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NowonSA
Jul 19, 2013

I am the sexiest poster in the world!
I've been really digging Hyori's bed and breakfast as well. It still blows my mind that they had IU, who's basically at a star level in Korea on par with Taylor Swift in America (as far as I know, someone who knows Korea better than I do feel free to correct me), come in and hang out for the better part of two weeks.

It also makes me a bit sad that the show for sure peaked in season one because no one's going to be able to top how cute IU was. Now I want both her and Hyori to do variety stuff more since that's the main thing I watch and I want to see them do it, despite how they feel it really isn't in their comfort zone.

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EvilElmo
May 10, 2009

Koramei posted:

Jesus Christ, I started on Six Flying Dragons and in episode 4 there's a loving extremely heavily implied child rape scene?? That caught me completely off guard, I'd be shocked by that in a Korean movie let alone in a prime time drama on one of South Korea's biggest TV networks.

Anyway that aside it's been alright. I feel like the pacing is a bit odd; I've had some trouble getting attached to the characters (ironically the two from that scene were probably the ones I cared about the most) but I guess that's the norm for the starts of all the giant dramas with like seventy different characters they have to introduce.

50 eps is too many for me to get in to.

NowonSA posted:

I've been really digging Hyori's bed and breakfast as well. It still blows my mind that they had IU, who's basically at a star level in Korea on par with Taylor Swift in America (as far as I know, someone who knows Korea better than I do feel free to correct me), come in and hang out for the better part of two weeks.

It also makes me a bit sad that the show for sure peaked in season one because no one's going to be able to top how cute IU was. Now I want both her and Hyori to do variety stuff more since that's the main thing I watch and I want to see them do it, despite how they feel it really isn't in their comfort zone.

Yeah, I was really in to season 1, season 2 has been okay, not bad just not as good. Been watching 'I can see your voice', is an amusing singing show. Looking forward to the new Produce season.

EvilElmo fucked around with this message at 04:30 on Apr 24, 2018

qbert
Oct 23, 2003

It's both thrilling and terrifying.

NowonSA posted:

I've been really digging Hyori's bed and breakfast as well. It still blows my mind that they had IU, who's basically at a star level in Korea on par with Taylor Swift in America (as far as I know, someone who knows Korea better than I do feel free to correct me), come in and hang out for the better part of two weeks.

It also makes me a bit sad that the show for sure peaked in season one because no one's going to be able to top how cute IU was. Now I want both her and Hyori to do variety stuff more since that's the main thing I watch and I want to see them do it, despite how they feel it really isn't in their comfort zone.

I mean if we're taking into account other Asian countries, Yoona is also a giant star, probably more popular than IU despite SNSD's waning relevance. I agree she's not as fun to watch as IU simply because she's like hyper-competent and basically takes care of everything in the house without issue, but I think this season's guests have still been good (the male-to-female ratio seems like 8:1 though for some reason) and the winter season definitely added some cool difficulties for everyone to deal with.

Still happy to keep watching, and it seems like the Spring eps are gonna feature more of Hyori and Yoona doing some crazy poo poo, which is neat.

Tendai
Mar 16, 2007

"When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber."

Grimey Drawer

qbert posted:

Infinite Challenge is ending March 31. All current members + PD are leaving. They might do a Season 2 but it'd be an entirely new cast + PD.

It's probably best for everyone to call an end while the show's still popular and the members don't get too old. On the other hand, I still enjoy watching it and I hope this won't prompt YJS to retire entirely from the business, like he sometimes joked he'd do when IC ended.

This is a bummer, it's my favorite variety show. They've done fun, weird projects and adapted pretty well to multiple members leaving suddenly.

I wish I'd remembered this thread when I was watching Mixnine because I had strong feelings.

THF13
Sep 26, 2007

Keep an adversary in the dark about what you're capable of, and he has to assume the worst.
When I recommended Six Flying Dragons I did compare it to Game of Thrones.... Though if I am remembering correctly that was the only instance of sexual violence I can remember.

