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Tamra gets shortened to 16 episodes

Geez, what is MBC’s deal? First they butchered Strike Love’s ending — which already had a more fleshed-out ending filmed — and now they’re cutting their low-rated but well-received weekend drama Tamra the Island.

According to Group Eight, the drama’s production company, “We received the report from MBC that the broadcast will end with the 16th episode. As we prepared for 20 episodes, this is disappointing.”

Fan response is largely opposed to MBC’s move, saying that even if extensions are out of the question, to curtail a 20-episode drama to 16 episodes is absurd; furthermore, the drama’s own development will be impeded. Many statements opposing the decision are being posted on MBC’s drama homepage, and as of the source article’s printing on September 1, it had received 1,700 responses in protest. A further 1,179 were posted on another site, Agora.

Tamra has been lauded as a “premium drama” and called a fresh trendy sageuk, despite the ratings that have lingered around the 5% mark. That’s low, to be sure, but as I understand it, most of the drama had been filmed in advance. That means that a shortening of the drama’s run will require a lot of rushed editing. One broadcast station source expressed dismay that high-quality dramas have been unable to grab ratings numbers, and said, “If the broadcast stations cling too much to ratings numbers, they will cause adverse effects on the development of dramas.”

Via Asia Economy

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im not sad this looks so cheesy

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Thats really sad and annoying news.

I love this drama. They should concider us international net viewers,too.
I hope the protests will help MBC to change their mind.

Its a light drama, nice to watch after a hard day...:)

Its like a live comic...thats what I enjoy the most at TAMNA

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ahh im sad it was the only drama i am currently watching

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WHAT?! i havent had time to watch past ep 6 but i really enjoy it....seriously if they screw it up like they screwed up Strike Love im gonna be so ANGRY!

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@more, you keep dissing stuff you haven't seen. maybe you should actually watch something before calling it bad.

It's a cut e drama. Screw MBC!!

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@more, stop mindlessly criticizing things as if you know everything about them.

I really like this drama, it's wayy better than the dramas that have been receiving a lot more attention (especially Style, omg).

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Tamra's the kind of show that should have been made into a dinner time sitcom, or optioned to a cable station like OCN. The ratings for the show are really about right, given that this is an experimental drama with an inherently limited household market. If KBS ran this show, they would probably stick it out to the end.

Plus, this will cause complications for the next drama -- Eugene's Creating Destiny. Now you've forced their shooting schedule to bump up 2 weeks, meaning they have only a month before they start airing. Should have made this announcement much earlier.

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This sucks! Tamra is one of the cutest, most entertaining dramas I've ever seen, I've thoroughly enjoyed it. JB, do you think this decision is etched in stone or might the viewer protests have any effect? I'll continue watching no matter what, but it is really a shame that the story won't be told the way it was meant to be.

@1 more

You should give it a shot, I think you'd be pleasantly surprised! Like JB said in her first recap, the first 15 minutes of Episode 1 are definitely cheesy, but from there on out, it's a lot of fun!

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젠장!!!!
This is SERIOUSLY DISAPPOINTING!!!

Imagine if Return of Iljimae had been cut short...or what if Chuno's numbers aren't high enough when it airs.
*#%!@^)O#@!!!!

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@Madita

I absolutely agree with you... well, I can't say I love it but it's light and fluffy and absolutely perfect after a long week. It's no-brainer TV!

On MBC's decision to cut short Strike Love, I was just getting into it when the reviews/comments on the ending stated to appear... which pretty much killed my interest in finishing the drama. I have no problems with shortening dramas as long as they could wrap it up with a fitting ending. Same goes for extending a drama, no problem with that as long as it adds to the story that is being told and not just filler scenes. I was watching a very popular Taiwanese Drama a while back which was originally scheduled for 12 episodes, it was so well received that the network extended it to 24 (!). It a complete shame because it was such a neat interesting, tight storyline in the first 10 or so and then it just became ridiculous with so many contrived arcs obviously written simply to extend it...

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@belleza, Tamra is actually a dinner-time sitcom (er, drama), in that it airs at the earlier prime-time hours on the weekends (not the 10pm hour). I agree with you that the ratings aren't surprising -- it's a quirky, different drama with a mania fanbase.

