Monday, October 4, 2021

To binge, or not to binge?




HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: There was some sort of psychology experiment, a famous one, where kids were essentially given the option to have one Oreo now, but if they waited, they could have three Oreos. Something like that. Marshmallows, maybe.

And psychologists decided something based on whether the subjects, children, could wait. Were self-disciplined enough to wait. And apparently those who could control themselves, and wait to get “more,” turned out to be more successful people.

We were all fine, weren’t we, when Ed Sullivan was on Sunday night, or Dateline on Thursdays, or Downton Abbey on Sunday. Game of Thrones. Outlander. One a week. We’d watch, then discuss, then wait, knowing there was this good thing at the end of the waiting.

And that’s just how it worked. Waiting, in a way, even made it more fun.

But now, oh no. We can plop ourselves down in front of a screen, and watch 27 seasons of whatever we want. I will admit to watching, as quickly as we could, the entire six seasons of Line of Duty. I could not wait.

Even when the credit music started, I would be excited. After a day of writing and working and planning and organizing, I really looked forward to curling up with a glass of wine, and… dare I say…binging an episode or two.

Recently, the powers that be must have realized that people were burning through shows very quickly. And they flipped the switch to once a week again. Have you encountered this? I was incredibly baffled when we were watching American Crime Story, (the Monica Lewinsky story), and there was only ONE episode on! I thought – – are you kidding me? I want to watch the next episode! NOW. (Very Veruca Salt, right?)


We have been un-trained from our patience. And now we demand instant TV gratification. Has this affected you?


LUCY BURDETTE: I don’t really binge watch more than one hour in one evening, but John’s got me into the habit of watching one of something each night. This past week it’s been rewatching MARE OF EASTTOWN. Such an amazing show! I feel the same way Hank--I can hardly wait to get to the next one. I was telling my neighbor she HAD to watch this and she said ‘oh we don’t get HBO.’ And I said, ‘You don’t have to, just buy the episodes.’ So yes, patience is gone.


JENN McKINLAY: Nah, I’m not a binger. I have too much on my plate to clear off whole days of couch potatodom, sadly. That, and I like to reward myself at the end of the work day with one episode of whatever -- Bosch, Ted Lasso, Nine Perfect Strangers. Knowing the next episode awaits me at the end of each day is a reward.

That being said, I am a book binger. If I find the first in a series and love it, I will read everything that author has ever written - but only at night at the end of the day. Honestly, this boggles me, because I was definitely the kid who ate the marshmallow as soon as it appeared on a plate with no supervision. Take that, scientists!


HALLIE EPHRON: I’m not a binger. If I like a series, I ration it to one a night. Making it last. But waiting a week? By the time a week is up I’ve forgotten about whatever it was that I wanted to see.

And I still watch network tv - public television. Antiques Roadshow of course. Lydia’s Kitchen. And occasionally there’s a good masterpiece mystery, though the new ones are generally not nearly as good and they’re few and far between what with fundraising dominating the schedule.


DEBORAH CROMBIE: I can do either/or. Although my idea of binging is watching a couple of series episodes two nights in a row on a weekend, so even when we really like something it can take us a few weeks to get through it. But I am finding that I am actually enjoying the once a week format on some of the new shows, just because it's something to look forward to. Friday nights at the moment are the new Ted Lasso and the new Only Murder in the Building and it's a nice punctuation to the week.

RHYS BOWEN: Certainly no binger here. I was the sort of child who made her Easter eggs last until mid-summer! We subscribe to most things--Neflix, Britbox etc but I find I only want a hour of TV at night, usually a PBS mystery or nature program. The only binge watching I can remember recently was several episodes of Bridgerton (to catch up, you know) and once, during the stress of the pandemic I watched a whole season of The Great British baking show! Otherwise I too enjoy looking forward to one night a week for a certain show.


JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I would binge if I could, but if I’m streaming something I’m not usually sitting down before 8pm (I think this is an atavistic time sense from my childhood and youth, when everything started at 8.) At that point, I could do AT MOST three hours before I have to knock it off and crawl into bed.

