wow falls short? i'm liking the drama a lot..

Sorry, but I gave up watching Iris only a few parts of TOP, You're Beautiful is the best,

sounds like too much hype for me, and it's only a few episodes?

I really liked episde 1, but I just couldn't get myself to finish ep 2--once they got to Japan and LBH and KTH were acting all "innocent/shy-like" at the hot spring, I didn't even make it to the bed scene... I don't know, maybe it's their age, seemed really fake cutesy for the camera, and what was up with the young Japanese girl? just to show/reiterate how hot LBH is??? I loved LBH in All In and Beautiful Days, but maybe it's his popularity, I think he's a great actor, he knows it, and maybe it shows in his acting...we know it's all about him!
They should be happy to hold the number one spot for their timeslot, maybe they want the mania craze You're Beautiful is producing...but hey, can't have it all! Gotta learn to share!

the show is overrated.

Sorry...but I just noticed...why when the heading is "falling short of expectations" are there pictures of JJH and KSY instead of LBH and KTH? It's like not wanting to associate LBH and KTH with the "failure" as they call it. I say, put a picture of LBH under that title...just my opinion...

@7, JB

I was just about to comment on how great that pic is of Jung Jun-ho! He's definitely my new right-age crush, and I miss seeing him since I can't watch IRIS online anymore.

^ LOL @6 interesting observation. i, like many others, never got past the second episode, haha. there's no crazy chemistry, and like already mentioned, lack of heart. and there isn't any CURAZZY suspense or drama to really make up for it (at least from what i've seen)

edit: what's this about not being able to watch IRIS online anymore? i don't get it?

@sue

Apparently IRIS crew went on a cleaning spree and removed all online videos of IRIS that were unofficially posted due to copyrights.

@7, Thanks JB,
that's what I figured...It's just unfortunate they get exposure...but under that "disappointment" article. Not that it's bad, since obviously they are doing really well, but I'm just imagining JJH reading something like that and seeing his picture...although it is a great picture of him!

@9
I don't know about the other sites, but I think Viikii had a message about copyrights, and so they can't put up the videos for IRIS with subs on their site anymore, which is one of the main sites for viewing Kdramas with english subtitles. I don't know if there are other "legal" sites.

i watch my k-dramas online. i am not able to watch IRIS currently because of whatever going on. I watched up to ep 4 or so. But guess what, i dont have IRIS withdrawal syndrome. So, i guess i am not crazy about it. good cinematography though.

Episode 4 left off on a huuuge cliffhanger, the point where you just knew LBH was going to carve a fork in the road. What was going to happen next was obvious. How it was going to happen, not so obvious, but still. Then IRIS pulled copywright on viikii and sssiiigghhh, no more drama for tinyv.

LBH was the heart of the story to me. Seriously, he acted his part well; he's both honest and really, really capable. He's open with his love and his friendship, etc. With twenty episodes, though, I don't know if they can rely solely on him the whole way.

This article kind of casts IRIS in a bad light, I think. While reading it, all that came to mind was: "...and that's what happens when you care more about ratings than story."

Definitely induced a "booya" moment. ^_^

Huh I thought it was doing quite well
But I guess you're beautiful is more of a pop culture thing
Yea I don't understand the ratings too but I do know that
If the main couple has nice chemistry, then that kinda kills
The drama for me

Many people expect so much from a drama like that and most often it will always disappoint. It looks expensive but the story is not really new.

I love teenage love like "youre beautiful", more fun.:)

Ratings are a little higher than my expectations so far. (I've watched enough K-dramas over the years to know thrillers are still a difficult sell for ratings. You still need to sell the romance, and spy romances are inherently difficult to reconcile.) It's also a much better show that I was expecting; they've done a pretty good job balancing the romance with the boom-boom-pow. It's not wholly original, but reasons cited before, 75% of the show has a fluidity of style that's remarkably successful given previous attempts at this type of stuff. Finally, can we kinda just let go of YB vs. Iris? Appels and oranjes, no?

Next week, they're going to premier episode 1 of Iris at the Wilshire Theatre. That should be fun.

"(Boys Before Flowers didn’t have much higher ratings, for example, but it stirred a positively overwhelming phenomenon in pop culture at large)."

BBF's ratings are still shocking to me. Had East of Eden not been airing, I still think BBF would have gone into the 40-50 range and garnered Samsoon-size numbers. Hell, I still think if BBF was aired LAST year, it wouldn't have done as well. Just a perfect storm in every aspect.

Can honestly I probably will never enjoy another show as much as I did BBF. Not because it was good, but because it was the right show at the right time. My hunch is that the majority of the adult K-drama audience felt the same way.

