[Sitcom 2009] Highkick Through The Roof 지붕 뚫고 하이킥

[kooriyuki]

i'll juz take it as sekyung died, but jihoon lived. im a hardcore junse shipper, but somehow the 3 yrs later part, i can't convince myself that sekyung didn't die, looking at junhyuk's face.

anyway, i like the korean viewers' take that sekyung is actually a ghost. THAT'S creative. ;p

[Guest yongieee]

A Monday without a highkick episode to enjoy... it's going to be a tough week. I miss coming home to watch it

[Guest 박민영]

does anyone know what show will replace high kick??

nvm i found it 볼수록 애교만점

[Guest lucky_moon]

Batch Torrent Ep1~126:

http://www.box.net/shared/t0r1lkst4q

[Guest xjenny]

TERRIBLE ENDING. made no sense.

[Guest yeohweping]

[REVIEW] MBC sitcom "High Kick 2" - Final Episode

http://10.asiae.co.kr/Articles/new_view.ht...032317480759314

The cast of MBC sitcom "High Kick 2" [MBC]

"High Kick 2" - Final Episode (MBC TV, 7:45 P.M.)

"I wish time would stop," Se-gyeong (played by Sin Se-gyeong) said as she turned to look toward Ji-hoon (Choi Daniel). And then everything really did come to a halt, showing the scene in black and white freeze and absolute silence. A silence where no more music could be heard from Ji-hoon's car and Kim Jo-han's "You are my girl," the ending song to the show the viewers had become so familiar with, no longer played.

We do not know how many seconds or minutes later the car accident that took their lives occurred. But what we saw was the screen filled with Se-gyeong's long-kept endearing love for Ji-hoon, which she openly expresses at that very moment, and Ji-hoon's eyes which shake upon hearing her remark because he is both sorry and feels an emotion he had not been aware of. It was for a very brief moment but almost a magical one where Se-gyeong's dreams seemed to have come true.

That is why this ending to "High Kick 2," which was an issue of controversy both before and even more so after its airing, cannot be considered a sad ending. It is not to say that the ending was not sad but it makes the viewer hesitate in believing that truly is how the sitcom ends. Yes, they die and the lives of those who go living on will never be the same. But the fact that they died and how probable it was to the story's plot is not what is important.

Death is the end of life but what ultimately makes up life is the collection of moments we experience along the way. As producer Kim Byung-wook had shown through his previous work -- that even ending to sitcoms can contain deaths -- "High Kick 2" showed that such an inevitable ending is overcome when one lives that moment as if it will last for eternity. That is why although Se-gyeong and Ji-hoon are dead and the sitcom is over, this really is not the end. We will only remember the show for the moments that it shined as such.

Producers talk about High Kick’s controversial ending

http://www.dramabeans.com/2010/03/producer...ing/#more-18141

There have been complaints about the rather dramatic way the series went out last week, and the producers PD has spoken up to explain, if not defend, their choice. To put it mildly, their ending was a pretty unconventional way to wrap up a family sitcom that has enjoyed pretty high popularity for the entirety of its 126-episode run, and a lot of fans were not happy with it.

To put it plainly, the so-called sitcom ended the series with the deaths of two of its main characters, Shin Se-kyung and Daniel Choi, in a tragic car crash. Fans were shocked, then felt betrayed and cheated of the time they invested only to have two of the biggest stars so suddenly killed. Furthermore, the show was supposed to be about family love and hope for the future — in particular relaying a “message of hope” for Se-kyung’s future happiness — and the ending just negated all of that. What happens to the theme that you can be happy without money or strict conditions? On top of that, the ending focused solely on Se-kyung and Ji-hoon, making it a lopsided event that didn’t show enough of the rest of the cast.

In response to the wave of discontent, director Kim Byung-wook explained that they changed the ending two days before its broadcast. Another production source says, “The writer had written a different ending, but couldn’t change PD Kim Byung-wook’s intent. In the end, things suddenly shifted to a sad ending two days before the last episode aired.”

Throughout this process, there was a lot of criticism and differing opinions between the writer, director, and producers. They argued and tried to change PD Kim’s choice, saying that some viewers who were guessing at a sad ending were fiercely opposed. Ultimately PD Kim decided to end on their deaths, which reflected Shin Se-kyung’s own opinion. The source explained that the actress had already discussed a sad ending with producers months in advance.