There have definitely been shows I watch two or three episodes at a time - I tore through the fabulous COUNTERPART (Amazon Prime) as quickly as possible because I couldn’t resist, and my current show, FOR ALL MANKIND, is very hard to leave at 10:30 or 11! BTW, after hearing fellow mystery writer Chris Holm rave about it, I actually subscribed to Apple + TV just for this show. Although I have my eye on Ted Lasso after I finish.

There is something to be said about the old-fashioned way, though. I saw WANDAVISION and LOKI on Disney + one week at a time and the suspense was killing me. The last time I was so anxious for Friday (or Wednesday) to roll around was back in the early 90s when Ross and I would race to the TV to see BABYLON 5. Which, not coincidentally, was the first television show to have a whole, continuous story line playing out over a season.

HANK: Wow. I love that we're all kind of different about this! How about you Reds and readers?  To Binge, or not to binge? (And what got you binging?) 


112 comments:

  1. For the most part, there’s no binging here . . . or, at least, very little. Occasionally, we watch more than one episode of a show to catch up, but watching an episode a week seems to be ingrained, and that remains my preference.

    I do book binge, though . . . good author, good book, what’s not to love?

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    1. I do think here's a psychology to that, too, Joan...the one a week idea. Or maybe it's habit. But it does feel comfortable.

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    2. Yes, I binge. Perhaps living alone makes a difference. My shows? The new Senegalese drama Wara; the French mystery series Murder in.... (I'm in Season 6 and cringe that it's ending); British Baking Show; Vera; Capitaine Morleau; Tatort, Shetland. About to turn into new episodes of Grace and Frankie. And Antiques Roadshow, US and UK.

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  2. If I'd been offered the one Oreo or wait and get three, I'm fairly certain I could have waited for the three. However, when it comes to the TV shows now, I am guilty of binging. I have learned to control myself some though, and I haven't stayed up watching a show until 3 or 4 in the morning. But, I usually watch more than one episode, two or three anyway. I'm now watching Only Murders in the Building, and I've doled it out in a couple of episodes at a time. It's so good. The Great British Baking Show is one I would binge full on, but now that they're only giving us one episode a week, I take what I can get. I do admit that I am saving up Ted Lasso, letting it build up episodes before I start watching season two. Tonight was the beginning of Call the Midwife on PBS. I have PBS Passport and could have watched at least four episodes, but for some reason, I love looking forward to Call the Midwife on Sunday nights. So, I guess at this point I'm doing a bit of binging and not binging. I go a while before I watch shows, and then I get back into it. I'm in my into it phase now.

    Book binging. Yeah, I do that.

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    1. We tried to watch Only Murders, and couldn't get into it. Should we try again? I will is you say so!

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    2. We are loving Only Murders. Last week's episode had no spoken dialogue, as one of the characters is deaf. It was so cleverly done.

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    3. Hank, I wish you would give it another try. I love how I'm learning the stories of the people who live in this building, The Arconia, and others involved in the murder investigation, like the female detective. That the three main characters--Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez--first come together over a crime podcast they all listen to (All is Not OK in Oklahoma)is so delightful. These three people living in the building who don't know each other and would never have cared to know each other come together. Lessons in life. Then, there's the bassoonist (Jan), and I adore her. Of course, I played the bassoon in high school. I really like the actress, too, Amy Ryan. There are such sweet exchanges between her and Steve Martin. Add in Nathan Lane, an all-time favorite of mine, as a somewhat sketchy character, and voila, a good time was had by all. I think the dialogue is witty, and the underlying stories of the characters are endearing. That people are lonely in a building full of other people is an ongoing story of humanity, too.

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    4. Debs, I'm at that episode next, The Boy in 6B. I can't wait to see it now. I may have to slide it in this afternoon.

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    5. We don't get Hulu, but you can try it free for 30 days currently. That sounds interesting!

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    6. Kathy, I'm with you on almost everything you've posted, sister! I would've probably waited for the 3 Oreos, and I went nuts binging on Acorn, Britbox,etc. at the beginning of the pandemic! Much better now, but still enjoy watching a few episodes of good shows. And when I can't get back to sleep I put on headphones to not disturb DH and watch something on the laptop. I've been known to wake up later to realize I've still got headphones on, lol!

