Someday (DVD) (End) (English Subtitled) (OCN TV Drama) (US Version) DVD Region 1

Perhaps the biggest change emerging in the last two years has been that of cable channels producing their own dramas, something unheard of before, save for late-night erotic sitcoms and the like. Born just last year, channel tvN has already produced a couple of series, including Hyena and Romance Hunter, a sort of Sex and the City with a little more Korean flavour, and a nice, relaxed and realistic approach to storytelling that you rarely find on network TV dramas so occupied with scoring big in the ratings. Other interesting experiments came from SuperAction, with their Dasepo Girl series. A companion to Lee Jae Yong's maligned cult comedy Dasepo Naughty Girls, the show shown on cable, divided into really brief mini-episodes, captured the atmosphere of the original online comic the film was also based on much more effectively.

One of the most important cable channels in Korea, OCN has been the Korean answer to HBO, focusing on movie premieres and top imported series. But when they announced they'd also start producing their own dramas, a lot of people in the industry were excited. Although it was first slated to broadcast on MBC, and only later signed with OCN, Someday in many ways showed a little bit of what should become the future of Korean dramas: pre-broadcast shoots, more focus on production than star casting, and a film-like quality to the whole story elevating it from a simple time killer. Those ingredients set Someday apart from most efforts broadcast in 2006, at least on paper. The now infamous tendency of shooting while the show is broadcasting started raising eyebrows when Han Ji Min and Eric Mun injured themselves in a dangerous stunt for the drama Wolf, and from there on many industry insiders started understanding the price to pay for on-the-fly productions was too risky and burdensome, especially since the payoff (ratings) was in clear decline.

Someday completely shot before airing its first episode, something quite rare for Korean dramas. Eyes of Dawn did it in 1991, and the 1996 historical drama Im Kkeok Jung almost did it, shooting a good 30 out of its 50 episodes before broadcast. But the difference seen in Someday was an eye opener for many: film-like atmosphere, excellent cinematography and top-notch editing, good soundtrack, generally good acting as the actors had more time to delve deep into the characters. Just for that unique vibe, Someday is well worth watching. Director Kim Kyung Yong has a past in Chungmuro, as part of the production team for Silmido and This Charming Girl, while writer Kim Hee Jae can be pretty much considered one of the top writers in the country, the same pen who brought to the screen hits Silmido, Everybody Has Secrets, Another Public Enemy and Hanbando.

The casting, too, is quite interesting. Rather than focusing on big name stars, producers Yellow Films (responsible for the wonderful Alone in Love) put a bigger emphasis on actors fitting with the characters they were portraying. Of course this was only possible being a cable drama, nearly removed from rating wars and the like, but it's nice to see they weren't afraid of experimenting even in such a conservative area like casting. Although her popularity has inevitably increased after The Host, Bae Doo Na is still more appreciated overseas than she is at home. Kim Min Joon does have his share of fans, but certainly wasn't known for his acting skills, while Lee Jin Wook's only important role to date was in Alone in Love. Rounding up the cast was Oh Yoon Ah, a former racing girl turned actress who's been improving at an alarming rate in just a few years.

The ingredients were all there: an interesting cast, top-notch production values, and a pretty intriguing story. Bae's character Hana, a Japanese-Korean cartoonist going from enfant prodige in Japan to lonely soul looking for answers in Seoul, and the comic book manic going after her (Kim Min Joon) remind of countless youth romance comics which make up for a large portion of the manhwa fanbase in Korea (just like in Japan, with their counterpart shoujo manga). But perhaps that's also Someday's biggest flaw. We have interesting characters, the story is told in a very relaxed mood reminiscent in some ways of Alone in Love, but at the end of the day we're dealing with just another love triangle, and even the character interaction and the way the story progresses doesn't distance itself too much from the sunjeong/shoujo canon. What of course sets this show apart is the fact the story is told mixing animation with live action, in an almost poetic way highlighting the characters' feelings.

Someday is only a half success, with the average script having to take the blame, as the acting and production values certainly leave very little to be desired (although they also never really impress as well). More than anything, it's a very interesting experiment of things to come, and in that case a worthwhile experience. It seems the era when cable was just the land of old, slow-paced mammoths slowly dying under the weight of countless repeats is over. Someday we'll also get our first masterpiece on cable. This wasn't the case, but it certainly was a good start.

by X