Non-content Things That Annoyed Me the Most in 2021
Obviously I like watching dramas. I really like watching dramas. I don't like when there are things that make watching dramas harder or sully the experience in some way. These are my top five pet peeves from 2021 in my viewing experience. Most of them are limited to something that was associated with a single show so that single show represents that particular nuisance. One of them is almost universal in the industry and I chose the show where it was most blatantly poorly done. Enjoy or, rather, enjoy commiserating :)
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1. Doctor Brain
Korean Drama - 2021, 6 episodes
Apple TV - this app is not particularly well designed for someone watching one of its shows on one of Apple's products directly but God forbid a viewer try to cast it to a television or other device that isn't an Apple product. Attempting to do so practically requires a professional video production person on hand and, on multiple occasions, the language settings kept reverting to an English dub without subtitles.
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2. Part-time Melodrama
Korean Drama - 2021, 12 episodes
Seezn - for some horrible reason, this show's first six episodes were available on YouTube and the last six moved to this provider. Had it been "Crash Landing on You" or "Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo" or some other legendary show, perhaps viewers could be bothered to deal with this streaming platform malpractice. But "Part-time Mello" is not that show and six episodes were enough for me to imagine where it was headed. Dropped. Moved on.
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3. Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha
Korean Drama - 2021, 16 episodes
Product placement - it's not going to go away and it's usually not done in a way that is more than a momentary distraction from a show. But "Hometown Cha Cha Cha" took it to an incredibly invasive level at a time when the show was already foundering badly in its last few episodes. Doo Shik recovered awfully quickly from his meltdown to pitch pizza.
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4. Snowdrop
Korean Drama - 2021, 16 episodes
Disney Plus - that the Korean drama genre is getting the attention and investment from one of the world's foremost entertainment companies is exciting (although with reservations). That one of the more anticipated shows of the year thanks to the presence of Blackpink's Ji Soo wouldn't get a global audience is frankly deeply disappointing and severely lowers the bar for expectations for what The Mouse & Co. will contribute going forward.
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5. Même pas la peine
Korean Drama - 2021, 12 episodes
Laugh track - it was out of date thirty years ago and stuck out badly here. Points to the production staff for pushing the envelope on so many fronts with this show, but the canned laughter was a terrible idea.