You've made me realise my deepest fear by lying and tearing us up...
I am a huge fan of binge watching television shows. It started when Foxtel would air back-to-back episodes of favoured shows (Arena's Friends and Will & Grace, Sci-Fi's Roswell). But you couldn't really rely on the networks for consistency. So, when DVD box sets became uber cheap, it was not uncommon to find me curled up in my bedroom with my laptop and a stack of whichever show JB Hi-Fi/Borders/Big W/Amazon/etc. had dared to place on sale.
It started with the Whedonverse ( Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly), then continued with the Abramsverse ( Alias, Lost), Scrubs, Dawson's Creek, Family Guy, and many, many more. I watched most of these while they were on television, but terrible scheduling had meant I hadn't seen every episode or finished the series. Watching them in order, in their entirety, without advertisements, and without the fear of a cliffhanger was an amazing experience.
Once the digital medium and downloads (specifically torrents) took off, binging went to the next level. No longer did you have to wait for the show to be released, you could download it virtually right away and either watch at the same time as the US (very important at the time social media was taking off) or save the episodes of a current season and view them in one sitting. I remember Adele and Paul discovering shows like Heroes, 30 Rock, and Chuck, and emailing me burnt DVDs in Melbourne (before I could afford a decent ISP and download speed). It meant discovering and cherry-picking your own favourites, instead of relying on one of our major networks to pick the show up out here.
And since then, I’ve pretty much sworn off commercial television. Every now and then, we may flick on a State of Origin match or Grand Final, but between downloading and live-streaming, I don’t understand how people who can sit through the minutia of free-to-air especially. (Though it does make me sad I’ve missed some quality local programming, specifically from ABC and SBS.)
Lately I've been binging to catch up with shows which are still running (Game of Thrones, The Mindy Project, Parks and Recreation, The Bates Motel, Brooklyn Nine-Nine), and have also started on shows which are now finished. Partly to see what the fuss is about and partly to avoid someone spoiling a show I feel I might grow an interest in at some point...a preemptive strike, if you will.
The West Wing is a slow burn and I'm in season four of eight. There's not too much pressure with this one as it ended long enough ago that it's not brought up frequently enough in conversation for spoilers. Also, it wasn't exactly a show rife with plot twists and the threat of imminent violence or death. Though I get pretty defensive of anything that happens to goddess of all things, C.J. Cregg.
Gossip Girl has always been a mystery to me. Made by the same dude behind The O.C. and my beloved Chuck, it didn't seem to have the wit of the former or the hook of the latter. Yet Tumblr loves it and I've learned that Tumblr can usually predict what I'll enjoy. While I can't say I'm sold just yet, it is an easy (somewhat enjoyable) watch and breaks up our usual stress-inducing shows quite nicely. Also, the fact it's filmed in New York City gives me no shortage of joy.
The show I need the most buffering from is Breaking Bad. I cannot state vehemently enough how excellent this series has been so far. From the storyline to the dialogue to the characters, it is absolutely masterful at delivering a compelling, genuinely shocking, and frighteningly authentic account of the human condition. The way it's twisted our once empathetic protagonist into a truly vile creature is spectacular. However, I am desperate to get through it because it physically pains me to watch. I'm almost at the final season and I want...I need it to be over. I fear that Jesse Pinkman will break my heart at least several more times before this journey is over and I don't know if I can handle it.
It started with the Whedonverse ( Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly), then continued with the Abramsverse ( Alias, Lost), Scrubs, Dawson's Creek, Family Guy, and many, many more. I watched most of these while they were on television, but terrible scheduling had meant I hadn't seen every episode or finished the series. Watching them in order, in their entirety, without advertisements, and without the fear of a cliffhanger was an amazing experience.
Once the digital medium and downloads (specifically torrents) took off, binging went to the next level. No longer did you have to wait for the show to be released, you could download it virtually right away and either watch at the same time as the US (very important at the time social media was taking off) or save the episodes of a current season and view them in one sitting. I remember Adele and Paul discovering shows like Heroes, 30 Rock, and Chuck, and emailing me burnt DVDs in Melbourne (before I could afford a decent ISP and download speed). It meant discovering and cherry-picking your own favourites, instead of relying on one of our major networks to pick the show up out here.
And since then, I’ve pretty much sworn off commercial television. Every now and then, we may flick on a State of Origin match or Grand Final, but between downloading and live-streaming, I don’t understand how people who can sit through the minutia of free-to-air especially. (Though it does make me sad I’ve missed some quality local programming, specifically from ABC and SBS.)
Lately I've been binging to catch up with shows which are still running (Game of Thrones, The Mindy Project, Parks and Recreation, The Bates Motel, Brooklyn Nine-Nine), and have also started on shows which are now finished. Partly to see what the fuss is about and partly to avoid someone spoiling a show I feel I might grow an interest in at some point...a preemptive strike, if you will.
The West Wing is a slow burn and I'm in season four of eight. There's not too much pressure with this one as it ended long enough ago that it's not brought up frequently enough in conversation for spoilers. Also, it wasn't exactly a show rife with plot twists and the threat of imminent violence or death. Though I get pretty defensive of anything that happens to goddess of all things, C.J. Cregg.
Gossip Girl has always been a mystery to me. Made by the same dude behind The O.C. and my beloved Chuck, it didn't seem to have the wit of the former or the hook of the latter. Yet Tumblr loves it and I've learned that Tumblr can usually predict what I'll enjoy. While I can't say I'm sold just yet, it is an easy (somewhat enjoyable) watch and breaks up our usual stress-inducing shows quite nicely. Also, the fact it's filmed in New York City gives me no shortage of joy.
The show I need the most buffering from is Breaking Bad. I cannot state vehemently enough how excellent this series has been so far. From the storyline to the dialogue to the characters, it is absolutely masterful at delivering a compelling, genuinely shocking, and frighteningly authentic account of the human condition. The way it's twisted our once empathetic protagonist into a truly vile creature is spectacular. However, I am desperate to get through it because it physically pains me to watch. I'm almost at the final season and I want...I need it to be over. I fear that Jesse Pinkman will break my heart at least several more times before this journey is over and I don't know if I can handle it.