How is it that all the stills from Chuno look so intriguing? I just hope the actual drama itself doesn’t disappoint, because I’m going to be expecting a pretty high level of quality.
These newest stills feature Lee Da-hae with runaway slave Oh Ji-ho, and are described as a “heartbreaking love scene,” although without the context, it’s a little hard to tell.
With its ratings approaching 20%, Smile’s run has been extended by 16 episodes from its original 30. It will air 46 episodes and wrap at the end of February.
An article announcing the extension attributes the steadily increasing ratings and popularity of Smile to its ability to provide comic relief among the many “makjang” dramas that are currently on the air. Makjang dramas such as Angel’s Temptation, which is currently airing, use sensationalist, over-the-top storylines to hook viewers—a far cry from the realistic, homey charm of Smile. The burgeoning feelings between Jung-in and Hyun-soo, as well as the comic family scenes, have given viewers “wholesome” laughs.
The series’ writer Moon Hee Jung, whose last work was on Last Scandal, has done an exceptional job so far. The plot has taken longer to develop in this series than in a 16- or 20-episode series, but there have been plenty of giggle-worthy moments to keep the pacing tight.
And there are quite a few leads that have been hinted at, but have yet to be fleshed out—ownership of the Seo house; Han-se vs. Hyun-soo; Sung-joon and Ji-soo; Ji-soo’s backstory; even Jung-in’s backstory, which we still know very little about; among others. I’ve also got a soft spot for Kyung-soo and hope he gets a chance to shine. Hopefully this gives the drama plenty of material to work through in the remaining 30 episodes, without getting draggy or detracting from its main draw, the relationship between Jung-in and Hyun-soo.
Plus, I’m an optimist at heart, so I’ve got my fingers crossed that Smile will be able to keep up its momentum–the laughs, character development and romantic tension–without having to revert to maudlin/angsty plot twists. Angst has its place, but Jung-in and Hyun-soo are such refreshing characters that I’d hate to see them fall prey to cliche!
Via Nate News
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After a lukewarm beginning, SBS is seeing an upswing for its makjang melodrama Angel’s Temptation, which has risen from an initial 10% to nearly double that with this week’s episodes. As a result, it has been given an extension — albeit for only one more episode. It will now end with Episode 21.
SBS tried some schedule experimentation with this drama, whose original assignment to the prime-time Monday-Tuesday hour all but consigned it to ratings hell, since rival series Queen Seon-deok has been consistently crushing its competition. SBS therefore moved Angel’s Temptation up an hour — which has never been done before — to air uncontested by other dramatic fare, instead going up against news and documentary programming. At first, results were disappointing, but thanks to quick-moving revenge plots, the drama has been steadily rising in the ratings.
This week, Angel’s Temptation finally beat KBS News, which regularly pulls in about 18% ratings, with a 19.6% to the news hour’s 18.1%. Of course, it’s difficult to compare news to dramas when the ratings as we understand them are always relative to other drama series. In comparison, Mi-shil made her big exit in Queen Seon-deok an hour later to 42.3% ratings.
Following Angel’s run will be the medical sageuk series Jejoongwon (starring Park Yong-woo, Han Hye-jin, and Yeon Jung-hoon), on January 4. No definite word is out yet about which hour Jejoongwon will air in, but its staff is anticipating a return to the normal prime-time schedule, as Seon-deok will be over by year’s end.
Via SBS, Sports Khan
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First stills are out for the upcoming SBS series Will It Snow On Christmas, which feature star Han Ye-seul dressed up to attend her character’s engagement party.
In the drama, she is the first love to Go Soo’s character, but the two separate in their youths and she becomes engaged in this scene to Song Jong-ho. Go Soo attends the ceremony to take the place of a sick friend and sees her there, shocked to recognize his childhood friend. These scenes were filmed on October 26 at an outdoor cafe in Yangju, Kyeonggi-do.
This is sweet (and yay for overseas fans, yet again): in anticipation of Hero’s broadcast premiere tomorrow, overseas fans have shown their support for lead actor Lee Junki in the form of 30,000 origami cranes.
The fan gifts arrived on November 17 at Hero’s Seoul filming location in a truckload containing fifteen boxes. Lee Junki had been taking a brief break from filming at the time of arrival, and hearing that they’d come from his overseas fans, he opened the boxes himself to confirm the sight.
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