[Drama 2016] Signal 시그널

[Ginaaaa]

@selenette The point I was trying to convey is that I don't believe we humans are biologically programmed when it comes to child rearing. Animals have instincts, we have rational thought. We nurture and love our children because we understand it's the right thing to do, whether it's because we feel there is a higher power to whom we answer, or just to make a comfortable, functioning society. There is some brain chemistry for sure...it feels good to love a child, so emotions are in full play. Whether animals have emotions is a matter for animal psychologists to figure out, but even if they did, it's not to the extent as human. I suppose the bottom line our difference of opinion is that I consider humans to be a higher level of being compared to animals. Therefore, it's difficult for me to take away the sociological and just see the biological. Aren't the two intrinsically linked?

Anyhow, I do love these types of discussions!!

Another tidbit shook loose from my brain when thinking of the various thoughts and comments. I personally know 3 rape victims. One I lost contact with decades ago so I'm not sure how she is doing, but the other two have been altered by the ordeal. Both suffer forms of PTSD, including social anxieties, and both are being treated for clinical depression and both have had a number years pass since their rapes. The writer nailed it when HaeYoung was able to find HyeSeung based on pharmaceutical records. Also, the way KHS acted when dealing with PHY and CSH were interviewing her was spot on. I don't think of HyeSeung as selfish, just broken. The fact she holds down a job and has a husband and child speaks volumes of her inate character, despite her upbringing and horrific ordeal. She is one of the more complex characters of the story.

 

[liddi]

5 hours ago, Mico Ricco said:

i am wondering why would viewers rooted for s2.  Is it because of :-

• good story-line and excellent directing / producing by  PD - Writer?
• the 3 main leads?
• the possibly of PWS becoming the main lead?
• the cutie walkie-talkie?

And in s2 we will see KBJ again?

@Mico Ricco I'm absolutely certain it's the main OTP that has the viewers clamouring for Season 2... PHY and his full-cycle-kdrama-love relationship with the walkie talkie 

And of course, the still unresolved 2nd loveline... between PHY and CSH's oh-so-pink mother! 

The other reasons you listed are merely afterthoughts, for sure    

[Ginaaaa]

Dang @liddi you know how to lighten the mood!!! ROFL

[liddi]

4 minutes ago, Ginaaaa said:

Dang @liddi you know how to lighten the mood!!! ROFL

@Ginaaaa LOL I for one would love to have more scenes with the 2nd loveline... those are always a breath of fresh air and provide much needed mirth, with the odd PPL interjected in between  

[Mico Ricco]

credit : FB - tvn10thsignal

[yonaomi123]

@Mico Ricco So I'm assuming this poster is for a battle of who can make the cutest face... because if so I'm thinking Kim Hye Soo is probably going to win, despite not even being listed.  lol.  Jo JinWoong is close second tho.

<Edit>

I just decided to actually try reading what it says and now I'm confused.  Any more advanced Korean speakers want to clue me in to what this poster is about?  

[Mico Ricco]

@yonaomi123 just a wild guess, it's about "who is your ideal boyfriend?" - LJH? PHY?

Both PHY and LJH care for CSH.

PHY has an upper hand because of CSH's mother full backing.

Between LJH / PHY, CSH will likely go for LJH.

How about viewers?  Who's your ideal boyfriend - LJH, PHY?

 

[Mico Ricco]

@Ayu Rashid  CSH finally reunited with LJH via the walkie-talkie in this week's final episodes. 

Be prepared for a heart touching moment.

[enigmatic_zephy]

14 hours ago, selenette said:

 

 

I'm Asian and I can say, although I'm not Korean, that our society in general is patriarchal, i.e. we put women beneath men. This results in the "blaming the victims" tendency in how we deal with female victims of sexual abuse cases. So yes, the parents are guilty, but they aren't the only ones to blame. Other social institutions: the state, the law enforcement, schools, etc are guilty too for maintaining such biased mindset--one that leads to such appalling parenting.

 

* * *

 

So, I pointed it out in another post of mine.. all societies are demented..some more than others... they are crazy.. and whoever said brain over brawn is sooo wrong..

 

Go back as far as you want into the history of human/animal kind... males have always enjoyed a superior position.. in most of the aborginies history..you will realize that they have a hierarchy of death too... man is the most important and should be protected, next come a man child, then a grown up woman, and then last is a girl child.. 

 

so if there is famine, or any need for people to die to save on resources, that is the order to be followed..conk off women first and men later..

And all of this because they are physically stronger... they can go out hunt (or work in recent times.. still the breadwinner)...and also..because male > women as far as physical strength goes.. and fact of life is.. if you are faced with a bully..you can fight them off..but either you will die or be left beaten up pretty badly..

 

And deny as much as anyone wants..women today as well are viewed primarily as home maker.. their role in the society (west, east, mid) is still that of nurturing and ensuring human race continues..

