Randomness

[dangermousie]

Even though I haven't watched Protect the Boss past ep 6 (I liked it, but I wasn't obsessed thus it fell by the wayside, victim of my short attention span and huge viewing list), I confess to adoring reading the soompi thread. It must be the trainwreck lover in me because for the last few weeks, that thread has been one giant flame war between rabid Jaejoong fangirls and Jaejoong antis who think he's ugly/bad at acting/has too much screentime/whatever.

Since I have no stakes in that particular contest - I like PtB but am not attached to it in the least, I think JJ is good-looking (if too much like a Korean Robert Pattison for my tastes) but I am not particularly attracted to him, and I think he is a mediocre actor who is, at least, not unbearably stiff. So I just have spectator entertainment. Even if I will never understand the defense 'he/she is new at acting, so give him some slack.' WTF? A person should be qualified for the job he or she is doing. If I go to a restaurant and get a bad meal or buy a table that falls apart asap, I severely doubt 'oh, the chef is new' or 'this is the carpenter's first table' is going to excuse it. Also, the fight over whether JJ has more screentime than Ji Sung (no idea, as not watching) is very entertaining. On general principles, Team Ji Sung though, because I've loved watching that man for years :P

I am HORRIBLY behind with Warrior Baek Dong Soo - I believe I haven't seen past ep 10. I like the drama, and it's certainly pretty and well-acted, but I think it never crossed into love for me because I am not emotionally attached to any of the characters, though I like a lot of them and find most of them interesting (more so the old generation than the new). Plus, it seems to be headed into the direction of Dong Soo/Ji Sun and while I don't hate that pairing or anything, I find it the least interesting one of all possible realistic combinations. It doesn't help that I like Ji Sun better on paper than as we see her - I think the actress is having a hard time portraying this very contained, intraverted character. I keep wondering what is off with Dong Soo to prefer her to Jin Ju.

And last random note - I find it funny that I like dramas where relationships and life overall is not one I'd want in a million years and be largely indifferent to those which portray life/relationships I might like for myself. I mean, my favorite airing drama is The Princess' Man and I think one might very well be better dead than have the life either of the protagonists has and to call their relationship a trainwreck is using too kind a term.

Comments

PTB

[(Anonymous)]

Couldn't agree with you more. These girlfans are DANGEROUS! My only advice to them is to grow up quickly and realise that these stars in real life often are not what they seem to be and it is so silly getting into an agro situation over a fictional scenario. Get real and get a life!

Re: PTB

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Exactly.

[miss-magrat.livejournal.com]

LMAO, I was just telling my friend yesterday about how hilarious that thread is XD I don't have particular attachment to either actor (though JJ's character was the only one I didn't want to push off a cliff by the time I dropped the Twitter drama, so I have semi-good memories of him), I enjoy all the storylines and characters, and the drama has 16/18-if-extension-goes-ahead eps - that's a lot of time for a romcom. Why should they spend it on the main leads only?

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh God, the twitter drama. shudder*

[timescout.livejournal.com]

I don't read the drama threads on Soompi much because most of the time the comments just irritate me like whooah. I can't even enjoy 'the funny' because I'll end up wanting to punch someone. ;P I do make an exception with some sageuks though because you may learn all sorts of stuff, if the commenters are sane and know something about the actual history of the period depicted.

I'm really liking PtB. It provides nice change for all the angst I usually watch. :) It's a very solid drama over all. I can imagine the stuff going on @ Soompi. LOL! A great number of Cassies (fans of DBSK/JYJ) seem to be quite mad. God, I remember all the brouhaha they raised with Code V (a Korean vocal group) whose innocent comment in an interview was miss translated and miss presented. *shakes head*

I'm more or less up to date with Warrior Baek Dong Soo though I'm not in any way invested in it. It's rather 'sageuk lite' and has nothing much to do with real history. It's kinda funny how they keep 'name dropping' all these famous, real historical characters into the mix. It's an easy watch but I confess I tend to ff quite a lot.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I only hang out at sageuk threads and check other ones for lols.

PtB is nice but too laid-back for my tastes - it's not intense enough to be the usual drama that appeals to me but too wacky to be a family drama (which is what I like).

[timescout.livejournal.com]

About PtB - Actually, the whacky sort of fades away and now it does resemble more of a slice-of-life kind of drama. But yeah, I think it may not be intense enough to suit you. ;P I've only realised of late that I really, really love slice-of-life dramas and don't want them to be too angsty.

[hanjae.livejournal.com]

LOL I just popped into the thread this morning to realize such wankery had exploded and I never even knew a thing about it. Those antis are crazy - I mean, "OMG I'M SICK OF HOW MUCH SCREEN TIME JJ HAS"? That is the most off-the-wall complaint I've ever heard about a second male lead. How come no one whinged when Kim Seung Soo got twice as much screen time as (technically) male lead Lee Joon Hyuk? Or how much more central Nam Goong Min's character was to the storyline of CYHMH than Kim Jae Won's? I swear Jun Ha had at least twice the screen time Dong Joo had.

For heaven's sake, it's not like they're showing montages of JJ's pretty face without any relevance to the plot - the latest episodes have focused more on MOO WON. Even the "bad acting" argument doesn't hold water, because based on probability alone, a high percentage of those dissenters probably sat through BOF and liked KHJ, who was just embarrassingly bad. Honestly, the most ridiculous bullshit ever.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yes, but the examples you cited are all family dramas which are much longer so there is a lot of screentime for a main character even if he/she gets eclipsed and everyone who watches those expects multiple storylines (e.g. most people were watching Gisaeng for Damo/Saran but nobody thought it was odd when in early eps they barely had any screentime together). Romcoms are about the most structured subgenre out there with its rules. And it attracts some very young fangirls, too. Put together, you get disaster.