High Kick Through the Roof, like its predecessor Unstoppable High Kick, was a ratings success (in the 20% range) that propelled a lot of its stars to greater fame, such as Shin Se-kyung, Daniel Choi, Hwang Jung-eum, and Yoon Shi-yoon. The PD has been known as a hitmaker, but I wonder if that reputation will take on a bit of a tarnish now. Or at least a bitter aftertaste.

Personally, I have to say that reading about this ending makes me glad I didn’t watch High Kick Through the Roof. While I’m all for trying unexpected things and breaking the mold, there are a few conventions that you can’t really betray without also betraying your audience, and killing off your main characters in the last scene of a FAMILY SITCOM is one of them. Often last episodes are tinged with melancholy, and I’m perfectly willing to accept that. Unstoppable High Kick had a similar downturn in mood toward its end, but I think it was more successful in wrapping itself up — there was sadness and goodbyes, but also room for imagining that life continues and these characters move on. Here, life DOESN’T actually go on, and that would richard simmons me off if I’d been a fan.

Sure, you can argue a creator has the right to artistic choice and all that, and perhaps the director is perfectly pleased with his ending. But I’ll argue that when you’re working in television and producing entertainment for a loyal, broad audience (as opposed to working on an independent film, for example), there’s a burden of expectation and trust that you build with them. I don’t think the audience should dictate how a story unfolds — we’ve had enough dramas morphed into monsters through that — but I think to screw around with that trust is a pretty big deal, and I’d be much more wary of trusting that director in the future.

Credit : Dramabeans

[Guest Jennie]

I agree exactly what DramaBeans.com wrote in her/his blog. It was such a terrible ending for a family sitcom. At first, I was going to blame the writers for this too, but after reading this, I realized the bad guy was the decision maker PD Kim and a little of SeKyung.

So I am assuming that the writer did try to work on a happy ending, meaning don't mess around with the plot line anymore, but of course the PD just had to go his way 2 days before the final ending. Now I can see the disconnection from episode 1-125 compare to the the last episode. May the PD should have followed the sitcom like us fans and understand the anger that we go through.

[Guest hostness]

Can anyone help me find a song that came out on episode 104?? it came out exactly at 9:04 (background song), when the SJ and JO are at a cafe drinking coffee and SJ is slowly getting annoyed of her.

김조한 - 두 사람

http://netv.sbs.co.kr/sbox/sbox_index.jsp?uccid=10000480649

[Guest rout345]

Geez, it was terribly sad but it was an OPEN ending. you can choose to believe the PD or live in your on world. There is no actual scene that show you that they are dead, so let others believe what they want. I ,for a fact, believe they didn't all die, but that's just my opinion...

How can it be a sad ending and an open ending at the same time? If it's open, it's not sad, because nobody died. If it's sad (because people died), then it's not open.

Besides, you misunderstood me. I don't think it was a bad ending because it was sad. It's possible to have a sad ending to a happy, light-hearted sitcom and make it work. A sitcom doesn't necessarily have to have a happy ending, or a closed ending, but I just think this was a hastily thrown together expression of the PD's childish side, rather than a deliberately crafted ending on the part of the entire team behind High Kick (and the recent article just posted confirms this.)

I think it was a bad ending because it involved the wholesale wrecking of JiHoon's character (seriously, he realizes his love for Sekyung while he's ON HIS WAY to propose to another girl, what the heck), and because it revolved almost completely around Sekyung and JiHoon when the series was really about all the characters. In tone, pacing, character content, and general quality of writing, it was completely disconnected from the rest of the series. I could see what the PD was trying to achieve, but IMO he failed completely. I was laughing at the ridiculousness of it all when I should have been crying (since that was his intention).

And the article about the controversy surrounding the ending just backs up my point that the ending was shoddily and quickly put together according to the PD's whims, instead of respecting the characters, the story, and the audience that had carried the show for the past 6 months.

In response to the wave of discontent, director Kim Byung-wook explained that they changed the ending two days before its broadcast. Another production source says, �The writer had written a different ending, but couldn�t change PD Kim Byung-wook�s intent. In the end, things suddenly shifted to a sad ending two days before the last episode aired.�

Throughout this process, there was a lot of criticism and differing opinions between the writer, director, and producers. They argued and tried to change PD Kim�s choice, saying that some viewers who were guessing at a sad ending were fiercely opposed. Ultimately PD Kim decided to end on their deaths, which reflected Shin Se-kyung�s own opinion. The source explained that the actress had already discussed a sad ending with producers months in advance.

