RUNNING MAN CLASSICS Episodes 121-130 Review
The classic episodes’ cast was Jaesuk, Seokjin, Jongkook, Haha, Jihyo, Gary, Kwangsoo--7 members.
Episode 121 - Continued from Episode 120
Guests: Lee Seunggi (Singer, Actor), Park Shinhye (actress)
Location: Various in Seoul
Games: Hint Missions, Protect the Safe (Name Tag Ripping)
Highlights or notes:
This was the second part of the Secret Agent Race where members attempted to earn a ‘license to oust’ and become the ultimate agent.
There were several hint missions. One was simply to get to the end of a street, without several mobs stopping you along the way. Another was a memory game. There was a mission to find ‘secret agents’ in the market using a code. BUT the best one and the one that I remembered years later was the mission to grab the correct car key…out of a tank of loaches.
The final mission was to find the code to open a room with the safe and thus stop an explosion from destroying the contents. There was also an ‘evil agent’ who was trying to stop the rest of the members from completing the mission.
Seunggi was absolutely hysterical in this episode.
My rating: 9
Penalty: None - Gold prize if the mission was completed.
Episode 122
Guests: Kim Wansun (singer), Park Namjung (singer), Kang Susie (singer), Firetruck (3 member idol group), Goo Hara (singer, KARA. RIP)
Location: Various
Games: Obstacle Relay Race, Punch Machine in the Arcade, Metal Tray Karaoke, Marbles
Highlights or notes:
All the guests are known for being the best of the best in the Korean music scene of the 1980s and 1990s, except of course for Goo Hara. Jongkook joined the “Legends Team” as he debuted in 1995 and Goo Hara joined the Running Man team to even out the numbers.
The theme for this episode was “TIME MACHINE MARBLE RACE”. (They put reverb on that when the PD said it, so it felt like the all caps needed to be there. No? Just me?) The members traveled back in time (aka rode a van labeled time machine…just go with it because the CGI was hilarious) and played games from the good ol’ days to earn marbles. The last game was a marbles match.
The obstacle relay race was based on a show from the 80’s. Contestants had to wear puffy suits and squat down so that their legs were hidden. Cutest, and probably most frustrating, race ever!
Metal Tray Karaoke became a regular game for Running Man for a while. It became popular and fell out of favor in the 80’s and 90’s. A song is played and each person must sing a line or two. (Numbers are drawn to determine singing order). Whenever an incorrect lyric or missed beat happens, metal trays (on strings) are dropped down to thunk on the team’s head. First team to get through the first verse of a song wins. I wouldn’t mind seeing this game come back, actually. I had forgotten about it, but it’s always funny.
My rating: 8
Penalty: None
Episode 123
Guests: Han Hyojoo (actress), Go Soo (actor)
Location: Jeongeup
Games: Hay Bale Hurdles, Hair-curling Market Missions, Cabbage Hide-and-Seek, Kimchi Cooking.
Highlights or notes:
Games were played in teams of 3. The guests randomly choose numbers and collect their teammates based on the numbers.
The results of the day depended on the kimchi that each team made. The games were played for ingredients or tools necessary in the cooking process.
This was the first episode in which Haha firmly, but lightly, stopped treating girls like princesses and it was hilarious.
Hay Bale Hurdles was fun! All the members of a team had to run in a relay style race. A stack of two bay hales made up each of 5 hurdles. On the return to the start to tag the next runner, hay bales had to be replaced for the next runner.
The market missions were to find and bring back certain things within 3 minutes…while one member stayed behind and had their hair tightly curled.
Fake cabbages were hidden all over a village. Teams had to find 10 and bring them to the team’s headquarters to finish the hide-and-seek mission. This quickly devolved into a game of keep away.
The kimchi was judged by the members (and guests) in a blind taste test.
My rating: 8
Penalty: None - meat and fruit sets for the winners.
