On Twitter almost a month ago Wisconsin comic Alan Talaga said:
Streaming service exec: "We paid so much money to buy an old show. Worth it though, people watch these episodes over and over again because they can pop in at any point in the series."
Employee: "What about our original content?"
Exec: "Every show is a serialized 10 hour movie."
I watched the recent season of Star Trek Discovery and enjoyed it (despite some still weak writing) a lot. But I don't think I'll ever watch that season again. This afternoon, I'll ride my exercise bike and rewatch a TNG or DS9 episode I've seen a dozen times.
And I have to admit he has a point. As good as a lot of these shows are, they're not necessarily all that rewatchable. Since Game of Thrones ended in 2019 I've never once felt the need to rewatch it. Nor have I felt like rewatching The Expanse, The Walking Dead, or other modern series.
There are a few reasons for this:
Nostalgia: This is a big component. Someone might want to watch TNG or DS9 more because of the nostalgia from watching those shows in the 90s. Discovery or Picard is so new that obviously there's no nostalgia except for the references to the old shows.
Episodic Nature: Though a lot of DS9 and Babylon 5 had interconnected stories, TNG, Voyager, and plenty of DS9 episodes were standalone episodes. That's a lot less prevalent on modern shows, which makes it hard to just jump into some random episode.
Grim & Gritty: A lot of modern shows like Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, and The Expanse aren't all that fun. And that I think harms the rewatching value. Of course plenty of old TNG and DS9 episodes aren't that fun either, but most aren't as grim and gritty as a lot of these newer shows. So if you are going to watch something on your exercise bike or whatever, it's more fun to watch one of those older shows.
Though really I don't rewatch random episodes of dramas all that much. I occasionally watch a TNG episode on Pluto TV but mostly I binge them on Prime Video or wherever. When they used to show it, I watched some random episodes of Earth Final Conflict on Pluto TV too. But I'm more likely to rewatch random episodes of comedies than dramas. I suppose for one thing they're shorter and they're far more episodic so I don't have to invest much time or thought into them.
About the only time I rewatched shows like House of Cards, Breaking Bad, or Game of Thrones was before a new season dropped so I could catch up. But pretty much when they're done, I'm done.
What about you, Phantom Readers?
3 comments:
I think that the modern entertainment we are offered via shows like The Expanse, Game of Thrones, and other things have great rewatchability (I'm actually on the last season of Game of Thrones having rewatched it over the last year). That being said, I understand why people don't rewatch modern shows: a lot of them are intense and very serious in a way that shows in the past didn't used to be. Additionally, they aren't that much fun to watch alone. I've been watching GoT with some friends that have never seen it, so that was a fun thing to do. But when I'm by myself, I think I like to watch things that I don't have to devote much attention to so that I can multitask. Stand-up comedy is one of those that I go to frequently.
Rewatchability may also depend some on age. As we get older, we tend to seek out shows that allow us to forget how depressing and hopeless the world is. When we were young, the new shows of the time filled us with endless possibilities. Now that we are middle aged (or worse) and see just how well reality has fared for us, it can be comforting to visit things like "Deep Space Nine" or "Friends."
Also, I'd like to add that rewatching some things has shocked the hell out of me. I rewatched the Disney movies (cartoons) of Peter Pan and Lady and the Tramp, and I was shocked by the racism that I didn't realize was there. The treatment of native Americans in Peter Pan had me doing a double-take, and then the Siamese cats rising out of the basket in Lady & the Tramp with the big buck teeth... I was like...wow! This is nuts.
I agree that many of the newer series aren't as rewatchable as older shows and I usually stick to comedies too when it comes to shows I watch multiple times. I like Discovery and Picard and such but I don't often rewatch the episodes. Too many of the serial shows you have to pay attention and I tend to drift away. We watched Westworld season one hardcore, season two less hardcore, and haven't watched season three at all...my brain just can't handle the ups and downs and ins and outs of twisting plots...might be covid related too...I've found I'm not in the mood for dark dramas
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