Re: Too-Much-TV Era
Posted: July 30th, 2020, 10:51 am
I think the other issue is the same thing that goes for most forms of media: we tend to get a lot of value out of things when they either have social relevance, or when we ourselves put a lot into them.
In other words, part of the point of a show like Seinfeld (which I never really liked, sadly) was to be able to quote all the lines to your friends when you ran into a related or funny situation. Or if you watched Lost or Game of Thrones or whatever show was huge for a while, then you were able to have all kinds of social interactions shaped by the fact that a lot of other people were watching the same thing at the same time.
When you watch a show on your own, it's different -- but then it's a question of what you put into it. Watch a couple of random episodes and casually half-pay-attention while you're doing something else? Probably won't mean that much to you. But if it's a good show and you pay attention to the little things, sometimes tiny details become relevant much later on in really cool ways, or give nuance and depth to the plot and characters, or show that the showrunners are thinking about the show's world as a whole. And just allowing yourself to be genuinely engaged makes a big difference.
BTW I forgot to mention that we also watch shows like Penn & Teller: Fool Us, Battlebots, and (when it was on) Mythbusters. Those kinds of programs may have their flaws, but they involve people doing something with skill and insight. Grant Imahara RIP.
In other words, part of the point of a show like Seinfeld (which I never really liked, sadly) was to be able to quote all the lines to your friends when you ran into a related or funny situation. Or if you watched Lost or Game of Thrones or whatever show was huge for a while, then you were able to have all kinds of social interactions shaped by the fact that a lot of other people were watching the same thing at the same time.
When you watch a show on your own, it's different -- but then it's a question of what you put into it. Watch a couple of random episodes and casually half-pay-attention while you're doing something else? Probably won't mean that much to you. But if it's a good show and you pay attention to the little things, sometimes tiny details become relevant much later on in really cool ways, or give nuance and depth to the plot and characters, or show that the showrunners are thinking about the show's world as a whole. And just allowing yourself to be genuinely engaged makes a big difference.
BTW I forgot to mention that we also watch shows like Penn & Teller: Fool Us, Battlebots, and (when it was on) Mythbusters. Those kinds of programs may have their flaws, but they involve people doing something with skill and insight. Grant Imahara RIP.