Lakorn

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Lakorn (Thai: ละคร), while usually meaning play in the Thai language, is also the term for dramatic television serials (soap operas). Lakorns are usually shown every night at primetime on Thai television channels and start at 20:30. An episode of a prime-time drama is usually two hours long (including commercials). A lakorn usually is a finished story, unlike Western "cliffhanger" dramas, but rather like Hispanic telenovelas. A series will run for about three months. It may air two or three episodes a week, the pattern usually being Monday-Tuesday, Wednesday-Thursday or Friday-Sunday. A channel will air three lakorns simultaneously at any given time. Because they attract the most viewers, each channel competes for the most popular stars. While the "best" lakorns are shown at night right after the news, there are ones with smaller profiles (and shorter run time) in the evenings at around 5 to 6 pm. In some cases, primetime lakorns are also shown on re-runs a couple of years after their initial release, in the afternoon.

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[edit] Characteristics

Lakorns have very distinctive characteristics. Though some stray from these set rules, most adhere to them, especially ones that are very popular among Thai viewers.

  • They are always about achieving a perfect ending in which the leading characters would marry their soulmates and live happily ever after.
  • The two main lovers are established as soon as the lakorn starts. Viewers have no difficulties singling them out of the crowd for they tend to be the most popular soap-opera stars of the moment.
  • The presence of a "bad" female character, sometimes more, is a must. This is the person who is totally in love with the male lead and will do all that is necessary to stop the two would-be lovers from fulfilling their destined ending.
  • In the end, all conflicts in the story must be resolved. Everyone forgives each other. The "bad" guys receive their punishments and the "good" guys receive their rewards.
  • The more melodramatic it is, the better. This is why situations are grossly exaggerated, actions are overly theatrical, and screams and shrieks (from the bad female) numerous.

[edit] Evolution of lakorns

Most lakorns portray the upper class of Thai society, usually through the male lead, but sometimes from both leads. He is rich, like Phak in Dao pra sook. Early on, the male leads were nobility, usually junior princes, such as a Mom Chao, because, back then, these were the rich people in Thai society. The rich male has since evolved into businessmen from influential families. This change mirrors the change in Thai society with the upper class now filled with business people and not so much from the royal and noble classes.

[edit] Lakorns from novels

Most, if not all, lakorns are based upon novels. Romance abounds in Thai literature scenes and most have the perfect boy-meets-girl scenario. The ever famous, Dao pra sook, is also a novel.

[edit] Actors and actresses in lakorns

Actors and actresses, referred to in Thai language as dara (stars), are usually cast in the same roles over and over again. An actress who plays the lead female would assume the same role.

Suvanant Kongying from Dao pra sook still plays the female lead. The same goes for other roles, such as the friend of the main leads, the bad characters, the servant characters, the mother characters, etc. An "upgrade" or "downgrade" does occur, such as when a female lead assumes the role of the mother, but is quite rare.

This trend causes a lot of problems for the daras in the leading roles as they age, especially for actresses. Thai audiences seems to like their leads young and beautiful and many past female daras have disappeared from the screen once they reach the age of 30 or so. A few defy this norm, such as Marsha Wattanapanich, and even then, she is gradually disappearing.

This problem is not as bad for actors, as can be seen in the prolific career of veteran actor Chatchai Plengpanich. His wife, the once famous Sinjai Plengpanich, has all but disappeared, except for the few commercials seen in primetime.

[edit] List of notable lakorns

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