TV shows on DVD. A hidden surprise?
 

With an avalanche of popular TV shows being released on DVD comes a possibility to be a little...disappointed. When a true fan first gets his hands on a new boxset with cornucopia of his favourite episodes he plunges himself into a so-called marathon watching. And sometimes episodes tend to be a little bit the same. Having in mind that an average episode is 45 minutes long, we have several repeated patterns in a row. So what is the best way to watch a show?

I usually watch them while woking out (so about 3 times a week) and the 45min time frame helps me pace the workout as well :D

I rarely actually "schedule" TV shows - I use them as filler when I don't want to spend two hours or more watching a movie, or only have a little while before going out or watching something on TV. No marathon burn-out here!

Watch them on my portable while sitting in my car waiting for my wife to finish her hair appointment.

I have a five-disc changer that I keep full of TV shows. When I have the time, I watch the next disc in rotation. I don't get burned out on the same show and still keep up with it.

If I have multiple sets waiting to be watched, I'll rotate them. For example, I'm in the middle of watching Homicide S4, B5 S5 and Highlander S4. So today I'll finish with B5 disc 3 then watch Highlander disc 3 then move to Homicide disc 4 and so on. Keeps the monotony away.

I generally watch 2-3 episodes in succession. For instance, for Oz S3, I think I watched the first 3 episodes in succession soon after I got it, which was a couple months ago. I haven't gotten back to it since. When I do, I will probably watch 2 or 3 episodes in a row.

Same here. Because I usually don't have two straight hours to sit and watch a movie, I find myself watching TV shows on DVD more times than not. Many of the shows I have are about 22 minutes long, so they're nice to watch when you have a little bit of down time or even during meals. Talking about your day with the family is overrated, anyway.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by marty888
[B]I rarely actually "schedule" TV shows - I use them as filler when I don't want to spend two hours or more watching a

Bingo. Although I do watch a half hour sitcom on dvd during every lunch hour.

Reminds me of the Kramer monologue from "Seinfeld" about dinnertime discussions: "How was your day? I don't know, how was your day? Did you have a good day or a bad day?"

I watch entire seasons in a couple days.

I like to watch TV-On-DVD in my spare time but... for a little while now I really had to push watching stuff. I had went through most my spare time catching up on:
Spider Man The Animated Series (MTV)
The Flintstones Season 1
Scooby Doo Seasons 1 and 2
Dilbert
Futurama Season 3
GI Joe Season 1 Part 1
In Living Color

So it's tough to keep up when you have that much. I tried to only watch shows casually, but with all the stuff hitting the shelves, it's incredibly hard to keep up. My advice is, do the marathon thing. At times it may seem a little tiresome and monotonous, but the sooner you get that viewing out of the way, the better. You'll feel good with the satisfaction that you're ready to watch whatever comes out in stores next, and not have to worry about 'catching up'. My TV watching is done for the most part... but I still have Dick Van Dyke seasons 3 and 4, and the latest season of Friends, that I watch with my fiance when she's over here. For my OWN dvd watching, I still have boxes 4 and 5 of the Twilight Zone series to view... Neon Genesis Evangaleon, and pretty much all of the DBZ series. I don't consider the anime's to be top priority, I just want them for collection purposes since I had seen them all on TV before. But it's gonna be a doozy to watch all those Twilight Zone eps...

I watch them when I go to bed. Its amazing how drowsy one gets watching The Hitchhiker, which I just finished, and Philip Marlowe, which I just started.

I've done it with Curb, too. Just enough material to watch before fazing out.

This sounds like something I would say...


...and it sounds like something Larry David would say.

I've always got time for a 20 minute show or two before sleepy-time...it's the perfect nightcap for me. :)

Personally, I can't see watching TV shows on DVD. With most shows rerunning many episodes twice during a TV season (not counting summer reruns), by the time a show I'm interested in hits DVD (say about 2 to 3 years after original airing), I've already seen most episodes 5 to 6 times.

I'm burnt out on most TV shows, even favorites like CSI, Smallville, various Treks, etc., etc. Heck, I've been a big fan since they originally aired, but I've only got two episodes of TOS Trek on DVD. And they were gifts.

Sorry, didn't mean to treadcrap.

I'm the opposite. I don't like to turn on the TV because as soon as I do, I can feel myself getting stupider. TV on DVD lets me watch only what I want, without ever having to see an angsty teenager, or a fat moralistic housewife, or anything at all to do with reality shows.

I collect the TV sets, so I usually have 2 or 3 going at the same (right now I have Friends S7, Freaks and Geeks, and ER s2) but I will usually watch an episode after dinner and between TV (like 7:00pm) and then another episode after my TV shows are done (like 10:00pm) and then on Friday and Saturday I try to watch an entire disc of a show.

Why some threads always stay on the first page and some move to the second so quickly?

Well, I would never buy something like Friends, Frasier or [/i]Raymond[/i] on DVD because, as you say, the recent shows in syndication do tend to get played too many times for me to be bothered to buy them. About the only 'new' show I would feel the urge to buy is Scrubs, but of course, that one hasn't entered syndication (and it's not mainstream/popular enough to get Friends-like overexposure in reruns, IMO).

However, DVD is perfect for short-run series that have never been repeated (like The Tick) older shows that turn up rarely, if ever, in syndication these days (like Space: 1999) or foreign TV, which you're not likely to catch unless you've got a really good PBS station (Doctor Who or 'Allo 'Allo, anyone?).

Let's not forget Chris Elliott's Get A Life - now that really needs a box set.....

It's not just short runs, because for me it applies to premium cable channel shows such as Six Feet Under and Dead Like Me, which I have only watched via DVD (since I don't pay for Showtime or HBO)

Exactly. That's what I try to do, as well.

Quick fix - if the show is normally an hour long, I'll watch an episode or two. If it's a half-hour dealie, I might watch a whole slew. Example - I can watch an episode or three of CSI, but I can also watch an entire disc of In Living Color.

Well, let's see. Kinda depends on the show.

But first, I really no longer watch scripted weekly TV shows. The only one I watch is Stargate SG-1 and now soon, Stargate Atlantis. So TV on DVD is the perfect way to watch the shows that I was always somewhat interested in, but just didn't have the time or the ability to keep up with them.

When I watch them, like I said, depends on the show. If it's a sci-fi show, I'll generally watch it straight through without switching to another show or movie. But if it's another drama, such as Highlander, Xena, Hercules, or whatnot, I'll mix them up. There's only so much camp one can take at any given time.

Recently finished up Babylon 5 Season 5, and went back to my Highlander Season 4 set. Still got over a half season worth of Hercules Season 3 left to watch. I'll finish Herc after I finish Highlander.