“Eden,” “Marriage” off to shaky starts
by javabeans
With a special broadcast kicking off the East of Eden extravaganza, eyes have turned to the upcoming Monday-Tuesday ratings rivalry, although Tazza won’t be making its debut until Gourmet ends in a few weeks.
Oddly enough, Eden chose to air a one-hour special on Monday, and plans to air both Episodes 1 & 2 on Tuesday, which they see as a method for grabbing viewers.
Thus it’s probably premature to draw conclusions based on ratings data on Day 1, but no matter how you slice it, the numbers were a severe disappointment to the high-budget, way-overhyped East of Eden. Some have even gone so far as to call its 6.2% first-day ratings (the special, mind you, not Episode 1) a “crushing defeat.” It came in last place, although just by a hair.
According to the numbers computed by ratings bureau TNS Media, the special broadcast for the new MBC Monday-Tuesday drama East of Eden that aired on the 25th came in with 6.2% ratings, last place in its time slot.
On the other hand, the first-place show was SBS’s Monday-Tuesday drama Gourmet, coming in strong with 23.3%.
The special episode contained character introductions, behind-the-scenes clips, “making of” segments, the Hong Kong filming location, NG (outtake) clips, and other segments introducing the series. In-studio portions included appearances by Kim Bum, playing the younger role for star Song Seung-heon, as well as Seeya singer Nam Gyuri, who has a track on the OST.
However, the lead actors did not appear and the in-studio format with the hosts was not enough to capture viewer interest. … On the other hand, another show premiering its first episode was KBS2’s Monday-Tuesday series Love & Marriage, which recorded a 6.4% ratings figure.
(Note on the Love & Marriage title: The term literally means “love marriage,” and has no comma or punctuation separating the words, but the official posters bear the title “Love & Marriage,” so I am adjusting accordingly despite how it pains my grammar-nazi heart.) This was considered the dark horse up against two potential heavy-hitters, so its Episode 1 rating of 6.4% wasn’t much of a surprise (to me, at least).
I’ve seen the first episode of Love & Marriage and will talk about it in another post. I’m going to skip the Eden special, but want to check out how its first two episodes fare.
It’s interesting that Eden is being treated much more harshly than Marriage, despite their nearly identical numbers. All about expectations, I presume. Still, if possible, I’d say the lukewarm response to the Eden special has only raised expectations for the series proper (if that’s even possible). I’m not sure why they bothered with a special — were they trying to milk some extra ad revenue, and had that plan backfire? Legend did the same intro extravaganza with relative success, but an introductory special was actually helpful for that mythology-rich series.
We’ll see how the axe falls tomorrow.
Via Asia Economy, Sports Chosun
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Tags: drama ratings, East of Eden, Gourmet, Love & Marriage, Tazza
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1 Marzy
August 25, 2008 at 9:56 PM
i actually was one of those streaming gourmet instead of the E of E special..
i dont know i really want to watch gourmet for some reason..
i feel like watching something very light and amusing.. i guess..
plus yeahhh food porn too with im too much of a foodie...
i think ill check out love and marriage on kbsworld since no subbing as of yet..
but looks nice.. the cast too..
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2 belleza
August 25, 2008 at 10:15 PM
"It’s interesting that Eden is being treated much more harshly than Marriage, despite their nearly identical numbers. All about expectations, I presume. "
I think it's safe to say that MBC is banking their 2008 season on this baby. At an very early point, there were rumours about Park Shin Yang being nominated with SSH to carry the ajuhmma ticket. The casting itself is loaded, but myopically so. You're doing a massive generational action drama with a unbalanced cast known for younger romantic comedies and teen movies, and with a male lead who disappears in his own dramas.
I don't think expectations are especially high for Tazza either, but if East of Eden doesn't really find an audience early on, Tazza can overtake the show. And, then, East of Eden will be in REAL trouble when The Hallyugasm known asThe World That They Live In and possibly Dr. Stop drop into November. Will Song Hye Kyo and So Ji Sub conspire to kick Song Seung Heon Oppa in the ass?
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3 popcorn
August 25, 2008 at 10:33 PM
Well I'm not too interested in the plot and plus the series seems...just too long with complicated casts...
It reminds me of the tvb series "Strive of Life" or something...
Anyway, I'm more interested in Gourmet...
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4 hc
August 25, 2008 at 11:04 PM
Gourmet Special (aired in June) actually got pretty low numbers as well: TNS (6.5%), AGB (5.7%).
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5 wintergal
August 25, 2008 at 11:35 PM
Well, Eden special was aired when there's Gourmet airing at the same time as well. So, that could probably affect the ratings of Eden special. After all, Gourmet didn't get such high ratings too for its special before the airing of Episode 1. I hope that once Eden is officially airing on TV, its ratings will go up. Nevertheless, I'll probably check out Ep1 and 2. =D
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6 cc
August 26, 2008 at 3:30 AM
I'll probably watch East of Eden when Gourmet finishes. I think the first 4 episodes of East of Eden will be about their childhood so the adults will start appearing from episode 5 onwards....
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7 lazybum
August 26, 2008 at 5:40 AM
E of E is definitely overhyped. the story line sounds kind of too similar to... well, a lot of other ones. hopefully it'll pick up.
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8 estelle
August 26, 2008 at 8:20 AM
I agree with popcorn. The plot does sound like those old Hong Kong TVB series (which are so long and draggy and neverending)...
