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There Really is a Method to My Madness

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Long ago, my family accepted my Netflix addiction. They are used to walking through the living room and seeing me glued to my laptop, earbuds in place, engrossed in one show or another. That was within the acceptable behavior parameters. But, I’m fairly certain they decided I had a permanent ticket on the crazy train when they realized that I have different methods for rewatching shows. Yes, people, I said ‘methods’ – plural. Because, depending on the situation, I conduct rewatches in one of three ways. Let me explain.

First up is a complete series rewatch. This usually happens immediately after I binge watch a show for the first time. When I say binge watch, I’m serious. It’s not unusual for me to watch two, three or four episodes in one sitting. That’s the point where I force myself to walk away and do something horribly domestic with the promise of another episode upon completion. Yes, I’m forty-eight years old and I still respond to the reward system. Laughable, but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?

My most recent example of this is Veronica Mars. I spent a week watching all three seasons plus the movie. Immediately after watching the movie, I was back on Amazon watching the pilot again. I’m almost done with that rewatch – about halfway through season three, as of this morning.

Why do I do this? Easy. I’m a thinker, a plotter, an analyzer. I find that when I binge watch, I don’t do that. I don’t give myself time between episodes to ponder what has and what might happen. I find when I binge watch, I miss things. One of my favorite things about rewatching is catching the little things I missed the first time or the third time around.

My second rewatch plan is used when  I’m gearing up for the new season. I watch the first and last episode of each season. I like to seeing where a show started and how it has progressed to where it is now. I don’t do this for every show, just my favorites. Some networks, like ABC, have made this easier by getting the most recent season of some shows to Netflix early. Marvel’s Agents of Shield season two was added in June. And then some networks (boo to you, CW) wait until the new season has started before adding last season, making it impossible to get ahead before the new season starts.

In addition to rewatching Veronica Mars, I have been rewatching Heroes. Unfortunately, what started as a complete series rewatch is going to end up as a first and last rewatch. I’m still early in season two and just don’t have the time to watch through the end of season four before Heroes Reborn starts tomorrow night. I need to see how the series ended before the new one begins. Reborn has been near the top of my highly anticipated list since it was announced. The fact that Zachary Levi is part of the cast certainly doesn’t hurt.

My final method usually depends on my mood. For any of my favorite shows, I have a go to list of episodes. Whether I’m wanting to watch a favorite episode or one that matches my mood (happy, sad, or a desire to watch a certain show), I know just which episode to turn to. For example, if I’m in a mood to watch Angel, I’ll watch the Angelus episodes in season four. If I want to watch Star Trek: Enterprise, I’ll pick my favorite episodes from the Xindi arc in season three or the Vulcan arc in season four. When it comes to The Vampire Diaries, I’ll watch the pivotal episodes in Damon and Elena’s relationship, beginning with the second episode of the series.

You’ve heard about the exception that proves the rule, right? Here is the one that doesn’t fit into any of the above. This summer I watched/rewatched Prison Break. How can it be both a first time watch and a rewatch? Here’s how – I faithfully watched seasons one and two when they aired. Then, season three happened. I watched two or three episodes and then stopped. Seeing Michael Scofield trying to break out of another prison felt like a step backwards and I decided I was done. Fast forward to earlier this year when FOX announced a limited run Prison Break that will air in early 2016. I knew then that I’d have to go back and watch the rest of the series before then. I have to admit, about halfway through season three, I was hooked all over again and finishing the series wasn’t the chore I feared it might be. Now, I’m completely excited about the new series.

So, I’ve shared a little of my madness with you. Surely, I’m not the only person this, um, obsessed. If you have a method you use to watch or rewatch a series, please share! Who knows, I might incorporate it into my own.

Until next time…

Summer Watch/Re-watch

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Summer is here and I couldn’t be more excited. People who know me probably would say that is an odd statement. I am not an outdoors kind of girl. I’m happy to stay in and live my little hermit life. Ah, the joys of being a painfully shy introvert!

