Fanservice, begone!

Overall, I enjoyed Lovely Writer, although I think it could have been even better. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS:

UNIQUE STORY. Along with Call It What You Want, Lovely Writer exposes some of the not-so-nice, behind the scenes events of a BL series. So kudos to LW for bringing this out in the open.

ACTORS. Up and Kao did a good job portraying the main couple, but the real star of the series was Bruce (Aey), who gave a high-powered performance as a young man who needed psychiatric help. Supporting actors played their roles well.

CONS:

AGE OF GENE/NUBSIB. So Gene is supposed to be six years older than Nubsib. Sorry, not buying it. Nubsib actually looks older than Gene (and he is, by three months).

GENE/NUBSIB BACKSTORY. That whole childhood thing was just lame and even a little creepy.

THE END OF THE FINALE. Yuck. All that boring Prince Charming/Romeo & Juliet garbage could have been replaced with something relevant, such as a scene where Nubsib got out of his contract, despite the company wanting him to stay on with Aey. Would have loved to have seen that. And the very end, when we find out it was all fiction, was very disappointing for me.

MOHK. The actor was fine and pretty to look at. But they went nowhere with his character, when it appeared there was some connection with Aey/Mohk. So then, why was he even there to begin with?

TIFFY. She started out as kind of cool, then just turned into the beyotch of the century, the way she treated Tum, with homophobic slurs and all. And, despite Aey being a complete mess, the way Tiffy dumped him as her client was unprofessional.

But, despite weaknesses in the story and character development, I'm giving it 8.5 for dealing with an important topic.

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I just stumbled on this last night and, I must say, this is the most powerful BL series I've seen so far. Others have been entertaining and enjoyable to watch, but Like Love really hits on something so important: namely, the effect of conservative parents and families on their gay children.

An's coming out to his family was very brave and unapologetic (good for him), but still brought out the worst in them: the sister was disgusted and even tried to hit on Maiding. An's father beat him and his mother tried cutting her own wrist as a result. And the blackmailing continued, especially on the mother's part. They all berated An for "shaming" the family and putting his own feelings above theirs. An's grandfather was the only one with common sense and empathy.

Maiding kept his secret hidden for much longer (along with flat-out pretense), which was understandable considering the pressure his parents were putting on him to "get a girlfriend." When Maiding finally admitted the truth, his grandmother had what looked to be a mild heart attack and his mother went bat-shit ballistic. At the expense of his own happiness, Maiding was ready to bail on his relationship with An, as a result of his mother's reprehensible behavior. (Thank goodness An refused to accept this and helped to change her opinion in the end).

To me, this is perhaps the most important--and unfortunately, realistic--issue that gay children face: feelings of shame and being loathed by and excommunicated from their families. Kudos to Like Love for approaching this topic head-on (especially from an ultra-conservative country such as China). The moral of the story is (or at least should be) that no one should ever, EVER be expected to live someone else's life. This type of pressure never comes from anything other than selfishness on the part of the family. The results can be absolutely devastating... and this happens every day, all over the world.

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This series is probably most notable for having popular actors Gun, Off, White and Earth. It wasn't one of my favorites, hence my low rating. I'll give my pro and con lists here:

THE PROS:

ACTING. Gun is always exceptional (I don't know of any BL actor who can cry on cue like he can!), Off was also very good... based on the way the characters were written, I have no complaints about any of the actors.

CINEMATOGRAPHY. Everything looked very professionally done.

CLOSURE TO PLOT LINES. Unlike some BLs, which often begin a plot line which mysteriously disappears (cough*Cause You're My Boy*cough), or build up a plot line and then kill it with no real explanation (cough*Love By Chance*cough), Theory of Love did follow story lines through to conclusion.

THE CONS:

THE LENGTH: For me, this should have been a 2-3 hour movie, not a 12 part series. One could easily skip from Episode 1 to Episode 7 without having missed a thing. Between Episodes 8-10, at least one of them could have been omitted. There simply wasn't enough story content to merit 12 episodes.

WHO'S GAY/BI/STRAIGHT? Okay, I guess we can assume that Third and An are gay because, while they don't come out and say so (why not?), they also don't ever discuss having an attraction to women. I suppose we can assume that Bone is straight, because he has the crush on the female teacher and ends up with a different girl at the end. But what about Khai and Two? Are we SERIOUSLY supposed to believe that Khai, who has had sex with more women than anyone can count--and with no mention of ever having slept with a guy, nor ever having a physical attraction to a guy--is suddenly horny for Third, never to sleep with a woman again, as they fall in love forever? Sorry, that never, ever happens! It would have made more sense if Khai was openly bisexual to begin with, but not this way. Same with Two... he spends much of the series salivating over women's "big boobs," and suddenly he's in love, physically, with An?

