Opinion Piece- The Joys of Binge watching
Summer is coming to an end and I've started to reflect on what I've actually done with my time. A common theme has come up and that was that I've spent a lot of time binge watching things. Like, a lot. I did the Back to the Future trilogy, Twin Peaks, Preacher and I even managed Stranger Things in one day. It's been beautiful and with the time I have left, I still plan to do much more. Probably Narcos or the Planet of the Apes TV series because I'm trash. Regardless, I think now is the perfect time to talk about binge watching and how great it can be.
I want to start with a simple fact: binge watching is really fun to do. Anyone who's ever taken the plunge knows that there's something different about binge watching compared to regular TV watching. There's a sense of achievement from doing a bunch of episodes in one go. Plus with Netflix's strategy of releasing all the episodes to a season at once, by binge watching you get a real community spirit. I watched Season 4 of House of Cards at the same time as my mate and we had a great time flying through the show together. It's a way of making the TV experience social again, even with shows that have already aired.
There's also another reason that binge watching is great that makes the shows you're watching better and that is that the story is much fresher in your mind. For example, with a lengthy drama like Dexter, it's nice to have watched the other episodes recently so you remember who smaller characters are and what the deeper motivations of the bigger characters are instead of having it all spread over eight years. Equally, it makes some jokes hit harder. I'll go to an example I haven't talked about as much here in Arrested Development. There are many jokes whose payoff is hidden in later episodes like the chicken dance, Buster's hand or "Her?". When watching the episodes in such close succession, these jokes become far funnier and it lends the show an extra depth.
Binge watching has a problem too and that is the fairly obvious problem that it all goes far too quickly. I watched Preacher over two days and loved every second of it. The only problem is, I now have to wait a whole year for the next season to start which is agonising. Fortunately, this is only a problem that happens if you're watching an ongoing show so most will be left with a satisfying ending to their experiences. That is, unless you're watching Twin Peaks at which point you will finish being convinced there has to be another episode. Also, from a wanky point of view, it's nice to savour shows sometimes. When episodes are spread over weeks, it gives you time to think about each episode and the impact that these events will have on the rest of the show. It also gives time to theorize over what may happen next on the show, a fun pastime that is incredibly pathetic really.
There are disadvantages to binge watching TV but there are disadvantages to everything. Personally, I think it's the best way to watch TV at the moment. I'm more than happy to wait another ten weeks until the show is over to be able to watch it in big lumps. There's some joy in just flying through a show you love and knowing you're doing so in an impressively quick time. It's a marathon, only fun and your eyes hurt, not your legs.
I want to start with a simple fact: binge watching is really fun to do. Anyone who's ever taken the plunge knows that there's something different about binge watching compared to regular TV watching. There's a sense of achievement from doing a bunch of episodes in one go. Plus with Netflix's strategy of releasing all the episodes to a season at once, by binge watching you get a real community spirit. I watched Season 4 of House of Cards at the same time as my mate and we had a great time flying through the show together. It's a way of making the TV experience social again, even with shows that have already aired.
There's also another reason that binge watching is great that makes the shows you're watching better and that is that the story is much fresher in your mind. For example, with a lengthy drama like Dexter, it's nice to have watched the other episodes recently so you remember who smaller characters are and what the deeper motivations of the bigger characters are instead of having it all spread over eight years. Equally, it makes some jokes hit harder. I'll go to an example I haven't talked about as much here in Arrested Development. There are many jokes whose payoff is hidden in later episodes like the chicken dance, Buster's hand or "Her?". When watching the episodes in such close succession, these jokes become far funnier and it lends the show an extra depth.
Binge watching has a problem too and that is the fairly obvious problem that it all goes far too quickly. I watched Preacher over two days and loved every second of it. The only problem is, I now have to wait a whole year for the next season to start which is agonising. Fortunately, this is only a problem that happens if you're watching an ongoing show so most will be left with a satisfying ending to their experiences. That is, unless you're watching Twin Peaks at which point you will finish being convinced there has to be another episode. Also, from a wanky point of view, it's nice to savour shows sometimes. When episodes are spread over weeks, it gives you time to think about each episode and the impact that these events will have on the rest of the show. It also gives time to theorize over what may happen next on the show, a fun pastime that is incredibly pathetic really.
There are disadvantages to binge watching TV but there are disadvantages to everything. Personally, I think it's the best way to watch TV at the moment. I'm more than happy to wait another ten weeks until the show is over to be able to watch it in big lumps. There's some joy in just flying through a show you love and knowing you're doing so in an impressively quick time. It's a marathon, only fun and your eyes hurt, not your legs.
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