93 replies to this topic

[Orson]

What abt that quiz time in epi 47, where jae suk got the first qns right and was told to become the mc for the rest of the game.

And suk jin with his infamous bad acting pips that he is so lucky to get so much screen time. And it wasn't even a 1 vs x situation.

[pauljoyx]

 dimins, on 27 October 2011 - 12:15 PM, said:

All right, I apologise for this topic. My friends had told me that a lot of Korean variety is scripted, so I had naturally assumed that Running Man would be too, though it didn't negatively affect my experience watching it. I'm pretty new to the Korean variety world.

You don't have to apologize about it~ it's something that everyone eventually wonders about. Regardless of any of our opinions, we can only guess what *really* happens behind-the-scenes in Running Man. However, I still abide with everyone else's points here where RM isn't "scripted" as you would find in kdramas, etc.

[mikejonas]

Yeah, to be fair, it's mostly an issue of semantics--it's not so much "scripted" vs. "real" as it is "artificial" vs. "real." Much of RM is artificial and manipulated, and there's no arguing that. That's why it's best to recognize that there's this "artificial reality" that we call "variety."

I guess it's a very sore spot for me on these forums, that word "scripted." Saying variety shows are "scripted" is not just inaccurate, but also misses the point and fails to understand there's more to it than just scripted vs. reality.

Edited by mikejonas, 27 October 2011 - 01:00 PM.

[hvlyc8664]

I don't really care if it's scripted or not as long they make me laugh

[srhdt]

 mikejonas, on 27 October 2011 - 12:52 PM, said:

Yeah, to be fair, it's mostly an issue of semantics--it's not so much "scripted" vs. "real" as it is "artificial" vs. "real." Much of RM is artificial and manipulated, and there's no arguing that. That's why it's best to recognize that there's this "artificial reality" that we call "variety."

I guess it's a very sore spot for me on these forums, that word "scripted." Saying variety shows are "scripted" is not just inaccurate, but also misses the point and fails to understand there's more to it than just scripted vs. reality.

I pretty much agree with your opinion in terms of RM's "scriptedness". However, wasn't there controversy about FO being scripted (down to dialogue assigned to cast members), when that too was billed as a variety show? Could be why people have the same assumptions about RM.

[Rubicant]

 mikejonas, on 27 October 2011 - 12:52 PM, said:

Yeah, to be fair, it's mostly an issue of semantics--it's not so much "scripted" vs. "real" as it is "artificial" vs. "real." Much of RM is artificial and manipulated, and there's no arguing that. That's why it's best to recognize that there's this "artificial reality" that we call "variety."

I'm not so sure it is matter of semantics, per say. If you want to say that the environment in which the show is one in which there is a controlled workplace, in which the scenarios are devised by the writers, is one thing. To say that there is a script on the writers have pre-planned the outcomes, and overall sequences of the games is another.

I agree with what you said earlier, with at most the only thing written out for YJS to read is perhaps cue cards of the location, in detail so he doesn't mess that up. But as to everything else, there is nothing for me to suspect that what is going on is forced.

The endings with the female guest, normally facing Kim Jong Kook, and him losing I don't think are suggested or implied that he should lose by anybody other than himself. KJK cares very much about his image, and often acts in accordance to protecting his image when it need be, especially when it comes to his relation of females. The reason he loses is not because he's told to, but because he knows that his image will take a hit if he comes off overly forceful with any female since they make up the majority of his target demographic and fan base for his music career. That is why so many times when the situation occurs in which KJK must face off against a female, that he seems to lose - to not hurt his own image, which if anybody is probably forcing upon him isn't the director, writers, or but his company president to protect his record sales.

Take someone like, Yu Jae Suk on the otherhand in the same situation with a female, wouldn't be worried about losing or trying to rip off her tag, because his image is already portrayed as the type of person who seizes opportunities and attacks when he needs to win, often times coming off as cowardly. This is because he already had that type of image built up for him in Family Outing, in which his "rival" in games often turned out to be Park Ye Jin, who would often put up an even footing challenge with the grasshopper.

The fact is, it's an entertainment show, and all the members are professional entertainers who have now have had 15+ months to gel and work off one another. It has had it's fair share of awkward moments that made it to television that are reason enough for me to believe that for the most part, what we see is as natural as any other improvisation group working their craft.

