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The Best Hit: Episodes 1-2

As if we aren’t already up to our eyeballs in dramas, this weekend KBS launched (or rather, re-launched) an additional Friday-Saturday drama time slot with The Best Hit, the new scripted drama helmed by variety PDs, chief producer Seo Soo-min of The Producers, and PD Yoo Ho-jin of 1 Night 2 Days.

The Best Hit was promoted as a hybrid variety-drama, but it turned out to not be very hybrid in format at all, and instead just played out like a regular ol’ drama. I was a little disappointed that they didn’t do anything fresh with format (say, the mockumentary style that The Producers attempted at the start), but it’s a funny, feel-good show full of showbiz inside jokes and lots of references to the ’90s. It feels loosely plotted, like a sitcom, so I’m adjusting my expectations for something closer to High Kick in feel.

The series is being split into two 35-minute episodes per broadcast, and Friday’s premiere episodes recorded underwhelming numbers for the network at 2.5% and 2.9%. I’m interested to see what it’ll mean for the rest of the dramas KBS has planned for this new weekend time slot, and whether they’ll get a chance to slowly grow an audience over time. Guess we’ll see.

 
EPISODE 1 RECAP

In a hall of mirrors, a young man covered in claw marks stares down his reflections, waiting to strike. In a parody of Bruce Lee’s famous scene from Enter the Dragon, he even starts narrating in Chinese that he’s thought about the one hit of his life, and whether he has it in him:

“Twenty-three. Everything that I thought would become clear is still hazy, and I don’t know where I should go or what I should do. The world is full of tests, and I must fight alone. Will I have that one hit in me? At the crucial moment… will I be able to throw that one hit?”

A masked man appears behind him, so he throws a punch, but it meets glass. And just as the masked man is about to strike, suddenly another Bruce Lee jumps into the fight and takes him down with a flying kick.

Ha, this Bruce Lee, from Game of Death, is fearless and confident, and the narrator says that he was able to throw that one hit when it counted.

We go back to 1993, which the narrator says was an era full of hope for the future, an age that belonged to the youth. Among the biggest pop stars of that generation, he says, was a group called Jay-2, and its star was singer-songwriter YOO HYUN-JAE (Yoon Shi-yoon). (The name Hyun-jae means “present,” as in past/present/future.)

The press montage tells us that Jay-2 was ahead of its time musically, and created a syndrome. The clip of them beating Seo Taiji and Boys at Gayo Top 10 cracks me up, and LOL, Jay-2 actually performed this on Music Bank to get the footage for the drama.

They also had a series of scandals that made headlines, including a romance between Hyun-jae and pop singer HONG BO-HEE (Yoon Son-ha), whose character is modeled after willowy ’90s teen idol Kang Su-ji.

Then came the sudden announcement that Jay-2 was breaking up, instigated by Hyun-jae leaving the group to go solo. Right after that, though, Hyun-jae disappeared without a trace, and his abandoned car was discovered by the river.

Fans left placards and flowers at the spot, hoping for his return. Bo-hee came sometime later and added her flowers to the pile. The narrator says, “And like that, Yoo Hyun-jae disappeared along with the ’90s.”

Fast-forward to 2017. A family gathers for a portrait, and we see some familiar faces, like former pop star Bo-hee, who is now a mom. Dad LEE KWANG-JAE (Cha Tae-hyun) is the last to join them, after taking a call outside about some overdue loan payments, which he blusters that he’ll rob a bank to repay if he has to.

The photographer (cameo by Go Chang-seok) has a hell of a time trying to direct the family members, as he discovers that Grandpa is not actually the grandpa, Mom and Dad aren’t married, and the little boy is in fact a little girl, and not their daughter.

Finally, the photographer addresses the grown son, whom he assumes isn’t their son either, but both Mom and Dad say that he is. This is LEE JI-HOON (Kim Min-jae), the Bruce Lee No. 1 in the opening sequence, and our narrator.

Dad Kwang-jae drops everyone else off and then offers to take Ji-hoon to his academy. Kwang-jae drives a beat-up minivan plastered with logos for World Agency, whose company slogan is supposed to be “The center of Hallyu reaching out to the world,” but one letter from “Hallyu” is missing and it reads: “The center of the lower class reaching out to the world.”

Kwang-jae is World Agency’s CEO, and the operation is so low-budget that he’s the road manager too, and he’s got his idol girl group riding in the back while he drops Ji-hoon off.

At a police civil service exam academy, a teacher gives a hackneyed speech about youth not being youth unless you’re in pain, and everyone shoots him eye-daggers save for one student, CHOI WOO-SEUNG (Lee Se-young), who sheds a tear in the first row. (Her name Woo-seung means “victory.”)

For some reason, she introduces herself as Lee Ji-hoon, and then deflates the teacher’s ego when she explains that she wasn’t crying because she was moved—she has a medical condition that makes her cry involuntarily. Pff.

After class, Ji-hoon waves her down and calls her Fake Ji-hoon, and she calls him Real Ji-hoon. She’s surprised to see him here, and we learn that she’s attending his classes under his name.

They have an arrangement where she gives him the tuition fees and takes the classes that his parents have already paid for. They bicker about who’s benefitting more from the arrangement, and she threatens to tattle on him.

As they walk, she nearly trips and takes a fall down the stairs, but Ji-hoon catches her by the arm just in time. Woo-seung gasps in relief that her precious coffee wasn’t spilled. She vows to pass the civil service exam this time, or else she might leap off a building.

He doesn’t find her joke funny, but she says that her circumstances are that dire—she really has to pass this time. He’s taken aback when she starts crying, but she explains the sudden onset of her tear duct illness, which she’s in no position to get surgery to fix.