Personally, I'm not surprised. I never did warm up to Kim Tae Hee as the lead actress and the rip offs from American films and shows like Bourne and 24 is disappointing. With that much money, you'd think they could have written better story lines. Even the new japanese series ROMES, which is much better than Air City, is more creative than this.

The great thing about the KDrama-culture is that, it offers a whole spectrum of genres to choose from...may it be spy-thrillers(like IRIS,Time between Dog&Wolf,etc.).. romantic-comedies(like Coffee Prince & My Girl)... pop-culture sensations( like BOF &YAB)...family dramas( like My Too Perfect Sons,Smile,You)...which gives us, drama-addicts...CHOICES!!! I don't really care about all these "ratings-brouhaha", because in the end...it's really up to the viewers which ones they appreciate & really love to watch. I, for one...watch & love them all!!! LOL!!!
Is there an alternative site (other than Viikii) where I can watch IRIS?
Thanks, JB for posting the article...

hi JB,

This this like DAVID AND GOLIATH only...LOLZ!

@4 The little Japanese girl does come into play in later episodes, don't fret (: I think the problem with this drama was it got so much better later. People gave up too soon (: I'd say episode 4 and beyond was when it really got goodd

Well what do they expect? IRIS is unfortunate enough to be placed in the Wednesday-Thursday slot, those are the worse days to get high ratings. If it had been placed on Monday-Tuesday slot it would give Queen Seon Deok ratings a run for their money.

In Wed-Thu slot most dramas are even considered lucky if they hit past the 20% mark in ratings department. IRIS is doing incredibly well considing those circustances.

JUNG JOON HO! OMGGGG, I LOVE HIM AFTER LAST SCANDAL! THANKS FOR THE PIC! :D

@16 Belleze. Agreed!

What's this never ending comparison of YB vs Iris. They are different genres, you guys, so just let it go.

Also, I don't quite understand statement like.. I stopped watching this drama long ago, coz it just bad/bored me to tear/actor or actress sucks bla bla bla. (I noticed these kind of comments everytime JB posts an overhyped or badly done, or uninteresting or or so so drama)

At least JB watched all those bad dramas to support her opinion. But for posters who quit /don't even watch / watch ony like 15 min worth of ep 1? To me, that just just sound so very ignorant..

"People gave up too soon (: I’d say episode 4 and beyond was when it really got goodd"

@21~~Don't say that! TT_TT

yes, JJH looks so hot in that suit....tall and serious.... lol!

oh well, hope they will have DVD version....

I watch and enjoy both IRIS and You're Beautiful and agree that comparisons are odd, except for the fact that they are in ratings competition. Other than both being dramas, they have extremely little in common. Beautiful is funny and sweet and is like a delicious desert. IRIS is adrenaline-full, angsty, and very twisty. Both are good, too many of the same kind of drama gets dull.

It seems to be doing pretty well in ratings - it's only on episode 6 and already has upper 20% ratings - most dramas only wish for ratings this big. When I think of a big-ticket ratings disappointment, I think of Lobbyist (which was enjoyable if flawed, IMO). IRIS seems to do fine for itself.

Re: BOF and its ratings. I have major issues with that drama and will never understand the popularity it got - I thought the writing was atrocious and a lot of the acting was bad too.

Because IRIS is currently shooting the second half of the drama, I am hoping that the writers have or will have figured out what it did wrong. I watched up to ep 5, and its emphasis is way too much on chase scenes, high explosions, and tepid angst. It is relying almost exclusively on petty manufactured tensions -- best friend betrayals, missing ones's gf, etc. You also cannot set up your lead to be so invincible and superhuman that one doesn't really feel tense when/if he is hurt.

What IRIS needs is something larger -- something beyond its flashy self. I hope they start imbuing the characters with love of country or revolving the story around something larger at stake, like world peace.

In the world of high stakes espionage, when one bad move could wipe out an entire people, the love lives and losses of an agent or two seem entirely irrelevant. And it boggles my mind that IRIS is focusing so much on that level of petty! My God, IRIS people, there is a nuclear-armed despot right across the freaking border -- there is so much at stake here!

Now ep...6 (I watched only a bit before the ah*les of IRIS wiped out that account as well) seemed to be moving towards a possible revenge tale, and I hope it does. But not a petty revenge -- real revenge...one hopes.

Also, I don't know this T.O.P. guy but oh my lawd, the boy is hot. If the writers give LBH and TOP a little more humanity -- self doubt, faults, loss of faith, etc., instead of such automaton superhuman strengths -- I think they could offer a nice antagonistic relationship.

