Cultural phenomenon doesn’t click for all
No one can do everything. Some people can’t sing. Some people can’t dance. I can’t binge-watch.
I really don’t get the deal with binge-watching. I guess it’s appealing in an age where an entire season of a television show is available on Netflix for streaming. But I simply am not programmed to devote hours upon hours to a show, no matter how good it is.
It makes sense to sit down and blast out a film in one sitting, seeing as the entire story is there for you — but even that has its limits. Ever tried to watch an extended cut of a “Lord of the Rings” movie? Those things are commitments.
Television is a medium that requires anticipation and buildup for the next episode. When your favorite show ends on a cliffhanger, you get excited for what is to come and spend the next week wondering what will happen. Sure, you have the option to find that out right away with binge-watching. But at a certain point you have to ask, is that what the show’s producers wanted?
I’m sure some shows are meant to be enjoyed back-to-back. I’ve heard that most shows are appreciated more when you can see the plot threads carry over and collide. But the more you think about the episode you just saw, the more you appreciate it and think through the show — and that enhances your enjoyment of it.
Every time I’ve attempted to binge-watch, I crash and burn. Even if it’s my favorite show of all time, I can only go through one or two episodes at a time. I need to process the information, buildup anticipation for next week and really analyze the episode I just saw.
The only time I’ve ever blasted through several episodes in a row is when I had to catch up on season 4 of “Fringe.” But even then, it was spread over a few days and I had incentive, since the final season was premiering that Friday.
In theory, I should be able to binge-watch. I’ve watched marathons of shows on television. I just didn’t get the binge-watching gene.
I still have a bunch of shows on DVD that I have yet to go through. My inability to do what so many others can leaves me at a disadvantage. On the plus side, I do own these shows, so there’s no time limit on them. Yet even when watching them, I have to take breaks. The longest binge-watch I’ve ever done is four or five episodes in a row. But the question becomes, is this a bad thing?
Does binge-watching help or hinder the American viewing public? Yes, it’s a common practice, but for all we know, it could be distracting us from that which really matters. All I know is that it’s not for me and if you can do it, more power to you. For me, I’ll settle for “See you next week.”
Bradley Burgess can be reached at [email protected]