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FILM NEWS
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We've talked before about Lee Jae-Yong's 다세포 소녀 (Dasepo Naughty Girls), but I received a few mails from people confused about whether this was a film or a TV series: it's actually both. A company called 'Dasepo Club' has been founded, to deal with both the film -- directed by Lee, who after using E J-Yong is now calling himself 이감독 (meaning both 'Director Lee' and 'This Director') -- and a 100 Episodes (15 Minutes each) sitcom to be released on the DMB platform, Cable TV and VOD (and hopefully DVD). This company will take care of production, distribution and all other related negotiations. And that's not all: a total of 11 new directors have been recruited to shoot a collection of omnibus short films connected to the original source, which will start shooting in mid March and complete around June, when they will be shown on Cable TV, DMB, VOD and more. The feature film, adapted from a popular internet manhwa, stars Kim Ok-Bin and Yoo Geon from 안녕하세요 하느님 (Hello, God), Lee Kyeon from 안녕, 프란체스카 (Hello Francesca) and a host of other new faces. It has already completed shooting, and will debut in theaters this April.
Domestic films continue to rock the Korean Box Office, recording an impressive 70%+ market share in February. A report from theater chain CJ CGV shows Korean films accounted for 68.8% of total viewership in Seoul (71.4% nationwide) for the month of February, the 7th consecutive month domestic films 'ate' over 50% of the pie. Mostly responsible for the upsurge the sensation of this first quarter of the year, Lee Joon-Ik's 왕의 남자 (The King and The Clown), which recently became the highest grossing Korean film of all time. But also Kim Soo-Ro's vampire action comedy 흡혈형사 나도열 (Vampire Cop Ricky), the comedies 구세주 (Oh! My God) and 투사부일체 (My Boss, My Teacher), and of course the Sageuk 음란서생 (Forbidden Quest). Slim pickings for foreign and particularly Hollywood films, for a moviegoing public who seems only interested in their output when it comes to Fantasy, SF, Animation or big Action Adventure films.
Four years after her last leading role, Lee Mi-Yeon is returning to the big screen. Although the actress had a small but significant cameo in Kwak Kyung-Taek-s 2005 blockbuster 태풍 (Typhoon), her last full-fledged role was in the 2002 melodrama 중독 (Addicted), alongside Lee Byung-Heon, Lee Eol and Park Sun-Young. She will in fact star in 어깨너머의 연인 (Lovers Over The Shoulders), a Sidus FNH production helmed by Lee Eon-Hee, who directed the excellent 2003 melodrama ...ing. Although Lee received many offers to star in film and TV Dramas, she mostly kept doing what she's become famous for: CFs. The film, an adaptation of Yuikawa Kei's hugely popular novel 肩ごしの戀人 (Lovers. Over The Shoulder) [a sort of Japanese 'Singles' mostly focused on the female perspective. And the writer is quite popular both in Japan and Korea. Could make for a nice film, actually], stars Lee Mi-Yeon and Lee Tae-Ran as two women with completely different personalities, who work together to succeed as women in contemporary society. Shooting will start at the end of the Month, for what should be a late 2006 release.
Good news for the third installment of the 'Mafia' series, 가문의 부활 (Marrying The Mafia 3: Rebirth of the Family). Jung Tae-Won, president of Taewon Entertainment, announced that Kim Young-Cheol has been cast as Kim Soo-Mi's husband in the gangster comedy. Kim, whose last film role was in last year's Kim Jee-woon noir 달콤한 인생 (A Bittersweet Life), will add to the cast of the film, which is also bringing back Shin Hyun-Joon and Kim Won-Hee from the second, 가문의 위기 (Marrying The Mafia 2: Enemy in Law). The comedy sold over 5 Million tickets last year, becoming the most successful Korean comedy of all time until its record was beaten by 투사부일체 (My Boss, My Teacher) and its 6+ Million tickets. 'Rebirth of the Family' will start shooting soon, for the obvious Chuseok release.
