The Best and Worst of 2016

Happy New Year! I'm definitely not the only one who's happy to put 2016 behind me. The plumbing in my house, which had been reliable for a good ten years, all broke over the course of this year. Everything in there's been replaced. My Grandma died too, it's been rough. But between exams and a tight drama schedule, this year has absolutely flown by, thank goodness. I'm going to be incredibly busy from now on. Anyhow, I wanted to share a few of the most memorable of the dramas I've watched this year. 

NOTE: I've decided not to go into detail for the shows I've already reviewed.

THE BEST

Honourable Mentions: I love Police Unit 38, so that really should have been on this list, but I still haven't finished it.

Thriller of the year: Signal

Signal starred charming veteran actors Kim Hye-soo and Jo Jin-woong, as well as Lee Je-hoon, in a story about a mysterious connection between the pas and present which can be used to solve cold cases. But no-one ever said changing the future would be easy.
  Signal was the utterly flawless. It was written tightly without ever becoming convoluted despite the complexity of the plot. It was gripping; mercilessly thrilling with insightful, competent characters that made it even better. I don't think I'm clever enough to put all of Signal's strengths into cohesive sentences. Just watch it, okay, watch it now. 

Comedy of the Year: Jealousy Incarnate 

As soon as I heard Gong Hyo-jin was going to star in Jealousy Incarnate, I knew it would be good. She has a successful history in picking projects, and she didn't let me down. Watching her character, Pyo Na-ri, become someone cheery and confident was excellent. But really, this drama was all about Jo Jung-suk. He played the vain, hilariously miserable, jealousy-ridden reporter Lee Hwa-shin. His antics were the highlight of the show, and help gloss over the little problems I had. The cast was brimming with colourful characters, who were all practically cast aside for the romance in the end but still made the drama quirky and fun. If Shopping King Louie was the cutest thing I watched this year, then Jealousy Incarnate was the funniest. By far. The show basically laughs at the misfortunes of Hwa-shin and mocks his pain as one of the few men to be diagnosed with breast cancer, which was unbelievably funny. But it also packed a forceful emotional punch, which rounded the show out into something remarkable.

Romances of the Year: Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu, Shopping King Louie, and 1% of Anything

1% of Anything was remade this year after the hit drama of the same name which aired in 2003. I haven't seen the original, but this drama was amazing. Not only were the episodes nice and bite-size at thirty to fifty minutes, but 1% of Anything sported some of the best romance I saw this year. Not only was the chemistry of the charts, but the drama also cut out unnecessary story lines to focus almost solely on the relationship building between two people who never expected to love each other. I didn't expect to wholeheartedly enjoy this show quite as much as I did, but it completely drew me in.

THE WORST

I was lucky this year. I was able to avoid most of the that turned out really, really bad. The most disappointing shows for me, this year, are the ones that began fantastically and gradually lost that quality. 

Cheese in the Trap set itself apart from all other romantic comedies right at the start with an incredibly unique premise, but the show's behind-the-scenes drama eventually ruined it. Based off a webtoon, the series had a massive following so care was taken over the casting, and the first half was brilliant. Then, the main character was almost completely cast aside - having one, maybe two, scenes per episode. The focus was put on the second-lead instead, supposedly because the writer had a crush on him. The writer of the original webtoon stopped being updated on the drama, despite the fact that was the original agreement, and finally the show created it's own original ending that was too stupid for words. There will be a Cheese in the Trap film coming out next year, starring poor Park Hae-jin once again. I hope he's treated right this time!

W had so much promise. But because I loved it so much at first, it's one of the biggest disappointments of the year. Using slick graphics and a complex set of rules, W crafted a universe where one girl could travel in and out of the world inside a webtoon, and trigger a star-crossed love between her and the story's hero. It was intense, and romantic, and addictive at first. What was terrible was that they wasted Lee Jong-suk and Han Hyo-joo on characters who just gradually lost their sizzle. The last episode was proof of how this once thrilling and chilling drama had failed to meet it's own standards. From the writer of Queen In-hyun's Man and Nine, I thought I'd be fine whether the ending was happy or sad. But it was just... unsatisfying. Regardless of all this, though, W should win awards for being completely mind blowing and playing with the fantasy genre in an inventive way. Even though this drama fell flat in the end, I'm still a fan of the writer and I hope she'll be able to produce something new soon.

Okay, I admittedly didn't have high hopes placed on Cinderella and the Four Knights. It was never going to be a fresh drama that would blow up my standards for romance stories. I've seen these characters a hundred times over. The premise is one that's been used a thousand times over. Whilst there were good elements to the story the entire way through, which is probably why I kept watching until the end, it was just predictable. I was constantly frustrated with the characters. Cinderella and the Four Knights shows that even if a drama is fully pre-produced, that doesn't necessarily ensure that all the wrinkles in the project will be ironed out - I feel like this drama set out from the beginning to never be great, but to just be okay.