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I actually only watched this drama because of Lee Sun Bin. I am a big fan of Running Man, and Lee Kwang Soo, a member of Running Man, is Lee Sun Bin's boyfriend. Prior to The Great Show, I watched 38 Task Force (Lee Sun Bin was also in this drama); 38 Task Force was a great drama (though it has nothing to do with the great show I just wanted to share), a drama about a group of people making the world a better place with the use of their conning skills. Another Drama, My Fellow Citizens, is a bit similar to both dramas mentioned above; there's conning involved also the main protagonist is trying to get into the national assembly.
To cut down to the chase, I was disappointed with The Great Show. The main selling point of this drama is the character development, and they did a fairly good job portraying that. But what was lacking for me was the overall impact of the story. Watching this drama didn't keep me glued to my seat, but rather I wanted the drama to finish quickly just so I can witness how everything ends. And to my disappointment, even the ending was not satisfying, to say the least; I dare say that the entire plot was worthless because of the ending. The writer tried to make a happy ending where every character had a happy ending with the expense of the main protagonist's childhood dream. All in all, this isn't a drama you should watch if you want a story you could connect with, it's more of a drama you could choose if there's barely any left for you to watch.
I have no idea why this is higher than My Fellow Citizens, or why My Fellow Citizens has such a low rating to be more specific. My Fellow Citizens was a lot funnier than the Great Show, and the plot was a lot more intriguing.
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What was nice and entertaining about this show was the family. They created a nice family environment, with a nice web of human relationships. The character development was pretty good and well made as well, with the switch from career goals to family goals for the main character. The performances were really good too.
However, the story was predictable and so the twists were easy to guess. It was also a plot that has been made into a drama countless of times, just with a few other genres in the mix. The pace got slower towards the ending and so there were some boring scenes.
So, overall, five out of ten.
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This review may contain spoilers
An under-appreciated, family-oriented drama
The Great Show is a very wholesome drama. It is very family centered and the ending was really perfect - it was strong and wasn't dragged out at all! I mean, it was paced so well that poor Wie Dae Han can NEVER catch a break! There's never a dull moment with this drama. XDFor those of you who are interested in romance: there wasn't really any development of romance the way a normal rom-com does. Wie Dae Han and Jung Soo Hyun dated briefly about 15 years prior to the beginning of the story but she disappeared abruptly due to a tragic incident in her family. They bump into each other at the beginning of the drama and they both still have feelings for each other, but neither of them focus on their feelings for each other actively because the orphaned children take such priority.
Jung Soo Hyun sincerely cares for all of Wie Dae Han's new children, but specifically grows very attached to Wie Dae Han's oldest daughter, who ends up being pregnant, which obviously complicates the story since she's only a high school senior. The story's main focus ends up being about how Wie Dae Han and Jung Soo Hyun (and her parents) support each other and become a family unit - the oldest daughter with her pregnancy (and integrating her boyfriend into the family), the teenage son going thru his angst, the youngest siblings (twins) adjusting to their new life, Wie Dae Han trying to fix his career as a politician, and Jung Soo Hyun trying to support her parents who run a restaurant in the old market.
Through the drama, Wie Dae Han and Jung Soo Hyun become close because their lives and emotions continued to entangle while taking care of the kids. By the end of the story, it's implied that they're together but there's no kiss or romantic confession. But honestly, I was fine with the way their "romance" was handled. I really liked how they took care of the kids FOR the kids and they cheered each other on and supported each other selflessly.
I personally found The Great Show to be refreshing, even if some parts were predictable. It wasn't over fluffed with forced romance and instead it's focus was all about family. I really liked how the oldest daughter was pregnant (as a senior in high school) and decided with her boyfriend to keep the baby. The baby's father adores her and takes care of her and her younger siblings throughout the whole story. It was so nice that he didn't turn into a shallow character that ran away or did something shady just because things got complicated with the prospect of having a baby. The story didn't romanticize teenage pregnancy, it just presented that if you have a strong family unit, it's possible for things to work out.
Upon reading the synopsis, The Great Show definitely appears like the story revolves around a shallow man using children for his political career, presented with slapstick comedy. And yes, maybe the first 5 episodes, Wie Dae Han is doing some pretty immoral things, but he sincerely changes and does right by his family. He grows to love them so much that it breaks his heart. He's ready to throw out his own dreams to protect his kids and *that* is what made this drama so worth watching.
