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Mystery Drama Theater 3000: K-pop Ultimate Survival

Experiment!

We’ve had this feature suggested to us a few times, and thought it sounded like an intriguing idea to watch a show for the first time and record our reactions in real time, MST3K-style. Sort of like a DVD commentary track, where you can watch and listen along at the same time.

Our approach was to take show we really didn’t know much about, which we hadn’t recapped, and therefore would be going into the experiment fairly blind. We decided on K-pop Ultimate Survival, a cable show that isn’t, despite its title, a survival reality show but a drama about the formation of an idol band, with a tomboyish girl who somehow gets involved. Sound familiar?

The Channel A drama had a small but devoted fanbase, helped by its regular roster of idol cast members and guest stars, and was headlined by Park Yoo-hwan, aka Yoobro, aka Yoochun’s little brother. Go Eun-ah (A Million) was the love interest and other lead, playing the part of of the Go Mi-nam-esque heroine who dresses like a boy, gets roped into being part of an idol boy band, and falls for its haughty leader. Romance and hijinks ensue.

(The show didn’t perform well, however, following the trajectory of most of Channel A’s dramas, and got cut down from 16 episodes to 14, ending abruptly, to the ire of its fans.)

 
To watch:

  1. Download episode. Here’s the link to the torrent for Episode 1: Get file
  2. Download audio commentary file: Get Commentary
  3. Get both files ready to play in whatever programs you use to watch dramas and listen to mp3s. Go ahead and start the audio track first; we tell you when to press play so you can be in sync with us.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

And voila. Happy listening!

 

We have no idea if this is a good idea or a dismal one, but you can tell us what you think:

 
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I giggled through the whole thing like a crazy person... Moar! ^^

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I think the best part of watching this drama for me was its obvious ripoffs of different aspects of kpop.

Like when you asked why they were saying she looks like the member of M1. Well, because they're actually brother and sister and M1 is really MBLAQ and most of the people on the show are based off real life kpop stars.

If you're a fan of kpop, I think the show will be more interesting to watch.

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this is really cool. i have always love movie commentaries so this is even better.

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As someone who has already watched this show I can only vote...I would listen if you did it for a show I was interested in.

Suggestions? Um Well you guys are already doing a great job covering most of the dramas I am watching. Maybe I Do I Do or Dr.Jin?

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MOARMOARMOARMOARMOARRRrrrrrr *cough*

Well, I loved this, and would love regardless of whether the series was good, because you two are hilarious.

It's like the running comments they have on Viki, but with twice the personality and none of the obnoxious "Agh, _____ is so hot!"

However. I would love it even *moar* if you did do series that were more interesting to watch, were more meaningful, had greater value, could actually make you feel emotion, et cetera.

Here are my suggestions, which might possibly make this whole mystery drama theater even more exciting~

1. A 1990s or early 2000s drama (like Sandglass - wouldn't that be a trip?) although I don't know whether you would be able to find something like that with English subtitles :/

2. A new drama, which is just airing (but which, from its premise, does not seem likely to suck as hard as this K-pop Extreme Ultimate Marathon or whatever it's called - maybe Big? Gaksital? A Gentleman's Dignity?)

3. A favorite episode from one of your favorite dramas

4. A Korean movie (so not necessarily an episode from a drama, but at least we'd get your analysis of an entire story, rather than just a smaller piece)

Thank you for giving this as-of-yet inexperienced high school student entertainment on her rainy summer days.

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Agree on 90-2000s dramas, but not Sandglass. It was way too serious drama. And I found Sandglass eng-sub. I forgot where. But I remember I just google it and voila..

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I like the idea of it, but I definitely agree with other comments that this should be done with a good drama, like one that may have slipped under the recap-radar. I just found myself sticking through the show just to hear your commentary and not enjoying the show at all. But MOAR please! I love it when you girls try new things!

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i really enjoyed watching this with the commentary.
but i prefer if it was on a more serious drama. not a rom-com or w/e genre this drama is. xD

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Couldn't you have made it easier on yourselves and just record a video of you guys watching the drama, then just embed that video in the episode?

There has got to be programs out there that do that easily.

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Brilliant! Do that.... pretty please with kimchi on top!

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The whole point, as others have said, of doing it MST3K style is that that show picked movies that were so amateurish and bad that they were unintentionally entertaining and amusing, and the snarky commentary was part of that. It would be dreary if JB & GF were supposed to go all Actor's Studio on us and offer up only serious commentary on good dramas.

However, I think we've stumbled on a peculiarity of kdramas with the concept - whereas no one was going to get mad at Tom Servo for cracking wise about "Mitchell" or "Manos, Hands of Fate", there will always be someone who will get butthurt at any criticism of any drama or actor, however lightly intended.

