The first 2010 drama on my avoid list

[dangermousie]

Awwww, Group 8, it's rather touching to see your continued dedication to consistent FAIL.

The wonderhouse that brought us Goong S (*shudder*), Boys Over Flowers (the only kdrama that makes me RAGE just thinking of it), and the upcoming disaster that Tamna the Island looks set up to be (it's like a period version of BOF only with an albino - even the trailers make me cringe) is back with yet another disaster - that's right, boys and girls, they are going to adopt It Started with a Kiss into a Korean drama.

SHUDDER.

Why?

Now, the Taiwanese version of ISWAK is one of the most famous dramas out there and the Korean one will just beg a comparison with it - seeing their track record playing in someone else's pool with already famous versions and modifying them for 'the better,' ISWAK will be a disaster.

ISWAK is polarizing - it was a crazy hit and I adore it, but a lot of flisters I know do not like it at all. But that is the whole point - I found ISWAK worked for me because it had a light touch, amazing chemistry (Ariel Lin and Joe Chen are one of the biggest drama pairings out there), and a good script. BOF, to take another Group 8 project taken from a famous manga and with famous previous adaptations, had overacting, an awful script, and a chemistry that went missing.

Let me put it this way - those who liked the manga or Taiwanese ISWAK are not likely to find Group 8 adaptation to their liking, and those who disliked it because of gender issues are going to hate this version even more because whatever else Group 8 is going to muck with, an inferior script and acting would make the concept a harder sell, and seeing that they turned legendarily tough Makino into a weepy dishrag Jandi, what they would do to Ariel Lin's character in ISWAK, who is often interpreted as weak, is horrifying to contemplate (I never found Qiang Xin weak myself but that is because she was written as so cheerful, stubborn, and knowing what she wanted. I doubt Group 8 with their horrible scripts and directing can sell me on it, or get an actress half as cool as Ariel Lin.)

Seriously - ugh. I just hope they don't cast anyone I like, though even if they do, I won't watch - after BOF, I will never watch Gu Hye Sun in anything else if I can help it, and Lee Min Ho is teetering on very shaky ground. Just the thought of their characters in BOF gives me rage. I don't want to subject any other actors to that...

To be fair, Group 8 did make the amazing Return of Iljimae - I have no idea how that fluke happened. Permit me to doubt that ISWAK would be RoI-caliber and not the usual Group 8 horrifying mess.

Comments

[ambergold.livejournal.com]

AHAHAHAHAHA.

I am staying so far far away from this it's not even funny. It's going to be an experiment in "how to ruin a famous story and make a character that is the ultimate in dishrag - cause we got close with Jandi but didn't quite get there".

wayyy to go, group 8.

now all we need is an adaptation of Hana Kimi in which Sano is as passive as in the Japanese(I adored his character anyway but only because he was played by Oguri Shun) and Mizuki is PLAYED BY GU HYE SUN(omg. my world collapses in horror at the very thought).

[boycottbananas.livejournal.com]

Oh, what's this I smell? Is it called... FAILURE?

:dead:

[att123.livejournal.com]

Oh no no no! After BOF, I don't think I can take another one of my favorite dramas being dragged along like that. Ariel Lin was really amazing because she could take her character and make you feel that she wasn't a complete pushover. And like you said considering how tough Makino was and how Group 8 had portrayed Jan Di as a much weaker version (almost another character!) I would hate to see what they do to Qiang Xin!

I hate to admit it BUT I'll probably still watch the show anyway..

[uisceros.livejournal.com]

*sigh* I'm not looking forward to this mess (but sadly, I know I'll probably watch some of it). ISWAK was my first twdrama and I loved it. ISWAK was the start of my Taiwan obsession. The thought of a remake just does not sit well.

[lydzi.livejournal.com]

Same here. And it's actually the first drama I bought for real. I love Ariel Lin's character. I know a lot of people found her weak and very dependant but Lin managed to make me think quite the contrary. She's the pro-active person in there. She's the one who makes everyone change around her.

