![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Review: Besties in Wonderland (딱 한번 간다면, 호주) (2022)
This series was pretty fun. I think I enjoyed it because it was more of a travel show than a variety show. There weren’t any games or competitions, it was just about enjoying the trip.
Format
The format was incredibly loose. As I mentioned, there weren’t really any games or challenges. The only time there was any structure was when our travellers were picking which tour to go on. Otherwise, the tours were planned for the travellers.
Production
The production value was alright. Again it was more travel-leaning than variety-leaning and I appreciated the more relaxed atmosphere. There wasn’t a lot of shock and surprise, we didn’t get four hundred shots of someone being shocked.
Contents
The premise was that the travellers were old friends going on a trip and that led to a more reunion-like atmosphere. When the cast arrived in Australia, I thought there was going to be a lot of ‘fish out of water’ embarrassing situations but I am supremely glad that there was very little of that. Of course there were language barriers, but they weren’t drawn out to induce embarrassment.
While it’s obvious that there are camera crews surrounding the cast, I appreciated that they were mostly kept out of frame, and I think that was because there was enough space afforded to the cast. I was worried that they would get swarmed like we often see in idol content but seeing as how only Junmyeon is an idol and the others are actors, they weren’t swarmed. They did bump into fans but only a few were shown on screen. There was one fan who worked at a café, another who had run into Kyuhyung on the street, and one of the passengers on a boat was the mother of an Exo fan. So basically I’m just glad the cast weren’t swarmed or constantly being surrounded by fans because that meant the cast were able to relax and as a viewer I felt more relaxed too.
I thought the activities were pretty interesting too. They were mostly focused on nature and sightseeing, as opposed to shopping or other things that you could technically do in other countries. I know some of the activities are probably really expensive but this show did make me want to visit Australia.
The chemistry between the cast was good too. Some of them were friends from before, and I believe it was only Kyuhyung at firs who was from another school. But he integrated into the group pretty easily as he was easygoing. Sangyi was the class rep, head boy type who was very concerned with being responsible. Yooyoung and Jiyeon were just there to have fun. And Junmyeon was there for the vibes. Part way through the show, Junmyeon had to leave and Seowon took his place and he brought a different dynamic. He was a bit shyer and I believe he was younger too so I think the others kind of wanted to care for him. The groups were usually grouped with Sangyi, Jiyeon, and Yooyoung in one team, and Kyuhyung and Junmyeon or Seowon in the other team, so that built relationships too, especially with Sangyi, Jiyeon, and Yooyoung, who I found pretty fun :P
Overall
This was a surprisingly relaxing show, and that was because it truly was a travel show and not a variety/game show.
Format
The format was incredibly loose. As I mentioned, there weren’t really any games or challenges. The only time there was any structure was when our travellers were picking which tour to go on. Otherwise, the tours were planned for the travellers.
Production
The production value was alright. Again it was more travel-leaning than variety-leaning and I appreciated the more relaxed atmosphere. There wasn’t a lot of shock and surprise, we didn’t get four hundred shots of someone being shocked.
Contents
The premise was that the travellers were old friends going on a trip and that led to a more reunion-like atmosphere. When the cast arrived in Australia, I thought there was going to be a lot of ‘fish out of water’ embarrassing situations but I am supremely glad that there was very little of that. Of course there were language barriers, but they weren’t drawn out to induce embarrassment.
While it’s obvious that there are camera crews surrounding the cast, I appreciated that they were mostly kept out of frame, and I think that was because there was enough space afforded to the cast. I was worried that they would get swarmed like we often see in idol content but seeing as how only Junmyeon is an idol and the others are actors, they weren’t swarmed. They did bump into fans but only a few were shown on screen. There was one fan who worked at a café, another who had run into Kyuhyung on the street, and one of the passengers on a boat was the mother of an Exo fan. So basically I’m just glad the cast weren’t swarmed or constantly being surrounded by fans because that meant the cast were able to relax and as a viewer I felt more relaxed too.
I thought the activities were pretty interesting too. They were mostly focused on nature and sightseeing, as opposed to shopping or other things that you could technically do in other countries. I know some of the activities are probably really expensive but this show did make me want to visit Australia.
The chemistry between the cast was good too. Some of them were friends from before, and I believe it was only Kyuhyung at firs who was from another school. But he integrated into the group pretty easily as he was easygoing. Sangyi was the class rep, head boy type who was very concerned with being responsible. Yooyoung and Jiyeon were just there to have fun. And Junmyeon was there for the vibes. Part way through the show, Junmyeon had to leave and Seowon took his place and he brought a different dynamic. He was a bit shyer and I believe he was younger too so I think the others kind of wanted to care for him. The groups were usually grouped with Sangyi, Jiyeon, and Yooyoung in one team, and Kyuhyung and Junmyeon or Seowon in the other team, so that built relationships too, especially with Sangyi, Jiyeon, and Yooyoung, who I found pretty fun :P
Overall
This was a surprisingly relaxing show, and that was because it truly was a travel show and not a variety/game show.