2009/SBS Once again my preference to SBS is confirmed with Shining Inheritance. Having a few of the more recent SBS drama's (among others) it was a welcome surprise to see so many familiar faces. No doubt this will continue the more different drama's I watch. I just couldn't help but notice how Shining Inheritance shares much of its (supporting) cast with 49 Days and City Hunter, two of my favorite drama's so far. After seeing only a few episodes, I could understand why it had received such high ratings on the first airing. I was even more happily surprised that my fear for it being too long (28 episodes) was being proved wrong along the way. Every time I anticipated the plot to slow down or become repetitive, a new trick was unveiled that kept me interested. The story line and the tools used in order to maintain that high interest are what really set this drama apart from others. While contemporaries such as Secret Garden may excel in their production value, City Hunter in their soundtrack and both of them in acting, it is the script that distinguishes Shining Inheritance. Very loosely based on Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, the brilliant twists in this drama perform very well to hide the few shortcomings that always pop up in (Korean) drama's such as excessive melodrama, unrealistically close encounters and predictable plot devices. I'm looking forward to a drama that could match or beat Shining Inheritance story line-wise, though. Know any? Let me know! It should also be noted that the producers of this drama do such a good job at cliffhanger episode endings that it's almost cruel at times. The acting in this drama is well above the acceptable standard, with the large supporting performing even better than the main cast. Each are given their adequate screen time (except perhaps for store manager Lee Joon Young, played by Baek Seung-Hyun) and many familiar faces from aforementioned dramas's make a great appearance, particularly 49 Days' Bae Soo-Bin (as Jun-Se) and from City Hunter as well as 49 Days, Choi Jeong-Woo (as Jun-Se's father Park Tae-Su). Familiar faces such as Kim Mi-Suk (as the evil stepmother) also prove the older actors are regularly outshining the younger main cast. Han Hyo-Joo as the female lead Eun-Seong delivers her breakthrough performance, which I personally found more impressive than male lead Lee Seung-Ki's acting. He does well in his following drama My Girlfriend is a Gumiho in 2010 though. There's very little to complain about with this great cast, although I found the characters Woo-Jeong (Hwan's sister) and Yeong-Ran (Hwan's mother) a little extreme, though that's probably not the actresses' fault. I wish to see Min Yeong-Won (as Hye-Ri) in a bigger role some time though. She's too good of an actress just to play in supporting roles. Similar to when I reviewed Formidable Rivals/Powerful Opponents earlier, this is also a drama that doesn't really stand out for its soundtrack or production value. Though don't take this as if it's really missing anything, it's just not memorable. In short, it's really the story line and the supporting cast that make this drama quite exceptional. Don't be scared of its 28 hour length, it is used really well. Watch this drama if you can spare the time! 8/10 http://www.reddit.com/r/KDRAMA/comments/m3xya/shining_inheritancebrilliant_legacy???_??_2009sbs/