He's always played very eclectic roles with a quirky touch -- the holier-than-thou producer in 태풍태양 (The Aggressives), the smarmy reporter in 너는 내운명 (You're My Sushine), the rich new flame for Lee Young-Ae in Hur Jin-Ho's 봄날은 간다 (One Fine Spring Day), and of course his big role in Hong Sang-Soo's 강원도의 힘 (The Power of Kangwon Province) -- but this might just be his most important to date: Baek Jong-Hak is debuting as a director! Baek will helm a remake of the Spain/Canada co-production My Life Without Me. The film, which will be entitled 죽기 전에 하고 싶은 10가지 (10 Things To Do Before Death), tells the story of a 20-something married woman with two young daughters, who learns of her terminal cancer condition, and writes 10 things she must do before leaving this world. The original, directed by Isabel Coixet, starred Sarah Polley and Scott Speedman, and was based on Pretending the Bed is a Raft, a short novel by Nanci Kincaid. The film will be distributed by Showbox, and produced by Red Box, a new company set up by former actor Hwang In-Sung, while Song Ye-Jin of 말아톤 (Marathon) will write the script. Although Baek is better known for his acting, he received an MFA at Syracuse, and even worked as producer for CJ Entertainment in films like 소름 (Sorum) and Park Chul-Soo's 산부인과 (Push! Push!). The script is almost completed, and filming will start within the end of the year.
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TV DRAMA NEWS
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MBC's 궁 (Princess Hours) is starting to seriously flesh its muscles. If you already looked at the weekly ratings and are wondering if 굿바이 솔로 (Goodbye Solo)'s start in the 20s is a good sign, then I'm sorry, it doesn't look like that will be the case. While the new Noh Hee-Kyung Drama (which looks quite good, although I shall not speak until it's around the middle, Noh's Dramas are a little too complex to describe with a few words) started really well with a 20.1% rating, that was because MBC smartly decided not to show 'Princess Hours' on Wednesday, as the National Soccer Team was screening all over TV with their (agonizingly boring) game against Angola. Shown for two consecutive hours (Eps. 15 and 16) on Thursday, 'Princess Hours' recorded its highest ratings to date, around 27%, and forced the second episode of 'Goodbye Solo' to the low-to-mid 10s as expected. With the 30% rating getting closer, Hwang In-Roi's new Drama looks headed for a pretty lucrative run in foreign markets.
MBC announced they're in the final stages of negotiations for distribution deals with The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and contracts with China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Taiwan have been already signed. Also, Japan is about to sign what seems to be a deal in the neighborhood of past superhits like 겨울연가 (Winter Sonata) and 대장금 (Dae Jang Geum). For now, the show had made US$ 2 Million (1.9 Billion Won), and with the Japanese deal included, it could easily reach the 5 Million. Are we about to witness the birth of another huge Pan-Asian success? Although it has no big stars, and most of its cast is made of first timers (especially Yoon Eun-Hye, former Baby V.O.X. member) and unexperienced youngsters, Hwang In-Roi's new age 'Trendy Sageuk' has some of the most impressive Art Direction seen on a Korean TV Drama, and despite the over-the-top and overly 'cute' acting has become a sort of unexpected guilty pleasure. Might be all thanks to veterans Kim Hye-Ja, Kang Nam-Gil, Im Ye-Jin and Shim Hye-Jin doing some of their best work in years, but I'm hooked. Sort of.
Let the war of Historical Dramas begin! We're about to witness an interesting battle between Goguryeo themed Dramas in late Spring, and the latest contender has entered the arena -- although this one is more oriented towards late Goguryeo-early Balhae. After SBS' 연개소문 (Yeon Gae Somun) and MBC's 주몽 (Jumong), here's KBS with 대조영 (Dae Jo Young), which just announced its main cast. The show, produced by Kim Jong-Seon of 태조왕건 (Wang Gun) and 왕과 비 (The King and the Queen) fame, will star Choi Su-Jong as Dae Jo-Young, who founded the Kingdom of Balhae. Choi, a regular of Historical Dramas, recently seen in the excellent 해신 (Emperor of The Sea), works again with PD Kim after the incredibly successful 'Wang Gun', which scored ratings around the 60% between 2000 and 2002. Although very little historical data remains regarding the Balhae and Goguryeo Kingdoms, after 무영검 (Shadowless Sword) history buffs are starting to see the different periods of Korean history recreated on the big and small screen, after decades of Joseon, Joseon and only Joseon.
