Boiseu

Maybe I'm being a little unfair, but I started watching this coming off the back of Stranger (Bimilui Soop) which is really very good and fancied watching another Korean series.

I like the cast and some of the stories within the main arc are pretty cool. But as others have said, the decisions made by the Golden Time Team can be really dumb. They seem to spend a crazy amount of time listening, watching, before actually doing! They display the time onscreen since the calls came in, which seems redundant when they are so slow to respond.

Also, unlike Stranger, the cops seem to carry guns more often (in Stranger they always seemed to have tasers) yet seem like they really don't want to use them at all, as they would rather wave them around than actually shoot them.

And yet......I must admit I'm enjoying it and its cheesiness. The cast are good enough to keep me watching, as are some of the contained stories.

The trailer was promising but at the end I must say it was a disappointment. So many things that are unrealistic: Emergency call center, code zero, everybody would know what their job is but they wait to get orders from the female main character to track a mobile or a car? - One person drives within a few minutes from one crime scene, to a press conference to a 2nd crime scene and the local forces arrive at the same time or even later - one gets within three minutes to a crime scene, the other detective hasn't even left the police station in the same time - sometimes they need to press on the micro to talk and sometimes not - very slow reaction time, they wait at their desk for all the information and then run to their car, or they discuss instead of trying to find the victim, really? - and who would only walk around a corner or go into the interrogation room to make a confidential phone call? etc. I know it's TV but serious it's annyoing when they make such unrealistic scenes.

I thought the series got off to a sluggish start-the wife of a police officer is stalked and killed by a smooth-talking, elegant killer armed with a sort of ball peen hammer and the story drags while the officer grieves. Then, the authorities think they have the culprit, but another (female) officer-a call centre operative-claims the voice of the suspect does NOT match her recollection. Thus, we encounter the unique 'hitch' of this show: this girl has amazing hearing, a skill she has developed diligently. As work begins on other cases, this 'gift' plays a big part, and we suspect one day, she will identify the voice of our mysterious serial killer with the 'slugging device'.

The series contains forensic errors, and some unexplained plot elements, which savvy viewers in the Western Hemisphere will detect easily, but the gifted call Center Officer & the cop with the murdered wife, and their new team, combine for suspenseful episodes, if you stick with it. This 'gifted faculty' thing is catching on: we have Monk with his obsessive-compulsive attention to details; Sniffer, a Russian crime series with a human bloodhound; and the defunct LIE To ME about a human lie detector. It all makes for fun if you suspend your belief a bit. It all started with Sherlock Holmes, you know, in Victorian England, and his gift of observation & deduction.

So, despite its faults, and some grisly moments when the mysterious killer strikes, we are going to wait this one out TIL our gifted girl nails the bad guy.

First of all - couldn't the Call Center's IT geek locate a back up of the entire 9-1-1 call from the detective's wife? Or interview everyone on the Call Center's team to confirm her story? Clearly they appear to be able to hear most of the conversation(s).

And these detectives show up everywhere without even a stun gun? They are told the assailant has knives! It's episode 4 by the time we see a real gun. And why do they run every where? They need motorcyclyes for the size of those alleys. I actually appauled when I saw the first pop-up police light! Plus... can they ask the victim to send a photo of what they see? Am I the only one who thinks to do that?

I'm not a fan of the detective's acting. It got better once he stopped fighting the Director. I really like her character a lot.

It is a little complicated to have to repeat the video to read the dialogue. They talk very fast!

It is entertaining. Since it only has one season, I will finish watching.

Ignore the other review. Even among Korean dramas, which are generally very good, this one stands out.