For me, summer means fewer obligations and responsibilities. We have homeschooled or done the virtual school thing for years. Summer means a break from lesson plans and grading in the case of homeschooling and nagging about completing lessons, keeping track of hours worked and talking to teachers for the virtual school. School isn’t out for just the kids. It’s out for me, too

My absolute favorite part of summer is having the time to tackle my watch/re-watch list. I have this really bad habit of saying “I need to watch (re-watch) that,” whatever ‘that’ might be. My Netflix list is VERY long thanks to that habit. It’s definitely too long to tackle in one summer, but I love trying.

So far, my watch list is fairly manageable. This is my first-time viewing list. It’s usually, but not always, complete series.

  • Bones – I’ve watched season 10 through episode 10. I know I’m in the minority among my Twitter friends, but I really wasn’t enjoying it. When it came back from hiatus in March, its future was still undetermined. I will probably have to duck rotten fruit thrown in my direction, but I was ready for season 10 to be the last. With that in mind, I decided to wait until the end of the season to marathon the final twelve episodes. I’ll probably watch the first half again, just to see if I feel better about it. This isn’t on Netflix yet, but is on Amazon Instant Video. I bought a season pass at the beginning of the season, so these episodes are sitting there, waiting for me.
  • Gilmore Girls – This is one of those shows that interested me, but not my husband when it aired. It was before the days of the DVR, so we were limited by what we could record on our VCR. Gilmore Girls was one of the many shows that lost out when we had to compromise. (Netflix)
  • The X-Files – I know! This geeky fangirl never watched The X-Files. I don’t really know why either. Really, it’s a show straight from my wheelhouse, but it never caught my attention back in the day. With the new episodes airing early next year, I think it’s time for me to see what it’s all about. (Netflix)
  • Marvel’s Daredevil – Hubby and I have been slowly making our way through this really excellent show. I think we are about halfway through, so finishing it will not be a problem. If you haven’t watched, I highly recommend it. It’s a little dark, more like the CW’s Arrow than The Flash, yet very enjoyable. (Netflix)

That’s my watch list, not terribly long. However, when combined with my re-watch list, it becomes a little intimidating. Now for the re-watch list:

  • LOST – I’ve already begun this re-watch, but got a little bogged down with it. I’m still early in season 1, but I’m at an episode that I didn’t enjoy on first watch. That dislike is keeping me from moving forward. I could skip it, but this is LOST. Skipping anything is a mistake. It could be the difference between understanding something twenty episodes down the road or not. I’ll get back to it, but it might be a while. (Netflix)
  • Battlestar Galactica – This is another re-watch I’ve already started. I’m about halfway through season 2 and I still love it. Anyone who is a fan of Star Trek knows that Ron Moore is a genius. He doesn’t disappoint when it comes to BSG. I was a huge fan of the original series. Because of that I thought I would have a hard time accepting some of the character gender swaps that came with the reimagined series. As I realized when I watched it for the first time several years ago, I shouldn’t have worried. It’s handled so expertly, it’s a non-issue. Again, if you haven’t watched, you really should. Unfortunately, BSG is not currently on Netflix. Amazon Instant Video does carry it, but you’ll have to pay for it by the episode or the season.
  • Prison Break – My husband and I loved this show when it originally aired. The premise was very interesting. The execution was perfect. But, sometime during season 3, our interest waned. Episodes went unwatched for weeks until we made the decision to abandon the show. Since it was added to Netflix, I’ve wanted to see how it ended. It was recently announced that FOX will be airing a limited run, stand-alone storyline Prison Break ‘revival.’ I’m interested to see how they will do this, considering the two stars, Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell, will both be staring in the CW’s Legends of Tomorrow, which is scheduled as a midseason show. All of this Prison Break talk has reignited my interest and placed this show on my re-watch list. (Netflix)
  • Merlin (BBC) – Even as a kid, I was fascinated by the Arthurian legend. I read the Mary Stewart books as soon as I was old enough. When the BBC show was first aired in the US on NBC, I was all in. After the first season (I think), it was moved to Syfy. We continued to watch, right up to the bitter, painful end. And yes, I’m still bitter about the series finale. Even though the finale is still like a dagger in my heart, watching the entire series is completely worth it. (Netflix)

I think that covers my list of complete series re-watches. I also have a list of shows that I will randomly watch an episode of here and there, as the mood strikes. Those are: anything Star Trek (except TOS), Supernatural, Bones, The Vampire Diaries, Chuck, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Alias. There are others, but these are my go-to shows.

