Vampire Idol (2011)

I realize my ratings for this show are all over the place but I'll explain why one by one^^

The premise of the story (vampire prince accidentally getting stuck on earth while trying to visit a concert of his favourite girl group) is pretty wacky but also one of the two things that originally drew me to this drama (the other was the cast). It has an episodic format with an overarching story developing in the background. As a sitcom there's not that much plot happening, but the episodes do exactly what they're supposed to - make us laugh (a lot).
The reason I didn't give more than a 7 for the story is that the drama was cut short by a lot. I really liked the direction the writer seemed to take, but with the episode cut we unfortunately never reached the point where the backstory came into the foreground. What we get instead is a wtf ending that raises a lot of questions, but since the writer isn't to blame for that, I actually like what she did with it: Showing us what could have been if people had actually allowed her to tell the story until the end.

On to the cast:
1. I loved every single one of them.
2. Most of them were newbies which results in bad or awkward acting.

In other dramas these two points might be contradictory but I really wouldn't want to see anyone else in these roles for the sake of less awkward acting. The heart of the cast were definitely the 4 vampires landing on earth. I personally loved the vampire prince the most, but Lee Soohyuk as his quiet but loyal and caring bodyguard, Kim Woobin as the not so smart guy with incredible hearing skills and Hong Jonghyun as the nerd with an IQ of 790 were great in their roles as well. Kim Soo Mi was as usual a joy to watch in her role as the temperamental, cursing grandma.

Now the reason why I rated this show a 9 despite the lower scores in acting and story is simply because it's that funny. Starting from the prince's name, the vampires having to adjust to life on earth, the fact that beauty standards on the vampire planet are opposite from those in Korea, the 4 vampires calling the grandma aegi because with her less than 70 years she's still a baby to them to the budding relationships between the girl group and the vampire boys - it was just so much fun all around and made me laugh more than any other drama could so far.
It has a pretty low budget and the sense of humour might not be to everyone's taste, but when it is you're in for a fun watch!

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I am sad to say that not only was this story cut short by 40 episodes but also isn’t English dubbed for the last 30+ episodes, but I am happy to say that it’s a wonderful break from the over saturated “look” of vampires.
Between the prince’s full name used as a punishment, to the romantic sillyness of Rabbit and Woo’s relationship, and the craziness of 14 people trying to keep a secret, live together, many of the stories really could have finished out a great show.
From the first episode when the 4 vamps are watching IWTV and ask if humans become mosquitoes if they get bitten by them I knew I needed to watch more. There was the miss-step in a twilight mindset, but quickly showed who was preferred by the audience of the 4 vamps.
As I said the last 30+ episodes I have not been able to find in English and so even with my tiny knowledge of the Korean language I got the jist of what happens and what could have happened in the missing 40 episodes. Not all would have ended up with someone and the secret wouldn’t have been important anymore. They would have started their lives as many people do when moving to a new place.
I do wish there was a reunion of the characters either scripted or not but it’s been a long time. Don’t get me wrong I prefer the dangerous, they will kill you kind of vampire, but this series will always be on my list of favorites.
(Sorry to add but Soo Hyuk here and as Gwi is my favorite vamp of all time.)

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