In Other TV: The New Media

[maggie2]

I always enjoy hearing what people think of the non-Buffy shows they're watching, so I thought I'd do some occasional postings on "other" TV.  But first I thought it was time to do a bit of a squee about how great the new way of watching TV is.


I'm of a certain age.  By that I mean I remember when there were four channels to choose from and no way of time-shifting.  You either caught the show when it aired or you never saw it.  Probably that's why old TV was almost entirely episodic.  People were too likely to miss individual episodes to be able to follow a complicated arc.  Soap operas moved glacially so that people missing episodes would never get lost.  Miniseries were Big Events.

I don't have a DVR and I don't care.  I just cancelled my cable.  I love watching TV on DVD because there are no commercials, and because I can see the show as a whole by watching the episodes in rapid succession.  That's how I became a fan of BtVS, and I've blazed through a bunch of shows that I'll be talking about from time to time.   I actively dislike watching shows that are on the air now.  While it's true that you can be swept up in the enthusiasm of others when you watch the show at its peak popularity (i.e. when it's actually on), the waiting between episodes drives me nuts.   Right now I'm watching Dollhouse, LOST, and Dexter.  LOST is really just an exercise of loyalty at this point -- when the show got uber-plotty I stopped caring very much.  So I don't mind waiting between seasons or between episodes.  Dollhouse (alas) has never had me thinking I just *have* to see the next episode right now.  Dexter I wish I had on DVD.  I'm a big fan.  Anyway, Dexter has lured me into the world of online viewing, about which I know next to nothing.  But I'd much prefer it if I'd waited to check it out until the series had run its course.  At any rate, Netflix is my friend.  And in a few years I bet it's all instant streaming, which I already find uber-cool because it means that if I'm not in the mood for Dexter, I can watch 30 Rock instead, or any one of a hundred movies that I've always meant to see.  Roku.  Love. 

Other people do have DVRs and cable.  This is also good.  DVRs mean we aren't wedded to episodic TV and instead can get big epics like Battlestar Galactica.  Cable means we can get quirky shows that don't appeal to a ton of people.  People my age like to puff up and declare that they don't watch TV (what with it being beneath them and all).   Ha!  The new TV isn't just miles better than old TV, it's better than most movies.  So:

Squeeeeee!!!  We live in a golden age!

Comments

[2maggie2.livejournal.com]

Apart from BtVS I'm not much for buying DVDs either. Not just because they're expensive if you aren't going to watch them over and over, but also because of the clutter. In ten years I bet none of us will own anything -- it'll all be on-line and available at the press of a button.

I think you are partly right about time shifting fragmenting the water cooler talk -- but I also think it's been the increase in niche entertainment. Back when there were only four channels (one of which was PBS), it wasn't like you could skip to the food channel if you didn't like what was on TV. I think that's why some shows were able to give the sense that *everyone* was watching. The last episode of MASH was a national event... bigger than the superbowl or at least right there with it.

It's true though that on-line makes it much easier to watch series that are still on the air, though. I love not being totally tied to the broadcast schedule. And the internet allows us to find the other people in our niche so there is a sense of enthusiasm. I'm not watching Glee and I definitely feel a bit cut out. I still am not much on the waiting though. If I had Dexter season 4 on DVD, it'd be done by now and I would know what happened!!!

[next_to_normal]

Dexter is one of those shows that's in my queue (as is Lost), but I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle, lol. The queue keeps growing! With all the shows I'm already watching (and, you know, occasionally having a life), I rarely seem to have time to catch up on ones I've missed.