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Post by mrsphyllistorgo on Mar 22, 2010 13:49:06 GMT -5
So, Breaking Bad had its third season premiere last night, but I didn't watch it, because I didn't get into BB back when it started and now it's really too late.
Yes yes yes yes I know I can get the back episodes from Netflix or whatever, but there's really no substitute for watching a show while it's airing in "real time". A big part of it could be my obsessive love for posting about various shows over on Television Without Pity, where you have to keep up or doom yourself to reading 45 pages about each episode before you can comment. But also, DVR, DVD, what have you, it still only really feels like sharing an experience when you make time in your nightly routine to view whatever your favorite show is.
Plus, of course, many shows are really no longer "stand alone" in any meaningful sense. They have multiple complex storylines that play out and it's impossible to just jump right in without getting totally screwed up on what's going on. This is good, of course, for actors, writers and viewers in terms of quality, but there's really no kiddie pool anymore for serial dramas. Thank God I started watching Mad Men when it began airing.
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Post by Captain Hygiene on Mar 22, 2010 13:59:17 GMT -5
I agree, there is definitely something enjoyable about getting involved with a show early on, and keeping up while it's freshly on the air each week. However, I think there's something to be said for the ability to catch up with multiple seasons of a show either on DVD or online - it takes out a lot of the frustration factor for strongly storyline-based shows when you can watch a few episodes a day, rather than one every week. Posting every once in a while in the Lost thread here is about as much as I interact about the show, though, so not feeling compelled to keep up with the TWP boards or anything probably keeps out a lot of the pressure to stay current.
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Post by mrsphyllistorgo on Mar 22, 2010 16:42:45 GMT -5
Oh, definitely, we bought ourselves Farscape as a Christmas gift, but we waited until we could get the box set AND Peacekeeper Wars so we didn't have to deal with that "Guh! We die with anticipation! And the next series is out in....2017??!!?" For shows that are already completed, that's really the way to go.
And as much as I love posting over at TWoP, one reason I haven't started watching Caprica is I knew I couldn't deal with how worked up I would get posting. Not in a bad way, but when Galactica was running we'd watch it, it would end at midnight, I'd tear to the computer and get all riled up about all the things on the show and post madly until I had to go to bed, than lie there with my heart literally pounding in my chest because I couldn't calm down. Don't wanna go through that again.
Yeah, yeah, just don't post. Once you start, though...
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Post by Mod City on Mar 22, 2010 19:08:41 GMT -5
There are very few shows I started watching from the beginning. My Name Is Earl is one of them, but most of my other favorites – Battlestar Galactica, Lost, The Office and Heroes to name a few – I had to catch up on DVD or iTunes. I had a great time doing that, by the way. It's not so much me I worry about, it's a lot of other people who haven't been catching up with me who I wished were caught up. It took me about a year to catch up with Lost, just in time for the final season (now it's weird watching new episodes every week), but a few people who I'd like to share the show with are so far behind even the DVDs won't catch them up in time. I would like to start with Breaking Bad. I've caught an episode or two and it looks worth it. Now I just have to find some friends who also haven't seen it  |
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Remy
Tibby
Aw, hamburgers!
Posts: 75
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Post by Remy on Mar 26, 2010 21:03:21 GMT -5
I pretty much just follow shows as they come out on DVD, mostly due to my inconsistent work/school schedule, and that's just fine for me. The only hard part is when a TV show's season ends on a cliffhanger; then I have to wait all year for the next DVD set. The wait for Breaking Bad, for example, was excruciating. Thankfully, our house has DVR now so I can watch it as it airs when I'm done with the 2nd season set. Dexter is kind of having that affect on me right now too, though I'm thankful Dexter's seasons are very self-contained for a dramatic series.
Still, on the whole, I really don't need to watch a show as it airs since I'm always catching up on other shows I've missed. Plus, I usually watch with my girlfriend, so there is always someone with whom to talk about the episodes.
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Post by siamesesin on Mar 27, 2010 12:07:58 GMT -5
I'm so far behind the TV zeitgeist I usually wind up lapping it.
It started when I was out on ships for three years. I was so removed from the immediacy of TV-we never knew when we would get satellite access even for the Big 3 (it didn't help I worked nights). This was pre-internet stream as well.
Because of this, I almost never watch shows at the outset unless I enjoy other work by one of the performers/creators or hear something really intriguing about the concept. It also explains why a ridiculous portion of my DVD collection is series sets.
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Post by Crowfan on Mar 28, 2010 18:48:32 GMT -5
I sort of stopped watching network shows when they started canceling everything that wasn't an immediate ratings hit. For example "Freaks and Geeks" was a great show that caught on with more people but after one season NBC canceled it. Now networks cancel a show after one or two shows. How can you possibly build up an audience? Especially if you're putting up a new show at the same time as say college basketball's final four, or something like that??
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Post by ilmatto on May 30, 2010 22:53:01 GMT -5
It started when I was out on ships for three years. I was so removed from the immediacy of TV Hah you're right, TV and everything else; we'd come back from those deployments; uh, what year is this? Who's president? |
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