As she heads back to class, Ji-hoon asks if things are going well with her boyfriend, which she confirms. The way he watches her wistfully makes me think he wishes he were that boyfriend.

He starts to send her a text to schedule a meal next time (he’s saved her number as “Victory Reaper”), but he doesn’t have the nerve to send it. The only texts Woo-seung receives are spam messages, and her boyfriend hasn’t even read her latest text. She wonders if he’s busy.

Ji-hoon backtracks all the way to his dad’s agency, and he makes sure to keep his face hidden as he hurries past. He rounds the corner and narrates that his father, who failed to properly live off the income of others, believes that a government job where you can live off of taxpayers is the best job out there.

But as Ji-hoon covers up his prim sweater vest with a black hoodie and face mask, he narrates that his dream is transient, not strong like his father wanted: He’s an idol trainee.

He comes out of the alley and approaches the fancy-looking Star Punch Entertainment building, and goes around to the back. Three fangirls (cameo by Kim Sook) run over to him screaming, thinking that he’s famous idol MJ, and are sorely disappointed to unmask him and realize that he’s a nobody.

Ji-hoon races down the hall, late for practice, and zooms past a long corridor with Star Punch’s most famous artists. The last among them is Jay-2.

Ji-hoon’s friend wonders if it isn’t time to just fess up to his father so he doesn’t have to keep lying about the civil service exam. But Ji-hoon remembers how Dad almost bit his head off the one time he brought up becoming an idol, and thinks there’s no way he’d approve.

Dad Kwang-jae must really be a terrible agency CEO, because he also runs the bakery next door to his agency (I’m guessing that bread foots the bill for music, and not the other way around).

Mom Bo-hee worries when she hears that an event canceled on their idol group, and she asks about the bank putting pressure on them for the building mortgage. She sighs that if everything with Hyun-jae hadn’t gone down the way it did… but Kwang-jae just gets angry at the mention of Hyun-jae.

She asks him to hang a nail for their family portrait, and Kwang-jae complies while muttering to himself that she’s still talking about a Hyun-jae (present) that’s in the past. He imagines Hyun-jae’s impish face on the head of the nail, and hammers it over and over.

Woo-seung studies so hard she’s almost late for work that night, and she races down the street while chomping down on a triangle kimbap, which she nearly drops and goes through acrobatics to save.

The next morning, Ji-hoon’s buddy and fellow trainee MC Drill snores on the floor beside Ji-hoon’s bed, but when Dad comes upstairs, he’s suddenly gone. Ji-hoon rouses from sleep and sees that his closet door is ajar, about to out his closet squatter, so he leaps up and backhugs Dad so he can kick the door closed.

Once Dad is gone, MC Drill falls out onto the floor and says that he just had a bad dream about falling from somewhere, and Ji-hoon says it wasn’t a dream. That just makes him nervous that he’ll fail (“fall from”) his debut test, and cries that he won’t fall this time, and sticks to Ji-hoon like a barnacle.

Woo-seung has a bizarre sleeping arrangement of her own, and comes out from under a cardboard box, having slept hunched over at her desk. She lives with her friend, who’s already a police officer, and generous enough to let her stay there while contributing no rent.

But it quickly becomes apparent that the friend is getting her money’s worth in other ways, as she asks Woo-seung to do all manner of chores around the house.

Dad stops Ji-hoon on his way out to give him juice, reciting another ode to the stability of a civil servant’s salary. Ji-hoon tries not to choke on his guilt and scurries off, and Dad notes proudly that Ji-hoon is growing up to resemble him more and more, which just makes Mom scoff sarcastically.

Ji-hoon rounds the corner and turns on the hip-hop swagger like always, except this time he pulls out his hoodie, and a pair of underwear and a rubber duckie come flying out. Wah-waaah.

He runs into the same fangirls who dismiss him quickly this time, and MC Drill runs up with a selfie stick and tells Ji-hoon to introduce himself to his live internet broadcast. Ji-hoon introduces himself shyly, and then smacks MC Drill when he learns that there are zero viewers watching.

Dance practice is grueling for the boys, and they’re further discouraged by the arrival of two new trainees who are in grade school and dance better than they do.

Bo-hee is lost in thought as she enjoys her morning coffee outside the bakery, and when Kwang-jae finally gets her attention, she says she’s been thinking about her comeback and the variety shows she wants to appear in. Haven’t given up the dream, I see. Kwang-jae says half-heartedly that he’ll look into it.

Ji-hoon is shocked to hear that their sunbae left for army without telling them, but the sunbae shows up to say goodbye after all. He says he’s been dropped by Star Punch and won’t be returning after army, and asks Ji-hoon why he wants to be an idol so badly when he graduated from Seoul University and could do anything with his life. Seoul University, really?

The sunbae calls him a straight arrow who seems like such a good, wholesome boy, but Ji-hoon seems to hear that as an insult, not a compliment.

The sunbae sighs that he became a trainee at eighteen and tried his best, but maybe trying hard wasn’t enough, since everyone else works hard too. It leaves Ji-hoon deep in thought about his future.

At the TV station, Kwang-jae chases down a PD (cameo by Park Hyuk-kwon of The Producers) to beg for Bo-hee’s variety guest spot. The PD calls her ancient history and nationally disliked because of her scandal with Yoo Hyun-jae. He tells Kwang-jae to find the missing Yoo Hyun-jae instead, and promises to make a special broadcast for him if he does.

Kwang-jae mutters at all the time he wasted being nice to that jerk, when Choi Hwa-jung happens to pass by on her way to her radio show, and he asks for a favor.

Bo-hee doesn’t seem enthused by the radio show, noting that her face is the better asset than her voice, heh, but Kwang-jae makes it sound like they’re doing the radio show a favor and gets her to agree.

