There were some fantastic dramas in 2016, and then there were some that made us wish we had spent that time bathing our cats or alphabetizing our spice racks. Some of them had plots that ran off the rails, acting that was wooden, or a great premise that just never got off the ground. Join the fangirls as we chat about some of the worst dramas of 2016.
Drama Geek:
Vampire Detective
How could Lee Joon be boring? Especially when you’ve made him a vampire and given him a really great BFF. But boring he was. This drama often forgot our hero was a vampire. Throwing in a few vamp things here and there but most of the time they didn’t even talk about his vampness. The cases they took had the potential to be interesting, and there were one or two I remember that I liked, but then we got into not very scary pyramid schemes and SUPER mopey ex’s. By the end I really just wanted everyone to die. Or I wanted to get bitten by a vamp myself so I could take everyone out myself.
KMUSE: I 2nd everything that Drama Geek said. If nothing else I feel that we came closer as bloggers for having to make it through this recap with our sanity intact. It sucked so bad (pun intended.)
Kdrama Jen: I admit it. I couldn’t even finish this one.
KMUSE:
Master God of Noodles
The first four episodes were so good. They were dark, brooding, and full of revenge driven angst. And then we watched 14 hours of moody people making noodles. What a disappointment.
Neighborhood Hero
The plot had no cohesiveness and I discovered I didn’t like anyone that lived in that neighborhood. Wish I had dropped it earlier than later. Those were twelve hours I could have spent doing something more productive…..like watching paint dry.
Goodbye Mr. Black
Coming back from the dead and having a new persona to get revenge only works if you don’t blow your cover within 15 minutes of your rebirth. This revenge drama was stupid on too many levels to count.
Mrs Cop 2
What is the point of having a good psychopath bad guy when the good guys are obviously to dumb to ever catch him? A waste of a good bad guy and the last time I am going to bother with the Mrs Cop series. It should have died off after the first drama.
CLKYTTA:
Cheese in the Trap-
CLKYTTA: I can’t even begin to describe the horror and frustration this drama made me feel. I liked our leading guy, Park Hae Jin was PERFECT, our heroine was ok, kind of wishy washy, but she had growth potential. Somewhere in the middle, someone decided that following the comic storyline was for rookies and they were going to totally rewrite the story and make the second lead the lead. I literally screamed at my tv and scared my kid when an entire episode would go by and we barely had a glimpse of our original leading man. All of his flaws were changed from damaged but redeemable hero to creepy creeper while our messed up second lead was suddenly the main course of the meal. It still makes me mad just thinking about it. Yes, I’m very bitter about this one.
KMUSE: I still don’t know how this drama went so bad so quickly. A perfect example of how things can go wrong if you don’t have a set story line from the get go.
Mirror of the Witch
I really wanted to like this one, and it had so much potential, but no. Not even Yoon Si Yoon and Kim Sae Ron acting their hearts out could save this horrible mess of a story. I really feel like Kim Sae Ron was miscast here. She was too young for the role and there was zero chemistry between the leads. Not once did I believe in any kind of romance with them. I loved the villain, she had the meatiest role in the whole drama while everyone else just ran around like zombies.
Drama Geek: I have to disagree here. I loved this drama. Yes, it spun its wheels a bit in the middle. And I scream with fury at the ending. But all in all, I still really enjoyed this one.
Daebak
I don’t even know where to start with this one. It had a great premise, good actors and yet it never really took off. It was one of those you slog through while hoping for a nugget of awesomeness, but it was only mediocre.
KMUSE: This show could have been so good… except it just wasn’t. Poorly created characters and mediocre bromance killed it for me.
Kdrama Jen: I have to disagree. Sure, it was a bit over-the-top the way our main hero seemed to endure all kinds of near death experiences, but I still kept watching.
Moorim School
Korean Harry Potter High, man, I was sold from the start. Instead it was a train wreck that I kept watching because sometimes I torture myself. I really want those hours of my life back. The acting was horrible all around, and the story was feeble and lackluster. I’d watch this one and get all excited thinking it was going to move forward, and then it’d get all whiney and everyone would be in their rooms feeling sorry for themselves. Everything about this drama just felt off.
KMUSE: They lost me with the cheesy digital wolves in episode 3. Too bad since with a decent script and less CGI it might have been a show worth watching.
