TV binge watching: the double-edged sword

I’m not a very religious person, but if I were the television would be my Holy Grail. Such a beautiful, sleek, glorious object that emits all kinds of images that make me laugh, scream, and cry.

But there is an art to watching television shows, especially in the age of on-demand, premium cable, DVRs, and Netflix. No longer do we live in a world where “event television” is a common occurrence. Aside from the Super Bowl, there aren’t many things on TV we think we need to see live. We carry on with our busy lives and television viewing tends to be forgotten. Unless you’re like me and Sunday nights with “Game of Thrones” and “Mad Men” become more important than school or work.

But what most people do these days, procrastinating college

students included, is binge watch entire seasons or even whole series in a matter of days. In our right-here-right-now, consumption-based culture, this isn’t a surprise. The “West Wing” credits are hardly rolling before I’m on to the next episode. Why wait until later to have what I want now?

With many shows today, this “binge watching” is an advantage. Many cable shows, like “Mad Men” and “Game of Thrones,” benefit from being watched in season blocks. Their show runners focus on the narrative arc of the whole season rather than an episode-to-episode basis. Sometimes main characters receive little to no airtime certain episodes, but this is hardly noticed when you blow through a whole season one lazy Saturday.

Basic cable dramas and sit-coms like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Modern Family” feature plots contained in every episode and are perfect for viewing inconsistently. These shows have season long stories, but they’re so broad that you don’t need to be a die-hard fan to enjoy them.

With the recent emergence of original Netflix series, binge watching has reached a popularity apex. Everyone is high-tailing it through the new fourth season of “Arrested Development.” I’m trying to take my time, but I’m sure I’ll be done in a matter of days. The same thing happened earlier this year when I blew through “House of Cards” in a week. Again, these shows have season long arcs that benefit from binge watching. But I now I have to wait a whole year for new episodes to sink my teeth into. I just chalk it up to the price we pay for the impatient society we exist in today.