It's a waste of 50 billion. The story that set off into space saying 'Ask the Stars' has gone to Andromeda and will never return to Earth.
In the tvN Saturday-Sunday drama 'Ask the Stars', which concluded on the 23rd, Eve Kim (played by Gong Hyo-jin) was depicted giving birth to a child with Dinosaur (played by Lee Min-ho) on a space station. Eve Kim hid her pelvic fracture and died after giving birth. Dinosaur said he would stay in space until he could return to Earth with his daughter Star. As an obstetrician, Dinosaur declared at the end of the drama, "The universe has become both a grave and a womb."
'Ask the Stars' is a full-fledged space romantic comedy that depicts the journey between a space station and Earth. It took 5 years just for the production preparation, and the production cost reached 50 billion won. Star actors like Lee Min-ho and Gong Hyo-jin participated, raising expectations.
'Ask the Stars', which was anticipated to herald the start of tvN dramas in 2025, began with a disappointing rating of 3.3% for its first broadcast (based on Nielsen Korea's nationwide paid households). It recorded a peak rating of 3.9% in the second episode but failed to rebound, remaining in the 1-2% range throughout and ultimately recording a humiliating rating in the 1% range just a week before its conclusion.
The reason for 'Ask the Stars' failing to succeed at the box office is attributed to its lack of quality, despite its production cost and fame. With a star writer Seo Sook-hyang, who wrote 'Pasta' and 'Jealousy Incarnate', and director Park Shin-woo, known for 'Jealousy Incarnate' and 'It's Okay to Not Be Okay', along with Hallyu stars Lee Min-ho and Gong Hyo-jin, the drama had a seemingly perfect combination of writer, director, and cast, along with a hefty production budget of 50 billion won and the attractive theme of space. However, it has been criticized for its clichéd story resembling a mass-produced Korean morning drama about 'romance in space'.
Scenes that suddenly appeared, such as a dolphin show, disrupted the immersion in the drama, regardless of the plot. Additionally, provocative scenes like the bed scenes between Lee Min-ho and Han Ji-eun, and Gong Hyo-jin and Kim Joo-hun followed, and the explicit depiction of fruit fly mating also sparked controversy. Furthermore, the bed scenes between Lee Min-ho and Gong Hyo-jin in zero gravity were enough to send the narrative adrift to Andromeda. The premise of a chaebol family attempting artificial insemination in space with hundreds of billions of won to continue their lineage was enough to leave viewers incredulous.
A drama must not only have a high production cost but also ensure a high level of quality to win the love of viewers. SBS's 'My Perfect Secretary', starring Lee Joon-hyuk and Han Ji-min, which aired at the same time as 'Ask the Stars', dealt with the clichéd theme of a romance between a boss and a secretary but was loved for its high quality and grounded story. JTBC's 'Ok-ssi Bujin Jeon', starring Lim Ji-yeon and Choo Young-woo, depicted a female narrative overcoming various hardships in a historical drama, gaining viewer support.
Romance in hospitals, romance in courts, romance in city halls. Although it claimed to be a sci-fi space drama, if it ultimately tells a story of romance in space, viewers are questioning why it even ventured into space. The notion of having a hefty production budget of 50 billion won with the attractive theme of space, only to produce a clichéd chaebol family story akin to mass-produced Korean morning dramas, is not appealing to any viewer. It is time to genuinely reflect on what narratives can capture the hearts of viewers.
[Shin Young-eun, Star Today Reporter]
