If you are a longtime “Running Man” fan, I bet you you had asked this question at one point: Why isn’t the name tag elimination game played as often as before? It’s a great question! In fact, a very valid one. After all, the show is called “Running Man” for a reason. However, returning to its original format isn’t as easy as it seems.

Lack of Indoor Venues

Filming in an indoor environment, especially at malls, is an extremely difficult task. To start off, the shopping centre needs a majority of the tenants to approve the filming before renting out the space to the crew.

Given the security risks that are involved with the shoot, a lot of stores are generally not willing to cooperate. Also, the relatively low return on advertising investment doesn’t help the cause.

Even if the tenants are willing to open their doors for the members to run around in, it’s not making the staffs’ lives easier. In order to allocate enough time for the mall to clean up and re-open to the public, the crew has to stick to a tight filming schedule. Otherwise, they would be charged with a hefty penalty fee.

Outdoor Shooting Isn’t Ideal

Unfortunately, taking that intense name tag ripping game outside doesn’t really work either. There are simply too many unknown variables to deal with when shooting outdoor.

Having bad weather is probably every photographer or videographer’s biggest nightmare. It has a even greater impact on TV shows, because having to reschedule the recording date is much more than just an announcement. There’s a lot of planning that’s involved.

An outdoor chasing game in the busy streets of Korea leads to other problems too. Obviously, safety is a concern. More importantly, it’s hard for the VJs to get good footages.

Placing tripods in every corner of the street isn’t realistic, so the VJs have to rely on themselves to get smooth, stabilized shots while following the members. Filming with a stabilizer is an option, but it’s important to note that they quite expensive and heavy.

Physical Fatigue

Interesting fact! Did you know the average age of the members is 39?

Even though that might not sound like a big number, the fact that there’s an inverse correlation between age and stamina is an inevitable reality. Keep in mind, all members are involved with other activities besides “Running Man”, which add to their fatigue.

Speaking of other schedules, there is another roadblock that prevents the staffs from reverting to its original format. In the beginning, “Running Man” used to film overnight. This hectic and irregular film time makes it challenging for the members to resume their daytime plans, and it’s even more difficult to invite guests who are willing to film during those hours.

Boring …

There are tons of opinions on this, but as much as I hate to admit, the original format just didn’t provide enough to spark Koreans’ interest. This is reflected through the poor ratings of the show during its first 2 years of broadcast.

And these numbers are definitely the primary reason why the staffs are hesitant to bring the show back to 2010.

With these reasons, are you now able to forgive the PDs for not reintroducing the name tag ripping game?