Well, I watched 2 episodes yesterday and 11 today (just got done) and I really enjoyed the show. The picture is full of grain, the same as in the first season. I haven't had time to take a look at the extras yet, or listen to the commentary tracks. One thing I noticed about the commentary - it looks like they had network people participate on the last episode (I'm going by their titles).
I've had so many super-marathons I've lost track, and could not possibly name them all.
Yesterday I finally sat down with Smallville, and knocked out a dozen episodes before the day was over...roughly 9 hours of viewing. I only stopped for grocery shopping for an hour or so, before lunchtime.
The previous few sessions were The West Wing...Gord, beat me though...I though 5 sittings (since Sat. Dec. 14), he says he took 4 back when he watched it a few months ago. I have found both of these to be fantastic shows that suck you right in.
Law & Order - S1 is in the on-deck circle, and our viewings of the episodes on the Barnes & Noble exclusive L&O disc make me think this will be another one to suck us in fast.
It's never occurred to me that I ought to let my DVD players cool off or anything. They are all troopers and seem to put up with constant use, no problem. My main one is an old Panasonic A120 bought in 1999, and everything else in the house are el cheapo no-name bargain units (Mintek, Cyberhome) or else the ones built into the PCs (which really aren't used for actual movie-watching...I employ those for screen capture, etc.).
I once did a Twin Peaks marathon on VHS when I was in college (pre-DVD, circa 94 or 95). Two straight days of Laura Palmer! Also, the sleep deprivation warped my sense of appreciation for the show. Thought it was f***in' brilliant.
I rarely have time to watch more than one movie at a time, so marathons are rare, but I did do the Terminator trilogy recently. My wife was out of town, and I hadn't seen T3 yet, so I was mostly just wanting to watch that, but I didn't have anything else to do, so I watched all three from about 5:30 to midnight. I watched the Extend Special Edition of T2, and got a little tired during it, since I have seen it the most often, but I didn't have any problem with 3, because it was new. My 3 year Apex AD-600 only glitched one time, and that was halfway into the first movie, so I don't think it was an overuse issue.
My sister came from out of town to visit me for a week last December. She had never seen the Sopranos, so I showed her the pilot to see if she would like it. We ended up going through the first two seasons in about four days.
Normally, I'll knock off a new set of a TV season in a long weekend. Last weekend, I watched the first four eps of Buffy S5 Thursday night, four more Friday night and finished with a seven-ep Saturday and a seven-ep Sunday. That's pretty typical for me when I get a new set of something.
I've had three annual movie marathons. My definition of a movie marathon is watching movies from 8:00 AM until midnight...16 hours straight with no more than 5 minutes between movies. Must have tons of snacks & beverages!
Year 1's theme was movies my brother & I remember watching as kids: Bad News Bears, Planet of the Apes, Rocky, Golden Voyage of Sinbad, Meatballs, etc.
Year 2's theme was action movies: Armageddon, Twister, Matrix, Independence Day, etc.
Year 3's theme was swordplay: Three Musketeers, Man In The Iron Mask, Mask of Zorro, Monty Python & Holy Grail, Princess Bride, Braveheart, etc.
I'm considering an "Ultra-Marathon"...24 hours straight from a Friday night until a Saturday night.
I may do a Science Fiction theme: Star Wars, AI, Abyss, Galaxy Quest, etc.
I'm getting my 6th grade son started early...we went to the midnight showing of LOTR-ROTK...he was a celebrity the next day in school!
Well, I don't know why, but today I'm watching the entire fifth season of Stargate SG-1. Episode 1 started at 6:40 am. Hopefully I can be done by midnight.
I tossed LOTR: FOTR EE, TTT EE and both TTT extra disks at my Panny CP-72 with only 10-20 minute breaks between movies and special feature disks. The player was still powered on but stoped during the breaks. Not one single problem. didn't think to check how hot the player got though.
I think even new mid level players from reputable companies will hold up fine given a little break between films. The human bladder will probably need more breaks than newer DVD players.
Other marathons
Star Wars I-II DVD, IV-VI LD Indiana Jones I-III DVD Back to the future I-III DVD Band of brothers I-V DVD one sitting, VI-X I watched one a night the rest of the week. Kubrick 2001, Full Metal Jacket, Dr Strangelove, A Clockwork Orange
Numerous DVD double feature nights running 4+ hours.
Phew! That was one hell of a day. The final episode of Stargate SG-1 just ended for me about 7 mins ago (3 mins past when I predicted - even with an unexpected phone call).
I don't think I'll ever watch 22 episodes of anything in a single day again.
I watched the Godfather trilogy yesterday. A friend of mine, who had never seen them before, decided to hire them all and invite some of us around to watch them. Lot of fun - but it really drove home the differences between all three films.
Godfather 3 really is inferior - and I say this as a fan of Part 3 (although Miss Coppola really is awful - glad she's since found her true talent). It's a very good film, rather than a great film, and stylisticlly it feels different. Much brighter, not as dark.
But even between 1 and 2, there are differences. A lot more actually happens in 1 than in 2. In Part 2, the conflict is much more internal, and therefore more interesting to me. In 1, we get a climactic parade of bodies. In 2, the climax revolves around two single murders, one in each time period, and one murder in particular is the most terrible in all the films.
I'm contemplating a 2nd season 24 starting on a Friday at midnight and going straight through to the end.
Other potential lineup's:
Sci-Fi Movie Marathon
9:00 The Abyss 1989 PG13 171min 12:00 Fifth Element 1997 PG13 126 min 2:00 Minority Report 2002 PG13 145 min 4:30 Galaxy Quest 1999 PG 102 min 6:15 Gattaca 1997 PG13 101 min 8:00 Starship Troopers 1997 R 129 min 10:00 Aliens 1986 R 154 min
Best Oscar Winner Each Decade Movie Marathon
8:00 All Quiet on the Western Front 1931 130 min 10:15 Casablanca 1944 102 min 12:00 Bridge on the River Kwai 1958 161 min 2:45 The Apartment 1961 125 min 5:00 The Sting 1974 129 min 7:00 Chariots of Fire 1982 123 min 9:00 Driving Miss Daisy 1990 99 min. 10:45 Gladiator 2001 155 min
Director’s Best Movies Movie Marathon
Tim Burton Batman Beetlejuice Edward Scissorhands Mars Attacks Pee Wee’s Big Adventure Planet of the Apes Singles Sleepy Hollow Spielberg Artificial Intelligence Always Close Encounters of the Third Kind ET Hook Jaws Jurassic Park Minority Report
Chris Columbus Movies: Adventures in Babysitting Bicentennial Man Harry Potter I & II Home Alone Mrs. Doubtfire Nine Months Stepmom
Family Classic Movies Movie Marathon
Babe Wizard of Oz Secret Garden Remember The Titans Field of Dreams Hoosiers A Little Princess The Sandlot Iron Giant Little Women Borrowers Willy Wonka Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Well, the first 1 I remember doing was M*A*S*H season 1 in a single sitting when I was snowed in over spring break (No I'm not making that up either). New Year's Day I started with Friends: The Complete First Season and got through seasons 1, 2, and half of 3 in just over 2 days before I said good bye to what little of my sanity I had left at the time.
I also did a Simpsons marathon last summer right before season 3 came out.
For me it is fun to do those TV marathons to see the evolutions of characters and storylines and such. I want to do a 24 marathon, but I doubt I'll find the time during the school year and I hope to be working this summer.