It’s a jam-packed podcast this time around, as we whiz through a full slate of dramas past and present. Let’s dive right in.

 
Podcast #16

Running time: 69:19

In which we:

• Discuss Gu Family Book and Suzy as a leading lady, with comparisons to Jeon Woo-chi;
• talk about You’re the Best, Lee Soon-shin’s narrative flaws, family drama pacing and Ojakkyo Brothers, and why this is better enjoyed as a fast-forward drama (10:55);
• briefly cover Nine and why it was enjoyable but not addicting (17:24);
• discuss That Winter, The Wind Blows in a nutshell and why it didn’t float our boats (19:10);
• move on to Mandate of Heaven, the reason the side characters trump the main romance, and how it exceeded initial expectations (20:31);
• give our first impressions of Jang Ok-jung (26:00);
• move to currently airing shows like I Hear Your Voice with a brief sidebar on Heartless City, the acting of its leads Lee Bo-young and Lee Jong-seok, and why it seems like a promising new selection (29:50);
• touch upon Dating Agency Cyrano and its fun, brisk rom-com vibe (36:44);
• cover Shark, Kim Nam-gil, and his pornstache of shame (39:38);
• talk about Monstar, its refreshing vibe and quirky heroine, and its thoughtful incorporation of musical numbers (45:36);
• lament the downward trajectory of 1 Night 2 Days and wonder at which point one gives up on a show (51:44);
• mention broadcaster trends and the directionlessness of Barefoot Friends (1:02:05);
• and wrap up with thoughts about our recent(ish) Dramabeans Meetup (1:03:22).

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Read the rest of Dramabeans Podcast #16 (135 words)

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Post tags: 1N2D, featured, Gu Family Book, Mandate of Heaven, Monstar, Nine, Shark, That Winter the Wind Blows, You're the Best Lee Soon-shin

In case you missed our first attempt at Mystery Drama Theater 3000, we’re bringing the concept back, only this time we’ve picked a less obscure show.

For our first outing we picked a show that was less-watched because we thought it would be nice to weigh in on something we hadn’t previously talked about. However, that also made the show harder to find, so for Numero 2 we’re going in the complete opposite direction (Dramabeans: The Land of Extremes and No In-Betweens!).

This time we’ve gone with a drama recognized by everybody and their mother (seriously, your mom’s probably seen it), which we’ve covered extensively on this here site: Boys Before Flowers, probably THE pop-culture sensation of 2009. It’s been a while since we’d seen the series, so it was an interesting experience to go back with somewhat new eyes and the benefit (?) of hindsight.

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Read the rest of Mystery Drama Theater 3000: Boys Before Flowers (135 words)

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Post tags: Boys Before Flowers, featured, Gu Hye-sun, Kim Hyun-joong, Lee Min-ho, Mystery Drama Theater 3000

 
Podcast #15

Running time: 57:28

In which we:

• Start off with King of Dramas, the king of meta;
• move on to the pain and misery of I Miss You (10:15);
• compare notes on how our expectations for School 2013 shook out versus the final product, with much love for its bromance and a little less love for the afterschool specials, with a brief tangent on Bleak Night (15:45);
• wish that Jeon Woo-chi had more dimension, though we enjoyed the fun, Cha Tae-hyun’s impishness, and Hong Jong-hyun’s adorable stoic charm (22:00);
• talk about how adorable Flower Boy Next Door is, Yoon Shi-yoon’s endearing performance and his cute chemistry with Park Shin-hye (though it must be noted that the podcast was recorded before finale week — I think we’d have a few tempered comments to add were we given a do-over) (32:50);
• and wrap up with the juvenile antics of Level 7 Civil Servant (42:35).

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Read the rest of Dramabeans Podcast #15 (157 words)

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Post tags: featured, Flower Boy Next Door, I Miss You, Jeon Woo-chi, King of Dramas, Level 7 Civil Servant, School 2013

Time to conclude this (monster of a) sucker, with a discussion of the currently airing dramas. Thanks for listening to another podcast, everyone. Until next time!

 
Podcast #14, Part 2

Running time: 40:51

In which we:

• discuss why we love the world and the characters of Arang and the Magistrate;
• move on to Vampire Prosecutor 2, what we like about it, and also what we like a little less (13:49);
• and conclude with Nice Guy, with all its dark and twistiness (25:30).

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Read the rest of Dramabeans Podcast #14, Part 2 (99 words)

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Post tags: Arang and the Magistrate, featured, Nice Guy, Vampire Prosecutor 2

We’re a bit overdue for a podcast, which means that this one’s super long. In our defense, there was a ton of ground to cover. And yeah, so maybe we just had a lot to say about Gaksital. I was SO determined to make this podcast fit into one reasonably-lengthed entry… but who was I kidding? It was over with ‘reasonable.’ Two parts it is! And we weren’t even drunkin’ it.

