The Problem with time travel shows

As a SciFi aficionado I can be both critical or lenient of these works depending on variety of things such as technique, whimsy, execution or even for something as lame as a prop (yes I have bashed scifi shows for bad props and makeup). But ideally what you want out of a good scifi is a solid story. One that makes sense and even if you can poke holes in it, the holes can be papered over and be forgiven.

That said, the problem that scifi shows, specifically time travel shows fall into is the need to be linearly different to every other time travel show ever produced to stand out above the rest, even if the story doesn't make sense because then they can say "At least it was different."
This is a phrase I'm ambivalent towards because on the one hand I appreciate efforts to push beyond the boundaries but on the other hand I need it to still make sense in some logical or scientific way.

Time travel = physics. There is no running away from it but somehow Alice tried to avoid using the discipline whilst still heavily alluding to it. A good analogy is a Chef talking about how great his dish, it looks great, probably tastes great but how did he cook it? Give us the recipe! Alice gave us no recipe. Alice uses the premise of multiple dimension in time travel but that falls apart as the show goes on. A lot of things fall apart in the end because there was no good foundation on which to build the drama world with and a little physics would have helped with that.

But coming away from the science bit was the confusing relationships bonds between the ML and FL and other cast. Before the show started airing it was being promoted as a Scifi/thriller with Romance. The romance tag has since been removed but this confused viewers to no end because we were searching for the love interest. I was looking for romance elsewhere but the way how the show played out it just evaporated. The other problem with SciFi genre is that it's often difficult to do character development with the storyline but Alice felt like it was pulling it off in the beginning then got waylaid by time (forgive the pun). I'd like to say that maybe 4 more episodes would have helped this show but at this point who knows. Just as the show used complicated relationships in the beginning, threw it out in the middle, then brought it back in the end was just plain tacky and made me quite resentful of that ending.

So Alice had some problems but she wasn't a complete mess and I believe this was the screenwriter's debut show. This was a great entrance and I look forward to more of his work. Alice production was really on point and I loved the props. And even though Alice give more questions than answers she was still fun to watch.

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Straight out the gate it has to be highlighted that the best thing about this show was the chemistry between the cast Kim Dong Wook and Moon Ga Young. They were phenomenal and made me want to believe that they were a real couple. They are definitely in my top 5 chemistry couples.

So here we are again with another memory trope scenario so yes the storyline was unoriginal. But it was executed well enough. The male lead had hyper (whatever) and whilst the doctor and everyone was always warning him, there was never any real portrayal of how his condition was problematic to his life. They just inferred and glossed over that condition a lot that I often forgot that he was supposed to be suffering or struggling or something. For the majority of the show the character Lee Jung Hoon seemed like a normal guy.

This show is all about couple chemistry so don't go looking for any real depth. But unfortunately you have there was the unnecessary break up and separation which dragged the show down towards the end. I personally prefer to see couples fight the world than each other in romance melodramas but for whatever reason in kdramas fights must end in a superficial break up.

Overall I enjoyed the show because despite the flaws I was enthralled with the couple's romance.

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I'm not sure if it was because the age difference between the characters and I was small, or that their problems and lives were so realistic but this drama moved me in a way I'll try my best to explain.

What was so loveable about this drama was the genuine friendship among the main cast. You could see that life had developed around them but they never let their friendship die. Jo Junk Suk was incredible as the superman single father with a successful career. Even as he struggled he never broke a sweat in stepping up and being the man others needed him to be.

What I also found endearing is how the main cast all dealt with their internal struggles and it shows that no matter what age you are, you're never too old to want to run away from your problems and take the immature way out. Ahn Jung Won and Chae Song Hwa were the biggest cowards of the group but one couldn't hate them for it. For many years their main focus was on their careers and they tried or more likely probably refused to acknowledge what would make them happy. I myself can say I am of guilty of this I mean how do you stop and smell the roses when work became the most important thing because of your passion. It frightening to look down something different when you've already given so much of yourself to your ambition.

There was also the elements of understanding oneself and coming to terms with the kind of person that you are. Jung Kyung Ho's performance was incredible portraying this. He knew who he was and knew what he wanted and he reached that place. I always love it when boyfriends are always supportive and never pressure their partners and let them decide what they want or how they need to move forward. it never feels like a sacrifice when it comes from that place. Kim Dae Myung's character was great at this element as well and in a way he seem like the wise mature guru of the group ready to offer pearls of wisdom that was often ignored by friends.

The connections among the group was unbelievably charming and it's everything you want in a slice of drama. The feelings of belonging and being accepted permeated throughout making it a wonderful coming of middle-age drama because at 40 we still have a lot of life left to live.

And lastly the playlist was awesome!!

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