Categories: K-dramas

KBS Considers Extension for Nice Guy

WHAT THE HELL, KBS?!?! Please don’t screw up the tense exhilarating ride that is Nice Guy (The Innocent Man) with what I consider the death knell of dragginess by extending a highly rating drama for the sake of ratings rather than creative necessity. With only 6-episodes left in its 20-episode run, KBS is apparently considering an extension and is in talks with the cast and crew to see if its possible based on everyone’s schedules. I hoped Song Joong Ki and Moon Chae Won have scheduled a vacation together to Bali with non-refundable tickets leaving the night the final episode airs, because I do not want an extension. I would love to spend every Wed-Thurs watching the beautiful love story of Seo Eun Gi and Kang Maru, but that’s a pipe dream because what I want even more is to have the story end with satisfying cohesion. That simply won’t happen if this drama gets extended because that always sucks the energy out of any drama. I have not encountered an extension that worked, but have countless examples of extensions that harmed a drama. I hope Lee Kyung Hee tells the KBS bigwigs that she doesn’t have enough story for an extension and nip this idea in the bud. To extend it would mean more Jae Hee and lawyer Ahn shadiness, and while they work fine now as credible antagonists, at some point they are going to run out of steam and start pulling tricks out of their ears. I wonder if this is a move to stick it to Missing You or to give Jeon Woo Chi more time to film? An extension for NG is bad for MY in my book, since folks will surely want to finish up the current melo rather than try out the new one. Sigh, to calm myself down about this happening, thanks to the PD I’ve got a major “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)” earworm going on and found a Nice Guy MV set to the song. Enjoy and good luck getting the tune out of your head after this.

I keep wondering why the PD selected this particular song. The singer Scott McKenzie actually passed away in August of this year, and this was his one and only hit in his short singing career. It does have the fame of being the song that brought millions to San Francisco in the 60s in search of the freedom and flower power love he was crooning about. Is that what the song represents in this drama – freedom that is so completely alien to the normal structure of society, but acceptable because there are other kindred spirits around? So if Maru seeks freedom from his painful life, could he find it with Eun Gi and live the rest of his life, or is death really what this song foreshadows? I really love the MV below because its not set to scenes from the drama, but to stills. I actually find Maru and Eun Gi’s relationship much more impactful when we see snippets of it like this. I think we can all agree that, unless its a both of Maru’s cars are set to magic radio stations, he’s got this CD in his player which is why the song always comes up when he’s driving with Eun Gi. All I know is – if Maru and Eun Gi dies in the end (still a very real possibility), and the PD plays this song during or after said deaths, imma going to toss some very heavy appliances all the way across the Pacific ocean to Korea.

Before Nice Guy started, I liked Song Joong Ki and Moon Chae Won well enough and thought this was a brilliant pairing for a melodrama. I had no clue what rabbit hole I was about to fall into. This feels like deja vu circa the heydays of Mary Stayed Out All Night, when I started off liking Moon Geun Young and Jang Geun Seok well enough and ended the drama with them becoming one of my ultimate biases and me turning into a goofy fangirl. Falling for an actor doesn’t necessarily require the drama to actually be good, though that does increase the odds, but does require the actor to blow me away with delivery, chemistry with co-stars, and play a character I adore beyond all reason. That happened with the GeunGeuns in M3 even if the drama was like playing whack-a-mole in fun silliness, and its happening right now in Nice Guy. Song Joong Ki and Moon Chae Won are delivering impeccable performances of two characters I care about even knowing they are fictional. It’s also important to note that their chemistry with each other could heat my entire house, and my house is pretty roomy. We an all agree that they should date, no? Such perfection with each other not be acted upon is like wasting a great box of French chocolates. I know I’ve written lots about this drama already, but there are actually countless details set up from episode 1 that really highlight how complicated this love story is and makes me appreciate it all the more. They love each other not because drama law dictates it, but because in my heart and soul I know they have simply barged into each other’s lives and gave it purpose again.

[News of Nice Guy extension from Osen]

Nice Guy MV – San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair):

ockoala

View Comments

  • As much I would love more Song Joong Ki, I don't want an extension because it always means a sacrifice on the story! Darn. But I am actually not surprised about this. Of course KBS would want to hold on to NG for as long as they can.

  • Oh lord.
    Let us hope this will not be confirmed.
    *crosses fingers*
    I don't want writer lee kyung hee to feel as though she has to come up with some complicated, twisted storyline towards the end just to fill up the episodes.

