So 1 Night 2 Days is ending soon, which happens just as I was getting into this whole variety world, which is so close and yet so far from the world of scripted television. (Even allowing that yes, variety can be scripted too.)

With the overwhelming number of variety programs out there — seriously, a ton — it can be pretty daunting trying to find out what show does what and when, and what its themes and formats are. So Girlfriday and I thought we might take a crack at all the variety shows out there and pick up random episodes in a series we’re calling Variety Roulette: No preplanning, no following special guests, just pick an episode and dive in.

We plan to take a look at as many different shows as we have time for, and are starting off with one particular hit talk-show offering, SBS’s Strong Heart. Keep your eyes peeled for more installments to come in the future! What shows or what episodes we’ll pick, we have no idea. We’ll go where the wind takes us.

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Read the rest of Variety Roulette: Strong Heart (3,482 words)

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Post tags: Choi Min-soo, Choi Siwon, Donghae, featured, Im Soo-hyang, Kang Ho-dong, Kim Heechul, Lee Seung-gi, Shindong, Super Junior

For all you Super Junior fans out there: Monday’s episode of I Am Legend will feature a special appearance by idol star and sometimes actor Kim Heechul.

In the episode (the 15th), the ladies of the drama’s Comeback Madonna Band visit a radio station, as guests on Lee Sook-young’s “Power FM” program. Hwa-ja (played by Hong Ji-min) is the first to spot Heechul, who plays a radio DJ but is essentially playing himself. Hwa-ja asks for his autograph, at which point he recognizes the group and declares himself their fan. He then invites them on his own program, proving that the band is making serious inroads into their career.

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Read the rest of Heechul cameos on I Am Legend (113 words)

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Post tags: I Am Legend, Kim Heechul

Kim Heechul, resident oddball of boy band Super Junior, is probably more known for his singer status, but he’s done a bit of acting in multiple television series. They include the heartwarming comic family drama Bad Family, last year’s Golden Bride, and his latest project, SBS’s new I Love You Ten Million Times, which stars Ryu Jin, Lee Soo-kyung, and Jung Kyeo-woon.

“I act, but Suju is my eternal home”

“Because of the popularity, at one time I wanted to drop out of Super Junior, but now it’s an important name, one I couldn’t shake off if I tried.”

This is Kim Heechul, whose name became known through the popular idol group Super Junior. But if you take a look, his debut project was actually KBS 2TV’s 2005 Sharp 2 [반올림2], which means that the label “singer-turned-actor” is not accurate to describe him.

Therefore, Kim Heechul’s return to television in the new SBS weekend drama Love You Ten Million Times [천만번 사랑해] isn’t a deviation from his course but actually a return to his original profession. He makes his return a year and seven months after his last television role, the SBS drama Golden Bride [황금신부], which wrapped its broadcast run on February 3, 2008.

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Read the rest of Kim Heechul: “I act, but Suju is my eternal home” (538 words)

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Post tags: interviews, Kim Heechul, Loving You a Thousand Times, Super Junior

I Love You Ten Million Times [천만번 사랑해] is a new SBS weekend drama whose main cast has already been filled by Lee Soo-kyung, Ryu Jin, and Jung Kyeo-woon. I’d noted the interesting-sounding plot when the drama was first announced; it deals with surrogacy and the complications that arise when the surrogate ends up marrying into the family of the infertile couple she is helping out.

Adding some color to the younger supporting cast are Super Junior’s resident oddball Kim Heechul and Boys Before Flowers‘ Lee Shi-young (both of whom are known for their rather offbeat “fourth-dimensional” personalities). Heechul plays a cheerful, saucy character who works a part-time job at a restaurant. He has a romantic storyline with Park Su-jin (mehhh), the singer-turned-actress who played Kim Bum’s ex-girlfriend in Boys Before Flowers.

Meanwhile, Lee Shi-young plays a woman who works at the information desk at the same office as Ryu Jin. She harbors a crush on him, while he is attempting to have a child with his wife (Go Eun-mi) via surrogate (Lee Soo-kyung); the story hints at a possible affair between him and Lee Shi-young.

I’m hesitant about the story (though I like that it’s different), but I like all the actors involved (minus Park Su-jin). Lee Shi-young was much better than expected in BBF, while Heechul has a fair amount of acting experience; his last drama was Golden Bride, and he was quite sweet in Bad Family.

Via Asia Today, Asia Economy

RELATED POSTS

• Two brothers and a surrogate in I Love You Ten Million Times

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Post tags: Kim Heechul, Lee Shi-young, Lee Soo-kyung, Loving You a Thousand Times, Park Su-jin, Ryu Jin

Um, kinda.

Cable channel Mnet premiered its new show on October 25, Band of Brothers, in which Super Junior members Kang-in and Hee-chul, and Trax boys Jay and Jung-mo, decided to come together Beatles-style.

First, they adopted the early-Beatles look with the straight-cut hair and the black suits, with Hee-chul channeling Ringo Starr behind the drums, Kang-in as Paul McCartney, Jay as John Lennon, and Jung-mo as George Harrison. (Anyone else wincing at the travesty?) As part of the project, they sang some Beatles tunes and even shot a music video.

I don’t think it’s a bad idea, but I don’t think they actually “got” what it means to become the Beatles other than dressing in a costume and singing along like a cover band. (See in the clip below. I think it’s part cute, and part cringingly embarrassing.)

Aside from the Beatles aspect, though, it’s usually a lot more fun watching these idol boys in reality projects rather than, say, performing onstage. I suppose that’s why the kpop machine is built around the cult of personality much more than musicality.

Via Sports Khan

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Post tags: cable programs, Kim Heechul, reality shows, Super Junior