The Return of Superman (aka Return of Superman aka Superman is Back) is a Korean variety/reality show that began in autumn of 2013 and is still airing as of this review. In honor of this show's upcoming 2 year anniversary and 100th episode, let's review, and pay homage to, what is quite possibly the simplest & sweetest TV reality program ever made.
SPOILERS AHEAD!... these types of shows aren't really spoilable though. It's just a show you follow along with weekly that doesn't have a linear story, cliffhangers, or a climax.
Premise: Four celebrity dads return home to take care of their real life kids for 48 hours each week without any help from their wives (who normally handle the kids and household in their stead). These guys all often work long hours in the entertainment industry and rarely get much home time. So, an idea was hatched to give 'em a chance to spend some time with their kids, film the events around the clock, and make a reality show out of it. Awesome!
The dads aren't exactly expertly suited to run the household and take care of the kids; they try their best though and they aren't terrible at it, and in many ways, they all resemble the "everyman" first time father, who's made a decent single living for themselves, but now has to deal with the ups and downs of marriage, raising kids, and so forth. These dads do some pretty dumb stuff sometime, but they don't really ever endanger their kids in any way (and there's likely some type of nurse/nanny/child expert on location if some occasional intervention or supervision is needed). The dads are mostly left to their own devices to accomplish whatever a parent and their kids should be doing on a given day (which, depending on the kids' ages, consists of simple newborn things like feedings and changing diapers, on up to getting the kids off to school, family vacations, and so forth). The results of the dad's interactions with their kids range from mundane to hilarious to heartwarming, and it is all enormously entertaining to watch play out.
The cast of dads originally consisted of an MMA fighter (Choo Sung Hoon), an actor (Jang Hyun Sung), an MC (Lee Hwi Jae), and a hip hop artist (Tablo), and their respective families, although I recall there being another family in the original pilot special in place of Tablo's family. There's been some cast changes as the show has gone on too, but the premise remains the same throughout, i.e. you get to know more and more about these dads, their kids, wives, friends and family, while generally just observing these people going through their everyday lives. That's the entire show formula, and although this concept may sound utterly boring, I assure you that is not the case.
This is a laid back show however, so don't expect a whole lot of flash & sizzle. You are basically just watching kids grow up here, while observing their interactions with their parents and some occasional guest stars and such. And, unlike a lot of American variety/reality shows, there's no effort to interject overly contrived situations and there are no unlikeable characters here. The majority of these Korean variety/reality shows are mostly just free flowing and upbeat programs that are designed to leave a smile on your face at the end of the day, and they excel at accomplishing this.
It doesn't take long to decide if this show is for you or not; the first few minutes of episode 1 are very indicative of what the show will be about, and by the 35-40 minute mark (when Jang Hyun Sung's youngest son finally gets the hang of riding a bike), there's a good chance you'll be hookedI
Why does this show work as well as it does?...Well, the cast is great (and that includes the dads, the awesome moms/wives, and what are the most adorable little munchkin kids you'll ever see). The general public participates as well, and as usual with these shows, they fit right in and are often as entertaining as the stars themselves, and seem so at ease with being involved; perhaps it's just a cultural thing, how stars present themselves in the public eye, a combination of a small country with a huge entertainment industry where it's hard to avoid stumbling into a production of some kind, or something else entirely, but it's nevertheless amazing how well Korean citizens seem so comfortable being on TV or interacting with "show-biz" entertainers.
The other thing going for this show, and others like them, is their production teams. They are top notch, and consist of various PD's, writers, VJ's, editors, etc. Together, they can make an exceptional variety/reality show based on virtually any concept you can literally think of; dating, camping, forming music idol groups, jungle survival, games, popularity contests, military service, etc. There are shows that don't work and are eventually dropped of course, but, there are many others with the proper components and accompanying rhythm that are just stellar!
No show is without some problems though; this one can drag along on occasion, and its entertainment value is VERY dependent on the kids and parents reactions to various circumstances, so some episodes are much better than others. It's also in Korean, so it helps if you understand the language some (or are able to "absorb" English subtitles in lieu of that), know a little bit Korean culture, are familiar with the cast of characters and how these shows work, etc.
Summary: Keep watching American variety/reality programming if you want. As for me, I'll keep watching the best variety & reality shows on the planet, and the majority of them are continually coming out of Korea...If you don't believe me, see for yourself, then tell me I'm wrong!
Bottom Line: 8 out of 10 stars!
