SIGNAL (Sigeuneol) (2016) was such an interesting premise. I really enjoyed this crime series. I'm not sure how to best describe it though. It was such a unique experience. While it was a investigative crime drama series there were also definite amounts of science fiction or possibly even paranormal elements which makes it a very unusual watch for me. I really enjoyed that aspect however, especially blended with criminal investigation aspects. Although a strange mix of genres, it really worked here.
I loved Lee Jehoon (as Park Hae-Young). At first I really didn't think I would like him but he ended up being phenomenal in this. He is far from being a stereotypical lead character. I love the emotional connection he gets with cases. Given his background it really endears viewers to him. I love Kim Hye-su (as Detective Cha Soon-hyeon) and Cho Jin-woong (as Detective Lee Jae-han). They are both great actors and their characters are really cool and likable.
I also really enjoyed the two timelines. I think they did a great job portraying two different eras and overlapping story and cases. The concept is fascinating. Visually and aesthetically it was appealing and very original series. The acting was great, the story was great, the music was great, I loved the three main characters. Everything was really well done.
The main reason I hesitate giving this 10 stars is for a few small reasons. Mainly because of the way it ended. Without giving away any spoilers I will only say the ending felt very open-ended, and hopefully it is open-ended intentionally for the purpose of sequel seasons. Until then, I hesitate in rating it too highly because it felt incomplete and needed so much more. Secondly, while I loved the three main characters so much, many of the other side characters felt a bit flat to me. I felt there could have been more depth and character building. Otherwise this show was so unique and worthwhile.
While Signal is very intriguing and full of heart, it also has a very dark and dreary feeling, with a lot of very sad themes (i.e. Murder, corruption, suicide, rape, etc.) and not a lot of happy moments to balance it. The overall mood of the show is very heavy. A lot of the story revolves around some very depressing, tragic themes and is quite hard to handle at times. Even still, this is one of my all time favorites.
[EDIT: There are rumors there will be a season 2!]
STORY: 10/10
CINEMATOGRAPHY: 10/10
ART/DESIGN/VISUALS: 10/10
MUSIC: 10/10
OVERALL RATING: 9/10.