@langdong813, I'm not sure how "definite" the decision is. Broadcast stations have been known to change their minds before, but I don't think MBC has much incentive to give Tamra more time. They didn't even give Strike Love more time when that drama started raising its ratings and broke 10% near the end. :(

@hjkomo, If they'd cut Return of Iljimae I would've had a fit. But I don't think MBC would have dared piss off PD Hwang In-roi (not if they wanted to work with him ever again!).

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oh wow that really sucks..i really like this drama. its is super cute and entertaining.
MBC really gets on my nerves

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This is disapointing. I was actually enjoying this drama :(

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oh noooo.... i'm enjoying this drama.

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@hjkomo,

I wouldn't be surprised if Chuno doesn't get double-digit ratings, esp. if it's more experimental like Conspiracy in the Court or Shin Don. The show will probably compete with Lee Jung Ki's Hero and the idol drama with Jang Geun Seuk/Park Shin Hye.

But KBS will commit to a full run. Thinking it over, it's really obvious that Studio 8 should have given the show to KBS.

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I am so bummed out. I hope they change their minds.

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this is why I hate MBC.

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ура!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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sorry to say this but good. it is a light and cute drama but it's not that great to me as i can't seem to get hooked into it. the quirkiness is great but maybe it's the story that's not very interesting. and i actually TRIED so hard to get into it because of the positive comments from people, but i still can't get past the first part of episode 2. strike love seemed to me like it had a better storyline so i don't know about that one but this one is eh. next. wonder what's after it?

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@hjkomo

hush! hush! don't say such things! if it's any consolation for Chuno, I read in another board that PD Kwak said it will be catered to a broader audience than say-- Conspiracy in the Court. The writer also gave the biggest romantic-comedy of 2009 (that Kim Ha Neul- Kang Ji Hwan movie), so let's hope they have that going for them. If not... :-( nooo.

@belleza

I think Iris will go against Jun Ki drama and You Are Beautiful. Chuno is set for a winter airing. unless, IRIS gods change their minds again and push Chuno forward.

:-( Tamra was fun. Just a little acquired taste. heh despite its toilet humor.

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that's a really good word for it @random! it really is an acquired taste. but then again what isn't huh?

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This is very frustrating. I want the drama to end appropriately as it was planned. I really enjoy it the most out of the dramas I'm watching currently.

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I love Tamra - I love everything about it. Maybe the extra 4 hours would be stretching the story too much...

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This news is breaking my heart.. seriously. There are many people who are losing sleep over this. That is how much people love this drama. It's got beautiful scenery, quirky lines and great actors who have completely become their characters. The directing is just wonderful. I doubt the next schedule drama will get better rating than this drama so why cut this short? I can't believe they're doing this.

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Aw shucks, that's too bad for Tamra, just as the story is developing and getting better, the axe falls. I guess it's a little too different from the usual korean drama.
I think international viewers have more diverse viewing habits.

I, for one, will be with Tamra until the end because it provides a refreshing break from everything else I am currently watching.

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I am so disappointed. I love Tamra the Island. It's viewership is doing quite well on My Soju- sometimes I wish the big netwrks would consider viewers on alternate channels. I can't believe how selfish MBC is being. The fans watching the show around the world will be very disappointed. I hope they change their mind.

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I love Tamra Island. I can understand why someone who has never seen it might think it's cheesy but it's actually very entertaining. Personally, I hate long dramas but I hope this cut back will not ruin the overall storyline.

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nooo this is terrible. i was just getting into this drama too!

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This is horrible! it saddens me to think of all the actors, actresses, writers, and crew who have worked so hard to film those 4 episodes worth of material MBC wants to have cut. If they were going to cut it, they should have said something back in episode 3 or 4. Now the pacing is going to be off-especially if you're going to shave the last half of the drama in half.

Tamra was an experimental kind of drama. MBC knew that. If they weren't confident in the first place, why even allow it to be 20 episodes in the first place. MBC is soooo obviously catering to ratings that it's sickening. They cut Strike Love...then increase the Queen Seon-deok episodes in order to milk it for all it's worth (they did the same with Jumong)...and now they're cutting down Tamra. Seriously, Queen Seon-deok will bring you the money that you were missing with Tamra- no need to cut down Tamra! I hope they will release the full 20 episodes on dvd.