Woo-seung uses earplugs to study at her night job at the noraebang front desk, but she’s interrupted that evening by a fight between two ajusshis (cameo by Kim Jun-ho of 1 Night 2 Days) who nearly come to blows over who gets to sing their favorite song. She grabs a mic and recites all the laws they’re about to break and their related fines, which puts a stop to the violence before it erupts.

Ji-hoon stops by to treat her to a midnight snack, and he hems and haws and then asks if she thinks he has zero appeal too. She confirms that he doesn’t (ouch), so he gets petty and fires back that she’s not very appealing either, as a girl who doesn’t even have aegyo or a glamorous figure. She knocks him on the head with a spoon for that.

When their udon arrives, they both stare at each other like they’re about to enter a death match, and then Woo-seung announces “Go!” Ji-hoon shovels noodles into his mouth so quickly that he has to spit them back out and cool his tongue, while Woo-seung calmly eats and polishes off her entire bowl and wins, like always.

Woo-seung ignores a call from someone saved as “causes colds,” which she explains is shorthand for someone who gives her mood swings. She answers anyway, and it’s her mother, who says that she broke up with her boyfriend.

 
EPISODE 2 RECAP

At home, Woo-seung’s roommate stumbles in drunk and asks why she’s home and not out with her boyfriend. She warns Woo-seung to treat him better or risk losing him, but Woo-seung says she’s with him because she knows his heart will never change.

The roommate plops down in bed and makes Woo-seung turn off all the lights, and now we see why she’s always falling asleep inside a cardboard box: Once all the lights are off, she crawls inside the box and studies with a flashlight attached to her forehead. Dude, you have GOT to move out.

Thoughts of her recent phone call with Mom go through her mind, where Mom suggested they go in on a room together. A flashback shows Mom telling little Woo-seung that she’s sick of men now and that she’d be changing her surname and schools for the last time. But Woo-seung says that second surname only lasted two years, calling her mom “that lying ajumma.”

Ji-hoon stays up late that night too, doing internet searches on various words for “talent,” and he lands on a video of ’90s idol Yoo Hyun-jae, calling him a naturally gifted talent. He watches old street dancing videos and Jay-2 music videos.

And that takes us to PARK YOUNG-JAE (Hong Kyung-min), the other member of Jay-2, who is now the successful CEO of Star Punch Entertainment. He does an interview and is annoyed when asked about his early idol fame being overshadowed by Yoo Hyun-jae’s genius. Lol, is he YG?

He lets her jump to the conclusion that he was the silent hidden producer of the group while Hyun-jae was the one in the spotlight.

Later, CEO Park puts a contract in his safe and takes out an old notebook that belonged to Hyun-jae. He smirks like an evil mastermind… and sloooowly sinks down in his broken office chair, ruining his mojo. Hahaha. He’s like an Austin Powers villain. CEO Park is keenly interested in the status of World Agency’s building, and asks his assistant about it.

Everyone else at World Agency runs down to the bakery to listen to Bo-hee’s live radio appearance, and Kwang-jae cheers her on nervously from the PD booth. DJ Choi Hwa-jung introduces her twenty-year comeback and then asks her to play a quiz, which happens to be on four-character idioms. Ack.

Judging from Kwang-jae’s wooden reaction, this is not going to go well. Bo-hee comes off sounding dumb and a little foulmouthed (by accident), and she hangs her head in embarrassment.

Ji-hoon struts up to Star Punch in his usual celebrity outfit, and the three usual fangirls heckle him on the way in. Except it’s not actually Ji-hoon this time—it’s their beloved MJ oppa, Star Punch’s biggest idol star.

MJ just wonders why in the world he’s being cursed at by fans, and asks his manager to check if he’s in the news or something, but he’s not.

Ji-hoon asks MC Drill to go clubbing with him tonight, and though MC Drill says the agency would kill them, he jumps in excitement at the thought.

Woo-seung spills a drink on herself at work and heads home to change her clothes, when she spies her roommate’s police uniform and remembers everyone telling her that she isn’t cute or a good girlfriend.

She can barely get herself to do it, but she puts on the uniform and records a cute video message, which she sends to her boyfriend.

Her roommate comes home unexpectedly, so Woo-seung hides under her cardboard box so she doesn’t get caught wearing her uniform. But aaah, it gets worse: Her boyfriend comes in with the roommate (cameo by Lee Kwang-soo).

He starts putting the moves on her roommate, the bastard, and Woo-seung has a perfect vantage point of the whole thing from the handle holes in her box. He declares that he loves her and they start making out.

Woo-seung fumes, and then is distracted by the sight of her boyfriend’s phone on the floor, remembering that she just sent him that video message. She reaches her hand out and manages to sneak the phone, but then she decides to start crawling towards the door, LOL, freaking everyone out.

They try to stop her so they can talk, but Woo-seung refuses to come out of the box and snaps at them to keep their distance. And then she proceeds to waddle her way toward the front door in the most painfully slow and awkward fashion.

Woo-seung sits on the corner trying to unlock Cheating Bastard’s phone when someone asks her to check a street camera, thinking she’s a cop. To make matters worse, two real cops stop her to ask where she’s stationed.

Meanwhile, Ji-hoon and MC Drill head to the club, and MC Drill drives away all the women with his super cheesy dancing. Ji-hoon gulps down a beer for courage and psyches himself up to just move to the beat and not think before letting his body react.

As he dances, he tells himself to throw his one hit and show everyone, convinced that they’re all looking at him. People are looking, but most are glancing his way in annoyance more than anything.