Just a few other suggestions:

  • The CW is airing the entire first season of The Flash. Tomorrow’s episode is 1×04. If you haven’t watched this show, you must! Grant Gustin is amazing as Barry. The father/son relationship between Barry and Joe (Jesse L. Martin) is the best.
  • Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD season 2 was added to Netflix last week. If you haven’t watched, here is your chance to catch up before the new season begins in the fall.
  • Sherlock (BBC) will be back with new episodes in 2016. If you haven’t watched season 1 through 3, do it! It’s just a total of nine episodes at about eighty-five minutes each. Definitely worth the time.

That’s it, my summer in a nutshell. I’ll keep you updated on my progress through the summer. I’m interested to see how unrealistic this list really is.

What’s on your watch/re-watch list? I’m always interested in suggestions.

Once a Fangirl

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Not too many years ago, I think I would have been offended if someone had called me a fangirl. My image of a fangirl had always been of a thirteen year old girl screaming at the top of her lungs trying to get the attention of her favorite boy band member. Yeah, that’s not me. However, if you define a fangirl as someone who may be obsessed with a TV show, movie, book or character, you might be talking about me. I have been known to watch shows over and over, to actively seek out every little tidbit of trivia, to memorize dates, and episode order. I think it’s safe to call me a fangirl and now, it’s a label that I proudly claim.

Thankfully, I seemed to have passed that fangirl gene on to my daughter. She’s the baby and the only girl in the family and has been our princess from day one. So, it was only logical for us to introduce her to the Disney princesses at a very young age, probably before her first birthday. As she grew older, she became more and more obsessed. If it had a princess on it, she wanted it.

By the time she was ten or eleven, I tried to introduce her to my first fangirl obsession – superheroes. She absolutely refused to give my favorites a try. She was starting to move on to more video game fandoms – Pokemon and Harvest Moon. Even though she repeatedly shot me down, I still tried to get her to watch just one movie with me, convinced that she would love X-Men or Superman or The Avengers. She steadfastly refused.

At least she did until this past winter. Over Christmas break, I found the perfect gateway to get her interested. I am a huge fan of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. It took a little arm twisting, but I got her to watch season one. After a few episodes, she was completely hooked. She quickly buzzed through season one and caught up on season two. When the show came back from hiatus in March, she was parked on the couch with me and my husband, ready to see what would happen next with Coulson’s team. From S.H.I.E.L.D., it was a short hop, skip and jump for her to start watching the Marvel movies leading up to Avengers Age of Ultron.

Last night, we saw Age of Ultron. She had been doing a daily countdown for a week or two. She was so excited to see it with the rest of the family, instead of playing catch up. The movie did not disappoint. We all loved it. For me, the best part might have been the ride home. The four of us were talking about the movie, sharing theories about this aspect or that or what could happen in the next movie. Why was that my favorite part? Because instead of sitting back and letting the conversation flow around her while she was lost in her own thoughts, my princess was right there with us, part of it all.

That’s one of the things I love about being a fan or a fangirl. It’s the shared interest that can bring us together, whether within a family or a fandom, which are often like families. Some of the people I ‘talk’ to the most are online friends who I connected with because of that shared interest. I think that alone is reason enough to put away the negative fangirl connotation.