I'm watching and liking two more currently airing shows that are tonally dark. My Ahjussi/My Mister actually stars IU and she is killing it. Going to give Hyori's Bed and Breakfast a shot based on that and this thread.
Live with Running Man's Lee Kwang-Soo is firing on all cylinders, but again a lot of the subject matter is quite depressing. I think the last episode had the show's fourth underage victim of sexual assault.

Despite both shows depressing content I am expecting both to end pretty positively, they aren't just tossing tragedies at their characters for the sake of drama.

Koramei
Nov 11, 2011

I have three regrets
The first is to be born in Joseon.
Anyone watched Something in the Rain? I'm only a few episodes into it but I've been blown away by it so far, it's like a culmination* of some of the more naturalistic trends in more recent kdramas. The cinematography, audio, and dialogue are all incredibly...mundane and genuine, intentionally. It's the total opposite of kdrama cliché overreacting and reliance on coincidence; the actors talk over each other just a touch, make subtle gestures and expressions that you could easily miss but hint a lot, the shots are done to let your eyes move how you like rather than them trying to force you into something, and at least so far there haven't really been any contrivances--the story's all been flowing naturally. This sort of stuff is one of the things that made Age of Youth my favorite kdrama, but this time there's none of the "I KILLED A MAN ...BUT NOT REALLY" canned-suspense type stuff to detract from it. I guess I'm guffawing over the kind of thing we've had plenty of in the West for a while with stuff like Ladybird, but I feel like kdramas have some really strong elements beyond that which Western TV doesn't normally fill, so seeing them move away from the melodramatics is really nice. I've seen this trend in a bunch of kdramas lately but this is the best yet.

*well, I guess I should watch more before I make that assertion, but so far.

eating only apples
Dec 12, 2009

Shall we dance?
Busted! on Netflix is amazing and I want to watch anything that Ahn Jae Wook is in, he is the best

westborn
Feb 25, 2010

eating only apples posted:

Busted! on Netflix is amazing

Counter-argument: Busted! sucks. A lot. At least the 4 episodes I wasted my time on, hoping for it to get better.

I've seen the notion a lot that it gets better, but that was already said about episodes 2 and 4, and while 4 sucked the least, it was still far from good. I've made some notes a while ago after the first 3, so I'll just post those now:

Finally a recent "variety" show where I wasn't turned off from some (main) casting choises from the begining. Too bad it's really not good at all.
I'm putting variety in quotes because while it clearly looks like a variety show from a distance, it wants to be so many things at once it just ends up a badly written low budget crime show acted out in the style of an action variety show (and ho boy, do they still want the staples in there for that. They even found a way to get their detectives fishing by episode 3), accompanied by some riddles the cast might or might not actually be solving - they get solved either way, as the plot must go on quite specifically. Apart from those the detectives do very little detecting - most of the investigative stuff gets "solved" by the cast doing unrelated tasks or the guests just spouting their lines.
Even though it's not competitive, the cast get split into (probably predetermined) teams (as the script clearly calls for a specific number of people to be at certain places at certain times) regularly, so there isn't much time for characters or pairings to be established naturally. In general very few things feel improvised or on the spot.

So, does it actually get better? Complete overhaul better?

With Dunia we get another new show in a "plot driven variety" style, adventure & survial themed. I wouldn't call it great yet but I enjoyed the first episode a lot more than Busted. One thing that helps it quite a bit to overcome the weird feel is that they really make it clear when the plot is acted out with an aspect ratio change and silly/over the top acting. The plot also seems very loose, with the viewers getting to make some decisions "Choose your own Adventure" style at the end of the episode.

THF13
Sep 26, 2007

Keep an adversary in the dark about what you're capable of, and he has to assume the worst.
I thought Busted improved significantly after episode 4, which I thought was the worst episode but the show as a whole still only ended up OK. Episode 6 was a lot of fun though, that episode has a rival detective team which lets the cast engage in Running Man-esque cheating and sabotage.
I'm planning to give Season 2 a shot because I feel like it was improving and could still continue to improve.

eating only apples
Dec 12, 2009

Shall we dance?
I'm prepared for someone to tell me that it's actually bad, but I've been watching Bad Guys (the 2014 series, not the spinoff yet) and I'm really into it. A good combination of violent and funny.

