Dramabeans » Cain and Abel

Duds and Delights of 2009 [Year In Review, Part 1]

Dahee_Fanel — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 03:00:02 +0000

(Just to clarify, this is the first of four guest reviews and is written by Dahee Fanel, whose insights you can read regularly on her own blog, Dahee’s Plastic Castle. I hope you’ll enjoy reading the guest reviews and get as much as I do out of their diverse opinions. Thanks all, especially Dahee! —javabeans)

And to think that I headed into 2009 feeling so hopeful, too.

2008 was an awful year for K-dramas. That year ended with me feeling like I’d just swum through an ocean of excrement, and I figured that I’d need to soak myself in some good dramas for at least another year before I’d manage to wash the stink off of me.

Alas, that was not to be the case.

Thinking back on which dramas I saw in 2009, it occurred to me that, goddammit, I’m a lot more resilient than I’d thought. It awed me that I’d managed to watch crap like Cain and Abel and Everybody Cha Cha Cha all the way through, without even any fastforwarding! A year ago, this would not have been possible. A year ago, my stomach would have protested three seconds in, and I’d have had to be rushed to the doctor’s, only to be told (again) by dear old Dr. C that my condition is a complete mystery to him.

But this year, I discovered the secret to watching bad dramas without ending up gagging over a toilet. That secret has been spread so thick over my digestive organs that no amount of stress or disgust can penetrate it. We’ll get to what that secret is later, but the point of all this rambling is, I’ve discovered other reasons for watching dramas besides their innate quality. Call it a survival instinct. Reasons for drama-watching are a lot more complicated than I’d once thought.

So for this year’s write-up, I’m dividing the categories into the various reasons I watched the dramas in the first place. It’s going to be kinda embarrassing, but honest. I’ve found that honesty is always best in the end, whether people like it or not. As my mom likes to say: “If I find out you’re lying to me, I’ll turn your legs black and blue.”

SONG OF THE DAY

Broccoli, You Too? – “2009년의 우리들” (Us in 2009) [ Download ]

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Post tags: Accidental Couple, Boys Before Flowers, Cain and Abel, Everybody Cha Cha Cha, Friend Our Legend, Kyung Sook Kyung Sook's Father, Queen Seon-deok, Smile, Style, The Man Who Can't Get Married, Will It Snow For Christmas, year in review, You're Beautiful

How was 2009 for you?

javabeans — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 03:00:54 +0000

With the year coming to an end, that means it’s time to take stock of the past twelve months (well, eleven really) in kdramas. The broadcast stations will be holding their awards ceremonies at the end of the month, and I’m working on my wrap-up of 2009′s offerings — as are some very talented (and prolific!) drama-watching fans — which I’ll post up closer to the end of the year.

But this is your turn to weigh in on what you liked or didn’t. I didn’t do a year-end poll last year (after putting one up in 2007) and people seemed to really want one, so it’s back.

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Post tags: A Star's Lover, Accidental Couple, Angel's Temptation, Boys Before Flowers, Brilliant Legacy, Cain and Abel, Cinderella Man, City Hall, Dream, Friend, Heading to the Ground, Hero, Hon, IRIS, Ja Myung Go, Job Well Done, Loving You a Thousand Times, My Fair Lady, Partner, Queen of Housewives, Queen Seon-deok, Return of Iljimae, Smile, Sons of Sol Pharmacy House, Story of a Man, Strike Love, Style, Tamra the Island, Triple, year in review

Cain & Abel ends [Open Thread]

javabeans — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:00:07 +0000

How time flies, huh? It felt like just the other day I was writing up my first impressions on the SBS revenge drama Cain & Abel, and now it’s already over. (The last episode aired Thursday, April 23.)

As with other popular shows I haven’t followed, I’m opening this up to an Open Thread, so you can discuss Cain & Abel‘s run, its ending, whatever, go wild. (Previous end-of-drama open threads: Tazza, East of Eden).

Starting next week in Cain‘s Wednesday-Thursday SBS timeslot is Kim Sun-ah‘s City Hall.

SONG OF THE DAY

Cain & Abel OST – “운명” (Fate). One of these days I’d like to see a kdrama soundtrack (particularly a thriller) NOT feature a song named “운명.” Just for a change, you know? [ Download ]

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Post tags: Cain and Abel, Chae Jung-ahn, Han Ji-min, Shin Hyun-joon, So Ji-sub

Currently airing dramas: A roundup

javabeans — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 21:27:59 +0000

So, what’s airing these days?

After a popular phenomenon of a drama ends, people tend to wonder, What next? Even if you haven’t been watching Boys Before Flowers, maybe you’re wondering what else is out there.

So here’s a rundown of all the dramas currently airing, and a list of those to keep an eye on as they beginning premiering soon. I can’t speak for every single drama out there, but I’ve tried to provide most of them with a short description and/or personal impression.

SONG OF THE DAY

Fly to the Sky – “Song For You” from their latest (and last) album, “Decennium.” [ Download ]

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Post tags: Cain and Abel, Cinderella Man, City Hall, Friend, IRIS, Iron Empress, Ja Myung Go, Queen of Housewives, Return of Iljimae, Six Months, Sons of Sol Pharmacy House, Story of a Man, Swallow the Sun, Triple

Cain & Abel: First impressions

javabeans — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:52:57 +0000

Caveat: This isn’t a proper recap. It’s not even a proper review. After catching the first few episodes, I wasn’t intending to write about SBS’s new Wednesday-Thursday drama, Cain & Abel, but I got a lot (a lot!) of emails from people asking what I thought of it and requesting recaps.

The thing is, I didn’t know how I would feel about Cain & Abel going in, but was expecting one of a few scenarios: to love it or to hate it. To be drawn in right away or turned off right away. To be impressed or to be disappointed.