He works himself into a sweaty, I-am-the-star-of-a-music-video frenzy, stretching his arms out wide… and lands each hand on a neighboring boob. The two women on either side of him scream and take turns slapping him, and then he’s hauled away in the back of a police car. HA.

Woo-seung is questioned at the local police station for impersonating an officer, while Ahn Gil-kang cameos in the background as an angry gangster. Ji-hoon is brought to the same station, of course, and they both turn around and gape to see each other there.

To his mortification, the detective asks Ji-hoon, “So, why did you touch those women’s breasts?” Woo-seung covers her own chest and looks at him like he’s sleazy, and then he’s offended on top of being mortified.

Then it’s Woo-seung’s turn to be embarrassed, because her roommate and Cheating Bastard walk through the door, since the uniform belongs to her roommate. Cheating Bastard demands to get his phone back, and calls himself to prove that Woo-seung stole it.

He fishes it out of her pocket, so Woo-seung fights him for it, and in the mad scramble to try and delete the video, the phone lands in the middle of the room and plays her aegyo-filled message for everyone to see. Okay, she wins. THAT was the most mortifying thing ever.

It’s pretty much a terrible night all around, and Kwang-jae tries to coax Bo-hee out of her funk by saying that she did fine on the radio. Her mood stays dark though, and she just apologizes, saying that she’s always sorry to him for everything, starting with Hyun-jae.

The police questioning is done with, and though the officer tells Woo-seung that she has to take the uniform off, he gives her some clothes to change into. A moment later, Cheating Bastard leaves the precinct sporting a black eye, which makes me feel slightly better. I wonder who put it there.

Woo-seung calls her mom to go stay with her, but Mom hangs up on her before she can even ask, saying that she’s back together with her boyfriend. Sigh. Ji-hoon offers his place, which MC Drill vehemently opposes.

She says she’ll be fine at a local jjimjilbang, but Ji-hoon takes on a very oppa-ish tone and snaps at her to listen to him, and that she should be more afraid to sleep in a place like that alone.

He seems to realize that he’s overstepping his bounds and changes tack, saying that jjimjilbangs are expensive, and if she has that kind of money, she should just pay him so he can buy the new headphones he’s been wanting. Aw, you’re finding a way to make her not feel like a mooch. It works, and she heads home with them.

At Ji-hoon’s rooftop room, the little girl Mal-sook comes by to ask oppa for help on her homework, but no one’s home. She sees the lights come on and opens the door again, but this time it’s Yoo Hyun-jae on the other side.

They don’t see each other, but it’s like they’re playing peek-a-boo in two different worlds… in the same space. She keeps opening the door, which freaks Hyun-jae out, and he attributes it to the thunderstorm outside.

Hyun-jae heads back in, and though the DJ on the radio is still the same Choi Hwa-jung as in the present, this is 1993, as evidenced by the old computers and the baggy clothes. And the bangs, ohmygod, the bangs. Hyun-jae dries off from the rain and pauses to admire his own reflection, and then busts out some dance moves, hee.

His pager keeps ringing so he finally checks the series of angry messages from his agency CEO (Grandpa, aka Chairman Lee of World Agency), and a panicked one from his manager Kwang-jae, telling him that things are actually more complicated than they thought, and Hyun-jae needs to get out of there as soon as he checks this message.

Hyun-jae scoffs, not taking him seriously, but he ends up throwing a few things into his bag and heading out, though he drops his wallet in the process. The wind is so strong that his umbrella flips inside-out the moment he’s outside, but then suddenly the rain stops and it goes eerily quiet.

Overhead, a massive tornado-looking storm cloud starts gathering around the full moon. Hyun-jae starts toward the stairs when the door slams closed on him, unhinging a sign on the rooftop with Hyun-jae’s face plastered on it with the slogan “Yoo Hyun-jae opens the future!”

It falls and lands right on top of him, and he gasps that he nearly died. Death by your own idol poster would just be a sad way to go. Then the wind kicks back up, blowing him into the stairwell on top of his poster. He thinks again, “I almost died!”

He puts his hand down on the poster, which is all the weight it needs to tip forward… sending him careening down the stairs. He screeeeeams as he rides his own face all the way down the stairs like a sled, and the staircase goes from Vertigo to something out of an M.C. Escher painting, going on and on and on, with walls breaking away and coming back again. I know a wormhole when I see one!

He rides the seemingly endless stairs to the very bottom, where he pops out into the street, a big white light glowing behind him. He screams the whole way and then says for the third time, “I really almost died!”

He really needs to stop jinxing himself, because a moment later he nearly gets run over. It’s Ji-hoon’s car (which I’m pretty sure used to be Hyun-jae’s car), and the three friends get out and peer over Hyun-jae’s body.

Hyun-jae opens his eyes long enough to look at them, and Ji-hoon narrates, “That was my first meeting with my father, Yoo Hyun-jae.” Oh, we’re just gonna say it like that?

As Hyun-jae falls unconscious, we see that the watch on his wrist is the same one that Ji-hoon is wearing.

 
EPILOGUE

Back at the police station, while Woo-seung goes to change clothes, Ji-hoon overhears Cheating Bastard tell his new girlfriend that Woo-seung will forget him and be fine because she has no feelings.

Ji-hoon is still giving his police statement, and he insists on showing the detective how the dance went. He gets up and starts doing the routine, flinging his arms out wide, and then accidentally-on-purpose whirls around and lands a punch right in Cheating Bastard’s eye, knocking him to the ground in a drooling mess. Nicely done.

Ji-hoon pretends to be surprised, but betrays a sneaky smile.

