Dahlia DeWinters - Author

Quirky Heroines, Happy Endings

Summer Series Watch – Stranger Things

Stranger ThingsI think I’m the kind of person who’s just over “regular” TV.  I’m sick of these fake reality shows.  Sorry, but no one’s life is that interesting for me to watch week after week after week.  And anyone who actually thinks these reality shows are real…well, I don’t have much to say to that either.

That being said, I’ve rediscovered the joy of an actual story which doesn’t include someone getting told off or embarrassed to bring high ratings.  The good shows are not only on Netflix and Hulu, but some of the premium channels manage to bring some quality programming also.

Today I’m chatting about Stranger Things on Netflix.  When I read about this series in a friend’s status on Facebook, I rushed to my Roku to watch it.  What a show!  Even the title font evokes the feeling of those old Stephen King paperbacks and old push button wall telephones.  I’m only two episodes in, but I’m hooked.

Why only two episodes when the entire season is ready to go?  I tried to binge watch.  It doesn’t work.  There is so much to absorb and think about with these well written shows.  I just can’t watch one after the other after the other.  Thinking about a  story after it is over is the afterglow of seeing a good show.  I see each episode as an experience.  When you rush from one experience to the other, one doesn’t fully absorb all the nuances of each.

So, I’m two episodes in and I’m pretty pleased.  If you’re a fan of the 80s and Super-8, then this show is for you.  When my son walked in while I was watching it, he told me it looked like The Goonies.

Take a watch, if you’re a mind to.  Here’s the trailer.

 

 

I Don't Binge Watch Shows…and Here's Why

homer-simpsonI’ve seen all over social media about how people are planning to order in and binge watch this show or that show on Netflix (my viewing poison of choice) or from their bulging DVR lists. Take it from me, I love some television. I will watch Mountain Monsters, Law and Order (The Lenny Briscoe years), Finding Bigfoot (you know they’re just thisclose to finding Bigfoot, right?) River Monsters and an occasional Tosh.0.

But I don’t binge watch. It drives me nuts.

Being a detailed oriented person, I tend to notice details and the underlying structure of things. Take Law and Order for instance. The show follows a consistent pattern most times you see it. It’s comforting, knowing what’s coming next, but yet still being entertained by the writing. Most shows, however don’t stand up to that scrutiny.

One show I watched on Netflix was so fascinating to me I kept clicking “next episode”. After the third episode, however, I found myself getting annoyed with the characters. By the fourth, I was rolling my eyes and shut it off in the middle.

The problem was, each and every episode started with one character wandering off and the second character chasing after him. This is how they jumped into whatever hijinks the writers scheduled for them that week. Yawn. Wasn’t there any other way to kick off the inciting incident?

Binge-watching keeps me from absorbing the nuances of an episode, rolling the events of the story around in my head and mulling over what might happen next. Watching one episode after another doesn’t give me space or time to do that.

I like to let the characters and situations linger, allow them to breathe like a fine wine. I certainly wouldn’t pour a bottle of perfume over myself. Binge watching is like eating a whole cake in one sitting. Sure, the first two or three pieces might be pretty good, but after that, the flavor becomes dull and unsatisfying.

So I don’t binge watch. I don’t like it and sometimes it serves to turn me off a show. Plus who has the time to veg out in front of the television? There’s life outside to be lived!