knoxus-30826

All great television melodramas start with a dutiful, innocent, beautiful woman being betrayed by those closest to her due to greed, jealousy, or both. This story is no different. Olga is a sweet soul who happens to be born into a horrible family. She studies diligently in the capital but makes time to see her mother and grandmother, whom she adores. This is how she meets the hero of our story. The "hero" of the story is Dmitri, an up-and-coming businessman who is perfectly comfortable marrying into wealth and networking in brothels. He also doesn't require faithfulness from his life partners; marriage is just another business deal. Olya's beauty immediately ensnares Dima, and he becomes her knight in shining armor once he learns of his role in the night, which changes her life. This miniseries may not be Hallmark, but it reads like an old Mills & Boon story! Yay for the happy ending.

This is my favorite type of guilty pleasure watching, especially for a lazy weekend. Olya makes the best of a horrible situation and remains committed to her education and career. I was shocked at the prison scene but felt like it added to the "authenticity" of the woman in danger scenario. Watching Dima change from a jaded businessman into a proud teddy bear-buying Papa had me tearing up. I wish the old lovers had reunited, and I wasn't pleased with the redemption of her parents but understood it's how these things go. I would have given this show ten stars if something awful happened to the mayor's jerky son, but I will have to settle for him disappearing. I recommend this show to anyone looking for a great Russian/Ukrainian melodrama starter.

First things first...Anton Batyrev is so ruggedly handsome and suave! He brings so much swag to his role as Vadim that I had a permanent smile during his scenes. Right off the bat, we understand that he's a devoted doctor but shallow in the love stakes department. On the other hand, Genie, played by a very talented Anastasiya Evgrafova, is all in with her fiancé Oleg. She manages to be hardworking and devoted to her superstar boyfriend-almost mother-like. Even though I knew from the plot summary that Genie would be Leo's mother, I still tensed in every scene as her parentage was revealed. After all, how can a woman not know she's a mother? Seeing her bring her PR talents to bear to find a solution to her son's illness was a joy to behold. The instant chemistry in the first scene with Anton is breathtaking and doesn't let up throughout the series. The weakest link for me in the series was Oleg's eventual exit from the show once he'd seemingly served his purpose. That said, the series is definitely on my re-watch list.

I recently started binging on these addictive miniseries by Star Media, and Tonkaya Rabota (Softly Softly) is a decent addition to the fold. Overall, the story focuses on Lina's struggles to earn money after her wastrel spouse leaves her debt-ridden. Lina first meets Igor, who is raging at his son in the schoolyard; honestly, he only improves a little throughout the story. The writer attempts to humanize him through his talks with Lina, but we never see much chemistry between the pair other than a few awkward looks. Also, Igor is in a serious relationship with another character for 98% of the series, so his limited flirting with Lina comes off as slimy. The writer also wastes Alona's character. There was so little invested in her that Valery should have been an only child. I would have rated this higher if Lina and Igor had been able to spend some quality time together in episode 3 instead of the worthless Valery story arc.