OST - I wasn't a fan of the opening song (it has a circus feel to it), but it enjoyed all of the other music. They were all pleasant sounding, catchy, and felt endearing in tone, which matched the drama very well. Wing It by HoooW was probably my favorite.
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Underrated
The Great Show is funny, heartbreaking and heartwarming and all these moments are shown at the perfect time in an impressively structured storyline. Son Byung Ho's and Kang Sung Jin'sawful acting can be easily overlooked as they, fortunately, do not have much screen time. The recurring BG music was always played at the perfect moment to enhance the mood of the scene. Maybe 16 episodes was a tad too long for the content but it wasn't as bad as other dramas where there are too many filler episodes just to make up the 16.The main plot and subplots focus mainly on resolving the problems rather than the problem itself. I find that plenty of kdramas spend too much time focusing on the problem which renders the whole show extremely negative and frustrating to watch and TGS does well to keep it on the positive side.
If you are looking for a feel-good family drama, then I highly recommend this. It's a typical fairy tale story, but a very good story nonetheless.
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Good drama. I started because of heon aajusshi..... he is so handsom
Familysome drama.....should watch if you are in fun a bit fun.The kiddos r really cute and aajusshi's acting is nice i would say... i have watched a better version of him in other shows. He may not be so popular but he has a lingering interest around him, i don't know about others but i really like him....😍
The ending was also good..... topics covered were quite sensetive i guess, country wise ......... May be a of political conflicts have not provided the drama so much fame. Overall watchble ........ may be m a little bias cause of heon aajusshi...🤩😍🥰........but i am giving it 7 stars.
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Watchable.... kinda....
I liked the set up but there was a serious lack of affection for this "great family". The two younger kids were almost invisible and appeared for a total of 5 scenes. The 2nd sibling maybe had a couple of sentences in the whole thing. This leaves us with only the eldest daughter which was the main focus yet it failed to establish a real connection with her father. The daughter had a stronger connection with Soo Hyun than her father. Meanwhile, the politics were fluff politics at best.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
I should learn that the first episode in Korean dramas is never helpful in deciding which plot and tone the other episodes will have.What I liked:
* I liked Wie Dae Han's character and its development throughout the series. He's a man who once had a very clear reason for going into politics but has lost it -- and is struggling to find it again through much of the series. That makes him a very flawed character, who are the best in dramas.
* My favourite character by far was Kang Joon Ho though, who had struggles all of his own -- who has to decide if he'll put his personal integrity above his familial ties.
* I also loved the supporting characters, foremost the aide, the Jung family, the kids, and the young ex-trainee. All of them were not only there for comic relief but also for the plot.
* I liked that on the politics side of the plot, the elements fit together and made a whole.
The whole drama is very much about personal values, and what it means to be a family and a good family member to the others, I think -- not only Wie Dae Han and Kang Hoon Jo have to learn but also the kids' father (I forgot his name), Kang Kyung Hoon, Han Tak...
What I did not like:
* They could have done away with the romance. Love triangles are overdone anyway, and in my opinion the romance did not add anything to the plot or the character development. Jung Hyun Soo could easily have remained a friend and colleague (she had enough reason for engaging with Wie Dae Han's daughter all of her own). Kang Joon Ho had more chemistry with Wie Dae Han than with her -- why not play up the rivals-since-school-days-angle instead of a lacklustre romance? Regardless who she ended up with, I really was not interested. I hate that writers think they have to force (het) romances into their stories.
* I would have loved to see more of the kids' stories instead. Han Tak was a really interesting character, and also Song Yi and her anxieties ould have been interesting to learn more about. Or what about the boy's need for eating and jumping around? There's more story there.
* I think this would have made the drama more interesting -- it was rather lengthy from episodes nine to eleven, which is where the romance subplot was most apparent. It was decent before, when it was about Wie Dae Han and the kids, and after, when the race for the election picked up.
* All in all, I was again disappointed by the female characters. The girl had spunk in the beginning but the got reduced to her role as impending mother, Jung Hyon Soo was overly emotional, the female journalist was a strange mix of ambitious and passively accepting the men's plans.
Overall, it's okay to watch. The ending was rather predictable -- but still I liked the character development we got to see.
[For transparency: This review has been cross-posted from Viki.]
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