Episode 124
Guests: Han Hyojoo (actress), Go Soo (actor)
Location: Various
Games: Restaurant Choice Race, King Of the Nametag Ripping
Highlights or notes:
For the restaurant choice race, each member had to choose between 2 restaurants, play a game to get the food there, and then make another choice. There were 4 consecutive choices to be made and the first member to make it through the choices and arrive at the final location became the King for the name tag ripping game.
The restaurant games were things like blowing a random item across a table, moving 20 beans in one breath, breaking bricks (downward punch), Simon Says (eat this), Random choice game with spicy or regular food, etc.
Jihyo became known for the brick breaking she did in this episode.
The King in the name tag ripping game was the only one who could eliminate name tags. Subjects could overthrow and elect a new King by finding voting ballots. As soon as half the subjects voted for one person, the King would change. This was a fun variation on the name tag game.
My rating: 8
Penalty: None
Episode 125
Guests: Park Sangmyun (actor), Jung Hyundon (comedian), Ryu Dam (comedian), Shin Dong (singer from Super Junior), Juvie Train (HipHop Artist)
Location: G Ski Resort in Gyeonggi-do
Games: Santa and Rudolph Race, Christmas in Midsummer, Christmas Supper, Snowball Fight
Highlights or notes:
Christmas Special! AKA The Snowball Fight Race. Three teams of 4 were formed. Missions were played to earn snowballs for the final game. Only the losing team faced punishment.
The Santa and Rudolph Race was played by a pair from each of 2 teams. The pair would start at the top of a slope, run halfway down, dig up sleds and sled the rest of the way down. Then they would battle over a single pair of santa socks. The team that put on the socks and pulled out the finish flag won the round. It was a hot mess…cold mess…it was a funny mess.
The Christmas in Midsummer game was played indoors where there was a pool. A balance beam was set up in the water. The team had 1 minute to get onto the beam and then move the first person along passing everyone else to the far end and so on until each member had gone down the line.
The Christmas Supper game was essentially the 31 game. 31 small portions of a dish were prepared. Each member could eat as many as 5 at a time before passing the tray to the next person. The person that ate the last portion was out and the team that with the last member standing wins.
The snowballs in the snowball fight were like velcro and would stick to the vests that each person wore. When a person was ‘hit’, they were out and the team with the last member standing wins. The team with all the players out first gets the penalty.
My rating: 9
Penalty: Sledding in only long johns. The winning team got a box of snacks.
Episode 126
Guests: Choi Jiwoo (actress)
Location: Various in Busan (National Maritime Museum, Songdo Beach, Gamcheon Cultural Village, Horse Theme Park)
Games: Beach Obstacle Course, Choi Jiwoo Quiz, Name Tag Ripping Star Game
Highlights or notes:
This episode was a double bluff. From the beginning the audience learns both that Jiwoo believes she is a spy against all the other members with a partner she must discover AND that the members know about her mission and must help her win.
Jiwoo believes this is a Race of the Stars where members attempt to get 7 stars in order to win. At each game, the winning member gets a star. The members’ goal at the first several games is to make sure she does not get a star so that she can ‘steal’ them in the name tag ripping game later.
The Quiz was all questions about Jiwoo’s dramas and the Running Man members received all the questions and answers to memorize before the show began.
In the final venue, the members must find and pass missions to earn stars and then entice Jiwoo to take their name tags to steal the stars and win. There are some pretty classic and memorable scenes from this game, not the least of which is Jaesuk and Jongkook playing the pepero game.
My rating: 9
Penalty: None - the winner(s) received camera(s)
Episode 127
Guests: Choi Jiwoo (actress), Jung Yonghwa (singer of CN Blue), Lee Jonghyun (guitarist of CN Blue), Simon Dominic (aka SimonD, singer/rapper), Lee Gikwang (singer of Beast, now Highlight) *The men are all from Busan and had the nickname the Busan F4 in the show.*
Location: Jangsa Island, various
Games: Carry the Queen Relay, Yakult Lady Hide-And-Seek, Queen Dodgeball, Name Tag Ripping to find the Snake
Highlights or notes:
This episode has one of my all time favorite games and is on my list of top episodes!