By the way, my daughter, who is fourteen now, is still a Disney princess fangirl. She has just let it evolve. She is now one of Once Upon a Time’s biggest fans. She writes her own fanfiction for the show, although she shares it with no one. It’s just one more reason I’m glad she’s a fangirl. She’s the real writer in the family and this is a way to let her stretch her writer’s wings. That is never a bad thing.

My Heart Can’t Take It

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I firmly believe that the 2014-15 television season just might be the death of me. Barreling toward the season finales with the added pressure of sweeps, the drama and angst on almost every show I watch seems to be at an all-time high this year. I have watched while holding my breath, hands clenched together, nervously bouncing my knee, hoping that things turn out the ‘right’ way by the end of the hour. Too many times it hasn’t. I’m not sure that my heart or nerves can take much more this season.

Let’s take a look at the shows I watch (just a warning – it’s a lot), starting with Sunday night and moving forward through the week –

Once Upon a Time – The villains led by Mr. Gold (Rumplestilskin) are trying to turn Emma evil. Emma, the savior, the person who broke the curse over Storybrooke, might be evil? Now that we know Zelena (the Wicked Witch) is involved, I think we can assume that things in Storybrooke are going to get worse before they get better,

The Originals – Klaus has been daggered by Elijah. Evil Aunt Dahlia wants baby Hope turned over to her. And newly reunited sister Freya just might be helping her. Dahlia also seems to be starting a war between the vampires and the werewolves. I’m not sure New Orleans is prepared for that.

The Flash – Barry Allen, The Flash, has learned that his mentor, Harrison Wells, is not who he claims to be. Instead, he is the Reverse Flash (AKA Eobard Thawne) and is from the future. When we last saw Barry, Cisco and Catilin they had discovered the hidden lair of Eobard Thawne within Star Labs. That won’t make the Reverse Flash happy. I forgot to mention, the Reverse Flash killed Barry’s mom many years ago. That certainly puts a damper on a friendship, doesn’t it?

Agents of SHIELD – Phil Coulson turned himself over to, as we like to call them, Fake SHIELD. He is working with Grant Ward, who can’t be trusted, again. Just as Coulson thought he was getting Skye back, she was snatched again. Fake SHIELD needs to be taken down, I’m just not sure how that will happen.

Arrow – This was hard to watch this week. In order to save Thea, Oliver turned himself over to the League of Assassins and will be the next Ra’s al Ghul. As I watched Oliver and Felicity together, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was the one and only time that would happen. It wouldn’t be the first time Oliver has pushed Felicity away ‘for her own good.’ What will be the fate of the Arrow?

Supernatural – This is one of the two shows that I absolutely have to watch live. After nearly a season of Sam trying to find a way to remove the Mark of Cain from Dean, he is getting desperate. Being willing to work with Rowena can certainly be called desperate. The Winchester boys are known for the raging codependency. I think we can count on Sam doing something to sacrifice himself in some way in order to save Dean. We saw that this week when he was willing to bleed himself dry in order to retrieve the codex from the Werther box.

The Vampire Diaries – Also known as the other show that I must watch live. We have known for three and a half weeks that Nina Dobrev (Elena) is leaving the show at the end of the season. That is devastating for season seven, but first we have to get through the rest of season six. Will Damon and Elena take the cure? Won’t they? My guess is that she will, he won’t. The writers also seem to be setting up the big bads for next season – Mama Salvatore and her traveling companions, the Heretics. I think that in the fallout of Elena taking the cure and the Heretics arriving in Mystic Falls, Elena will die or be forced (or compelled) to leave Mystic Falls.

Wow! That is a lot of drama and I didn’t even touch on the shows I’m behind on, Bones, The Blacklist and Person of Interest. Every year it seems to be a game of one-upmanship in the sweeps sweepstakes. I wonder what happens when they’ve killed off/written off all of the main characters. How will they keep our interest then?

Here is the flipside. I am still watching every single one of these shows. Obviously, the powers that be haven’t pushed me, as a viewer, too far. Yet. I do have my own personal list of viewer deal breakers. As long as they stay away from those, I’m in for the long haul, however bumpy the ride might be.