Wow! I didn't know that Vietnam buy IRIS, I am living in Vietnam and notice that Vietnamese stations used to buy dramas which had been fully on air in Korea, but now they buy one which hasn't been officially on air yet.
I hope Iris is as good as it is promoted/said.

Woah....! Star power of LBH running around with weapons.

Hate to feed into the hype but I really do hope Iris turns out well.

LBH has been away too long from K drama...more power to him. Our Drool Club is ready....are you girls????

Waiting for the videos and subs for this and You're Beautiful .... waiting, need to take my mind of all these waiting .... hahhhh let's see watch another rerun or finish up unfinished long winded dramas Tsk tsk

OMG... that picture is just... Best picture of LBH ever!!!! I love how he came out. WOW

All I know is that I've got my drool bib and I'm ready to go!

idk i have a very very bad feeling about this.
it's being promoted SO MUCH and giving us such high expectations...
and if it's not all that it's being made out to be...
idk i get the feeling that it will just be a big disappointment.

I don't have bad feelings for it, but I'm pretty sure my expectation is close to what I'm going to see.

TBH, i'm watching it for LBH, but a drama only thrills me when the writing is on. action, explosions, car chases usu bore me. the synopsis is not really doing much for me, and tolerating KTH will almost cancel out all the thrill of seeing LBH acts....for me. Plus the writer wrote Love Story in Harvard....

The bottomline, what holds me back fr gagaing over IRIS is, it really does not need to be good at any of the depts for it to succeed in what that matters commercially. Just by having LBH sealed the deal and they throw all the bonus glossy devices on top. But when what I cared most about is optional, sth they can choose to put some effort in if they feel like it and these things like writing and plot development is not sth u get just by pouring $ in.... expecting too much is unrealistic.

"I guess it’s more to do with LBH name being the lead actor in this series than any other factors."

Iris is in a special situation, because it was conceived as a true Hallyu Uber-Project (akin to The Legend.) The market has always been Asia, not just Korea. I think that's the only reason why Lee Byung Hun even thought about doing TV again. Thus the location shots all over the East. Thus, the English-language trailer 5 months ahead of its planned run. Casting, which emphasized Hallyu visibility, and so on.

There's pressure for Iris to do well in Korea -- and I still think it was a mistake for SBS to not be the station airing this project -- but the truth is, it's already going to make a lot of money.

Three more days!?
Note to self: Remember to buy ice-cream and have a blanket nearby so I can enjoy the first episode with full happiness.

Ahh... I'm too excited I might go crazy if it turned out a disappointment.

I'm gonna believe that "nothing can go wrong if it has Lee Byung Hyun."

*Hopefully Kim Tae Hui has improved on her acting........................*

I think its hilarious that the last IRIS post by JB, we all went fangirly for LBH and collectively *swooned* and *drooled* all over the comments section. But for this post, the comments have been very slim, and I think its both a cause of IRIS overload (too much explosions, too much IRIS all the time), and the start of You're Beautiful (not since Boys Before Flowers has it generated this type of collective DB squeeing with glee over such a happy start for a trendy).

However, I'm still on the Drool Team - go Byung-hun oppa!

But my not being all IRIS insane anymore is due to my spending too much time with my Woo-sung oppa and kinda letting LBH reside on the backburner (for now), and having just finished watching The Restless, with Jung Woo-sung and Kim Tae-hee.

@ Biscuit

"Hopefully Kim Tae Hui has improved on her acting"

As of 2007 in The Restless, my opinion is that she has not. However, I will continue to judge her on each work product, and I will go into IRIS happy and judgment free, excited to see the entire cast collectively kick some butt, KTH included. Perhaps this is the breakthrough role and performance for her!

I dont really care for IRIS. Maybe because I detest Kim Tae-Hee's acting so much. But I really dont care. lol. Im gonna stick with my hype for the year A.N. Jell!!

