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.
[And now for Dahee Fanel's comprehensive take on the past year! --javabeans]
First of all, I’d like to bow my head in deep gratitude to Javabeans, the highly esteemed writer of this blog, for inviting me to post a few thoughts here. I hope she won’t regret her decision after reading what I have to say, hehe.
2007 was an interesting year, at least for me, particularly when it comes to Korean dramas. I’ve watched dramas on a regular basis since I was old enough to walk and talk (I am, after all, Korean), but I’ve never undergone such a transformation in terms of how I approach dramas as I have in the past couple of years…although I suppose you could argue that it’s turned me into nothing but a picky bitch. (But weren’t you always a picky bitch, Dahee?)
Still, despite my pickiness, I managed to watch quite a handful of dramas this year, although I certainly didn’t manage to finish them all (blame school and the crappy work that some PDs and writers dish out, putting off viewers like me). In fact, I watched so many, I can’t possibly talk about them all here. So I’ll just pick a few notables and dish out some kudos, as well as one or two boos. Because boos are just as fun as kudos, if not as well-received.
DAHEE’S SONG OF THE DAY
Jo Kwan Woo – “천년애” (chun nyun ae), from the soundtrack of the drama The King & I. [ zShare download ]
Despite the winningness of Coffee Prince, I’m starting to veer from cheery immersion into overload territory, and before that flares into full-on burnout, I thought I’d turn my attentions elsewhere to balance things out a bit. I’ve started watching some other series, dabbling in a sea of first episodes, trying to see which ones are worth sticking with.
The first to stand out as noteworthy is the short Best Theater miniseries Taereung National Village (태릉선수촌), which is a series of which I’ve heard many good things (this one’s for you, thundie!) and had been meaning to try even before realizing that its director is the same Lee Yoon Jung who is currently at the helm of Coffee Prince.