Justice wass made. The recently concluded MBC Drama 내 인생의 스페셜 (The Special of My Life), which was shortened from its original 12 Episodes to 8, and replaced 늑대 (Wolf) after the injuries suffered by two of its leads, will be shown on its entirety on Cable Tv. The show starred Kim Seung-Woo, Myung Se-Bin and Sung Ji-Roo in what's one of the season's early candidates for a Top 10 spot, and showed the potential of Dramas shot before airdate. Now, why should you care about its broadcast on Cable Tv? Because that increases the chances of seeing the full cut on DVD sooner or later, and the Kim Jong-Hak Production show certainly deserves it. We're not exactly dealing with a 'Mania Drama', and its ratings were quite lukewarm (10 to 15%), but several countries have shown interest in the Drama, and thanks to Kim Seung-Woo's popularity in Japan, something could move pretty soon on the DVD front.
More accidents on the set of Korean TV Dramas, except this time it's SBS. Ryu Jin, star of the popular Historical Drama 서동요 (The Ballad of Seo Dong), which is nearing its end, hurt a finger while shooting in Chungnam Province. Ryu suffered the injury while doing a sword fight with co-star Jo Hyun-Jae, and his management company commented that he had to get 5 stitches, even though he was able to get back to shooting Lee Byung-Hoon's first project since 2003's tremendously successful 대장금 (Dae Jang Geum). But as a result of his injuries, Ryu had to cancel his shooting schedule for the new MBC Weekend Drama 진짜 진짜 좋아해 (I Really Really Like You), at least for a few days. This is not the first setback the Historical Drama suffered, as recently Heo Young-Ran suffered an injury on her forehead worth 15 stitches, and co-star Lee Bo-Young fell of a horse twice. But at least the show is showing strong signs of rebound after its initial lukewarm reception, with ratings touching 25%, with only a few episodes left before conclusion.
MBC really really likes Eugene! We reported on our previous issue about the injury the former S.E.S. member suffered while snowboarding, a few weeks ahead of the start of her upcoming Weekend Drama 진짜 진짜 좋아해 (I Really Really Like You), where she'll play a cook in the Blue House. Now, while doctors diagnosed 8 weeks of rest for the star, MBC was trying to find a solution, which at one point even included the possible replacement of the young lead. But Jang Geun-Soo, head of MBC's Drama department, commented this morning that the PD's confidence in Eugene was so strong they decided to wait for her. So we'll get our Weekend Drama after all. Joy! Now the real reason behind this, if you're willing to be a little more cynical (Eugene's fans will have to forgive me) and realistic, is that the current Weekend Drama MBC is airing -- 결혼합시다 (Let's Get Married) with Yoon Da-Hoon and 왕의 남자 (The King and The Clown)'s Kang Sung-Yeon -- is doing extremely well, passing the 20% rating mark this weekend, so MBC doesn't seem to be in a rush to end its run. What this means is simply that 'Let's Get Married' will enjoy a little extension (a week = 2 Episodes, but it could be longer) for the good of mankind, and then the new Drama will start broadcasting this April. And why would they be so confident about Eugene possibly giving a memorable performance? Because after her stellar performances in 러빙유 (Loving You) and 마지막 춤은 나와함께 (Save The Last Dance For Me) they surely must have thought: by golly! Here's a great actress in the making, we surely must convince her not to go back to the music industry. She's a commodity for MBC and all of Korea! That, or there probably were some strange chemicals involved.