The problem with IRIS is that it didn't have romance at all. It had sex and angst, but no romance. Bad move.

About BOF: I think the immense popularity of Hana Yori Dango and its solid worldwide fanbase can account for some of the BOF's high rating. Lee Min Ho also nailed his role...

I'm a huge IRIS fan, but I understand the writer's and Javabeans' point of view. IRIS is dramatic, but there is something missing, although I can't pinpoint what. I don't feel compelled to watch the episode in its entirety right when it's released, although I do begin downloading it immediately after it's available. If a distraction comes my way, I'll pause IRIS and come back to it the next day. This wasn't the case for some other dramas I watched (including My Fair Lady, lol), so I feel that something's a bit off...Yet at the same time, I can't stop watching because Lee Byung-heon draws me in so much.

@22 agree with you.

As I used to post in other article. It was really hard for Wed-Thurs drama to surpass 20 % rating but IRIS did it in the first episode!
I thought they did quite well enough in term of rating comparing to my expectation.
Trufully I never thought that IRIS would gain more than 20 % rating at first.

About BOF had the high rating, my opinion it did come with all version of this drama anyway. Eventhough let assume Japan and Korea collaborate and produced BOF in the 4th version, they will still be a hit.

I was just wondering what the article means by being able to download the episodes and being charged about 60 cents per download? Do all dramas offer that? And is it just in Korean then, no subtitle?

And, I know this is the wrong thread, but could that be done for You're beautiful? I would do it to help them in profits as I can't help them in ratings watching online!

@deannadsc

Strange I always thought the biggest downfall of K drama was the lack of genre and variety.

And BOF is a mania drama, HYD topped ratings in Japan, Meteor Garden is still talked about in taiwan so BOF just had to be a success, even if it was thw worst one out of the lot. Jandi was the Anti-makino.

I liked how HyunJun is being portrayed.. in episode 4, he had a bad feeling (intiution?) of the mission he's supposed to carry out in Budapest. He called in to ask for advice and change of plan but the Deputy Director told him to just finish the job. His worst fears came true.. not only exposed, he was shot. Calling again for help (knowing that Sa Woo is still in Hungary).. he doesn't need a batalion of men, just someone to help him.. the Deputy Director flatly told him there will be no help.. in other words, sacrifice yourself. Watching it with subs really gave a bigger impact. HJ is never perfect, he's flawed.. he doesn't act heroic.. he pretended to know all but now he's pushed to the limits with no one to believe in.

There is an element of true romance as opposed to the open-air love relationship between HyunJun and SeungHee. The scene in Akita with Hyunjun and Sunhwa (played by KSY) was mistakenly? edited out in episode 6 making the viewers think ..why did she fall for him too fast?!! But even with shortened scenes.. the attraction.. the chemistry.. between the two is just so electrifying. Of course Hyunjun will never ever forget the love of his life whom he thought had perished in the car explosion but Sunhwa's first emotion of love is something that gave such significant development to look forward to between the agents from different sides who will eventually work together.

i hvnt watch any of the eps so can't really comment - waiting for it on KBSW next week

(i do not mind the delay at all becos of the other show) :-)

At first I was totally put off by YB's posters, but got really interested after seeing the trailer. Decided to download the episodes instead of just watching online since it was looking good. But since I was dependent on withs2 for subs, I ended up watching IRIS online first. IMO, I enjoyed episode 1&2 of iris more than yb. 3&4 was on par. By 5&6, I was totally hooked/addicted to YB and iris was no longer available online. Hah. I thought iris was enjoyable, but like many of you mentioned, it didn't have that pull that yb had. Well it's just too bad they are not allowing it to be streamed online coz it's not addictive enough for me to be willing to pay for it, and now that I've stopped watching, I find that I don't really care if I don't get to finish the show.

But yes, YB is total crack even if it's of a different genre. I have never been this addicted to a drama before, and at such bad timing too with my Alvls just next week!

Well, goodbye iris. You were an enjoyable first date, but I just don't see a future with you.

@28 Nom_Kitteh
"Because IRIS is currently shooting the second half of the drama, I am hoping that the writers have or will have figured out what it did wrong. I watched up to ep 5, and its emphasis is way too much on chase scenes, high explosions, and tepid angst. It is relying almost exclusively on petty manufactured tensions — best friend betrayals, missing ones’s gf, etc. You also cannot set up your lead to be so invincible and superhuman that one doesn’t really feel tense when/if he is hurt.

What IRIS needs is something larger — something beyond its flashy self. I hope they start imbuing the characters with love of country or revolving the story around something larger at stake, like world peace."

