead of examining their own consciences.

And then at the very end of the series, when you expect to see the final mano-a-mano confrontation between Jumong and his step-brother who has been the villain throughout the series, instead of killing each other, they unite to confront a common enemy, which is the Han empire. So the ultimate theme is about drawing everyone together under the aegis of a common goal of doing the will of heaven, winning over even your enemies, not by force but by getting them to serve the will of heaven together with you.

Jumong was a huge hit around the world, drawing 80 - 90% ratings in Iran. Korean drama is becoming very popular in Japan, it's called the "Korean wave," kind of like the "British invasion" that hit American in the sixties, I think for a lot of the same reasons that I listed above, for the Japanese people who are sick of their own pornographic culture. The poster above is all in Chinese characters, not Korean or Japanese, so I'm guessing that it was created for the broadcast of Jumong in Taiwan. It wasn't shown in mainland China because the censors objected to the portrayal of the Han Chinese as the villainous bad guys.

I understand completely. I've watched Latin American and, more recently, Turkish series for similar reasons.

[EcceQuamBonum]

Inspector Morse.  This is after finishing all the Lewis, Foyle's War, Luther, and Wallander (with Kenneth Branagh) that Netflix had to offer.  I'm a sucker for BBC detective series...

[maryslittlegarden]

Deep Space Nine DVDs

[Maximilian]

I understand completely. I've watched Latin American and, more recently, Turkish series for similar reasons.

Turkish? That's a new one on me. How do you watch a Turkish drama, and what are they like?

[Ancilla Domini]

I understand completely. I've watched Latin American and, more recently, Turkish series for similar reasons.

Turkish? That's a new one on me. How do you watch a Turkish drama, and what are they like?

You can watch them online. My favorite so far was a historical drama Muhte?em Yüzy?l (The Magnificent Century) based on the life of Suleiman the Magnificent. It was unique in portraying both his public and private life, especially his relationship with his wife Hürrem, a slave who eventually became sultana. The series was popular internationally, especially in Eastern Europe. Overall, it was well made, visually stunning, with an engaging plot, and it promoted traditional values. You can watch it on YouTube. Unfortunately only the first episode has been subtitled in English, so unless you speak one of the other European languages it has been show in, or you are interested in learning Turkish, as I was at the time, it might be awhile before the series is available in English. But I've heard that it is coming our way!   

[Ancilla Domini]

Here is the first episode:

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XCwGCIKD0Q[/yt]