An Underrated Dennis Quaid Sci-Fi Movie Influenced One Of The Most Beloved K-Dramas Ever

Overseas studios constantly look to Hollywood for inspiration in making their own movies and television shows, and South Korean K-dramas are no exception. Among the more surprising K-drama remakes is the 2016 fantasy crime procedural "Signal," which is a loose adaptation of the 2000 American movie "Frequency." And while the Korean version maintains the broader narrative premise, it definitely moves in its own unique direction. A popular show worldwide, "Signal" is currently available to stream on Netflix, Paramount+, Apple TV Channel, and The Roku Channel.

"Frequency" is a sci-fi thriller that centered on John Sullivan (Jim Caviezel), a detective who is able to communicate with his father Frank (Dennis Quaid) in the past through a radio. Through their time-bending conversations, the two men not only prevent Frank's premature death, but they also take down a serial killer menacing their family. "Signal" retains the concept of a radio linking two men separated by decades facing the same mystery. But where "Signal" goes with this story will surprise even viewers that are intimately familiar with the movie "Frequency."

Coincidentally, these changes align "Signal" closer to the American television remake of "Frequency," which also premiered in 2016 and only lasted for a single season on The CW.

Whereas Frank is a firefighter in the "Frequency" movie, the father character is a police detective in both the American television adaptation and "Signal." This change helps facilitate shows running for a dozen episodes, as compared to a movie that ran for less than two hours. Though both the "Frequency" film and U.S. TV show feature ham radios, the main characters in "Signal" communicate through temporally linked walkie-talkies, which creates a greater sense of portability (as opposed to being confined to a desk-installed radio).

However, the biggest changes are how all three versions of the story handle the butterfly effects caused by the two characters altering history through their conversations. What "Signal" does is expand the dynamic to include a third character in the form of Cha Soo-hyun (Kim Hye-soo), a veteran detective in the series' present who was mentored by the detective from the past, Lee Jae-han (Cho Jin-woong). In working with Jae-han through their radios, the young present day detective Park Hae-young (Lee Je-hoon) not only changes and improves his personal life and upbringing but also Soo-hyun's. And with a second season of "Signal" coming, after a prolonged hiatus, these alterations are set to continue when the show returns.

"Signal" uses "Frequency" as a conceptual springboard to develop its own time-bending tale within the realm of crime thrillers. And while the idea of an obscure 2000 sci-fi movie getting adapted into a K-drama may raise eyebrows, it's not as strange as a K-drama version of HBO's "Entourage."