Thanks, do you have any upcoming articles? Also so for you it is all about the safer bet, cool.I can't stay up…
Thanks! I've only just got back into my Drama watchlist after tackling a decade-old list of books to read. Having read 400 books so far this year, I'm ready to watch more Dramas. I especially need to catch up with the J-world and see if there's anything there that moves me to write. Perhaps "How to enjoy Dramas when you're closer to 60 than 50" might find one or two readers here 🤣
An interesting article, thanks. I would no longer call myself a binger ( far too old to stay up until 2-3) but I do now have an absolute cast in stone no exceptions ever "wait until it finishes" viewing policy.
For me, it's all about time management. I don't care AT ALL about binging being "lonely" because I don't interact socially with Drama audiences. What I do care about is wasting 10, 20 or even 30+ hours of my life on a Drama that starts off great and ends up as a pile of unmitigated merde. And that has happened so often that now I wait until they're done, and watch with my finger ready to hit FF to wade through the tedium and trivia. Even the best K & C Dramas are imo unwatchable w/o FF, only some of the very best J doramas do I watch without any FF. So although I don't binge, taking a few days to complete each Drama, you literally couldn't pay me to watch any Drama at all while it's airing. :)
This just seems bitter and petty to say. A lot of people meet their partners during their work, they are in the…
In other words, you ASSUME she's rich, and then you mply that the wealth you assume she has is the reason he's marrying her. As for Ms Go, I referenced that comment above. It showed the same nasty, petty envious spirit as your ill-informed comment. I have long followed Ms Go on Insta, and have been expecting her announcement. The reason I didn't comment on that post was because I saw it first and chose to ignore it. Seeing a second, almost identical comment made me annoyed enough to comment here. Your replies make me regret that I wasted my time doing so. Goodbye
Seriously i saw similar comments in some recent actress getting married article also. seriously whts ya all problem…
Yes, I noticed the similarity with the Go Won Hee story too - almost exactly the same words used by both commenters. Ignorant petty-minded and jealous trolling, clearly are making up stories in their own minds out of of bitterness
I notice you did not mention her lead role in "My Bossy Girl" - a very positive film, unsentimental upbeat. She did a great job as the central character
Great article, even if I dropped after reading the "pros" :D - there are no cons imo to dropping, only pros. Dramas are supposed to be entertainment, if they don't entertain, they've failed and deserve to be dropped. I normally drop quickly now, 2-4 eps max. The only time I drop near the end is if something utterly outrageous happens that pushes my rage buttons. If I think that a drop might be because I'm not in the right mood for a Drama at that time, I might try it again later. I've had a couple of outstanding "rescues" that way, but with Dramas (and books), my motto is "pass! Next please"
A very interesting list, and I salute the STAGGERING amount of work involved in compiling all the data and presenting it all so effectively, well done! Of all the movies listed above, only one is in my favourites: Sunny, which I scored 9/10. I was not surprised to find that one of my other faves ( not simply a favourite K movie, but one of my favourite movies from anywhere) was not on the list. Castaway on the Moon is an amazing movie, not to everyone's taste, but truly fine cinema
A very well-constructed article, thanks for an interesting read!
My take on the elements: 1. The title - this is not too important to me especially because the English titl;es used on MDL are often utterly pointless and hollow. A case in point, the OUTSTANDING "Forest of Secrets" has a title says EVERYTHING about what the Drama is all about, but here it's called "Stranger", which says nothing.
2. The Cast - this one can make a difference, often persuading me to try a Drama I otherwise wouldn't. Although more often than not I regret my loyalty :)
3. The synopsis. I've been fooled too often to trust these any more.
4. The genres. REALLY important, but more for deciding what NOT to watch, as mentioned in my profile.
5. The length. I actually have watched A LOT of very long Dramas, with episode counts from 72-125, and basically without exception they were less fun than pulling out my own teeth. I've also learned that my life is far too precious to waste on any C-Drama over 30 episodes because 28 of them will be filled with rage-inducing chauvinism and misogyny. The other problem with long episode counts is that they are basically filler. J doramas tell stories in 9-11 episodes that C and K Dramas take 16-45 episodes to tell, ugh.
6. Reviews. These are very important ESPECIALLY the longer, thoughtfully composed reviews with scores in the 5-7 range. Such reviews show that the viewer neither wrote it off instantly nor watched uncritically for their Oppa, but actually THOUGHT about what they were watching.
And finally I want to reiterate one that I was REALLY impressed you included - the Mood. Well done for highlighting how important that is. Trying to watch a Drama that doesn't fit one's current mood is a recipe for a drop that may well prove avoidable if watched when one is feeling differently.
I used to occasionally hate-watch and it can be fun if the Drama is just the right kind of bad. But as I get older, the truth of that "waste of time" point overrides the limited fun hate-watching gives. There are too Dramas to watch, too many books to read, etc, I'll never get through them before shuffling off this mortal coil so I gave up hate watching.
As for the "scare people off" risk, I used to not to bother about that either. Free speech should mean that people can say what they like about a Drama, but the reality of a site like MDL is that the overwhelming majority of its users fit a very specific demographic that shows a remarkable fragility and inability to process and accept differing opinions, especially negative ones. So now I don't bother with that either. Ill praise a Drama I like because I couldn't give a fetid dingo's kidney for what others think of it, but stating my negative and/or mocking response is no longer worth the aggravation from dealing with the outraged whines and howls of those upset that dissing a Drama apparently means I hate their Oppa and/or am just an irredeemably evil person to the core of black heart. 🤣
What a BEAUTIFUL article! A work of art in its own right. I can barely imagine how long it took to construct and put together, brava! I'm sure that many will find the "date" of their dreams in this magnificent article, although sadly the date type that appealed to me (1), offered no options that clicked with me.