The final piece of the puzzle for MBC's blockbuster Fusion Drama 태왕사신기 (The Great King) has been completed. After casting Bae Yong-Joon, Choi Min-Soo, Moon So-Ri, Jung Jin-Young and many more, Yoon Tae-Young was added to the group, and will play Yonsama's rival in the 43 Billion Won Drama. The show, from the legendary PD/writer duo Kim Jong-Hak and Song Ji-Na -- who worked together in classics like 여명의 눈동자 (Eyes of Dawn) and 모래시계 (The Sandglass) -- is about King Gwanggaeto The Great, one of the most famous figures from the Goguryeo period, and involved shooting in Kirghizistan. Apparently what won the role for Yoon were his 'baddie' roles in two 2005 films, 미스터 소크라테스 (Mr. Socrates) and 강력3반 (Never To Lose). Yoon might have improved from his early days, but it seems to be a little risky giving such an important role to him (while you've got greats like Jung Jin-Young and Park Sang-Won in the background), especially because the show is already risking a lot by casting someone like Bae for such a charismatic role, when his past characters looked everything but charismatic. If Yoon even shows half of the viciousness of his roles in 'Never To Lose' and 'Mr. Socrates', he'll just eat Yonsama with a stare, while he spends time looking at the horizon with his newfound long hair. But I've been surprised before, and if there's anyone able to get great acting even out of average performers, that's exactly Song Ji-Na and Kim Jong-Hak. Let's just hope it doesn't become 'April Snow in Goguryeo'. Shooting will start at the end of the month, for an October/November broadcast.
Actress Jeon In-Hwa dropped out of the cast for SBS' upcoming Historical Drama 연개소문 (Yeon Gae Somun). The veteran actress, married to 'Yeon Gae Somun' lead and Historical Drama regular Yoo Dong-Geun had a small but significant role in the Goguryeo based Drama, set to start airing this May. Seems like the biggest problems were the usual: role was too small, and of course the guarantee was small too. The decision was made much easier by the fact Jeon's role would mostly emerge in the second half of the 100 Episode Drama, so this at least will not create problems to the production team.
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TV DRAMA PREVIEWS
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Part 3 (Final) of our Spring TV Drama Previews. You can also check Part 1 and Part 2. From next week, the 'TV Drama Wrapup' will return, along with the 'Spring Film Previews' (Four Parts), using the same rating system to deal with films debuting in theaters soon. Summer Drama Previews will return in late April. Also, we'll deal with the third big Historical Drama of the season, KBS1's 대조영 (Dae Jo Young) in April, as only Choi Su-Jong has been announced.
연개소문 (Yeon Gae Somun)
SBS - May, Mon/Tue Historical Drama, 100 Episodes (Budget: 35 Billion Won), follows 연애시대 (Alone in Love)
PD: 7
이종한 (Lee Jong-Han)
Lee's last work 토지 (Land) suffered from miscasting, and frankly had been adapted for the screen one too many times. But the guy seems to associate with good writers, as he worked with Noh Hee-Kyung on 2001's 화려한 시절 (Wonderful Days) and 1998's 빗물처럼 (Like Rainwater), so I think we should be fairly safe.
WRITER: 7
이환경 (Lee Hwan-Kyung)
A big question mark for me personally, but I'm sure other Sageuk buffs could disagree. I think Lee's career has taken a huge downward spiral, after his amazing works in the mid 90s: he wrote one of my favorite Dramas of all time, 1996's 용의 눈물 (Tears of the Dragon), and then 태조왕건 (Wang Gun) which certainly isn't as good, but still excellent. Then started the problems. I don't think 제국의 아침 (Dawn of the Empire) [another Goryeo Drama, a sort of follow up to 'Wang Gun'] was up to his standards despite being quite solid, and 야인시대 (The Rustic Era) felt like waking up in a 70s action film, complete with unintentionally hilarious dialogue and machismo-drenched characters. Of course the first half is pretty bearable, but once we move to the second half and Kim Young-Cheol joins the proceedings as Kim Doo-Han, then it all becomes a farce. His first movie script, the 2002 film 싸울아비 (Saulabi) was not only historically laughable, but wasted a cast of Sageuk veterans for one of the worst Korean films of the last decade. And then came 영웅시대 (The Age of Heroes), which looked as promising as anything released in the last few years, but ended up glamourizing its (very controversial) figures to an extent nobody could imagine. So, again, a question mark. If this looks even half as good as his earlier works, we might be dealing with a classic. But the moment I heard Lee talking about 'righting wrongs when it comes to Goguryeo history' (Chinese controversy included) I started worrying. I hope this won't just be a flag-waving exercise in over-the-top histrionics, but I have my doubts it will be able to recreate the magic of 'Tears of The Dragon', or even 'Wang Gun'.