The acting is a little off here and there (mostly when anyone has to do a happy scene) but the soundtrack is great and the kid playing Lee Jung-Moon is particularly good at that particular character. I know that Ma Dong-Seok is well-known, he's in Train to Busan which I've been meaning to watch, and he's the best thing about the show (although Tae-Soo is my favourite character).

NowonSA
Jul 19, 2013

I am the sexiest poster in the world!
Spring episodes of Hyori's B&B have been super fun so far. The first guest is an American who barely knows any Korean and Hyori busts out way above-average English while Sang Soon basically speaks it perfectly without an accent since he studied abroad for quite awhile, while Yoona finally encounters something she isn't amazing at and has to kind of stumble around when talking with him, and she actually kind of just becomes shy in a way she hasn't really seemed before.

Aside from living vicariously through this guest, I really liked that in the latest episode he goes to a glass museum and basically gets herded into doing some glass blowing and making a vase that they then mail out after it cools, I just got really caught up imagining tourists being herded into stuff and only finding out after the fact that it costs money. Like nothing about that was explicitly in the episode, there was no talk about money or anything, but it just had a real unique vibe to it.

I still can't put S2 above S1 since that first season gave me an undying affection for IU when I had never heard of her before, on top of being just fun in general, but so far they're at least keeping S1 from running too far ahead, and I acknowledge that it's probably a superior season if you didn't become a big ol IU fan basically overnight like I did.

westborn
Feb 25, 2010
I'm guessing you're watching on Netflix? As far as I know they change some of the music there for copyright/licensing reasons - does Jackson still have a Michael Jackson song as his "theme song"? Quite a few guest have one, but that one actually got irritating fast.

NowonSA posted:

I still can't put S2 above S1 since that first season gave me an undying affection for IU when I had never heard of her before, on top of being just fun in general, but so far they're at least keeping S1 from running too far ahead, and I acknowledge that it's probably a superior season if you didn't become a big ol IU fan basically overnight like I did.

As somebody who loves both IU and Yoona, I'd also put S1 over S2. S1 started slow but otherwise I remember it as pretty consistently great, S2 started strong and ended alright with the spring episodes, but a few of the winter episodes felt "off", partially due to too much focus on Park Bogum and having too many guests at once you hardly got to know. Both IU and Yoona were entertaining in their own way and brought different things to the table, but there certainly were a few more laughs with IU and the bonding aspect was more interesting. S1 also had my favorite guest overall, Dami, the bright and charming deaf girl who just chimed so well with IU, too.

In any case, I'd welcome a season 3 (with IU and Yoona, please and thank you).

Edit: If you haven't already, you should look up SBS Heroes. It's a pretty good variety show with a freshly debuted IU as part of the main cast (two of the others become some of her future best friends). Her appearances on Running Man are also great; one leading to one of the most entertaining exchanges of blows during an eating segment. Her Weekly Idol episode is also very entertaining. Just... watch everything you've missed! It's kinda fascinating that you've been posting in this thread since 2015 and hadn't heard of her before.

eating only apples posted:

I'm prepared for someone to tell me that it's actually bad, but I've been watching Bad Guys (the 2014 series, not the spinoff yet) and I'm really into it. A good combination of violent and funny.

It's been a while since I've seen it, but I remember liking it quite a bit, too. It's interesting how often the random korean extra helping of cheese on top of something dark and edgy still works instead of taking you completely out of it. It also doesn't hurt that Ma Dong-Seok always oozes charisma.

westborn fucked around with this message at 00:12 on Jun 24, 2018

TV Zombie
Sep 6, 2011

Burying all the trauma from past nights
Burying my anger in the past

What are some other good Weekly Idol episodes to watch? I caught Mamamoo and loved those because those girls are just lovable crackheads and I liked a clip of Hyung Don trying to sort out NCT's naming schema but that's as far as I've watched.

