Medical Top Team (2013)

During much of its run, the primary buzz surrounding Medical Top Team was how poorly it fared in weekly ratings. While it competed against goliaths Secret Love and The Heirs, such a deficit might be expected. One may even go on to argue that ratings do not necessarily measure the quality of a show -- and typically I would agree with that person. Yet, despite undeniable starting potential, I can't help but think the viewership was onto something with this one.

What if I said Medical Top Team had a split personality? Several weeks ago, panicking network MBC announced a change in scriptwriters; whether or not a switch actually occurred is dubious. In any case, the focus and tone of the drama seemed to shift rapidly around the same time. What we began with was a somber medical offering, complete with meticulous operations and multitudes of jargon. Cases felt realistically engaging and hospital politics well-written and relevant. Character interaction possessed an understated, slow-burn potential, though most attention was paid to the overall workplace atmosphere. Viewers searching for something more technically sound, like me, would have enjoyed this to the end.

However, around midway, much more focus was placed on individual characters (including romances and personal drama). The result was a marked shift away from the surgical team element, which was sort of the entire point. Other stumblings include muddied simplification in hospital politics, plot-lines hastily handled, and character trajectory which sometimes felt pandering or out of line. Relationship evolution of and between certain characters became the worst offenders of this, especially within the last five episodes. Overall development was incredibly rushed, right up to the ending; little to no focus on romance suddenly becomes episodes without scalpels, but stuffed full of sudden hugs and almost-kisses.

Performances suffer inconsistencies as well, stemming from both issues with the script and fizzling chemistry between actors. This comes from a person with many favorites present in the cast.

For instance, Jung Ryeo Won plays a role lacking in everything from settled back story to likability; her presence can only be called wooden, which is *not* the standard for this talented actress. What worsens the effect is how little spark exists between her and either male lead, though particularly Joo Ji Hoon. Zero chemistry, there, platonic and otherwise. But on that note, Joo Ji Hoon manages to have the best portrayal and most consistent character in the series. Late episodes allowed him to show more range and were very kind to him, though the styling department never was. His work with Kwon Sang Woo (whom I found likable) and Jun Noh Min (twice now, after Five Fingers) was strangely fun to watch. Favorable mentions go to Alex Chu and Park Won Sang, while the huge amount of airtime enjoyed by Oh Yeon Seo will forever have me scratching my head. Her acting wasn't great though she very nearly eclipsed Jung Ryeo Won as female lead, a disappointment of itself: Dr. Seo needed the extra time.

Fine music stands tall as the best element throughout Medical Top Team. Most instrumentals are memorable and suit each situation well. There are also two very nice vocal pieces including the stirring "Firelight," (John Park) and catchy number "Can You Feel Me?" (Melody Day). Other positive highlights include an actual, modern hospital used in filming, deliciously bright color palettes used for sets and clothing, and sharp cinematography.

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I will preface this review with a statement. I don't like medical dramas. I watched this only because of the actors. This drama is boring. Plus, I think the writers changed and you could tell. The writer failed the possibilities.

I like most of the actors in this drama. Joo Ji Hoon as Chief Han was excellent. I was with him emotionally from beginning to end. Jung Ryeon Won is also great as the feminine, but strong Dr. Seo. Her character could have been better developed, but she had great chemistry with Ji Hoon. The kiss was HOT!!! It would have been good if that relationship had been better developed also. Kwon Sang Woo was totally adorable as the sensitive and principled Dr. Park. Oh Yeon Seo was too cute as Dr. Choi. I really enjoyed her character. Kim Young Ae is an excellent veteran actress. I wish I could post spoilers, because I had a great story line for her character and Dr. Park.

The music is nothing special.

I won't rewatch this.

If you like medical dramas, then you would probably like this more than me. I don't necessarily recommend it, but it isn't horrible.

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A great medical drama concept gone bad

I love medical dramas. They are best when they have some romance in them but I’ve noticed it’s hard for writers to blend the two together for some reason. The stars in this drama were spectacular. The acting was great and I wasn’t disappointed by anyone’s performance. However the storyline was a little weak. Medical Top Team wasn’t much for teamwork so the name really didn’t fit until the very end of the drama.

The character development was strange at times which changed everything. The show started with a conflict between Dr. Seo and Dr. Park. From that interaction I expected either a future romantic connection or a medical blend of the two, but neither really happened. Dr. Park Tae Shin’s character never wavered the entire drama. He was strong and committed to his idea of what the Top Team should be. This made him the focus of the entire drama. Midway through the drama Dr.Seo Joo Yeong’s personality changed and she became a different person on a mission that was never really made clear other than maybe personal greed. She ignored the Top Team and did her own thing. From that point on her presence in the story changed in my opinion. I felt myself not liking her. Dr. Han Seung Jae, aka Chief Han, led the team until he went on a self fulfilling mission of his own, which I might add was never really explained.

The story felt like it was modified from an original. There were too many holes that were never explained or so confusing that they were hard to grasp. The best I can say is it was a good story gone bad.