CAST: 7
유동근 (Yoo Dong-Geun), 나한일 (Na Han-Il), 황인영 (Hwang In-Young), 김갑수 (Kim Gab-Soo), 이정길 (Lee Jung-Gil), 원구연 (Won Gu-Yeon)
A lot of the 'Wang Gun' team is back, most importantly Na Han-Il, and of course Yoo Dong-Geun, Kim Gab-Soo and Lee Jung-Gil are great Sageuk veterans. Still, for some reason this cast doesn't really excite me that much. Yoo has been dabbling in comedies on the big screen -- 가문의 영광 (Marrying The Mafia) and 어깨동무 (Where's The Tape?) -- where his acting seemed a little too relaxed, but he's had so many great roles in Historical Dramas in the past, I'm willing to trust he's still got it. Of course I'll watch anything with Kim Gab-Soo, as he's pretty much perfect in every role he takes, and Lee Jung-Gil found a huge rebound from the average 'gentle daddy' and 'Sageuk red shirt' roles of the past with his great performance in 부활 (Rebirth). But the rest of the cast just doesn't cut it: Hwang In-Young has never really shown anything of note, and the loss of Jeon In-Hwa might be significant, especially if her replacement is not up to the standard. It's still a good cast, but it doesn't seem to jump at the viewers like the other contenders in this Summer's Historical Drama battle.
OUTLINE: 9
We're not really dealing with your average outline, as this is history, but of course there's always a good portion of fictitious characters mixed with real historical figures. General Yeon Gae Somun was played on the big screen by Lee Won-Jong at the beginning of Lee Joon-Ik's 황산벌 (Once Upon a Time in the Battlefield), and by veteran Jo Kyung-Hwan in Ahn Yeon-Dong's 1992 KBS TV Drama 삼국기 (The Three Kingdoms). We're dealing with late Goguryeo here, right as the Tang-Shilla alliance started having an influence on the Kingdom. Yeon Gae Somun is the general who killed the penultimate King of Goguryeo, Yeongnyu, in 642. It was a period of tremendous instability, both because of the pressure by Shilla, but also because the political situation in Goguryeo was very confusing. After General Yeon put Yeongnyu's nephew Bojang as his puppet on the throne following his coup d'etat, he tried with little success to calm down Yeon's two sons in trying to gain power, and started repressing Buddhism (the Kingdom's official religion) in favour of Taoism. The key here will be seeing who gets the role of Bojang, and especially the antagonists from Shilla's side, but we're certainly dealing with an interesting period, full of intrigue and corruption. The interesting thing is that General Yeon is regarded in historical records as a very cruel and arrogant man, so we'll see how writer Lee deals with the issue.
RATINGS POTENTIAL: 8
I'll go safe and predict somewhere in between 25 and 30%, just because Historical Dramas tend to do well. Of course KBS' efforts in the early years of this decade were recording ratings often doubling that figure, which shows how much traditional historical dramas have fallen out of favour with the TV audience. The biggest reason why I still think this will do well is that the usual audience for Historical Dramas tends to be older males, who will surely remember Yoo's roles in the past, and will probably trust him, at least at the beginning. But even though this is much shorter than the Goryeo series, and SBS tends to offer a mix of MBC's new age style with KBS' more traditional approach (at least the works by Lee Hwan-Kyung), it still should have a pretty good impact on the public.
OVERALL: 7.60
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주몽 (Jumong)
MBC - May 8, Historical Drama
PD: 6
이주환 (Lee Ju-Hwan)
Weird choice for an Historical Drama, but I've seen stranger things. Now the biggest problem is experience, because even if you've worked 20 years in 'regular' TV Drama, your first Sageuk project can be really hard to adapt to. Lee's past works mostly deal with Trendy Dramas or Daily Dramas, like the smash hit 인어 아가씨 (Mermaid Girl) and 선희진희 (Seon-Hee Jin-Hee). But I'm giving him a 6 solely based on his involvement in the 1994 classic 종합병원 (General Hospital). Why? Because it's THAT good.
