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Running Man: Episode 170

We drop into the magical land of Oz just over the rainbow this week as a lost Dorothy and her Oppa try to find their way back home. Be careful of where you tread because the Wizard in this land has got eyes and ears in all corners of this kingdom to get his hands on some nametags of lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!

But pay no attention to the head behind the curtain when there’s a beloved Oppa involved, especially one who will stop at nothing to rescue his loved one.

EPISODE 170. Broadcast on November 3, 2013.

A cyclone descends on the land of Oz, leaving behind two bewildered visitors: co-stars of the spy movie Alumni, Kim Yoo-jung and TOP. I have a feeling you’re not at the Busan International Film Festival anymore.

Still, the My Sassy Girl tree is a familiar site, and when TOP asks if she recognizes it, he gives us our first corny joke of the day with the answer: “It’s a pine tree.” Lol.

A nearby note (and trademark red heels, natch) teaches them of their mission: find your way home with the help of the Scarecrows, Tin Men, and Cowardly Lions, and plead your case to the Wizard of Oz. Then if Yoo-jung is Dorothy, that would make TOP… Toto? Hahaha.

Aw, I already love how earnest TOP is, as he makes jokes riding along the Yellow Brick Road on their rickety bicycle. I daresay he’s talked more in these opening three minutes than the whole of his last visit. Hee, were you always this funny, Binggu TOP?

We check in some of our other Oz characters as Jae-suk sighs deeply in his Tin Man costume. Is that… a funnel hat on Gary’s head? Gary exclaims: “Every [week] is a new experience for me!”

They’re joined by a third Tin Man, whose nametag makes them jump: actor Yoon Jae-moon. Jae-suk promptly scolds the staff for making their guest wear a bucket on his head, but Jae-moon just laughs it off goodheartedly. And is it just me or does his laugh scare anyone else?

Scarecrows Haha and Kwang-soo are put to the test with an opposite flag-raising game that’s confusing enough to play, let alone explain. All it does is prove that they’re in need of brains and wisdom, but their perplexed expressions and ragequit to the instructions cracks me up.

Myuk PD: “See, you don’t have any wisdom!” Haha: “How does this [game] have anything to do with wisdom?” Preach it, Haha.

Elsewhere, our Cowardly SpartAce is busy chopping wood, and Jong-kook’s whimpers that follow his displays of strength are hilarious, like how Jong-kook breaks through a pile of tiles, then cries, “Those poor things!” Hahaha.

The Tin Men Trio play a word-ending game with a literal ticking time bomb. It starts off harmless enough with some tricky word endings, but they soon start to sweat bullets with the seconds counting down against them.

Jae-moon is especially hilarious, yelling out “Affair!” (as in marital affair? Haha) and then at another point admitting that all he can think of are curse words. Unfortunately for him, the bomb explodes in his hands.

Meanwhile, Dorothy Yoo-jung and her Oppa meet up with the scarecrows in the field. With the help of a little straw magic, they turn the bicycle into a car. I wonder—is the red a deliberate choice?

Once they’re off, Haha comments on how TOP is quite the prankster, so when he asks what they should do with the other cast members, TOP answers, “It’s cold outside… so we can’t let them ride with us easily.” Muhahaha.

Which calls for a detailed prank when they meet the Tin Men, and both sides bust a gut laughing at each other’s ridiculous costumes. TOP remarks, “The three of you look like an idol group.”

The Tin Men are told that only one of them can join them, and Jae-suk is immediately suspicious that both scarecrows were picked. Leave it to Haha to explain the hoops and ladders they’ll have to jump through, which evolves into another bickering round against Jae-suk.

They start off with an acronym poem, and impressed when Gary lays down some spittin’ verses, which duh, he’s a rapper. I especially like the “saeng/raw” one: “I’ll chew you raw to bits!”

Jae-moon’s turn is equally hilarious using Yoo-jung’s name, but the last one (jung) is the kicker: “Don’t have an affair (jung-boon)!” Hahaha, was that really the only thing you could think of?

Jae-suk seems pretty confident about his improv skills, but his eyes grow wide at his challenge (“TOP!”), and he barks back a PG-rated wordplay off of “Shut up!” using TOP’s name instead.

They continue to pull the Tin Men’s leg by saying they’ll take two of them instead, and Jae-moon immediately pushes Jae-suk aside. Ha. But no worries—all of them climb into the van, and they wonder where Suk-jin is. Could he be the Wizard they’re looking for?

They’re off to see the Cowardly SpartAce, calling themselves a circus troupe now. When Jong-kook notes that Dorothy has no Oppa, they rename Toto TOP as Doro-do (which sounds almost like Totoro to me) instead.

After they try pulling the same “We can only choose one of you!” prank on the lions, Jo PD further explains today’s agenda: acquire items to find the Wizard of Oz by winning the games. Once they find him, they’ll be able to get the hearts/courage/brains/home they’re looking for.

Turns out our Wizard plays double duty in this land of Oz as the Wicked Wizard of the West aka Suk-jin poofs into view. But no one said that he’s a particularly good wizard, and it takes a few tries in order to get to his destination.