Finally I should say something about the romance. Two couples were pushed into a romantic connection late into the drama. I say pushed because very little foundation was formed before their romantic involvement. The romantic attempt between Dr. Seo and Chief Han was sad. First of all, I didn’t like either character by the time they decided to add the romance to the drama. They had no on-screen chemistry and every time they met romantically it felt awkward. Other than an occasional smile Chief Han demonstrated very little romantic ability. Most of the time when he was with Dr. Seo he was drunk or passed out. I’ll give Jung Ryeo Won credit, she oozes romance on screen when she wants to, but it just didn’t work in this drama. The other couple, Dr. Park and Dr. Choi were marginally better thanks to Oh Yeon Seo’s performance. But it felt like a high school crush most of the time.

I was drawn to the screen in anticipation which is a good thing. However, the story felt like it was pieced together or modified at the last minute.

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First of all I started watching this show bcoz I am medical drama lover. And I hoped for lot of scenes which can give me thrills. But I m disappointed with the story and its scenes

The story seems to lack lot of potential in showing of each characters. First two episodes they shown the characters and then they started treating patients only. The writers forgot to say about the characters and their background story. So we all are confused about why the top team doctors are behaving like this. Dr. Seo seems like having some problem in her family but don’t know what it is. Dr. Park Tea Shin was lonely even after confirming his love for Dr. Choi Ah Jin. And Dr. Bae acting two sided with his uncle and top team, but no one finds it until the end. Dr. Kim Sung Woo was left alone with no connection to our main characters

Acting - I loved the acting from Chief Han, Dr Park, Dr. Seo, Dr. Sung Woo, Dr. Ah Jin, Dr. Jo, Vice President.

Music - nothing special or nothing stays in our mind for long.

Rewatch - I can’t rewatch this show bcoz of its lacking ending.

Overall if you love Medical drama then you can give it a try. But comparing other medical dramas, this drama gives no thrill

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Just my opinion

Spoiler alert: The storyline of this drama is a bit all over the place. Let’s start with the Medical Top team it suggests that the medical team will be leader or excellent surgeons in their respective fields of specialization. Whereas, initially this was the case but as the drama progresses some of the surgeons quit or fired from the team because of a power struggle which wasn’t thoroughly explain. With every problem or situation there should be a solution by the end of the drama.
Now let’s go into each character. Dr Park Tae Shin, an excellent doctor who is an orphan who was living in what seemed to be an abused orphanage. As a child he was then adopted by an American surgeon who taught him some skills in medicine and the rest he studied at a medical school in America. One of the questions or quest he had was hopefully finding his birth parents. There was a case were someone falsely stated herself as mother just to benefit from his connections as a reputable and excellent doctor. The question of who his biological parents were was not answered. His romantic candidates seemed like Professor Seo than suddenly it is Dr Choi Ah Jin. I didn’t feel the chemistry. At the beginning he seemed to really like his Non profitable hospital, but we never saw where it ended up after receiving support from the University hospital. And his “child” he devoted a lot of time and treating, after her treatment he never even once visited to check up on her, yet she seemed to be someone important to him.
Moving to the next one, Professor Seo, she seems like a doctor who is easily swayed by success and has a lot of pride. She is initially depicted as a surgeon who is willing to do anything within her capacity to be recognized as the best. It seems that her colleagues and work acquaintance see her in this light too. There are moments where we always seem to question where her loyalty lies. Her ending up with Chief Han was kind of expected. Her focus or rather interest was research. She truly wanted her research to succeed, which did in the end.
There are many comments I can make regarding the characters and the poor character development. But overall, I want to state the drama is interesting a bit. The drama was not boring, it kept interested in wanting to know what will happen next but after reaching the end there a lot of unanswered questions. It is a medical drama based at an hospital. The use of medical terms and skills can be seen throughout the dram. But if you want the detailed, interesting surgeries like Dr Stranger or Dr romantic then you’ll be truly disappointed.
I would like to state this is just my opinion. This is my first review, but I’ve watched over 150 Korean and Chinese Drams combined.

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So first of all, I find the EP really nice and I really enjoyed listening to it. It was what stood out to me the most in this series.
Secondly, I feel that the story is pretty typical of a medical drama which basically illustrates how the doctors save the lives of patients with various illnesses or diseases and some images can be quite gory (well, what I'm suggesting is that you should try not to eat a meal while watching this). It is pretty similar to Code Blue (A Japanese medical drama, difference being Code Blue takes place in ER and most (if not all) are traffic accident patients while MTT has a variety of patients if my memories does not fail me). One area that is lacking is that the romance aspect of the series does not seem to be fully developed and I would have liked for more of the romance aspect. Conflict in the series was a little confusing and I felt character development still had room for improvement.
Thirdly, regarding the cast, I believe that the cast is fine except for the female lead (no offence but I feel that she should be changed). However, compared to other dramas which were airing at the same time, the cast pales in comparison and the drama therefore loses competitive edge.
All in all, I find it a decent medical drama. However, I will not rewatch it.

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