We don't have Netflix (although we're considering getting it, because I am dying to see "The Crown"...!), and until we moved to our condo last year and switched cable providers (& got an excellent package deal), we didn't have a PVR. We did still have an old VCR (not the original, but its successor), but when we got a fancy new box for our cable system a few years ago, we couldn't figure out how to incorporate the VCR into the hookup. We actually weren't using it that much anyway in those last few years. We didn't have a DVD player for many years, and we don't use it that much either. I have a few DVD boxed sets that I could presumably bingewatch (the Beatles "Anthology" series, season one of "The Muppet Show," the entire series of "That Girl"), but in fact, we still haven't hooked up the DVD player since we moved here. (!)
Then, about two weeks ago, "Designated Survivor" resumed after being on hiatus since Christmas (one of the few new shows I've been watching this season). I had missed but PVRd the last few episodes. Or so I thought. When I went to watch them, I realized there were actually FIVE episodes I'd missed, only two of which I'd PVRd. I wound up cramming in all five episodes in one afternoon (while dh was out, visiting his father), two on PVR & three online on my laptop, before the new episode aired later that night.
This past weekend, our local PBS station aired a "Downton Abbey" marathon, the entire series from start to finish, starting Friday & ending early Sunday evening. As I've mentioned before, I didn't start watching DA seriously until the final season, so this was a great opportunity to catch up on some (not all, but some) of the seasons/episodes I'd missed (& relive some that I'd already seen). I sobbed once again as Mary & Edith finally came to a truce, the children played by Sybil's grave in the cemetery, and Mrs. Hughes led the servants in a chorus of "Auld Lang Syne" as the clock struck midnight and Edith & her Marquess drove away for their honeymoon, happy at last.
After that concluded, I watched a two-hour movie about the Bronte sisters & their alcoholic brother, Branwell, called "To Walk Invisible." It was beautifully filmed -- but intense and bleak (like the sisters' novels) -- and I found myself straining to listen to and understand the thick Yorkshire accents. Needless to say, by the end of it all, I was drained. I still feel a bit off-kilter, physically & emotionally, this morning. Time to get out of the house for a while...! ;)
Are you a binge-watcher? What you have you binged on lately? What's in your viewing queue?
You can find more of this week's #MicroblogMondays posts here.
I have started to become a binge watcher.
ReplyDeleteI've binge watched Joss Whedon shows (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse)
I loved Netflix's Orange is the New Black, The Crown, Gilmore Girls,
If you are a Downton Abbey fan--you might really like The Crown and PBS's newest Victoria. Also Outlander.
Good luck.
Watched "Victoria" on PBS over the past few months and loved it! I know I would love Outlander, but I think I would want to read the books first. My sister has, multiple times (she is a huge Joss Whedon fan too). Both books & TV series have so many elements I love -- history, time travel, Scotland, beautiful costumes, and a handsome hero, lol.
DeleteIsn't it so crazy, being able to basically watch anything whenever you want, wherever you are? And not just one episode and then waiting an entire week. I didn't actually do any binge-watching until Netflix, with the exception of Entourage that I got on DVD because I didn't have HBO when the show first came out.
ReplyDeleteI mentioned this is my post today, too. I am considering The Crown as my next show. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is a truly inspired show that got me sucked into the Netflix world.
Yep -- kids today have NO idea, lol. ;) Some years ago, one of dh's coworkers took his toddler daughter to her first movie at the theatre -- I think it was Beauty & the Beast (the original animated version). She was absolutely spellbound and when it was over the lights came up, she said, "That was FUN! Let's watch it again!!" She didn't understand that she couldn't just rewind the tape, lol.
DeleteI am so a binge watcher! And I saw the first episode of Designated Survivor and never watched any more. I loved Downton Abbey! And I am currently really into This is Us, Billions, Homeland, Convicted, and I still watch Grey's Anatomy. We have the entire series of Breaking Bad, which I totally blanked on the name for and just Googled, "the show with crystal meth!" ;) But we've only seen a few episodes. We are also in season two of House of Card. Which I also blanked on the name and had to Google "messed up show about the government with Kevin Spacey in it." LOL Clearly I am losing my mind! ;)
ReplyDeleteNever did get into Grey's Anatomy, although I have so many friends who were/are obsessed with it. I think medical dramas lost their appeal for me, post-pregnancy loss. :p Plus, I never quite got the McDreamy thing. He's OK, but a little scruffy looking for my tastes, lol.
DeleteI started binge watching with The Crown, it's great. And then Fauda. Currently blitzing through Orange is the New Black. I loved To Walk Invisible and I'm planning to read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. There's a new book by Samantha Ellis about Anne Bronte you might enjoy called Take Courage.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recommendation! I actually just picked up a recent book about Charlotte Bronte today at the bookstore ("A Fiery Heart") which was well received. I read Wuthering Heights in high school and again at university, and Jane Eyre, several times (seen several of the movie versions, too), and I read The Tenant of Wildfell Hall on my own one summer between school terms. The course I did on Victorian literature was one of my favourites!