The crew pulls up to their first lociation, where they’ll need to lift the curse placed upon the parked car next to them by removing the plungers in turn and climbing into the car within the time limit.

You know, I like how Suk-jin has his own shining moment to play the part of the Wizard, whose cauldron has an uncanny resemblance to a ramyun pot. He uses his Big Nose magic to whip a car and plungers out of thin air… and then I love how the show kept in the totally unmagical portion of the staff actually sticking the plungers onto the car.

Regardless, he really does look like he’s having fun, which is awesome.

Right, the mission. Not only is the time limit (30 seconds) already impossible, then the cast is told that all nine of them have to squeeze into the sedan. And Jae-moon’s determined game face is both scary and hilarious.

Jae-moon starts it off, but he quickly reveals himself to be the black hole, struggling with the plunger. In fact, he keeps choosing the hard way, squirreling to the back through the front seat, to which Jae-suk points out, “There’s a back door!” LOL.

The others follow in quick succession and squeeze into the car, but alas, they fall outside the time limit. The cast teases Jae-moon for not getting through fast enough, but he brushes those comments aside for the second round.

…which is just as hilarious as the first. This time, Jae-moon is faster but gets caught up with the car door again. They stuff themselves in the car once more, and although their overall time is faster, they still fail.

So the cast teases Jae-moon once more, and Jae-suk points out a small dent where Jae-moon kicked the car in. Their guest is initially surprised, but then is all, That wasn’t me. Ha.

For a second I wondered whether Jae-moon was already tired when he asks if they’ll all just go home if they fail the game. But the third time’s a charm for the cast as they finish the task in a speedy 25.41 seconds, and they celebrate like they’ve won a gold medal.

Now armed with a clue about the Wizard, they read another note that instructs them where to meet their missing cast member next. Jong-kook: “What if we don’t want to see him?” Gary: “If we don’t, then does that mean Suk-jin won’t get any screentime?” Hahaha.

We learn that this is Jae-moon’s first variety experience in the car, which is surprising to hear since he seems at home as he plays off of the staff. He’s totally shameless about asking Yoo-jung for the clue, and like a good maknae, she hands it over to her sunbae.

Also, does Yoo-jung’s age of 14 place her as the youngest RM guest ever?

At the library, they read another note from the Wizard. I love how the first thing Jae-moon notices is that it’s written in banmal, only to realize that that’s right since Suk-jin is his hyung (Jae-moon is a 1970-er whereas Suk-jin is a 1966-er).

Here, the cast will vote on who will obtain the next clue before they head off to the final mission location. Everyone’s like, “Already?” but I’m all for it since the way I see it, the faster we get to the good stuff, the better.

Everyone casts their votes and head to their respective cars, but something is definitely off as the cast quickly realizes that Yoo-jung is all alone in the other car.

Yoo-jung, meanwhile, rides along none the wiser until sure enough, the Wizard jumps up from the backseat and she lets out a chilling scream.

That means it’s up to the cast to rescue a kidnapped Dorothy Yoo-jung from the clutches of the Wicked Wizard of the Safari (who, by the way, didn’t graduate magic school. For some reason that part made me laugh for a good minute), who worked his magic to make it so.

The kidnapping Wizard converses with his hostage in the car, telling her that he can grant all wishes. So Yoo-jung asks to be today’s victor, to which he’s like, …Y-yeah, a-about that….

He tells her that he has to win today, but Yoo-jung is quite the persistent kidnappee. Heh, looks like you chose the wrong Dorothy to mess with.

It’s actually quite cute how much the both of them are enjoying themselves, tossing back jokes as the Wizard drags his hostage to his lair. “But I don’t want to be a hostage!” “Do you take this Wizard as a joke?” “Why are you laughing! This is a serious situation!” “But it’s funny…”

Yoo-jung is convinced that TOP Oppa will come and rescue her, but at least the Wizard is the chivalrous type, opening doors for her and asking if she’s too cold. His castle is rigged with security cameras, and so, they wait….

When the others arrive, the Wizard cackles over the speakers with the instructions that they’ll have to traverse their way through multiple obstacles (separated by four locked gates) in order to get to Dorothy.

For their first round, they’ll have to eliminate two members in a nametag ripping game to move on. Jae-moon reveals his own envelope, which contains a free pass to move on. Huh, does that mean they only need to tag one person out to dwindle their numbers to six then?

While the cast members search for their hiding places, I can’t help but think how boring this final mission must be for Yoo-jung. All she’s done today is participate in one game and sit around, waiting to be rescued while the others play mind games with each other and run around. Just doesn’t seem all that fun for her ‘s all I’m sayin’.

In any case, Jae-suk roams the halls and eventually runs into SpartAce. So far, he’s been relying on the argument of not to exhaust themselves so early in the game, and he appeals to Jong-kook to eliminate Haha for them.

At that, Jong-kook turns around with a sigh, as if to say, “Fine, I’ll be right back.”