For myself, I love the idea; I just wish there would be little JB & GF silhouettes at the bottom of the screen! :)

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I will take that challenge!

I just have to find the right images to start with...
hmmm.....hmmmm....

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Haven't watched or listened yet, and I'll give you my vote once I do. I'm pretty sure my answer is going to be MOAR MOAR MOAR though!

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So I completely LOVE this 'live' commentary!! And I was about to chose the 'if you did I show I liked' but I had such a fun time listening to you commentate over this sucky drama!! I was laughing along with yall from start to finish! Oh! next time, could you find a link for those who don't want to download or maybe can't? Also, some of these episodes (like the one I watched) were edited so that the commercials were taken out. In conclusion, (lol) please please please please(!!!) continue with the live commentary! I loved it!!

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LOL. I love this so much! I wasn't really interested in this drama/didn't even know it existed but I'm a little tempted to watch a little bit of it now....haha.

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I LOVE this idea!! However this episode is just...not very..interesting? And everyone is saying that it has a bad ending...can you please do this for an episode of anything that is fun and exciting? Even an old episode of something that you guys really liked? Anyway, this is a splendid idea :)

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I loved this! I think it'd be fun to do with I Do, I Do.. and other upcoming RomCom Dramas. :3 Maybe some old school stuff would be great too.. Coffee Prince, Secret Garden, Flower Boy Ramyun Shop...etc. <3 <3 I love you guys.

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i wonder if anyone would be nice enough to just tell me the sucky ending cause i bailed this sinking ship in episode 4 u____u;;

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I don't think most of you understand the concept of MST3K. They take a bad show or movie and make fun of it. The point is not to make commentary on "good" shows or shows that you might like.

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can u recap this drama?

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the ending ..make me feel..spoil....lah..

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I say moar, but I would prefer another show. This show is kinda silly for my taste and reminds me too much of You're Beautiful.
However, I agree with some of the previous comments that a makjang melodrama would be fun for you to comment. Perhaps even one of those a bit older super-dramatic dramas like Something Happened In Bali, Stairway To Heaven, I'm Sorry I Love You etc. To watch those with commentary provided by you guys would be hilarious. This is my suggestion.

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I would love to see more of these, but I also would like to see more podcasts. Maybe this would be more fun if this would have been a better drama, it was kinda like a lame and a really bad remake of You're Beautiful.

It didn't make me want to continue with the show but it did make me want to rewatch You're Beautiful again. I haven't done that for a while so maybe it is time.

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Na doo.. Na doo..

Me too, I totally re-watching you're beautiful.

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I usually abuse my fast forward button watching something like this. Especially through that most uninteresting audition piece. But I have to watched the show if I wanted to hear your commentary. In the end, I just listened without watching.

I don't know will it be interesting if you try on good shows/dramas because then it lost the MST3K reference? I totally imagined you do this with the finale of King 2hearts.

How about with Queen In Hyun's Man finale? Obviously you two been watching, add Headsno2 to the mix. (But that's just days away) so maybe Arang and the magistrate' premiere later?

Or just go old school and watch Endless Love or something with the equal fame but not your favorite. I totally imagine this would work on something like Witch Amusement. That show is wacky but has I remember I knew it was bad but I still enjoyed watching it.

That said, you guys are awesome. the way you always have something new, it never cease to amaze me. I really enjoyed Thing vs Thing and now, this!!

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Ok, this is seriously awesome you guys! I used to love MST3K and you two are SO funny, it reminds me of the series! Please, please, please keep doing it; I have rarely laughed so hard. :)

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First things first, the pilot episode was the lamest setup ever, but the rest of the show grabs more of your attention. The school 'supposedly' was in England but who caught onto clues that this foreign school is the same set as Boys Over Flowers, Goong, and Playful Kiss used? A sure sign Channel A was on a tight budget 'cause they didn't bother to do anything to change it up a bit. Lame. I had to get this out of my head. I was rolling my eyes when I saw the intro.

In short, I suppose your evening dinner, fusion sushi, set the swing of things for your night... best thing is to stick with the origins, and leave the fusion hype alone... food and show. =p

You both were so funny to listen in on. There was a lot of dead air, as I can hear the cars rushing by close to your open window(s). Bahahaha~ It's so difficult to stretch commentary on a show starting in the wrong foot.