This just confirms my suspicion that the ending came about almost entirely because of the PD being blinded by his favoritism for Sekyung and JiSe. I'm not at all surprised, but I am disappointed.

[Guest bitter SOOweet]

I can see where the PD is coming from but I think he may have forgotten he was filming a family sitcom......

not to mention the viewers love for the two couples: SeKyung & JunHyuk and JungEum & JiHoon.

Bleh.

Well one thing for sure, the ending of this is causing discussion............. maybe that was their goal in the first place lol. if so, they succeeded

[Guest revengeoftheflowers]

Okay, I might get some flack for this, but I fiercely believe the WRITER is the most important role in creating the drama. The director, the producer, and the actors are all crucial also, but they only make up components, while the WRITER creates the whole foundation for the show.

Therefore, for the producer to disobey the writer's intent blatantly shows me that episode 126 is just some false PD fan-wanking bizarro world that has no connective tissue to the previous 125 episodes.

The show ended at episode 125, because the writer NEVER intended the events of episode 126 to occur. It's just awful and a mess that this PD had to destroy the writer's work because of his own self-absorbed ideas.

[Guest Jennie]

Okay, I might get some flack for this, but I fiercely believe the WRITER is the most important role in creating the drama. The director, the producer, and the actors are all crucial also, but they only make up components, while the WRITER creates the whole foundation for the show.

Therefore, for the producer to disobey the writer's intent blatantly shows me that episode 126 is just some false PD fan-wanking bizarro world that has no connective tissue to the previous 125 episodes.

The show ended at episode 125, because the writer NEVER intended the events of episode 126 to occur. It's just awful and a mess that this PD had to destroy the writer's work because of his own self-absorbed ideas.

Exactly. Episode 126 was just flat out a disconnect from the rest of the whole show. Based on what is now being written out there, the writers already written up the script to everything that happened in High Kick, to tie the loose ends and base on what I am reading, a happy family sitcom ending. But the stupid PD decided to go his direction which was a big disconnect from what occurred from the whole series.

You see, I know he wants to be creative and all BUT the creativity needs to connect with the whole sitcom. He pretty much did not put too much thought into the ending and how to be creative. I am sure he wanted us to enjoy the creativity, but it's not. All it does was anger and less praised.

[Guest rout345]

ETA: First of all, if anyone has any details about the original ending that the writers had planned for High Kick, I would love to hear them. That's what I think of as the real ending.

Therefore, for the producer to disobey the writer's intent blatantly shows me that episode 126 is just some false PD fan-wanking bizarro world that has no connective tissue to the previous 125 episodes.

The show ended at episode 125, because the writer NEVER intended the events of episode 126 to occur. It's just awful and a mess that this PD had to destroy the writer's work because of his own self-absorbed ideas.

I completely agree with everything you said. Especially the part about the PD's "self-absorbed ideas." He let his ego and his preferences get in the way of making a better piece of work, and that's a HUGE shame.

It also means he's a liar, because in the High Kick specials that aired during the 5-episode break he said that he would be open to discussing the ending with his writers and other producers.

I mostly agree with the DramaStyle blogger, but I slightly disagree about the debate over whether the ending should have been "happy" or "sad." That's not really the problem. The episode where Shin-ae and Sekyung briefly meet their father, the one where we see how HK and Bosok first started dating, the one where JiHoon and JungEum break up, Junhyuk's birthday episode, the Christmas episode--all of these episodes were sad/bittersweet/poignant to some extent, but they were sad in a way that fit the rest of the series.

The problem with 126 isn't that it was sad, the problem is that it seemed like it was transplanted from a completely different show, with different characters, who just happened to look the same as the High Kick characters, but didn't feel or act or talk or behave in the same way at all.

And no wonder it felt so different and bizarre--it WAS actually transplanted from a different show, the one in the PD's mind, as opposed to the writers's. The writers spent all that time building up to a completely different ending, and had to give in to the whims of the PD...and of Shin Sekyung?? I find this very strange and unsettling.

One of the biggest problems with 126 was that the PD obviously couldn't let go of the fact that the show was no longer about Sekyung. If you watch the first 6 or 7 episodes, Sekyung is MUCH more prominent at the beginning of the show. But the popularity of Junhyuk, JungEum, and JiHoon made them bigger characters, until they ended up being just as important as Sekyung. But the PD clearly couldn't accept that, and the finale ended up being all about Sekyung with a little bit about the others, who were just reduced to tools in Sekyung's story. Especially JiHoon.