I agree, and I have watched till the end of episode 6 so far. I had hoped IRIS would be as good as, if not better than one of my favourite dramas - Time of Dog and Wolf, but it was quite a disappointment. The lack of heart and a haphazard plot are major turn-offs, and at the end of each episode, I just felt empty and couldn't warm up to any of the characters.

*spoiler for ep 6* Really, cold-blooded Sunhwa who slit the EMTs' throats falling for her enemy Hyunjun in just a few days?! I know the extended scenes of how she fell in love might be shown only in later episodes, but when I'm watching ep 6, it just doesn't make sense.*end of spoiler*

At the end of ep 4, I still had hopes of IRIS improving because from ep 5 onwards, I expected the North Koreans to play more prominent roles but even the great acting by KSY and KSW couldn't improve eps 5 and 6. The plot was still uneven and I wish more screen time had been given to KSY and KSW.

I won't be dropping IRIS, but I have no urgency to catch the latest episodes every week.

You can still watch IRIS online on Youku. Here is the link.

http://so.youku.com/search_video/q_IRIS

My big problems with IRIS are that it lacks originality, it can't make me connect with the story emotionally and half the actors lack the presence necessary to make their characters believable. If the story is flawed good actors can compensate with charisma and solid acting. When all of this is missing even pretty cinematography and well shot action scenes look dull and soon you loose interest.

I must be blind, because I'm surprised with all the criticism.

I'm very impressed with IRIS and suffering from withdraw symptoms after it got deleted from viikii.net. I have gone to the extreme of downloading raw episodes, even though I don't speak a word of Korean. So, where to start?

The writing is very good, the cinematography is gorgeous and the editing is fantastic. I like how the 1st episode was edited very tight and fast-paced and things slowed down later. It's like having been served an amuse-bouche before a seven-course meal. I like the style.

The surprises keep coming and I'm dying to see subtitles for episodes 5 & 6. JavaBean, if you can continue recapping the series, that will go a long way in keeping my sanity. Ha!

But the best is the acting. These are mature actors, taking their craft seriously. There isn't a moment that I didn't believe in their characters. And the women are strong, instead of being the fragile flower in distress.

No, I think LBH has achieved such status in Korea that expectations are now absurd. Not even Brad Pitt has to endure this much pressure in the U.S.!

“Finally, can we kinda just let go of YB vs. Iris? Appels and oranjes, no?”
THANK YOU… THANK YOU!!!!

Once again Belleza, you and me AGREE…. Bahahahaha. Anyway, I’m not the biggest fan of IRIS (and that is unexpected of me considering my LOVE LOVE LOVE for LBH.) but I hate when people compare dramas based on their popularity or how much rating they are pulling, and the dramas are not even on the same genre. I mean, its kinda hard to say whats wrong with one if the other is a total different idea/theory/plot/story… whatever you want to call it.

“(Boys Before Flowers didn’t have much higher ratings, for example, but it stirred a positively overwhelming phenomenon in pop culture at large).”

Sorry but, can’t you just see the difference about these two dramas? Pop culture comes from –mostly- a group of younger adults, teens, etc within a given culture. It is carried by the less formal, more common people. Which is why BBF (which sucks big time) happened to be a phenomenon, because –even when it sucked- it was more layback, very informal, type of drama. More for teens, younger adults, and old ladies who have a teen complex…

@ Quel

"No, I think LBH has achieved such status in Korea that expectations are now absurd. Not even Brad Pitt has to endure this much pressure in the U.S.!"

LMAO... so funny, but so true.

@ 36 ARIES

"I had hoped IRIS would be as good as, if not better than one of my favourite dramas – Time of Dog and Wolf, but it was quite a disappointment. "

OMG, you have no idea what you have said!!! lol Time Between Dog & Wolf is my favorite drama!!!!!!!!! (Some people that have read this before might be saying right now... "oh no here we go again") Im gonna make it short this time. I, SO feel like you. I was hoping IRIS would take the number one spot on my list because of LBH, my favorite actor, but so sorry Byung-hunny. I have to say, Time Between Dog & Wolf planted roots within me. Its the name I tell you... the name (what it means, which is beautifully related to the story) and… well, the whole thing! I think I’m gonna go watch it for the third time.

seriously. i think IRIS should have done so much better, IMO. it's like there was sooo much hype about it and i was seriously LOOKING FORWARD TO IT. not just the solid cast but also the entire plot. the promos and all made it look so wonderfully good that it made me expect alot from IRIS. but when i started watching IRIS with that much of expectations, i was really disappointed. i mean yes, like what JB had said, the cinematography and everything is good but something is still lacking i feel. the first episode was alr THIS disappointing but i thought it'll get better, so i pressed on and continued. and yes, the second episode DID get better but still that particular element (the thing that was lacking) still persists and even though TOP is going to appear in the 3rd episode (which i was sooo looking forward to), i did not have that willpower to continue watching anymore. to me, YB was really so much better.
IMO though. (:

I must admit that I like IRIS for its plot, cinematography, LBH and JJH's acting. The second lead actress is also not bad. I thought its plot is quite original that deal with the pertinent issues of nuclear arsena, North Korea's motives and South Korea's vulnerabilities and Japanese's interventions.

