Queen Seon-deok

Yep, we as drama-lovers tend to have a love-hate (mostly hate, I think) relationship with drama extensions and, even worse, unexpected cuts. Even a good drama can be ruined in the end by unnecessary extensions — a long-running epic series may suffer less from adding episodes than a short drama whose story was never meant to go beyond 16 or 20 installments. I know that this trend stems from that pernicious habit of broadcast stations’ knee-jerk reactions to ratings, but as much as we hate that, I think we all kind of understand why a station places so much importance on ratings. Here’s an article that discusses the trend.

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Heading to the Ground; Dream

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.

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MBC’s weekend sports drama Strike Love unfortunately got cut off early due to flagging ratings — its initial 20-episode run was cut to 16, even though the production had by that point nearly finished filming all 20. That meant that the last week of the series was rushed to cram in content and left out much of the story that meant to follow — leaving viewers dissatisfied with hanging story threads. (It was pointed out that the shortening may have been a hasty decision, as the drama picked up in ratings toward its end).

In any case, at least Strike Love will have the chance to air its full 20 episodes overseas, and will broadcast in countries like Japan the way it was meant to be seen. Lead actor Yoon Tae-young picked up a fan base after his role in Legend, which was quite popular in Japan (all hail Yonsama power).

According to the production side, a different ending had been intended originally. The first 16 episodes had unraveled as planned, but they had to hastily swap out the ending to wrap the series. I guess this means, if you really liked Strike Love, maybe you should wait to see the Japanese broadcast for a satisfactory resolution?

Via Segye

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• Strike Love wraps up two weeks early
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Aw, this is too bad. MBC’s baseball drama Strike Love has been underperforming in its weekend time slot, and is now reducing its episode order. Rather than the planned 20, the drama will now end with Episode 16.

MBC says that their agreement with the production company allows for anywhere from 16 to 20 episodes (although the initial number was 20). Given the single-digit ratings, they have decided to cut things short and end on June 21. (Its last two episodes, 9 and 10, drew in 9.1% and 8.9% — not great, but not abysmal, either.) Because this comes late in the game (there are reports that the drama has already shot its 18th episode), the ending episodes will be edited down to finish by 16.

I hope this doesn’t become a trend with kdramas; one of the biggest reasons I prefer the kdrama one-season model to the U.S.’s indefinite run is because a finite length helps pace out the storytelling. While popular kdramas regularly get extended, until recently even low-rated ones were allowed to finish their planned broadcasts. This lack of a cancellation threat made for a less uneasy atmosphere when deciding to watch shows that don’t get all the popular attention.

I’m behind with this drama, but I had found the actors’ chemistry really compelling — Yoon Tae-young and Kim Min-jung do a great job conveying a sweet first love that is pure but not boring. The drama may be flawed — it’s more like familiar comfort fare rather than fresh new content — but I thought it was much more enjoyable than its numbers suggested.

In any case, the drama to follow in its Saturday-Sunday timeslot is the Friend adaptation (starring Hyun Bin and Kim Min-joon), Friend, Our Legend. It premieres June 27.

Via Newsis

RELATED POSTS

• Open set day at Strike Love
• Strike Love (MBC)
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Moon Chae-won, Bae Soo-bin, Han Hyo-joo, Lee Seung-gi

SBS’s Saturday-Sunday drama Brilliant Legacy [찬란한 유산, aka Shining Inheritance] is pulling in the highest ratings among the weekend dramas, with yesterday’s episode recording a 26.8%. It airs against KBS’s historical series Iron Empress (13.3%) and MBC’s Strike Love (4.1%, ouch).

Meanwhile, at an earlier hour (weekends air two hours of dramas), the lively and enjoyable Sons of Sol Pharmacy House (aka My Too Perfect Sons) on KBS is holding strong with a 21%, over SBS’s Does Anybody Love (11.3%) and MBC’s Job Well Done (aka Good Job, Good Job; this Saturday canceled its broadcast due to an hour on ex-President Roh Moo-hyun’s death, but last Sunday’s episode brought in a 10.2%).

I’m not following Brilliant Legacy/Shining Inheritance, but I know a bunch of you are, and are enjoying it. (I’m sure the good-looking young cast doesn’t hurt! Moon Chae-won and Han Hyo-joo are both improving as actors and lovely ladies — even with Han’s hair resembling a mushroom cap, although she’s cute enough that she can pull it off. Meanwhile, Lee Seung-gi is playing against type as the bad boy, while Bae Soo-bin is always handsome, isn’t he?)

I caught the first episode and thought it was okay, but it just didn’t speak to me, I suppose. I am following two other weekend shows, however, and enjoying both Strike Love for the sweet romance and Sons of Sol Pharmacy House for its hilarious comedy.

What say you about the weekend dramas?

Via My Daily, Asia Economy

RELATED POSTS

• Open set day at Strike Love
• The Sons of Sol Pharmacy House / My Too Perfect Sons
• Strike Love (MBC)
• Currently airing dramas: A roundup
• Good Job, Queen of Housewives
• Moon Chae-won’s Life is Beautiful

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