 
COMMENTS

Did someone watch Tunnel and think, I want to do the ’90s idol comedy version of this? Overall my impression is positive, given that I like our main characters by the end of the first two episodes, and found a lot of the situations funny. The plotting is very loose, which takes some getting used to, since the hour feels more like a series of vignettes where we just follow various characters around from one moment to the next (this may actually be something that I felt more acutely because I was recapping and having to string the scenes together, rather than sitting back and just enjoying). But I liked the slice-of-life aspect of it, and found that for the most part, I was engaged in the daily lives of all our struggling characters.

I do have to say that I felt the absence of Yoon Shi-yoon very acutely though, because as soon as he entered the story at the very end, my interest shot way up. I like the other characters, but he’s the natural sparkly talent—just like the character he’s playing—and there’s just a different energy when he’s the one driving the action onscreen. I see that Ji-hoon is the central character with the growth arc and of course we’re rooting for him, but Hyun-jae is the character I’d buy the movie ticket for, so to speak, and I hope they don’t plan to have him stay away for almost an hour of screen time ever again.

I didn’t like how Ji-hoon just announced that Hyun-jae was his father, since even if that was the obvious setup that we were meant to guess, there was a lot of narrative suspense that could’ve been mined from it if they’d held on to the secret a little longer. I mean, longer than the first day might’ve been nice. But the father-son hijinks will still be funny since they don’t know they’re father and son yet, and I anticipate an entertaining rivalry to form between them. The parental love triangle will be interesting too, since Mom and Kwang-jae seem questionably platonic but also like an old married couple in practice, and bio-dad Hyun-jae is her unforgotten, literally forever-young first love.

In any case, I like the outrageous setup of the time-traveling idol father and his idol trainee son meeting when they are the exact same age, and in such different positions in the same industry. It gives them a chance to have a friend relationship, which is just funny, and for Ji-hoon to maybe even be challenged and inspired towards his dream by his father, which would be a very heartwarming development. I have a feeling that the love triangle to beat will be the one between Ji-hoon and his two dads, which would make my day.

 
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Is it just me or something's missing? ?
But ye, i guess i'll watch another episode to decide whether to continue it or not...
The behind-the-scenes look more interesting as of now. Haha

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Yes, Yoon Shi-yoon was missing! He's my reason for watching, and he was hardly in the first episode. Hopefully that'll change in the second episode.

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same.... I'll give one more week and see.

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I don't know if this is the case, but I am quite taken with the color tone of the show. It seems brighter and more cheery than most shows I have been watching, and it makes me want to watch the show more.

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i remembered in one of the BTS clips, CTH was actually concerned that the behind the scenes was more funny than the actual drama. haha

i like the drama so far. its fun :)

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Ha, I'm enjoying it so far. I've finished all the eps for the week, though, and those are quite fun!

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No, it's not just you. As a HUGE YSY fan I was really looking forward to this show, but I'm just not feeling it. The forced humor (that is not funny) gets on my nerves. I'm hoping that when YSY actually appears in the next episode I will feel better.

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I think he did travel through time when he traveled down the stairs via the wooden poster. Doesn't that resemble a wormhole he is traveling through? I find the premise interesting, and will be looking forward to watch Episode 3 & 4.

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I immediately thought of the Doctor Who theme song during his staircase adventure!

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I'm glad gf is recapping episode 1! I like it so far, but like gf said... I felt his absence and things went better as soon as he was there.

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I agree. JH's part of the story resembles more of a slice of his life, and it is very routine and not very exciting. KMJ's portrayal of the character is also quite serviceable but not very interesting. HJ provides a spark in this episode, firstly with his outlandish clothes, and secondly with his unpredictable character. I was taken with him the moment he appeared in the scene at the end of the show.

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I watch this solely for my love for Cha Tae Hyun & HoJin PD's collab work. They r both passionate & very hardworking, I wish chegoiu hanban will be really a hit♥️

I love CTH's vission about his work. He always want to be a pioner, but not a greed to fed his ego as big actor. (He said it in 1D2N) . He wants to do a work that can comfort n easy to laugh with. He says thats all matter. Makes people laugh.

I will ride on this zanny fresh concept drama!
It gives me a new vibe, is like peeking into a parody of actual real life of entertainment industry (it helps a lot with the casts & cameos are almost playing their real life role ) + topping of webtoon feels + reply1997 /dreamhigh ..

The feels..

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I love the cameos that appeared in this episode. They are done very well, and add value to the production. It perks me up to watch them in their short moments of glory in the episode. I hope we will be watching more of YSY in the future episodes. He seems the more interesting character, apart from the cameos.

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Wow the recap is so fast..?
I downloaded this epi already, but I saved it for tomorrow after I am done with Chicago Typewriter. CT gives me too much heartbreaks that I can't handle to watch anything else until I saw the ending ???

Btw just for info. Nielsen recorded rating for both episodes as 2.5% & 2.9% respetively.

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I love CT so so much!!! And why is Seol full of awesomeness?! This is a rare case where it's obvious why both guys love her; she's loyal, forthright, bold, sassy, strong, intelligent, yet feminine and vulnerable.

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Yea, I just watched the episode, and boom, the recap is posted right here. The recaps are getting posted more quickly these days.

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YEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS brb drowning in nostalgia, cringe and joy!

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I like it so much. It feels sitcom-y, which is one of my favorite genre, but not as slapstick funny as I feared. The humor hit me at unexpected time. And I love how this drama doesn't hold back on showing the humiliating stories that gave me secondhand embarrasment, but also tugging at my heartstring. Now they only need to give me more Yoon Si-yoon because so far, all the characters are so winsome.

