Bad Love, Rivals

Perhaps as a corollary to this discussion of why ratings are important, for better or for worse (usually for worse), here’s an article that discusses one such ramification: actors who come attached with high price tags that the drama then is unable to recoup when a drama flops in the ratings.

(One thing to note: Despite the high numbers listed, Korean actors find most of their paychecks going to management companies, as actress Choi Jin-shil recently gained attention for mentioning. In the U.S., agents are only allowed to take 10% — though more fees get siphoned off to managers, publicists, lawyers, and the like — but that percentage is much higher for Korean celebs.)

Even if a drama flops, stars’ asking prices continue to soar. It’s not as though market theory applies, and those prices keep rising, defying logic. Even when a drama meets with crushing failure, hurting the production company behind it, a star’s fee still climbs.

This year saw many dramas that failed to draw in good results or produce high ratings, such as the dramas Single Papa in Love, Bad Love, Rivals, Three Dads, One Mom, Who Are You?, Spotlight, I Love You, Robbers, and many others. …

SONG OF THE DAY

Rivals OST - “지켜줄게” (I’ll protect you) by Lee Shin-sung [ Download ]

 
More disappointing dramas with highly paid actors >>

Tags: Bad Love, Bulhandang/Robbers, drama production, drama ratings, Park Shin-yang, War of Money

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 28 Comments →

I was thinking how I’ve been watching lots of first episodes of dramas these days, but haven’t found anything to dive into since the end of Who Are You? It’s starting to feel like going on a string of disappointing first dates — measuring up expectations versus performance, anticipation versus letdown, etc.

You know, there’s that date you’re really looking forward to, so you get dressed up and put on your heels and makeup and count down the hours, and he turns out to be a total dud. Or the date you agreed to because it was easier to give the guy your number than to try to invent an excuse not to because those excuses always come out embarrassingly half-assed — like you say you don’t have a phone and then it rings, or something — but then you end up having a good time.

I didn’t exactly intend to go off on an extended metaphor, but when I thought about all the recent dramas I’ve caught, they all seemed to fit (more or less).

SONG OF THE DAY

G.O.D. - “Falling” [ Download ]

First dates, by which I mean… >>

Tags: Bulhandang/Robbers, Coffee Prince, Hong Gil Dong, I Love You, Iljimae, La Dolce Vita, On Air, ranty/ravey, Rivals, Spotlight, stuff I dig, The Last Scandal of My Life, Tokyo Showers, Who Are You?, Why Did You Come To Our House, Yi San

Filed under: Drama Reactions & Reviews by javabeans - 103 Comments →

Hong Gil Dong is performing decently well in the ratings — it’s not soaring, but holding steady in its initial 15% range against the hit medical drama New Heart, which has risen with its latest episode to break the 30% mark. (Their third rival barely compares; Bulhandang [Con Man] is struggling, having sunk to nearly half its initial viewership of 9.8% to 5.5%. In fact, most press refers to the Wednesday-Thursday ratings battle as a two-way competition, leaving Bulhandang out of the equation.)

15% ratings doesn’t make the series a runaway hit, but it’s respectable, given that the numbers have stayed relatively constant throughout its run. New Heart (MBC) has the added benefit of having premiered a few weeks prior to the other two series; Hong Gil Dong (KBS2) and Bulhandang (SBS) began their runs on the same day.

Newsen reports that Hong Gil Dong is further winning audiences through its repeat broadcasts; the latest ratings numbers released by TNS Media Korea show Hong Gil Dong recording as high as 7.6% for its latest (the 14th) episode rerun. Naturally, the other series are also airing repeats, but TNS points out that Bulhandang trails there also, by a solid 2% margin.

New Heart, Bulhandang

Via Newsen, IS Plus

SONG OF THE DAY

New Heart OST - “Monologue” by Monday Kiz [ zShare download ]

RELATED POSTS:

• Hong Gil Dong: Episode 14
• Hong Gil Dong: Episode 13
• Jang Hyuk’s busy new year
• Robbers aka Con Man aka Bulhandang
• Pictures speak louder than words

Tags: Bulhandang/Robbers, Hong Gil Dong, New Heart

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 19 Comments →

Congrats to new dad Jang Hyuk.

The actor’s year is already plenty busy just one and a half months into 2008, and it’s about to get busier. He’d announced his marriage plans at the end of December, and is currently starring in the SBS drama Bulhandang (Con Man). In the series, which is earning middling response amid poor ratings (it airs opposite more popular shows New Heart and Hong Gil Dong), he plays an unscrupulous wastrel opposite Lee Da Hae’s widowed young single mom.

Then, just a few days ago on February 8, he became the proud father to a baby boy. In order to properly record his newborn son in the family register, however, the couple will be registering their marriage first, then hold the wedding ceremony in June.

Via Newsen

SONG OF THE DAY

I.F. (Infinite Flow) - “연애편지” (love letter) [ zShare download ]

RELATED POST:

• Robbers, aka Con Man, aka Bulhandang 불한당

Tags: Bulhandang/Robbers, Jang Hyuk, weddings

Filed under: Celebrity News by javabeans - 10 Comments →

Kim Sun Ah as Samsoon

Anyone’s who’s been watching kdramas for a number of years has probably, at some point, noted the same thing as the following article. Early Hallyu kicked off the hallmarks of The Korean Melodrama (And Boy Do I Mean Drama!), and I think more recent offerings are unfortunately still colored (dare I say tainted?) by the tropes established in the early stuff. For instance, the impoverished but virtuous female, the Prince Charming who rescues her, the evil and jealous second female lead who’d do anything to sabotage the main romance, the second male lead who never had a shot, the cancer, the tears, the angst. Consider: Autumn Fairy Tale, Winter Sonata, Stairway to Heaven, Star In My Heart, Glass Slippers, All About Eve…

Judging from those early dramas alone, I wouldn’t blame people outside the culture for thinking, “Boy those Koreans sure have a lot of young rich studs and poor beautiful damsels in distress. Imagine how productive the country would be if everyone stopped trying to futz around with each other’s love lives and just got their act together.”

Anyway, many dramas these days still play on the old stereotypes, but the tenor has changed. The stage is gradually shifting, perhaps most notably in the female roles:

Female Characters, Boundless Transformations

Where’s the end to actresses’ transformations? Nowadays, female characters in every kind of drama and film are evolving. In particular, with the success of projects depending less on plot than character, actresses are taking “meaningful risks” in going for a different image or acting that evokes audience sympathy.

TV miniseries in the ’80s and ’90s employed the “Cinderella story” formula in search of success, and brought about a general trend following the “Candy”-esque [the manhwa] philosophy: “Though I’m loney, though I’m sad, I don’t cry.”

In these stories, a kind and obedient female would overcome all sorts of adversities to realize her success in the form of love with a successful man. As a result, popular actresses cultivated innocent images that would elicit a protective instinct. Typical examples include Shin Aera of Love In Your Arms [Sarang eul gudae eui poom ahn ae] and Choi Jin Shil of Star in My Heart.

SONG OF THE DAY

My Name Is Kim Sam Soon OST - “She Is” by Clazziquai. This song makes me totally nostalgic every time I hear it. [ zShare download ]

My, how dramas have changed >>

Tags: Bulhandang/Robbers, Gong Hyo-jin, Kim Sun-ah, Lee Da-hae, My Name Is Kim Samsoon, old-school dramas, Thank You

Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 26 Comments →