Podcast #14, Part 1

Running time: 67:40

In which we:

• talk about the disappointment that was Big and why the Hong Sisters didn’t deliver (3:10);
• begin the very long discussion on Gaksital, beginning with overall impressions and how we rate the show (9:53);
• discuss Gaksital’s dealing of historical events and people, with a brief mention of The Princess’s Man (16:40);
• still Gaksital: its technical merits, why the director rocks, why the action scenes are meaningful, and how it went dark (20:35);
• move on, finally, to Answer Me 1997, why we loved it, and where it faltered (32:35);
• wonder about To the Beautiful You, where characters act like aliens (43:50);
• puzzle out the dichotomy of Faith of its potential versus execution (49:19);
• and discuss its lead stars Kim Hee-sun and Lee Min-ho (60:06).

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Read the rest of Dramabeans Podcast #14, Part 1 (140 words)

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Post tags: Answer Me 1997, Big, Faith, featured, Gaksital, To the Beautiful You

Hello, folks! This is a podcast we hadn’t planned, exactly, but ended up recording because that just seemed easier, given how far along we’re in Standby at this point, compared to the last time we covered it. It’s a show that I’ve been watching regularly, and while it’s not rocking my world, there are enough appealing cast members, cute relationships, and some laugh-out-loud moments to keep me coming back for more.

So here we go: Standby in 3, 2, 1…

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Read the rest of Dramabeans Podcast #13: Standby (428 words)

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Post tags: featured, Go Kyung-pyo, Ha Suk-jin, Im Shi-wan, Jung So-min, Kim Soo-hyun (2), Lee Ki-woo, Ryu Jin, Standby

 
Here we are with Part 2 of the very long Podcast #12, which concludes our talk about the current drama landscape. (Check out Part 1 here if you missed it.)

Podcast #12, Part 2

Running time: 61:56

In which we:

• continue the podcast with I Do, I Do;
• move on to Big (11:17);
• start a very long discussion about Gaksital (24:45);
• take a tangent on our personal experiences and understanding of the Occupation and Korea’s emotional response to Japan (27:21);
• return to Gaksital relevancy (34:01);
• and end with a brief(ish) detour on Joo-won, Tae-woong, and 1 Night 2 Days (51:44).

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Read the rest of Dramabeans Podcast #12, Part 2 (137 words)

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Post tags: 1N2D, Big, featured, Gaksital, I Do I Do, Joo-won

Podcast #12, Part 1

Running time: 58:53

In which we:

• Catch up on which new shows have premiered in the new year;
• discuss Rooftop Prince (3:05);
• Queen In-hyun’s Man and its ending (10:50);
• The King 2 Hearts with a tangent on Sohn Ji-chang and the origins of girlfriday’s Seung-gi love (19:39);
• Jang Dong-gun’s popularity and A Gentleman’s Dignity (38:45);
• and the craziness that is Dr. Jin (47:35).

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Read the rest of Dramabeans Podcast #12, Part 1 (162 words)

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Post tags: featured, Queen In-hyun's Man, Rooftop Prince, The King 2 Hearts

Experiment!

We’ve had this feature suggested to us a few times, and thought it sounded like an intriguing idea to watch a show for the first time and record our reactions in real time, MST3K-style. Sort of like a DVD commentary track, where you can watch and listen along at the same time.

Our approach was to take show we really didn’t know much about, which we hadn’t recapped, and therefore would be going into the experiment fairly blind. We decided on K-pop Ultimate Survival, a cable show that isn’t, despite its title, a survival reality show but a drama about the formation of an idol band, with a tomboyish girl who somehow gets involved. Sound familiar?

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Read the rest of Mystery Drama Theater 3000: K-pop Ultimate Survival (250 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 121 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cable programs, featured, Go Eun-ah, K-pop Ultimate Survival, Mystery Drama Theater 3000, Park Yoo-hwan

 
Here we are, back by popular demand: another podcast!

Podcast #11

Running time: 49:23

In which we:

• Catch up on which new shows have premiered in the new year;
• talk about Salaryman and Jung Ryeo-won’s improvement in it (3:25);
• Moon That Embraces the Sun, ratings, why it’s overrated, why it’s popular (7:00);
• Dream High 2, why it’s no Dream High 1, why it doesn’t work (16:50);
• why Shut Up: Flower Boy Band is so awesome (24:58);
• cable shows, Operation Proposal (32:16);
• 1 Night 2 Days, aka 1N2D, aka “1bak” (34:41);
• and musings on what we’d like to see in the future (46:15).

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Read the rest of Dramabeans Podcast #11 (121 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2012. | Permalink | 74 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 1N2D, Dream High 2, featured, History of the Salaryman, Shut Up: Flower Boy Band, The Moon That Embraces the Sun