Binge Watching

[Alatariel]

What are you binge watching? What have you recently binge watched? What do you hope to binge watch? Are you currently in a show hole? Done with a great show and wallowing in its wake? What kind of shows do you gravitate towards most? A variety, like me, or are you pretty strictly a "superhero" shows only kind of person?

I bounce from shows like Brothers and Sisters (family drama) to Gotham (dark alternative superhero/villains) to Workin' Moms (relationship/parental drama), to Stranger Things (kid monster horror), to Jack Ryan (political action). 

Seriously. 

But I have three criteria that must be fulfilled in order to keep me interested.

1) Well-written dynamic interesting characters that show growth

2) Hope

3) The ensemble cast must have good chemistry and the characters must love one another. 

I hate shows that are just BLEAK. Dark and grim are fine as long as the character relationships are strong and there's a glimmer of hope for the future. I love the show The Magicians and though many sad and terrible things happen, the characters keep rallying together and there's always something to look forward to. However, I had to stop watching The Walking Dead during season 6 because it felt like, at that point, they were just killing characters for shock factor. Not to advance the plot. My heart couldn't take it anymore.

Right now, I'm watching Black-ish which is a FANTASTIC show that's both funny and socially aware. My husband and I are watching the second season of Jack Ryan after the kids are in bed. After we're done with that, we'll probably start The Expanse.

[longhand.hearted]

Ooh good thread. I most recently binged the recent series of The Umbrella Academy (alternative superheroes) and The Big Flower Fight (feel-good contestant shows), but am really looking forward to going through the next season of Carnival Row (alternative fantasy- which I guess isn't too far from TUA).
Obviously I'll have a look at any fantasy or new interesting take on something. I have recently been inhaling all the Bake Offs/ Great Pottery Throwdowns/ Great Sewing Bees/ Zumbos/ Sugar Rushes/ Flower Fights etc, but I just love to see people being passionate about one of their hobbies.

I would say shows will have more success with me if it's something a little quirky (fiction or non-fiction), if it has a little humour, possibly if it has some deeper meaning too (Bojack anyone?).

I'm not a fan of generic rich people drama, or shows that are painfully scripted.

[Alatariel]

I LOVE UMBRELLA ACADEMY. Got a bit brutal, but Five is so awesome I don't even care. That's some good writing. Making a grumpy assassin so likable. And Klaus! I mean, who doesn't love Klaus?? I keep craving more opportunities to use his powers. And I love that he accidentally started a cult called Destiny's Children and uses song lyrics as prophesy. 

I also love some feel good reality shows. Or stupid human drama, like The Bachelor. It's so utterly trashy and ridiculous. Which makes it addicting. 

I've wanted to watch Carnival Row, but I know I'll totally fall into it so I'm patiently waiting for more seasons to binge all at once. 

I hear you about painfully scripted shows. I watch some kid shows with my seven year old and OMG they are so badly written. You know the ones, old disney shows or newer disney shows. Really, ANY disney show. Even ones I liked as a kid...cringe-worthy. But hey, the kid doesn't notice and she enjoys them so I just cringe internally. I have been impressed with one or two kid shows, though. Those ones I watch happily with her. Like Free Rein, Spirit Riding Free, Miraculous Ladybug, and She-Ra on Netflix. And of course we ALL love Avatar the Last Airbender. Super happy my kid is just as obsessed as we are.

[Aubrey]

Started the binge-watch of Veronica Mars. (Is there anything you dn't binge watch these days?????)

So good. Don't know why I didn't watch it when it came out, other than life being the obvious answer. XD

[Bird]

I can't binge-watch. Not capable of it due to brain weirdness. I have to watch it in doses. BUT. I do have some favorites I really recommend!

1. Babylon 5
2. the OA (both seasons)
3. The Avatar the Last Airbender
4. The Mandalorian
5. The Umbrella Academy
6. Raising Dion
7. Star Trek: Next Generation or Voyager or Discovery
8. Hilda (it's just so cute!)
9. Battlestar Galactica (the reboot, NOT the 80s version)

10. Sense 8 (due to triggers of mine, I had to skip some episodes and read summaries, but if you can handle graphic violence, then it's worth it)

11. The Good Place

Anyway, those are my favorites.

[Alatariel]

Oct 20, 2020 21:15:43 GMT -6 Aubrey said:

Started the binge-watch of Veronica Mars. (Is there anything you dn't binge watch these days?????)

So good. Don't know why I didn't watch it when it came out, other than life being the obvious answer. XD

Have you watched Veronica Mars before? It's one of my favorites to rewatch over and over. SO GOOD. Also, after you watch the first three season, you gotta watch the movie before the new reboot season. Events from the movie inform the new season. Ah, you're so lucky you don't want to wait a decade for more! 

