Spot Reviews 02/27/26
Feb 27 2026
The Great Doctor #1.1 to #1.10 (2012) [-] Korean drama-romance. Modern day plastic surgeon Yoo Eun-soo (Kim Hee-sun) is abducted by Captain Choi Young (Lee Min-ho) and ends up in Goryo-era Korea (which is the dynasty before Joseon). The weak Goruo king is being oppressed by a much stronger vassal and uses "Heavenly Doctor" Yoo Eun-soo to prop up his legitimacy but she quickly finds herself being manipulated by everyone and is mostly a whiny foil who occasionally gets agency when medicine is involved (though they do limit her knowledge as she doesn't know ancient herbs or physician methods). This is a fairly low-budget production -- kind of soap opera-ish. I found it a bit grating and after ten episodes (of 24) decided I should concentrate on finishing another Korean series instead. In 10 episodes we only get a hint that Choi Young is developing feelings for Eun-soo and maybe vice versa so the romance is slow paced or perhaps a minor component.
finity. (2023) [/] A neat Apple Arcade puzzle game. 4x4 grid where you are trying to do match 3 by scrolling a line sideways or up and down (it's a loop so if a square goes off one side it appears on the other side). The complication is that every square has a number that counts down after each move. If the square hits 0 it freezes in certain ways, like that square can only be scrolled sideways OR up and down, or even can't be scrolled at all. So you have to plan ahead to get rid of squares with low numbers. Nice graphics and polish, designed for iPhone screens.
Kingdoms: Merge & Build (2023) [-] Apple Arcade game. Game play is that there is a grid with stuff. Match two items (they don't have to be next to each other) to merge them into the next item in the chain. Continue until you get the items needed for the level. There's the usual match 3 sort of obstacles and I suppose power-ups. I've seen this game mechanic in another game and didn't like it there either.
Bush's Best Rustic Tuscany Chickpeas [/] "in a tomato and olive oil sauce". Actually because of the sauce it tastes quite alright even though I'm not a fan of whole chickpeas (quite ok with hummus though).
finity. (2023) [/] A neat Apple Arcade puzzle game. 4x4 grid where you are trying to do match 3 by scrolling a line sideways or up and down (it's a loop so if a square goes off one side it appears on the other side). The complication is that every square has a number that counts down after each move. If the square hits 0 it freezes in certain ways, like that square can only be scrolled sideways OR up and down, or even can't be scrolled at all. So you have to plan ahead to get rid of squares with low numbers. Nice graphics and polish, designed for iPhone screens.
Kingdoms: Merge & Build (2023) [-] Apple Arcade game. Game play is that there is a grid with stuff. Match two items (they don't have to be next to each other) to merge them into the next item in the chain. Continue until you get the items needed for the level. There's the usual match 3 sort of obstacles and I suppose power-ups. I've seen this game mechanic in another game and didn't like it there either.
Bush's Best Rustic Tuscany Chickpeas [/] "in a tomato and olive oil sauce". Actually because of the sauce it tastes quite alright even though I'm not a fan of whole chickpeas (quite ok with hummus though).