How do you watch: Single sitting, or multiple sittings?

[Megalon]

The subject of run-times in the Reboot forum got me thinking... do our watch habits influence our preference for shorter/longer episodes? 

Personally, I almost always split MST3k episodes over two days. I watch about 45 minutes in the first sitting and the rest of the episode the next day. As such, episode length isn't a big deal to me. At most, I'm watching about 45 minutes at a time, which is an easy, digestible chunk of TV. But if I were watching whole episodes at a time, then I might find those 90m+ episodes more taxing and be grateful for the shorter run-times in the Reboot era. 

So what about you? Do you watch MST3k episodes in a single sitting, or do you watch them over multiple sittings? And do you have a preference for shorter/longer episodes?

[jadenh]

I try to watch every episode in one sitting. However, there have been rare cases where I had to finish an episode in two sittings. When I first watched Soultaker, I had to watch it in two sittings because I got so bored with it initially that I couldn't finish it. And when I had first watched The Day the Earth Froze, the power went out during the last quarter of the episode. So, I had to watch the rest on my phone. Other than that though, I usually watch episodes all in one sitting.

[foreign object]

My watching habits haven't changed over the past few years. Friday night after work, grab a pizza and watch one episode in broadcast order. I always look forward to Fridays!

[mylungswereaching]

A lot of my viewing of TV in general is on Netflix now. Netflix shows for the most part are 10 hour shows broken up into 1 hour segments. I've gotten used to watching them until I have something to do and then pausing. So I might watch them 10 minutes or 2 1/2 hours at a time, depending on the day.

Since I don't really care about the plots of individual MST3k episodes, they tend to run together anyway. I tend to watch them the same way I watch Netflix. When I'm in the mood to watch TV, I watch it until I'm not in the mood anymore.

[sol-survivor]

I watch what I want to watch when I want to watch it.

[BoB3K]

I've commented on this in the past when talking about ep lengths, but also host segs and bumpers.

I haven't watched entire eps for a long time now unless it's a full viewing event with other people.

For years, I usually put an ep on late at night and watch half of it, usually stopping at the break prior to the middle-of-the-movie host seg, and then come back the next night or maybe the next and watch the last half starting with the mid host seg.


Although more recently, I've even taken to watching the ep in 3rds, watching until the first host seg; and then the next time, watching till maybe around the first break before the last host seg.


Now, you have to keep in mind though that (like probably everyone here) I've seen all of these multiple times, so it's not like watching a movie and following the plot through to the end, and so also should probably have little bearing on how new MST3K eps should be made.

[monkeypretzel]

I watch - well, it's more listening than watching - when I go into bed at night, as a way to clear my mind. If I get sleepy, I turn the episode off before it finishes. I've never been able to sleep if there's TV or music or even conversation around that I can hear, so I don't ever fall asleep to an episode while it's playing. Thing is, I'll pick a different episode each night, I don't pick up if I left off.

Most of my other watching now is in a watch along format (not Twitch, usually a very small group of fewer than 25 people), so that will be a whole episode at a time.

I don't feel that my viewing habits have anything to do with my preference for the episodes to be around 90 minutes long, for the best use of the movies.

[hike'em'up]

intention is most often to watch entire ep in one sitting but circumstances occasionally force a split

[Mighty Jack]

Usually, it'll hook me, and I can't tear myself away. But yeah, I've seen these so often, and sometimes things happen to interrupt a viewing, that a split will happen and it's no big deal. But first-time watches are always single sittings, and most of the time, when I'm in the mood for an experiment, I'm committed to it to the end.

[CrowTrobotfan92]

Yeah, I prefer to watch in single settings. I’m not really big on splitting it unless I absolutely have to.

[paul85142]

I always try to watch a single episode start to finish.

However, if after dinner in the evening........watching MST3K does tend to make me sleepy.

[fathermushroom]

Because I am almost always watching an episode I've seen many, many times before, I've taken to putting on an episode while taking a relaxing hot soak in the tub (using a small screen TV I've placed in the BR for just such a purpose). From this I end up watching 15 of 20 minutes of an episode a day, so it takes me a while to see the whole thing. It's a great way to "tune down" from a busy day.

[kmorgan]

I try to watch in one sitting, but circumstances sometimes force me to split it into two. Or, if a movie is really bad, it's in bits and pieces based on how long I can stand it.

[cavedweller]

Single sitting. I watch MST3K every Saturday night in chronological order. Been doing it since 1989.