Life on Mars

I really love this crime thriller drama. It has Signal (2017) vibe. You will fall in love with characters. The story between year 2018 and 1988 even though I don't fully understand the reason how Han Tae Joo can transport from time to time. But this drama will open your eyes as some of the cases are based on the true events ! Definitely recommended !

Great acting, great cinematography and really great and unique storyline. Usually with these kinds of storylines you get so many plot holes but in this drama everything matches and has a logic behind it. Honestly I am baffled why the number of reviews (and I'm guessing overall viewers) are so low compared to other dramas. It could be due to the fact that there is no bold romantic relationship involved, although it exists. Overall, first 3 episodes couldn't get me hooked but starting ep 4 it was addictive and I think this is going to be one of the most memorable drama endings I have ever watched. No forced sad/happy ending or trying to just wrap things up. It was really satisfying to me.

Generally, crime & investigation genre drama seems boring. Sometimes they cannot keep pace with the little cases or incidents inside the drama which create loopholes! But this drama is different! While watching the drama you will become a part of it, you will feel thrilled about each cases! Though it has crime, investigation : this drama is not boring or slow paced at all! trust me! If you love investigation drama with solid plot, UNPREDICTABLE cases, vivid thoughts, lots and lots of funny moments (will make you laugh harder, refresh your mind) unlike other dramas: go watch this drama!

I watched the original BBC show, which is great. But this one has more stories and I think depth. The actors are great, the South Korean 80s fantastically recreated, music, direction... I could say that I like more this one than the original and the original is very good! (even though I gave to both 9 stars).

I thought it was good that the show brought up the difference in how women were treated in Korea 30 years ago. I know that Korea is still a very patriarchal society, and so much so that it drives a lot of Korean women to leave the country, and seems to be very big part of the reason for the abysmal birth rate of Korea (2nd lowest in the world). It also seems like a lot of effort was spent on recreating the Korea of 30 years ago. A big part of the charm of such a show is seeing how things have changed. It seems that from similar shows that take place in the current ear, things have changed a lot.

But not sure it this is so representative since 1988 is right after the constitution reform which followed decades of being under a fairly repressive dictatorship, and I would sort of expect a lot of repercussions from the change, and it does not seem like this is so evident in this series.

I am American, so not familiar with what Korea was 30 years ago. However, there is one fact I was able to check up on, and that was smoking. In 2000 it was about 35%, vs about 20% today, and at that point it was already in a steep decline. That would indicate that it had to be somewhere in the 50% range in 1988, and so few men probably did not smoke--And we see no smoking. See modern Korean series with lots of smoking, which I think it probably excessive, and none in this series. Too bad they did not try to do more to make it truly.