DeleteForgot to mention in the main post: (1) We sent the VCR to the Salvation Army when we moved, and (2) The reason why I'm feeling a bit off today became evident shortly after I posted: Aunt Flo has arrived (AGAIN)! (Will she ever give up the ghost??)
ReplyDeleteMine is probably the last generation that remembers when you had to wait for your show to come on the air weekly. Now, I am a binge watcher (most people are today because everything is just so available, you know?) And it's nice, of course. Convenient. I'll say this, though. I'll start my binge and then fall asleep halfway through. Or get side tracked. Or start to lose interest because so. many. episodes. So I'll have to rewatch and maybe it'll take me a few tries to finish that episode. And maybe I'll finish it but I wasn't giving it my full attention. When you would watch your shows in tiny, little increments that they'd spoon feed you, you paid complete attention. So I think we (or I anyway) have lost that.
ReplyDeleteNormally no. But sometimes a good show is on and I just cannot help myself.
ReplyDelete...And now I've had Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights" (but as sung by Pat Benatar) running through my head all day...!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFKqjDzO2IM
Oh yes, these days I'm a complete binge-watcher. This time last year, with a broken ankle, I binge watched Suits and also the entire series of Downton (although I'd already seen them all) in bed on my iPad. Recently we watched the first season of Victoria (recorded from our cable) in about three days, and we have the latest seasons of Halt and Catch Fire, and Westworld, waiting for us too, though they're not calling for us.
ReplyDeleteInternet services, and "Record Series" options on our cable TV box, make it so easy now to binge watch. It's really painful now having to wait each week for a new episode of Homeland/Billions/Fortitude etc!
I don't have enough free time to binge watch anything at the moment. Watching two episodes in a row seems like a lot! I do like knowing there are more episodes waiting. DH and I have been working our way through Doctor Who. We're into season 8 now and I'm starting to realize we will eventually catch up and have to wait along with everyone else!
ReplyDeleteI do binge read books, especially series I've already read.
I go through binge watching phases. Usually when it's too hot or too cold to spend much time outside. I started watching Designated Survivor, but the real life political drama that was playing out in the US fulfilled my quota of political drama. Same with Madam Secretary.
ReplyDeleteI watch the stupidest stuff on Netflix, and I love it. For example, right now I'm watching a reality/documentary series on Australian long haul truckers. Before that it was Gold Rush. Before that, Wicked Tuna, before that a show about Canadian tow truck drivers (all five seasons of that one, and I just saw last night they released another one). Oh, and there's a really good series about border patrol in various countries (US, Canada, Australia). I'm weird. :)
I love binge watching! My favourite shows all times are: House MD, Breaking Bad, Sex & City :)
ReplyDeleteI love Scandinavian criminal series like The Bridge, The Killing
And I loved English Broadchurch.
Yes, I watched The Crown on Netflix and loved it.
I will add some more when I remember.
Enjoy watching!
Binge-watcher for sure! While binge watching Portladia, they had an episode of binge watching Battlestar Galictica on DVD. It was hilarious. I am a big fan of Netflix, which we have instead of cable. I just hate paying so much for cable. I haven't really had cable for about seven years. There was a brief period where it was included with one of my apartments. It was a culture shock with all of the changes with nearly what seemed like a thousand channels. I sat and wasted most of that first day flipping around, but never really turned it back on after that. Too many choices.
ReplyDeleteyea hubby and I binge watch a lot! Recently it was Westworld which we enjoyed. I loved Downton Abbey!
ReplyDeleteI've been binge watching dexter and I love it. Currently on season 7
ReplyDeleteWe're currently working through the West Wing. I missed it the first time around, and it's sort of nice to be able to watch an episode whenever I have time (vs. when they want to air it). Before that, we did The Crown (it's worth getting Netflix for a month). I don't care if I see things when episodes air or all in one sitting, but what I hate is that you have to purchase so many different services in order to see what you want to see.
ReplyDeleteI am not a binge-watcher, but Stranger Things was the first thing that we've successfully watched beginning to end in about a week. I am so looking forward to The Handmaid's Tale. Otherwise, I'm noncommittal and do a terrible job of finishing series. I am hopelessly behind on Orange Is the New Black, Game of Thrones, and we are about 3 episodes from the end of Carnivale and have stayed there, in stasis, for two years. So sad. The Bronte one sounds amazing -- I have relatives in Yorkshire (and holy hell is it hard to make out that it's actually English they are speaking) and saw the Bronte home on a visit when I was 20. I bet that's beautifully atmospheric, it was something to stand on the moors in person. I've got to check that out.
ReplyDelete