WEEK 1 Viewing Experience

I really don't have the heart to watch this series, but I told myself I would give "Ako Si Kim Samsoon" a week to show me what it got. I told myself that if after a week and I will not be pleased, I would not waste my time to watch it anymore - no matter how I love "My Name Is Kim Sam Soon"

I never expected that I would be impressed as early as now.

Although I'm still missing the "magic" I felt when I first watch the original, it is not bad at all. I appreciate how they were able to deviate from the original yet maintain the same mood and feelings. So instead of being bored to death in following a story I already know by heart, I still have a what's-going-to-happen-next feeling - something I never actually expected. In that way they were able to cater to both MNIKSS viewers and non-MNKISS viewers (though I know that some of MNIKSS fans may not like ASKSS yet).

It also makes my blogging more exciting and extremely challenging at the same time. I first thought that doing the comparison will be as easy as copy-paste-ing each scene - and bashing the local version. I didn't realize that it is more difficult than what I thought. I ended up going through my MNIKSS screencaps and scrubbing (rewinding and forwarding) through my MNIKSS' episodes just to look for the scene they were interpreting, jumping from one episode to the next. Plus it lets me keep an open-mind, changing perspectives, doing mental analysis and considering cultural differences every now and then. It is also fun because it test how well I know "My Name Is Kim Sam Soon". It gives me the motivation to keep on blogging until the final episode.

Even though it was good, there's still a lot of room for improvement. I hope that they will move one step back from sitcoms, avoiding the use slapsticks cliche and gestures for their comedy scenes. And I think it would be better if they linger a bit for important scenes. Their fast pacing is good in killing the humdrum, but there are just scenes of utmost important and I hope they can give the viewers ample time to absorb the feelings manifested, before rushing to the next one. And hopefully they can keep up with the same mood even with the appearance of the other characters anytime soon. I'm just a little scared that the mood will be ruined with the appearance of other cast - especially the extended cast not present in the original.

And most importantly, I'm still looking for the Sam Soon that I know. Seems like Kim Samsoon Buot is still too nice. She still lacks the stubbornness and wittiness of the original. I hope they will develop her character really soon.

Overall, it was a job well-done for Week 1. I can say that my first week's watching experience was enjoyable. And since my expectations in this series were really low to begin with, I was really impressed with what they have presented. But now that I have seen what they are capable of doing, it makes my expectations higher this time. So they have to, not just keep up with what they are doing now, but also improve further.

They have very good story to tell and I'm glad that they are not close to ruining it (but I'm still keeping my fingers crossed).

I am hoping that GMA-7 won't be complacent with the mostly good reviews given on their first few episodes.

WEEK 1 Synopsis from iGMAtv
June 30 to July 4, 2008: An Unusual Romance