2009 was supposed to be the year of the sports drama revival, and it has had its share of sports-themed series, with at least another still to come. Unfortunately, they’ve all tanked.

The two currently struggling on the air are SBS’s fighting drama Dream, which has settled around the 4% mark for the bulk of its run, and MBC’s soccer series Heading to the Ground, which kicked off with a 7.2%, which dropped to an inauspicious 5.6% for its second episode and heads into its second week today.

(...)
Read the rest of Sports dramas struggle to stay in the game (577 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 35 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Dream, Heading to the Ground, sports dramas, Strike Love, Taereung National Village, The Last Match, Triple

With casting complete, production is proceeding for MBC’s soccer drama Heading to the Ground [맨땅에 헤딩], which recently held its first script reading in Ilsan, Kyunggi province.

Among the actors present were the drama’s lead star U-Know Yunho of idol band Dong Bang Shin Ki, who had just arrived from a trip to Japan, as well as Go Ara (Who Are You), Lee Yoon-ji (Pure 19), and Lee Sang-yoon (I Love You, Don’t Cry).

(...)
Read the rest of Heading to the Ground holds first script reading (133 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 29 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Go Ara, Heading to the Ground, Lee Sang-yoon, Lee Yoon-ji, sports dramas, U-Know Yunho

I had a mixed reaction to today’s premiere episode of the SBS drama Dream. Perhaps viewers agreed, as the first installment drew a low 5.4% rating against MBC’s Queen Seon-deok (32.7%) and KBS’s The Man Who Can’t Get Married (8%).

Note that this number was marginally better than its predecessor Ja Myung Go’s opening number (4.1%), but lower than its finale last week (7.2%). But I’ve said many times that a first episode rating number doesn’t necessarily mean much; it speaks more to the anticipation, not the quality.

SONG OF THE DAY

Bobby Kim – “Maybe” [ Download ]

(...)
Read the rest of Dream: Episode 1 (2,251 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 30 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Choi Yeo-jin, Dream, episode recaps, Joo Jin-mo, Kim Bum, Sohn Dam-bi, sports dramas

Ha! Just days after refuting the rumors, it has been announced that 23-year-old DBSK singer U-Know Yunho is indeed making his acting debut in the soccer drama Heading to the Ground [맨땅에 헤딩].

The singer, born Jung Yun-ho, takes on the character of “Cha Bong-kun,” a role recently vacated by Kim Rae-won because of Kim’s mandatory army obligation. To achieve the impossible goal of making it as a national player, the character pours all his passion into realizing the dream. While he “has nothing to his name, the drama tells the miraculous success story of passionate soccer player Cha Bong-kun.”

U-Know Yunho said of the role, “I really like the character of Cha Bong-kun. Reading the script, my heart overflowed with emotion. I want to act that feeling with sincerity.”

Heading to the Ground follows the Wednesday-Thursday horror drama Hon on MBC and premieres on September 9. No confirmation yet on the casting of his love interest, although Go Ara remains in contention

Via My Daily, Newsis

RELATED POSTS

• Soccer drama seeks its lead couple
• Kim Rae-won heading to army, not drama

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 59 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: acting debuts, Go Ara, Heading to the Ground, sports dramas, U-Know Yunho

After a brief rocky period for the producers, Go Ara’s name has risen as top contender to lead MBC’s soccer drama Heading to the Ground [맨 땅에 헤딩 -- and if anyone has a better translation, I'm all ears!].

The drama production had been imperiled once its lead star Kim Rae-won had to drop out to enlist in the army this year. I read last week that the production was having a hard time finding a replacement actor, and the tone of the news was not good for the drama.

(...)
Read the rest of Ara eyes lead role in soccer drama (387 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 42 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Go Ara, Han Ga-in, Kim Rae-won, sports dramas, U-Know Yunho

I’m a little surprised at this, but not in a bad way: Rumors are swirling that Moon Geun-young will take the lead in a new figure-skating-themed drama series, Can’t Lose [질 수 없다]. (Her management confirmed that she is considering the role but hasn’t made a final decision yet.)

I’d heard about Can’t Lose back at the beginning of the year as part of the crop of sports dramas this year, but at that point it had been another skating-related drama, Triple, that drew more attention. But it seems that Can’t Lose may be more sports-focused than Triple (which I find charming, but not particularly keen on the sports angle). Can’t Lose is prepping for a late 2009 broadcast and is sure to experience a sharp rise in visibility as it heads into pre-production. It will be directed by Hwang Jini’s (drama, not film) PD Kim Chul-kyu.

I’m curious to see how well Moon can pull off a skating character. Min Hyo-rin spent nearly a year of intense skating training (up to 9-10 hours a day) to pull off her role in Triple (which I think she does a pretty good job at), but I haven’t heard anything about Moon’s skill level. It’s also known that she is taking acting roles sparingly and filming only during breaks from school (she’s studying Korean literature at university), which is how she filmed last year’s period drama Painter of the Wind, for which she took home a Daesang Award (the grand acting prize) at the SBS drama awards.

Can’t Lose has been in the works for a while; the writer Kim Byung-sae (not the actor) had begun meeting with figure skaters two years ago and studied the sport in depth. The drama doesn’t yet have a slot on a broadcasting station schedule, but with these names attached (if Moon confirms, that is), I’m sure it’ll find one in no time.

Via Star News

RELATED POSTS

• Moon Geun-young celebrates 22nd birthday
• “Donation angel” Moon Geun-young strikes again
• Back to school for Moon Geun-young
• Drama trends for 2009
• 2008 SBS Drama Awards
• Painter of the Wind: Episode 1

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 18 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Can't Lose, Moon Geun-young, sports dramas

(I know, I used the same picture in the previous post about this drama, but this version of the poster looks cleaner and cooler.)

I watched MBC’s new weekend baseball drama, Strike Love [2009 외인구단], without any preconceived notions or expectations. I never read the original comic on which it is based, and I don’t much like sports (baseball being at the bottom of those I can endure watching when father/brother/friend figures insist upon it). But I had an inkling, based on the preview clip, that this drama might be watchable. And lo, it is. Quite.

I was sucked into Strike Love in the first 60 seconds. After the first episode, I sighed, “Aw, man,” because I was hoping it would be bad so I could clear off my plate a little. After the second episode, I figured this meant I’d have to rearrange my list of drama priorities.

SONG OF THE DAY

EZ Hyoung – “Floating World.” There’s a nice song that plays several times in Strike Love, and it reminds me of EZ Hyoung whenever it comes on. So here’s some EZ Hyoung. [ Download ]

(...)
Read the rest of Strike Love (MBC) (2,989 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 43 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: episode recaps, Kim Min-jung, Park Sung-min, Song Ah-young, sports dramas, Strike Love, Yoon Tae-young