The medical espionage thriller "Doctor Stranger" dipped in the ratings this week but still managed to stay on top.
The drama, which stars Lee Jong Suk, Jin Se Yeon, Kang So Ra and Park Hae Jin, 10.1 percent of the viewers, a 1.5 percent decrease from the previous ratings of 11.6.
The drama features some fine acting by its cast but the storyline has hampered by the improbable and ultimately unsatisfying competition between the two doctors for the right to operate on South Korea's president. While it was always hard to believe a hospital would pit doctors against each other in a way that risked patients' lives, that improbability might have been easier to overlook if it hadn't lasted so many episodes.
This week, at long last, the genius surgeon Park Hoon, played by Lee Jong Suk, gets to operate on the president and the competition comes to a much-appreciated end.
But there is still the competition for Lee Jong Suk's affections to be resolved. He has long loved the character played by Jin Se Yeon, but she is prepared to sacrifice herself for him and tells Kang So Ra's character to wait and not be discouraged by his rejection.
And then there is the competition for which character had the worst childhood, Lee Jong Suk's character or Park Hae Jin's. They might actually be good friends if only Park Hae Jin should stop basing all his future plans on revenging an old grudge. The character has let his past ruin his present.
The drama's drop in ratings places it closer to "Triangle," a drama about three brothers who are separated in childhood and whose adult lives intersect in interesting ways.
Now that two of the brothers have reunited and a third will learn how they are related, the brothers may soon align to defeat the villains that killed their father.
Viewers were slow to warm up to this drama but this week it rose 1.5 percent, raising the ratings from 7.4 to 8.9 percent.
"Trot Lovers," starring Jung Eun Ji, Ji Hyun Woo and Shin Sung Rok, is not far behind "Triangle.' A light frothy comedy modeled on "A Star Is Born," it tells the story of a young trot singer, who gets at-first-reluctant help establishing her career from a musical icon who is down on his luck. Shin Sung Rok plays the oddball entertainment agency CEO who complicates their relationship and believes in Jung Eun Ji's character's talent.
"Trot Lovers" rated 6.1 percent of the viewer ratings on both nights.