Even though Haha braces himself for the attack, he still jumps out of his skin to see Jong-kook round the bend. It’s a quick, clean elimination, and Jae-suk beams that Jong-kook is really handy when it comes to these kinds of favors. Caption: A savior when you’re on the same side, but a devil when he’s a foe.

They zero in on Kwang-soo as their next target. Our giraffe has locked himself in a room, so they lure him out with some distracted noises and barge into the room. They agree to relocate, but when Kwang-soo isn’t looking, Gary rips off his nametag.

Kwang-soo is flabbergasted by the sneak attack, to which Gary defends, “I learned this [method] from you!”

Back at the lair, Wizard Big Nose offers to liven things up a bit by giving Yoo-jung a taste of the trademark nametag ripping game. He’s surprised when she turns out to be pretty strong herself, and needless to say, she wins.

They join Jae-moon for the second round, where they’ll have to catch the Wizard themselves. Imma just say that maybe our Wizard should be the one who’s scared if a fourteen-year-old can overtake him.

Jae-moon’s laughter is scary enough that it can star in its own horror movie. Strangely, he keeps following Gary’s tail—is he thinking that he must eliminate the others?

That’s exactly what Jong-kook and Jae-suk are busy talking about, realizing that the Wizard didn’t say anything about eliminating each other. Er, can we tell the others about that ’cause the way TOP and Jae-moon are circling the Monday Couple is freaking me out.

Little do they know that the Wizard has his eyes trained on them, and he silently sneaks up on Jae-moon and swiftly eliminates him. Jae-moon comments that he thought they were supposed to attack each other. Ack, did anybody listen to the instructions carefully?

Both Jae-suk and Jong-kook jump at the sight of the Wizard. When asked why he’s doing this, Suk-jin answers: “To win!” They pin the Wizard down easily enough, but when Jae-suk rips off his nametag… he ends up eliminated himself.

Aha, so it appears that the Wizard casted a clone of himself. Anybody who eliminates the clone is ousted themselves, and those who were previously eliminated are revived. Oww, I’m getting a headache.

They’re back to eliminating each other again, and Jae-moon again targets Gary. Turns out the man has a judo background, which means he’s pretty strong himself. He gets a firm grip on Gary… and eliminates him.

We skip ahead to the final gate where only two members can proceed from here…

Meanwhile in jail, Jae-suk recounts his thrilling elimination story to two very confused scarecrows. They have no idea what he’s talking about, but nearly burst into tears of joy when Jae-suk asks how the rest of the episode will go when three of their most important members are sitting in jail.

Then they compare themselves to top Hollywood actors like Orlando Bloom and Tom Cruise. Hahaha, I love the jailhouse conversations; they’re hilarious.

The Monday Couple join them shortly afterwards, and we see Jong-kook fight off both guests on his own. Then TOP rips off Jong-kook’s nametag.

That’s the Wizard’s cue to enter the arena, dragging an oddly enthused Yoo-jung with him. He offers TOP a chance to return home with his dongsaeng if he eliminates Jae-moon. Then Jae-moon asks: “What if I tag him out?” Suk-in replies that’d mean he would win instead.

Jae-moon: “Then why didn’t you offer me the same thing?” Suk-jin: “Because [TOP] is the hero.” Hahaha.

Then both Jae-moon and TOP grab each other’s nametag simultaneously… and TOP comes out victorious.

Now it’s just a matter of eliminating the Wizard once and for all, and ha, his cape comes loose. Suk-jin ties it back on as he faces TOP and Yoo-jung (with Jae-moon’s running commentary in the background).

Both of them grab for each other’s backs… and TOP’s nametag flutters to the ground. I… I…. can’t even. *buries face in hands*

Heads: Wait wait, I’ma stop you right here: What show are you watching? TOP defeats Suk-jin with a mere flick of the wrist and emerges victorious. The crowd goes wild! TOP wins the day! He wins all of Running Man! …Okay, fine. Let’s all be sad because someone refuses to rewrite history for the good of all mankind (and VIPs everywhere).

The Wizard’s cape comes into question, which provides a perfect opportunity for Yoo-jung to snatch it, and rip off his nametag for the win.

Dorothy Yoo-jung receives gold rings as her prize, and I love how her fellow guests shamelessly ask for one. TOP: “Gimme one…”

Then the show cuts away to what must be next week’s episode as the cast show up wearing baseball uniforms. I can’t break down this portion of the episode on my own, so welcome back Heads!

Heads: Oh sure, bring me in on the part without TOP. Real smooth, man. I can tell our friendship really means something to you.

gummi: Well, you were busy this week tackling a different sport, just sayin’.

Heads: Mmmhmm. So, the focus turns to next week’s guest star Ryu Hyun-jin in what seems to be either a super-extended intro because he’s just that important… or they just ran out of footage. Which I can’t really understand, because couldn’t you just insert more TOP for twenty minutes? Or just show his face while listing facts, like this! Fun Fact #1: Did you know that TOP named Taeyang as the Big Bang member he’d date if Taeyang were a girl?

gummi: I’m going to go with the “ran out of footage” excuse because the staff randomly show up at his doorstep, and we spend a good five minutes looking at all of his baseball memorabilia. I know he’s a huge star in Korea, but this feels like a big letdown to insert at the end of an episode.

