“Signal” is an exciting crime drama with a time travel element. It is one of the highly recommended Korean dramas released in 2016.
The story revolves around police lieutenant Hae-Young, played by Lee Je-Hoon, who is trying to solve a crime that was committed when he was a young boy, with the help of a detective from that time period.
The story begins in the year 2000 when Hae-Young was just a young boy. His classmate was kidnapped and later found dead. He witnessed the kidnapper, but the police didn’t pay attention to him, and the crime remained unsolved to this day.
In the present day, while leaving the police station, Hae-Young hears someone talking to him. He looks around to find a walkie-talkie. The man on the walkie-talkie is detective Jae-Han, played by Cho Jin-Woong. Detective Jae-Han is from the year 2000 and is investigating the disappearance of Hae-Young’s elementary school classmate. Hae-Young and Detective Jae-Han team up to not only solve crimes but also prevent them from taking place.
The Review
I have to admit, the drama is very similar to the movie released in 2000 called “Frequency,” starring Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel. “Frequency” is about a father and son who can communicate with each other through the radio from different time periods, trying to solve a past crime using clues from the future. The father is from the past, and the son is from the future. There is also a new 2016 TV show by CW with the same name and a similar premise. In this show, it is between the father and the daughter. Lastly, there is a new show by Netflix called “Stranger Things.” It is a very entertaining show that also involves a missing child and radio transmission.
I am sure the writer of “Signal,” Kim Eun-Hee, was inspired by these movies and shows. In “Signal,” the premise is very similar, but instead of a radio, they communicate with a walkie-talkie, and they are not blood-related. Instead, in “Signal,” two detectives from different time periods communicate with each other to solve the crime. Even though they are not related, there is a bit of a father-and-son type of relationship. But as far as comparing “Frequency” and “Signal,” “Signal” is a far superior show. “Signal” has better character development and a more complicated storyline with plot twists.
When I watched the drama, I didn’t know anything about it. Upon watching the first episode, I was a bit disappointed. It appeared to be another typical and boring romantic drama. But, boy, I was wrong. It is far from a typical romantic drama. The first episode is basically a flashback of the main character when he was just a young boy. It sets the stage nicely for why the main character joined the police force and decided to fight crime. As the episodes progress, you’ll see the plot gets more complicated, and nothing is as it seems.
I like the fact that the drama is very fast-paced. In the first episode, the drama already reveals who the murderer is and where they are. But the drama is still very mysterious and full of suspense, even though you already know who the murderer is. Every one of the 16 episodes (except for maybe one or two) is interesting, enjoyable, and keeps you on your toes the whole time.
One thing you should know about the crime law in Korea is that there is a statute of limitations. After a certain time passes, the murderer cannot be charged for the crime. So knowing this, the main characters are racing against time to bring these criminals to justice, and the criminals are counting down the days so that they won’t be charged for the crime. This adds another layer of suspense to the plot, which makes it very exciting.
Because it involves the concept of time travel, the character development gets very complicated and interesting. Except for detective Jae-Han from the past, most of the characters have a present-self and a past-self. These two different selves from different time periods can be similar or completely different. For example, the main character Hae-Young’s past-self is a young boy, and he was completely different from his adult self. It is very interesting to see how each character changes from when they are young to the present day.
As the story progresses and the plot gets complicated, the villains become very important to the storyline. But I won’t get into it too much since I really don’t want to give away anything. You have to watch for yourself.
In the nutshell, this is one of highly recommended drama from 2016.