NowonSA
Jul 19, 2013

I am the sexiest poster in the world!
I started watching the 2nd season of Hyori B&B online, then switched over to Netflix out of laziness. I hadn't noticed any musical differences, but I guess it's a weird situation where I'm used to seeing wild music you'd normally need to license in the U.S. on Korean shows (The Genius being the one that really sticks out in my head as doing it a ton), and I'm used to not seeing music used in that way in standard TV shows, so it just doesn't register for me in either viewing situation, if that makes any sense. Maybe Netflix just gets me into a "standard show watching" vibe.

I knew IU was in the main cast of a variety show earlier in her career, I guess I'm just saving that for when I need to cheer myself up or just get plain bored. I did check out her appearance on that show where people imitate popular singers alongside the singers themselves and she was super fun on that.

I've watched a ton of Running Man so I almost certainly saw episodes with IU on them, I just hadn't fallen for her yet and there have just been so, SO many guests on that show. I'm going back to find those episodes tonight though, and probably watch her appearance on Weekly Idol soon as well.

I watch a fair bit of Korean TV but I still have huge blindspots since I don't listen to that much Korean music, or music in general for that matter, so I tend to enjoy the main casts of the shows I watch and the guests only stand out if they are especially memorable.

With IU it was just a perfect storm of "Oh she's beautiful" followed by "Oh she has a super cute personality" and then capped at the end of the season with me hearing her sing for the first time.

Anyway, I feel like all I've done in this thread is praise IU and Hyori B&B so I'll try to save further posts for other cool shows I might stumble on, and check in for the occasional recommendation.

On that note I've been watching a lot of Men on a Mission on Netflix (Knowing Bros. in Korea) and I've actually liked it more than I expected it to. I will never, ever get tired of Sangmin getting picked on for his massive debt, like it's a mean thing to bring up but he just takes it in stride so well. I also like that I get to know the guests better through a guessing game they do with basically all of them.

Edit:

westborn posted:

(two of the others become some of her future best friends)

Out of curiosity, who does she become friends with long-term from SBS Heroes?

Oh, and I also liked Dami a lot as well. That's the main thing that makes me like IU more than Yoona, she seemed to get closer with the guests on a personal level. Yoona kind of got a bad break on that front with the guest swarm over the Winter though.

NowonSA fucked around with this message at 00:58 on Jun 25, 2018

Fight! For your kite!
Jul 29, 2008
If I recall, she became close friends with Ji-Yeon of T-ara and You In-Na. Granted, I haven't watched the series as the subs were of poor quality.

NowonSA
Jul 19, 2013

I am the sexiest poster in the world!
If anyone happens to know the IU Running Man episode with major blows exchanged during an eating segment please let me know, I've been working my way through them but I haven't seen it yet and that really piqued my curiosity.

I'd forgotten that she was the one who had a birthday near a taping that led to Haha trying to get Jae-Suk to buy her a car, but watching that episode again it all came back to me and she played along with it perfectly. It also is funny to me on a meta-level because the only other person there who could remotely be as well-off financially as her now would be Park Ji-Sung.

Now I'm thinking that was it since it was during an eating segment, I may just be taking you too literally westborn when you say it was an exchange of blows.

qbert
Oct 23, 2003

It's both thrilling and terrifying.

NowonSA posted:

If anyone happens to know the IU Running Man episode with major blows exchanged during an eating segment please let me know, I've been working my way through them but I haven't seen it yet and that really piqued my curiosity.

I'd forgotten that she was the one who had a birthday near a taping that led to Haha trying to get Jae-Suk to buy her a car, but watching that episode again it all came back to me and she played along with it perfectly. It also is funny to me on a meta-level because the only other person there who could remotely be as well-off financially as her now would be Park Ji-Sung.

Now I'm thinking that was it since it was during an eating segment, I may just be taking you too literally westborn when you say it was an exchange of blows.

It was Ep 96.

NowonSA
Jul 19, 2013

I am the sexiest poster in the world!

qbert posted:

It was Ep 96.

Oh okay that totally is it then, I was just thinking literally. Yeah that was pretty great alright. Glad to have the mystery solved!

westborn
Feb 25, 2010

TV Zombie posted:

What are some other good Weekly Idol episodes to watch? I caught Mamamoo and loved those because those girls are just lovable crackheads and I liked a clip of Hyung Don trying to sort out NCT's naming schema but that's as far as I've watched.