Heads: Maybe not for Ryu Hyun-jin fans? But it is for VIPs. We basically get a tour of his crib before the staff follows him to the Dodgers stadium to go look at more baseball stuff. It’s cute that Hyun-jin might be a Ji-hyo fanboy, at least. (Fun fact #2: TOP doesn’t like his mean, wolf-like image! Does that mean he wants to be a cute teddy bear?)

gummi: He’s nice enough to prepare some official Dodgers caps for the RM cast and staff, and then he’s given a mission of his own… with a superpower? Isn’t this the same thing as last time?

Heads:: Shhhhhhhhhhhhh.

gummi: He gets all embarrassed about it, too. Which makes sense if you have to cry out a magical incantation in front of your hyung.

Heads: The important thing is that he’s a good sport about it, which means he’ll probably be a fun guest next week. Wait… is that EXO I spy in the preview? Oh, god. I have to get out of a populated city before then. I still can’t hear out of my right ear thanks to KCON.

gummi: Are all twelve of them coming? Something tells me that they might just drop by or I’ll be faced with fourteen guests again. Not only that, it looks like next week will be entitled “Ryu Hyun-jin’s Choice,” and I can only deal with one future at a time.

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WHAT A BAD EPISODE. my vote for worst of all time.

What did the opening character plays have to do with the actual nametag game? It'd have been cool if you know, there were some relations, but no. It was purely to milk slapstick humour out of the viewers.

The female guest, had to do absolutely nothing to get her win. She might as well have been handed the win on a silver platter complete with fireworks. She didnt have to play the individual nametag ripping game until the final moment. And then all she had to do then was rip Suk Jin and tada, I'm the winner! Blatant guest preference here.

And then I'm supposed to believe Spartace, the only two RM left, who usually have each other's backs and trust each other so much, suddenly go against each other and Jong Kook would tear Ji Hyo willingly, leaving the two other guests as final players. Surprise! The guests survived all the RM members!

I'd feel very bad for Suk Jin if this was considered his special episode, because all he did was cackle like a villain, separated from the rest of his cast members.

Its quite sad that the plug pulling game, which in itself is so lame, turns out to be the funniest part of the episode.

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Definitely. I wish there was more of TOP bc everybody was gushing about his humor. I was looking forward to being impressed. Instead, I got a boring episode. ㅜㅜ.ㅜㅜ

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TOP is actually quite entertaining (see the episode of Family Outing with him in it). It's such a pity that the episode was so scripted.

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TOP wasn't so much as entertaining, himself on FO, as much as it was seeing TOP's reactions to Daesung bugging the crap out of him.

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I agree that it was a boring episode but about the blatant guest preference, that happens a lot and most of the time it doesn't take away from the humour of the episode. And that's what it's supposed to be about. Not who wins, but whether you found it entertaining. This particular episode, no. But other episodes, yes.

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Exactly what I thought! They really need to stop with these fake worlds. It's always so awkward to watch the amazing cast having to 'act' from scripts. It's not funny or entertaining in the slightest. I wish they'd go back to the name-tag ripping, spy-suspecting, chasing/running times. They've basically taken away everything that used to make Running Man so enjoyable. The quality of the show has really dipped in recent months, but it's really sad to see such a great show deteriorate and hit such new low. Let's hope the fact that this episode came in with the lowest ratings of the Sunday shows (2d1n beat them for the first time in months!) sends a firm signal to the writers and PD.

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Thanks for this awesome recaps Gummi =) (and Heads ;) ) It actually got more laughs out of me than the episode itself!

I was sooooo looking forward to this episode! TOP oppa being the sole reason and then we get this?!?! I normally don't care if an episode is scripted but this time it was so painfully obvious...

And I actually felt really sorry for Yoo Jung because she got to do so little :( I think she would have been awesome if given the chance!

And the extended preview... Meh... though I am looking forward to the next episode :)

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Sorry but this episode was so boring.

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I love RM.
Its my go to comfort show and has been a faithful friend So it shits me to see it decline, so slowly but so surely.
People had been commenting on how unentertaining it had become. And while I could see the change, I wouldn't right it off so harshly. Like obviously it can't be amazingly fab forever. But this ep just killed me It bored me to death. Buried me alive half heartedly so I could reach the surface then buried me again.
I think there's nothing wrong with RM going back to its original mission line up. Finding the guests, spies and drinking 'nice, warm' cups of lemon tea. Sure it won't be the same, but it'll be the RM we know and always enjoy.
Seeing what's happening with 1n2d threw me off, and i be shitting my pants man. Dun do dis to me baby!

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exactly how I'm feeling. I really hope that they don't go down the 2d1n route. *please variety gods please* it's so painful to watch a show that's given me so many laughs go down the toilet.

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And obviously scripted.

