Series and binge watching fatigue - anyone else?

[DaddyfromNaboo]

So lately I find watching new tv series less and less interesting, entertaining and satisfying. Shows always have huge and complicated story arcs and more often than not those arcs wont be finished properly.

Then there is the lack of really free time.

I am currently turning away from a lot of current shows because I prefer catching.up on movies that I missed.

Tv shows have somehow lost their magic for me, especially with the onslaught of new shows each week.

Anybody else feel exhausted by the flood of media released these days?

 

[Cephus]

Pretty much everything has lost its magic these days. Everything has an agenda, everything is made for the lowest conceivable denominator and nobody really tries anymore. Plus, most TV shows are very short anymore so you can't have a complicated story. You hardly have a story at all. My TV watching is down to an all-time low.

 

[harrisonp]

I think the worst part is that there’s a surplus of actually decent stuff to be watching, there’s just so gorram much of it that I go back to my comfort shows or nothing at all. Binging also leads to less discussion IMO because you have to tiptoe around spoilers until everyone in your sphere has started and finished lest you risk ruining something that you thought happened in episode 4 but actually happened in 6. I don’t retain nearly as much about shows either when I’m binging vs week to week.

All that said I think too much good stuff is a pretty okay problem to have. You just have to curate your playlists more than before. There’s something tailor made for nearly any taste now.

 

[Apollo]

Meh there is always Classics to binge on, new releases, not so much

 

[Thain]

I think the worst part is that there’s a surplus of actually decent stuff to be watching, there’s just so gorram much of it that I go back to my comfort shows or nothing at all. Binging also leads to less discussion IMO because you have to tiptoe around spoilers until everyone in your sphere has started and finished lest you risk ruining something that you thought happened in episode 4 but actually happened in 6. I don’t retain nearly as much about shows either when I’m binging vs week to week.

All that said I think too much good stuff is a pretty okay problem to have. You just have to curate your playlists more than before. There’s something tailor made for nearly any taste now.

This is exactly how I feel. I find myself constantly overwhelmed with the rapidly growing list of shows that I need to watch (amidst an already gargantuan list of movies I need to watch) that I spend less time watching TV than I used to. Throw in a lack of free time and I'm lucky if I watch 1 or 2 episodes of something a week. I've usually been a fan of the binge model, but I agree, it's much harder to discuss (one of my favorite things about pop culture media in general) and to retain everything at once. I'm actually really excited that The Mandalorian, and other subsequent Disney+ shows, are using a weekly schedule. That way we can all watch together and discuss and speculate around the water cooler throughout the week as we anticipate the next episode.

Having too much good content is definitely not a bad thing. But yeah, I've noticed I am far more picky about what I watch now than ever before because of the sheer variety and size of what's available. It's impossible to watch it all.

 

[AJK001]

I hate the season long story arcs in TV nowadays and I despise multi season ones. I yearn for the days of stand alone episodes where it didn't matter if you missed an episode. That being said I don't mind a 2 or 3 episode arc. I also hate how many channels today show nothing but episodes from one program all day long. I watch the Science Channel and all they seem to do over the last few years is show one programs episodes all day long. When this first started I liked it but now I hate it.

 

[renaissance_man]

Part of the problem lies with entire series being dropped in one day which means you get people bingeing the lot then talking about it or websites posting spoilers. It seems people have to let you know they've seen it all with full details, like it is some sort of huge achievement.

It would be nice if the world was considerate towards those who have some restraint and like to make a series last a couple of weeks.

 

[Psab keel]

My wife and I tend to binge watch shows but that is becoming more and more sparse as our free time had been chipped away by life. Movies have suffered the same fate for us. My wife reads a lot. Perhaps I too should pick up a book more often.

 

[Richard Baker]

What I hate is a series which starts off great then takes the story in an undesired direction. I really enjoyed 'Haven' until the final two seasons. I have five shows to watch for completeness but keep putting it off. Haven had the courage to kill off major supporting characters (even had a red shirt introduced that survived while a beloved one perished in one episode).

