total timepass...

Where do I even begin. There are tv series, and then there are tv series. And Mr. Sunshine belongs to the second category. Somehow I just did not expect it to have the kind of impact it did. Most of the other K-dramas I have watched before (and there are 11 of them!) were all great in their own right. But Mr. Sunshine is something else. It has touched me and affected me more than the others. And it continues to haunt me even after it's over. Such an epic series. It starts out as a love story, but then turns into an even bigger love story. Love for one's country, for your people around, and for freedom. Mr. Sunshine is the story of Eugene Choi, a Joseon (Korean) child who had fled to the US, and now comes back to his homeland. Initially just to exact revenge for what had happened to him in his childhood. But then he meets a noblewoman, Go Ae-Shin and his life changes. As it does for a few other people, for Gu Dong Mae, a Japanese samurai, for Kim Hui-Seong, a lost nobleman...

Recently I saw this BBC 4-episode miniseries based on a novel by Elizabeth Gaskell called North & South and totally loved it. For one, have become a big fan of BBC shows and secondly I love all these old Jane-Austen-type of English novels. So combine the two, and am halfway a fan of the series too! Anyways, North & South is the story of the move of Margaret Hale from southern England to the northern town of Milton. This itself is the basis of the novel, depicting the contrast between the idyllic and rich towns of the south to the working class and cold culture in the north. Milton has many cotton mills and the residents of this town include the (rich but still working class) mill owners and the poor mill workers which is very different from the life and people Margaret was used to in the south, the more classy and rich southerners. The novel showcases many issues throughout the story: the different living conditions in the working class towns, the workers and their problem...

Entourage follows the life of four friends with the central character being of Vincent Chase, a rising movie star in Hollywood. He always hangs out with his friends, his "entourage" consisting of Eric: his manager and best childhood friend, a serious guy who gets involved in serious relationships (unlike the others!!), Johnny Drama: his brother and has been tv star, who is very volatile in his moods and a straight talking guy, and Turtle: the rolly polly friend always trying to do something with his life. The other cast of the series includes Ari Gold: Vinny's agent and a loud mouth, brash and aggressive person but with a clean heart, Lloyd: Ari's secretary and other host of smaller characters. There are regular guest appearances by movie celebrities on the show too. The series just follows the life of the four friends, who live a fun life, with lots of money (Vinny's) and just spend their time spending all the money on holidays, travel, girls and what not....

Two and a half men details the lives and times of Charlie : a super-rich, alcohol loving, completely unconventional womaniser and jingle writer; his brother Alan : a twice divorced and completely unlucky in life kind of loser guy; and his non achiever son, Jake, all three living in a beach house in Malibu. Then there is a supporting cast of Berta : their housekeeper, their mother who they both despise and try to avoid always, Judith : Alan's wife who robs him of whatever he does have left, and Rose : the neighbour stalker in love with Charlie. Together these people lead an interesting life with an excellent and witty script to support. The jokes may be over the top, but they are really funny. The jokes Charlie makes of Alan and his life, the interaction between Charlie and Jake where Charlie teaches Jakes about women and the like much to Alan's discomfort, the fun Berta has based on their problems, how both Charlie and Alan try to run away from their mother and so on. All the...

Prison Break is a thriller TV series, where the first season is about a brother getting convicted to free his brother who is on death row in prison. The entire first season shows the planning and execution of this break out from prison. The planning involves getting the designs of the prison, evolving a plan with multiple legs and to a detailed level, including who all in the prison to befriend, and where to obtain the nail to do the digging from! Of course, the execution stage is very different to the planning, with multiple failures and constant modifications required to the plan. The number of people who keep getting involved keeps on going up as and when required; there are info leaks; change of room mates; fights here and there and so on.. And of course the usual prison background happenings: prison fights, blackmarketing, punishment and so on.. And on the outside, there are friends trying to get the brother out by law. Turns out though, he was a scapegoat in a conspiracy involvi...

Psych is a comedy TV show that is still running in the US (it just finished its fifth series recently). The protagonist of the show is Sean Spencer, who claims to be a 'psychic' but who actually is just a great observer and manages to figure out things about people and events just based on his observational skills. This is the basis of the TV show, where Sean uses his 'psychic' (observational) skills to solve cases for the Santa Barbara Police Department where he is temporarily hired for some tough cases. The other cast of the show includes Gus, Sean's best friend and partner. He is really really funny! The chemistry between him and Sean is really fun to watch, him as the hesitating reasonable guy, with Sean being the completely irrational and impulsive other half. They both are a great team, with Sean's antics being completely unacceptable and over the top (but very very funny) and Gus trying to control him. Sean's dad was a cop and is the reason Sean is su...

"How I met your mother" is an American TV Series, very similar to "Friends" and has a similar format as thsi famous series. Its the story of five friends and their life, with the backdrop being that the protagonist, Ted Mosby is telling his kids about how he met their mother. The episodes present all the stories in between from the time Ted starts looking to get married to the time he meets his wife, of the other women and happenings in his and his friends' life over this time period. The other four friends include Lily and Marshall, a couple who are the over-the-top-in-love, 200% mushy kind of couple; Barney, a playboy and a complete narcissist with very interesting takes on the world (and relationships!) ; and Robin, a Canadian journalist whom Ted had dated once but they broke off because she didn't believe in marriage. Barney surprisingly turns out to be the most lovable of the characters, even though he is everything your mother will ...

This was a talk show which had one season of about 13 episodes telecast during 2009. The talk show host is Farha Khan, and she invites celebrities for heart to heart talks. The format is such that the invitees in each episode are invited based on a common theme (Of course, for SRK, there was no second guest:) ). Farha brings out unknown facts into the open about the celebrities, talking to relatives and friends for messages etc etc . And at the end there is an interaction with the aam junta, with the celebrities talking to the people called on the show. The celebrities then gift some of their personal stuff to Farha for auctions and ending with Farha teaching a dance step to the celebrities. Some of the interviews have been really candid and fun, and worth watching. Farha gets irritating though, especially saying tere mere beach main before every break. Some of the fun episodes to watch are: - Priyanka Chopra and Vijender Singh. This was a laugh riot, especially wit...

I recently watched the complete set of episodes of the Chanakya TV series which used to come on Doordarshan in those heydays and which I could not understand as much then as I can now. Loved the series, mostly for the effort gone into the making of the series considering it was made in the early 90s, as well as the amount of research that would have gone into the making of the series. Also was good to know more about Indian history, which most of us are mostly unaware of. Its a colossal effort, and blows your mind away . After watching the series, and given that a lot of the events seem so unreal, I researched on the net and realised how less of our own history we know? Of how great the kingdoms of those times were, how developed the city systems were, how great a university Taxila was and how much effort one man had made to unite the country and drive the Greeks out! Chanakya's intelligence and cunning is an interesting study, of how he plans each and every ...

Boston Legal is an American TV show based on an American law firm located in Boston. The lawyers of the firm are involved in multiple lawsuits, more civil than criminal and many of them are crazy and random sue-ings. The lawyers themselves are loud, eccentric, completely over the top and crazzzy!! Each of the character has his own oddities and that is what makes it so fun to watch. The main protagonists in the show are Alan Shore and Denny Crane. Alan Shore is a completely unorthodox and crazy lawyer, who has his own rules and listens to no one. He does what he wants, how he wants, without any control over him and though he sounds immoral, has a heart of gold which comes to the forefront sometimes. He is an absolutely lovable character, and you always wonder why :) ! Denny Crane is the senior partner and has never lost a case. He is mad now though and just spends his time trying to create trouble with the others trying to keep him out of trouble!! He and Al...