Blu-ray and Netflix streaming are included too, of course.
It buts me that when I re-watch LOST or any other show and they include the “previously on…” at the beginning of the show. I mean, I liked and understood it when the shows originally air, but I’m usually going right through them on DVD.
I wish every DVD had the option to turn it on or off(Supernatural does have this option, by the way). At least have them on their own track so I can just skip it real quick.
I don’t mind it. Especially if I watch part of a season of something on Netflix, it can be nice to have the reminder of where I left off. If I don’t need it, I can skip it just like I do the opening credits.
Sometimes it’s nice as a way to figure out which episode I’m on. But I’d much rather do without, especially for short shows where you watch a couple back to back.
And they need to get rid of the opening title sequence too, I hate having to watch it over and over. Just show it once on the first episode and be done with it.
They might as well have it as an optional extra. It wouldn’t exactly be hard for them to bundle in to the DVD. I occasionally like watching them to see how they’ve changed - Dexter, for example, often has a ‘previously of’ bit which is, in small details, different to what actually previously happened.
I’ve never watched anything on Netlfix streaming (I live in the UK) so it depends whether many people watch episodes week-by-week as a catch-up or watch them in sequence.
You can have it both ways. If they make the “previously on” segment a separate chapter, then you can instantly skip past it, or watch it if you prefer.
I meant I hadn’t seen “previously on” segments on streaming shows, but that’s not true. I watched Pillars of the Earth and The Tudors on Netflix streaming, some time ago, and both of those have them.
Note to all of you dopers who insist that “next week on…” discussion aren’t spoilers. Have any of you seen a TV series release that has THOSE included???
It seems that with most shows, the ‘last time on…’ part is tied in with the credits or flows with the intro. The ‘next time on…’ parts are usually after the credits and don’t come across as part of the episode you’re watching. I’m probably not explaining it well, but they seem different to me.
Like the OP, I usually watch episodes on DVD back-to-back and don’t need a recap. But I don’t object to the presence of the recaps - I figure part of the reason for DVD’s is to have a complete version of the show and the recap is part of that.
Although I always found the recaps for Soap to be confusing.
Well, Arrested Development, but they’re usually not actually previews; they’re usually sort of a “what if” continuation of the current episode’s jokes.
I like it, as, even if I’m marathon watching, they can reference things that are further back. Plus, I know what’s important based on how many previously-ons it’s in.
There is a big push by a lot of TV-show collectors to have complete versions of original broadcast episodes. Recaps aren’t the only things that a non-collector might find unnecessary; consider “commercial bumpers” even though no commercials are shown (“Robotech will be back in a moment!”/“Robotech is back!”). Studio/production company bits at the credits that never change over the years that theoretically could be included once per set (think the MTM meowing cat or “Sit Ubu, Sit! Good dog!” or the V of Doom). Shows which had the exact same credits sequences and openings (like syndicated cartoons).
Studios have released shows without these; it was especially common in videocassette/LD days, where linear feet of tape/analog track could be saved by omitting “unnecessary” bits. It became a little bit less necessary to omit when digital media came around, since a company could simply use higher compression if file size was a problem, but companies (especially in the early days of DVD) would often reuse masters used for VHS/LD for early digital releases…
Fans who cared complained, so studios stopped omitting them (for the most part). Folks who didn’t like them could still fast-forward and/or skip them, folks who liked them could watch them, and folks who didn’t care either way didn’t really notice. It’s the approach which displeases probably the fewest customers, while pleasing the most vocal bunch… fans.
The approach taken in recent years-- mentioned by the OP and others-- of offering menu selections to omit or include unnecessary bits makes the approach even better, taking the preferences of both pro and anti sides into account, instead of requiring the anti side to watch with remote in hand.
Incidentally, there is another reason to include “previously on…” recaps beyond fan service: some folks don’t watch episodes back to back to back. Have a bunch of TV box sets (or a bunch of friends who each collect a given series)? You can schedule your own nightly/weekly TV schedules. My group of coworkers did this for a few years for our lunch hours, with people bringing in their favorites; Monday would be Terminator: TSCC, Tuesday Burn Notice, Wednesday Lost, etc. It was nice when the more chronology-addicted series offered recaps…
Indeed. I certainly don’t. That’s not how TV shows were designed to be watched. That’s not how I’m used to watching TV shows. TV shows on DVD are great for when I want an hour’s entertainment. I enjoy the episodes more if I watch one every week or so—kind of like I enjoy cheeseburgers more if I eat one every week or so rather than downing four or five of them in one sitting.