 

Wonder what nature was thinking when they made females so weak to be abused and molested and assualted time and again for eras to come and bygone eons

[BaiZiHua]

 

 

I finally caught up to ep 14 and ep 13 was so sad I cried for at least the whole omurice parts. Sighs I will never see omurice the same ever again. I  love omurice but now every time I eat it I will think of LJH, PSW & PHY and love it even more. Lee Jae-Han is the best human in TVNland.

 

@rubie

Thank you for posting the Korea Times link regrading the Miryang Case. I remember watching Han Gong-Ju a long time ago then finding this one post on a blog about the Miryang Case about the boys that were behind it.  And I really hope the people who did those evil things and got away with it will forever be tormented inside for what they did. I will added the link (up above) for the blog if anyone is interested in reading about it.

 

And as for the ending of this story I really hope the three main leads can survive (please writernim make this happen ). And all the baddies will pay for their crimes. But no matter what the ending will be good or bad I'm only gonna accept my version of the ending for this drama (kekeke). Which is both Lee Jae-Han and Park Sun-Woo don't die. Lee Jae-Han starts dating Cha Soo-Hyun and get married. And together they adopt the two brothers and mentor them. They will become the best new family in TVNland's history.

 

 

Together the four of those awesome humans will lock Kim Bum-Joo, Ahn Chi-Soo, Jang Young-Chul and the devil's spawn (the rapists) up in a room together in a asylum until they die. All whilst they must listen to 1 song (insert the most annoying song you can think of) in a loop forever. It's a win/win.

 

 

 

[Ginaaaa]

I feel the need to spin things in a more positive direction. For whatever reason, the uglies of any society get attention and dominates the media. For every nasty egg in a group of people, there are dozens of unsung nice ones, but nice doesn't get press. There are way more men who know how to love a women than those who want to hurt. They may not be perfect, but they are still good. Otherwise, none of us would be here.

I've lived in both worlds. I had an ambitious career, then decided to give full-time homemaking a go. I enjoy the latter so much more. I'm the queen in this little castle of mine and I use my brain power and skills to run this castle like I would if I were a CEO of a corporation. I am totally content. Life isn't stress free, but I am content. At my age, my feeling of contentment is important to my health! And while I willingly live under a headship arrangement, I am by no means "beneath" my husband. He is the stronger and I am the smarter. If I may borrow one of the cheesiest lines from the cinema .... we complete each other. 

[Mico Ricco]

It is tough taking up this super villain role.

credit : FB - tvn10thsignal

[Ginaaaa]

The Reason SBS Missed Out on “Descendants of the Sun” and “Signal” 

hajima March 9, 2016

12

4

 

SBS is at a loss after missing out on the chance to air big money-makers.

The broadcasting company’s regret only grows with the exponential increase of the popularity of cable channel tvN‘s drama “Signal” and KBS2‘s “Descendants of the Sun.” The reason is that the two dramas, coming from a cable channel and a public channel, respectively, are becoming almost virally popular despite the fact that, ironically, they were originally being discussed at SBS with confirmed dates for airing, only to be canceled due to production issues. How did these two big hits slip through SBS’s fingers?

Honestly, no one expected “Descendants of the Sun” to be as popular as it is now. Since the success of SBS’s “Heirs” in 2014, writer Kim Eun Sook‘s “Descendant of the Sun” was being prepared to be aired in June of 2015. However, things didn’t work out as the parties involved failed to reach an agreement while discussing the production.

According to a source in the industry, SBS was uncertain about airing a drama with the main theme of disaster and war, even if it was a new work by star writer Kim Eun Sook.

The fact that the main male character, currently being played by Song Joong Ki, was a soldier made SBS even more doubtful. The reason being that, as a soldier, most of the scenes would require the character to wear only a military uniform, greatly decreasing the profits earned from wardrobe sponsorship for other outfits. The broadcasting company also considered the setting where the drama characters, such as soldiers or doctors, would be dispatched or sent overseas to bring too many limitations in the spatial background. SBS expected that the probability to be unable to receive corporate production support, in the form of Product Placement (PPL) for cars and the like, would be high.

Lastly, the fact that 70 percent of the drama would need to be shot overseas due to the setting and background, also added to SBS’s hesitation in airing the drama since it would have required an enormous production cost.

It was the same reason for “Signal,” which is penned by writer Kim Eun Hee.Genre dramas are good for publicity but the ratings ended up being comparatively low, according to previous cases. Since ratings lead to the sale of advertisements, low ratings can’t bring in large profits for a broadcasting company. The company also expected that PPL or other production cost support would be difficult to secure due to the story moving back and forth between the 1980s to the present.

While SBS was fairly successful while airing nine projects from Kim Eun Sook and three projects from Kim Eun Hee, the company had to back out from their newest dramas.

