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Post by mikey on Jul 23, 2009 9:41:29 GMT -5
While I wouldn’t call it a “crappy” show, I think a lot of us are thinking of how great this show COULD have been, had the writer and producer not tried so hard to distort the historical facts to make Hunae look like a heroine. Perhaps it was an example of the "Year of the Woman" thing (which wasn't at all a bad idea) gone a little haywire.
Aside from those awful episodes in the 28-34 range, I’m finding IE to be a reasonably fun and entertaining show. I’m still watching it and enjoying it. But - like the SBS “fusion” drama “Princess Ja-myung” - one has to enjoy these shows for what they are, rather than what we wish they were.
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Post by MTR on Jul 23, 2009 18:12:37 GMT -5
I Agree with Salce the ending will define this drama ,I know the history and what happened to the main characters but im wondering how KBS will play this out ,If they can somewhat stick to history (no drama is 100% history no matter what country its from )they could really turn this around ,as it is considering a modern day drama will follow this i am in no hurry to see it go at all .
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Post by ajk on Jul 24, 2009 12:15:10 GMT -5
Welcome, salce—always good to have a new member join us.
We tend to be tough critics here, so it isn’t necessarily that people flat-out hate the series. A lot of us just have very high standards, in part because some of the series that preceded IE were so very good.
You make a very good point about wait-and-see. I think it’s always the right thing to do to not pass judgment on a series until it ends. People do tend to post their opinions as the series runs, but don’t worry, there will be plenty of post-mortem here after it ends.
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Post by puppy on Jul 25, 2009 9:55:58 GMT -5
I like your logic, mikey. It is what it is, and until all of us here get together and write our own drama, this is what we have, good, bad and in-between. I like them all and even when I complain, I don't switch channels.
I hope you stick around a while, salce. You'll get the hang of it.
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Post by puppy on Jul 25, 2009 10:06:46 GMT -5
I'm disappointed in Chae, too. She doesn't seem to have a handle on the role as its written. She WANTS to show ferocity and determination but I think the writers want her as noble and selfless so she can't go with her actor's instincts which I suspect are very good. It leaves her performance strangely flat.
Kim Chiyang is still a cypher to me. The excellent Sol Rengui and Dae Jungsang are so far underutilized and even my guy, Gang Jo, is getting irritating.
But I'm sticking to it. I love historicals however inaccurate.
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Post by SubPrimitive on Jul 28, 2009 11:28:15 GMT -5
I am at ep 43 right now and I agree with every sentiment so far here. KBS has improved production - no doubt. This series looks pretty glossy and those fancy warrior's rubber costumes are just fabulous.
The music... oh somewhere around the mid 30's eps I started noticing the soap opera music stabs. At the end of a scene close-up on a face and the thrilling soap music.
Now I know this is not new to this series. But when you are surrounded by 5,000 warriors with swords extended around your neck, you have plenty of time to think of a way out or wait for the reserve unit. Because they just stand there holding their swards frozen in position for several minutes scowling.
Noble female warriors: It seems the female warriors outnumber the males in some scenes. If this is also the direction KBS is going I can see a future series of entire troops of amazon warriors with a few dudes thrown in as tokens. You know, men never fought in wars... but we have to keep the male viewers happy.
Yes, this series has become more entertainment than the amazing previous shows like EWG, DOTE & AOW. KBS seems to have started in this direction since IYSS.
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Post by zorro on Jul 29, 2009 9:56:25 GMT -5
Good points SubPrimitive, I like your take.
I don't want to step on ajk's summaries, which lately are better than the actual airings, but last night's (41) ending was so sloppily done I'm at a loss for words to even comment.
I'll defer and maybe he can put some type of positive spin on it, but I actually found myself pretty po'd with the way it was handled. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty confident there were no "PAUSE" buttons back then.
In the words of Seinfeld's Donna Chang(stein) "It's getting to be ridicurous!"
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Post by SubPrimitive on Jul 29, 2009 13:10:46 GMT -5
zorro - you know it's like Emperor of the Sea - not as bad. At first I was appalled at that show, but came to regard it more of a fantasy and then enjoyed it more. EOS had that horrid 80's hair-metal guitar music throughout. IE has got my interest more and I guess we could nit pick the life out of it for historical innaccuracies... for example:
(spoiler deleted by moderator)
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Post by ajk on Jul 29, 2009 13:41:36 GMT -5
SP - my apologies for having to tweak your last post; I always try to avoid doing any such thing, but the post contained a spoiler that had to be removed. Anything that happens in an episode that hasn't yet aired in Chicago can only be mentioned or discussed in the spoiler thread. Nowhere else. Just an FYI. Glad you're here and are watching; viewership seems to be pretty low for this one and the board has been quieter than boards for other historicals.
zorro, that's a lot of pressure! Like Johnny Carson used to say, those are high standards and someday we'll rise to meet them. Anyway, yeah some of the pacing in those battle scenes can be beyond awkward. I actually didn't mind it so much when Hunae aims at the king and everybody sees it and they hesitate; what bothers me more is when somebody in the middle of a huge battle takes a fatal bow and then all of a sudden there's some kind of force-field bubble around them where nobody else is fighting and they have their quiet, tragic death scene. I mean, I can understand the reason for it, but it just is a little abrupt.