What I did NOT expect, however… was to be bored.

[Watch the series at DramaFever]

SONG OF THE DAY

Cain & Abel OST – “미련한 사랑” (Foolish love) by G (So Ji-sub) (he’s the rapper) and Chae Dong-ha [ Download ]

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Post tags: Cain and Abel, Chae Jung-ahn, first episodes, Han Ji-min, Shin Hyun-joon, So Ji-sub

Choi Ji-woo wants a cameo on Cain and Abel

javabeans — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:16:32 +0000

When Choi Ji-woo‘s drama A Star’s Lover premiered, her Stairway to Heaven co-star Shin Hyun-joon made a cameo appearance in Episode 1 as her ex-boyfriend. Now she wants to return the favor.

Shin’s new drama Cain and Abel is set to take over Choi’s timeslot (SBS, Wednesdays and Thursdays) this week, and to pass the figurative baton, both Choi and her Star’s Lover co-star Yoo Ji-tae gave messages of encouragement to the Cain cast. Choi said that she’d like to appear as one of the patients for Shin’s doctor character (she and Shin are under the same management company and good friends).

Will Choi Ji-woo get her cameo wish? Well, now that she’s offered, it’s entirely possible — although to be perfectly frank, I don’t think that the super-hyped and star-studded Cain and Abel (boasting So Ji-sub‘s anticipated comeback) needs it.

Via OSEN

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Post tags: Cain and Abel, Choi Ji-woo, Shin Hyun-joon, Yoo Ji-tae

Showing some brotherly love for Cain & Abel

javabeans — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 23:19:09 +0000

So Ji-sub and Shin Hyun-joon may be cast as competitive brothers embroiled in strife, but they look anything but antagonistic in front of reporters, no?

SBS is about to premiere its new drama, the (long, long-)awaited Cain & Abel, which follows the just-ended Star’s Lover on Wednesdays and Thursdays. (With the big names of A Star’s Lover failing to attract ratings — the Choi Ji-woo and Yoo Ji-tae-led series went out with a disappointing 6.2% — SBS is hoping that this star-studded series will have better luck.)

The high-profile cast was on hand for the drama’s production press conference, which was held in North Chungcheong on the afternoon of February 13. The drama airs its first episode next week, on February 18.

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Post tags: Cain and Abel, Chae Jung-ahn, Han Ji-min, Shin Hyun-joon, So Ji-sub

Chae Jung-ahn back onstage

javabeans — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 08:34:42 +0000

You may know that Chae Jung-ahn (Coffee Prince) got her start in the late ’90s as a (pretty forgettable) dance-pop singer. The actress has said she intends to pursue a career as an actress rather than as a singer these days, but she’ll still be showing off some of her singing in her upcoming drama, Cain and Abel.

Chae plays a childhood friend of So Ji-sub‘s character, and has harbored one-sided feelings So’s brother, played by Shin Hyun-joon, since her youth. Requisite love triangle ensues; Han Ji-min rounds out the main cast.

In the scene pictured above, Chae is a songwriter who unveils a new song, which was written to be sung by another pop singer and which expresses her gratitude toward her longtime friend (So). The concert scene was filmed on February 2 at an arena in Seoul, with Chae playing the guitar herself. (Making a cameo appearance is singer Jang Hye-jin.)

Cain & Abel premieres on SBS on February 18. (I dunno, the cast sure is appealing, but nothing about this brotherly-competition-medical-drama story draws me to it. Will the So Ji-sub love be enough?)

Via Mk.co.kr

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New stills from Cain & Abel

javabeans — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 02:49:59 +0000

Cain & Abel has released some new stills to stir up interest as it gears up for its premiere. The series will take SBS’s Wednesday-Thursday slot over from the current drama A Star’s Lover.

The release of new photos comes with the opening of the drama’s official website (http://tv.sbs.co.kr/cain). In the show, So Ji-sub (I’m Sorry, I Love You) and Shin Hyun-joon (Last Present) play brothers and doctors, whose rocky relationship is thrown into conflict (naturally!) over two women, played by Han Ji-min (Capital Scandal) and Chae Jung-ahn (Coffee Prince).

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Post tags: Cain and Abel, Chae Jung-ahn, Han Ji-min, Shin Hyun-joon, So Ji-sub

Drama trends for 2009

javabeans — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:07:20 +0000

Note: The following is taken from a Korean article, so the opinions therein aren’t necessarily my own. Still, it’s a look into the trends we can expect in the coming year of dramas. (For instance: Not one, but TWO figure-skating dramas?)

2009 looks like a bright new year. This year, there are many dramas to be produced and aired that may capture viewer hearts. Last year, the economic slump and the shrinking of the drama market caused many difficulties for drama production, a number of dramas still drew viewer notice.

Last year, the sageuk, which used to be a sure thing, fell back, and professional-themed series like medical- or broadcast-centered dramas came into the spotlight. Also, daily and weekend dramas that were strongly criticized had high ratings with trite characters, sharp contrasts between good and evil, conventional conflicts, extreme plot setups, and so forth. On top of that, there were many dramas looking to score success featuring top stars that failed.

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Post tags: Cain and Abel, Chae Shi-ra, Cinderella Man, drama production, Go Hyun-jung, Han Ji-min, IRIS, Iron Empress, Ja Myung Go, Ji Sung, Kim Tae-hee, Lee Byung-heon, Lee Yo-won, Min Hyo-rin, Park Min-young, Queen Seon-deok, Return of Iljimae, Shin Hyun-joon, So Ji-sub, Sung Yuri, Swallow the Sun, Triple, Yoon Kye-sang