Cases like these are common among broadcasting companies. For companies, it makes sense that they cannot approve airing a show without considering the profits. They have to calculate the advertisement revenue in the case of success as well as the additional revenue derived from said profits.

However, individuals in the industry also say that there is a danger in only pursuing commercial viability, as it can result in low-quality dramas. This is the reason why people say that companies should increase competitiveness through diverse stories, even if they fail commercially. Industry personnel are collectively saying that, due to the widening overseas market such as China, content diversity is becoming a requirement.

 

[yonaomi123]

@Mico Ricco Tough but fun maybe?  I was surprised to see this actor playing the KBJ role, especially since I'd first seen him as the sort of hapless, loving dad last year in Heard It Through The Grapevine.  But I guess everyone who's seen Jo JinWoong play the villain (anyone else seen A Hard Day? Jo JinWoong is amazing creepy there) must be pretty surprised to see him play such a good-hearted guy here. 

2 hours ago, BaiZiHua said:

Together the four of those awesome humans will lock Kim Bum-Joo, Ahn Chi-Soo, Jang Young-Chul and the devil's spawn (the rapists) up in a room together in a asylum until they die. All whilst they must listen to 1 song (insert the most annoying song you can think of) in a loop forever. It's a win/win.

But does Ahn ChiSoo really deserve to be locked up with the rest of those? I know he committed murder... but I'm still waiting to see why he did it! Was it because of his daughter?  Or was he just a corrupt cop who was willing to do anything for money?  And by the same token, why did KBJ decide he wanted to become a corrupt cop?  We've only got 2 eps left, so I don't see how they could possibly answer all these questions, but I'm hoping!!!

[allegramente]

Is it because we're in for final week that this thread moving faster? Not that I'm complaining, I love reading all of your insights.

 

20 hours ago, Mico Ricco said:

i am wondering why would viewers rooted for s2.  Is it because of :-

• good story-line and excellent directing / producing by  PD - Writer?
• the 3 main leads?
• the possibly of PWS becoming the main lead?
• the cutie walkie-talkie?

And in s2 we will see KBJ again?

 

Not that I don't want a second season, but.... as much as I love Signal, I want the director Kim Won-seok to tackle something else. Because, although not without hiccups, I love his direction the most in Signal (and Misaeng). Coming from heavy duty and excessive Answer Me 1988 (I enjoyed it a lot though) to a nuanced and pensive Signal, the difference in direction had been jarring but a welcome. There is almost auteur-esque qualities about his pieces. He's really got keen eyes for human connection that I really want to see his touches on other different genres and stories... next, I dunno... a comedy perhaps.

 

 

[Mico Ricco]

@allegramente l view PD Kim Won-seok as a serious / no nonsense person.  He is a PD with an "agenda" - message of injustice; just look at his works on Misaeng and Signal. For him to produce a comedy genre will be a welcome change but is definitely a huge challenge for him.  Even though there have been sporadic comedic scenes here and there in Signal but l am certain these are the magic works of Writer Kim EunHee.

I am stealing with no shame @Ginaaaa's phrase; both PD Kim Won-seok and Writer Kim EunHee are exemplary of "we complete each other". 

[Mico Ricco]

Justice must be served. 

LJH is making a grand appearance from the hospital door.

LJH is rushing out to save PSW despite his bad wound.

 

[allegramente]

@Mico Ricco, I agree with you and @Ginaaaa in this.. PD Kim Won-seok and Writer Kim Eunhee are a winning combo. And the cast too... did we hit a jackpot or what?!

The only other work  I've watched from Kim Eunhee was Harvest Villa, at the time a very non-mainstream drama, a blend of crime thriller and comedy that I liked a lot too. I can see that the comic bits in Signal are her works and in keeping with her style of comedy. Somehow, I think that in a different hand, it would be played out differently (simply for comedic relief instead of insights into characters). There is tonal uniformity in the comic, tragic, dramatic bits in Signal that I think has been PD Kim's reigning in.  

I find PD Kim's back catalogue interesting though: rom-com (SKKS), musical (Monstar), drama (Misaeng), and now thriller (Signal). And it's obvious that  he needs to work with excellent scripts. But I think (or I'd like to think) he can do comedy. There are things a thriller, a horror, and a comedy share: flow/rhythm and timing. And he's got them right in Signal.   

 

[Mico Ricco]

credit : Instagram - sookyounghwasil

 

[Mico Ricco]

@irilight My bad.  l keep postponing conveying my gratitude to you for sharing the interesting news article from koreaherald.com.  Thank you.

Here is the page link to the video for your easy reference.

l second @kaqueski's comment "the vid you posted show the parallel between Signal's and real life's cold case is amazing. I sort of understand why the big channels reject signal now, it can evoke controversies and conspiracy theories regarding these cold cases. Glad tvn picked it up, like the PD has mentioned, his wish is that these cold cases' victims should never be forgotten (and not emphasize or herolized the villains)"