The drama captures the behind the scenes actions as opposed to what we see at the front of international diplomatics negotiations of trying to bring North Korea back to the negotiation table and to get the leader to honour the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that he signed and the additional protocol imposed on it.

As UN sactions never work, the behind scenes as captured in IRIS also seldom takes place these days, unless the country is suffering from serious internal conflicts (the case of Afghanistan and Iraq). IRIS is trying to push its envelope one more step ahead of the reality which make it very original, realistic and show the flare of extreme creativity of the scriptwritter.

The plot is realistic, but I find the way the drama trying to picture the North Korean capability is quite unrealistic. IRIS seems to picture North Korea to be very advance on many fronts and enjoy great material wealth. However, in actual fact, on the back of the spirit of autarky, thousands or millions of North Korean are depending on food aids from the international community and the South.

If it is a propaganda, perhaps the drama needs to show a bit of reality of hungry children and underprivilege women of North Korea to show the motive of reunification as to why the Big Boss wants reunifications, liberate the North and benefits of having nuclear free Korean Peninsular.

The love-love matters should have been censored. And up to now, despite many of you kind of praise TOP, I still have no idea who is he serving, and the reasons of him in the drama. His motive of killing so many people and his cold bloodedness of carrying out a failed mission!! hehe...I think he is just a wimp!! :P

I'm kind of confused about this whole article or maybe I'm kind of slow LOL
It's my understading by reading this article that IRIS production is basically complaining that they don't have 40% rating and that they don't have a strong fan based!!!!! what do they want??? A YAB fan based!!!!!! I don't think that is going to happen.....lol
IRIS has excellent ratings in my opnion...not the most original story in my book but, In my opinion what is defenitly lacking in this drama is the emotional side to it....I try to watch it but I felt like I was watching the BOURNE movies all over again.....the thrill is great but not all viewers love this kind of dramas....probably man and boys are super hype about this.....but the story is lacking HEART and emotions to make this story work.....

IRIS has an excellent cast and that is one of the reasons people are tuning in...but we shouldn't compare YAB to IRIS they are like day and night.....and both have different fan base......I'm a YAB addict all the way lol

BOF was great in the ratings because LMH did an excelllent job portraying JGP but the director, writers really killed the story mid-way through.....after episode 16 I was like "when is GJP and GJD getting back together? is was driving me insane"...but I was still watching cause LMH......

WOW. They're expecting too much, aren't they? 30% is still NOT good enough? Not only that, they're comparing IRIS to Queen Seon Duk? WTF? It's on another level. That drama has 60 episodes and maybe counting! They didn't start out with 30-40% ratings either. They climb their way up. Greedy people. Some show actually wants to be at least 10%.

Iris : I tried to watch it but I stopped. I feel LBH and KTH couple is odd. The drama doesn't impresses me because LBH I have ever seen in this kind of role. It's not new for me.
When I watch korean dramas even though the kinds are different, I feel the same because korean dramas have the same way to deal with the characters' relationship especially love (the male leads are always in love with the female lead)

For BOF the drama just rode on HYD other versions successes. It was announced at the time when the japanese was going to release its movie(in june 2008and it was a big big success). Most of people feeling sad and they were going to miss the story since it was the last part. Thus BOF was lucky to appear at the time (otherwise how can you like all the actors bad acting, the wasted storyline with the atrocious caledonian episodes ?) to get already existing HYD large fanbase.

Don't give on IRIS!! Ep 5 was cheesy but 6 gets better and episode 7 was amazing!! Really amazing!

Finally US Marine has appeared in Episode 7. Is TOP working for the Japanese or US? What about the Russian and Pakistani's AQ Khan? To make it more realistic, please throw in the "KGB" and AQ Khan!!

BTW, the "Mr. Duke" who pictures the North Korean secret agent is also very good. In fact, I find his acting to be much better than JJH and TOP. There is a difference between seasoned actor and amateur. His eyes could talk to the audience!! Cool!!

Sorry about my post 49. I meant Don't give up on IRIS!!