[hanjae.livejournal.com]

Well, Kim Seung Soo/Lee Joon Hyuk are from I Am Legend, and that was pretty much a disaster because of how unbalanced the screen time was, LOL. No one complained specifically because of it though, and that's why I boggle at how reactive people are over the JJ screen time issue. It's nowhere near as unbalanced as IAL. Even in a strict romcom like YAB, you have Yonghwa-centric episodes. I think people are just searching for something to complain about.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh, I was thinking something else. IAL had a lot more wrong with it than the screentime though and no rabid fangirls were watching it. PtB has a large fangirly audience so disaster looms :)

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I think Ji Sun's actress is very good and very suited to the "reserved lady" role sageuks like so much. However, this is, I think, her first major role (when I looked her up on d-wiki a while back, I think the only other thing in her profile was a movie) and I don't think she's experienced enough to completely do Ji Sun justice.

i'm only on ep 14 in actual watching, but I've been checking parts of raws as they come out (mostly Ji and Jin Joo parts, and some Ji Sun ones) and everything in the drama makes me think that it will eventually end Jin Joo/Dong Soo. This is, I think, meant as an "origin story," so Ji Sun is probably meant to be the first love he loses (hopefully to a temple, not death), and Jin Joo the one he ends up with for good.

Apparently it also got extended to 30 eps at some point, which might be why that's taking so long to resolve.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

30 episodes ?!?! Oh my God, that really is much too long. But we'll see.

I think in some ways, Ji Sun is the hardest character to portray out of the mains and so casting a relatively new actress could be a problem. Of course, the problem is that it's hard to find someone in the right age range, with right vibe, and a ton of experience. Someone like Moon Geun Young perhaps, but she'd probably not agree to play second fiddle so...

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's too long. The plot is increasingly more complex, and while most fusion sageuks tend to be centered around a small group and a specific event or sequence of events, WBDS is more like a traditional sageuk is that it's a truly ensemble cast with a plot that centers around the early life of a historical figure who was involved in the political environment of his time.

With the possible exception of Ji (who has an older and more experienced actress) I think Ji Sun is probably the most complex and difficult character, in terms of how to portray her. I think the actress herself is a good choice (and I actually find her to be on the adorable side at times...they're subdued, but she has some excellent expressions) in terms of pure ability and screen presence, but she doesn't have enough experience to portray as much as she needs to without dialogue.

[karened.livejournal.com]

Me too! I've stopped watching PtB at *runs to check* Ep 8. It's interesting, er...with JJ as eyecandy...not too draggy...

But, it just lacked the bit of magic to keep me excited for the next episode. And, at the risk of being chewed by rabid JJ fangirls, I agree with you. JJ is...quite stiff. And, to be honest, the longer I look at him, the less attract he appears to me.

I'm turning my attention back to jdoramas and hkdramas.

[threebits.livejournal.com]

And, to be honest, the longer I look at him, the less attract he appears to me.

whoa, same here! Not that I'm watching PTB cos ever since my mother obsessed over City Hunter she wouldn't let me download a new drama unless she likes it as well -_-''

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Exactly, every word.

[(Anonymous)]

"if too much like a Korean Robert Pattison for my tastes" That is so unfair xD

RP= http://photos.posh24.com/p/429636/l/robert_pattinson/robert_pattinson_behover_polisskydd.jpg

JJ= http://www.hellokpop.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/jaejoong3.jpg

On a serious note, I think Jaejoong is a lot better compared to other newbies like Yonghwa, Taecyon and Kim Joong Hyun. He's learning fast and you have to get your experience from somewhere :)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I would not normally think him pattison-like, but in PtB he really does freakishly like him - not sure if it's the haircut or that his face seems wider.

I think JJ is doing OK with his character (well, in first 6 eps, at least, haven't seen past that). I still am not keen on idols acting main roles out of the gate, but he's not wooden like KJH, Changmin, Son Danbi etc.

[enagwolo.livejournal.com]

I'm not surprised it turned into that because the PtB thread used to be one huge JJ fangirling forum that you'd think he was the lead and only actor there. So I'm not surprised some people got sick of it and now sound like antis.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

They post articles about how he drinks coffee. LOL

[(Anonymous)]

PtB is a very, very good drama. It's more a slice of life than a traditional romcom (dixit Koala I think). And it's mainly what the girlfans do not understand...

Every character is important (Ji Heon, No Eun Sol, Mu Won, Na Yoo, Ji Heon Aboji and Halmoni...) and I think the "main" plot (No Eun Sol helping/protecting Cha Ji Heon) was mostly a nice way to make all these little world meet and interact.

Each pairing is important too (Ji Heon/Eun Sol, Ji Heon/Mu Won, Ji Heon/Aboji, Eun Sol/Mu Won, Mu Won/Na Yoon etc...) so this whole debate about screen time is off the base.

Emma

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

The thing is, it's too wacky to be a slice-of-life but yes, agreed, it seems very ensemble.

[momosan.livejournal.com]

I am so glad I'm not the only one enjoying watching the fan-girl wars on Soompi. It's so petty that it's hysterical.

I adore WBDS. I fully acknowledge all of the flaws, but sometimes you just want to let a show run with it. As long as Chun is around, I'm gonna enjoy it. 8-) Personally I think it's the actress playing Ji Sun that is the problem. The younger version was contained and reserved, but did much better at it. Wait until you see her in episode 20 - I was almost willing to let her skate because she perked up in 18 and 19, but episode 20 made me want to send her back to acting school.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I love fangirl wars!

I am usually fine even with limited actors/actresses (remember Yeonwood in Kingdom of the Winds? I must have been the sole person who loved her character and the actress) but then the writing has to compensate by either making the character so interesting the acting matters less or writing to tailor the character to actor/actress' limited abilities.