Ahhhh! Family Outing...Perhaps my all-time favorite Korean variety-reality game show. It began airing weekly back in 2008, and ran for about a year and a half before it ran out of steam and they had to call it quits. It is one of the early fore-runner models on which practically all current day "out of studio" Korean variety-reality game type TV shows are based, and, it is virtually mandatory retro-viewing for any current fan of the same.
SPOILERS AHEAD!...but, as always, these types of shows aren't really "spoilable".
Premise: Each week, some elderly rural or farming family is chosen to be sent on a cruise or vacation for a weekend or so. While they are away, the regular show cast members (plus a weekly guest star or two) stay at the vacationing owner's place and tend to various chores and home/farm upkeep. On their downtime, the cast play games, cook their own meals, and sit around chatting, while they try to provide some viewer entertainment along the way.
It's easy to compare this show to 'Running Man' (RM), which eventually replaced it, and has since become a hugely successful current Korean reality-variety show over the last several years. Both show's formats are basically the same, except RM usually occurs in a sprawling urban setting with a frequent chase/tag format, while 'Family Outing' is more of a countryside campfire type atmosphere and isn't quite as hyper-active. All the other elements of each show are very similar: cast compilation & interaction, writing/editing/directing, the antics and games played, etc. It's all there. It is quite clear that 'Family Outing' spawned RM, and the latter would likely not even exist without the success of the former. In the same way that a prior show inspired 'Family Outing', RM is simply the next logical step in the growth & progression of its "parent" show and all those that came before it.
The similarities to RM don't end with just the various show traits. Yoo Jae Suk (the MC on RM) is also the main host of 'Family Outing', and Kim Jong Kook (also from RM) is one of the primary cast members here as well. This isn't the first time they've worked together, but their established variety show personalities and the chemistry & relationship they have with each other on RM, were honed to perfection on this show. Additionally, you have future permanent cast members of RM appearing as guests on Family Outing, as well as regular cast members of Family Outing that guest star on RM later on. And although I haven't checked, I wouldn't be surprised if many of the same production crew worked on both shows. In fact, RM and 'Family Outing' are so intertwined with one another that they often seem more like a long running continuation of one ever evolving show, instead of being two completely separate TV shows.
There were initially 10 cast members (I think), but two of them later departed the show at about the 2/3rd mark. Otherwise, the cast remains mostly intact for the entire run. Aside from Yoo Jae Suk and Kim Jong Kook, there's a number of other interesting characters on hand; too many to mention all of them individually, but you can search any of them if you need more info. You'll likely find somebody to like among the cast. My two personal favorites are:
1) Kang Dae Sung; the youngest cast member on the show and a member of Big Bang (which is a very popular K-Pop idol group). Dae Sung has no problem shedding his boy group idol image and he exhibits some real nice variety show skills. He's almost always smiling and looks like he's having the time of his life on this show. He likes to boast and make up stuff quite frequently, particularly to the guest stars when his seniors aren't around to scold him and keep him in check. He is very at ease with the variety show world, and he seems perfectly suited to be an entertainer in this field once his idol group/future singing career eventually comes to a close.
2) Lee Hyo Ri; the dominant female lead on the show (who is a former popular girl idol group member who now has her own solo singing career). Her persona on this show is that of the aggressive & experienced pop diva, who's constantly admonishing and berating every cast member and guest star that crosses her path. No one (and I mean NO ONE) on this show escapes her razor sharp wit and silvery tongue. It's all done in good fun for the most part, and she often exhibits a softer side, is not afraid of getting embarrassed, etc. Her impressive variety skills are a sight to behold throughout this show. As a side note, Lee Hyo-ri is also actually the very first guest on the inaugural episode of RM, and the expressions on her former 'Family Outing' co-star's faces are priceless when she arrives on set and immediately starts ripping into them like only she can.
There's a second season to the show with a different cast and crew, but I only caught a few episodes of it so I can't tell you much about it. I heard it wasn't very good though, and it didn't last very long before it was ultimately supplanted by RM itself.
Summary: If you're a fan any of these outdoor Korean variety-reality game type shows, I highly recommend you check out 'Family Outing' if you've never seen it. Don't expect it to be quite as fast paced or as high-def & pretty as more modern shows, and there are a minimal amount of frills to go with a limited budget. But, the cast and crew (and guests) are EXCELLENT, and, they work so very well together in order to make this show highly entertaining for the majority of its run.
