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

EPISODE 438. Broadcast on May 12, 2013.

javabeans: We kick off Part 2 of our “romantic backpacking trip” with special guest Choi Kang-hee, and the captions prompt the question: What do you need with you on a backpacking trip? Tae-woong says a camera, Tae-hyun says music, and I’m hoping somebody said food and shelter.

girlfriday: Maybe they assumed it would get taken away anyway.

javabeans: Am I the only one who’s like, But is that reason to stop trying? C’mon, years of this stuff, weekend after weekend, some lazy PD’s gonna slip up someday.

girlfriday: One missed bag check later, Shi-kyung’s sitting in the corner with a mound of candy bars and Joo-won’s playing video games?

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Read the rest of 1 Night 2 Days: Episode 438 (3,253 words)

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Post tags: 1N2D, Cha Tae-hyun, featured, Joo-won, Kim Jong-min, Lee Su-geun, Sung Shi-kyung, Uhm Tae-woong, Yoo Hae-jin

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 | 42 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

EPISODE 437. Broadcast on May 5, 2013.

javabeans: Cool, we start out this episode at home—Tae-woong’s home, that is to say. I like when we get to see inside their lives, even if it’s just briefly. There’s a dog lazing around (of course) and his wife (who still calls him oppa) is watching him pack for his trip. Wife: “Do you know how to fold that parka flat?” Tae-woong: “I can just crumple in it there.” Boys.

girlfriday: And then we hear her groooooaaaan when he takes out an old vest that she hates. Ha. This is cute. He ignores her fashion advice and tries to get the puppy’s attention, and the puppy ignores him. Karma?

javabeans: I guess there are no VJs here, which probably adds to the cute factor. It looks like each guy has a camera that a friend or relative is shooting themselves.

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© girlfriday for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 78 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 1N2D, Cha Tae-hyun, featured, Joo-won, Kim Jong-min, Lee Su-geun, Sung Shi-kyung, Uhm Tae-woong, Yoo Hae-jin

javabeans: New Sunday variety show Barefoot Friends premiered to lowish numbers three weeks ago, but the real test was whether it would be able to climb up from its initial 5.6% numbers to challenge Dad! Where Are We Going?… but instead the numbers have dropped. Yesterday’s Episode 3 pulled in a frankly shockingly low 2.9%.

girlfriday: That is dismally low.

javabeans: I would hate for Kang Ho-dong to get another show cancelled so soon after his comeback, but let’s be fair: I’ve seen all three episodes and I see why people are zoning out. It’s got a great cast, a confusing non-premise, and a lot of boring filler “missions.”

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Read the rest of Barefoot Friends logs perilously low ratings (1,056 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 101 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: conversation post, Eunhyuk, Kang Ho-dong, Kim Hyun-joong, UEE, variety shows, Yoon Shi-yoon

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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© 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

EPISODE 436. Broadcast on April 28, 2013.

girlfriday: Time for dinner bokbulbok games, brought to you by mud, mud, and more mud.

javabeans: Let’s hope there’s a decent meal for all at the end of the mud train, because lunch was really sad.

girlfriday: I don’t know what Hae-jin is smoking, but when Su-geun asks him what he wants to do about teams, Hae-jin says he’ll stick with his (losing) lunch team.

javabeans: Uh-oh. It’s like gambling fever. Double-or-nothing mania. Stubbornness over logic.

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Read the rest of 1 Night 2 Days: Episode 436 (3,268 words)

© girlfriday for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 69 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 1N2D, Cha Tae-hyun, featured, Joo-won, Kim Jong-min, Lee Su-geun, Sung Shi-kyung, Uhm Tae-woong, Yoo Hae-jin

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

EPISODE 435. Broadcast on April 21, 2013.

javabeans: Right off the bat as the members arrive for a new trip, we’re hit with a preview of the goodies to come today: Let’s just say there’s lots of mud, digging, and humiliation in store for them.

girlfriday: Muahaha. The boys get together for a group-walking intro and everyone wears sunglasses to try and look cool… except for Su-geun, whose look I can’t even describe.

javabeans: Did Su-geun pick that out of his son’s Cracker Jacks?

girlfriday: There couldn’t be more colors in a pair of sunglasses if you tried.

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Read the rest of 1 Night 2 Days: Episode 435 (2,124 words)

© girlfriday for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 76 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 1N2D, Cha Tae-hyun, featured, Joo-won, Kim Jong-min, Lee Su-geun, Sung Shi-kyung, Uhm Tae-woong, Yoo Hae-jin