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This is very, very disappointing. Why spend all the time and money in making the film if we don't get to see it?! I'm a fan of the show and am sad the bottomline (ratings) doesn't often reflect the the reception among viewers.

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This is the most ridiculous decision I've heard. MBC is such a bullshxt company!

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Meh, it comes down to ratings, no excuses. if the general public couldn't latch onto the show, then I say MBC is doing the right thing in cutting its losses. Now they can at least try their hand at a new drama to put in its place.

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I'm disappointed with MBC. And I'm happy that the fans opposed to it. I would too, if I could. This isn't really the first I've heard of an MBC-aired drama that's been cut short, and I have heard of an SBS-aired drama that has been cut too.

Though, if this was aired in KBS, they really wouldn't cut it short? So there hasn't really been any drama that they cut short, despite of the low ratings? Because I saw Worlds Within last year, and the ratings were bad, but they still aired it until the last episode. And Flowers for my Life got low ratings, too right? But they still continued to air it. It would have been better really, if this was aired in KBS. Tsk.

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Noooo! (wailing in the background) I absolutely love this show because there's no annoying angst unlike the other melodramatic dramas. Where's the love for this drama?
(I am stomping off like a 5 yr old who's favourite toy has been taken way too early) *pouts*

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Shay@ idiot all i said was that it looked cheesy am not allowed to have an opinion do people have to like everything you like Hell NO get over yourself.

linz@ i never said it was bad i said looked cheesy you should learn to read.

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am happy to say i didn't start watching this yet or i'll be one of them who'll be disappointed although i'm not into epic drama at all! haven't even finished watching the dvd i bought of jewel in the palace and only reached epi 35 at that.

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whaa??? I love this drama, its cute and intriguing. Just last week I thought that they should have added more episodes to this show; its sad how they're going to cut it short, since it is a really good drama.

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this is so disappointing. the drama is so quirky and fresh and ENTERTAINING

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I'm a little bit disappointed but at least it will have an ending. This is exactly why I stopped watching US shows because when I find myself getting into a drama, especially the new ones, they usually get cut because of low ratings and there is no ending to it.

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This is dissapointing. Tamra is the other drama that I'm really enjoying right now apart from My Fair Lady...

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@more, I thought the same way you did at first, but this drama has done more than impressed me. I like the actors alot and the drama has so much potential. It makes me sad that they decided to cut it down to 16 episodes because of its low ratings. That's really just not fair.

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@random,

I think you're right. Chuno has a unofficial October 14th start date, but that's the same date as Iris. But that's a huge problem too. If Chuno gets Mon/Tuesday, then it'll go against Queen Seon Deok, and frankly the ratings will never get off the ground.

@luraaa,

MBC is kinda notorious for cutting shows down if they're underperforming. Which is kinda the problem here -- for whatever reason, MBC had higher expectations even though the show was highly experimental and expensive. I didn't really understand why MBC ordered 20 episodes of the show. Another problem here is that MBC dramas rarely does that well in their weekend lineup. Strike Love got shortened. Friend, another expensive non-live shot production, did mostly single-digit numbers, The w/end is pretty much owned by SBS in primetime and KBS at dinnertime. Again, don't really understand their expectations. Personally I think MBC should commission Samsooki to do "Samsooki Drama Hour", in which case headwriters Samsooki, Hjkomo, and Kobe come up with 45-minute production with gratutious sex, violence, and oppa-pout-wiggle.

SBS did it with Princess Ja Myung Go, but frankly SBS had to do it. A 50-episode sageuk with single digit ratings is just too bloody expensive.

As for KBS (which is a public station), well let's put it this way. Evasive Inquiry Agency never got a rating above 5.3, and it averaged 3.5. That show still ran its full course.

