TV people are using the term binge watching left and right as if it just sprouted out of nowhere. I remember the good old days when it was called a “marathon” and not something related to an eating disorder of some sorts. Well, it’s kind of related if you count the empty bags of microwaveable popcorn, pizza boxes, and soda bottles.
Anyway, “marathons” were the best back then. Whenever a friend of mine lends me a DVD of a show I haven’t watched, two things usually happen. I get bored and sleep on the pilot episode, or watch the entire thing for, I don’t know, 9 hours straight.
Marathons and normal viewing sessions (usually 1-2 episodes per day) is separated by a thin line called discipline. If you had the will power to stop your DVD player from playing the next episode then good for you. If you were like me, who couldn’t wait what happened next then you, too had the roller coaster ride of emotions of starting as normal, then excited, getting hooked, and getting depressed by the fact that your new favorite old show is now over and you can’t do anything but cry.
In the good old days, this was usually the case, but now, ever since Netflix and busy people who can’t follow airing schedules came out, binge watching became the next big thing. If you haven’t seen ‘The Americans’ yet then I’m here to tell you that it’s totally bingeable, if such a term exists. Binge shows are supposed to give you the control because Netflix made the whole season available so you can watch it all in one day. If you had the misfortune (or the luck) of not seeing a lick of ‘The Americans’ then go buy the whole of season 1 from iTunes or Amazon, or, you can wait for the DVD which will come out on January 2014.
