Pawsitively Captivating: Lee Soon-jae Steals the Show in ‘Dog Talk’ Premiere
The unprecedented healing comedy drama ‘Dog Talk’ has made a refreshing start.
The first episode of KBS2’s Wednesday-Thursday drama ‘Dog’s Tale’ (written by Byun Sook-kyung, directed by Kim Yoo-jin), which first aired on the 25th, recorded a viewership rating of 4.2% (based on Nielsen Korea nationwide), sending up a successful signal from the very first episode.
As national actor Lee Soon-jae heads to Geoje Island, extraordinary events unfold as he realizes that he possesses the extraordinary ability to communicate with dogs.
‘Dogsori’ opens with the scene of a creator’s death near a lighthouse in Geojedo Island, which used to be peaceful and quiet, and opens the curtain on a meaningful mystery drama. Lee Soon-jae’s appearance, who naturally converses with the dog ‘Sophie’ among the people gathered at the scene, then approaches the police who are concluding that it is a suicide and confidently says, “This is a murder case,” aroused curiosity and captured the attention of the home theater from the first scene.
The reason why ‘national actor’ Lee Soon-jae had no choice but to run away to Geojedo Island has been revealed. Lee Soon-jae, who was to star in a production with his fresh junior and idol-turned-actor Hyun-ta (played by Nam Yoon-soo), nagged and ignored him, and ended up leaving the production at Hyun-ta’s request. Lee Soon-jae, who happened to have something urgent to do, was seen urinating in Hyun-ta’s car by fans, and along with rumors of discord between the two, Lee Soon-jae, who was branded a ‘real actor’, began a life of retreat as he was criticized by public opinion.
Lee Soon-jae, who was staying at a house in Geoje with an ocean view, encountered Sophie, a retired police dog, while exploring the neighborhood and was shocked to discover that he could understand the dog’s speech. It piqued curiosity as to why Lee Soon-jae suddenly developed such extraordinary abilities and how his ability to communicate with dogs would help him solve the cases that unfold in the future.
The complicated and entangled characters appeared one after another, piquing the interest of the viewers. Lee Soon-jae and Kim Yong-gun were fellow actors and close friends, but after the wedding of their son Lee Ki-dong (played by Park Sung-woong) and daughter Kim Se-kyung (played by Lee Soo-kyung) fell through, they became estranged, and the two began an uneasy cohabitation on Geoje Island, drawing attention.
Here, the ‘Senior Five’ gathered together as long-time broadcasting colleagues, writer Ye Soo-jeong, lighting director Im Chae-moo, and makeup director Song Ok-sook, joined the Geoje life. Lee Ki-dong, who suddenly disappeared on the day of the wedding, attracted attention with his suspicious appearance of spying on police officer Hong Cho-won (played by Yeon Woo) while staying on Geoje Island.
The first episode was full of tension. The five seniors all started having a party together in the greenhouse in the yard. At that time, Sophie, who was hovering around Lee Soon-jae, seemed to sense danger and ran to him, saying, “I smell gas!” As soon as Im Chae-moo, who went to fix the power switch that had been shut off, manipulated the toad house, the greenhouse exploded, and Kim Yong-gun, Ye Soo-jung, and Song Ok-sook, who barely escaped the room, were relieved. Lee Soon-jae, who overcame this crisis, opened his heart to Sophie and began to trust her.
Kim Yong-geon, Yesu Jeong, Im Chae-mu, and Song Ok-sook, who came out to play at a cafe, got into a conflict with creator Junmi (played by Kim A-young). Junmi, who is also known as the ‘Everybody’s Crap Doll’, was broadcasting live at the cafe and was pouring out criticisms of Kim Yong-geon. Unable to bear it any longer, Kim Yong-geon got angry and approached Junmi, venting his anger.
The very next day, Junmi was found dead alone in a car with a flash grenade in it, and Sophie, who inspected the scene, provided a crucial clue to Lee Soon-jae that a man had murdered Junmi and disguised it as suicide, making viewers curious about the whole story behind this shocking incident.
‘Dog’s Tale’ not only unfolds thrilling and exciting events at a fast pace, but also adds to the fun by refreshingly showing the colorful and connected relationships of the characters. The blunt and somewhat stubborn Lee Soon-jae experiences a supernatural phenomenon of communicating with dogs, and with Sophie’s help, he protects his precious colleagues from danger and gradually gains their trust, which is depicted from the first episode, foreshadowing an even more enjoyable story to come.
The veteran actors Lee Soon-jae, Kim Yong-gun, Ye Soo-jung, Im Chae-moo, and Song Ok-sook, who led the play with their seasoned acting skills that seemed to become one with their characters, provided an unparalleled sense of stability. The ‘trustworthy treasures’ representing each generation, such as Park Sung-woong, Yeon-woo, Kim Ji-young, Lee Soo-kyung, Nam Yoon-soo, and Gong Chan, as well as the great acting of actors Lee Jong-hyuk and Kim Ah-young who showed their presence with special appearances, increased the immersion and ‘swept up’ the first 60 minutes of the broadcast.
Episode 2 of ‘Dog Talk’ will air today (the 26th) at 9:50 PM.