Qiang Xin FTW!!

[uisceros.livejournal.com]

ME TOO! (Well technically I bought They Kiss Again, but I'm counting it) I love Qiang Xin too. I think Ariel was amazing in that drama, and her constant enthusiasm was great.

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

Oh, Group 8, will you not be at peace until you ruin every classic shōjo manga? I actually think Group 8's main issue is that they try and turn these Japanese stories into something with a "Korean flair", thus they ruin a lot of the story's charm. Notice the stories based on Korean stories are much better. I'm actually a little scared of what best selling manga they'll go after next.




And, you know, Itazura na Kiss was a Japanese series back in the late 90s (liked that one), and there is the Taiwan version (really dislike that one) and it's squeal (liked it, oddly enough)- maybe they should just show those three? Plus, I heard that ISWAK could get a third series - so, just show that, Korean TV. Stop letting Group 8 kill classic manga!



On a total random note, there are some shōjo mangas that I think could work as Korean dramas (without killing the story) - Honey and Clover is one that I would love to see. Just not by Group 8.

[mishane.livejournal.com]

I actually think Group 8's main issue is that they try and turn these Japanese stories into something with a "Korean flair", thus they ruin a lot of the story's charm.

I think you've got it exactly right. I read this interesting article recently that kind of debated why Kekkon Dekinai Otoko worked and why the Korean version, He Who Can't Marry, didn't. And it basically stated what you said, that they put their own 'Korean flair' into something that. . . didn't need it.

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

See, I understand why they would want to make a show more Korean, as they want people to understand and relate to it. I believe Koreans are actually really patriotic, so it makes sense that tv companies would try and have all their shows appeal to them. But sometimes, giving a show, that is based on another countries work (be in a manga, novel, whatever), makes the work lose its appeal.


To be fair, it's not just Koreans doing this. America is also guilty is taking British shows (Coupling, Life on Mars) or films (A Tale of Two Sisters) and trying to skew their remakes into more 'American' shows/films. That doesn't work either.

[mishane.livejournal.com]

Oh no, I totally understand that. Korea is a mostly homogeneous (and like you said, patriotic) nation, so it makes sense that they want to add their Korean flair to it. It's just when that Korean flair interferes with the actual story that. . it turns bad and makes me wonder why they don't churn out more of their own original stories that would express them better, than picking something that gained acclaim for something that might not translate well with 'Korean flair'.

Ugh. I so agree with you on uncreative America. I don't think I've ever raged as much as I raged when I found out that we were doing a remake of 'Let The Right One In'. RAGE. RAGE. RAGE.

The thing people don't understand is, sometimes what makes a film special are the little things that the culture/country puts into it, and when you try to translate it into a different country/language, you lose all the things that make it special, which is why remakes (from other countries) ALMOST NEVER WORK.

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

I remember your rage over them remaking that film. Hollywood loves to remakes foreign films lately. Sadly, they screw most of them up. They turn awesome psychological horror/thriller films into teen slasher flicks. I have this great fear that the CW buys the rights to make HYD into a tv series - Makino and Domyoji would be ruined.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I think with BOF it wasn't that they tried to make it more Korean, it is that they screwed up everything in the script in order to get some ill-fitted melodrama in as opposed to melodrama that was already there.

I think Hanadan would have made a wonderful kdrama, actually - I loved Hanadan because it basically was already a kdrama, in Japanese. As it is, I think Brilliant Legacy and Bali are both more of a Hanadan adaptation than BOF ended up being.

ISWAK could make a decent enough kdrama (isn't Goong basically ISWAK with characters' stations in lives changed up a bit?) but not if Group 8 does it.

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

I do remember reading that the writer wanted to give it a more "Korean feeling", which is one of the reasons (besides the writers thing for Kim Hyun Joong) that the "love triangle" lasted and lasted and went crazy, with it looking like Joon Pyo might marry his fiancee. There was way too much old school melodrama going on.