I miss kim tae hee.....I can't wait to seem her again on tv!!!

ok, can the stylist do something about that guy's hair? it looks like a limp, blacken and flat out coconut husks. on second take, it looks like a badly mangled fake hair thrown carelessly on top this otherwise hot guy's head. that hairdo doesn't do him justice at all!!
will reserve my opinion on this drama. the trailer might be explosive enough to blow up a continent away but i think viewers look up more to the storyline, the developments of the plots and characters. hight octane actions is great but too much explosions will somehow 'exhausts' an otherwise good action movie/drama. LBH, i like him, KTH..well, can't say anything much about her..

"Iris is in a special situation, because it was conceived as a true Hallyu Uber-Project (akin to The Legend.) The market has always been Asia, not just Korea."

This is what makes IRIS so special. It feels like it was tailor made for us Hallyu fans. And not just for the ahjummas (like Legend was) mind you, it caters for all of us. There's something there for everyone.

"Thus, the English-language trailer 5 months ahead of its planned run. Casting, which emphasized Hallyu visibility, and so on."

When I first saw the trailer with English subtitles a while back, I thought this is it. This is the moment we've all been waiting for: For someone to make a Korean drama for the international audience. Not just for Japan. Not just for China. But for everyone who watches k-dramas with the aid of English subtitles.

Only 2 more days now, for the most eagerly anticipated k-drama in years. I can barely contain my excitement and I'll be downloading the 720p version (they should release this in 1080p!) just to check out the production quality, but I will wait for subs to be out to watch it properly so it won't ruin my viewing experience.

Uh, Hong Kong is not considered to be a country. It's still part of China, last time I recall. But on main topic, Iris looks really awsome.

@ Urk

"Uh, Hong Kong is not considered to be a country. It’s still part of China, last time I recall"

You're right, but you didn't read the post carefully. JB wrote in parens "seven overseas countries and/or states", which correctly identified that HK is not a country but a state/autonomous region of China.

Let's all just anticipate the awesomeness of IRIS everywhere!

While I love the cast, and yes even Kim Tae Hee (I don't get all the tension about her acting?), I'm still crossing my fingers that this won't turn out like Swallow The Sun, which I also had a lot of anticipation for only to be thoroughly DISAPPOINTED.

Sure, have all the explosions, car chases, gun slinging that you want, but please have a decent story that makes sense and unpredictability .... hu hu I keep saying unpredictable for most of my posts now. That's what you get when you watch too many dramas that have drawn out cliches and can guess from a mile away what's going to happen next. I totally understand what JB went through when she ranted, complained and pretty much hated when watching MFL. Oops sorry for being off topic.

I'm looking forward to this drama. I hope it won't turn out a big disappointment.
I have no doubt that LBH can carry on an action role, but KTH is a different story.
Let's wait and see.

A little late, but count me in on the Drool Team! Some of IRIS' thunder might have been stolen by You're Beautiful but I'm still looking forward to see LBH back in dramas. I'm also adopting a wait and see attitude with regards to KTH's acting.

I agree with belleza again, for the umpteenth time : )

It makes sense for LBH to participate only if the drama is of a certain magnitude and has Asian, not just Korean, markets in mind. After all, he has already left dramas for bigger ambitions, word has it he has even signed on to do part 3 of GI Joe. His " acceptance by Hollywood" was a huge for me.

I am one of the lucky few who only has to wait a short while in between his dramas. In fact, I just discovered the marvel that is LBH when I watched All In about 2 months back. So, compared with his legions of fans who have been waiting yrs for him to return to the small screen, my wait was relatively short. In between completing All In and waiting for Iris to start, I entertained myself with ' Everybody has secrets'

SBS' loss is KBS' gain - and also for fans outside Korea who watch it via KBS World. Had it been on MBC, SBS or some other network, I'd have to wait about 4 to 5 months after it ends its run in Korea.

I went online today hoping to find early fansubbed versions of Iris' first ep only to read that a dispute with KBS has delayed airing. I really hope it gets resolved soon. Else, I could die..... * Sigh * it all boils down to $$ doesn't it?

Time to reach for the copy of JSA.....

so excited!

wow i wchted up to episode 9 it is the best drama ive seen. i reccommned it m to everyone theres romance thriller and action. it blew me away