If you already like or are interested in a specific group or Idol, watching their episodes is rarely a bad time. As for giving general recommendations there aren't many that really stand out coming to mind and most groups appeared multiple times, so it's hard to really remember/tell apart specific good episodes but A-Pink (who they also took on a trip to Saipan for a special episode) and EXID usually had very entertaining ones. Of course I personally really enjoyed the 2-part SNSD episode.
Multiple groups at once tend to be quite funny, like the one with Gfriend, Twice, BtoB & Got7 or the one with Sistar, AOA, N.Flying, MONSTA X, SONAMOO and Secret. I think the one with Lee Hi was also very well received?
Bonus: One of my favorite moments on WI ever.

NowonSA posted:

Out of curiosity, who does she become friends with long-term from SBS Heroes?

As was already mentioned, Jiyeon (T-Ara) and especially Yoo In-na, who I'm pretty sure she currently even lives door to door with in the same apartment building (I think she mentions that in Hyori's B&B).

NowonSA posted:

Now I'm thinking that was it since it was during an eating segment, I may just be taking you too literally westborn when you say it was an exchange of blows.

Confirming that this was the one I meant.

westborn fucked around with this message at 15:32 on Jun 25, 2018

futurememory
Oct 22, 2011

"You're a bad man! You're a VERY bad man!"

TV Zombie posted:

What are some other good Weekly Idol episodes to watch? I caught Mamamoo and loved those because those girls are just lovable crackheads and I liked a clip of Hyung Don trying to sort out NCT's naming schema but that's as far as I've watched.

The most recent Red Velvet was a lot of fun, as was the most recent SNSD.

But my favorite in recently memory was the last Super Junior episode. Absolute chaos, especially in the first part. Gen 2 idols were assembled with variety in mind and it clearly shows.

nelson
Apr 12, 2009
College Slice

Koramei posted:

Anyone watched Something in the Rain? I'm only a few episodes into it but I've been blown away by it so far

I started watching it. I’m two and a half episodes in and so far I’m addicted to it. They did a really good job with setting up the relationship. It feels a lot more natural than anything else I’ve seen.

64fanatic
Oct 21, 2008

So crazy? DON'T MIND IF I DO!
Enjoyed The Genius, at least, the first two seasons.

Are there any similar shows?

westborn
Feb 25, 2010

64fanatic posted:

Enjoyed The Genius, at least, the first two seasons.

Are there any similar shows?

I'll quote myself from early 2016:

westborn posted:

I don't know of any other shows quite like it, but Crime Scene is more on the brainy than actiony side. Now here I'd personally recommend season 2, but that's just because I can't stand Henry and haven't watched more than the first episode of seaons 1...

Not variety and haven't watched it, but there's also a korean drama version of Liar Game, based on the manga that apparently inspired The Genius.

The only show since then that comes to mind is Society Game - I didn't watch past the first episode, but it appeared to be The Genius meets Big Brother.

Don't think there's subs yet, but The Great Escape is a brand new show with an escape room concept by the The Genius creator, but he apparently said not to expect something like The Genius, and a cast featuring Kang Ho-Dong, Shindong & Kim Jong-Min makes one assume it doesn't rely too much on brain power...

Not korean variety, but I've seen The Mole (various international versions) being mentioned as similar to The Genius.

westborn fucked around with this message at 18:08 on Jul 5, 2018

The REAL Goobusters
Apr 25, 2008

64fanatic posted:

Enjoyed The Genius, at least, the first two seasons.

Are there any similar shows?

You got two more seasons of the genius to go!

Jamesman
Nov 19, 2004

"First off, let me start by saying curly light blond hair does not suit Hyomin at all. Furthermore,"
Fun Shoe
I couldn't really get into Crime Scene. The execution felt kinda dry and awkward. I was expecting it to be more like a group of people working to solve murder mysteries together, but instead there's a big info dump, each person is assigned a character, and they sit in a boring rear end room just talking to each other about mundane poo poo.

