Variety Review: Running Man Episode 617

Sep 5

Sep 5 Variety Review: Running Man Episode 617

Chelsea

Variety, Review

Guests: None

My Entertainment Score: 8 out of 10 laughs

This concept generally works well and the updates or twists on the previous episodes worked well too. Solid.

What Happened:

Theme: Upgraded Real Estate Hopscotch

Opening (start of episode- 3:32)

Race Explanation (3:32- 7:59)

There are 70 land spaces available to buy. Randomly chosen, preassigned positive and negative factors are given to each land space. Depending on the factors, land earns or loses money each hour. The game is played from 12 to 3, so there are 4 possible payouts total. The members are given a phone call with a special mission they can accomplish in order to remove the negative factors on their land if their land would lose money for them that hour. These are anything from breaking a gourd over their head to doing a hula dance.

Purchasing an empty land costs $100. Forcing a sale costs $150. Deals can be made to sell land for any other purchase price between the members. Members can also ‘scout’ a specific land for $10 in order to learn its hourly profit or loss.

The members must stay on their own land only for the entire race. If they step on someone else’s land, they have to pay a $10 toll. This includes getting food and going to the bathroom. The only exception is during the times that they are purchasing land.

At the end of the day, the three members with the most cash and land value are exempt from punishment. The remaining 4 will all be eligible to be randomly chosen for punishment.

Initial Investment Capital Mission (7:59- 16:19)

The members choose a card that has a starting point on it. They open a taxi app and input the starting point and ANY destination of their choosing. They will get running man cash in order of their fare cost: the most expensive trip wins.

Property Game (16:19- 1:23:31)

***Note: I am not going to track all the 70 lands and their myriad transactions along with their 4 potential positive and negative factors. That would need a spreadsheet and would do horrible things for my love of the show. That said…it was fun watching them scramble and react.***

The members start by buying property and heading to their assigned spaces where they immediately begin messing with each other.

12 o’clock payout - 36:49 There is another round of land purchasing after each payout.

1 o’clock payout - 58:20

Slippery Musical Chairs - 58:45 This was to determine the order of purchasing for this round and earned the members some cash. A mat with soapy water was laid out for the game.

2 o’clock payout - 1:17:46 This signals the beginning of the last scramble before the last payout and final results.

Final Results (1:23:31- end of episode)

The penalty is “Random Soda Fountain”. Bottles were placed in a box so the members couldn’t see what was in it. Two were soda and two were not. They each put mentos in the bottle….

Preview: Well now…first they teased a 4 week project called “The whatever penalty race”…then they previewed “The ghostly war of coins” which looks like a horror special where the members are in a haunted village and have to find a way to stave off a grim reaper. I’m not sure what to expect, but I am looking forward to it!

!!!Spoilers!!!

Initial Investment Capital

Jihyo- $588.27 taxi fare -$790 game money
Jaesuk- $573.47 taxi fare -$690 game money
Sechan- $512.35 taxi fare -$590 game money
Haha- $436.01 taxi fare -$490 game money
Somin- $803.09 taxi fare…but it wasn’t her intended destination, so she took a 50% reduction…$401.55 taxi fare. -$390 game money
Jongkook- $356.91 taxi fare -$290 game money
Seokjin- $262.94 taxi fare -$190 game money

12 o’clock Payout