-----

And to Orson who I believe is trying to imply that the situations are set up so that YJS always ends up the MC? In episode 12, Lee Gwang Su was the first person eliminated and had to MC the game during "Catch the Thief!", and did a pretty memorable job of doing so. It's not completely out of the question that YJS would have known the answer to Gulliver's occupation in Gulliver's Travels, and his reaction was one of a person who really couldn't avoid the fact that he knew it, and couldn't find a funny way to deliver it, which is why the rest of the cast had sudden outbursts at his not using "variety" answers.

I am also not entirely sure where you got the idea that Ji Suk Jin had the ability to act, hense why is so awkward and bad at lying in situations in which it is needed, and requires extra effort from the cast to be sure he doesn't mess up. Suk Jin's jokes are the same jokes that made him popular with shows like Heroine 6, and Star Golden Bell, it's the way he does comedy, and it's pretty funny - which is why he get's screen time when he delivers those lines. Not because they forced upon him, unless it's a similar group of jokes and gags being pushed upon him on every show he is on.

Edited by Rubicant, 27 October 2011 - 01:30 PM.

[Listmaker]

I don't feel RM is "scripted", maybe the cast gets a "general" brief down on what will occur in terms of events, but nothing in detail to tell them what to do at this point in time, or how to act and what to say at another point in time. I think it'll be hard on the cast to be someone they don't want to be or adopt another artificial personality just for RM.

I just try to watch and enjoy the RM for what it is, and not worry about anything else - if I think about it too much, it'll just curb my enjoyment levels. Just my two cents though.

[tort51]

 srhdt, on 27 October 2011 - 01:21 PM, said:

I pretty much agree with your opinion in terms of RM's "scriptedness". However, wasn't there controversy about FO being scripted (down to dialogue assigned to cast members), when that too was billed as a variety show? Could be why people have the same assumptions about RM.

i heard about this but never cared. but i just did a quick search and i find one page that is posted. apparently it is episode 5 or 3-1. park hae jin is the guest. found the episode on youtube and they dont follow the script at all besides semi following the suggestions. actually they dont even come close to anything on the written dialogue for the part i saw. (where they walk up the path and find bamboo shoots.)

my korean reading comprehension isnt the greatest but the gist of the script goes.
on the path up. bamboo forest, view and talk

- stay bunched up together if possible.
- when you identify the bamboo shoot, uproot it and one by one place it in the basket
"first time i have seen this... so this is what it looks like.. you can eat this?" reactions would be nice.

(the scripted dialogue)
jong shin - hey last week we are shoveling and this week we are sawing!
js - thats right. hey daesung. have you ever heard of juksoon? (bamboo shoot)
ds - yes hyung of course!
js - what is it?
ds - when you go to the clubs. juksooni, jukdoli.
js - dae sung. you cant be like this. this is why he hear that we are dumb and dumber!

then blah blah blah.

actual
jaesuk gives the "this is the bamboo shoot!" reaction. someone off camera says "this is the part you can eat. this part." yejin finds her own bamboo shoot she saws off. jaesuck pretends to steal it from her. daesung nibbles on a bamboo shoot. everyone else begins to uproot a bamboo shoot with their bare hands. js and ds dont even converse with one another as js and hyori "pair" up. no one mentions shoveling, sawing or waiter names at a nightclub.

so to me the "script" gives guidelines and then suggestive dialogue to push a relationship between the members.
the members most likely looked up the bamboo shoots beforehand to know what it looks like and what parts you can eat which may be the reason why their reactions were not a 'wow what is this' type from the script but a 'hey here it is' now let me bust out my wikipedia knowledge.

this is the difference of a good variety entertainer vs a bad one. a good one will know when to push or ignore a script while a bad one will try to force it in just because the pd's put it into the "script". in this case js says one thing that was suggested then the scene proceeded on to where hyori frenches a bamboo shoot and hands it to js who then gnaws on it like a radish. in the scene only two lines could be mildly attributed to being scripted and the rest was off script.

[4tran]

this topic is like overexposed. theres only one truth and only the ones in the industry would know. We can debate the topic on ends but without actual facts, we're simply working on what we see, hear and what is logical to us. Both sides are good arguments and some too extreme. For me, my bias is that its not scripted, no one is going to change that unless RM becomes so blatantly scrtiped that I, myself, will recognise it. It's really hard to force your opinions on others, even if your arguments makes perfect sense.

[Nalph]

As Running Man is a variety show, there may be a certain outcome or desired direction that the PDs and stuff would want a certain episode to adhere to. However, due to the chain of events and guest, it will be pretty hard to follow it as opposed to drama. As such, I would say there may be a general direction that PDs would hope this episode portray and the rest pretty much depends on YJS and gang, explaining his high pay from RM. Lol.