Busted is closer to what I was expecting Crime Scene to be, but that feels dry and awkward for other reasons.

THF13
Sep 26, 2007

Keep an adversary in the dark about what you're capable of, and he has to assume the worst.
Netflix has a new show called Mr Sunshine they are making available the same day as the Korean broadcast, including in the US.

Takes place in 1900s, pretty shortly after the Spanish-American war. Basic premise has an American naval officer return to Korea after fleeing the country as a child to act as a diplomatic envoy to contend with rival Japanese and Russian interests in the region. Only two episodes out so far so can't say how it well turn out, but the cinematography so far is gorgeous.

qbert
Oct 23, 2003

It's both thrilling and terrifying.
For anyone who cares, the last 2 eps of Season 2 of Society Game have been subbed.

Show was never as good as The Genius, but I enjoyed it all the same.

Dongmin status: still GOAT.

NowonSA
Jul 19, 2013

I am the sexiest poster in the world!
Running Man has its own thread, but to ensure maximum cross-pollination amongst those interested in Korean TV I feel compelled to share the following:

Three major Hollywood celebrities are being promoted as appearing on next week's Running Man, the 7-22 episode, one of whom just seems like a perfect guest that I never imagined would pop up on a Korean show of any kind since they're too big of a star.

The guests advertised are Henry Cavill, Simon Pegg, and TOM CRUISE, who happen to be in the neighborhood for the Seoul premiere of Mission Impossible: Fallout.

Spoilered in case you want to go in to the show somewhat blind (though I'm sure their appearance will be clear within the first minute of the show when it airs), but I mean this is a huge deal right? I'm not crazy? Who knows how much of an appearance it'll actually be, but this is blowing my mind and I can't wait to see it. Off the top of my head the only celebrity I'd want to see on a Korean variety show more than the BIG STAR is Dwayne Johnson, but if this is the most I ever get I'll be pretty content since it's far more than I ever expected.

Snooze Cruise
Feb 16, 2013

hey look,
a post
Season 2 of Crime Scene might seriously be my favorite bit of TV of all time. I mean its definitely not for everybody, but man, the mysteries are really really fun and I just love the production.

Dessel
Feb 21, 2011

I admit that I haven't ever taken a deep dive into korean tv - only liked a few crime thriller films - and the word kdrama has implied some really lovely tropes by itself, at least for me personally. Tried a few of the korean series available on Netflix and every single one I tried seemed kinda trashy in one way or another.

That being said Live (Not Life) is the first Korean TV series I legitimately like. The first episode almost made me quit on it because it didn't honestly seem that good. The first few episodes still feel a little disjointed because it's trying to build upon different characters in a way that doesn't seem conductive at first. Regardless, the second episode was definitely better and it just kept improving. I've watched about 10 episodes now. I like how Yang-chon feels like an almost separate protagonist from a kinda depressing Nordic crime series or film, wrestling with problems that could be described as rather banal or grounded for a drama series, but still connects with the rest of the series.

Few problems I do have with the series I can think of are:
1. Description of police work as an extremely dangerous job. Maybe it's my biases working against me but I remember some SA threads specifically cite on statistics that police work is actually rather safe compared to many rather pedestrian jobs. I don't hold it against the series that much but it caught me thinking. Ironically enough the characters themselves complain how they're under so much scrutiny and how they get thrown to the wolves compared to how things are in the US.
2. Jung-oh running for "an errand" in a specific episode after catching a glimpse of what the thought was a suspect in a prior case without informing his partner
3. The obvious insertion of songs (product placement) into the show by playing them "romantically"/moodily from a cellphone speaker :wtc:. No human does this, right?
4. Obviously common problem in many police procedurals, but seemingly broad tasks for a police officer. No idea how reviewing data from a crime scene in a patrol unit/station reflects on real life Korean police career progression though and if it's anywhere close to reality On the other hand the series does point out how menial and lovely police work can be and how the station the series is taking place in is a patrol unit... something.
5. An incident where crime is kinda shushed away because the police holds footage of a rich heir drunk driving, motivating the heir to gift money to his financially poor victim/attacker. Even if the end result is good overall, I'm not sure about the portrayal of such an act. My views are that of a European who has pretty good faith in the police of my country, even if it has been tarnished of late.