Bottom Line: Mostly Awesome! 9 out of 10 stars (for Season 1 ONLY)!
SPOILERS AHEAD!...but, as always, these types of shows aren't really "spoilable".
Premise: Each week, some elderly rural or farming family is chosen to be sent on a cruise or vacation for a weekend or so. While they are away, the regular show cast members (plus a weekly guest star or two) stay at the vacationing owner's place and tend to various chores and home/farm upkeep. On their downtime, the cast play games, cook their own meals, and sit around chatting, while they try to provide some viewer entertainment along the way.
It's easy to compare this show to 'Running Man' (RM), which eventually replaced it, and has since become a hugely successful current Korean reality-variety show over the last several years. Both show's formats are basically the same, except RM usually occurs in a sprawling urban setting with a frequent chase/tag format, while 'Family Outing' is more of a countryside campfire type atmosphere and isn't quite as hyper-active. All the other elements of each show are very similar: cast compilation & interaction, writing/editing/directing, the antics and games played, etc. It's all there. It is quite clear that 'Family Outing' spawned RM, and the latter would likely not even exist without the success of the former. In the same way that a prior show inspired 'Family Outing', RM is simply the next logical step in the growth & progression of its "parent" show and all those that came before it.
The similarities to RM don't end with just the various show traits. Yoo Jae Suk (the MC on RM) is also the main host of 'Family Outing', and Kim Jong Kook (also from RM) is one of the primary cast members here as well. This isn't the first time they've worked together, but their established variety show personalities and the chemistry & relationship they have with each other on RM, were honed to perfection on this show. Additionally, you have future permanent cast members of RM appearing as guests on Family Outing, as well as regular cast members of Family Outing that guest star on RM later on. And although I haven't checked, I wouldn't be surprised if many of the same production crew worked on both shows. In fact, RM and 'Family Outing' are so intertwined with one another that they often seem more like a long running continuation of one ever evolving show, instead of being two completely separate TV shows.
There were initially 10 cast members (I think), but two of them later departed the show at about the 2/3rd mark. Otherwise, the cast remains mostly intact for the entire run. Aside from Yoo Jae Suk and Kim Jong Kook, there's a number of other interesting characters on hand; too many to mention all of them individually, but you can search any of them if you need more info. You'll likely find somebody to like among the cast. My two personal favorites are:
1) Kang Dae Sung; the youngest cast member on the show and a member of Big Bang (which is a very popular K-Pop idol group). Dae Sung has no problem shedding his boy group idol image and he exhibits some real nice variety show skills. He's almost always smiling and looks like he's having the time of his life on this show. He likes to boast and make up stuff quite frequently, particularly to the guest stars when his seniors aren't around to scold him and keep him in check. He is very at ease with the variety show world, and he seems perfectly suited to be an entertainer in this field once his idol group/future singing career eventually comes to a close.
2) Lee Hyo Ri; the dominant female lead on the show (who is a former popular girl idol group member who now has her own solo singing career). Her persona on this show is that of the aggressive & experienced pop diva, who's constantly admonishing and berating every cast member and guest star that crosses her path. No one (and I mean NO ONE) on this show escapes her razor sharp wit and silvery tongue. It's all done in good fun for the most part, and she often exhibits a softer side, is not afraid of getting embarrassed, etc. Her impressive variety skills are a sight to behold throughout this show. As a side note, Lee Hyo-ri is also actually the very first guest on the inaugural episode of RM, and the expressions on her former 'Family Outing' co-star's faces are priceless when she arrives on set and immediately starts ripping into them like only she can.
There's a second season to the show with a different cast and crew, but I only caught a few episodes of it so I can't tell you much about it. I heard it wasn't very good though, and it didn't last very long before it was ultimately supplanted by RM itself.
Summary: If you're a fan any of these outdoor Korean variety-reality game type shows, I highly recommend you check out 'Family Outing' if you've never seen it. Don't expect it to be quite as fast paced or as high-def & pretty as more modern shows, and there are a minimal amount of frills to go with a limited budget. But, the cast and crew (and guests) are EXCELLENT, and, they work so very well together in order to make this show highly entertaining for the majority of its run.
Bottom Line: Mostly Awesome! 9 out of 10 stars (for Season 1 ONLY)!