Yep, I also started skipping second lead scenes, if they have too much screentime in my opinion ðŸ¤
A very interesting read, thanks. It confirmed that I'm not a big fan of complex geometry in my Dramas. :) I too like simple linear love lines, your type 1, but I am quite happy to have two of them in one Drama. Miss Korea and Love, Timeless are examples of Dramas where I enjoyed the OTP but REALLY liked the STP. Neechan No Koibito, Hayako Srnsei, Date, Nigeru Wa Haji and Okitegami Kyouko no Bibouroku are all linear, as are (imo) My Only Love Song, My Queen, Le Coup de Foudre, Bara No Nai Hanaya, Takane No Hana. I guess I only consider them non-linear if any additional component 'shape' is significant in ways other than being an annoying but obviously irrelevant filler.
Wow! VERY impressive! 2021 was primarily a year for tackling my TBR list more than my PTW liast, but I did make reductions in my PTW. I did mostly by coming to the realisation that I'm too old and life is too short to put up with the patronising patriarchal misogyny masquerading as " tsundere romance" in 99.7% of contemporary C-Dramas, making a mass cull very easy.
"What is your idea of a show with quirk?" An interesting question. I have an intense allergy to supernatural and/or horror elements, so don't watch any shows at all with those components, but do enjoy quirky shows. I guess my definition of "quirk" is this one from the OED: " A peculiarity of character or behaviour; an idiosyncrasy, an eccentricity; an oddity; " and for shows of that type, it's hard to go past Japan. Since that's not the definition of quirk being used here, I won't list any, but idiosyncratic, odd and eccentric is absolutely where Japan reigns supreme.
I saw this on her insta yesterday, very happy for her. Ballet remains her first love, thanks to The Swan Club, she reconnected with ballet and now runs a ballet school which is doing quite well in terms of students' results. Hopefully her return to Dramas will be happier than the miserable "bitter second" roles she was stuck with in drek like Hospital Ship.
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For me, it's all about time management. I don't care AT ALL about binging being "lonely" because I don't interact socially with Drama audiences. What I do care about is wasting 10, 20 or even 30+ hours of my life on a Drama that starts off great and ends up as a pile of unmitigated merde. And that has happened so often that now I wait until they're done, and watch with my finger ready to hit FF to wade through the tedium and trivia. Even the best K & C Dramas are imo unwatchable w/o FF, only some of the very best J doramas do I watch without any FF. So although I don't binge, taking a few days to complete each Drama, you literally couldn't pay me to watch any Drama at all while it's airing. :)
As for Ms Go, I referenced that comment above. It showed the same nasty, petty envious spirit as your ill-informed comment. I have long followed Ms Go on Insta, and have been expecting her announcement. The reason I didn't comment on that post was because I saw it first and chose to ignore it. Seeing a second, almost identical comment made me annoyed enough to comment here. Your replies make me regret that I wasted my time doing so. Goodbye
My take on the elements:
1. The title - this is not too important to me especially because the English titl;es used on MDL are often utterly pointless and hollow. A case in point, the OUTSTANDING "Forest of Secrets" has a title says EVERYTHING about what the Drama is all about, but here it's called "Stranger", which says nothing.
2. The Cast - this one can make a difference, often persuading me to try a Drama I otherwise wouldn't. Although more often than not I regret my loyalty :)
3. The synopsis. I've been fooled too often to trust these any more.
4. The genres. REALLY important, but more for deciding what NOT to watch, as mentioned in my profile.
5. The length. I actually have watched A LOT of very long Dramas, with episode counts from 72-125, and basically without exception they were less fun than pulling out my own teeth. I've also learned that my life is far too precious to waste on any C-Drama over 30 episodes because 28 of them will be filled with rage-inducing chauvinism and misogyny. The other problem with long episode counts is that they are basically filler. J doramas tell stories in 9-11 episodes that C and K Dramas take 16-45 episodes to tell, ugh.
6. Reviews. These are very important ESPECIALLY the longer, thoughtfully composed reviews with scores in the 5-7 range. Such reviews show that the viewer neither wrote it off instantly nor watched uncritically for their Oppa, but actually THOUGHT about what they were watching.
And finally I want to reiterate one that I was REALLY impressed you included - the Mood. Well done for highlighting how important that is. Trying to watch a Drama that doesn't fit one's current mood is a recipe for a drop that may well prove avoidable if watched when one is feeling differently.
As for the "scare people off" risk, I used to not to bother about that either. Free speech should mean that people can say what they like about a Drama, but the reality of a site like MDL is that the overwhelming majority of its users fit a very specific demographic that shows a remarkable fragility and inability to process and accept differing opinions, especially negative ones. So now I don't bother with that either. Ill praise a Drama I like because I couldn't give a fetid dingo's kidney for what others think of it, but stating my negative and/or mocking response is no longer worth the aggravation from dealing with the outraged whines and howls of those upset that dissing a Drama apparently means I hate their Oppa and/or am just an irredeemably evil person to the core of black heart. 🤣
" A peculiarity of character or behaviour; an idiosyncrasy, an eccentricity; an oddity; " and for shows of that type, it's hard to go past Japan. Since that's not the definition of quirk being used here, I won't list any, but idiosyncratic, odd and eccentric is absolutely where Japan reigns supreme.