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I enjoy the humorous moments too because they don't seem the slapstick variety that we are usually accustomed to. I agree with you it feels more of a sitcom, and I like it. I thought the humiliating moments are quite cringeworthy, especially WS's dance-not-dance professing her love for her boyfriend. The bang bang bang... haha

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Agreed. Some comment up above was saying the comedy was forced and not funny, but I'm gonna have to disagree. The show felt a bit off overall at first, but there were several situations that I found genuinely hilarious even before the episode began to come together towards the end. LSY trying to escape under that box has to be one of the saddest and funniest situations I've ever seen.

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I missed Yoon Si Yoon too, but I think I found my new crack drama!!!! :D :D :D

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I keep doing a double take whenever Park Shin Hye------oh! I mean, Lee Se Young appears on screen haha

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lmao i thought i was the only one. And I kept on giggling whenever Dong Hyun-Bae comes into the screen because I can't unsee Taeyang

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Yes! I also noticed it, they look like sisters. :)

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I was waiting, waiting, waiting for Yoon Shi-yoon to appear lol.

Also, I must say that MJ is really good-looking.

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The rating was really bad 2,9%

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I dont think so, its KBS2 right? Not the major kbs?

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i only know that "Unnies S2" and "The Sound Of Heart" were aired in this time slot before and the ratings were a lot better.
Anyway today maybe the ratings go up.

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I believe it's because of the time-slot

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I can't wait to watch the banter between dad Lee and CEO Park. CTH and HKM are so hilarious and comedic in real life. Will that ever happen here? Finger crossed.

Love the first 2 eps so far... Thanks for the recap, @girlfriday~!

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I can't wait for the hijinks between JH and his dad. Why did he say that's his dad at the end of the scene? It kinda takes away the entire suspense for a moment. They could have played with it for a few episodes before revealing the bombshell.

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How are they supposed to play with it as a secret? I mean......there are plenty of videos and fotos of his dad plus his family members actually know the guy....I guess in real life it's more likely that he is a complete look alike but he has all the knowledge and memories to convince them otherwise. If they actually are trying to make them not recognize each other, then I hope it's played for laughs cause it doesn't make much sense.

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Well because in the scene where they take family photos the photographer asked if Ji Hoon was Bo Hee and Gwang Jae's son, they both replied yes. I (and I would argue that most of the viewers) had no knowledge that Gwang Jae wasn't Ji Hoon's biological dad. I though Hyun Jae was just a blast from the past of his parents youth and not the father-son connection that now exists. I do think that they could have built up the suspense or clearly brought up the possibility that Ji Hoon has two possible fathers (sort of like how Reply 1997 series did with the husband), but oh well, it's their loss. The father-son hijinks that will ensure will be worth it.

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I am a little disappointed. I wanted them to spend more time in the 90's and I found myself fast forwarding most parts because I wasn't really interested in the story of Ji hoon. Moreover, where actually is the variety part? If they are considering the monologues equivalent to the mockumentary style Producers had then that isn't working. I'll check the other two episodes and hope it improves.

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I suppose there isn't much of the 90s to show that is interesting? And they need to show some back story to JH before landing his dad into the present from the past? I agree with you that JH's story isn't that interesting, but the dad's appearance at the end saves it all.

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Also disappointed. We stayed in the 90s for about 5 minutes, and saw Yoon Shi Yoon in the last 5 minutes. :'(

But LOL at random things like “The center of the lower class reaching out to the world.” This is why I need to learn Korean.

Also, Ahn Gil Kan practically lives at a police station. He's been there a lot in Thief Nom Thief Nim.

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KIM MIN JAE, YOON SHI YOON, CHA TAE HYUN AND SEYOUNG in one drama!!!!! DramaGods, what more can I ask for!!! Thank You So much!!!! I would love if Cha Tae Hyun also did a funny role!!!!

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“The center of Hallyu reaching out to the world,” but one letter from “Hallyu” is missing and it reads: “The center of the lower class reaching out to the world.”

I wouldn't have know that the hangul written in the car is meant to be funny, if you didn't mention this. Hahaha

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I knew there was something about that missing character hahaha

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I liked the first episodes, but I feel there's something missing or I just looked out for YSY too much? I'll give it a few more episodes and then maybe I'll re-start it once it's done.

I mean I already have 5 on-going dramas, 2 on-hold but currently airing dramas and of course real life.

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have yet to watch the show so thank you for the recap. watched J2 performed on Music Bank and i must say..they must have practiced very hard for it. (the chorus of their song still playing in my brain though..help!)

my instinct is right! hyun jae IS ji hoon's dad! now..that would be awkward...how many love triangle will there be?

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After reading the plot and knowing the background of the writer and PDs, I've prepared myself that this "drama" will not be written like a typical drama plot, that's why I already expected it to be a sitcom. I'm a fan of Western and Korean sitcoms, and how this show is directed and written is basically why they categorize it as variety-drama. So if you're expecting high moments, gripping storylines, or drama-drama, then this series is not for you.

I was just a little bit disoriented with the cinematography because it is very drama-like but the dialogues and the plot is very sitcom. How "Producers" was directed (not the mockumentary but the overall feel) esp in the first 2 episodes was the style that I expected--the dryness and the oldschool studio drama style hehe. I'm really bad at explaining these things.

Also, I don't know if I'm the only who noticed, but that tracking shot while Wooseung and Jihoon were walking inside the campus building is shot like those in American series.

P.S. Taeyang's bro though "Music is the only lawful drug allowed by our government." Lol

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Btw, some comments I saw on Korean sites likened YSY's role to that of the deceased member of Deux. Of course, I'm too young to follow Deux's career then. It's just interesting that Koreans have different appreciation re the meta of the show.

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Haha same here my interest level shot up when Yoon Shi Yoon's character entered into the story towards the end of ep 2. Can't wait for ep 3 & 4.

This drama is surprising refreshing and cheery. Hoping the ratings will get better.

