TV on DVD - one caveat. (1 Viewer)

[Holadem]

TV on DVD for all it's pros, has one little con: The short to non-existent time between episodes can lessen their impacts. When I have a week on ponder an ep, when I give it a chance to linger with me, I find that I appreciate it better in the context of the show. That perspective adds to the show, IMO.

But when I sit down and tear through 7-8 episodes straight (like I have with Buffy and Angel, so addictive they are), while the experience of the show is more enjoyable as a whole, I find the impact of key episodes is sometimes dilluted. For example, cliffhangers are lessened by the knowledge that the following episodes are only a few minutes away, rather than a whole week. Stuff like that.

Of course, I am in total control of my schedule, I can only blame myself, I know

Has anyone experienced this?

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H

 

[Jason Seaver]

Not with TV on DVD, but I've found reading comic books in their collected editions can really screw with pacing.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

Interesting thought, although for me this only would apply for TV on DVD blind buys. If I've seen the show before, chances are I already know about a number if not all of the cliff hangers.

It is still effective if the cliffhanger is spread out over a couple of seasons, and I have to wait awhile to purchase the set that resolves it.

Although even for example with M*A*S*H the impact in the last episode of season 3 when Henry Blake dies
is still with me even if I immediately but in the first disc of season 4 to see the new arrivals.

 

[LanieParker]

I prefer to watch on dvd, because I hate to wait for the next week to come and if I want I can easily go back and review an episode. I did that with Alias and it didn't lessen the impact of the cliffhangers and I didn't feel like I didn't really get the full gist of everything in each episode.

Love me some tv on dvd.

My biggest issue right now is having started Smallville in reruns. I have already missed 3 episodes and I hate watching it on tv. I'm very tempted to go and purchase the sets. I like to stop and rewind and fastforward at my own leisure.

 

[Paul McElligott]

With serialized shows, I find the opposite is true. Babylon 5 worked better for me when I didn't have to wait a week (and sometimes 6 months!!! ) between episodes.

 

[Burn Rourk]

I'm afraid my addiction to TV boxed sets, which have become 20+ hour movies to me, have spoiled me to "regular" movies. I watched 'Van Helsing' last night and complained about the lack of character and plot development. I guess if the movie had an extra 20 hours to flesh out characters and such, maybe it would have stood up to my so-called standards.

 

[ScottR]

I spread the episodes out, because I usually have to wait so long until the next season. I usually watch two episodes back to back once a week.

 

[DaleC]

The episodes that I MUST watch without delay: "The X-Files" at the end of S2, where Mulder is thought to be dead in the buried train car, and the 1st two episodes of the next season. All three of these episodes put together are better than a lot of movies that I have seen. For me, the first time I watched them, the moment that the previous two parts lead up to is when Walter Skinner says to the Cigarette Smoking Man: "This is where you pucker up and kiss my ass!" When I watched that the first time, I almost jumped out of my chair and yelled "YOU GO SKINNER!" at 3am.

There are many others that I can not WAIT to coninue watching: Many eps of "Bablylon 5," Star Trek:TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds I & II" (I still remember having to wait an ENTIRE SUMMER to find out what happens... I was literally on the edge of the couch when Riker says, "FIRE," then saw that it was to be continued. I went "WHAT? NO!!"

My point is: While sometimes it's good to have a cliffhanger and have to wait a while for the conclusion, it's also just as good to be able to see the whole thing. For me, it's basically getting SO worked up about the first parts, that I want to see the rest. I figure, I had to wait for it when it aired...why wait now?

And as for pondering the episode and letting it sink in, I think you cna do that just as well after seeing an entire arc, as opposed to going from week-to-week. I still think about a lot of the Babylon 5 episodes...indeed most of the series...long after I've seen them. I've just finished watching the episode "The Fall of Centauri Prime," and the shows leading up to it ... back to back of course... and I will think about Londo's fate for a very long time.

 

[Robert Ringwald]

Some things can benefit. Like season 7 of Buffy I'm sure...

 

[Holadem]

I completely understand and somewhat agree with your point, but from everything I have read and heard, Van Helsing is one horrific example .

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H

 

[Marko Berg]

was the opposite. This was an event that was supposed to drag on and on in the series, and the viewer was supposed to feel the burden of the events, but I found that this didn't happen if I quickly screened all the episodes of the season where this took place. I remember originally watching the episodes on broadcast TV an episode a week and enjoying the experience more.

I've had a similar experience with NYPD Blue.

 

[Yee-Ming]

Sheesh, we're a spoilt bunch aren't we, first we moan that our favourite TV shows aren't available on DVD, now we complain that they are.

Me, I like TV on DVD. No waiting time to find out what happened, nor to forget details of earlier shows in the arc. Which is why watching 24 S3 right now over local broadcast is such a torture... (while NYPD S11 has been "pre-empted" mid-way through its run until Jan 2005 for who knows why )

 

[Holadem]

Although I watched B5 on broadcast (first 2 seasons as everyday reruns the rest once a week), I entirely agree with you. The shadow war (no need for spoilers methinks?) brewed for a long time, and that sense of foreboding has got to be lost when one zips through a season in three days. I remember sitting and pondering for a long time the meaning of prophecies and revelations. Many of these reveals could not possibly have the same impact if they were challenging 3 weeks of familiarity with the show rather than 3 years.

So yeah, TV on DVD is terrific, I would never go back, but I am convinced we lose something by piling up these episodes too quickly, at least on arc driven shows, which is all I watch. I probably need to pace myself better.

But then again, fuck it, life is too short.

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H