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RM can feel awfully scripted at times, it's like night and day between RM and 'Dad where are we going?'. DWAWG doesn't feel scripted, kind of hard to do with kids, some of which can't read yet. While on RM there's times when an ep is ruined for me when it becomes blatantly obvious it's scripted.

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whenever they do a heavily themed show like this it has to be scripted to make it work, some times it works some times it like this one its a fail. I did like the girl guest but even cute has its limits. Frankly I felt at the end the entire show was a filler for the baseball guy episode, so I felt even more that I had totaly wasted an hour in watching..will nothing but a long advert for the next episode really.

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Yeah, now where is the person who used to pick me and wants proof that RM is scripted?????

Dude, this show is so heavily scripted, esp when you have weekly guests and you need to make sure that your guests stay with you and hang around the cameras till the last second of the show. That's why you invite guests. Because you have to display them. Why inviting them if they later fail in the earlier rounds and just sit around and do nothing but cheer in the background watching the real host members play? That will be the most stupid thing to do in your show.

In other words, members and production team have to find ways that guests always there in finale round, and one of them has to win the game, or at least be in the winning team. No matter how ridiculous, obvious, faked, staged, scripted things, can be seen.

I rest my case here.

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This was a THEME show, so, of course, it is scripted in that sense.

The games are NOT scripted.

There have been plenty of eps where guests were expelled earlier.

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Couldnt last 10 minutes, I know am gonna be bored whenever RM acts out a story :(

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Just to see the cowardly lions, I persevered through the episode even though it was so painful. Now RM needs to pay me back 1.5 hours of my life. What a horrible episode it was

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Variety shows should have a life span just like a drama. It can't go on forever because the concept gets old and the audiences have nothing new to see. 1N2D needs to get axed first - surely. But this one needs go too. I haven't seen any good episode in such a long time.

This one was one of my favorites after 1N2D's season one. It was fun, different and just enjoyably hilarious. But that was a long time ago. Much of this year has been like this. I remember is how much I cringed in the 'Heirs' episode, but this one is taking it to a higher level of boring and scripted - just when I though that surely wasn't possible. They need new ideas for running man, or a new variety show altogether. And... I'd probably get stoned for saying that...

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You're probably right that they need completely new ideas or a new variety show..except that I love the chemistry of this casts so much I hope what ever "new" it is, they're all going to be there.

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they need a new PD
they need new writers
they need less guests
no more themed episodes
no more shameless drama plugs
bring back the punishments

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Infinity Challenge has done a good job for years adding new ideas to their show. It's why it's remain popular all this years. Maybe it's time for RM to add a new team member to add some freshness to show? IC added Gil late 09, so it's not really odd to add a new team member this long in the show's run.

Anyways problem with some variety shows is that while it has a great concept it can get old eventually, it happened to X-Man and somewhat with Family Outing, interesting to note some of the staff on RM has worked on both those shows, I think the PD also has been on both those shows.

RM has made some changes some for the best but some for the worst, some of the games in an ep can be fun while other's not so much and tend to drag. RM needs more consistency, which is what is lagging these days.

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zzzzz....

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I've heard many bad things about this episode, but I will watch it for TOP.

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I'm a huge Big Bang fan, and TOP is one of my favourites, so trust me when I say even he can't save this episode. Honestly don't waste 1.5 hours of your life on this episode. It is simply not worth it.

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I'm a huge RM fan and have hardly ever said anything bad about any of their episodes but this one was probably one of their worst.

The concept of wizard of oz wasn't a bad idea but the episode just seemed to go by so fast and really didn't have much bang to it.

T.O.P and Kim Yoo Jung seemed to just blend into the background in this episode, I can understand Yoo Jung being young, but she tried her best.

Anyway as boring as the episode was I still love RM and the chemistry of the cast but it wasn't working in this episode.

All good I know they'll bounce back next week :>

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I think i'm in the minority... I actually enjoyed the episode. I started to stop watching Running Man for the games and such. I'm just here for the comedy and the rapport, nothing else. It's just a way for me laugh some, and watch a family of cast members and (sometimes) pretty guests get a taste of variety. However, the one bad part about this episode was... WHY DID YOU RANDOMLY GO TO CLIPS ABOUT RYU HYUN JIN?!?!?!?!? I like him fine, my family's obsessed with baseball, but seriously. I felt like the episode was kinda rushed, so please, I know you love baseball PD ahjussi... BUT I WANT MORE TOPPPPPP.

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I feel the same way. I don't expect the next episode to be better than the last but I still enjoy every episode of Running Man. It makes me laugh and I love the cast and their interactions/relationships with each other.

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i was also confused at the ending of the OZ episode.
why was this ep so short?
i like Ryu Hyun Jin but I like TOP way more.
I tuned in just to watch TOP....idid they have to make that ep so short>??was the footage THAT bad???

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TOP didn't exactly do or say much in the ep...

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Yep, gotta echo the sentiments: this episode was a dud.

