Yes, my last post was “The Best of 2007,” but rather than put up a Worst list, I’m lumping them all together with The Rest. Not all the dramas I’m mentioning here are bad; they’re just dramas I watched that didn’t belong in the Best list.

SONG OF THE DAY

War of Money OST – “알 수 없는 일” (unknowable thing) by Sweet Sorrow [ Download ]

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Read the rest of The Year in Review, Part 4: The Rest of 2007 (4,355 words)

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Post tags: Air City, Auction House, Bad Couple, Capital Scandal, Goong S, Hello! Miss, Legend, Oh Su Jung, stuff I dig, War of Money, Witch Amusement, year in review

Cute child actors playing orphans. Poise knife above heart.

Cute orphans displaying precocious awareness of their abandonment. Insert knife.

Cute precocious orphans who are practically still babies sobbing and clinging to youthful hopes while being forced to exhibit premature adult wisdom. Twist.

 
Auction House isn’t doing very well in the ratings. With the numbers hovering around the 5%-6% range, it’ll be interesting to see if this experiment in the multi-season format, modeled after the American drama template, will air its second season, which is already in its planning stages. I don’t know that they can justify it when interest is lukewarm. My own interest isn’t terribly high, but Episode 3 was noticeably better than the previous two installments, both in story and in directing, so it kept me onboard for another week.

Actually, even if you’re not watching Auction House, Episode 3 might be worth watching, since it stands on its own rather nicely. It’s really more like a “one-act drama,” like the kinds that make up Drama City or Best Theater episodes.

SONG OF THE DAY

Roller Coaster – “해바라기” (Sunflower) [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Auction House: Lot 3 (2,292 words)

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Post tags: Auction House, episode recaps, Jung Chan, Yoon So-yi

Auction House’s Episode 2 (or, as they call it, Lot 2) was a lot better than its first episode, but still feels like it’s missing something. As with Air City, despite its slick production and competent execution, I feel like the show is just a couple steps away from being something really interesting.

Still, enough things were well-done that Episode 2 kept me tuned in, and it definitely helped that the story was much more compelling than its first installment. The mystery nature of the plot (who stole the valuable painting?) was satisfyingly complex-but-not-TOO-complex.

And, if you’re an art buff, perhaps the brief discussions about the paintings in Auction House will engage you. I’m not too knowledgeable about art, but I find the all-too-short analyses about the various artworks pretty interesting.

(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Nuevo Discos – “Cry” [ zShare download ]

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Read the rest of Auction House: Lot 2 (2,285 words)

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Post tags: Auction House, episode recaps, Jung Chan, Yoon So-yi

Anyone else catch the premiere of the new MBC drama Auction House? Ever since I heard about the new format they were attempting, I’ve been keen on seeing if the show was worth watching, despite not having particular interest in auction houses or the goings-on thereof. Auction houses as a backdrop for other, more exciting events (no matter how ridiculous — Charmed, anyone?) are great; as an entity in itself, I’m unconvinced.

I really wanted/still want Auction House to be good, for a couple different reasons. First off, I’m looking for a decent non-historical drama to watch and I’m impatient for the new round to start up. Second, it looks pretty nice (that screencap above, for instance, is an impressionistic rendering of the opening scene on a busy city sidewalk) — not incredible, but very good, although that could just be the excellent Mickeybaby rips (if you haven’t switched over to Mickeybaby, you don’t know what you’re missing). Also, it’s attempting what Air City initially wanted to do but couldn’t pull off, which is a multi-season storyline with actual discrete episodes. I’m all for giving people props for trying something new…

(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Clazziquai – “Salesman” [ zShare download ]

 
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Read the rest of MBC’s Auction House (2,043 words)

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Post tags: Auction House, episode recaps, Jung Chan, Yoon So-yi

 
I find the following article (indented stuff in dark blue font is the translated article; the rest are my comments) particularly interesting because I’ve thought this topic over a lot in the past, and pretty much completely disagree — not with the article’s logic, but the conclusion. The piece draws upon comparisons between kdramas and their American drama counterparts, which have multiple-season structures that differ from the kdrama format (of single-season, finite series). I have long believed — strongly, at that — that in this respect, the kdrama format far outstrips the U.S. model.

But I’ll get more into that after the article. First, here’s what it’s got to say:

“Demanding More Seasons of Television Dramas”

When popular dramas end, you’ll find these sorts of comments on the audience message boards: “Produce a season 2!” That was the case not long ago with MBC’s Coffee Prince Store #1, as well as Time of Dog and Wolf.

 
(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

The Hi-Lights – “Mister Tambourine” [ zShare download ]

 
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Read the rest of Sequel Mania (1,805 words)

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Post tags: Auction House, Bad Couple, Bad Family, drama production, drama ratings, Hello Franceska, Lovers, sequels