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Post by SubPrimitive on Jul 29, 2009 20:13:16 GMT -5
SP - my apologies for having to tweak your last post; I always try to avoid doing any such thing, but the post contained a spoiler that had to be removed. Anything that happens in an episode that hasn't yet aired in Chicago can only be mentioned or discussed in the spoiler thread. No, my apologies. I had checked with the the summaries and made a mistake in reading - thinking you guys were already past that one. Besides, there are more historical inaccuracies in this series to fill it's own forum - so one less pointed out won't be missed. Thanks for the welcoming also, it seems the Chicago crowd, or at least on this board are closer to how I'm cringing at the show than the Philadelphia board where IE seems to be more highly regarded.
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Post by mikey on Jul 30, 2009 11:26:27 GMT -5
Hey, it’s SubPrimitive! For the Chicago fans who don’t know him, he’s a long-time “Emperor Wang Guhn" Yahoo Group correspondent, and I’ve always enjoyed his observations on Korean Historical dramas. It’s good to see you in Chicago, SP! it seems the Chicago crowd, or at least on this board are closer to how I'm cringing at the show than the Philadelphia board where IE seems to be more highly regarded. I recall that much of the Philly crowd was absolutely bedazzled by “Dae Jo Young,” too. It wasn't exactly my favorite, but (as they say) I guess it's these kinds of different opinions that make horse races! ;D
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Post by ajk on Aug 5, 2009 13:28:25 GMT -5
Okay, my turn for some miscellaneous stuff.
--The series seems to be getting better. It had really bogged down and gotten weaker for a while, but recent episodes at least have been meatier and the storylines have been more interesting. The episodes are still running too long for my taste, but at least they’re more worth watching lately.
--Hey, look who showed up in Ep43! It’s the guy who played that smarmy Bu Kiwon in DJY and also played the outspoken minister Huh Jo in the later episodes of GKS. (He also played a Ming general in IYSS, and I understand was a big player in EWG, which I didn’t see.) He’s good at a certain type of role and it’s great to see him show up here. Maybe his character will add some fire into that group of ministers. For the most part they’re a pretty tame bunch.
--Since I was complaining about it before, I’ll offer some praise now. WOCH has been running recent episodes uncut. The episode lengths have obviously been a problem for them but they’re making the effort not to chop them up to squeeze them in. Much appreciated.
--I happened to turn on the last few minutes of a contemporary drama called “Hometown Over the Hill” the other day, and I saw the actress who played the Goryean empress dowager in the early IE episodes. If anybody’s interested, you can see her there. (I also could swear that one of the other actors in that show is the guy who played that creepy Ming spy chief named Wang Zhen in GKS. Can anybody tell me I’m right or wrong? I’d love to know.)
--Last one: I can put up with a lot of silliness, but if I see that bladed boomerang again, somebody’s gonna get it.
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Post by mikey on Aug 5, 2009 16:58:17 GMT -5
--Last one: I can put up with a lot of silliness, but if I see that bladed boomerang again, somebody’s gonna get it. The whip-wielding Khitan gal’s stunts grate on me a little, too. Sheesh, if a whip really was that formidable a weapon, you’d think they’d have issued one to every soldier! And, as a side note, last night's TAN broadcast of "Queen Seondeok" (I think it was episode 10) featured the bloodiest, most terrifying battle scenes I think I’ve ever seen in a Korean drama. Absolutely horrifying. Yet, it was a relief, in a way, to see the subject matter treated seriously for once. So many of the battles I’ve seen on KBS lately have had the flavor of martial arts exhibitions. As Robert E. Lee once said, it’s a good thing that war is so terrible, otherwise we might grow too fond of it. And I was glad to see war shown (for a change) as the terrible thing that it really is. I think KBS could learn something from that episode of "Queen Seondeok."
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Post by SubPrimitive on Aug 6, 2009 8:34:08 GMT -5
I've been complaining about this series since it started. It came in with a bang - hysterical Emperors throwing food off of tables, Battle Bears, Rob Zombie Khitan generals and boomerang babes. But for some reason I am hooked and further along than the Chicago broadcasts {spoilers censored by the Ministry of Not Giving Away State Secrets} and I have to say this series has some of the hottest babes in KBS historical drama history.
Is it silly and melodramatic at times? yes. Is it well produced? yes
So, I'll keep poking fun at it and hope the next series goes back to the older approach (EWG, DOTE, AOW) to these series.
Until then I am forming a Dobang for our righteous cause.
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Post by MTR on Aug 6, 2009 19:34:42 GMT -5
Getting Better ,here is a mini review of EP 47 "zzzzzzzzzzz....zzzzzzzzzzzzz"
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