Paradise Ranch is the long-awaited (?) — or perhaps it’s more accurate to say long-shelved — drama starring idol pop star Choi Kang Changmin of DBSK in his drama debut, alongside Lee Yeon-hee. For lots of reasons, there’s been an undercurrent of unease about this drama, with its inability to secure a broadcaster or a timeslot for months, which led to a pretty lengthy time spent in limbo. In fact, the entire drama was wrapped and completed practically a year ago, and there was speculation that it might never see the light of day.

But SBS picked it up for its Monday-Tuesday 9pm timeslot, which has in recent months been home to lighter dramatic fare (I Am Legend, It’s Okay Daddy’s Girl, Dr. Champ). The timeslot hasn’t seen a hit since Wish Upon a Star a full year ago, so I wonder if SBS will continue to slot it with dramas (the other stations don’t air dramas in that slot) for much longer. But that’s a discussion for another day, another post. I mostly mention it because I happen to have seen all the dramas in this hour minus one (Angel’s Temptation) and for whatever reason, I seem to have more lenient expectations of them. I don’t know why.

Paradise Ranch was neither as good nor as bad as I was hoping it to be, which puts it squarely into that category of meh for me. It isn’t horrible — as I was expecting from its awful trailers — but it’s not really that exciting or interesting, either. But it’s also benign enough that it doesn’t really merit heaps of snark, either. Yet. We’ll see.

[Watch the series at DramaFever]

SONG OF THE DAY

Winterplay – “You’re In My Heart.” This song plays in one scene toward the end of Episode 1. [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Paradise Ranch: Episode 1 (1,880 words)

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Post tags: Choi Kang Changmin, featured, first episodes, Joo Sang-wook, Lee Yeon-hee, Paradise Ranch, Yoo Hana

Yoo Hana, who played the adorably bubbly Eun-ji in Sons of Sol Pharmacy, has been cast as the romantic counterpart to DBSK’s Choi Kang Changmin in the upcoming drama Paradise Ranch. She joins Lee Yeon-hee (East of Eden) and Joo Sang-wook (Queen Seon-deok) in this story “set against the beautiful nature of Jeju Island, which deals with the lives, work, and loves of young men and women.”

Yoo Hana plays an up-and-coming interior designer who is a second-generation chaebol, and trades in her previously cute, energetic image for a more cosmopolitan one. The romantic melodrama boasts a “cheerful story that incorporates beautiful music” and is currently filming. It will be produced entirely in advance of its broadcast, which means no live-shoot system for this one. Perhaps buoyed by its lead actor’s popularity abroad, Paradise Ranch has already been bought for broadcasts in Japan and Southeast Asia. Yoo Hana also has a lot of overseas fans after acting in the Taiwanese drama My Lucky Star.

I hadn’t really been that interested in this drama, since we’ve had quite a few idol stars falling flat in lead-role acting debuts and the track record wasn’t looking good. Furthermore, I find Lee Yeon-hee absolutely beautiful to look at, but not quite natural in her acting. Yoo Hana, however, does have an effervescent charm onscreen and is quite likable. (Even though she can sometimes overdo the comic overtones, at least she does have a comic sensibility.)

Paradise Ranch will have 16 episodes and is looking at a March premiere.

Via Mk.co.kr

RELATED POSTS

• The Sons of Sol Pharmacy House / My Too Perfect Sons

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2010. | Permalink | 27 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Choi Kang Changmin, Lee Yeon-hee, Paradise Ranch, Yoo Hana

Last one!

The 2009 KBS Drama Awards were also held on December 31, and as with the other two station awards ceremonies, there weren’t a lot of surprises, particularly with the Daesang, which went to Lee Byung-heon. (Lee was outstanding in IRIS, but I think he practically had the Daesang in the bag even before the drama aired — no way KBS was going to score a big star like him and not reward him. Refer to: Song Seung-heon’s MBC Daesang last year.)

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Read the rest of 2009 KBS Drama Awards (1,770 words)

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Post tags: awards, Chae Shi-ra, Choi Chul-ho, Gu Hye-sun, Jeon Hye-bin, Ji Jin-hee, Jo Ahn, Jung Jun-ho, Kim Ah-joong, Kim Hye-jin, Kim Ji-suk, Kim Seung-woo, Kim So-eun, Kim So-yeon, Kim Sung-eun, Kim Tae-hee, Lee Byung-heon, Lee Da-hae, Lee Min-ho, Moon Chae-won, Moon Jung-hee, Oh Man-seok, Yoo Hana, Yoo Sun, Yoon Eun-hye, Yoon Sang-hyun

With this batch of episodes, we head into some of my favorite territory, which coincides with the ending of one (tiresome) love line and the beginning (or elevation) of another, more interesting one.

SONG OF THE DAY

Sons of Sol Pharmacy OST – “말해요” (Say it)
[ Download ]

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Read the rest of Sons of Sol Pharmacy: Episodes 29-31 (2,640 words)

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Post tags: Han Sang-jin, Ji Chang-wook, Lee Pil-mo, Sohn Hyun-joo, Sons of Sol Pharmacy House, Yoo Hana, Yoo Sun

On October 8, the 14th Pusan International Film Festival, or PIFF, opened in Busan. (Yes, the city takes a different official spelling than the film festival. Blame inconsistent Romanization.)

As the largest film festival in Korea, it drew a large list of attendees, as you can see from the long list of red-carpet walkers. It was definitely a star-studded opening night, and even included one familiar Hollywood face (Josh Hartnett).

