Baker King, Kim Tak Goo

There is a heartwarming message about goodness in this series that borders on preachy but still is palatable. Lots of baking and you will probably want to eat some bread after this. The series is longer than it should be by maybe 5 episodes and there are some not exactly painful but unnecessary scenes. Some serious plot holes too - like why didn't this person just do this or say that. Too many tears and crying by the men of this series. A few too many setbacks and sufferings and missed connections.

The series starts off quite strongly with the illegitimate thing and all and the kids act for about 5 or 6 episodes but they are quite good. Later when they grow up the baking thing comes and the competition is a bit draggy. The way the romances don't dominate the story. When the romance plays out isn't cliched - it's quite unexpected and the secondary romance about damaged people is actually more interesting.

Here is a chance to see some future stars in their first breakout roles. Yoon Shi Yoon gives a winning performance that makes him likeable even when he could be irritatingly frustrating and he does act well in the touching moments. Joo Won has to glare and scowl a lot and he does it quite well. It's a pity Lee Young-ah didn't look very attractive here. Eugene Kim is stunningly beautiful.

If the series had been shorter and the bad parts edited out it would have been better. Still it's easy to see why it was such a hit.

The time span is not small, but the plot development is limited to a very small range, the overall plot is not atmospheric enough. At the same time, I feel that the change of female 2's acting style is very abrupt and insufficient. The overall feeling plot is not full, the development is too fast.