I have a horrible habit that transcends entertainment mediums. I never, ever let anything go. Be it a bad video game (ahem, Summoner) or a horrible BBC production (ahem, Triangle) or a bad book (ahem, My Sweet Audrina) I just have to finish what I started. Which really has come back to bite me as of late.
I think I shared a similar expression after watching the last episode
This season’s drama lineup has been a killer on time and energy; everything seems so good or has so much hype around it I inevitably take the plunge and push play. And once I start it I have to finish it. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but can be a counterproductive to my love for the drama format…because, quite frankly, I stop having fun with some of the shows.
The reason I began watching Korean dramas in the first place is because I felt happy and joyful, laughed and cried as I watched each episode. I was not burdened by the episode count and I never felt like I was watching just to watch. I was watching because I enjoyed it. It was fun to complete the series, cheer on the characters I came to love, and squeal at the moments I had been waiting for since episode 1.
How did these people become spies again?! Seriously, how?
As of the last four months I feel more like I visit a revolving door full of enjoyment and stagnant watching. I have the shows I look forward to, and then the ones I watch because I feel like I should keep it up.
Not to say that I have not enjoyed this season’s offerings (far from it) but I have stuck with shows far longer than I should have, resulting in just watching to watch. I am a completionist, but I have reached the point where I am seriously considering figuring out what to drop and why I should drop it.
But it will not be easy. And I know that. It is just my personality. I have a hard time letting go….even if I know deep down I should. Take Gu Family Book for example- I faithfully spent two hours a week tuning in even though the story went down the toilet rather quickly. But I stuck in there. Level 7 Civil Servant- one of the most horrible things I have ever viewed…yeah, I watched it all. The entire train wreck.
So how am I going to cut all of this dead weight out of my drama schedule? I have embarked on the route of exposure therapy and changed my laptop wallpaper. I promise, it will change you too. I no longer feel like wasting my time on watching just to watch:
Cheers!
Lore In Stone Cities 
i neeever used to drop or even fast-forward anything, but… once you start, you can’t stop 😉 😉 bewaaare! ^^
Oh no! That is like a reverse completionist impulse….I will have to be careful. Really careful. Super careful (can you tell I am nervous that I will end up at the opposite end of the watching spectrum?!) 😉
I loved My Sweet Audrina, but the fact that I was 10 when I read it may have something to do with it. 😉
I usually don’t start shows until they’re done airing. Sometimes I feel sad and left out of all the current show-squeeing, but it also means I know if a drama is worth watching before I invest any time in it. And that’s a very good thing.
I like V.C. Andrews (like you, read them as a YA/teen) however I am pretty selective about which books of hers I have enjoyed…which did not stop me from reading the ones I didn’t enjoy, because I had to read them all 🙂
I used to wait until the series had completed as well. At some point earlier this year I was sucked into live watching and that is where my major drama fails have come from. Sometimes hype does not equal good. I am considering stepping away from live watching, however like you I feel left out of the currently airing madness when I do not live watch.
Gosh, talk about one of the more painful life lessons… But the hype! Seriously, no matter how much that stove might have burned you before, the urging to touch it just one more time… just once… go on… this time it’ll be awesome! (and sometimes it is awesome — which is the real rub) …it’s really hard to ignore.
But that wallpaper? LOL! Yeah… that might do it. 😉
Good analogy 🙂 I feel the same way- there is always a chance that a drama may be awesome in the end so I stick it out hoping that I will be left with a feeling that it was all worth it in the end.
I understand how you feel! I have the same problem and I do not know why! Maybe I have the feeling of responsibility that if I haven’t watched the whole drama I cannot do a review. or maybe I just have a naive hope that maybe the end will be better..
Is “Gu Family Book” boring??! I just added to my going-to-watch-list, because of Seung Gi and storyline (as I once mentioned I am kinda into fantasy stuff). Well, I guess I much push myself to finish it later.
Gu Family Book had a couple of good episodes in the beginning and then became complete and utter crap. I love fantasy dramas as well but I would not recommend this show, the plot is terrible (which is hard for me to say as LGS is kind of a favorite of mine). I would say skip it and watch Arang and the Magistrate if you have not watched that drama yet, it is way better than Gu.
Great topic!!! ROFL! I started watching 2 kdramas and deserted them for “You’re the Best, Lee Shin Soon” (on episode 20) and love it (so far). I dropped “Crazy Love” at episode 22 and “Can’t Lose” at episode 10. I usually only get through episodes thanks to the oh, so, hot Korean actors!!! Great “re-wallpapering” strategy!
I am still trying to learn the art of what to drop and what to stick with. Why is it so hard!