This year’s PIFF features its largest lineup to date, screening 355 films from 70 countries, and closes on the 16th.

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Read the rest of Opening red carpet at the 14th Pusan International Film Festival (241 words)

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Post tags: Byun Jung-soo, Choi Jung-won, Eom Ji-won, film festivals, Go Eun-ah, Go Jun-hee, Ha Ji-won, Han Chae-young, Han Eun-jung, Han Hye-jin, Han Ji-hye, Han Ye-seul, Im Joo-hwan, Im Soo-jung, Jang Dong-gun, Jang Hyuk, Jeon Do-yeon, Jeon Hye-bin, Jo Jae-hyun, Jung Ryeo-won, Kang Ji-hwan, Kim Haneul, Kim Kang-woo, Kim Nam-gil, Kim So-yeon, Kim Yun-jin, Lee Byung-heon, Lee Seon-kyun, Min Hyo-rin, Park Hee-soon, Seo Woo, So Ji-sub, Su Ae, Sung Yuri, Sunwoo Sun, Uhm Jung-hwa, Wang Seok-hyun, Yeh Ji-won, Yoo Hana, Yoo Sun, Yoon Kye-sang

KBS has planned an extension for SSPH?! I don’t know how I feel about that as I think the recent storylines have been dragged out a little too long as it is. But, overall, I’m still enjoying the show so hopefully it won’t wear out its welcome. And, if anything, it helps me feel like I’m a little less behind in my recaps. Hehe. On with the show!

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Read the rest of Sons of Sol Pharmacy: Episodes 22-25 (2,388 words)

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Post tags: Han Sang-jin, Lee Pil-mo, Sohn Hyun-joo, Sons of Sol Pharmacy House, Yoo Hana, Yoo Sun

I gotta say, the storyline about Dad Song and Dad Oh’s history that’s developed in the next batch of episodes is probably one of my least favorite parts about this show. I thought it was a bit too pedestrian, and frankly, it’s not all that convincing (more on that after the recaps). But luckily, the other subplots more than make up for it (e.g., Sun-pung and Eun-ji’s love affair/internet scandal) and the show is still really enjoyable.

So, without further ado…

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Read the rest of Sons of Sol Pharmacy: Episodes 19-21 (1,560 words)

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Post tags: Han Sang-jin, Lee Pil-mo, Sohn Hyun-joo, Sons of Sol Pharmacy House, Yoo Hana, Yoo Sun

Hi, I’m smallfish and I’ll be your friendly guide through the rest of Sons of Sol Pharmacy House. Thanks so much Javabeans, for giving me room to summarize, analyze and pontificate on your site!

To give some context for what I write about this series, Sons of Sol Pharmacy House is the first long family series K-drama I’ve watched. While I guess I’m technically an ajummah (having an ajuhssi to call my very own– not that I’ve been one for very long), I’ve always avoided the ajummah dramas and only ever really enjoyed trendy dramas, so stumbling on SSPH and enjoying it this much is a total shocker to me. What I appreciate about this drama is that although it includes a lot of the same K-drama cliches (love triangles, terminal illnesses, etc.), it doesn’t get mired in melodrama and still manages to stay light, funny and fresh, while incorporating a lot of the heart that I know and love about Korean families. I hope to do the series justice!

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Read the rest of Sons of Sol Pharmacy: Episodes 17-18 (2,219 words)

© smallfish for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 31 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Han Sang-jin, Ji Chang-wook, Lee Pil-mo, Sohn Hyun-joo, Sons of Sol Pharmacy House, Yoo Hana, Yoo Sun

I’m terribly behind on recaps for Sons of Sol Pharmacy, and that is a grand freaking shame because I’m still very much enjoying this funny, heartwarming drama. This is such an easy-to-watch, pleasant show that zips along quickly that I feel bad about getting so far behind (in recaps, that is — I’m mostly caught up on the episodes).

Thankfully, a guest blogger, smallfish, has agreed to take over for this drama (this will be my last Sol Pharmacy post), so I hope you’ll enjoy reading her recaps! I’m actually pretty sure I’ll watch this through the end, but having someone else take over may give it more of the attention it deserves. So keep an eye out for smallfish’s posts in the future!

SONG OF THE DAY

Byul – “Kiss Day” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Sons of Sol Pharmacy: Episodes 13-16 (3,315 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2009. | Permalink | 15 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Han Sang-jin, Ji Chang-wook, Lee Pil-mo, Park Sun-young, Sohn Hyun-joo, Sons of Sol Pharmacy House, Yoo Hana, Yoo Sun

Cuuuute. This show is so sweet, but not saccharine. I find romance is best done sprinkled liberally with humor to undercut the sappiness, and so far The Sons of Sol Pharmacy achieves a good balance on that score.

For instance: In the above screencap, the boys sing to Mama Song for Mother’s Day, which brings tears to her eyes. But then they segue into a second song, where they substitute imitations of their mother in the chorus, such as her constant naggings of “Get married, you punk!” and “You rotten boys!” and “Go on, stuff your face!” Mom’s happy moment gives way to annoyance and she hits her boys in retaliation.

SONG OF THE DAY

W & Whale – “BLUE” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of The Sons of Sol Pharmacy: Episodes 9-12 (2,653 words)

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Post tags: Han Sang-jin, Ji Chang-wook, Lee Pil-mo, Sohn Hyun-joo, Sons of Sol Pharmacy House, Yoo Hana