“Big Man” Advances On “Doctor Stranger”

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Big Man
Daniel Choi
Kang Ji Hwan
Lee Da Hee
Doctor Stranger
Lee Jong Suk
Park Hae Jin
Jin Se Yeon
Lee Bum Soo
Kim Jaejoong
Im Si Wan
Triangle

 "Big Man" is gaining viewers at an impressive rate and might soon even challenge the front-running drama "Doctor Stranger" for first place. For weeks the drama languished in third place, so it came as a surprise when it suddenly moved into second place and began to rake in the ratings. "Big Man" now earns ratings in the double digits, this week reaching 10.3 percent. That rating is 1.3 percent higher than the previous episode.

What does the drama have going for it?

As with any good revenge story, viewers have to hate the villains and the behavior of Daniel Choi's fictional family deserves a big helping of hatred. His sociopathic family almost harvested a heart from a complete stranger to save their son. They pretend to adopt him and then send him to jail for their crimes. And the stranger, played so emotionally by Kang Ji Hwan, is so very grateful for the attention they bestow on him. He's the truly "big" man as he has a big heart. Daniel Choi delivers a surprisingly convincing villain. Lee Da Hee and Jung So Min convincingly play women who are caught up in all this evil plotting but ultimately make the right choices.

At 10.3 percent, the drama is setting itself up as serious competition for "Doctor Stranger," the medical drama about a genius doctor who defected from North Korea. That SBS drama increased from its previous ratings, reaching 13.1 percent. That rating is up 0.4 percent from the previous episode when it rated 12.7 percent. That drama also boasts some excellent acting from Lee Jong Suk, Jin Se Yeon, Park Hae Jin and Kang So Ra. And the visuals are fun. With his long frame and frizzy hair, Lee Jong Suk looks like a living manga character and the cinematography makes every frame look like a comic book cell.

"Triangle" did not do so well and continues to decline in the ratings. It hit 6.7 percent, its lowest ratings so far. It may prove the maxim that you can only let a drama character suffer for so long until the audience tunes out. The three brothers, played by Kim Bum Soo, JYJ's Kim Jaejoong and ZE:A's Im Si Wan, have wandered around in their private misery for quite a few episodes. The saddest is Kim Jaejoong's character who seems to have little common sense. Now, slowly the brothers will discover their relationship to each other. Hopefully the awareness will improve their lives and renew viewer interest before ratings sink much lower.  

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