This is a Korean remake of a Japanese series from 2008 and it's followed by two other installments, all on my list to watch.
It consists of 9 episodes with the last one being about the referees only, so we have two separate stories with 4 episodes each.
The premise is bizarre - to say the least. We have people who are given the additional amount of time just before they die. I really don't want to spoil the fun (however this sounds) but the moment of the football* Referees' appearance is one of those moments you just stare at your screen and take everything without asking useless questions.
Each story is about one person - in the first we have Seunghee, a failed trainee in an entertainment company who was never given the chance to appear on the stage. And then, due to the scandal caused by the girl who got promoted over her, she is invited as her replacement during the upcoming live concert. In three days. So of course she's elated. And while walking, being too elated, she falls into the manhole.
Then the time stops and our four Referees appear. Seunghee manages to guess she's dead and she was chosen, due to her life, to be given some additional time - 48 hours. With the concert looming in 3 days, she pleads and begs to get the time extended and yes, she got it.
Her only dream was to debut and have her Grandpa to witness it. But her Grandpa cut contact with her saying that she'll strip on the stage and sell herself. So for Seunghee it's not only a race to learn the song, the choreo but also a race to convince her Grandpa to come to the concert and witness her debut on stage.
The story was less painful cause Baro is cute. He played a borderline jerk (an idol who drinks around and sleeps around) but damn, he's cute.
And the second story is about Kim Hyesuk - a housewife who gets into the accident trying to rush into the store to buy 50%-discounted beef. She is given 12 hours of an additional time, so she finally lets go of her everyday worries. She's a very meticulous and frugal person, her kids are spoiled idiots who don't understand the money doesn't grow on trees and her husband is clueless about the grocery prices. So to repair a home budget, she also makes cotillions. That's why an ad for 50% discount on beef was so tempting that she drove on her bike like mad.
And she didn't see the stairs.
In the remaining 12 hours she was given by the Referees, she bought an expensive beef for her family but turned out, none of them could make it home early to eat with her. So she went out to meet with her school friends - and got into a wonderful fight with the ladies which landed them at the police station. Thankfully, her family appeared and turns out they ditched their duties to be with her, tempted by the dinner, no doubt.
There was one sad moment when Hyesuk realized how sad and empty her life was, how down the drain her future as the prettiest girl in school went.
There's one person (except for Referees and commentators) who appears in both episodes - it's Jeong Myeong-ok - an older lady who collects thrown paper and swears worse than a drunken sailor. She is a very, very unique person and appears also in the last episode about the Referees, trying to peek into the container.
I liked the fact the Referees don't utter a word when working. And they follow the designated person everywhere. The last episode showed us glimpses of their life and they speak, but never as the Referees - even when in the karaoke room - the sing without a sound. I liked the fact their base is inside the shipping container - which is actually a gateway to another dimension that looks like a football field. I also like the commentators, adding their input from time to time. Especially with Hyesuk's crafty fighting move.
It is a nice concept - to be given time to sort out all things before everything's ends.
Cast (for B1A4 fans^^):
* I mean the real football, not the American melonball.