WRITER: 10
최완규 (Choi Wan-Gyu), 정형수 (Jung Hyung-Soo)
Here's your killer ap. Choi Wan-Gyu is, along with Im Choong, my favorite Sageuk writer, and his list of credits reads like a 'who's who' of the best shows of the last 10 years. We begin with 'General Hospital', the fantastic 'Lee Young-Ae before Lady Vengeance' revenge Drama 그들의 포옹 (Their Embrace), 2000's classic 허준 (Hur Joon), 상도 (Sang Do), 올인 (All In), and many more. Jung Hyung-Soo is one of his many proteges, and he himself wrote a few 'not too shabby' shows like a certain 다모 (Damo). They're two of the most shining lights who lead MBC's complete revolution of Historical Drama tropes, so we should expect something excellent from them. We couldn't possibly be in safer hands.
CAST: 8
송일국 (Song Il-Guk), 한혜진 (Han Hye-Jin), 전광렬 (Jeon Gwang-Ryeol), 김승수 (Kim Seung-Soo), 오연수 (Oh Yeon-Soo), 김영철 (Kim Young-Cheol)
Excellent. Of course we're dealing with a 'new age' Historical Drama, mixing more fictional characters than usual and a healthy (I hope!) dose of melodrama, mixed with the usual Sageuk formulae, so the cast tends to be younger. Song Il-Guk was fantastic in 해신 (Emperor of the Sea), and will finally have the chance to go full force, with what looks to be his most important role to date. Han Hye-Jin is still very young and inexperienced, but she carried a Daily Drama on her shoulders -- last year's 굳세어라 금순아 (Be Strong, Geum-Soon) -- which is not an easy feat. It's hard to say if she's got what it takes for a show like this, but this is certainly the chance to show it. Jeon Gwang-Ryeol and Kim Young-Cheol are Historical Dramas veterans, and although Oh Yeon-Soo is not too familiar with the genre, she's an excellent actress. With a few older veterans, this could become a great cast.
OUTLINE: 9
Don't ask me why, but I tend to like Historical Dramas focusing on the beginning of a Dynasty, rather than its end. They tend to be a little more 'idealist' and inspirational than the megaton bombs of intrigue of the other type of Dramas. And here's one of them! King Jumong (or King Dongmyeongseong, if you prefer him dead) founded Goguryeo in 37 BC, after several tribes from Gojoseon and Buyeo got together and decided... hey! There's nothing interesting to do, so let's, like, build a Kingdom! A former man of Buyeo, Jumong conquered the Kingdoms of Biryu, Haengin and Okjeo to create Goguryeo, although his reign was pretty short-lived. The show will focus on what made 'Emperor of the Sea' so successful: big battles, lavish locations (China), and a little more melodrama than we're used to.
RATINGS POTENTIAL: 9
Big. Song Il-Guk's popularity is increasing exponentially, and Han Hye-Jin's latest Drama ended with a big 40%. MBC is starting to do well again, so I think this might be their first huge hit of the season. Although I think it won't match the ratings of 연애시대 (Alone in Love), I can safely say 35-40% shouldn't be too surprising. I can't wait for this show, and this time I'm serious.
OVERALL: 8.40
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진짜 진짜 좋아해 (I Really Really Like You)
MBC - April 8, Weekend Drama, follows 결혼합시다 (Let's Get Married)
PD: 8
김진만 (Kim Jin-Man)
This is perhaps the only reason why I still have hope for this show. Kim was responsible for the 2003 Drama 아일랜드 (Ireland) -- written by the great In Jung-Ok -- and two episodes of last year's 떨리는 가슴 (Six Love Stories), on top of the silly 위풍당당 그녀 (Country Princess) starring Bae Doo-Na. He really hasn't done anything exceptional, but his shows are always very solid.