RM goes through these phases, we get several funny, entertaining episodes in a row, and then we get a stinker. I had enjoyed the last 2-3 episodes greatly so I was sort of expecting it. It's still bleh, but at least I was prepared (honestly, the preview for this episode set off my warning bells the previous week). Ryu Hyun-Jin's extended intro at the end was the highlight (lol @ the shade he had towards Puig).

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Totally agree with jel. Absolutely boring,.scripted ep. Everyone just look so unnatural . N yes the best part of the show was just the car plunger bit

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Can't deny the scripting...but still, I really enjoyed it for Suk Jin! He just really looked like he was getting to have fun and for that I can take the occasional obviously rigged episode. He doesn't get too many moments to shine, but for some reason he's always been a favorite of mine.

Though like Gummi and Heads (good to see you joining the fun!), I was a little surprised at TOP losing the name tag race and wondered if they somehow went off script, that is til Yoo Jung swooped in for her win. She really wanted it too, so I hope she had as much fun as it seemed she was.

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omg. I Was looking forward of TOP. but it was do boring. even top alone cant save it

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But TOP is one of the reasons why this ep was boring, he didn't do or say much in the ep.

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i love TOP,but i hate this episode.too scripted too boring. and i believe pd had to fill in with hyun jin in LA since there's not so much of scenes worth showing.
and we gonna have exo,yawn 12x.might as well skipping it and just wait till the recap.

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this episode was horrible. the name-tag ripping part was seriously WTF?! if you're having someone who is young in RM couldnt you think of a better way to make her participate in the games? and top, why you so quiet?

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Have watched all RM EPs except that about brides, and this is 1 of the most scripted, unnatural episode. But i still love RM, and don't want it to get axed.

On the side note, what happened to TOPs face, too much botox/PS... hoped this actors/actresses learn a lesson from MJ. Fans of TOP, don't shoot me, just stating the obvious... nothing personal

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TOP is not suited to be in variety, he is too quiet (pls watch his previous guest appearance). But he has done more in this EP as he is not with other members and had to participate more. Maybe he will get better...

Yoo Jung got a little help from Suk Jin in the last part of the name tag ripping, just watch Suk Jin gripping (one side of) the name tag with Yoo Jung pulling (the other side) and will see what i mean. (Pulling only one side of the nametage helps the other person).

RM creative team might hv worried that Yoo Jung is too young to participate in most of the physical game so was given less part..

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the scripting was so painfully obvious that i cringed my way through.... no offense to any TOP or yoo jung fans but they were so awkward that it was clear that it was scripted.... i was sorely disappointed and i love TOP i was excited for this ep but well,,, hope they recover their charm because RM is my first variety show and ill be sad if it gets axed or keeps degrading

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One of the reasons why I enjoy 'Dad where are we going?' is for how little to no scripted the show is, feels refreshing compare to other variety shows which tend to be scripted.

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Watched this episode, and excited to see TOP there. However, the guests are not all out and the casts seems losing to the guests on purpose (as always).
Disapponted, yes.
But I am still a bug fan of Running Man and I am looking forward to the next episode in which there'll be the big baseball man, Fat Ryu. The last time he's in Running Man, he's funny though not as funny and variety-gifted as Park Ji Sung.

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I don't care if it's stuff that's already been done as long as it's fun.

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i wish i could say i liked this episode but long story short -- i found it rather anti-climactic and boring (uninteresting games, bland guests). around the halfway mark i slowly lost interest and didn't even stay around to watch the last 10 mins. hopefully the next episode (171) will make up for this.

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Aww... I feel sorry for this ep. It felt like I was watching three different segments rolled up into one uneven package.

The first part, I enjoyed. Really liked this week's guests (primarily, TOP). They all had good cosplay interaction and RM and guests really got into the car/plunger game. Loved it.

And from that point on,.............zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Why, what, where and who allowed this to happen?! To have a high profile guest (TOP) who's practically guaranteed to up the ratings just by showing up, and not have an exciting RM episode to show him off
is mind-numbing.
This ep was a definite mis-step in what (I think) has been a strong series of RM shows.

Thanks for the recap, Ladies - appreciated as always! ♥❇♥

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Definitely a so-so episode. For me, the first game pretty much saved it. Watching them yanking the plungers and stuffing themselves into a car made me laugh harder than it had any right to. The last portion with the pitcher was just super lame. it's not even that it was strange but that it was sooo boring. Surely there was more footage from this episode to fill air-time.

Nevertheless, I feel like RM been great lately so I'm willing to overlook the occasional hiccup.

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This was one of the most boring episodes ever. Seriously...why take the cute girl out of the game? Maybe they could have done some quiz challenges etc which don't require physical strength so that she could have won? The race that gives Suk Jin and Yoo Jung so many extra chances just don't feel fun!

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This episode is meh. ?
I like the Coldplay of Tin men, scarecrow and cowardly lion. This episode of wizard of oz is so promising but I was not impressed. The reason is already said, heavily scripted to let guests win and the games is non-climatic. Normally, the name tag ripping game is exciting but for the first time I did not feel any excitment for this game.
I like it that Ji Suk Jin is the main character and he looks like he enjoyed his character but overall this episode is bland. The guests are not really funny. I love TOP but that does not save this episode. Lastly, the ten min footage of the baseball star is unnecessary and make this episode so awkward. Thank you for the review, hope the next episode will be better.