Love all the mess though! Moarrr~

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I think this was a pretty good concept and could be quite entertaining. I hope you give these suggestions some thought:

1) Ideally, one commentator would be "blind", and the other would have watched the show or at least that episode. This way you get a balance of "WTF is going on" and explanations of said WTF-ery. The knowledgeable person could have a cheat sheet of involved parties -actors, screenwriters, PDs- so you can talk about other projects if you're having trouble filling silence with something related to the show. I understand this can all be kind of hard to work out, though.
2) PLEASE laugh away from the mic. I don't mind the laughter, but it can be kind of hard on the ears when it's 2-3 times louder than your usual speaking volume.
3) Pick shows that are either terrible or your all-time favorites. This show was a pretty good bad show, but there are tons of boring or average dramas I hope you'll skip.

Here are my suggestions for some shows that might be good to watch:
Bad shows
Boys Before Flowers, the worst Myungwol the Spy episode, an episode from the last 1/3 of Mary Stayed Out All Night, one of the last episodes of Bad Guy, Witch Yoo Hee (PLEASE do WYH!), some makjang show (not familiar with makjangs, maybe Baker King Kim Tak Goo, Flames of Ambition, Stairway to Heaven?)

Good shows
Any Hong sisters show (except maybe Fantasy Couple), a cheesy 90s drama one or both of you really liked, an early Cinderella's Sister episode, Full House, Coffee Prince, Flower Boy Ramyun Shop, a variety show like 1 Night 2 Days
I picked some of my favorite shows, but obviously it's more important that they mean something to you guys.

All in all, I really liked the MST3000-style commentary and hope you give it another go. I vote for moar moar moar!

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Also, I agree with the people who suggested providing a streaming link as well as a download/torrent. A lot of people don't have the bandwidth or time to download a 700 MB file, especially if it's for a show they aren't likely to save. Hope you guys don't get disheartened by the criticism, we only want to make it better! :)

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I loved this idea, I am in China at the moment and cannot download the file till i get back in the states, but I am looking forward to this! I would love if you guys could go back and do commentary to your favorite episodes of your favorite shows. I know you guys liked Coffee Prince and City Hunter, and any others you love but we only english speakers might not know of.

Or do the worst episodes of very popular shows like Boys Over Flowers, that would make my heart so happy. Shows that people love in our hearts, but have no choose but to make fun of.

Any way, thank you for your hard work. You guys go above and beyond my expectations, and I really appreciate it.

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I love it! MOAR PRZ

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The drama is only good for it's cheesiness, which sucks cause jun-bro is cute.

I think I'd continue to listen either way though :]

All my friends hate dramas and don't watch with me, so this was fun

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I loved what you guys did with what you were given. What a shockingly bad show that was :)

I really like the concept of you guys coming into the show fresh, your shock/disgust is more entertaining that way. I think it would be great if you did variety/reality shows as well as dramas.

I certainly don't mind downloading.

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I like the commentary thing!! It was so funny, but why not do commentary on a movie? I know its another hour added on, but its less random and you get to speak on the whole work not just a portion. No one can come back and say that the acting/directing/writing got better or worse etc.

I'm a person who likes things complete. Even though the show makes me gag (maybe this is why everyone was vomitting?) I now feel like I want to hear your take on the whole series. Who has time for that? NO ONE.

If you don't have 2 hours at a time to put together, I totally understand. I'm grateful for all you do and the opportunity to feedback. Love you guys!

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Love the idea of a commentary, the show just not so much. :D

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I think it's a good idea, although audio commentaries aren't exactly my thing. ^^ It makes me crazy to try and listen to two things at once, heh.

Worth mentioning, for anyone who wants more of this kind of thing, is that you can watch dramas on viki with the live comments enabled; I prefer to watch the eps once with them off because they're distracting and sometimes spoilerly, but once you're over that they are a ton of fun. Since noone I know in real life likes dramas, it makes me feel like I'm watching them with someone. :D

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Ok wow this was not my cup of tea. If you keep comparing it to another show which it really isn't like except for 1 factor, than of course you will keep finding faults.
just forget for a second that there has already been a show that has a person in disguise and try to enjoy the show. i started watching because i love Mblaq, Mino, and Kevin but now i really like the show.
it is so different from you're beautiful it's crazy.
i honestly don't find that many similarities and it's a different premise. she never said she was a guy it's people assuming that about her. she just doesn't correct them.
it gets better and makes more sense later on.
but if the first episode doesn't catch you then you don't have to watch it. just don't insult it because it isn't your cup of tea. if you aren't into the idol culture than this show won't interest you. but if you like idols and kpop than just stay away.

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this is really good! i wouldve definitely voted for the "Moar, moar, moar!" option if i tried this out earlier!

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Ummm, just discovered the show and the link no longer works. Any chance the riftrack still exists?

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