MikeO

I will Most People panned oxygen the series as a bore fest. I binged it and actually like it. No question, Waiting a week between mediocre would it suck more For me it sucked less. Hoping to get that out of BD, plus it’s got more action.

I did the same thing you did. Dropped it months ago. Gonna dive back in and give it a chance

This is really good. Quite artistic. It got served up to me by the iq app after watching a few BLs so I of course shipped the two boys , but now I see that’s not where it’s headed. However it would be a unique BL story idea where the relationship is secondary to the plot, but where the leads grow close because of the plot. Sort of like that Max Tull show. But I guess I should deal with it as the show I got. It’s a really well paced slow reveal mystery. I’m on ep 4 and I can’t stop. It’s funny, outside of BLs I rarely watch Taiwan series. But when I do they’ve been great. This series and “Someday or one Day”, which was perhaps the greatest TV series I’ve ever watched, and I include all the great American Peak tv era shows in that comparison.

This one is not quite that, but it’s honestly really quite good and getting better with each ep. It’s unusual in that it pulls off comedy really well, but then can be quite terrifying a moment later. Very few Asian dramas cause me to laugh out loud but these actors can do it with their wry expressions and understated delivery

Well. I’m going give Midnight Museum a chance then. Aíslan BL is what brought me to a steaming platform like Viki, but the series that absolutely blew me away was Someday or One Day …nothing to do with BL but became one of my favorite TV shows ever . Understood on MSP. I guess the reason I liked it is the very thing you just described. They tried to change up the tired School plot enogh for me to buy in. But still plenty of slide whistles and bongos. Kinn Porsche? Now that’s changing things up. (Speaking of hit and miss). I’m really curious how you’ll react to the Eighth Sense. Here is how it went down for me. I just got done with a Shoulder to cry On. It held my interest until the final episode when it immediately bore the stink of my day job, dealing record label ProMotion weasels and artist management. It felt handled. This won’t give anything away in case you haven’t seen it but there was clearly a committee steering how the two K-POP actors would navigate the typical BL relationship dynamic. Everything in that final ep was made out of ecomic choice as opposed to artistic choice and as one living in the real BL world I felt total ly “handled” and was put off by it. So I flipped on Eighth Sense at a bit of low point in my Bl viewing lifeand went in with no expectations. And for me it was a life eating experience (love that expression by the way). Maybe not in terms of time but emotion. From the musics, to the production style , to the low key and rather western aesthetic and especially every side character written in a three dimensional treatment. These people felt real. I was so completely enthralled with that show. Now that’s just me. Your experience may be totally different. Several of my closer My Drama List pals had issues with one of the leads. But from our couple of exchanges, I can tell I’ll respect your opinion so get back to me either way. If you end up not liking it, I know it will be for a well spoken reason . And if you do like it, we’ll I’ll get an ego boost for recommending it. I really do want to know what you think. Take care for now

Ok. Well this recco is not quite that level of artistry . Step by step is more in the “surprisingly passable for a Thai BL” category.

That is very well said. Just because I appreciate MC, Eighth Sense, ITSAY, Semantic Error for their artistic breakthroughs, I still sit through the ones like Ai Long Nai where absolutely nothing happens for 10 episodes, other than having a meal and standing around and looking pretty. Or worse yet, "Bite Me" where I had to wait 10 episodes between lines of dialogue. Overall, I think Thai BL is upping its game lately. My School Prez for what it was, was incredibly good. Hey..are you watching "Step By Step". That's another Thai BL (only two eps in) that's surprising me in the way we've been discussing. It's no Rembrandt, but an actual story. It's on YouTube. Tell me what you think. Hopefully I didn't just curse it.

Since now I know you have great taste I have a recommendation. No, it's not sunset / eighth sense level, but surprisingly mature and well structured storyline for a Thai BL. Feels like a real story where the romance evolves organically. It's called "Step by Step". If you're like me, you're dreading not having E.S. eps to look forward to. This one is on YouTube and I think it airs on Tuesday. (I think) You probably already know about it, but if not, give it a try. I might ease the withdrawals. Goddard, however, won't feel threatened. Neither will Werner Duplessis and his co-director.

I actually felt that as my first impulse. But having lived with others making tragic decisions because they were depressed seemingly out of the blue i think the camera angle was to give the narrative the sense than mental illness, anxiety and depression can come from those you least expect it from. Anyway that was my second take of that artistic decision. But you raise a good point

I’ve never felt such an adrenaline rush that watching the opening scene with Wetter’s song playing. And the party scene. So incredibly beautiful and authentic

So true!

I’m so with you!

Well said. I loved this show.

I totally agree with you. My heart soared during the final 2 episodes.

Great observations. I’m 10 in. I won’t spoil. But I walked away very happy with the way this series ended.

Having seen all ten episodes of “the Eighth Sense” I can emphatically say that for me, it was the best series of the 80 or so BLs I’ve watched since 2016. Everyone’s different but for me nothing beats this one. Well done. What an achievement. I didn’t think anything could beat “I Told Sunset About You” but this one is right up there in its class , and that is by no means casting shade on that Thai masterpiece. The difference is that this show made the side characters as three dimensional as the two leads. And all were sensational. And the filming quality, casual and authentic vibe was as good as it gets for this type of story.

Me too! I don't want it to end and I secretly hope for an open-ended finale so they'll make another season. That might disappoint a lot of people, though. Hey, I'm curious, since you've rewatched, what's your opinion of the chance meeting on the subway early in the show? At first, I remember being a little critical of the Sr. character's hot/cold on/off switch. Still, now that we better understand that he's struggling with deep seeded trauma and the guilt of mixing the attraction to his junior and his love for his deceased brother, the earlier eps make a lot more sense. Did you pick anything up in the rewatch? (I'm waiting until all eight eps are in the can, then I'm going to binge it). Any this show rises to a level that few if any BL dramas have ever gotten close to IMO.

You will find out the ending of the show in the first few minutes of the series. How it ends is for once not really the point of this show, You can decide quickly whether you want to handle the rest of the series. Personally, it made my list of all time favorite BL’s ever.

Sunset is the top of the Thai stack. Based on the kind of show I think you’d like, the afore mentioned Moonlight Chicken is worth a try. It’s a departure from the typical No slide whistles and cowbells. More mature themes and real BL world problems. It’s on YouTube. It features six of GMMTVs most talented actors and their best director. Since it’s a “Midnight Series” it deviates away from that network’s usual teenage target audience. Only 8 eps.

Agreed. The “But if only” source material argument is tiresome. The Last Of Us is proof that it’s possible to recombine elements that made it really enjoyable as a game into a linear passive viewing experience. “ But if only”, I got to pick which weapon I could bludgeon the child molester with in the series version like I can in the game…

A rock fell on the plot and the story dies. So yeah