Why Binge-Watching Is Bad

#1

Post by mosescorn » Tue, Jul 10, 2012, 7:15 PM UTC

Why Binge-Watching Is Bad
blog.parsely.com

Re: Why Binge-Watching Is Bad

#2

Post by Strangiato » Tue, Jul 10, 2012, 8:01 PM UTC

Television (even The Wire) is not very important and the viewing habits of strangers does not merit this much thought. Watch, read, and listen however you would like to.

Re: Why Binge-Watching Is Bad

#3

Post by Tycho » Tue, Jul 10, 2012, 8:02 PM UTC

tl;dr: the wait between episodes of a serialised tv show are really an integral part of the narration (build suspense, time to reflect, etc.)

Re: Why Binge-Watching Is Bad

#4

Post by portmanteaufu » Tue, Jul 10, 2012, 8:11 PM UTC

A similar argument has been made for commercials. "Without the breaks, the audience becomes less engaged over time! Watching with commercials makes the show better." I dropped my cable subscription because of my loathing for commercials. I'm not sure how much less engaged you can be than that. Watch however you'd like.

I read an interesting blog post via HN several months ago regarding the future of television formatting. The gist was that now that getting a show over the internet is starting to become a reality, the need for shows to run for a fixed duration of time or be released serially is alleviated. The storytellers can do whatever they please. I really enjoyed Netflix's new series Lilyhammer[1], and loved that they dropped the entire first season all at once.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilyhammer

Re: Why Binge-Watching Is Bad

#5

Post by mosescorn » Tue, Jul 10, 2012, 8:17 PM UTC

portmanteaufu wrote: post #4

A similar argument has been made for commercials. "Without the breaks, the audience becomes less engaged over time! Watching with commercials makes the show better." I dropped my cable subscription because of my loathing for commercials. I'm not sure how much less engaged you can be than that. Watch however you'd like. I read an interesting blog post via HN several months ago regarding the future of television format…

having watched both dvds of shows and the same shows on television (same with hulu v. television) I prefer to watch the episode in its entirety minus commercial breaks, except for certain sitcoms. I think that Seinfeld and Friends may play better with the breaks.

Re: Why Binge-Watching Is Bad

#6

Post by mosescorn » Tue, Jul 10, 2012, 8:18 PM UTC

Strangiato wrote: post #2

Television (even The Wire) is not very important and the viewing habits of strangers does not merit this much thought. Watch, read, and listen however you would like to.

trollin and cruise controllin. respect

Re: Why Binge-Watching Is Bad

#7

Post by mpolun » Tue, Jul 10, 2012, 8:39 PM UTC

tl;dr authorial intent > viewer preference

Re: Why Binge-Watching Is Bad

#8

Post by Strangiato » Tue, Jul 10, 2012, 8:50 PM UTC

mosescorn wrote: post #6

Strangiato wrote: post #2

Television (even The Wire) is not very important and the viewing habits of strangers does not merit this much thought. Watch, read, and listen however you would like to.

trollin and cruise controllin. respect

I'll concede that my comment was a bit curt, but disagreement is not trolling.

Re: Why Binge-Watching Is Bad

#9

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Jul 10, 2012, 8:53 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Why Binge-Watching Is Bad

#10

Post by mosescorn » Tue, Jul 10, 2012, 8:53 PM UTC

mosescorn wrote: post #6

Strangiato wrote: post #2

Television (even The Wire) is not very important and the viewing habits of strangers does not merit this much thought. Watch, read, and listen however you would like to.

trollin and cruise controllin. respect

@Strangiato you really think television isn't important and viewing habits don't merit much thought? television and viewing habits both drive big $$$ and are vehicles for politics etc.