Some shows keep going way past the time they should have quit. 'Once Upon a Time' was great the first couple of seasons with unusual twists on classic characters (Red Ridinghood was a werewolf and her outfit prevented the change). The more the show when on the worse it got. They introduced new lands and characters but did not seem to know what to do with them.
'Agents of Shield' also started off great but faltered, getting into massive season long story arcs which I should have liked but found myself struggling to enjoy. It is a bad sign when you shift from looking forward to the next show to forgetting it is even on.

It is rare when a series ends while it is at the top of it's game and ratings are still strong. IIRC 'MASH' and 'I Love Lucy' quit while they were still number one in ratings.

My wife loves to binge watch shows, I tend to still see them in two episode clumps at best. If I really like a show I do not want it to end, I want to savor the moments and have something to look forward to.

 

[Apollo]

You should!

Just finished Bruce Campbells “ Hail to the chins”

Great book!!!

Perhaps I too should pick up a book more often.

 

[enterprise0216]

Personally i am tired of all the different Re-Boots every year or ever other few years. Similar stories just different actors / actresses in them. I have started watching overseas TV shows just something different overall. I don't mind binge watching my favorite shows now and then. However you are right after a while things just fizzle out. Several movies are like that slightly different stories, but in the back of your mind. Your thinking this is kind of familiar to another movie you may have seen years back. Nowadays its all about how money they can make and ratings all that executives care about.

From my point of view Hollywood, Producers and Writers are running out of idea original ones. Enough with the Re-Boots we all need something fresh and new to wake up the senses. Well that is my take on it. By the way your not wrong at all.

 

[Riceball]

From my point of view Hollywood, Producers and Writers are running out of idea original ones. Enough with the Re-Boots we all need something fresh and new to wake up the senses. Well that is my take on it. By the way your not wrong at all.

It's not that they're out of ideas, Hollywood has just become more risk averse. They don't want to throw millions into a movie only to have it fail at the box office. Because of the immense amount of money to produce a movie these days, Hollywood only want to spend the money on things that they feel are a safe bet to make them a fat profit and so they rely on the reboots, remakes, and sequels/prequels in order to do that. With China having become such a huge market for American made movies reboots and remakes are an even more appealing idea since most of them would be new to the Chinese which means that even with a lackluster box office domestically, the Chinese box office could more than make up for it. It tends to result in meh movies but I'd argue that it's a solid practice, you have to remember that none of the major movie studios are in the business to make movies, they're in the business to make money and movies is just how they make their money. So they don't care if they're making great movies, or original movies, or masterpieces of cinema, all they care is that they're making money.

 

[SixthScaleMan]

I’ll just leave this here. I think they nailed it.

 

[Psab keel]

There was a time when movies were an art form as well as a business.

 

[Riceball]

There was a time when movies were an art form as well as a business.

And that is long gone. Mainstream Hollywood has been about making money via movies for quite some time now.

 

[NeoRutty]

I’ll just leave this here. I think they nailed it.

And this is pretty much what uses up most my time to watch stuff...

YOUTUBE vids.

It's no longer "guy falls off bike" vids... there are creators making legit entertaining content.

I would rather watch RLM watch horrible flicks and make fun of them, than watch a TV series or movie.

And I love watching video essays on movies I already like... I'm a big fan of learning other perspectives, or finding themes I missed

"Movies with Mikey" and "Lindsay ellis" are good examples...

I'm not a big fan of whining vids "THE LAST JEDI IS THE NEW DIP-SNEY BOTTOM!"

I will watch "Why the themes of the Last Jedi do not resonate like those of Empire Strikes Back"

So my cable is gone... but youtube is booming.

 

[SixthScaleMan]

Same here. RLM, Mikey, Lindsey are all terrific. Stumbled onto a great music essay series called “Polyphonic”. There’s some good stuff to be had.

 

[StevenBills]

There's always Band of Brothers.

SB

 

[AJK001]

Now that is one I don't mind seeing again and even binging it.

 

[enterprise0216]

Yep its all about money... Money this and Money that. "This has happened before and it will happen again". every generation rises and fails thus continuing to repeat the endless process. The only things that rings true regardless of the arguments or discussion made is Money always comes back to Money. But all statements on this thread all have their merits and valid points.