Anyone who knows me should know about my love for the variety show Running Man, a variety show that features one of the best casts ever as the tackle missions and race each other to win the prize of the day. The show has been going since 2010, and there are many factors as to why it's so great.
In 2013, however, there has been a drastic drop in ratings. I will try to review 2013's best and worst moments whilst trying to figure out what went wrong.
The Highlights:
Episode 129 - Running Man / Idol Winter Olympics
In 2012 there was a special Olympics episode (because the Olympics were being held in London at the time) where the cast had to come together to beat the idol team, consisting of both new and old faces. It was a great success, and even though the Running Man team lost it was a thrilling experience. It's not a surprise they decided to go at it again, this time with a new idol team. The only bad part was Ze:a's Kwanghee, who tried to be funny so badly that it mostly came off as irritating and arrogant, because otherwise the episode was both funny and exciting.
Episode 132 - Actors vs. Singers, Spy vs. Spy
This was a really funny episode as well, where the cast along with three guests team in in the actors team and the singers team, and only their reactions to which teams they're in are hilarious. The final battle was thrilling with a not to be missed unexpected twist at the end!
Episode 133-134 - Secret of The Nine Swords
The cast goes travelling around Asia, first in Macau and later in Vietnam, with great guests Han Hye Jin and Lee Dong Wook. I always love it when they travel abroad, and I really liked the guests as well, so that was just an added bonus on an already promising premise. Most of the first episode centered around them visiting the Macau tower, and created some both hilarious and impressive moments. The second episode was just as great, with good missions and cast chemistry.
Episode 137-138 - Marry the Fool & Capture The Flag
Merely the beginning of the first one had me laughing like a crazy person, so I knew I was in for a good one. It was funny with great guests and chemistry, even though the "princess" premise usually doesn't do much for me.
OK, so I may have included the second one only because I LOVE Lee Jong Suk and especially Kim Woo Bin, but I actually liked all the missions. Sure, the final one could have been better, but the bromance levels were off the charts and that's all that matters right?
Episode 162 - Idol King Challenge
This episode featured 14 idols (two from one group), so what is there to complain about? As a kpop fan, it's pure heaven, but as an avid Running Man fan it makes me worried. Idols can either be great or awful, depending on how willing they are to put in an effort and play the game. I was, thank goodness, pleasantly surprised by this episode. The beginning when each of the cast members dances to a different kpop song along with the idols themselves was absolutely hilarious, and the rest of the episode continued the same way.
There were a lot of other good episodes, but these were the ones that really stood out and that I would want to watch again.
The Lowlights:
There were a lot of mediocre episodes, which pains my fangirl heart. I was really disappointed in the return of hero Park Ji Sung, actually. Maybe my expectations were way too high after his visit in 2012, which featured by far the funniest episodes to date, but it just wasn't as impressive this time around. I was also sad about the episodes with baseball star Ryu Hyun Jin, because when he last came on it was great as well. This time too much focus was put on creating a love line between him and other guest Miss A's Suzy, which was just awkward. The ending mission with the watergun felt really scripted too.
The beginning of the year for the show was quite strong, but it has slowly decreased in quality which has led me to even skip some episodes or fast forward parts of them. I don't want to stop watching it, and I probably won't, but it's just not as exciting anymore. Most of the cards have already been played, all the characters have been established and worked through multiple times, so I feel as if there's almost nothing left to make out of them. The missions have also become less interesting and you can notice the cast feels the same way. In the old episodes, there was this passion and fighting spirit in all the members, and they all worked really hard to keep the show going. In some ways, I feel like they have stopped trying as hard.
A lot of the blame can be put on the PD's of course, but the PD's haven't changed or been replaced since the beginning, but still there has been such a drastic change in atmosphere. Maybe they're running out of ideas of new challenges or missions, because while most of them are fine, it's nothing compared to what it used to be. You never really knew what to expect when you tuned in, and cast didn't either, but now it's getting very predictable and that takes away a lot of the fun.
The Future:
I will still keep watching, probably until the show gets cancelled, but I sincerely hope that we will see a severe improvement, because I really want to like every episode. The first episode of 2014 was broadcast last Sunday, and it was honestly pretty boring, unfortunately. I don't like it when the cast is completely separated, because some cast members don't do as well on their own as they when they're all together. It also put a lot of pressure on each of the guests, and if they're not entertaining it goes downwards quickly. Hopefully next episode will be more exciting, when they all meet again for a cooking battle (but I don't think it will be, sadly, considering the previous cooking episodes).
Please, Running Man cast and PD's, try your best to get better again and to not get cancelled, because that would be a disaster. OK?
Even though I'm very critic, I still love you, so don't disappoint me. I'm counting on you!
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