You see, I know he wants to be creative and all BUT the creativity needs to connect with the whole sitcom.

Exactly. It might be more "creative" to end Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by having Snow White morph into a green hippopotamus who stomps on the Prince and kills him, then eats the dwarfs. But that doesn't mean it's a good ending!

Besides, I don't see what's so "creative" about the High Kick ending anyway. Somebody earlier in the thread made the good point that while this show did a great jof avoiding KDrama cliches throughout (which is one of the reasons why I fell in love with it), it ended in the most stereotypical, melodramatic, KDrama style possible. Fated Meeting. The Perfect Girl Who Gets What She Wants. Tragedy in the Rain. The "Three Years Later" timeskip. There wasn't much "creative" about this ending at all.

[Guest Cloud]

The director said in an interview that people have criticized the ending for its lack of hope. It shattered hope, because Sekyoung was the one person, probably most people were hoping would succeed and make something of herself. But to find comfort and solace, solely because everything worked out for Sk would be shallow and superficial. What he wanted to say was that we should live life cherishing hope and fully experiencing it when it's given, because it's difficult to gain, because it doesn't just fall onto your lap. The fact that SK frees herself from her housekeeper status, and moves on from that home, onto a new place, should be regarded in itself as SK breaking "through the roof." He compares this to SK 'breaking out from her eggshell' (reference to Demian).

Oh, and, I don't understand how anyone could honestly be convinced that Jihoon fell in love with SK in the last scene. That's such a shallow interpretation, and reflects very little comprehension. After a certain point, it is obvious that Jihoon really cared for and had compassion and pity for SK, but that's it. He regretted watching her spend her youth as a housekeeper, with no room to form her own dreams. Jihoon may be a socially awkward person, but when he cares for people, he cares for them genuinely. He's a direct and honest person, and can be very warm. In the car, as SK truly opens up to him for the first time, he is then sorry that he caused her (unintentionally) to fall in love with him. Though he probably knew, it was probably different hearing her directly confess her feelings for him, and to listen to her release everything she's been suppressing, and to understand how much quiet pain she's been in. It was never what he wanted, and that love is something he can't return, in the same manner, because he doesn't think of her that way, and he LOVES JEONGEUM.

And it makes sense to focus the ending on SK, because she was the only one who really truly needed to make a transition. Mostly, she had stayed quiet, reserved, and very much a mystery in terms of what she's really feeling, and how she takes in life. It was calming to listen to her share her insights, and watch herself really be free, unguarded, and happy.

I honestly feel that the sitcom stayed a comedy family sitcom through the end. High Kick, even from season one, had always been more about the subtle and candid moments. E.G. When Haeri ties her hand to Shinae's and they're eating, then you see Haeri actually sharing her galbi with Shinae. When Jeongeum leaves early for work, and has to skip breakfast, but Julian rushes over and shoves a toast in her mouth, and Kwangsu tosses her a milk. When SK and Shinae bring their father over to the place that had 'sheltered' but also employed her, and Sunkyoung (the mother/ex-employer) tells SK to sit down, and serves her and her family as the guests.

The last few episodes were saturated with these moments. This is the real charm of this director's sitcoms.

Plus, who's to say that just because two characters died very unexpectedly, that it failed to stay a family sitcom? Sure it lacks comedy, but why does it have to end comedically? It had plenty of comedy throughout the end, as subtle as it may be. As far as family sitcom, death is a part of life. Friends and family will die, and often, they can die when they're too young, when they should not, and certainly when they don't deserve to.

It's nice that you get a glimpse of Jeongeum and Junhyuk, who appear to have moved on, and are doing well in life, but not while forgetting. Isn't this how life is?

I don't even think the death scene was overdone either, like some other dramas.

I didn't want to write this long reply, but I feel like people were just expecting some corny cheesy ending all happy and awkwardly fit together, but because they were thrown a curveball, they're throwing a fit. It's not fair to the creator, who thought way longer and harder about the ending than most of his viewers (obviously). Don't trivialize and degrade the ending out of spite.

[Guest phyr3]

This might be vague.

But if anyone knows the song that Sae Kyung sings in kareoke in one of the episodes by herself, could they please reply!

[Guest Cloud]

This might be vague.