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  3. I can't do more than about three episodes of something in a row. After that, I start to find it annoying - even for something I love. Having said that, I will watch an episode or two of something for multiple nights in a row.

    It probably helps that I just got my first streaming service (Disney+) this year. I'm not in the habit of streaming something multiple episodes at a time. Once a week was all that was available to me unless I'd bought the show on DVD.

    And, Julia, shout out to a fellow Babylon 5 fan! I'm two episodes away from finishing my latest rewatch. And I know I'm going to cry again when I watch that final episode. Love that show! (Thoughts about the reboot announced last Monday? I've said for years I didn't want the show to be rebooted, but after what I've read from Claudia Christian and JMS himself, I'm more excited about it than I thought I would be.)

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    1. BTW, my anti-binging applies to books as well. I need to space out an author's books, or I start to notice their ticks and tricks and it gets very annoying to me. It's why, if there is a long running series before I pick up the first book, it can take me years to get caught up.

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    2. That is SO interesting! And you are right--when you see them in a row, the repetition or lazy acting or non sequiturs truly come to the forefront.

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    3. Mark, they are rebooting B5????

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    4. Yes, on the CW with JMS at the helm!

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  4. I have binged a few shows. But last night I watched the new Call the Midwife followed by the new Grantchester, and I am perfectly happy to wait a week for the next installment of these favorite shows.

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    1. But I do binge read through an author, like Jenn does. Ten years ago I had a surgery that came with six weeks of recuperation/sick leave. I wasn't a crazy obsessed author yet, and I had jumped into the middle of both Debs' series and Louise Penny's. It was glorious to start at the start of Debs' series and read straight through until I was caught up (and yes, Louise came second. ;^) But that was also great).

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    2. Wow, Edith, I did that with Debs' series, too. That is what started me here and finally connected me to so many wonderful people and all these terrific authors. I gave Debs' books to Irwin and he loves them. Then he started to read more of the authors I was finding and following. We both love lots of the same ones now.

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    3. I'm always happy to know I've given others some book-binge pleasure, since I am a book binger, too. If I discover a series I like, I will read straight through until I have to wait for a new book to come out. In the last few months I read all of Martin Walker's Bruno book, and I'm now listening to Elly Griffiths Brighton (the Magic Men) series on Audible. The nice thing about Audible is that it slows you down.

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    4. HmmmI have never seen Grantchester. SO odd!

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    5. Hank, I referred to the first few seasons as the "Hot Vicar" show. Then he left. The new guy is also great. Not quite as hot, but plenty cute. And the mysteries are well done.

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    6. Edith, score! I always think of you now when I watch Call the Midwife, but big YES, to James Norton,the original guy,aka 'the Hot Vicar' in Grantchester! (And I've always liked Robson Green, the actor who plays the detective.)

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    7. I binged Bruno last year, an acceptable substitute for travel.

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  5. Julia and Mark, I am a huge Babylon 5 fan. It was such an incredible story and I loved the actors. I would watch it again!

    I binge on books for sure. Sometimes a series will just move something and I will search out one book after the other until I've read the whole series. Sometimes I have the patience to get them from the library with other books, and read them over several months. Other times, if the price is right, I'll buy them all.

    I used to binge TV before the pandemic. The other day, I did watch a few episodes of a series I had recorded last year. It was good. But, these days, I hardly even watch the news or anything on TV. While baking and cooking, I listen to Audible.

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  6. I'm not a binger per se. I forget that the two shows I watch airs new episodes during the week, so when Saturday rolls around, I have those to watch. If I do binge on a series, it is no more than 2 episodes at a time.

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  7. No, I am not a TV binger. I don't have cable TV or Netflix or most of the streaming services that people have to do so.

    JULIA/MARK/JUDY: Another huge Babylon 5 fan when it came out in the 1990s but there's no way for me to watch it now.

    And I also not a book binger and have never read an entire series back-to-back. But I can sit on the sofa and read for hours at a time.

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    1. I have never read a series back to back, either. I have to ask--what is Babylon Five? ::ducking::

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    2. Hank, Babylon 5 was a sci-fi show in the 90s. Big story arc that went five seasons (personally, I think they peaked in season 4, probably because they were told they wouldn't get five seasons, wrapped everything, and then they got season five).