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One of the worst episodes. I still don't get why they need to play games to fight to get into the car when eventually, ALL of them can still sit in the same vehicle. Even the race is boring. It is so scripted. The girl can easily get to the finals by simply watching the screen with big nose hyung. And the members obviously went easy on the other 2 male guests, especially on TOP (excuse me while i shy away from BB fans....). They don't want to tear off their nametags many times when they have many chances to, only finding for the usual few (Kwang Soo, Haha) to compete with.

This concept is fresh, but I thought it can be done better. What a waste of a fresh concept. I always like it when RM use fairytales or children stories, like the episode of 'Alice in the wonderland' with boa which is wonderful.

On the bright note, I love it and appreciate that big nose hyung is one of the main characters here. I was hoping he would eventually win to make up the not good parts in front, what a pity. I just hope he didn't purposely lose to the guests. He can be as strong as the others. Remember not long ago he tore off JK's nametag?

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Nearly a complete dud, botched thoroughly by the production them. If I was watching this episode and was not familiar with RM, I'd be wondering what the point of the show was up until it was half over.

Again, in these comments and in other forums, very loose usage of the word "scripted." By scripted, do you mean too heavily plotted, rigged towards the guests, or simply rigged, like professional wrestling? If you think the games are routinely fixed, why to you even watch or comment?

Whether this episode was rigged or fixed is another question. The guests teaming up to take the regulars is common enough. The regulars not putting up any fight is much less common.

In this case, the producers bungled the arrangements for the games so badly that over half the show was pure filler. Bad idea to do that with TOP, who is apparently too shy to play a spontaneous role in the filler, sketch, and chatter scenes.

Hard to say exactly what they thought they were accomplishing by having Kim Yoo-jung, who had plenty of energy and could have been a great guest in the name chase, kidnapped and locked up for most of the day. Probably something to do with her being a minor female, but she looked like she could have held her own better than a lot of adults who've been on the show.

All in all, a loser, with some bright spots wasted in the general confusion. No blanket statements about the series from me, because several recent episodes have been well up to standard.

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Variety shows are in one way or another scripted, no show is not scripted, the difference is just in the way it is executed/presented.

This EP scenes just don't fit. It is badly executed.

But i still love RM. Hope they learn from this episode.

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My question was: what do people mean by "scripted?" Are the games fake or rigged? Are the outcomes decided in the script? If they aren't, I don't see the point behind most of the complaints about "scripted" game shows.

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It's not scripted in the sense of drama shows, where each line the actor says, the action, each scene and the plot is predetermined.

It's scripted in the sense that

a) the cast are playing a character that may or may not be real to their real life situations. For example, Gary often plays the fool when he is very eloquent and witty. Kwang Soo is not really a betrayer and such a loser in real life as his character. Haha hams it up a lot when he is actually more quiet. Monday couple. It doesn't mean they are given lines to speak, but they play the character according to their own understanding, and they excel in it and they are good at ad-lib and developing their own character on the show.

b) guests will normally be predetermined to be paired with the strongest MC, in this case Yoo Jae Suk, for the most exposure. Maybe when the guests are weak or have no variety skills. Or they let the guests choose, and most girls will choose Yoo.

This is not for all episodes as some of the team selection are randomised, eg, ep 80 where Yoo wasn't paired with any of the 3 girls.

c) Also, sometimes the rules and games are too blatently skewed to let the guests win, for example, the recent Heirs episode 166, and ep 102, 145.

d) One of the things I absolutely dislike is when the team throws the game and deliberately let the female guest win when it's quite clear the winner is one of the RM cast. For example, ep 53, 58, 82

e) There are "special" episodes that are heavily scripted where the cast have to make an "action" happen, like the Choi Min Soo episodes. Are they really so scared of him? Nah. It's too unbelieveable.

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Of course they are scared of choi min soo and they have a good reason to be scared, the guy is not only senior and older than them but he's known as a tough guy not only in screen but in real life too, he had a scandal where he beat up a guy very badly in the streets, that guy is not to be messed with...

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To me, scripted refers to purposely losing to give in to the guests or for the storyline of the episode to continue to ensure continuity. In this episode, RM seemed to give in to the guests alot, hence I felt this episode is heavily scripted.

Of course, I know every episode is scripted for RM. The. If it is not scripted, how else are they supposed to execute the race or make the race interesting? I once attended a lesson by a reowned scriptwriter. He said NO variety shows are NOT scripted. Yes, including DWAYG, because in all the shows there needs to be a flow. Of course, the kids are not forced to say out certain lines or do certain actions. For DWAYG, i believe the script is only used for the execution of the show.

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. . . I am willing to agree with anyone who thinks Spartace was completely wasted in this episode. Ji Hyo has started several episodes being crabby and withdrawn, but she almost always comes through when her competitive instincts are roused. Gong Kook just looked confused and uncertain throughout the episode, like he wished he were somewhere else or that someone would tell him what he was supposed to do.

