With the life-changing advent of Netflix streaming, I’m not proud to admit that with each break from school, I’m swept into the binge-watching culture. As each episode of my current series obsession winds down, I patiently wait as the Netflix 15-second clock winds down, and, viola, the next chapter starts up seamlessly. Three bags of popcorn later, three seasons of my current show are gone!
After fall semester, I crawled back homesick, sleep deprived and seriously behind in watching my shows. After sleeping for several days, I caught up on the new “Marvel’s Agents of Shield” and “Homeland.” I was excited with the potential in “Agents” but disappointed in the newest season of “Homeland,” which contained very little excitement until the end. I then decided to enter the binging mode. I needed to sit back, throw my brain out the door and watch the Netflix clock count down without any objection from me. I decided to watch whatever was ‘hot’ on television, taking advice from both my family and actual TV critics.
Though I resisted at first because of the far-fetched premise, the first show I got hooked on was “Scandal.” OMG––DRAMA, CLIFFHANGERS, SEX––I was hooked. Three a.m. rolls around, and I am still glued to the tube wondering how Olivia is going to fix the next (hot) mess that comes her way. Three seasons in three days–– what could top “Scandals'” cliffhangers, which offer the perfect hook for the binge-watcher? I started to get slightly worried about my B-level taste, so I looked around for a more “sophisticated” series.
When I discovered “The Good Wife” this past break, pretty soon I had watched four seasons in no time. The strong female lead and quick-witted writing, not to mention great guest starring performances by Nathan Lane, provided a good jolt back to reality from “Scandal.” Quickly moving from one episode to the next, binge-watching had become my norm for watching TV. I continued watching themes of politics, power and corruption in shows such as “House of Cards” and “Downton Abbey.” And, of course, I had to round out my good TV by watching all the seasons of “Archer.” The animated idiotic adventures of the most dangerous spy in the world and his problems with his mom were a sassy and hilarious addition to my binge-filled break. Soon, all of the seasons were quick to fall without even having to hold the remote.
As each season of a show finished, I had a sense of accomplishment and closure. This new binge culture has led to shows being distributed differently. With Netflix releasing “House of Cards,” “Arrested Development” and “Orange is the New Black” a season at a time, I don’t have to wait a week to watch a new episode. I watched “House of Cards” over a week and “Arrested Development” took less time than that. Gone was the time commitment of watching shows as they come out. But there is a time and a place when hunkering down and binging is accepted. No matter how hard it is for me to admit, now that I’m back at Whitman, I don’t have time to sit in front of the TV for hours at a time. With only limited free time, I’ll probably return to my weekly shows, which provide a great study break. That is, until the next break when the binging is bound to return …
