Simply charming. This show beats with emotion and carries delightful notes of humor that makes it a fairly easy watch despite its somewhat long premiere. It can be difficult to strike the right chord when it comes to music-centric dramas, especially with a cast of fresh faces. But cable network Mnet hit the ground running with Monstar, beating out its Friday competitors with a solid 1.6% in ratings.

It’s a show marketed towards a younger audience, but the story and characters brings a certain fondness (and heartache) for adolescence, even for those who left it behind years ago. We’ve barely scratched the surface of what lies beneath, but there’s an underlying sense of assurance that those mysteries will be revealed in due course.

SONG OF THE DAY

Yong Jun-hyung & Ha Yeon-soo – “지난 날” from the series OST. [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Monstar: Episode 1 (3,697 words)

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Post tags: Ahn Nae-sang, cable programs, featured, first episodes, Ha Yeon-soo, Kang Haneul, Monstar, Yong Jun-hyung

What happens when you pit two rugged all-star casts against each other? It’s a survival race of the ages in Running Man as our cast faces the Law of the Jungle team for some variety fun. They’ll laugh and cry with each other through the funny and the tears, through excitement and the pain. Which cast will reign supreme in this heated battle for pride and glory?

EPISODE 145. Broadcast on May 12, 2013.

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Post tags: featured, Haha, Ji Suk-jin, Kang Gary, Kim Jong-kook, Lee Kwang-soo, Running Man, Song Ji-hyo, Yoo Jae-suk

We get not one, not two, but three Spartakooks likenesses to join our cast in a Children’s Day Special. Is it too early to start panicking? Then it’s time to settle the score once and for all between the two ddakji masters. Who will come out on top and flip our expectations? Will there be a new ddakji king to usher in a new era?

EPISODE 144. Broadcast on May 5, 2013.

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© gummimochi for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 43 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Haha, Ji Suk-jin, Kang Gary, Kim Jong-kook, Lee Kwang-soo, Running Man, Song Ji-hyo, Yoo Jae-suk

Time to loosen those vocal chords and get that tambourine ready for a noraebang experience you likely won’t ever forget. The godfather of variety pays our cast a visit to train their sharp wit, fine-tune their physical gags, and bring out a new persona. Some things don’t ever change, and perhaps someone’s bad luck is really a sign that the variety gods have a bright future ahead of them.

EPISODE 143. Broadcast on April 28, 2013.

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Read the rest of Running Man: Episode 143 (3,343 words)

© gummimochi for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 43 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Haha, Ji Suk-jin, Kang Gary, Kim Jong-kook, Lee Kwang-soo, Running Man, Song Ji-hyo, Yoo Jae-suk

Get your rackets ready for another round of Variety Roulette where we’ll take a swing at the fairly new sports show on the KBS lineup, spearheaded by nation’s MC Kang Ho-dong: Our Neighborhood Variety Sports. The premiere beat out its Tuesday night competitors (namely Incarnation) with a solid 6.2% in ratings.

And the numbers continue to climb week after week, as Episode 4 hit a new series high of 7.2%. Who knew that table tennis could be so intense, so funny, and so alluring?

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© gummimochi for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 31 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Choi Kang Changmin, featured, Kang Ho-dong, Lee Su-geun, Min-ho, Variety Roulette

Spring is in the air, which mean it’s the perfect time for romance (or bromance) to blossom in varietyland. There are a few pairings we’ve come to know and love and now it’s time to figure out who’s the best. Some couples are Meant to Be while others are more unfortunate. May the best couple win!

EPISODE 142. Broadcast on April 21, 2013.

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© gummimochi for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 35 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Haha, Ji Suk-jin, Kang Gary, Kim Jong-kook, Lee Kwang-soo, Running Man, Song Ji-hyo, Yoo Jae-suk

In the final battle of this brutal war, the truth rears its ugly head as justice comes to declare final judgment on the righteousness of our characters. Everyone has a shot at a second chance, to turn away from their misdeeds, and make a new start. But you’ll miss it if you let your pride and selfish ambition stand in the way. You may think that you’re looking down on society from your moral pedestal, but you need to look up and realize that you’ve already fallen. So it may be the end of the line for you, but it’s just the beginning for someone else.

Incarnation went out with a bang in its final week with 14.3% and 16.8%, respectively.

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Read the rest of Incarnation of Money: Episode 24 (Final) (3,629 words)

© gummimochi for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 89 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Hwang Jung-eum, Incarnation of Money, Kang Ji-hwan

Fighting in war isn’t always easy, especially if your morals and emotions are in constant conflict with each other. What if doing something right requires you to betray how you feel? On the other hand, what if your emotions force your hand to do something morally wrong? It’s questions like these that continue to plague our characters as the truth slowly unravels at their feet.

Maybe that pristine white vase isn’t as beautiful as you once thought when you realize that you’re holding a dirty rag in your hand.

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Read the rest of Incarnation of Money: Episode 23 (3,586 words)

© gummimochi for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 42 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Hwang Jung-eum, Incarnation of Money, Kang Ji-hwan

Welcome to the Running Man Animal Kingdom where you’ll find a variety of characters who will tickle your funny bone. Some of them may be cute and lovable, whereas you may want to approach with caution with the beasts. Come one and come all; and if you’re lucky, you may even catch a glimpse of a familiar character you once saw in a different variety zoo…

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Read the rest of Running Man: Episode 141 (3,133 words)

© gummimochi for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 62 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Haha, Ji Suk-jin, Kang Gary, Kim Jong-kook, Lee Kwang-soo, Running Man, Song Ji-hyo, Yoo Jae-suk

Absence makes the heart grow fonder; or in this case, it becomes the driving force behind a new determination for Jae-in, who finally comes into her own. It just so happens that when you redirect that stubbornness to get under the resident baddie’s skin, it can turn out be a pretty useful character quirk.  A one-woman protest can be a lonely journey but even a drop of courage can protect the ones you love. I’ll have another order of the badassery, please.

EPISODE 22 RECAP

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Read the rest of Incarnation of Money: Episode 22 (3,095 words)

© gummimochi for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 43 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Hwang Jung-eum, Incarnation of Money, Kang Ji-hwan