Come on... making a sudden change in sexual orientation is a HUGE moment in someone's life, and a step not taken lightly. At least give us some explanation of the transformation! All I can say is that this story must have been written by a delusional woman who enjoys nothing more than fetishizing men together.

THIRD: I know we're all supposed to feel sorry for and root for him but, for me, Third was the least likable character. At the beginning, he is obviously in a major depression over his secret love for Khai, but he's hardly blameless. Sure, Khai takes advantage of Third all the time, but consider three things: 1) Khai has no idea Third loves him, 2) Khai's other friends (Bone, Two) would have either said no or not cared that much one way or another and, 3) Third allowed himself to be taken advantage of.

When Third started standing up for himself, he claimed to want to remain friends with Khai but, instead, Third treated Khai with utter contempt and disdain, until the end of the series. Khai may have been an assho!e, but much of it was unintentional and/or out of naivete. Third was an assho!e on purpose.

PAAN: For me, she was very cold and unlikable. If Bone had just a physical attraction for her, then okay, but he apparently fell deeply in love with the teacher. Why?

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Loved it!

I stumbled upon Secret Crush on You quite by accident, and I'm so happy I did. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

ATTENTION TO IMPORTANT ISSUES. Bullying, transgender identity, fat shaming, homophobia (and more) were addressed satisfactorily in this series.

LIKEABLE CHARACTERS. I found myself liking every single one of the characters, other than the bullies.

CONS

TOH'S MEMENTOS. Nothing says "I love you" like cutting the entire head off of a roast pig to save as a keepsake... in a Ziploc bag.

WRAPPING UP STORY LINES. Not dealbreakers, but I would have liked to see more of Daisy/Touch, Jao actually meeting Sky's mother, and Prao/Peach getting publicly shamed.

I had fun watching this series and looked forward to it each week.

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Nothing special

Another series completed. For me, it was pretty boring and forgettable. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

ATTENTION TO BULLYING. This is a subject that really can't get too much publicity these days. It happens a lot and needs to stop.

CUTE ACTORS. Always a plus. I thought Chris was especially cute and Arthur was just off-the-charts hot!

REAL KISSING. Finally!

SIX EPISODES. Happy that this wasn't dragged out unnecessarily.

CONS

THE STORY. Sorry, but for me this was just typical high school melodrama over nothing. The only serious issues were the bullying, Tong Fah's hospitalization and his father's death. They could have made more of these, but chose to take us through a bunch of superficial "drama" between the couples.

TOO MUCH DULLNESS. Five second spaces between lines and unnecessary scenes that had no real purpose made this short series, at times, seem interminably long.

ARTHUR'S ENDING. Disappointing. He goes from being a vicious bully to a crying, apologetic mess, complaining that no one loves him, not even his family. Okay, fine... some backstory would have been welcome, especially in place of the aforementioned dullness. A missed opportunity.

JENO AND NEAR. I thought they were the same person until I looked them up. They are actual brothers, 2 years apart, but look like identical twins. And they weren't even playing brothers in the series. Totally confusing, and a bad casting decision.

All in all, this is series that I will likely forget about in the not-too-distant future.

5 out of 10 for me.

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It was okay. Could've been better.

Manner of Death is a story that takes place in Viangpha Mork, a small town where everyone is weird and creepy and goes around trying to kill each other. The End.

Okay, not exactly, but close. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS:

THE WHODUNIT ASPECT. I love a good whodunit. This was the best part of the show for me.

"TWILIGHT ZONE" VIBE. The way this was filmed and directed had a kind of "Twilight Zone" feel that compelled me to keep watching.

SORAWIT. The only character I actually liked.

THE KILLER. I almost never guess the killer right in a whodunit, but I suspected Rung the whole time. So I was happy.

CONS:

MAX/TUL SEX SCENES. Yeah, I know, I know. They're the hottest BL couple out there, famous for their sex scenes. I was the biggest fan of Together With Me and probably the only fan of TWM The Next Chapter. It's the reason that I (and probably most of us) watched Manner of Death. But the sex scenes seemed really misplaced in this drama, let alone that both their characters were weird as hell. For me, the series would have been far better without the sex scenes.