  • Ockoala - you are hilarious! :-) What am I going to throw along with you? Well I think "Imma follow En Gi" and start throwing freshly squeezed tomato juice (you say tomato and I say tomatoe) and a carton of milk

  • Oh cap'n! I agree with you on this. I really loved how NG unfolds. I never thought I'm going into the depth with this drama, but once I did, I was so buried. I just hope that it won't have an extension. As what I have observed from the past, most dramas that are extended gets twisted and dragged to the hilt ...that saddens me for it may ruin a good story line which if I may say is intellectually written, until it will be dragged to the pit just because of ratings. :-(

  • I love that you've fallen as hard as I have for this show. All the elements are so tightly woven together, it's this perfect storm of plot, directing, ACTING, writing. Gah. Do you know how long of an extension they're considering? I really hope it doesn't happen. Even though every bone in my body is screaming for more Chae Won/Joong Ki amazingness, the integrity of the show as a whole is much more important.

    And yes. Can these two please date and marry and make outrageously gorgeous, talented babies? Their offspring would be the acting equivalent of a unicorn, and would most likely shoot rainbows out of its eyes (while somehow managing to be adorable and not creepy).

    • ChaeKi babies would look something like this. We would all want one in our pockets.

      And yes, be the acting equivalent of a unicorn with rainbow laser eyes.

      • OMG. LOVE. What the hell are those things? Their cuteness is going to haunt my dreams.

        And now, everytime Jae Hee makes a power play, I'm going to imagine her personally torturing these unborn mythical furry tree-dwelling ChaeKi offspring.

      • Japanese furry flying squirrel babies. I'm sure they are stupid and quite possibly rabid and most definitely useless in the evolutionary food chain. But HOMG hella cute.

        They are like the shoujo manga version of rodents.

      • These babies are too much!!!! Perfect for ChaeKi babies! And their cousins can be Hyuga and Makoto's little ones. Haha. I will explode with all the adorableness. :D

      • Awwww!

        While I alwasys had KTH and THT from My Princess at number one as The Drama Couple to Make the Prettiest Babies, SJK and MCW have soared past them.
        Mostly because I think the kids would be a lot smarter, no snark intended. I am talking about the fictional counterparts, not the real people.
        Really, I am.

  • NO. Please No. I love SJK and would like to see him onscreen everyday, and still a no.

    I like it as it is. Even now, I'm worried it might drag the angst with hematoma threat hanging over the head. They better not extend it and mess up the pace! And of course, I think both of them should date! They make such a cute pair..

  • I think an extension for Nice Guy is a very bad idea. I think you are underestimating Missing You and the powerful cast. Missing You can still beat Nice Guy, maybe not in the first 2 episodes but if Missing You story is good like the leaked synopsis on DC, it has a huge chance to catch up to Nice Guy's ratings. Did you see the article yesterday?

    "Nice Guy with it's average ratings is number one in ratings and has been for last 12 weeks and Great Seer is less than 10% will Park Yoochun and Yoon Eun Hye be able to ignite the fire in this lukewarm Wed-Thursday timeslot?"

    I wouldn't under estimate Missing You so quickly if I were them.

  • Yikes, me no like extensions!!!! Don't be greedy, KBS!

    Also, can I just dream that the San Francisco song will eventually get them here? I mean, I will be organizing a welcome party at the GG Bridge when that happens. Haha!

    I was baffled why the writer used this 60's song, too. Perhaps it represents Maru's idealism and goodness before he took the murder fall for Jae Hee? Or his longing for the simple and hippie ways of the Summer of Love? Those flower children sure had a lot of free lovin', so can Writer-nim throw in some for EunMa too? *coughBOATING*cough*

    And I'm with you, Koala. I tried so very hard not to ship this couple IRL but they certainly don't make it easy for me. They are so perfect together and MCW seems to bring out the manly side of SJK. Sigh. Where can I sign up for NG Anonymous? I'm truly well on my way to loony bin because of this drama and this OTP.

    • Hey count me in! If they do bring themselves here to the beautiful Bay Area, I must definitely be one of the first to welcome them!

  • I doubt that SJK&MCW would agree to have NG extended more than 2 episodes or even extended at all if LKH doesn't have enough material for the story. The 2 leads have been participating with LKH about story line, character development and script since they have been cast so they probably don't agree to such thing that doesn't make sense.

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