I'm still curious enough to check out the first few eps though...
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9 ar_arguably romantic
August 26, 2008 at 1:29 PM
Star-studded cast or no, if the plot's not interesting, people aren't going to watch. I know I don't go watching dramas starring actors/actresses that I like just because they're in it. Gourmet was still on and if you think about it, East of Eden is a walloping 50 episodes long- meaning if you miss one episode, you're probably not missing that much of the drama. I agree with Belleza that Tazza, despite low expectations, can overtake the East of Eden if it does gain ratings soon. East of Eden has no interesting hook to the plot- it's the revenge melodrama like many others- while Tazza, might be able to hook audiences with the gambling theme. I know I sit up straighter when a poker game or casino scene is shown in a movie, tv show, or book. Despite a drab sounding plot, i hope East of Eden picks up in ratings. With so much hype, it'd be sad for it to go down.
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10 belleza
August 26, 2008 at 2:13 PM
"East of Eden has no interesting hook to the plot- it’s the revenge melodrama like many others- while Tazza, might be able to hook audiences with the gambling theme"
That and Tazza is still one of the highest grossing films of all time. Also how Tazza does will give some light to how this current experiment doing high-profile remakes of movies like Friend and Shiri will fare in 2009. And I'm sure we'll see Chaser TV at some point too.
I don't have high expectations for Tazza, because I can see where a bad or even so-so performance from Han Ye Seul will kill the story. Ye Seul has to be great for Tazza to really fly.
"I know I don’t go watching dramas starring actors/actresses that I like just because they’re in it"
Yeah, I did that for Women in the Sun (i.e. Ji Soo's return), and then I was addicted to the storyline.
"Star-studded cast or no, if the plot’s not interesting, people aren’t going to watch."
I think when East of Eden was first announced (i.e. when Park Shin Yang's name came up), I was really looking forward to an epic Cain and Abel-style daeha (and Steinbeck's novel could plausibly be reworked into a different setting, especially the mother villian character. Tamshel! Tamshel!! )
What drives me back is the actual casting, because I just can't see this cast with anything like an Age of Heroes, Sandglass, Seoul 1945, etc. So I imagine the story wouldn't be anything that large.
I love revenge stories, but you need strong leads to carry them. SSH will have to deliver the best performance of his career to make this work.
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11 Javabeans
August 26, 2008 at 2:17 PM
That and more. That bar's not set terribly high. *snerk*
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12 belleza
August 26, 2008 at 2:34 PM
"That and more. That bar’s not set terribly high. "
HAHAHAHAHA :D
I actually like Song Seung Hun a lot. A lot. It's just that . . . you know . . .
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13 belleza
August 26, 2008 at 3:56 PM
TNS Episode Ratings in
Episode 1- 11.3
Episode 2- 12.1
Popseoul gave the episodes a thumbs down. This must make this the best drama of the year. ;)
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14 Kobe
August 26, 2008 at 4:20 PM
You people are hilarious. C'mon...give the guy a break, SSH isn't really THAT bad! He might be alongside Dennis O'Neil in some scenes which will make him look very good indeed :)
But really, 50 episodes....is there enough interesting dialogue and character development to warrant so many episodes? Or are we only gonna see 20 "useful" ones with the rest being filler episodes full of close up shots of SSH's face staring into the horizon?
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15 belleza
August 26, 2008 at 5:25 PM
"Or are we only gonna see 20 “useful” ones with the rest being filler episodes full of close up shots of SSH’s face staring into the horizon?"
Hey now, don't knock close up shots into the horizon. So Ji Sup has won awards with close up shots into the horizon. Presumably visualizing a steaming bowl on mae un tang when he finally gets home after a long, freezing day of uhhh staring into space.
Now, SSH doesn't so much stare as he squints. Poetically, I might add. "Eun Suh . . *squint* . . . is that really *double squint* . . . you?!? *squint until you're seeing double images" *Cue Belleza bawling like a robot* Poetic man, poetic!! :D
"C’mon…give the guy a break, SSH isn’t really THAT bad! "
SSH is kinda Sung Yu Ri (before Hong Gil Dong, which may be the best performance she's able to give) of K-drama actors. When he's mad, when he's sad, when he's glad, and when he's had, he's the most adorable pet rock! If I die on a beach, I want him by my side!!
"But really, 50 episodes….is there enough interesting dialogue and character development to warrant so many episodes? "
See, that's the thing. If East of Eden were a true daeha epic like Seoul 1945 or Age of Heroes, where there is actual historical context within the storyline, then it could definitely be a 50 episode drama. And, 20th century period dramas are one of my favorite kinds of Asian dramas anyway. But, my impression from looking at the synopsis is that it's going to be a retro HK-style or Shanghai melodrama. And, again, the main cast itself is skewed really young for a serious daeha.
I have a lot of interest, but it's not all positive. It's kinda like half of me wonders whether this is going to be a total disaster, and the other half thinks this could be one of my favorite shows this year. Not like Beethoven Virus. My expectations for that drama are extremely high.
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16 ktbrods
August 27, 2008 at 4:44 PM
You guys are hilarious. Every time I read the blog and the comments here, I end up machine-gun laughing. (That's why I stopped reading this at work, people were staring...)
SSH is indeed very pretty, but his acting is....
Maybe he'll improve!
I'm also looking forward to Beethoven Virus. Now there's an guy who is a LEAD and can carry a series....
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