CHARACTERS. Were we actually supposed to like ANYONE in this series? As mentioned earlier, Sorawit was the only likeable character for me... I guess Dr. Oat as well. Everyone else -- including Dr. Bun and Tan -- went around with guns and weapons and behaving like criminals.

STORY. Por was the head of the mafia, tried to kill both his brothers, and then we're supposed to like him at the end. That was a total creep, but then he became Sorawit's boyfriend so I guess we like him after all. Inspector M was pretty much an ass for the whole series, but then he became an ally of the main couple and looked to be dating Dr. Oat at the end, so I guess we like him. In other words, the characters were kind of... bizarre. If I ever visited that town, I'd turn around and run like hell!

ENDING. So Tan stages fake killers to hunt Bun and himself down in the woods, scaring Dr. Bun out of his mind, only to propose marriage with lovey-dovey notes? Wow, how romantic. Happy Valentine's Day. I want a divorce.

This was one of those series that I only watched to the end because I'd already started it and was invested in it. I doubt I'll rewatch... if I want to get my Max/Tul fix, I'll watch TWM.

P. S. Max/Tul with the Hansel and Gretel references were just so dumb. "We're like Hansel and Gretel!" Umm... no, you're not.

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Pleasant series, not terrible, not great

While I am fully aware the Bad Buddy made a huge impression on a lot of viewers, for me it was just okay, a nice enough watch but nothing too special. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS:

OHM AND NANON. They are both very good actors, especially in more dramatic roles. They carried the series and were the reason I watched.

INK AND PA. Kudos to Bad Buddy for introducing a real girl couple! Fantastic development.

MUSIC. I enjoyed the soundtrack, and especially Nanon's singing.

CONS:

WEAK STORY. All the physical fighting was something that MIGHT happen in middle school, not in a university. Very juvenile. And did we really need another university setting? I checked my BL list: this is the 45th university-based Thai BL I've watched. Yawn. Pat's friends were jerks in the first half. Pat/Pran went from hate, to Pat liking Ink, and then... with NO buildup whatsoever, they're suddenly lovers. When exactly did Wai and Korn become gay? The last episode was weak, the "four years later" was a copout. And no scene with the parents, seriously? No acceptance (or dismissal)? Just... no.

BORING. Yep, I said it. The kiss came early on in the series. After that, the story itself pretty much fizzled, it was mostly cutesy-pootsy, lovey-dovey moments between the main leads. Pretty much just extended fanservice, no actual story.

I'll probably be tarred and feathered by all the BB uber fans for not giving the series a 10. Sorry, it just wasn't that for me, it was okay but just very ordinary.

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Low budget series, but I liked it overall. (It might have helped that I visited that exact 7-11 store during my trip to Bangkok, so it brings back good memories.)

For me, the actor that played Gavin was quite adorable. Cho was kind of dull and not much of a hottie in looks or personality, so I didn't really understand both Gavin and San drooling over him. I was more interested in the Toss/Tin dynamic, with Toss's son thrown in for good measure. Tin was very much the cutie! The actress that played Toss's wife was deliciously hate-worthy (I love a good bitchy character, lol!).

The other characters were cute, but throwing some of them together at the end seemed rushed and not plausible. Cho's mom was supposed to be cool I guess, but somehow I just didn't like her. (Sorry.)

All in all, this was a nice way to spend my time, I looked forward to it. Nothing special, but pleasant. I'm giving it a 5.5 overall.

And a special thanks to Thaiblfan92 for subbing the whole series!

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This is an okay series. It could have been really terrific, but there are far too many holes in the plot, as well as a number of dull scenes that really don't go anywhere.

I am watching this to the end for one reason: Drake Laedeke, the actor who plays Mork. For me, he's the best actor by far, plus, he's cute, built and has a smile that could melt butter.

The actors who play Mork's father and Tee's grandmother are really good, too. As a character, Tee seems a bit boring, so it's hard to get all that invested in Mork and Tee as a couple. Tee's mother is just a psycho... and a hypocrite.

As there is only one episode left, I will watch to the end. I hope the final episode makes sense of everything.

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This started out a little silly (Episode 1), went uphill quickly and then came crashing down with a thud.

It looked like we were going to have some chemistry between Sarawat (sexy as hell) and Tine (very cute), but nope, there was nothing there. The story was all over the place and, in the end, I couldn't have cared less whether or not Sarawat and Tine got together. The scene where Tine breaks down sobbing was, to me, ridiculous and stupid. I mean, seriously, the situation never warranted that kind of a reaction. I felt like Win was just being given a chance to show he could cry onscreen so, kudos I guess. Pretty much a big yawn.