But generally speaking the series has been a surprise in how - would progressive be the right word for it? - it has been, and it's generally avoided the lovely themes Korean dramas tend to often have in them.

Dessel fucked around with this message at 16:51 on Sep 4, 2018

Koramei
Nov 11, 2011

I have three regrets
The first is to be born in Joseon.
Kdramas have come a long way in the past 4-6 years. There are still absolutely tons of the lovely ones* and even many of the better ones have some tropey stuff in some way or another or devolve into being more formulaic towards the end, but there’s a decent number that take risks or have surprisingly progressive elements in them, it’s not actually that unusual these days.

*although a lot of people don’t seem to differentiate the soaps from the rest. Yes those are especially crap, just like soaps in the West

Tendai
Mar 16, 2007

"When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber."

Grimey Drawer
I have to admit, there are times when I'm down for something ridiculous on the Cheongdamdong Alice level

Dessel
Feb 21, 2011

Right, I finished Live tonight.

Acting all-around was legit, believable characters, the rookiees all the way to Yang-chon's dad. There were pretty drat good chill moments in the show that made various characters grow on you. Yang-chon's dad's way of acting out due to his age and condition was extremely believable and hit me close to home.

I understand the show needs drama, but the show sadly started to feel like propaganda towards the end. Realistically speaking a single station/officer shouldn't be expected to deal with the kinds of incidents the show portrayed in such a short time span. The show would've benefited from drawing drama from more banal, everyday experiences on top of few dramatic cases instead. It does make me wonder what the was the background of the production of the show and if there was any sort of agenda to depict police in more favorable light in Korea. As I understand it, South Korean police is fairly friendly and non-abusive.

But it was definitely one of my most favorite dramas I've watched despite the issues I had with it. I would definitely recommend it to a friend with the disclaimer that the portrayal of danger to the police was over the top, but I had no real issues with portraying the police in a positive light in general. The drama around it was still legitimate and worked well.

edit: Any other recent kdramas worth checking out? I especially liked Bae Seong-woo's acting in the series for being a pretty drat normal-looking and acting guy with a family, could've easily just inserted my own dad into his role.

Dessel fucked around with this message at 02:20 on Sep 8, 2018

girlvirus
Jul 3, 2007
My Mister was really good and worth watching. The best by far out of the handful of Kdramas I've seen.

Tortuga
Aug 27, 2011


Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22
Prison Playbook is decent and has a similar kind of pacing and character driven plot as Live. It's on Netflix as well.

I've just finished watching the Korean adaptation of Life on Mars which is pretty cool if you're not already burned out by time traveling cop dramas.

Jamesman
Nov 19, 2004

"First off, let me start by saying curly light blond hair does not suit Hyomin at all. Furthermore,"
Fun Shoe
This stuff with HyunA and E-Dawn has gotten loving nuts. They've now been kicked out of Cube Entertainment.

astr0man
Feb 21, 2007

hollyeo deuroga
Cube already un-fired them because their stock tanked immediately following the original announcement :lol: what a terribly managed company

Megillah Gorilla
Sep 22, 2003

If only all of life's problems could be solved by smoking a professor of ancient evil texts.



Bread Liar
Every single Korean entertainment company seems like a loving nightmare of poor management and narcissistic owners.

TV Zombie
Sep 6, 2011

Burying all the trauma from past nights
Burying my anger in the past

How do you un-fire someone after firing them?

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astr0man
Feb 21, 2007

hollyeo deuroga

TV Zombie posted:

How do you un-fire someone after firing them?

A few hours after the company released the official press release statement that hyuna + edawn were fired it was backtracked to "actually that statement was unofficial and we are still debating whether or not to terminate their contracts"

this of course was unrelated to cube's share price dropping 7% in that same timespan

e: not that this is particularly unusual in k-ent, similar stuff happened w/kjk and jihyo (not) being kicked off of running man last year

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