Ah. The joys of binge watching...

RP · #1 02-26-2024, 08:05 AM

I'm an unapologetic TV watcher and believe that streaming is one of the best things that's ever happened to television watching. I started watching the newest season of True Detective starring Jodie Foster and quickly realized that I was missing a lot at one episode per week. So I decided to forgo the show until I could watch it in one sitting, and that was a good call for me. It's not that I totally understood what had happened and why it had happened, but binge watching was a considerable improvement...

fazool · #2 02-26-2024, 09:27 AM

Last year my wife and I got hooked on Wednesday and watched all the shows of both seasons in one sitting........it was a riot

Jim Owen · #3 02-26-2024, 04:42 PM

I binged Season 1 of True Detective, Randy. The joys of being retired. I enjoyed Night Country—but I did the weekly drops.

catdaddy · #4 02-27-2024, 09:40 AM

Yeah, I definitely prefer to binge watch. I'll wait until all the shows in a new season drop before I start watching. I learned early in life that delayed gratification yields better rewards.

Gromitspapa · #5 02-27-2024, 10:20 AM

I prefer binging, too. It keeps little details and nuance fresh. It doesn't hurt if you didn't discover a show until all the episodes or multiple seasons are out, either. I just binged through Shrinking, which I thought was terrific. I watched the first episode of Masters of the Air to see if I liked it before waiting for the rest to come out, then watched episode 2 because I couldn't resist. I read it picks up steam soon after and I figure I'll be ready for the final episode when it comes out on March 8th if I start about now. I remember watching the 12 O'Clock High series as a kid.

mr. beaumont · #6 02-27-2024, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Owen

I binged Season 1 of True Detective, Randy. The joys of being retired. I enjoyed Night Country—but I did the weekly drops.

Season 1 of TD is some of the best TV I've ever watched...and the twists in the story are a lot easier to follow when binged.

tinnitus · #7 02-27-2024, 11:40 AM

I agree, there's nothing like a serious binge for the sake of immersion and continuity.

Mrs. Tinnitus and I didn't have HBO or Showtime when we started dating 20 years ago (still don't actually), so it was not uncommon to binge our way through 4-10 episodes of Sopranos on rental DVDs over a rainy Oregon weekend, always a season or two behind.

I was still working 3 days a week (sometimes out of town) and started channel-surfing alone in my room one night. I stumbled over a current Sopranos episode on cable and found myself unable to turn it off. So I came home from that trip with a confession to make... "Honey, I cheated on you in my hotel last night. I know that someone is going to kill somebody next season. But don't worry, I won't spoil it for you." I felt better once we finally caught up and watched beyond that point.

As a retired sailor (last century) I'm no prissy prude, but I did notice a distinct decline in my casual language during our "Sopranos year." Enjoying a nice meal in a restaurant, I'd find myself thinking, "Good __ salad."

Dogma · #8 02-27-2024, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinnitus

As a retired sailor (last century) I'm no prissy prude, but I did notice a distinct decline in my casual language during our "Sopranos year." Enjoying a nice meal in a restaurant, I'd find myself thinking, "Good __ salad."

The salad can take it! Hopefully your friends didn't start disappearing as well...!

Birdbrain · #9 02-27-2024, 06:32 PM

It's the opposite for me. I've never sat and watched more than two straight hours of TV. I know i'm different. "Immersion" isn't my goal. Today I was out looking a new TV sets, and was disappointed at the selection- they're too big.

Born in the early '50s, I have a hazy memory of the last few years when life didn't revolve around the TV set. I still like to keep it at a distance, but there's always something worth watching. Now that my favorite, Northern Exposure, is streaming, I'm watching one or two a week and enjoying it immensely. I like to let each episode rattle around my brain and soak in. Maybe it's the modern plot-heavy mysteries and fantasies that demand more intense attention to detail, encouraging binging?

Mr. Jelly · #10 02-28-2024, 07:32 AM

We took to streaming a couple of years ago. When I look for a new show (to us) to stream part of the judgement is how many seasons it ran. Bad shows only run one season.

The part of me that analyzes songs, music, performances and guitar playing has shown up in analyzing scripts, acting, story lines, type casting and scenes as in acts.

Slothead56 · #11 02-28-2024, 10:07 PM

I got hooked on the Starz series Hightown a couple weeks ago and blew through 2 1/2 seasons in a flash not realizing the last half season was current.

I now have to wait a whole week for the next episode.

That is so 70’s….

tinnitus · #12 02-28-2024, 10:27 PM

We didn't discover Loudermilk until all three seasons were ready and waiting. Fun. Same with Lucky Hank, and we're currently halfway through 11 seasons of Shameless. Yikes!!!

Gitfiddlemann · #13 02-29-2024, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RP

I started watching the newest season of True Detective starring Jodie Foster and quickly realized that I was missing a lot at one episode per week. So I decided to forgo the show until I could watch it in one sitting, and that was a good call for me. It's not that I totally understood what had happened and why it had happened, but binge watching was a considerable improvement...

Maybe that's what I should have done as well with this latest installment of the series. I've always liked Jodie Foster. Even in her very early roles it was clear she had the acting chops. (She was really good in Silence of the Lambs.)
I kept up with it every week, but for some reason found it hard to follow all the plot lines and characters. It took you in all kinds of directions. Maybe it would have helped to watch it as a whole movie in one sitting, although that would be difficult to do too.

I've enjoyed all of the True Detective series, but my favorite is still the first one, with Harrelson/McConaughey. That was riveting. TV at its best, which doesn't happen often sadly. But cable series are still a big notch over network shows, which are almost unwatchable.

mr. beaumont · #14 02-29-2024, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fazool

Last year my wife and I got hooked on Wednesday and watched all the shows of both seasons in one sitting........it was a riot

Wednesday was a total romp. Fun for the whole family...that's a rarity these days.

Jim Owen · #15 02-29-2024, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gitfiddlemann

Maybe that's what I should have done as well with this latest installment of the series. I've always liked Jodie Foster. Even in her very early roles it was clear she had the acting chops. (She was really good in Silence of the Lambs.)

I kept up with it every week, but for some reason found it hard to follow all the plot lines and characters. It took you in all kinds of directions. Maybe it would have helped to watch it as a whole movie in one sitting, although that would be difficult to do too.

I've enjoyed all of the True Detective series, but my favorite is still the first one, with Harrelson/McConaughey. That was riveting. TV at its best, which doesn't happen often sadly. But cable series are still a big notch over network shows, which are almost unwatchable.

I agree with you and Mr Beaumont. The first season of TD is the best TV I’ve watched this century. Have you tried Fargo?