I was more intrigued by Man/Type, until the second to last episode where Man was subjected to such bullying and humiliation from Type and his boss/colleagues. Then, in the last episode, it's all kind glossed over and they're a couple. Yeah, right. Next.

Mil/Phukong: I love Drake/Frank in everything else they've done, but there was nothing here. Mil made it clear that he had no interest in Phukong through the entire series... until five minutes before the end of the finale, they're suddenly a couple.

At this point, I'd have to say my favorite character was Green.

The whole thing was a major disappointment. I give it a 5.5, and the only reason I'm giving it that high of a rating is because there were some entertaining moments in the early part of the series.

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Nothing dangerous about THIS romance

Dangerous Romance has been, for me, the biggest disappointment for BLs this year. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

FIRST TWO EPISODES. The bullying was brutal, but the drama was intense. Based on the first two episodes, I felt that I might be giving this series a 10. (Sigh.)

GRANDMA. The best character on any series, ever.

PIMFAH. Loved her.

SAILOM. I liked him as a character, especially in the first part of the series.

GUY/NAVA. Hawt and sexy. They could have their own gay porn channel.

MAX/AUTO. They obviously became close friends. I could have shipped them as a couple.

SAIFAH'S BODY. Please pass me a fan.

CONS

STORY. First 2 eps were compelling. Kang did a complete (and inexplicable), 180 starting in Ep 3. He became so sickeningly sweet, we might as well have been watching Barney and Friends. Kang never apologized for his early psycho behavior, and we could have skipped Eps 3 through 9 without missing anything.

KANG/SAILOM. No chemistry. I mean ZERO. Should have become friends and that's it. I can't imagine the two of them having sex, or least being any good at it.

KANG'S DAD. I thought he would at least be some kind of sinister character, but he was just a wimp. That lame ass excuse for not expecting anything from Kang was ridiculous. And then we were supposed to LIKE him? I hope he steps on a pebble every time he's barefoot.

KANG'S GUNSHOT WOUND. So in Ep 11, Kang was shot, although you'd never know it. In his arm? In his back? There was no screaming out in pain, he just hugged Sailom with a smile on his face. And how could the gunman not have killed Kang? He was less than two feet away.

THE WIND/WINDMILL THING. I suppose it was cute, once. But Kang KEPT bringing it up, to the point where we all wanted to barf. (And it's dumb anyway... a windmill does need wind, but wind does not need a windmill.)

Despite my low rating, I did enjoy parts of this series. I gave it a fairly high rewatch value, because I actually did rewatch quite a lot of it. But it did not deliver what was initially advertised. What could have been a brilliant series just fizzled.

it's a 5.0 from me.

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Low budget, great quality

The Day I Loved You is, in my opinion, the best BL to come out of the Philippines since Gameboys. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

UNUSUAL STORY. Kudos to the writers and producers for tackling the story of a devastating illness with respect, along with warmth and just the right amount of humor. To my knowledge, ALS has not been the subject of a BL before. Bravo!

TOMMY, TOMMY, TOMMY. He gave a tour-de-force portrayal as the ailing Nikko. The guy is very talented. Raynold Tan as Eli held his own pretty well, especially with such a strong acting partner.

BREVITY. I love how this series packed so much into such short episodes. Other BLs (many with dragged out, looooong episodes that seem never ending) should take note. This is how it's done, folks.

CONS

JUSTIN AND NIKKO'S MOM. The actor who plays Justin has about as much charisma and acting chops as a wooden spoon, and the actress who played Nikko's mom wasn't much better.

PROM. Not a deal breaker, but I would have preferred to see Nikko attend the REAL prom.

Were there some areas to pick at? Sure. So why am I giving it a 10? (Especially when I rarely give them.)

Because this is one of the very few BLs I've seen in the last couple of years where I found myself counting the days/hours to see the next episode. And, for me, that counts for a lot.

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Flawed, but with some fun moments

A Tale of a Thousand Stars would be a tough act to follow for any series. Fish Upon the Sky was given the challenge. Did it rise to the occasion? Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

ATTENTION TO BULLYING. Always important to bring attention to bullying. While some of the attempts fell a bit flat (see below), kudos to FUTS for addressing this issue.

DUEAN/MEEN. Probably not a popular opinion but, for me, they were more fun and had a better chemistry than the main couple.

COMEDY. I really enjoyed some of the comedic moments: Pi hiding Mork in his bed all night (the nipple tickle and Pi's erotic response was hilarious!), much of Duean's loud, aggressive attitude bordered on unappealingly obnoxious, but the character had a sweet side that, for me, made up for it. I LOVED sexy Meen (in Duean's dream)! And Bam's over the top fawning over Mork was funny.