But if anyone knows the song that Sae Kyung sings in kareoke in one of the episodes by herself, could they please reply!

일기예보 - 인형의 꿈 (doll's dream)

it was covered by loveholic too, i think.

I think this is the song you're talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4Kqa1OfwbU

LOVEHOLIC version

original version

(i like this version a lot better, because i grew up listening to this one. HAHA)

[Guest rout345]

I didn't want to write this long reply, but I feel like people were just expecting some corny cheesy ending all happy and awkwardly fit together, but because they were thrown a curveball, they're throwing a fit. It's not fair to the creator, who thought way longer and harder about the ending than most of his viewers (obviously). Don't trivialize and degrade the ending out of spite.

Cloud, despite my earlier posts I think I would actually agree with you if I hadn't read the interviews with the director after the show ended.

If you interpret the final scenes in the way you did in your post (which I enjoyed very much, BTW), then yes--the ending does kind of make sense and I can see how it would be an acceptable ending for the show. Though I do think it focused too much on JiHoon and Sekyung at the expense of the other characters, and didn't really fit the rest of the season. But it wouldn't be a diaster the way I think it is now.

But the PD said in an interview that he intended the final scene to show JiHoon belatedly realizing that he had truly loved SK. Of course, I may have misunderstood what he said or read a mis-translation, in which case I would be glad if somebody would correct me. But it was pretty obvious to me from watching the show that the rumors ilx91 reported about the writers being JiJung and the PD being JiSe were true.

Oh, and, I don't understand how anyone could honestly be convinced that Jihoon fell in love with SK in the last scene. That's such a shallow interpretation, and reflects very little comprehension.

Well, now you know--the PD himself said that this was how he intended the scene to be perceived!

So, given this statement from the PD, I guess it depends on how much importance you place in the creator's intentions. If the PD's thoughts are important to you in judging a show, then I'd say he completely failed in getting his intended meaning across to the audience, and the ending suffered in quality because of it. If you judge the show just by itself and get a different meaning from the final scene than what the PD wanted to show, then you can see it the way Cloud did and it does become a much better ending (though still not a good one, IMO.)

To sum up my own opinion--I don't think it's possible to get a good ending when the situation behind-the-scenes was so full of direct opposition between the PD and the writers. The writers spent 125 episodes building up to a certain ending, and the PD just steamrolled over it. Nobody's obligated to think the ending was good, or to be happy with it.

[Guest chamber]

I don't get why some people and PD's seem to think that that tragic endings are somehow more profound then happy endings. While happy endings are cornball and predictable.

There is nothing wrong with living a good life and growing as person. I get that there are realities in life and things are always happy happy joy joy, but why end a family drama in such jaded and pessimistic way. Does this really teach people anything, because to me it just feels like a cheap stunt for some shock value to get people talking about the ending

[Guest andoneheadcanneverdie]

anyone know what that painting in the episode with the art gallery was called? the one with the obvious foreshadowing in it haha. sorry if it's already been asked.

edit : nevermind. found it.

[Guest jjowah]

anyone know what that painting in the episode with the art gallery was called? the one with the obvious foreshadowing in it haha. sorry if it's already been asked.

edit : nevermind. found it.

who is it by and what is it called?

im watching the entire drama from the start.. im at ep 96 actually.. the episode where sekyung sees that painting.. i only started watching this sitcom at certain episodes and scenes..very sporadic.. but some of the jihoon sekyung connections i see are evident at really small small moments. the dialogue is very short and concise.. and not really intense.. you really have to watch sekyung's facial expressions or jihoon's reactions to notice something else going on. their encounters are never funny. they're not light hearted ..and maybe this is why the viewers never felt their connection against the funny nature of the show.

for ie.. whenever jihoon leaves after speaking with sekyung..he always stops to either stare at her or mention something. usually he's always in a rush and does not even pay attention to the needs of his family members. but to sekyung.. he remembers or thinks of her in ways of either protecting her or taking care of her.. (the phone, clothes, money, taking her around, etc).

what did it for me though...to realize that jihoon and sekyung were fate... was at the restaurant near jihoon's university.

the grandma ..who is like this wise figure... notices sekyung's love for jihoon written all over her face. she says to be careful with fate..either way,.when two fated people decided to be with each other against other ppl wishes, their fate won't play out.. or... they just never meet each other in a life time.

jihoon has got to be the most complicated character in this sitcom. im still trying to figure him out. sigh..men are seriously from mars!