Madame Antoine
I dropped this one halfway through, not even my Sweet Potato, Sung Joon, could keep this one interesting. I don’t know if it was a lack of chemistry, a poorly executed storyline or what, but I can’t even remember what this one is supposed to be about.
Kdrama Jen: I watched this one too. I didn’t enjoy it at first, but I ended up liking it. I freely admit, however, that I tend to be easily entertained.
Drama Geek: This is a general comment for all the dramas listed. This year I really didn’t have time to keep watching anything I wasn’t in love with. So the only drama I hated that I finished was Vampire Detective and that’s because I was recapping it. I plan on doing the same thing in 2017. Life is too short to suffer through horrible dramas. And thankfully there were tons that I loved.
Oh, 2016, you gave us some wonderful hits, a few flops, and plenty to talk about. Do you agree with our choices? Which shows of 2016 left you wishing you could get a refund for the hours you invested? Add your thoughts to the comments. Happy New Year to all of our readers. Best wishes for a 2017 full of fantastic dramas and squee-worthy moments, and be sure to keep reading as we talk about them all right here!
Even with the messed up hero storyline, I still love Cheese in the Trap. Unfortunately, they turned a collegiate love affair into Life of a Chaebol Heir. Yea. And I so agree about Sweet Potato. He’s a sexy, brooding rock and roll guy that they keep making into Mr. Tightly Wound Liar. I quit Madame Antoine half way through because he still hadn’t kissed his potential lover yet.
Sung Joon oozes sexiness and they keep casting him as these cold characters. The man has a smolder that sets fire to the coldest heart and they need to make better use of his talents!
I may need to re-watch a few scenes from I Need Romance 3 to confirm this . . .
I love this blog and will continue to be a faithful reader, but I am oh,so surprised that Daebak was put on here. Usually I agree with 90% of what the ladies type..but I am so surprised this is on the worst list.
I must admit, there were a few scenes that could have been left out.
The acting, the action/martial arts, the determination of the main character…come on ladies…how about considering Daebak as mediocre for 2016..
Well thanks for Kdrama Jen for being the lone blogger to give it a thumbs up.
Happy New Year!!!
I think my problem is that it had so much potential to be great and then it wasn’t so the disappointment lingers stronger. It wasn’t vampire detective bad but i still feel so sad for what could have been.
I wanted to like it, I really did. It just never connected with me. I stuck with it a long time before I finally gave up on it.
I dropped it since I kept falling asleep through each episode…
I was the dissenting vote on Daebak. I didn’t hate it. That’s why it is fun to have lots of fan girls blogging. We don’t agree ALL the time!
What did you all think of Entertainer and K2? I admit I didn’t finish them and wonder if I should since I got far into both. K2 became super boring political schemes that put me right to sleep. Entertainer was just falling flat and I didn’t think the age diff between JS and Hyeri would bother me but it did… Sad because I love Ji Sung so much!
I couldn’t enjoy the drama once they brought in the romance. Hyeri just didn’t work for me at all in this role. K2 was ok. Not great.
K2 started out great, loved the action but then…so bad I was falling asleep. That’s the sure sign to drop a drama (unless you are up waaay too late anyway).
I didn’t watch Entertainer at all. K2 I dropped in the middle, I thought K2 and evil stepmom had more chemistry than our leads.
I was harshly told off by some young brat for daring to say that Healer had a better relationship with PMY’S character. She turned it into real life by saying JCW has mentioned that he won’t go for older women. No explanation of mine could make her understand that I was referring to their reel life relationship, not real life. Of coz, that brat was a Yoona fan.
I LOVED K2 – it’s pure action & sexy guys, lots of fights & suspense, the kind of drama that if you think too hard about it you lose any logical progression. I happen to adore those kinds of films/dramas when they move fast & have Ji Chang Wook starring in them – and this one has both. All the so-called ‘political schemes’ did was give excuses for the fights – just as in any good spy thriller. Certainly never slowed down enough to get boring, despite several people insisting that it did.
As for Entertainer – I liked it. It wasn’t the greatest thing ever, but it certainly was worth watching for Ji Sung. Beats most of what on Western TV, for sure.
Agree 100% with K2 and Entertainer ….
