Watching a series as it progresses or in syndication

Cafe Society
1

Which is better?

Until last year I’d never seen more than 5 episodes total of Buffy and none of Angel. Now I’ve seen almost every episode of Angel and I’ve watched about five and a half of the seven seasons of Buffy so far.

I’m wondering, for those that do this, do you feel you’re missing out on part of the experience of viewing these series?

On the one hand, you get instant gratification. Cliffhangers in syndication last no longer than the weekend and most get resolved the very next day, while those watching as the series aired had to wait weeks or even months to find out the resolution.
On the other hand, part of the experience of watching a show has to be the suspense and conversation that a particular episode evokes. You chat online and on message boards. You speculate as to what’s going to happen next. You get involved in the outcome.

In some cases, knowing what happens detracts from the viewing. I watched Charmed in order, BUT in order at two different points in the series because that’s what TNT’s syndication schedule was like. So I watched one episode with Shannen Doherty and then the next episode would fast forward three years and I’d see an episode with Rose McGowan. Part of the time it took away the suspense and the plot twists because I knew the ultimate result. Other times I wondered how they arrived at that situation.

I know some of you don’t watch ANY episode of 24 and then watch it all at once when the season’s over. How’d that work out? Any series you’d prefer to watch piecemeal rather than all at once in syndication?

I’ve never seen this discussed before so I thought I’d throw it out there.

2

Talking about dramas as opposed to comedies or reality shows, right?

I watch a fair amount of dramas, almost exclusively in first run. But there are four dramas I’ve watched in syndication, and I actually prefer it that way.

Three of the ones I watched in syndication are far too embarassing to cop to, so I’ll talk about ER. I watched ER in first run for a bunch of years; from the pilot until Mark Greene’s father was dying. (My own father was in the hospital from a heart attack at the time, and that storyline was so close to home I bailed on the show completely.)

Anyway, being a big Linda Cardellini fan since Freaks & Geeks, I started watching again when she joined the cast. Once the TNT reruns had caught up to the storyline about Mark’s dad dying, (mine recovered fully and is doing great) I added it to the VCR queue to fill in the missing seasons. Those two-a-days catch you up right quick!

I found watching 10 episodes per week for about two months riveting. I still maintain that those were the best seasons of ER, but I’m apparently in the minority on that. I think I liked them so much because I overdosed on them. That much viewing tends to invest you pretty heavily.

Watching a show all at once like that has similarities to starting a new relationship; you know, that time when you can’t see each other enough. It’s very satisfying.

Watching first run shows with a week in between viewing has the tendency to lose my attention. Don’t get me wrong, watercooler talk is fun and all, but I find it about as satisfying as a phone call when you’re apart from your SO. Mostly frustrating.

One other example would be Deadwood. I think it’s the greatest show ever, but even still I found myself collecting four shows at a time on tape and then watching them all at once. Sure, I missed out on the threads discussing them, but I need to be in a specific mood to watch Deadwood, and each time I got around to it, I found myself riveted to its greatness and glad I had multiple episodes to watch in a sitting. (And then I would go read all four threads, frustrated that I couldn’t really participate, but considered that a small price to pay.)

3

I tend to prefer to watch on the original run: the wait between weeks gives you more time to think about what might be happening.

4

I like both – watching first run episodes and then watching the DVDs.

I stay away from watching the shows when they’re in syndication. I don’t know if it’s true, but I’ve heard people complain about editing and cuts, to make room for more commercial breaks.

Watching first run and then coming here helps me pick up details I miss. Watching the DVDs, two or three hours at a time, lets me get more involved in the story, appreciate the continuity.

5

Yeah, syndicated stuff is regularly cut to make more room for commercials. It’s not usually a big deal, although sometimes they can cut an important line or two. The other thing I sometimes don’t like about syndication is what TNT does to the Angel reruns and what Sci-Fi used to so with Star Trek – that is, put the commercial breaks in different places. If the show is any good at all the people behind it ade the act breaks where they were for a reason, so by moving them around, you don’t get the beat where it’s supposed to go, while you’ll get a brek right in the middle of a scene – and sometimes because they add a fade-out in the manufactured breaks you miss some stuff.

–Cliffy

6

Syndication also gives you the chance to discover a show you previously hadn’t watched. This is how I discovered Law and Order . Not being a soap fan, I was looking for something to watch on my weekdays off. Needless to say, I was hooked and began watching the new prime time episodes and the other shows in the franchise.