      Grace, it's on DVD if you have a DVD player.

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    3. LIZ: I own DVDs of Babylon 5 but my DVD player is not connected to my TV...

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    4. Grace, this may be so late you don’t see it. But I have a USB port plug in CD drive for my laptop to watch DVDs. Just a thought. Truly another Babylon 5 addict here…although large flocks of black birds can creep me out. ;-)

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  8. Since I don't have any streaming services, I am mostly unable to do any binging that doesn't involve popping in a DVD. But that's for stuff that's already been shown obviously.

    The closest I come is for Lucifer. My friend Ann and I usually binge a few episodes at a time when a new season shows up on Netflix (I go to her place to watch). We did that for the new (and final) season, watching the first six episodes.

    Otherwise, I tend to just watch whatever shows up on TV and then move on to something else when that week's episode is over.

    Also, add me to the list of people who are fans of Babylon 5. Massive fan actually. Met a number of the cast and creator J. Michael Straczynski. When actress Mira Furlan (Delenn) passed away, I started a new rewatch so I'm currently in the first season. I loved the story structure of the show where each season had a generalized plot running through it but each chapter was part of a whole. This had JMS and others referring to the show as a "five year novel for television".

    The newly announced "from the ground up" reboot of the show to be aired on The CW has me less than thrilled. While the story is supposedly going to be effectively all-new and done by JMS, the fact that they already got it right the first time around has me very iffy on the new series. Plus, it's on The CW which means gawdawful bad young actors and since the network effectively destroyed my love of superhero TV shows, I have no doubt that they will force JMS into a pale shadow of greatness.

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    1. New season of Lucifer has started? ::heads for television::...

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    2. Oh, no, CW is the channel that did that God-awful "historical" show REIGN, didn't they? Yikes. Fingers crossed this means we don't get high school prom in space from JMS.

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    3. Lucifer. I have missed out that,too... Thank you!

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  9. Is anybody watching Maid, with Margaret Qualley and Andie MacDowell? we watched the first last night. It's not cheerful, but quite interesting, based on the memoir about living in poverty by Stephanie Land.

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    1. Lucy, I plan to watch it. I'm interested in the fact that mother, Andie MacDowell, and daughter, Margaret Qualley, are in it together.

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  10. I don't watch much TV, but I'm definitely a book binger. This past summer I've blown through all Francine Mathews' Merry Folger mysteries; all Iona Wishaw's Lane Winslow mysteries, and I'm currently catching up on Elly Griffiths' Magic Men mysteries. Although, at this precise moment, I'm dipping my toe into Wait For It, just to shake things up a little. Lots of fun there, Jenn!

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    1. I love Francine Matthes' Merry Floger series and adore Iona Whishaw's Lane Winslow mysteries, too. Knowing that, I'll have to try Elly Griffiths' books soon! But this weekend I, too, went straight to Jenn McKinlay and am binging The Good Buy Girls series. LOL, Gigi. Wait For It is just terrific!!

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    2. I am giving WAIT FOR IT to everyone!

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  11. Binge read, yes. Binge-watch TV, no. Currently have a new internet provider and can actually (gasp!) crawl out of the cave and stream movies, tv shows, etc. But old habits die hard. I find one episode/documentary/movie will do me and then it's time to do something else.

    I did find a streaming service called TUBI, which I like a lot. It's free and the catch is the show gets interrupted for commercials--but this I don't mind because I can mute the sound and it's like tv I grew up with--time to grab a snack, answer a text, feed the cat, etc., before the show starts again. I recommend it to anyone who has a smart tv and phone.

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    1. Yes, commercials can be valuable..especially if you do something other than watching them!

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  12. I can binge a show I like if I'm watching it on my own; my partner cannot abide bingeing. We don't have any streaming services, but I have Canada's CBC GEM app on my phone and laptop, and I recently binged the entire six-season series of Downton Abbey. It must have been the third time I've watched it and it was glorious to have the episodes roll on, one after the other, without even having to get up and change the DVD (which seems a hopelessly old fashioned way to watch anything these days).

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    1. Addendum: I am newly retired and am glorying in all the time I have. I binged Downton Abbey over a full month, often having it on as background and company while doing chores.

