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 - 101 Comments →

Phew, lots to talk about today:

• Get ready to welcome Go Soo back from the military! He completes his mandatory service this week; he’ll be released on the 25th and plans to have a fanmeeting that very day in Seoul. He gets back to work immediately in a play (read here) which premieres in May.
• On Air, which is doing very well in the ratings, has its next batch of all-star cameos lined up. They’ve already featured Lee Hyori and Jeon Do Yeon, among others; now they’ll feature Shin Dong Wook, Lee Dong Kyu, and comedian Kim Jae Dong. The series has been extended three episodes for a total of 23.
• As for other extensions, On Air’s timeslot competitor Who Are You? has been rumored to be extended by one episode to 17 total, and while I think this may be likely, I’m not ready to get excited until I see it confirmed somewhere outside the fan message board. (No offense to fans — they often have the earliest info, but I’d rather play it safe with an official statement.)
• Chae Rim suffered an injury over the weekend while filming for her new series Rivals. In a scene where her character argues with Lee Jin Wook’s bratty presidential-son character in a ramen restaurant, Chae Rim slipped on some fallen ramen on the ground and hit her hip on a sharp corner (of, I assume, a table). She was taken to the hospital, but no bones were broken and the injury appears to be manageable.

• Choi Jin-yi, the lead singer of rock band Rumble Fish, is set to go solo with her first single “Brilliant Days” (she’d already recorded a song with the group MC The Max earlier this year). Wait, Rumble Fish is still together, right??
• Singer-actor Lee Ji Hoon (Hello Miss, New Heart) takes his next role starring with Girls Generation pop star Yoon Ah in the upcoming KBS daily drama You’re My Destiny. He’s also set to release his sixth album (his first in four years) on May 13.
• At the wrap party for their film I Feel Good on the 18th, stars Eugene (Three Dads, One Mom) and Lee Seon Kyun (Coffee Prince, White Tower) engaged in an impromptu mini song battle. While singing karaoke, the two were prodded on by continuous encores, so they complied and sang four or five songs. In the film, she plays an pop-singer idol; it also stars Lee Soo Kyung (Soulmate, Golden Age of Daughters-in-Law) and Lee Minki (Mixed-up Investigative Agency, Dal Ja’s Spring), who were also in attendance, along with approximately 100 staff members.

 
SONG OF THE DAY

Rumble Fish - “으라차차” (eu-ra-cha-cha) [ Download ]

RELATED POSTS

• Rivals (KBS)
• Who Are You: Episode 13
• News bites: April 13, 2008
• Broadcast delays for Who Are You?, On Air
• On Air: First impressions
• Anticipating Go Soo’s comeback
• Eugene and Minki back together

Tags: Chae Rim, Eugene, Go Soo, Lee Ji-hoon, Lee Seon-kyun, On Air, Rivals, Who Are You?

Filed under: Celebrity News by javabeans - 15 Comments →

Rivals isn’t necessarily a bad show… but there’s something about it that smacks of the ridiculous. Chae Rim is pretty good and so is the subtler Lee Jong Hyuk; they have good chemistry despite a really obvious setup. But there’s something that reminds me really strongly of Air City, and it’s not just the Lee Jin Wook connection — and those of you who suffered through that series alongside me will know that’s not a good thing in my book. It’s over-the-top and tries really, really hard — and while it hits the mark half the time, that means it misses the other half.

I will say, though, that if it does prove to be bad, at least Rivals shows signs of being the fun-bad type. I laughed a lot in the first two episodes — although probably in all the wrong places. Rivals is funny partly because it takes itself so seriously, but it should really let itself in on the joke.

SONG OF THE DAY

Oriental Funk Stew - “날아” (Fly) [ zShare download ]

 
Thoughts on RIVALS >>

Tags: Chae Rim, episode recaps, Lee Jin-wook, Lee Jong-hyuk, Rivals

Filed under: Drama Recaps by javabeans - 34 Comments →

• KBS’s new action drama Rivals, aka Kang-jeok-deul or Adversaries, premieres tomorrow. In striving for realism, Chae Rim visited a special attack squad and handled real firearms; Lee Jong Hyuk and stunt actors worked under a special-effects director and shot blanks from real guns. Now let’s see if the story’s any good.
• Kim Dong Wan, currently hospitalized after collapsing in the studio on the 11th, anticipates being released on the 15th, according to management. Reasons for his condition are attributed to stress from overwork; his solo album release will now be postponed until he is completely recovered, probably to early May.
• MBC’s upcoming Monday-Tuesday drama starring Kim Sun Ah and Lee Dong Gun, When Night Comes, is in the final stages of preparation and will soon start filming. The drama follows Yi San and is scheduled to premiere June 16. He plays an antiques-expert playboy with a thing for the virginal type; she plays a fervently patriotic spinster. The two share in romantic-comedy exploits as they search for national/cultural treasures. Kind of an oddly random assortment of details, though I suppose that’s not necessarily a bad thing.