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Like belleza says, MBC has been quick to cut dramas in the past. I wouldn't say they're notorious though, since I can only think of Strike Love off the top of my head. There were worries that Friend would get cut, but that was more fan fear than actual threat. Am I missing some shortened dramas? I swear, this memory is fading. Apparently The Person I Love (SBS) was shortened, though I didn't watch it.

I think that more than it being an MBC thing, it's a recent trend thing. It used to be that all dramas, whatever the station, rode out their full course. After all, it's only one season and they've got to fill the programming hours, so why not just let one complete its run? Goong S (MBC) ended with something like a 4%-5%, and so did Flowers For My Life (KBS).

But in recent years, with production costs snowballing, stations in general are getting more skittish. Plus, it probably correlates to the fact that dramas used to be produced under the station's aegis, but nowadays they're largely done by outside companies and the stations just pay to buy the dramas. I'm going to presume that means there's less of an emotional attachment to a drama that way, so the station is quicker to cut one loose.

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I'm still sad....T.T

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"Am I missing some shortened dramas? I swear, this memory is fading."

They cut the Greatest Show in the History of K-drama -- a Prince's First Love (the unofficial sequel to the Greatest Sageuk in the History of K-drama, 1000 Years of Lurve), which unfortunately got killed by Full House. I will never forgive MBC for this. Ever. EVAR!!!

Goong S was partially protected, probably due to foreign investment. It was projected to be a Hallyu product, as is Friend. I mean, Binnie + Kim Min Joon = instant sell in Japan and China.

It goes the other way too. Queen Seon Deok was set for 50 episodes, but typically these MBC shows go for 60+ episodes. They did it as a way to protect their investment, given that QSD had one expensive budget. East of Eden was set for 50 episodes as well, but halfway through, you could tell the writers were planning for a longer run.

Personally, I think MBC and SBS has kinda traded places the last few years.

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Why can't they stick to what they had decided upon on the episodes. Will the actors sue them for their contract. The man who can't get get married
did not get good ratings - yet they pursued it till the end !!.
We like Tamna - good acting and plot.

MBC LOST THEIR CREDIBILITY!!!

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I was so angry when I heard this.. I LOVE Tamra (Im Joo-hwannnnnnnnn~!), and I can only imagine how heartbroken the cast and crew must be feeling right about now. They spent a year on this drama, only to have it cut short? Where does that even begin to make sense?

Seriously, they already have all 20 episodes; why not just air them? I could understand a little better if they were still filming, but to have to edit down all the previously-filmed episodes? Ugh. I don't agree with this decision at all.

A couple of people on soompi were wondering if the full version would make it onto the DVD. What do you think the chances of that are, JB? I would probably buy it just for those "extra" episodes..

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This is so freakingly sad!!! :( This is the only kdrama that currently air that i watch and anticipate so eagerly. I`ve been counting my days till Saturday just so i can see this... :( :(

I hope all the actors,actresses, writers, directors, crews of Tamra Island don`t be discourage because of this. You`ve done a great job! We (well i personally), international viewers loooooooooooveee this drama soooo muuuuuchh!!! Fighting!

And i sincerely hope Group Eight will distribute the dvd version in its extended version...

And can i cry some more :( :( :( :( :(

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I am ONLY SPECULATING, but Tamra has already been licensed for a Japanese airing, and when Strike Love aired in Japan it was given its full run (or will be; I'm not sure of its airdate). So I suppose it's quite possible that a full version of Tamra will exist somewhere, whether from Japanese rips or on DVD.

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I really disliked Tamra (yes, I tried it - I will try anything) but I really don't like this shortening mainly because it really will kill the flow of the story seeing that they decided this so late in the game. The story was not to my liking but it was something the makers were telling in a particular fashion (and at least some people were liking it). Plus, yes, I don't care about Tamra in the least but this whole trend is very worrying - if they did it to something like Friend, I would have been devastated! Or if they decided to do it to e.g. Chuno. I really don't want them to get into the habit.

It would be so much better to just order a standard 16-ep run and expand it if the ratings bear out than order those 20, 24 etc eps runs just to cut them when it's too late and it will affect the flow of the stroy. I'd rather have a drama that is a bit draggy (that is what a ff button is for) than one that is abrupt and choppy and the ending of which makes little sense due to the rush.

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