source: MBC
Admit it, you’ve watched train wrecks. They’re the messy kind of shows you’d be wondering whether it’s worth investing the time (and snacks).
To me, there are two kinds of train wreck shows. The first category is the kind where the show starts off promising, then the wheels come off the bus. (I’m looking at you, Princess Hours.) It may be due to bad writing, directors losing sight of the ending, or the actors not having on-screen chemistry.
But that’s not the train wreck I’m talking about.
I’m talking about the train wreck you know starts bad and will remain bad until the end but you have to watch it. Why? Because. You. Cannot. Take. Your. Eyes. Off. The. Screen.
These are the kind of shows I akin to dumping a whole pack of Pop Rocks in your mouth then chasing it with a whole can of Red Bull. That’s the kind of crazy you get when you’re loaded up with sugar and caffeine you start seeing sound kind of crazy.
For me, the three shows fitting this bill (so far) are: I Love My President Though He’s a Psycho, Super Star Academy, and My Secret Romance.
For those planning on watching these shows, I’ll be mentioning some spoilers. Bail now before continuing…
Done?
Let’s go!
I Love My President Though He’s a Psycho
source: BoxAsian TV
Where does one start with this mess of a show? Gong Ou (Pan Zi Jian) is a paranoid CEO and his victim is a third-rate artist, Shi Xiaonian (Zhu Nicole). He believes Xiaonian delivered his child three years ago. She has no idea who he is.
Was it the Stockholm Syndrome that made this a train wreck? Or the fact the plot was so outrageous, it made Boys Over Flowers look like amateur hour? Fake pregnancies! Real pregnancies! Roofies! Kidnapping! Death! Resurrection! People dying everywhere and the CEO’s family isn’t mafia! After the 10th episode, I sat asking myself, “What did I just watch?”
If you like your crazy being downright insane, this one’s for you.
Train Wreck Rating: 10/10
Super Star Academy
source: A Virtual Voyage
This show defined crazy and it was worth every minute of it.
Cheng Zhier (Wang Yu Wen) is a normal girl who is suddenly recruited to attend Super Star Academy. She didn’t know she is a supernatural who keeps all the horoscope signs balanced and under control.
This show is Harry Potter meets Percy Jackson on acid. There’s disappearing and reappearing food, ninjas, astronomy gone bad, swapped kids, murder plots, power struggles, gang/band fight meets bromance… the list goes on!
The acting is somewhat bad but I think it’s what adds the crack-like substance to binge-watching the series. I finished this show without reading subtitles… it’s not like it helps with understanding the plot. Throughout the show, Zhier never knew how to wield her powers. But by the last episode, she reaches Nirvana.
What?
I keep rewatching the ending to remember what happened to her… But really, it doesn’t resolve much, making this a popcorn-worthy kind of train wreck.
Train Wreck Rating: 9/10
My Secret Romance
source: Soompi
Oh, where to start?
Cha Jin Wook (Sung Hoon) is an irresponsible son of an underwear CEO who has a one-night stand with a timid girl named Lee Yoo Mi (Song Ji Eun). After three years, they meet again. This time, he’s a hard-nosed CEO while she is a nutritionist working at his work cafeteria.
Anyone who watched this show stayed because of the steamy one-night stand scene. Anything after that is a watered-down parody of Fifty Shades of Gray.
No, no. It’s not that it’s steamy but there’s a lot of innuendoes, a lot of seemingly master-and-servant relations, and skinship that’s omo worthy.
If that’s not enough, there’s an eomoni who used to be a porn star, a straight-laced girl who likes reading steamy romance novels, and the promise of premarital relations. Several times at that!
This was one show which should’ve been packaged in a 30-minute, 10 episode format, trimming much of the bloat. I admit I watched this train wreck for the pretties without bothering with the side plots. Well… maybe for the secretary and the other kitchen staff but that’s because they were funny.
Train Wreck Rating: 8/10
What are your train wrecks? List them in the comments and let’s compare notes.