Thank you technology for allowing me to catch-all that I miss. When it was developed the internet was seen as a way of decentralizing our government in the event of a nuclear attack. It was also utilized by scientists to help each other research and confirm findings. Gone were the days of using mail to send bulky reports and files and waiting for weeks to receive an answer back across the country. Now through the usage of email this could occur in lightning fast pace. What have we done with this technology, I mean aside from delivering gossip and porn? Binge Viewing.

Binge viewing allows us to catch up on all our favorite shows or revisiting old friends from our past. We are never more than a few days away from an electronic vacation. Feeling nostalgic? Do a quick search and in no time you are watching episodes of “Manimal” “Tour of Duty” or “Miami Vice”. Made a bad call in September about a show?

No worries now you can catch up on season one of “Revolution”. Had to transfer out of the country for a year or two and now you wonder why everyone is suddenly talking about crystal meth. Netflix.com and BOOM you are now addicted to “Breaking Bad”. It has become such a thing even Netflix.com has gotten into the game of producing their own shows. “Hemlock Grove” “Orange is the new Black” and “House of Cards” could rival any show on broadcast or cable, alright I still have to get to hemlock grove but I am sure it’s as good as the other two. This year even the Emmy’s have nominated house of cards.

Our society has become so fractured that we have changed our water cooler conversation forever. Binge viewing is the way to go.  No longer will we gather to discuss last night’s finale of “M*A*S*H*”. No more discussing the “Thorn Birds”, will he won’t he? As a matter of fact I don’t remember did he or didn’t he? The cultural unity of all of us watching a mini-series like “Roots” is no more. Now instead we have people stopping you mid-sentence, “I am only in season 2 stop talking” or reminding you “hey, spoiler alert dude!” Along with that you have the show guru telling you “that’s nothing wait till you get to the season 2 finale” or the simple braggart “I have been watching since it came out”

What does all this mean? Well, for me, I get more satisfaction of character development that I usually have to wait three four or five seasons for in about a month. Dexter in season one is vastly different from Dexter in season eight. I get the instant gratification of not having to wait till next week to see what is next. We also have shows that can be admired for the time capsule it was. Whether it was ahead of its time, “Firefly” I am looking at you, or just could not find the audience, hello “Arrested Development”, they are there for us all to enjoy. We also can go into shows we skipped because we had no DVR and had to choose something else we liked better, I swear I am watching all ten seasons of “Lost” next summer.

The landscape of television is changing. Is it for the better or the worse? I have to say it depends. This could be a new way of receiving entertainment. This could be a new way re-calculating ratings more accurately. We could also see more shows cancelled before their time, see gone too soon due to low ratings. Ultimately I feel this could be boon for the viewer. We get what we want when we want. Hopefully networks and other providers will expand into this filed and open their archives. I got a lot of shows I would love to go back to. I got a few I was too young for or was too busy for.  Like any thanksgiving meal Binge Viewing will leave us stuffed with our favorites as we lay on the couch unable to move under our own power.

I’m just saying