WRITER: 6
배유미 (Bae Yoo-Mi)
Her last show was 12월의 열대야 (Tropical Nights in December), which survived thanks to Eom Jung-Hwa's terabytes of sexiness and charisma, but her past work isn't too impressive. 위풍당당 그녀 (Country Princess) is quite watchable, especially because of the good cast; 로망스 (Romance) ended up creating quite a few trends, but I doubt it'll age too well (although I don't have the force to rewatch it. Might be because of 'Killer Smile' Kim Jae-Won and his incredible 'charm'), and 해피 투게더 (Happy Together) was pretty much brutal. I have no idea what she'll do here, as her previous works are all over the place, from melodramas to cute trendy dramas and 'Family' oriented miniseries.
CAST: 5
유진 (Eugene), 이민기 (Lee Min-Gi), 류진 (Ryu Jin), 정소영 (Jung So-Young), 윤세아 (Yoon Se-Ah), 김국진 (Kim Guk-Jin), 최불암 (Choi Buram), 안혜경 (Ahn Hye-Kyung)
Now, I often joke about Miss Eugene, but she seems like a really sweet girl. Problem is I'm evil, so if you can't act worth a lick like the former singer, then I might make fun of you. Often. I'm sorry, I can't get rid of that habit! But while the rest of the cast is a mixed bag, it could be a lot worse. Lee Min-Gi is actually pretty good, and Jung So-Young is one of the most underused actresses on TV (perhaps lack of charisma hurts her, but she's a good actress). Ryu Jin might have improved a little, but there's still a long way to go, despite his efforts in the increasingly watchable 서동요 (The Ballad of Seo Dong). And Yoon Se-Ah is too inexperienced to comment about her yet. But of course Choi Buram is a nice addition, and it's good seeing Kim Guk-Jin back to Dramas, he's been part of many enjoyable Weekend Dramas in the past (and a whole lot of crap too, but I digress). If the show remains lighthearted, even an unimpressive cast like this could do OK.
OUTLINE: 6
She's a country girl, a really pretty one who used to be a singer in a creepy teenybopper group, but hey! She's a country girl, so she'll have to wear old-fashioned clothes, and perhaps an haircut which wouldn't have looked out of place in a 60s melodrama. But her big chance finally comes, and she gets a job! Where? I mean, when you think of the first place you'd look for if you need a job, what's the first thing which would come to mind? Why, the Blue House! So this love child of Jang-Geum and Kim Sam-Soon prepares lunch and dinner for the President and all his acolytes (although, If I were the one writing the script, I'd send those who signed for the reduction of the screen quota straight to bed without lunch). But then she finds out Mr. President has a son, and since he's the son of the most important man in the country (after Bae Yong-Joon, that is), he's got a bodyguard. And she happens to feel really strange when she looks at him, she... she must be in love! And all the shenanigans you can expect. Nothing new here, but shouldn't be too offensive.
RATINGS POTENTIAL: 6
Who knows? The formula is there, but people might notice it's a little too similar to past shows, and nobody in here is really popular enough to carry the show. I'd say a conservative 10 to 15%, but with 'Let's Get Married' (which is decidedly average) doing so well, I wouldn't be surprised if the ratings hit the 20s.