This episode was themed around the 12 zodiacs in honor of the Lunar New Year. Each member chose a card randomly (and did not even look at their own card). The ‘target’ is the member with the snake card because at the time it was the year of the snake. The team that eliminates the snake or the team with the snake if the snake survives to the end of the time limit at the end wins. The games before that were played to get hints about who has the snake card.
The Carry the Queen Relay was the game. The men had to take turns carrying the lady from the opposite team up the beach to a flag and back. The winning team was the team with the queen that did not cross the finish line…Jihyo was a beast. I loved it!
For the Yakult Lady game, one member of each team dressed up as a Yakult lady (which I gather is a brand). The rest of the members needed to protect their Yakult lady while catching the Yakult lady from the other team, but they could only start after shooting a yogurt bottle in a trash can. This was played around a whole village.
They tried to execute moves from a manga about dodgeball in the dodgeball game. You can imagine how well that worked.
My rating: 10
Penalty: None - The winners’ team name is put on a large donation.
Episode 128
Guests: Park Shinyang (actor), Um Jiwon (actress)
Location: Mok-dong SBS building
Games: Gas Station Matrix, Healthy Karaoke, Musical Chairs
Highlights or notes:
This was the 2013 New Year episode. The head of SBS gave cash bonus envelopes to each member. The money could be kept at the end of the day…if they didn’t lose games that required them to spend money.
The first game determined which team would pay for gas to be put in all 3 cars. Members dressed up in raincoats and a large pan attached to their bellies. Water was sprayed for 3 minutes and members needed to lean back to catch the water in the pan and then dump it in a container off to the side. The first two teams to fill the container to a certain line within the time limit were safe from paying.
Healthy karaoke will never not be funny. This was played to choose the team that would pay for lunch. Various workout equipments were fitted out with microphones and teams took turns singing karaoke while stretching or doing a chin up or deadlifting. A high score was needed to pass.
Musical chairs is what I’m calling the name tag ripping replacement game. Rather than music, the entire group was given 10 minutes to find a chair in the SBS building that was marked with a Running Man sticker. Each round cut half of the contestants and the team with the last man standing wins.
My rating: 8
Penalty: None. A multiplier was chosen at random for each team to multiply the money they were able to save. (Either multiplied by 1, 2 or 3)
Episode 129
Guests: KwangHee (singer of ZE:A), Lee Minho (singer of SHINee), Sulli (singer of f(x), RIP), Jung Yonghwa (singer of CN Blue), Lee Joon (singer of MBLAQ), Lee Jonghyun (guitarist of CN Blue), L (aka Kim Myungsoo, singer of INFINITE)
Location: Various in Incheon
Games: Sled Ski Relay, Broom Hockey, Ski Jump Diving, Alternating Name Tag Ripping
Highlights or notes:
Winter Running Olympics vs the Idol Team
The baton for the Sled Ski Relay was the ski sticks that each player needed to use to move forward.
Broom Hockey was played indoors with a specially created puck. The ladies were the goalies. Each half was 10 minutes and the game was played 5 v 5 with substitutions allowed at any time.
Ski Jump Diving was a cumulative team game played at a pool. Each member was allowed to make one jump from the diving board. The distance from the board that each jumped was added together and the team total determined the winner.
My rating: 9
Penalty: none - the members of the winning team received golden name tags instead of gold medals.
Episode 130
Guests: None
Location: Seoul City Hall
Games: Reincarnation Find the Gold Race
Highlights or notes:
The entire episode is essentially one big game where the winner gets the gold. It starts in “1938” with everyone dressed appropriately to the period. The members search for keys to open the chest of gold, eventually turning on each other for the keys. Then, they ‘travel forward’ to the modern day, but (slight spoilers here) the reincarnation is not 1 to 1, so no one knows who they were in their past lives…or who has the keys for the gold chest.
This is one of the must-watch classics episodes. Gary and his cheesy lines were in full effect and the twists and turns for the members were perfect.
My rating: 10
Penalty: None- gold prize for the winner