[Caulder Melhaire]

I'm mainly been binge-rewatching things lately because I have a need for background noise that's loud enough to be distracting but familiar enough to not distract 
me lol.  The last couple things I did binge though that were really good:

• Russian Doll: excellent blend of comedy and mystery, Natasha Lyonne is hilarious, and the plot wraps up so very neatly.
• The Boys: unbelievably dark, bloody, violent, literally only one "good" character in the entire show, but damn do they beat up some Nazis in a very cathartic fashion.  
• Avatar:TLA and The Legend of Korra: Almost done with Korra, 
• The Expanse: started bingeing this one with my roommate.  Fantastic space drama, killer space fights.  
• Castlevania: fans of the games will rejoice at the most faithful adaptation ever.  Another one with ambiguous villains.  
• She-Ra and the Princesses of Power: badass Lesbians with swords fantastic remake of a classic cartoon.  Cried so hard at the last few episodes.
• Violet Evergarden: I'm not a super big anime fan, but this one had me from the start.  Another rollercoaster of tears for about the last 7 episodes.

Also Futurama pretty much plays on repeat in my dorm because yeah.  It's that good.

[Bird]

OHH, YES. The Russian Doll was so good. I should add it to my list. I still need to finish watching She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

[Aubrey]

Nov 18, 2020 10:50:44 GMT -6 Alatariel said:

Oct 20, 2020 21:15:43 GMT -6 Aubrey said:

Started the binge-watch of Veronica Mars. (Is there anything you dn't binge watch these days?????)

So good. Don't know why I didn't watch it when it came out, other than life being the obvious answer. XD

Have you watched Veronica Mars before? It's one of my favorites to rewatch over and over. SO GOOD. Also, after you watch the first three season, you gotta watch the movie before the new reboot season. Events from the movie inform the new season. Ah, you're so lucky you don't want to wait a decade for more! 

I had not! It's my first run of it. I think it came out around a time where I didn't have cable or ready access to new tv shows. Family wasn't big on secular TV. XD 
I've fixed that since, mind.... >.> 

[Alatariel]

Nov 19, 2020 0:25:14 GMT -6 Aubrey said:

Nov 18, 2020 10:50:44 GMT -6 Alatariel said:

Have you watched Veronica Mars before? It's one of my favorites to rewatch over and over. SO GOOD. Also, after you watch the first three season, you gotta watch the movie before the new reboot season. Events from the movie inform the new season. Ah, you're so lucky you don't want to wait a decade for more! 

I had not! It's my first run of it. I think it came out around a time where I didn't have cable or ready access to new tv shows. Family wasn't big on secular TV. XD 
I've fixed that since, mind.... >.> 

I totally understand that. I've had to catch up on a lot of shows too because we either didn't have cable or I was away at school without TV or my parents didn't want me to watch it. 

[HDSimplicityy]

I don't enjoy binge watching. Rather than sit for many hours, I watch MAYBE three episodes in a row before switching activities. I just dont enjoy siting for that long for tv shows specifically. They are not background noise for me; I sit to focus. Movies? ehh depends. If Its Star Wars, probably, or HP or Lord of the Rings. Marvel probably. For videogames, I even have something of a limit. I think the most I have played single player games - even when I am utterly absorbed in - was four and a half hours (Horizon Zero Dawn). I set limits to how long I consume visual storytelling. And I watch few shows. Heck , I have never rewatched a single tv series, not to mention completed very few from beginning to end.

Science fiction, historical fiction/drama/just history, sometimes a fantasy, sometimes a contemporary drama are my interests.

The ones I have enjoyed and am enjoying:
The Frankenstein Chronicles. Watched with my roommate. Good limited series.
The Expanse. Watching with my roommate. Good show. Some parts are pointless. Most of it is solid.
The Crown. Fantastic acting throughout. Amazing artistic value. Despite opinions I have over certain subplots and some flaws, it is one of the best dramas I have ever seen. And I am happy it will end with Season 5.
The Blacklist. Used to be my favorite series for five years. FIVE years. It was the first show I can remember watching from day one. No show ever made me so excited to watch... until Season 4. I quit watching a while ago.
The Last Kingdom. Brutal, dramatic, epic, emotional, powerful, vital. I don't like the amount of sexual content in it, nor sometimes the overdone violence despite the era. Otherwise a great show my father and I have watched separately. Its fictional take on history is great. King Alfred the Great's actor is outstanding!

Anne with an E. I lost interest at the end of Season 2 to continue. Really good first season; Amybeth McNulty captivated me. She became annoying in season 2, overshadowing her strong acting.

Avatar: The Last Airbender and Korra. I watched chunks of it while my roommate binged it this summer. I will have to watch it all eventually. Good shows.

Coming up:

Agent Carter.

The Mandalorian.

Shows I did not really like/ were mediocre:
A Letter to the King.
Warrior Nun.
Cursed. LOL that was just blah.

Not counting classic shows that I watched growing up.

[RAVENEYE]

What good suggestions, everyone.

I love binge-watching things when I can get away with it without feeling guilty, so it usually happens when I have a cold or something and get to laze on the couch for a day or two.

However, in the evenings my husband and myself have binged on:

The Crown
The Last Airbender
Clone Wars
Rebels

before that:

The Mandalorian

(really wished we had seen Rebels before The Mandalorian, as the latter is starting to need the former for backstory. Like, who the hell is this Thron that Ahsoka is chasing? He's in Rebels, so go watch it. And if you've not watched Clone Wars, Ahsoka's appearance with little baby Grogu won't have significance either.)



In the future:

The Resistance

That's about it. Sad. I guess this proves I'm a Star Wars fan and a binge-gamer instead. Oh, well...