Binge-Worthy TV Series: Turkish Drama: Filinta Mustafa (2014-2016)

“Filinta Mustafa” is a Turkish mystery and historical period drama series, set in 19th century Istanbul, the Ottoman Empire. There are 66 episodes and they aired from 2014 to 2016. Netflix was instrumental in bringing this TV show to an American audience.

A Clear Line Drawn Between Good and Evil

This series draws a clear line between good and evil and makes it plain for you to see.

• The good guys are really good. Noble and kindhearted. Fiercely dedicated to the pursuit of justice.

• The bad guys and ladies (there is no discrimination or gender inequality) are extremely bad.

Imagine that this fictional series paints a “true picture” of Sultan Abdülhamid’s era (the Ottoman Empire). If so, then to be a law enforcement officer in 19th century Istanbul, you never get any rest! Not only do you have to deal with the local thugs and scumbags, but you have to wrestle with the foreign criminals from around the world that bring their crime to your city. The English, the French, the Russians, the Americans, the Germans, the Catholics! Oh my!

These people scheme and connive to do everything from murder and robbery to starting wars! Also, we have to throw in corruption among the government officials within the Ottoman Empire. Did I mention the part about young children being kidnapped by a secret organization and trained to become ruthless killers? It’s a good thing Filinta Mustafa has a loyal partner, Blade Ali, who works with him to help fight crime and corruption.

The Shakespearean Lens

The best way to describe this TV series is to compare it to a Shakespeare tragedy. A tragedy written by William Shakespeare can’t be tragic if there aren’t dead bodies lying all over the place! Well! There was one episode where there are so many dead bodies and the crimes which occurred in such a short period of time, the police detective said: “Oy! It’s raining corpses today in Istanbul!”

Yeah. It was that many dead people! More than in a Shakespeare tragedy. You just have to ask: Do evil people ever stop thinking and take a break? Do they ever stop being cruel and ruthless, and just smell the roses? 

Filinta Mustafa is Eye Candy for the Ladies

“Filinta” or “Filinta Mustafa”, is the “first Ottoman crime show of television history”. The main character, Mustafa has been styled as “the Turkish Sherlock”. If you are a loyal fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s master detective Sherlock Holmes, you will probably become a fan of his Turkish look-alike.

If I’m being honest, the ladies would love watching this show, whether or not it was interesting. Why? Because they won’t be able to take their eyes off the main character. Filinta Mustafa (played by Onur Tuna) is strikingly handsome. Pure eye candy! Brings a new meaning to “Turkish delight”. Your eyes get glued to him. You follow him everywhere. You see no reason for them to take the camera off of him. If he’s not in the scene, the ladies are thinking: “Hurry up! Get the camera back on Mustafa!”

Summary Review

This is a made for TV crime-solving series that is genuinely delightful entertainment. In each episode, you look forward to the bad guy getting his comeuppance!! There are many bad guys but the main one who is a constant thorn in Mustafa’s side is “Boris Zaharyas”. This guy put the letter “C” in the words criminal, conniving, callous, and cruel! He has got to be brought down! Serhat Tutumluer plays this part and he plays it to the “T”!!

Take your time watching this series. You will want to savor the moment and patiently wait for when Mustafa finally brings down the curtain on Boris!!

My summary review of this series? Never a dull moment.

Source:  RationalMind.club

Korean Drama Series Review: Miraculous Brothers (2023)

In "Miraculous Brothers", the two main characters ~ Yook Dong-Joo and Lee Kang San ~ meet each other by accident. But perhaps the accident that brought them together was actually a miracle. This Korean drama series was released in 2023 and has 16 episodes.

Some people are chasing after a young man and he is running for his life. The night is dark, it's raining, and just as lightning strikes he runs into the street and gets hit by a car. The driver of the car takes him to a hospital where he is pronounced dead. While in the hospital's Emergency Room, the driver hears someone calling “Brother! Brother!” Not sure where the voice is coming from, he approaches the bed where the young man is lying dead from his injuries. When he leans in closely, without realizing it, his breath goes into the young man's nostrils and his eyes open. HE'S ALIVE!! It's a MIRACLE!

Lee Kang San is alive but he is suffering from amnesia and doesn't even know who is. Except he does remember having a backpack, although he can't remember what was inside the backpack. Yook Dong-Joo is keeping something a secret and kind of hopes Kang San won't remember. If Kang San regains his memory, Dong-Joo will want to be there so he can explain his actions and beg for forgiveness. Since Yook Dong-Joo was the driver, he accepts responsibility by allowing Kang San to come and live with him.

Lee Kang San has no memory but discovers that he has superpowers. He hears voices, can feel the pain of others, and can disappear and reappear. Dong-Joo advises him to keep his special abilities a secret.

At first, Dong-Joo is worried that Kang San would find out he stole the manuscript that was in his backpack. But he becomes even more anxious because:.

• An anonymous phone caller tells him that the manuscript should have never been published. He realizes someone else must know he stole the manuscript. If they know, then what are they after? Is he in danger?

• A police detective tells him that the murders written about in the manuscript are actually happening. Not only that but the present-day murders are linked to a 27-year-old murder case.

Dong-Joo begins to do research on his own about the murders and makes a shocking discovery. It appears that Lee Kang San is a TIME TRAVELER!

Things just keep getting more and more complicated. 

Main Characters:

• Yook Dong-Ju (played by Jung Woo)

• Lee Kang San (played by Bae Hyun-Sung)

"Miraculous Brothers" is streaming on Viki and Netflix. 

K-Drama Review: L.U.C.A.: The Beginning (2021) | Make the World Better By Making Better Humans

L.U.C.A.: The Beginning is a Korean drama about a mad scientist who thinks he's good enough to be like God. In fact, he's convinced himself that he can make better humans than God.

This series is 12 episodes, released in 2021, currently streaming on Viki. As for the genre? It has elements of crime and mystery and elements of science that might have the viewer wondering if it's science fact or science fiction.

• According to current science, the Last Universal Common Ancestor, L.U.C.A. Is the ancestor of all living things, and is estimated to have lived some four billion years ago, when Earth was a mere 560 million years old.

First, a woman supplied her ovum and a man supplied his sperm. You don't need to be a scientific genius to know that is the beginning of human life. But! Suppose after you joined the ovum and the sperm, you combined human DNA with DNA from jellyfish, fruit flies, electric eels, and other animals. Now! Is the baby a human? A monster? A half-human, half-monster?  

Ryu Joong-kwon (played by Ahn Nae-sang) is a scientist who thinks that ethics hinder the research and advancement of science. He found people who were willing to fund his unrestricted research, so he was able to perform numerous kinds of scientific experiments. Only one of his experiments was successful. He genetically engineered an artificially enhanced child who was named Ji Oh. 

• L.U.C.A. stands for Last Universal Common Ancestor. Ji Oh (played by Kim Rae Won) is L.U.C.A.  This is his beginning.

Books for Children: The Chronicles of the Stone by Fiona Ingram

In ancient Egypt, a scarab was a gem cut in the form of a scarab beetle, often engraved with hieroglyphs on the flat underside. Their popular use was as amulets and impression seals. In “The Chronicles of the Stone: The Secret of the Sacred Scarab” (Book 1), author Fiona Ingram brings to life a 5000-year-old mystery and introduces us to Adam and Justin Sinclair. 

These tales written for children were inspired by the author's own family trip to Egypt. If you enjoyed reading Roman Mysteries by Caroline Lawrence, you'll probably like this series as well.  Like Ms. Lawrence, Ms. Ingram's books have also won awards.

Visit the author's Amazon page for her books and blog.