The Hotelling rule tells us to consume a stock so the shadow value rises at a rate commensurable with the rate of interest…or something like that. C’mon, let ‘s get real. Here are a few options:
1. Set aside one day for a BSG fest. I would lose the pleasures of anticipation, so no way. (Would you want all non-currents-events-specific MR posts available all at once?) The pleasures of memory would be weaker as well.
2. Have a strict rule, such as one a day.
3. Have a stranger impose a rationing pattern. Sometimes we call this stranger the Science Fiction Channel. But what about the accumulated stock of programs on DVD?
4. Watch it when your wife lets you (not an issue for those that have married well).
5. Refuse to watch the last episode, in an attempt to deny your mortality.
6. Watch them at an increasing rate.
#3 is appealing, but so far I am opting for #6. Comments are open, if you wish to rationalize what you already have done.
Addendum: This question will become more important.
My personal method on Galactica DVD reruns has been to watch them when my fiance lets me. I did this for DS9 and Farscape, too. This works fine, except when he goes out for the day, I do nothing but watch TV.
My vote is not on the list, and it’s to impose an artifical rationing pattern on yourself by cycling in non-Galactica shows during the period you set aside for TV watching.
This dilemma, in our house at least, applies to the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice. The solution is endogenous to the quality of the product. In the case of P&P, that means #6.
BSG is superb fare. However you choose to consume it, you will be the winner.
I just downloaded the latest episode from the itunes store — there is no cable TV or satellite at my house — I won’t tell how I watched previous episodes
I’m very pleased that the show has been so financially successful, and that DVDs and legal downloads are now available. It bodes well for a long run. And the latest episode is superb, probably best one of the series.
Enjoy!
I disagree with #5. It is only an issue if one did not marry well.
My consumption pattern reflects that I married well indeed…my wife is as big a BSG addict as I am, so spousal rationing does not occur.
My method consists of DVRing SciFi episodes and watching on Sunday night, coupled with handing out BSG DVDs to my co-workers like a crack dealer…if I started charging I’d make a mint, but instead I use it to build up political capital for projects I am working on.
Re: 1, maybe I would like for all MR post to be published all at once, right now, because I could then search them for references. You are correct in that your readers take pleasure in reading your texts but they also find them useful in the way a library is useful.
Re: 4, not being married is as effective as marring well… on this point. I think there’s a dangerous hypothesis here, somewhere.
As for me, I don’t need to think about it. I might want to have an explicit rule if I was interested in predicting my DVD-watching behavior, but since I don’t I’m satisfied with deciding on the margin: once I have some free time I think about what different things I can do and pick the one most appealing. While I lose the ability yo predict, I’m happy because I get what I want when I want.
The demise of appointment-based television will not necessarily alter this dilemma. Then it will be like software releases or product launches. The new episode will be released at a certain point in time, and there will be a rush among fans to get it first, others will get it whenever it’s convenient, and still others will get it when they discover the show, which may be some time later.
It’s the same now for shows you discover on DVD or through Netflix.
That being said, I’m using Netflix for my TV-show-discovery, and I’m watching The Wire at a rate of one DVD per week or two (I’ve been busy). So you might just limit yourself to that, but I want you to consider doing something radical.
Don’t plan, just do it when you feel like it. If you feel like watching more, watch more. If you feel like going to bed, go to bed. If you decide you’ve done enough for the night, go do something else.
That may be a more reliable enjoyment-maximizing strategy than the others.
Some questions re: your choices.
#3: But is that stranger a Cylon?
#4: Is your wife a Cylon?
#5: Are YOU a Cylon?
These important questions must be answered first!
But, uh, I went with choice #3 because I couldn’t wait.
You could do what I did, and go through the first season like a crazed madman, not be satiated and buy a video ipod so you can download the rest of the episodes. Now after my wife is asleep, I can watch BSG under the covers.
DK, while it is true that much of season 2 is not as entertaining as season 1, the latest episode — Resurrection Ship part 1 is as compelling and gripping as any of the season 1 episodes. I expect the second half of the season will eclipse the first, based on what I watched this weekend.
Gabe,
He doesn’t have to wait, he can watch them for $1.99 an episode from the itunes movie store.
When BSG began, the primary writer–a Mormon– referenced Mormon theology pretty liberally. It could be pretty interesting to invite a few Mormons over– we aren’t too hard to find–and watch them watch it.
Matthew — I agree, Resurrection Ship was great! I hope it keeps up.
mjrmjr — I wonder if the HBO system where seasons are shorter and the interseason break can be longer, years even, is better at producing follow-up seasons.
Perhaps first seasons are better because the producers/writers have had years to think about it and a tough approval gauntlet to run. Your second season order, however, can come late in the first season, and a successful series can get both less stringent review and less time to write. The SciFi channel ordered the second BSG season on a shorter than usual schedule, with episodes on air in the summer instead of in the next fall, so maybe BSG was hit by a lack of writing time. Several of the summer episodes felt to me like filler and/or like dragging out a great 1/2 episode story over 2 or 3 episodes.
I used BSG episodes, one at a time, to fill dead space in my week. I know in advance that I will have a period of time after work during which I won’t want to read or look at a computer screen. To maximize use of that space, I rationed BSG episodes.
Of course, the game changes if you have to hurry up and see a previous season in anticipation of the new season starting on a given date. Then, the goals are different. At that point, you just have to watch more BSG at a time. My wife has no patience and leans toward the marathon.
Recently I went through the first two seasons of House. I ended up watching at a decreasing rate (the reverse of #6), with a final splurge at the end. This wasn’t planned in any way. I binged at the beginning, when my enthusiasm was high and supply was also high. As my supply dwindled, so did the rate of my viewing, to the point where I’d wait as long as possible before watching the next episode (building the anticipation). With around five episodes left, I took a final binge.
This was very satisfying. What did you end up doing?
Comments on this entry are closed.