We will not talk about the hair...
Full House Take 2 (aka: Full House 2)
air date: 10.22.2012 through 12.13.2012
number of eps: 16 (or 32 depending on how you're counting)*
I watched it: live
In a nutshell: This was a funny little drama combining a tongue-in-cheek look at world of K-pop with the "forced cohabitation" storyline k-dramas love. It's very (very) loosely related to the first Full House in that it features a house and a love-triangle and that beloved "forced cohabitation", but really it's its own beastie and should be taken as such. I watched it for pure escapism while watching some pretty heavy melos and ended up being far more entertained than I'd expected. The humor is strong in this one. It did get a bit bogged down in its plot-machinations at the end, which was too bad since light and fluffy humor was its forte. But the last episode brought back the humor so it ended well.
The pretty, pretty boys: This drama languished on the shelf for a long while (it was actually shot last year, I believe) and since Park Ki-woong did this before his critically acclaimed role in Gaksital (or Bridal Mask) there was a worry it'd backwash over the strong work he'd done afterwards. The worries have proven unfounded. Yes, this was a much lighter role but he was cute and adorable when called for and properly angsty when called for and if anything it shows his range. (Honestly, after Gaksital I enjoyed seeing this side to Park Ki-woong. It was nice to see him laugh and play.) He certainly didn't outdo his Shunji-role, but he didn't hurt himself either.
But for me the real stand-out was No Min-woo. I'd seen him in one other role, as an immortal hunter in My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, and he was pretty plastic in that. And I actually mean that literally. He was very pretty. So pretty there was something unreal and Ken-dollish about him. Which might have been an acting choice, but felt more like this was a pretty-boy who wasn't quite an actor. But as Lee Tae-ik, a prickly K-pop star whose neuroses had neuroses, he was delightful. The way he lurched and contorted about, all stiff awkward angles, made me think of Ichabod Crane. He worked to pull out all the humor of his role, choosing to undermine his prettiness rather than coasting on it. Which totally changed my view of him as an actor. One more to keep an eye out for! :)
*It was shot as a 16 episode drama, each episode being the usual 1 hour. But the cable channel that finally picked it up chopped the episodes into 32 half-hour lengths. Some places still count it as 16 episodes, each with 2 parts. Others just go with 32 episodes.
air date: 10.22.2012 through 12.13.2012
number of eps: 16 (or 32 depending on how you're counting)*
I watched it: live
In a nutshell: This was a funny little drama combining a tongue-in-cheek look at world of K-pop with the "forced cohabitation" storyline k-dramas love. It's very (very) loosely related to the first Full House in that it features a house and a love-triangle and that beloved "forced cohabitation", but really it's its own beastie and should be taken as such. I watched it for pure escapism while watching some pretty heavy melos and ended up being far more entertained than I'd expected. The humor is strong in this one. It did get a bit bogged down in its plot-machinations at the end, which was too bad since light and fluffy humor was its forte. But the last episode brought back the humor so it ended well.
The pretty, pretty boys: This drama languished on the shelf for a long while (it was actually shot last year, I believe) and since Park Ki-woong did this before his critically acclaimed role in Gaksital (or Bridal Mask) there was a worry it'd backwash over the strong work he'd done afterwards. The worries have proven unfounded. Yes, this was a much lighter role but he was cute and adorable when called for and properly angsty when called for and if anything it shows his range. (Honestly, after Gaksital I enjoyed seeing this side to Park Ki-woong. It was nice to see him laugh and play.) He certainly didn't outdo his Shunji-role, but he didn't hurt himself either.
But for me the real stand-out was No Min-woo. I'd seen him in one other role, as an immortal hunter in My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, and he was pretty plastic in that. And I actually mean that literally. He was very pretty. So pretty there was something unreal and Ken-dollish about him. Which might have been an acting choice, but felt more like this was a pretty-boy who wasn't quite an actor. But as Lee Tae-ik, a prickly K-pop star whose neuroses had neuroses, he was delightful. The way he lurched and contorted about, all stiff awkward angles, made me think of Ichabod Crane. He worked to pull out all the humor of his role, choosing to undermine his prettiness rather than coasting on it. Which totally changed my view of him as an actor. One more to keep an eye out for! :)
*It was shot as a 16 episode drama, each episode being the usual 1 hour. But the cable channel that finally picked it up chopped the episodes into 32 half-hour lengths. Some places still count it as 16 episodes, each with 2 parts. Others just go with 32 episodes.