Have you ever started watching a drama and after a few episodes started regretting your decision?
Well, you are not the only one! And if you are a person like me who needs to see things through then it’s just a sweet pill you try your best to swallow.
It’s not like everytime you pick a drama you grow a liking to it or like every aspect of a drama you love. However, there are some things you could do and avoid to dig a drama that you will fall in love with:
The Do’s
1. Research, Research, and Research!
It goes without saying that for one to decide what they like or dislike, they have to research about it. Checking for potholes and plotlines is great way to figure out if you will like the drama or if it’s worth your time and effort. You can look for summary, cast, trivia, any related news, etc on various websites.
2.
Casting Couch (Picking your bias in the industry)
If the cast of drama is enough to make you stick to it or if you are a die hard fan of an actor/actress (not necessarily the main leads), this trick can do wonders for you. I have watched dramas staring the same male or female lead back to back. It helps me analyse their method, reminisce their different characters together and even aid in moving on.
3. Pick a mix of genre
Picking up only one genre drama or making your watchlist entirely based on a single genre can get monotonous. Instead try and pick a mix. For instance: Romance coupled with action and thriller is a personal favourite. You can also pick up single genre dramas for instance, hard core romance and then pick up a family comedy as your next just to keep yourself hooked.
4. Decide: Ratings Vs. Instinct
Public opinion obviously brings a big consent for watchlist. That being said, it may not apply to everyone, I for instance rarely go for ratings and rather base my decision on instincts.
5. Watch Scenes/ Short Clips
You can test the water for it’s depth via this method. Just watch some episode clips or scenes on YouTube. This is my go to method. You might come across a cliff hanger/climax scene as well. Therefore, this method is only advised for people who dont mind spoilers. If a 2-3 minutes clip is able to make your heart race, in all likelihood the series would too.
6.
Ask for a personal recommendation
Sharing dramas with your friends could make up for interesting conversation. Your friends know your likes and dislikes, therefore, their recommendations may not only save you time but even turn out to be more accurate to your choice too.
The Don’ts:
1.
Giving too many breaks
This is a bummer. If you take watching dramas seriously enough, giving breaks in between becomes somewhat a no-no as you have to pick on where you left off and it also breaks the flow of the story. I have watched dramas stretched over a long span of time, what happened is either I had to watch the previous episode again or I wasn’t as interested as I would have been if I binged watched.
2.
Going by the trend
Many have this habit of watching shows merely out of peer pressure even if they come to like it later. GOTS and FRIENDS are popular example. I for one have not been able to stick to trends, it turns I mostly tapped into markets that only later on become mainstream. This one is entirely a personal choice though. You could pick your watchlist based on trends or simply what suits your taste.
3.
Judging by the length
The length of dramas was never really a question for me and shouldn’t be unless you are time bound or going off the internet. I have seen dramas with length of 10-11 episodes timing less than 30 minutes and dramas with 70-80 episodes of over two hours each! Both have entertained me their best. Many asian dramas like kdramas, thai dramas and cdramas could be finished in anything between 15-50 hours.
Choosing from an endless sources and titles can be daunting task. Many a times I simply end up browsing and watching none. This list is neither rigid nor absolute. It is just to help you pick out a drama that you could enjoy.
Happy Binge Watching!
The Drama Bone 