Drama Preview 'Missing 9'

Sunday, January 15, 2017

“How about we take a few pampered celebrities with big egos and put them in the same group”, thought the production of “Missing 9”. “Now how about we throw them and regular folks into one of the toughest survival environments”, they continued. Well, what we get is hopefully an original story full of raw humanity and suspense.

Premise

The only witness of a terrible incident describes her story. She and eight other people from the same entertainment agency went through a plane crash and became stranded on an island. The witness and one mysterious corpse are all that is left to help untangle the mystery of everyone’s fate.

The Worrying

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Tough to Film

While it does not look like the entire story takes place on the island, creating drama out of only nine characters in a mostly barren environment requires some great writing. Having a human drama along with a mystery to juggle and adding to that grueling filming for the cast and crew sounds like a recipe for disaster.

Treacherous Territory

Dramaland is no stranger to stories of troubled groups. The basic premise of this may remind some of “White Christmas”, which unfortunately ended with its plot in shambles after a promising start. Korean drama is not great with complex writing and character development, so a series which seems made for those is always a gamble.

The Reassuring

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Dramatic Potential

If threat of death is not a big enough motivator for people to have conflicts and drama, I do not know what would be. We all know how silly dramas look when the leads’ biggest problem is some contrived and easily avoidable situation. I do hope “Missing 9” will be more than soapy shouting and weeping, but at least it has a good excuse for those.

Good Mix of Characters

We may have some basic character descriptions to read, but stressful situations tend to bring out a lot of good and bad to the surface. The drama features a diverse cast and the promise of dynamic character development. They could even go as far as making this the focus, but it can elevate everything if done well either way.

Final Thoughts

I hope audiences can let go of their “Lost” expectations for a drama not yet released. “Lost” did not invent the story of being stranded or the concept of group tension and this series already has a lot to prove as a fresh concept for the industry. I hope it finds its own identity and becomes, at the very least, an entertaining ride.

“Missing 9” begins its run on January 18th and will air every Wednesday and Thursday at 22:00, on MBC. It is directed by Choi Byeong-gil, written by Son Hwang-won and Jeong Kyeong-ho, Baek Jin-hee, Oh Jeong-se and Choi Tae-joon.

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