Again, not their fault. The PD messed up the show from start to finish.

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i'd follow TOP anywhere & am just happy to see him in ANY rare white elk variety appearance.
but as a Running Man ep, they totally lost the plot. i thought yoojung seemed really adorable & enthusiastic, & would have no problem running around playing the games herself... dorothy was no passive kidnappee, just sayin'.

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Haven't watched this yet but Kim Yoo-jung is just too cute.

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I'm wondering if the people who think Running Man has gone down hill, maybe it's because the novelty of the show has worn off for them and that is why they aren't getting much entertainment from it?

Why are people acting as if Running Man just all the sudden became scripted? It has always been scripted and never pretended not to be. I remember one early episode where Yoo Jae Suk won for the Hiders team and they didn't even show how he won. They just showed a cartoon of what he did.

Not every part of the show has a script, they ab lib the conversations, but the actions generally have a guideline of how it should go. It's up to the players on how they achieve it.

I've enjoyed all the eps of this show. Some more than others. I just don't take the show and the rules seriously. Some people seem to forget that the games aren't real and that they aren't the point. The show isn't really about winning or losing the games. It's about how the cast interact with everyone and the laughs they bring out. That's how I view the show. I don't care who the winners are, I only care about how much they make me laugh.

I liked this episode. Ji Suk Jin played such a big role for it. I'm always rooting for him to win, even though 99% of the time he'll definitely loose. :) Jae Moon was pretty funny being the blackhole.

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What a terrible episode, one of the worst of all times. I don't think TOP is suitable for variety shows at all. He is too quiet and he doesn't bring anything to the show except being there for the fans who will be content even if he stands there and do nothing. His personality is too quiet and doesn't come through on these type of shows, making for exterme boringness. I'm shocked that his face looks extremely botoxed in this episode. A lot of tell tale signs that the botox was really fresh or too much. He must have used a terrible plastic surgeon to produce such lousy work.

The old guy was quiet too but he kinda lossened up at the last part, not enough to save the show thou. He did say this is his first variety or something so I give him that.

The girl was cute. Is she really only 14? She looks older than that, but I like her personality.

They shouldn't have set such a rigid theme for the show. Poorly executed, cast interaction is bad, the editing sucked big time. They hastily showed how Ji Hyo and KJK was eliminated, do you notice the editing was rushed at that point? Was that cut in favour of the 10 min intro to the baseball player? Change the PD.

I wouldn't write off RM because of this episode. Out of the last ten episodes from ep 161 - ep 170, eight are really strong and hilarious episodes and only two are duds, namely The Heirs ep 166 and Oz ep 170. That still gives a rate of 80% good stuff in recent times, or eight weeks of hilarity with two weeks of rubbish interspersed in between. I can still live with that as I recgonise RM is a really hard show to make.

Maybe they should change the direction of how the cast behave. I would like to see them give the guests a hard time, not in a mean way, and let the guests react, hopefully they will show a good personality and earn the admiration of the audience. Hah.

Can see some are people who will cry, eg, ep 16 Yuri and ep 34 UEE who almost cried. Some will wow people like Han Hyo Joo in ep 123, 124. She didn't win the games but she sure won a lot of goodwill from many people. Park Bo Young did well in ep 25 too in her 1 vs X game.

Haha also trolled a male guest in ep 157, it was really funny at first but it shouldn't be overdone like what he did here too.

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Wish one day Running Man could make Park Shin Hye and Jung Yong Hwa come and be in one team. Huuuuu

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This episode would be the first absolute worst in RM. I mean they have some bleh moments since they started but THIS.......!!!!!! you guys said it all. The most uncomfortable watch for me since watching RM. I cringe my way through.

Even all the members look confused themselves and I thought the guests were pretty bored too. It didn't help that TOP and rookie variety YJM are just quite. Yoo-jung on the other hand is a promising guest I look forward for her in the future (hope RM would still be running).

The car plunger part was probably worth noting because that was the only time YJM actually felt he was having fun. It felt like he wanted to do more games than having the confusing scripted Wizard of Oz theme. =.=

Sigh of relief for this weeks ep with Hyun Jin and EXO. No spoilers till gummi recaps it though. But just going to say not great but totally the RM we like and prefer.

Running Man FIGHTING!!!!

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The problem is the name tag ripping game was too much of the ep.

Unless the NTR game has an interesting twist to it or allows for strategy/alliance building/breaking - it gets old quickly.

Aside from the plunger/car cramming game, this was just 3 NTR games in a row which really didn't allow for anything interesting to happen.

The Wizard of Oz theme was a good concept, just really poorly executed.

KYJ was totally adorable.

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i'm sorry to say it but it was boring anyway i loooove top and the little girl YJ and kim jong kook ♥

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Can't believe people bother to defend this ep in ANY way. JSJ deserves more dignity than this load of bull crap. Worst ep ever, one of the very few I won't ever re-watch

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