I loved the shower fight scene in K2. Ahem… It was because of the choreography… I couldn’t get past the lack of chemistry with the main couple. I am not a big fan of Yoona, though.
I actually enjoyed Entertainer. Idol dramas are my guilty pleasure, so the songs and world of K-entertainment kept me invested.
This was a year of dramas that started promisingly and then fizzled. W, Beautiful Gong Shim, Cinderella 4K, Bring It On Ghost, Entertainer, My Amazing Boyfriend, One More Happy Ending, Please Come Back Ahjussi, Second to Last Love. It’s as if writers work hard on the beginning of dramas, but indebted been picked up by a production company they don’t bother with producing quality work anymore.
I loved “Bring It On, Ghost”…cute and fun! My Amazing Boyfriend was cheesy, but addictive.
I have to agree that Vampire Detective had some screaming stupidities in it – but I liked the vamp & detective combo, & since this was somewhat episodic (ie, solving the weekly mystery) I enjoyed it – up till the last of course, when they forced me to take notice of the ridiculous overall story & then managed to NOT wrap that up in any satisfying way. The fact that Lee Joon played a vampire who NEVER actually ADMITTED that was what he was, just still makes me laugh maniacally.
Totally agree about Mrs. Cop 2 & Goodbye Mr. Black. Could not finish either. And Kim Bum was SUCH a GREAT villain! OMG what a waste!
Do not agree about the others. I really liked Neighborhood Hero, Mirror of the Witch & Moorim School. And Monster belongs in there.
Moorim School was interesting in that it’s the only drama I’ve seen that feels like a middle grade novel. And they are not usually big budget affairs; more like straight-to-video events (which dramas I guess don’t have?) I am not exactly sure what made me think that, but it did. (And my 11YO really liked it, so it did resonate with the right target audience…)
I had to go scouting for the original (Chinese) version of ‘Scarlet Heart’ and other LJK stuff just to get over the latter half/ending of ‘Moonlovers’… *grinds teeth in frustration*
Out of all these (and I agree, they all had potential and could have been outstanding) I only finished Noodles and Mirror of the Witch. But (shameless blog promotion) I did do an alternative cartoon ending for “Cheese in the Trap” that I liked so much better than the original.
https://ktoonsbyfox.wordpress.com/2016/06/12/my-alternate-ending-for-cheese-in-the-trap/
Someone should be exiled from drama writing FOR LIFE for what they did to “Cheese In The Trap.” I’m still so mad! It’s like the drama ended midstream and another drama replaced it using the same name. What kind of outfit would allow this obvious mess to be broadcast? What happened to CITT goes down as #1 in the Hall of Shame.
I watched most of these, and didn’t mind a bit the last 4 listed. I went in with lower expectation on Moorim School. Daebak, stretched it a bit on all the times back from the brink of death and other near misses. Madam Antoine was funny enough – I like that she read Tarot cards and seemed all mystical even if she wasn’t – but more enjoyed the insight into older women and how they can still feel deeply and love passionately. Even enjoyed Mirror of the Witch. I just like my fantasy and it doesn’t usually come with high scores across the board.
Older women meaning the other doctor… in love with the young guy. I can so relate to her lol.
I never read Cheese In A Trap, so I don’t know what should have happened. The male lead was definitely creepy, while I just wanted the female lead to end up with the second male lead. The female twin was psycho.
Even though I was pissed about the leading man switch in Cheese in the Trap, I still liked the show a lot. The side couple friends and the music were things I looked forward too. But year I’m still mad they let it go off the rails. It made me feel a bit bitter toward Seo Joon even though it’s not his fault. It reminded me of how at first Roommate focused on him because he was he hot thing of the moment. Until Jackson. LOL
Moorim School was so flawed and I too kept watching holding out hope because there was something charming about it despite the bad acting and the obvious and inevitable story going off the rails. It was another show that I like the music. I liked that the women were strong but then even that got watered down. Sigh.
I dropped so many shows after a few episodes that this year, that I actually don’t have any that I truly regretted or hate-watched 100%. Maybe Sweet Stranger and Me comes close. It went off the rails story wise. I did’n’t bother to finish the last three episodes because I just didn’t care about the outcomes for the characters.
As for the others on the list a couple I kept on my to watch list, but I haven’t felt motivated to actually check them out. Which means they’ll probably linger there forever.