First Place For "Pinocchio"

"Pinocchio" reached first place in the ratings this week. It's a hit but the odds were in its favor. Even if the show did not have an interesting premise based on an imaginary syndrome, its stars are so well loved that it quickly attracted a loyal following.

It's a drama about a woman, played by Park Shin Hye, who cannot tell a lie due to the imaginary condition known as "Pinocchio syndrome." Well, she can actually tell a lie, but not without everyone knowing. When she lies she starts to hiccup. She becomes a reporter like her mother, raising some interesting questions about the nature of truth in journalism. The man she loves, played by Lee Jong Suk, is a rival reporter. She doesn't know it but her reporter mother helped ruin his family.

And if the plot even lags for a minute, there's enough cute behavior between Lee Jong Suk and Park Shin Hye to keep viewers watching. Both actors are so charming they are magnetic in whatever role they play. But together, even their individual "aegyo" seems more appealing.

This week, the MBC drama took first place if only by a slim margin. The ratings for "Pinocchio" rose 0.2 percent to 10.4. As the competing drama "Mr. Baek" dropped slightly from 10.9 percent to 10.0 percent, nudging it out of first place. "Mr. Baek," which stars Jang Nara, Shin Ha Kyun, and Lee Joon, could easily be back in first place next week. It's a fun, relatable redemption story in which a man gets a do-over for his life gone very wrong. Shin Ha Kyun's character made a lot of money but he never experienced true love or understood the meaning of compassion. When he is put back in his younger body, he gets another chance to choose the right priorities, to focus on people rather than acquiring piles of cash. 

"The King's Face" was in third place with a hopeful 6.2 percent of the ratings. Audiences were not as excited about the first episodes of the historical drama but now that the action has shifted away from the palace and piled on some swordplay, the ratings could improve. The drama stars Seo In Guk, Lee Sung Jae, Jo Yoon Hee and Shin Sung Rok. Seo in Guk is the prince in love with Jo Yoon Hee's character. But his rivals for her affection are his father, the king played by Lee Sung Jae, and the leader of a revolutionary group, played by Shin Sung Rok.