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I really wanna watch it because of Kim Min Jae , but dear time where are you? ?

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I think there's a mistake.

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i liked ep 1 and 2 so far. i did felt something missing because YSY was only introduced at the end of the episode. but overall its very fun and i'm gonna continue watching. haha. big fan of 1n2ds. and i have a soft spot for yoon shi yoon~

hopefully the ratings can improve in upcoming episodes :)

from observation, i think the 11pm time slot is too late, usually people are in bed at 11pm. man to man is also experiencing ratings between 2%-4.5%.
imo, SWDBS was an exception. it had high ratings because the story and cast was more appealing to younger viewers.

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I also felt something is missing during the 1st part. I hope they will show more YSY on the next part.

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I hope the ratings will go up
Ds drama is cute

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This sounds funny and cute! Guess I'll line it up this week for something light to watch.

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I was disappointed. There is something really off about the directing, and like My Sassy Girl, the humor is trying really hard and missing me by a mile. It feels like they really made some odd choices in presenting the story, like not having much of YSY in the intro, or much 90s in general. And that's how he travels to the future? Really?

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It's a sitcom. You can't expect logic/serious explanation as to how he's supposed to travel to 2017.

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Wacthing the complicated and random way he travelled actually makes me wonder whether he is set up to never go back to his original time...
But then again it's possible they may just conjure a second wormhole somehow ?

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Was expecting something wacky, coz I do watch 2D1N time after time, and wasn't dissapointed, laughed a lot the whole eps. The slowly downsliding chair really cracked me up ><
Am glad for the early reveal of Hyun-jae being Ji-hoon's father, it's freshly unexpected and already imagining all the hijink that will come from that. Wondering whether Ji-hoon's ambition to be an idol stemmed from that knowledge, or he isn't actually aware yet? Coz he was kinda dispassionate when watching Hyun-jae's video clip...
Loving all the characters so far, seems like everybody is lovable in their own way. Except the cheating couple, and hopefully won't be seeing them in the future. Also, caught the meta of Kwang-soo imitating Jong-kook's famous move in covering the girl's ear after listening to Woo-seung aegyo video ^^

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Thanks for the recap, girlfriday! I appreciate your filling us in on all the wordplay, meta, and inside stuff that non-speakers can't pick up on. I think the show is enjoyed on a whole 'nother level by Koreans.

The first episodes felt a little wobbly, but that is often the case. I want to see where this goes.

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i totally forgot that this was supposed to be a variety-drama hybrid until after i watched, so i guess i had no expectations going in, and i still enjoyed this premiere! nothing incredibly exciting so far but i really like all the characters so far and am curious about everyone's relationship

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I just have to say that the Chinese in the beginning was near perfect. I thought someone actually Chinese did the voiceover. And the way MC Drill says "mah bro"
I'm liking the comedy--I feel like it's very variety show-y. I definitely hope to see more of the variety elements. Maybe this episode didnt have it because there just wasnt a famous enough idol in the World Agency group

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If it was Yoon Shi Yoon, I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that he's fluent in Chinese.

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I knew it!!! I knew that YSY was his father!!! People made fun of me and said that I had a Tunnel obsession but I called it two weeks ago! ❤️??

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The cast is great. But I have problem with the directing and writing. The directing so negligent. The writing is stupid sometimes, I mean, how can Woo Seung just stay outside instead go to a WC or anything else? And Yoon Shi Yoon final scene is a bit overacting. the shout is too much and not match with the way he open his mouth (can't find the word in english).

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To be honest, I was also looking for Hyun-jae from the very start but when I saw Ji-hoon, I knew that he was going to be the center of this drama. I am expecting more from Min Jae to give some color in his character. The start was not that bad, just little bit dry but then the side story of other characters made it interesting. I agree that Hyun-jae gave the sparks I needed to enjoy the episode. All the characters were likable, I am looking forward on their progress.

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"He tells Kwang-jae to find the missing Yoo Hyun-jae instead, and promises to make a special broadcast for him if he does."

I'm wondering if the "variety" aspect of the show might come more into play later? This seems like foreshadowing, ha.

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Thanks for the recap! I enjoy reading your writings :)

Personally, The Best Hit doesn't live up to its name imo. I skipped the drama halfway because I was like, where's Yoon Si Yoon? I was looking forward to see him after watching Mirror of the Witch some times ago.

Kim Min Jae is a good actor, I have watched 3 of his dramas and I enjoy his act. But he doesn't have the charm of a main character. I mean, as a supporting character, he's okay. He doesn't steal the spotlight. As a main character, he still feels like a mere shadow. A low impact character that feels like. "Oh. He's okay."

I hope we'll see more of Yoon Si Yoon on the next ep because I couldn't care less about Kim Min Jae's "character".

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I haven't seem Kim Min Jae is other dramas, but I like him here so far. I see what you mean about lacking the charm of a main character, but to me that's KMJ doing a good job portraying his character. He isn't supposed to be charming or eccentric. He doesn't stand out and that's why he's struggled so much to debut. He's just an ordinary guy which is pretty refreshing imo, there aren't many main characters like him in kdrama. I suspect it will be part of his character's growth fueled by the appearance of his eccentric father to go from ordinary guy to superstar idol.

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His character reminds me of Gurae when I watched the first episode of Misaeng. I felt like Gurae was supposed to be the main character, but he lacked umph in the first episode. But when his character and struggles were fleshed out later, I was able to relate to him. I don't expect Minjae to become a relatable character because not all of us would ditch real life for a slim chance of being an idol, but I'm looking forward to how he'll develop and the unraveling of his own secrets.