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    2. Congratulations on your retirement, Amanda! My mother always said the best thing about it was she finally had time to do all the reading she wanted.

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    3. Happy retirement! It'll be fun to figure out what makes you really happy!

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  13. I never had a streaming service before I bought my new IPad last winter. It came with one year of free Apple TV. It showed Ted Lasso that Jenn had warmly recommended here. It is the only show I binged on. The new season presents one episode a week.
    It’s OK, I have plenty of books to read and I’m a book binger. When I like a series, I easily read from the first to the last book published and wait patiently for the next.

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    1. Danielle, one of the great joys of my life was discovering Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael series - after she had already written nineteen of them. I spent a happy month binging the whole lot.

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  14. We have binged. I remember we watched...something for 6 hours one day. Too much.

    We watch 2 hours a night. Often this does mean two episodes of the same show. For example, we are late to the "Only Murders in the Building" party, which means there are a lot of episodes to catch up on before we are current. We didn't stumble across "Wandavision" or "Falcon and the Winter Soldier" until all the episodes were out - but even then we only watched one or two a night. Of course, watching two episodes a night means we're done with an 8-episode show in less than a week. I guess that's what, controlled bingeing? We did watch "Loki" as it dropped once show a week.

    We did the same with "Bosch" - one or two episodes a night until it was over.

    I guess we prefer the "drop the whole season at once so we can watch at our own pace" approach.

    Oh, Julia? We normally don't start our TV watching until 8pm, too.

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    1. Liz, I realized the TV at eight thing also worked with winding down for bed for me. I've had trouble with insomnia lately, and have realized that streaming a couple hours is a LOT better than sitting at the computer and gets me on to my night time routine at ten (as opposed to reading, where, if the book is good, I might sit up until midnight!)

      Controlled binging, yes. I like that.

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    2. Julia, have you tried audio books for your insomnia? I set the sleep time for thirty minutes--and usually have to back up twenty the next day.

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    3. Six hours is too much for me. It all bleeds together. I like having individual episodes in my head instead of one big mashup. I did binge GOT when the boy was recovering from surgery, which is why all the seasons are mushed together for me.

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    4. Julia, it is The Hubby's way of winding down as well. I usually end up having to read for another 30 minutes after we hit the sack for me to really get ready for sleep.

      "High school prom" in space - LOL

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    5. What did you watch for six hours,Liz? And yes, sometimes we save the episodes so we can watch when we want.

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  15. After years of slow internet, so no streaming, and satellite TV, just the other day I got a new provider and now I am overwhelmed! Already I have binged Mare of Easttown but I certainly cannot or will not keep bingeing things. Generally, I only watch an hour or so of TV in the evening so I don't know how I will manage all those things that are suddenly available to me.

    As for watching one episode per week of a program, I think it depends on the program. For instance, Unforgotten, PBS's excellent show, for me was something I needed to see daily because otherwise I forget too much; with that show every little detail mattered.

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  16. Very little binging here. In fact, the first and last time I really binged was when my friend Shirley lent me her VHS tapes of Sex and the City. ("...okay, just one more....")

    As Edith said, Call the Midwife and Grantchester started up again last night. Oh, the joy! One week at a time.

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    1. Susan, my one and only binge was when the Maine Millennial and I sat down to watch the first episode of THE WALKING DEAD. The first season had dropped, and we thought we'd check it out. EIGHT HOURS LATER...

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    2. I did that with The Good Place. I thought-I'll just see... FIVE EPISODES LATER...

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  17. Because there is such a variety of shows available now I tend to binge less. Unless an older series I’ve wanted to see suddenly appears. Such as Bergerac, which a British man had highly recommended several years ago. But I have cycled back to liking the suspense of waiting to see what happens next. Although it hard when it’s a show like Line Of Duty or Keeping Faith. I do binge books when I find a new author.

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    1. Here you go, Ann: 'Eight shows like "Line of Duty" for crime buffs and hardcore “whodunnit?” enthusiasts'

      https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/tv-shows-like-line-of-duty-crime-drama-police-series

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    2. Oh, thank you, Julia. I watched a Bergerac, but I couldn't figure out why they had that department. ANd it was really strange to watch an episode that was OVER, you know, and not part of an ongoing series.