MIX. It was nice to see Mix in a supporting role, even if the scope of his talent was wasted in it.

EYE CANDY. It was a cute cast, which rarely hurts anything.

CONS

"UGLY" PI. If they really wanted to make an impact, the producers should have uglied Pi up more. They could have made his eyebrows hairier and messier, given him an orthodontic headgear with a big metal piece going around the outside of his mouth, dressed him in uglier clothes, dorkier glasses. As it was, he looked like a cute guy with a fit body who had nice glasses and wore braces. Totally unconvincing.

THE BULLIES. In the finale, are we really supposed to believe that an ENTIRE ROOM of MorkPi shippers are going to see old pics of Pi in glasses and braces and suddenly turn against Pi and bully him? Not one person is going to say "Excuse me? He's adorable even with glasses and braces!" Sorry, not buying that the majority of people at a university would behave that way. Second graders, maybe.

MORK'S PERSISTENCE. Sure, he's handsome. But his unrelentless stalking of Pi was too much and not cool. But hey, he's cute so it's all okay, right? Most people would have gone to the police to issue a restaining order!

KITTY GANG IN SIKH CLOTHING. A controversial move. Some people had no problem with it, others found it offensive. Whatever... the bottom line is that it just wasn't funny.

BAM TURNING INTO A VILLAINESS. Unnecessary and ruined a perfectly good character. Then, we're supposed to believe she got over her "deep love" for Mork minutes later, as soon as another guy hits on her. Yeah... sure.

It's a 6.5 from me.

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I guess I'm in the minority, but I really liked this series. The actors were first-rate, the directing was good, the film quality was terrific and, as much as some people hate the writing, I was okay with it. Anyone hoping for a lighthearted story will be disappointed: aside from some fun moments here and there, this was definitely a drama. (Heads up, spoilers ahead.)

Korn/Knock: the story begins with them arguing over Korn's reluctance to come out to his parents (especially his extremely homophobic father), and Knock is very upset about it, enough to give Korn the cold shoulder and refusing to sleep with him. Boss (and conniving scumbag) Pete pretends to be a sympathetic friend to Korn, but really just wants to get into his pants. He succeeds by plying Korn with alcohol and coming on to him and, in a weak moment for Korn, they end up sleeping together. Korn is devastated for his mistake as soon as it's over.

From what I've read, this is the main reason fans are so upset by this series. But I'm actually happy the writers gave us this story. The truth is that this happens with some of the (seemingly) happiest of couples. People can behave totally out of character when dealing with stressful situations. I'm not condoning cheating (I've been cheated on and it sucks), but I do believe that, unless one is just an unfeeling, lying player (which was not the case with Korn), there are circumstances where couples stay together after one has cheated, and it can actually strengthen the relationship.

I won't go into the other couples and characters, as I don't want to make this review excessively long. Suffice it to say that I found the series interesting and compelling. At the very least, it gives us something to think--and to talk--about. I think this is a good thing.

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Enjoyable.

This was a nice watch for me. Here are my pros and cons:

PROS

STORY. I found it interesting and sometimes compelling, especially all the drama of Tae Hyun's back story. Da Yeol struck me as cold at first, but I appreciated his character development as the series progressed.

BREVITY. Especially now, with so many BLs being produced (including a lot of weak ones), I do appreciate a series that can get the story told without resorting to 12+ looooong episodes. Kudos to the producers.

CONS

DEVELOPMENT. There were some "huh?" moments for me: the "villain" (the guy with long hair who was bullying Da Yeol) confused me. I would have liked more from him, as I was never quite sure why he was as much of a jerk as he was. Maybe he was just a homophobe. Or maybe he himself liked one of them. Who knows? And the character of Tae Hyun's aunt (who blamed him for his sister's death!) could have been explored in deeper detail.

ENDING. The last episode was disappointing for me, but not because of a lack of a kiss (ear peck aside). What was up with "two years later," and what happened during those two years? Then we get a reconnection as a day-long date which was cute, but never developed in any meaningful way. The ending baffled me: was this another two years later? We suddenly -- with no explanation -- see Da Yeol in a military uniform, with Tae Hyun extending flowers to him from a distance. Huh?

At certain points during this series I thought I might be giving a rare 10 as a rating, because I really liked a lot of it and enjoyed the chemistry between the leads. At the end of the day, I'm giving it an 8.5.

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