PS. Watched ep 3 and 4 earlier and I'd definitely say that with the arrival of YSY's plot, Minjae's character is just secondary but not minor. It gets better in ep 3 and 4. :)

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I was actually very relieved when Hyun Jae was clearly announced as Ji Hoon; it is very obvious and I didn't want the next week and a half to be dad-hunting. I like or rather got use to the directing as the episodes continue. I love Woo Seung and feel for her on every level. The ot3s are the most fascinating aspect for me; woo seung, ji hoon and hyun jae and then ji hoon with his two fathers. There are definitely some tears to be had between the son and fathers and I am looking forward to it. Also, the makeshift family is adorable. Overall, i have a lot of affection for this drama already.

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Yes same! I'm really loving Woo Seoung! And the drama gives me a very warm feeling ?

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I didn't feel like something was missing and I wasn't disappointed. :) I was a bit wary of this show because of the announced mockumentary feel or whatever, which I generally am not a fan of. I was one of the people that liked it when The producers became more of a typical kdrama and less of that experimental format. So I'm happy that it doesn't seem to be going that route fore now.
I already grew fond of these characters and I really liked the humor in this. ^^ I hope our celebrity wannabe will make it big someday, rooting for him and also of course for our moving cardboard box. Hopefully she will also succeed and will be able to tell her scumbag boyfriend who I can't hate -cause that was Kwang Soo! :o - what exactly he did wrong and that she isn't some emotionless robot. :(
I was surprised to see our former CEO Byeon here :D love the guy in Suspicious Partner, so happy to see him here again in a nice guy role.

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Omg I laughed so hard watching this episode. Love it! Woo Seuong trying to move around inside the box was the best! ? I felt so bad for her after the video got played in front of everyone though.

Loving all the characters so far! Can't wait for ep 3-4! ?

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The box scene KILLED me. It was so ridiculous that her itty bitty self was just chillin there and then the box started moving...

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I knowww! And she kept knocking into walls and stuff! I died laughing ?

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She looked like an overgrown low-tech Roomba. ;-)

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Is it bad that I'm watching this because I got addicted to Jay 2 performance on Music Bank? LOL I'm still on the fence on this show, and yes, it was because of that bad directorial decision to keep our main character out of the loop until the last minute. It's like we were promised some very good steak, but they kept shoving the appetisers, and finally the steak arrives as dessert. Not exactly the way I want to have my meal. We want Yoon Shi Yoon!

Regardless, I'm liking the zany slapstic humor more if I set my mind that this is more variety than a drama itself. That said, I would probably wait until few more episodes before deciding whether this one is a keeper.

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@ 37 alert June 3, 2017 at 10:34 AM

Is it bad that I'm watching this because I got addicted to Jay 2 performance on Music Bank?

Nope. I think you have good taste in music. ;-)

When I saw the teaser clip with part of the performance, I was hoping there would be a full-length music video. Wish granted. ;-)

I would have liked to have seen more of YSY in the opening episode, but also realized that the present-day setting had to be established before he could arrive. If it's any consolation, LOOKOUT showed all of about 12 seconds of Shin Dong-wook in its debut episode. Luckily, we get to see more of both of them in subsequent episodes of their respective shows.

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I'm feeling like the only one who wasn't disappointed/underwhelmed at all. I really like the feel of this so far. Sure I was anticipating when YSY would come into the story, but I didn't feel bored waiting for him and it seemed right that he didn't appear until the end of the 2nd ep. It gave us time to see the daily lives of our characters before they are changed completely by our time-traveling idol. I loved seeing the 90's but we can't stay there forever when the story is all in the present and I don't think that's the last we will see of it anyways when there's still so much we don't know.

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I like the actors but I'm not at all sold on the first 2 episodes. It would have been better if it were set up as a mockumentary like the first 2 episodes of the Producers, instead it's coming across as a very wacky, all over the place drama which is not very good. I hope they add character interviews, like Age of Youth. That might add some more depth to the show.

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This is another show where you should turn off all your logical thinking and just go with it's flow. Enjoy it as it goes. I did that and actually had fun while watching it! Even spotting the cameos was fun lmao. I know it's hard for some to rationalize the show, but give it a chance. It's suppose to be a variety-drama. The plot and acting will obviously ridiculous and sometimes exaggerated. If you'll keep on comparing it with your usual dramas, it might be off-putting. So just have fun :)

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lol meeting your dad who's the same age is perfect and also what I liked about tunnel XD

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Laughed when the car started swerving and we heard Kim Young Chul's Ring Ring: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTAridw8Atg

This drama is way over the top and I'm totally in love. Plus the nostalgia + cameos are making me so happy! Cha Tae Hyun's directorial debut is a hoot so far!

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I fell asleep while waiting for ysy to appear on screen...

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i'm so thankful for this recap because i was very confused about how our characters are related to one another haha.
one cameo mention was missing tho! trainee sunbae was played by shorry j, from mighty mouth. it was killing me that he said he trained for 5 years since he was 18, because he's like 10 years older than that IRL lmaoo

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Omg! Ep3 is waaayyyy better than the first 2 episode!

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I haven't thought about Ji hoon and his two dad love triangle...I would definitely love to see that!! I can't wait to see more of Yoon Si yoon, I watch the mubank clip a couple times already. Lol

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Tried this one on ff so thanks for the recap. I like it, the next episodes are better imo.

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It has the nostalgic feel of the silly 1990ies movies I watched and the type of sly humor I should enjoy, but the acting isn´t mostly doing it for me, maybe later on it might get better. if they want to go blast from past, it should be wackier, zanier, and we need loads of meta.

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Yo ma' bros! Mc drill = Taeyang's real hyung bro!
Why no talk on their Freaking resemblance bros??
^^

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I feel like i might want to watch this show....

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