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  18. Not a binge TV person. Haven’t owned a TV since 1990 or so. Very content to watch, one at a time, what PBS has for free on my iPad. Tiny binges of two shows when one is about to stop being free. But binge books for sure. Remember discovering Louise Penny (before she WAS Louise Penny) and whipping through the library shelf. Same with Julia and Deborah. And wait for 3 Oreos when I can have one now: never. Happy Monday.

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    1. I am definitely with you on the Oreos, Elizabeth!

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    2. I'd wait for more Oreos. ALL THE WHILE wondering if it was the right decision. Because what if they change their minds? And there are NO Oreos?

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  19. I am not a binger. Like others have said, Bob and I enjoy settling in for an hour of TV in the evening (maybe 90 minutes if its a British show where each episode runs that long.) I might watch more than one episode of a show in the same week, but I will rarely even watch the same one two nights in a row.

    I'm not a book binger, either. If I find a new author I love I might put her or him in high rotation in my reading, but I have found that I enjoy almost any author more if I take a little break and think about someone else's fictional world in between.

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    1. Susan, you would have scored high on that "self-disciplined, successful person" test!

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  20. I'm married to a news junkie, so after an hour of NPR before dinner, followed by PBS news hour and/or DW news (I'm not sure when BBC comes on), we watch a streaming episode, currently, "Republic of Doyle", a light-hearted PI caper series set in St John's, Newfoundland. I prefer to watch episodes every night rather than wait a week, when I forget half of what happened the previous week.

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    1. I'm terrible about forgetting what happened, Margaret. If I have a favorite show that's been off for a while (and with some series, it's going to be a two-year gap due to pandemic restrictions) I'll see if there's a YouTube season recap posted. I'm also the person who has to reread the last book in a series before tackling the latest.

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    2. Ooh, I do that with books too, Julia. In fact, when I love a series, I'll just reread the whole series before the next on drops.

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    3. Previously, on..... Music to my ears.

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  21. Now that October is here, we can sit comfortably in with the television. I do and will binge happily; I started back when you could rent DVD's of television series. A whole Saturday would disappear witj popcorn and Highlander. Books too. I am happy to gulp an entire series, as knowing who did what to whom and why is so very satisfying. But then, I do read the last chapter first as well.

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    1. Coralee, I skim the last chapter early as well if I'm very invested in a relationship, and I want to make sure the couple gets together, or if I'm very invested in a character and I want to make sure he or she lives. I always try to avoid spoiling myself with the mystery, though!

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    2. Yes, indeedy! Hurray for us last chapter readers. xoxo

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  22. I definitely like to binge. I binged Schitt's Creek and am now on Season 5 of The Office. Recently I started watching Community, and I can't get enough. How did I miss these shows the first time around? On the other hand, I was glad to see that Ted Lasso and The Morning Show were only released one at a time; otherwise, I would have sailed through them too quickly. But I have to say I was horrified when I found out that the Great British Baking Show was doing the same. Although it will allow me to stretch out my pleasure, the reality is that I NEED that show when I'm stressed out, and now I will have to wait for the next episode. (Sigh)

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    1. I never could watch Schitt's Creek. Am I the only one? But whoa, The Morning Show. I adored it.

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    3. I meant to say nope, Hank you're not alone. Couldn't get into Schitt's Creek,either!

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    4. The key to watching Schitt's Creek is to start with Season 2, when the characters get nicer. Someone recommended that to me, and it worked like a charm. Once I finished the last season, I went back and watched Season 1. Give it a try!

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  23. LOL - I seem to be a hybrid. If I come late to a series, I will binge to catch up and then no more than one episode a night. Okay, compared to one a week, I guess that is bingeing, but somehow when the entire banquet is spread before you, it doesn't feel that way! In fact, it feels quite virtuous :)

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  24. In early days of pandemic we binged through several series since we had a lot of time on our hands. Now we are more likely to watch one episode per night. I'm going to bed much earlier because I'm on grandparent duty beginning at 7AM four days a week which has flipped me from being an owl to a lark.

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    1. Yes, early pandemic days..sigh. So terrifying. Once we watched a movie at lunchtime, it was so weird.