• Lee Hana of the film Le Grand Chef and most recently in musician Jung Jae Hyung’s latest music video (see Song of the Day, below), follows her role in last year’s mania drama Merry vs. Daegu Battle in the upcoming KBS drama Woman in the Sun, also written by Merry scriptwriter Kim In Young. She’ll be acting alongside Kim Ji Soo (who makes her TV comeback after four years); the drama will follow currently airing Three Dads, One Mom.
• Last year, new pop group 8eight seemed poised for instant success, but faded fairly quickly out of the public eye after lots of hype. The trio says they’ve learned from the failure of their first album, born of an overly hectic schedule where they’d attempted too much, too fast: “We’d rushed through recording and our television debut, so the weak points were plain to see.” They’re now looking optimistically to their second album “Infinity.”
• Kim Haneul likes the comparison to her abrasive On Air character Seung Ah, and embraces her new nickname combining her real name with her character’s: “Kim Oh Seung Ah.” How is her character like herself? They’re both addicted to working out and have a love of sunglasses. For the past three years, she’s exercised three hours daily — sounds like someone’s got a bad case of exercise bulimia. (And no, I’m not being flip. That degree of fanaticism is very likely unhealthy.)

 
SONG OF THE DAY

Jung Jae Hyung - “Running,” whose video features Lee Hana. [ Download ]

RELATED POSTS

• Kim Dong Wan rushed to the emergency room
• Chae Rim heads for the Blue House
• On Air: First impressions

Tags: Kim Dong-wan, Kim Haneul, Kim Sun-ah, kpop, Lee Dong-gun, Lee Hana, music videos, On Air, overworking, Rivals, When Night Comes

Filed under: Celebrity News by javabeans - 13 Comments →

Chae Rim gets fired up for her new series Rivals, as a presidential security agent. Not quite badass, but a far cry from cute, spunky Dal Ja.

RELATED POSTS

• Chae Rim heads for the Blue House

Tags: Chae Rim, Rivals

Filed under: Oh snap by javabeans - 16 Comments →

Chae Rim, aka plucky Dal Ja of last year’s hit romantic comedy series Dal Ja’s Spring, has been cast to headline the new KBS Monday-Tuesday drama series Rivals [강적들], which takes place in the Blue House (Cheongwadae), Korea’s presidential residence, opposite Lee Jong Hyuk (sexy!) and Lee Jin Wook (cute!)

Chae Rim’s character — energetic, prone to rashness — enters the Blue House as a new employee (security service agent) and rises to success; the series centers on “the world, the loves, and daily lives” of those in service in the Blue House.

Lee Jin Wook (Air City, Smile Again, Someday) takes the part of the president’s haughty, troublesome and rude son, while Lee Jong Hyuk (A Good Day to Have an Affair, A Dirty Carnival, Green Rose) is the dark horse of the presidential security service and Chae Rim’s colleague. Through them the drama will showcase lots of action and a look behind the scenes at the agents’ physical training, firearms drills, special guard duty, etc., while the three main characters (naturally!) fall into a love triangle. Some settings may be novel but the setup is as old as the form. Not that the presidential backdrop is entirely new — in 2006, there was the KBS four-episode mini-drama Special Crime Investigation: Murder in the Blue House [특수수사일지:1호관 사건]. And of course, there was also the Eugene/Lee Minki romantic comedy Really Really Like You, which took a more lighthearted approach.

The series will be directed by Han Joon Seo PD of Capital Scandal, and penned by writer Kang Eun Kyung of Dal Ja’s Spring, Bichunmu, and Hotelier. Rivals will take to air after Single Papa in Love finishes its run, premiering on April 14.

Via Hankyung

SONG OF THE DAY

Gummy feat. TOP - “미안해요” (I’m sorry) [ zShare download ]

Tags: Chae Rim, Lee Jin-wook, Lee Jong-hyuk, Rivals

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