You know, I agree that Hanadan is one of the few mangas that could work as a kdrama - if it were done correctly. And BOF wasn't done correctly. Also - BL and Bali are very much what BOF should have been in terms of the main relationship and watching the male lead grow and become a human.


Gong had some aspects of Itazura na Kiss, though Chae-kyung was smarter than Xiang Qin/Kotoko. Still, both were sweet girls who made a cold guy into someone who actually showed his feelings. Perhaps it will all depend on the writer and the actors they cast.


Just please - don't try to make all the love hexagons that Korean dramas seem to love. Because, honestly, I never found any of the OTP interlopers worthy of being evil Secondary Person.

How about NO!

[lydzi.livejournal.com]

No one touches Arien Lin and Joe Chen!

[popaddict.livejournal.com]

I agree.

I loved ISWAK, characters, plot, chemistry but Group 8 can only fuck it up. That's all I see in its future, a big cluster-fuck of awful.

[calixa.livejournal.com]

I have to agree you here. I can't imagine Group Eight pulling this one off considering their track record. Especially this particular story, which creates such polar reactions to itself as it is.

[village.livejournal.com]

I actually didn't mind ISWAK at all but Ariel Lin's character really bugged me. It's not even the doormat status, I just found her incredibly embarrassing to watch and the thought of what they'll do to the kdrama equivalent makes me shudder. I think it would truly be horrifying.

[sodahands.livejournal.com]

That's enough, Group 8. It's time for you to stop.

[bae-mac.livejournal.com]

This for real?

EPIC FAIL!

[autumn-yaar.livejournal.com]

Oh no, as much as I love ISWAK I won't be watching this. Actually because I love it so much is more of a reason to avoid like the plague. D:

[salimbol.livejournal.com]

Allow me to say: Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Thank you. That is all I have to say.

[kitkat-cat.livejournal.com]

OH FOR GOD'S SAKE!!! Dont people ever ever ever EVER learn!?

Group 8 sucks as producing tv shows, ROI notwithstanding. Are they guilty of ignorance by not being aware of how much they've messed up or lost credibility, or are they guilty of arrogance? I think it's probably the worst combination or ignorance AND arrogance.

This smacks of nothing more than a money-grabbing exercise! Granted all tv production companies are in the business to make obscene amounts of cash, and i don't mind that as a signed-up consumer of their products, but when it's just so in-your-face like this, it just narks the hell out of me.

Someone should really sit Group 8 down and explain to them that they have a reciprocal relationship with the public. We buy into the barely concealed attempts at making bundles of cash, and in return, we get something that keeps us hooked, entertained, and coming back for more. Their track record indicates a complete disregard or ignorance of this relationship! ARGH!!!!!!!!!!

Korean Itazura na Kiss is just a car-crash waiting to happen.

[kittykatz.livejournal.com]

Gosh what is with all the re-makes lately. And funny you talk about ISWAK because I was just thinking of re-watching it again today.

[mishane.livejournal.com]

I'm a little interested in this, only because, as you know, I wasn't a fan of the TW-drama version so I'm interested in what Korea would do with Ariel Lin's character.

It's so interesting to me the stark differences between Korean/Japanese/Taiwanese dramas. I mean, you can TELL watching one, what makes it inherently Korean. This would be the first adaptation/remake I'd probably watch, or attempt to watch.

[fivil.livejournal.com]

I can understand your disinterest. Korea doesn't have a particularly strong history with manga adaptations, unless it's manhwa of their own (I think Tazza and Goong were both manhwa adaptations). Just as well, I guess.

I'm willing to believe it comes down to producers and writers but honestly, they will look at BOF and be all "hey this worked brilliantly!" because from the ratings/cultural zeitgeist pov it sadly did, and go similar route. Meh.