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  25. Hybrid here. I will watch two or three episodes in a row of a show but no more than that. One exception was The Chair. Their episodes were only 30 minutes each so I watched several in one sitting. I have no problem with waiting for new episodes to drop once a week. Acorn does a lot of that and it's fine with me. Stretches out the enjoyment. I will binge books if I run across something new I loved and the series is only 3 books long. Longer than that I have to space it out and work other books in for variety. I recently watched Midnight Mass on Netflix (so interesting; beautiful church music) and it was only 7 episodes but I spaced it out over several days even though I was dying to see how it ended.

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  26. I feel very left out that I have never watched Babylon 5. Rick watched it without me, and I never seem to find the time to invest in something that long-running unless we are watching together, usually on the weekends.

    I missed Grantchester and Call the Midwife last night, so looking forward to catching up on the new shows.

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  27. I forgot to add that a few years back, Philip and I binged Dexter. I had said that I'd never watch that show, too violent, but once we started watching it, we binged all the seasons one weekend. It was brutal, but we couldn't stop. Another older show that I think I could binge again is Sports Night with Felicity Huffman, Josh Charles, Peter Krause, Joshua Malina, and Robert Guillaume.

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    1. Oh Kathy, I absolutely ADORED Sports Night. I often wonder why it never seems to show up in reruns as so many other shows do.

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    2. I felt that way about Breaking Bad at first. Too violent. But wow, when I began to love it--it was one of the best things ever.

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  28. SO BEHIND! It's my deadline day, AUUUGGHHHHH. Reading all of these right now!

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  29. I don't binge most shows, but when there are new GRACE & FRANKIE episodes, I just can't stop watching. ;-)
    There are new GOOD WITCH shows right now, which seems perfect for October.

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  30. I remember those EQ reports. My favorite was the cutie who merely licked the marshmallow . . . a loophole if there ever was one.

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  31. Great post today! Apologies for the late comment. I had a busy day and just got to the computer.

    As I get older, I notice that I need to move my body more often or my back will hurt! I noticed neck pain and back pain if I sit too long. As Michelle Obama said, it is important to exercise and I agree.

    Since I cannot sit too long, I noticed that if I watch a show for the maximum of two hours, then it is ok. If I try to binge the Crown, my body hurts. Lesson learned. Now I watch one or two episodes of the Crown. I look forward to watching the new episodes of CALL THE MIDWIFE on PBS Passport. I love the Agatha Christie mysteries on Acorn TV and Britbox TV. Midsommer Murders is another favorite. Death in Paradise is an acquired taste.

    GOOD WITCH is another favorite and I will see if I can get it on Netflix or Hallmark.

    Binging is not in my cards as I get older. However, books is another story. I can binge on books because I can put it down and pick it up anytime. I remember binging on the Louise Penny books to catch up. Same with the Charles Finch mysteries.

    Diana

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    1. Yes, my fitbit signals when I have been sitting too long. As if I need a machine to tell me! And NEVER too late!

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  32. Not a binger unless I have to like watching DVD's from the library or free previews. Even then I take several days to finish a series. Like Mark, if I read or watch too much, I start focusing on the minor irritants. My Halloween candy lasted until Thanksgiving and that was after trading most of it to my brother to get the good candy!

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  33. I am somewhat of a book binger, even if I don't read ALL the books in a series. Began long ago with Christie and Nero Wolfe, then got worse reading Kerry Greenwood's Miss Fisher Murders series long before the shows came out. I've binged several JRW series, along with others, including Cara Black, M.L Longworth and Martin Walker's Bruno books, all set in France. I'm a great armchair traveler!

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  34. I grew up watching episodic TV, but now I have to let them stack up and binge. I may only want to watch an episode or 2, but I want to be able to watch as many as I want. I have no idea what happened to me.

    I'm also a book binger. If I find a series, I read (or listen) to them all.

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    1. It's POWER, right? (which is another show I really liked...) But I mean power to control your viewing. xxxx

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  35. I'm not usually a binge TV series watcher but during the start of the pandemic, I discovered and binged 3 seasons of Virgin River. I am definitely a book series binger though.

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    1. Hi, Cheryl! SO great to see you! Is Virgin River by.... Robyn Carr?

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