Tag Archive for: korean variety shows

“Infinite Showtime” premiered mid-December last year and is currently gearing towards the second half of the season. As the sixth season of “Showtime,” the show is an example of great variety which is at times entertaining and at times extremely meaningful. Even if you are not a fan of Infinite, there are many reasons why this show is worth watching, and here are five of them.

1. The Variety Skills of Infinite

I am an acknowledged Inspirit (Infinite fan), but I am definitely unbiased when I say this: They are wonderful at variety. By this I do not mean that they are all extremely comical or that they attempt body gags whenever they get an opportunity to, rather that as a group they are able to complement each other to create entertaining conversations, activities and situations. There are quiet members in the group (namely L and Hoya) but even they get their moments to shine through the show, whether it’s L being unusually focused on eating or Hoya doing some really weird aegyo.

These moments work because of how the other members react (or don’t react) to them; there is this sense of friendship and camaraderie between them that I love to watch. Of course, there are also the vocal ones like Sunggyu and Sungyeol who always create a lively atmosphere for the rest of the group, even at the risk of embarrassing themselves.

All the members of Infinite, for that matter, are willing to destroy their perfect images for the sake of playing a game or completing a challenge successfully. Take pretty face maknae Sungjong for example, after he lost a game his punishment was to get made-up by his fellow members. Though he looked pretty hilarious at the end of it, he still had the confidence and grace to go out to the convenience store and buy food as per the requests of his members. Variety shows would be very boring if the cast was too concerned about their images so I’m glad that Infinite was willing to go all out for this program. It certainly makes watching this show more fun.

2. The Great Production

Perhaps it is because this show is in its sixth season, but everything about it seems more refined and well-planned than in previous seasons. (“EXO Showtime,” “EXID Showtime”). The activities that have been carried out so far in the episodes all had a lot of significance and meaning to the Infinite members as well, be it an individual midnight drive or the surprise meeting of L and Dongwoo’s beloved teachers. The members even had an entire episode devoted to the activities that they personally wanted to learn about (driving, DJ-ing, fortune-telling, boxing).

“Showtime” isn’t just a show for viewers, it’s also a time for the members to relax and have fun even though they’re still being filmed. The editing for this show has been very good so far as well. In particular, I really enjoy the hilarious captions and animations that pop up frequently throughout the episodes. For some reason this show also seems less scripted than the other Showtimes and previous Infinite variety shows (“This Is Infinite,” etc.) because of how the activities and conversations of the members progress.

As the show had been advertised, it showcased another side to the group and showed off the “natural interactions” between the members. They were able to talk lightly about serious and potentially controversial issues, they resolved conflicts by playing “rock paper scissors” and so on. It felt like an accurate reflection of how they were in real life. The most memorable example of this would be in episode six, when the members played an alternate version of “Never Have I Ever” and Dongwoo, Sunggyu, and Woohyun talked about previously being asked to leave the group.

It was a serious and shocking revelation for fans when the episode was broadcasted but the members talked about it light-heartedly, as if it were a humorous memory. They even made jabs at L jokingly, mentioning how he would never be asked to leave the group because he was so handsome. In another show, I believe that conversations like these would have been edited to more dramatic effect, to create more conflict and tension, but I love the fact that this production team seems more concerned with empathizing Infinite’s friendship and closeness more than anything else. While it may not be as suspenseful it is definitely sweeter, and viewers like myself are constantly touched by these moments.

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3. MC Sunggyu

Infinite’s leader Sunggyu has been getting more and more recognition these days for his emcee-ing and variety abilities, something which is also very evident in “Showtime.” He’s always been outgoing and hilarious in his own way, but he has a new aura now. He’s able to initiate and guide the conversation, to take control of potentially awkward situations and turn them into funny moments but yet still maintain his grumpy grandpa persona that he’s always had in Infinite.

Thanks to his short stint at “Weekly Idol” he also became a better MC, as can be seen in episode four, when he carried out a surprise for L and Dongwoo, involving the teachers that they were grateful for. For the entirety of the episode he had to entertain the two teachers despite not being close with them but he did all this very respectfully, so much so that the two teachers had many praises for him.

This might be a stretch at this moment but there are times when Sunggyu reminds me of popular comedian Yoo Jae Suk, who is recognised not only for being humorous but also for being very charitable and generous. Yoo Jae Suk is also very careful, he never goes overboard with his antics in an effort to remain respectful and thus controversy-free. Likewise Sunggyu has shown a lot more restraint and has become more balanced in this program, he definitely has the makings of a successful variety personality.

Apart from just being a good emcee though, Sunggyu also reminded viewers how great of a leader he was. From the thoughtful messages he gave over the radio to each member during their midnight drive to the effort he put in to let his members meet the people they missed, he showed his love for his members and how much he understood them. Infinite is a group that has been through alot together and at the head of it all Sunggyu has been guiding them very well.

4. Infinite’s growth

There were many funny challenges that the members had to complete in the show which made for great entertainment but there were many times that the mood was more contemplative, in the sense that the members were learning more about themselves and about each other even as the viewers were learning about them.

The desire that the members had to develop themselves and as a group was evident in this program as well because they constantly showed a passion for improvement.They’ve been through so many ups and downs both as a group and as individuals, whether they released albums and went on world tours or worked as soloists/in subunits/acted in dramas/appeared individually on variety programs. It’s great to see that the members are all developing themselves beyond their group but at the same time are still united as one Infinite. Whether or not it was intentional, the show did a great job of bringing this message through all the separate platforms given to the members to show off their individual charms.

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5. Heartwarming

This point is a reason all by itself because Infinite’s close relationship is the main highlight of this show. It’s evident in everything they do, even when they’re not together (Sungyeol missed two episodes because he was filming “Law In The Jungle” but the other members kept bringing him up and talking about him). Through this show they had opportunities to talk honestly with each other and to reconcile the various differences between them; this essential open communication was lovely to watch because the members were definitely growing closer and we also got to learn more about them.

The members also knew each other very well and about the problems that each member was facing at the time, so it was extra heartwarming to watch the members being concerned about Woohyun, who was (and probably still is) going through a slump. Be it Sunggyu’s attempts at understanding and caring for him to Sungyeol’s attempts to help him receive more luck by going to a fortune teller, the members all showed extra love for him during the show. Yes they still play around and disturb each other but at the bottom of it all, their love for each other can truly be felt and is a key reason to why this show is so enjoyable to watch.

Showtime has been great to watch so far, and I’m certainly excited to see how it will continue. Have you been watching Showtime? Share your thoughts in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.