A TV Confession
Comments: 11
I don’t watch television very much at all, although there are some advertisements I like. Sometime in the year 2000, however, I began renting “X-Files” tapes. I started at the very beginning and I continued renting these tapes on a regular basis (several times a week) until I’d seen everything up to the point where Scully has her baby and she and Mulder kiss for the first time.
By then I’d had enough, and I gratefully swore off ever watching the show again. I loved it though, and I don’t care what anyone thinks. While not exactly Tracy and Hepburn, Duchovny and Anderson had some nice moments and some of the stories were well done. I also appreciated the chance to cram several years’ worth of television watching into the 12 months it took me to get through those 8 series of the show. There. That’s my confession.
But now it may be happening again. I noticed tonight that my video store is stocking “The Sopranos” and after everything I’ve heard about it, I went ahead and rented three tapes – again starting from the very beginning. I’m about to watch the first one now. Send help, won’t you, if you don’t hear from me for a while.
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Posted to Oh, the Humanity • 2002.12.07 (Sat) • 22:27
Comments
Posted by Michael Sheets 2002.12.07, 23:33
Tell me about it, it’s infectous. It all started when I picked up Buffy The Vampire Slayer on a friends recommendation. Now I have the Babylon 5 set and Cowboy Bebop, both recommendations from friends.
It’s a darn expensive habit… but I agree, it’s very very cool to be able to watch a whole series at once!
Posted by jh 2002.12.08, 01:32
I’m just renting these tapes, but it looks like I might be buying the DVDs. First impressions: yep, I’ll keep watching. In fact, I think I’m going to run out of tapes to watch before the video store gets in the later series.
Posted by Jeff 2002.12.08, 02:00
Jeremy and Michael, I applaud your honesty. I think there must be a 12 step program just for X-File/Soprano/Babylon 5/ addicts. ;-)
Where do you guys find the time to watch entire series? I’ve been trying to watch Spielberg’s “Taken” about extraterrestrials abducting earthlings (it’s showing on the SciFi channel almost non-stop). I can barely stay up on a night-by-night basis (and only after the kids are in bed).
And, if I may namedrop, I once saw David Duchovny walking down the street in Santa Monica, wearing blue suede shoes. It’s as close to the X-Files as I ever got.
Posted by Mary Beth 2002.12.08, 03:34
My husband bought the sopranos DVD to catch up when he started watching the series and now he owns it all. He’s been telling me about the upcoming (tomorrow night) season finale and that someone is going to get killed. uh huh..
Series are great, and the fact that you can watch them on demand without commercials is even better!
Posted by mike g 2002.12.08, 10:17
The drawback of watching currently-airing shows in this manner is the frustration that comes from knowing there are one or two seasons “in the can” that aren’t yet available on DVD or video. I’ve watched all the available episodes of “The Sopranos” and “Sex in the City” and now wait impatiently for new seasons to be released. And this, of course, is just what HBO wants.
Posted by icb 2002.12.08, 10:28
I’m guilty of the same. Having recently picked up the 1st season of ‘Twin Peaks’ on DVD feeling that I missed out on something when the show originally aired in the early 90’s I felt now was the time to catch up. Luckily Bravo is running all of the episodes (at 4 or 5 am) right now so I can ‘finish’ the entire series (which only ran a season and half - plus a feature film) in a decent amount of time.
‘The Sopranos’ as a whole is a good series, unfortunately several of the episodes are I feel, hit or miss.
Posted by jh 2002.12.08, 16:38
Uh-oh — another confession. I did the whole bingeing thing with “Twin Peaks” a couple of years before the “X-files” episode.
During the “X-Files” bout there were intense, almost unbearable periods of waiting for the video store to receive the latest series. This is what took me so long to get through it all. I know the same thing is going to happen with “The Sopranos” so I’m preparing myself.
Ah, who am I kidding?
Posted by Alnisa 2002.12.08, 21:33
Confess away. I just started purchasing the Highlander Series (Duncan MacLeod). I’ve just completed season 1-3, and believe I have three more seasons to purchase. Unfortunately, this was one of those “mixed” series. I was able to get the first season on DVD, which hooked me, but the remaining series aren’t available on DVD, now I have to figure out where to store all those tapes.
I’ve always realized these things are addictive, so in the past I’ve tried to stick with only being tempted by shows on DVD (last longer, takes up less space if you end up with 4 or more seasons). My collection currently includes: Sex in the City; Buffy the Vampire Slayer; X-Files; and now Highlander. I’ve been thinking about Babylon 5, just because a friend is addicted and always make obscure references to it (I’m sure they think the same thing when, I start throwing in random Buffy-isms into conversation).
Posted by Jeff 2002.12.08, 22:33
I can only see this activity as “productive” if you can multitask while sitting in front of the TV, say like molding your eyebrows in front of the screen .
Posted by Cal 2002.12.09, 08:33
I’m a big anime fan and buying the DVDs is the best way to watch full seasons without pirating or watching the Cartoon Network. Unfortunately, as a college student, they’re expensive. I’ve made it halfway through buying Gundam Wing and Neon Genesis Evangelion and I’ve been picking up an average of 3 DVDs per series per year for the last two years.
Posted by Corey 2002.12.10, 01:32
I did the same thing years ago with the X-Files. Right now I’m doing it with Band of Brothers, which is excellent. Especially the videography + typography in the opening credits. It’s a little bit ER cheesy, but mostly very well done.
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