OVERALL: 6.20
FINAL WRAPUP
- POTENTIAL QUALITY
8.40 주몽 (Jumong) - MBC
8.00 연애시대 (Alone in Love) - SBS
7.80 굿바이 솔로 (Goodbye Solo) - KBS2
7.80 내겐 너무 완벽한 그녀 (My Perfect Girl) - SBS
7.60 닥터 깽 (Doctor Gang) - MBC
7.60 연개소문 (Yeon Gae Somun) - SBS
7.40 소문난 칠공주 (Seven Princesses) - KBS2
6.40 불량가족 (Bad Family) - SBS
6.20 진짜 진짜 좋아해 (I Really Really Like You) - MBC
6.00 넌 어느 별에서 왔니? (What's Your Star?) - MBC
4.40 샌프란시스코 (San Francisco) - MBC
3.40 봄의 왈츠 (Spring Waltz) - KBS2
- RATINGS PREDICTION
40-45% 연애시대 (Alone in Love) - SBS
35-40% 주몽 (Jumong) - MBC
25-30% 연개소문 (Yeon Gae Somun) - SBS
25-30% 내겐 너무 완벽한 그녀 (My Perfect Girl) - SBS
25-30% 불량가족 (Bad Family) - SBS
20-25% 소문난 칠공주 (Seven Princesses) - KBS2
15-20% 닥터 깽 (Doctor Gang) - MBC
15-20% 넌 어느 별에서 왔니? (What's Your Star?) - MBC
10-15% 진짜 진짜 좋아해 (I Really Really Like You) - MBC
10-15% 굿바이 솔로 (Goodbye Solo) - KBS2
10-15% 샌프란시스코 (San Francisco) - MBC
10-12% 봄의 왈츠 (Spring Waltz) - KBS2
-Note: The new MBC Drama starring Kim Rae-Won and Jung Ryeo-Won changed its title from 공주님 (Princess) to 넌 어느 별에서 왔니? (What's Your Star?) because it didn't look ridiculous enough. Now this is much better.
==================
TV DRAMA RATINGS
==================
02/27~03/05
01. 36.0% 별난여자 별난남자 (The Bizarre Bunch)
Daily Drama - KBS1 [Cast: Jung Joon, Kim Ah-Joong, Go Ju-Won] [10th Consecutive Week on Top]
02. 32.7% 하늘이시여 (Dear Heaven)
Weekend Drama - SBS [Cast: Yoon Jung-Hee, Lee Tae-Gon, Jo Yeon-Woo]
03. 27.9% 궁 (Princess Hours)
Wed/Thu Drama - MBC [Cast: Yoon Eun-Hye, Song Ji-Hyo, Joo Ji-Hoon]
04. 25.3% 서동요 (The Ballad of Seo Dong)
Historical Drama - SBS [Cast: Lee Bo-Young, Jo Hyun-Jae, Ryu Jin]
05. 21.3% 결혼합시다 (Let's Get Married)
Weekend Drama - MBC [Cast: Yoon Da-Hoon, Kang Sung-Yeon, Ju Hyeon]
06. 20.1% 굿바이 솔로 (Goodbye Solo)
Wed/Thu Drama - KBS2 [Cast: Cheon Jung-Myung, Yoon So-Yi, Bae Jong-Ok] NEW!
07. 19.8% 고향역 (A Place Called Home)
Daily Drama - KBS1 [Cast: Song Ok-Sook, Park Hyung-Jae, Kim Cheol-Gi]
08. 18.9% 인생이여 고마워요 (Thank You Life)
Weekend Drama - KBS2 [Cast: Yoo Ho-Jung, Park Ye-Jin, Oh Ji-Ho]
09. 17.7% 사랑과 야망 (Love and Ambition)
Weekend Drama - SBS [Cast: Han Go-Eun, Jo Min-Gi] NEW!
10. 16.9% 신돈 (Shin Don)
Historical Drama - MBC [Cast: Son Chang-Min, Seo Ji-Hye, Jung Bo-Seok]
===============================
THE TOP RATED DRAMAS OF 2006
===============================
01/01~03/05
01. 37.5% 별난여자 별난남자 (The Bizarre Bunch) - KBS
02. 32.7% 하늘이시여 (Dear Heaven) - SBS
03. 31.9% 슬픔이여 안녕 (Goodbye To Sadness) - KBS
04. 27.9% 궁 (Princess Hours) - MBC
05. 25.4% 서동요 (The Ballad of Seo Dong) - SBS
06. 24.9% 마이걸 (My Girl) - SBS
07. 23.7% 그여자 (That Woman) - SBS
08. 23.0% 황금사과 (Golden Apple) - KBS
09. 22.3% 인생이여 고마워요 (Thank You Life) - KBS
10. 21.3% 결혼합시다 (Let's Get Married) - MBC
Sources
Star News: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
My Daily News: 1
Yonhap News: 1
Movieweek: 1