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How quickly should I go through my stock of Battlestar Galactica?
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.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on January 10, 2006 at 05:41 AM in Television | Permalink
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Comments
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.
Posted by: Kate at Jan 10, 2006 8:23:31 AM
My solution to this sort of question, which I've been very happy with, is to only watch it while I am using the Nordic track. This has the happy double effect of making the time spent exercising go more quickly, and encouraging me to exercise more often so I can find out what happens next. I've been doing this for years now with a series of on-going shows like this -- Buffy, Angel, 24, and Firefly as well as BSG -- and it has been very effective at making sure I get at least some exercise every day, at least during the time periods when new episodes are coming out.
Posted by: Sol at Jan 10, 2006 8:29:34 AM
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.
Posted by: Roland at Jan 10, 2006 9:03:43 AM
The solution my wife and I use works a little something like this: If we are busy, we might watch only one a night, or sometimes nothing at all. When everything is normal, we watch two episodes. On the weekends we tend to have mini-fests and see as much as we can before becoming exhausted.
Breaks between seasons seem to be long and give us a rest for a couple of days. So far we've done this with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Veronica Mars, and now Battlestar Galactica. Those who are interested in two shows on that list will likely be interested in a third.
Posted by: Macneil at Jan 10, 2006 9:12:26 AM
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!
Posted by: Matthew Cromer at Jan 10, 2006 9:27:24 AM
Randomized spurts of at least two, but no more than 4. This way you get the plot-continuity, but you don't consume that at too fast a rate. For my Arrested Development DVDs I have been watching about that many each day. The jokes are funnier if you've just watched other episodes, but you don't get worn out.
Posted by: Joel at Jan 10, 2006 9:35:14 AM
I disagree with #5. It is only an issue if one did not marry well.
Posted by: Shmuel at Jan 10, 2006 9:37:11 AM
I had the same question recently after receiving Season Two of The A-Team for Christmas. I found that 1-3 episodes at a sitting was enough, and that way I had something to look forward to watching on most days between Christmas and last Saturday.
As for the demise of appointment television, I think there will be some shows that the viewers want to remain scheduled. I've observed that women in particular like to discuss the latest episode of their common favorite, and a hard and fast schedule forces them all to watch it at once. Otherwise the people who hadn't seen the episode would have to be protected from spoilers while others discussed the show. The ability to record shows already causes this somewhat, but having all TV available on demand would have an even greater effect.
Posted by: William at Jan 10, 2006 9:54:18 AM
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.
Posted by: Doug at Jan 10, 2006 9:56:03 AM
Step 1: Impose a clever, well-considered strategy to get maximum enjoyment from the series (considering enjoyment from watching + enjoyment from antcipation - agonizimg from wanting to see more NOW).
Step 2: Start to follow step 1.
Step 3: In a moment of weakness, in the middle of the night, throw the plan out the window and binge your way through the entire series like mad.
Step 4: Feel daft in the morning.
Posted by: John at Jan 10, 2006 10:08:26 AM
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.
Posted by: Gabriel Mihalache at Jan 10, 2006 10:17:03 AM
There are two different kinds of non-appointment-based television. The first is simply time-shifting, first with VCRs but really taking off with TiVo and other DVRs. A common experience for TiVo owners is mentioning a favorite show to a friend, being asked when it's on, and saying "I don't know." New episodes come out each week but may not get watched for several days if other activities intervene. For a show popular with your friends, they'll want to talk about it the next day; if you haven't watched it yet you'll exclude yourself from the conversation, and when you get around to watching it a day or two later the topic is now closed.
A different kind of non-appointment television has gained popularity in the past few years: the release of entire seasons of shows on DVD, increasingly soon after the season is concluded. People who don't routinely watch television don't bother checking out the new, promising, favorably reviewed shows when they debut. But when a show becomes highly recommended by their friends, a few years later they buy or rent or borrow several years' worth of episodes and "catch up".
This leads to the water-cooler problem again, but on a different time scale. For one day every week, all your friends chit-chat enthusiastically about the latest episode of, say, Babylon 5... and you politely tune them out, waiting for the topic to change. Years later, you catch up, and now *you* are the one bubbling over with enthusiasm. Except now, rather than being too late to discuss a particular episode, you'll find your friends quite happy to discuss the series as a whole with you.
I imagine there were similar social dynamics involving fiction published in serial form in the newspapers versus the same fiction later republished as novels.
Posted by: eddie at Jan 10, 2006 10:28:40 AM
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.
Posted by: Sandy Smith at Jan 10, 2006 10:37:28 AM
In answer to your question, Tyler, I'd advise thinking of them like good food or wine and consuming them accordingly. You want to satisfy yourself when you are hungry, but you don't want to binge.
More importantly, though, you should stop thinking of them as a depleting stock. Yes, they are a limited quantity, and someday you won't have any more of them. But planning your consumption around maximizing your enjoyment of a limited stock serves only to focus your attention on the limitation, and on the disappointment you know you will ultimately face. This detracts from your enjoyment of your present consumption, resulting in a decrease of net enjoyment.
Eat, drink, watch DVDs, and be merry.
Posted by: eddie at Jan 10, 2006 10:44:07 AM
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.
Posted by: Caliban at Jan 10, 2006 11:03:43 AM
Sadly, I only got to watch the pilot when the show started and nothing since ;_;
I have experience with With TV series from Hong Kong. I tend to watch during dinner, or with my family. It used to be on tape, so if someone cheats and watches ahead, one would have to rewind back so it doesn't ruin the plot. There are times I watch all day, because I just cannot stop. This is not good, because I feel groggy or on drugs, hehehe. Moderation is important.
Posted by: Zelnox at Jan 10, 2006 11:13:17 AM
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.
Posted by: AC at Jan 10, 2006 11:19:47 AM
Just be warned: the BSG episode quality has been decreasing over time. Does your choice of #1-#6 above differ for constant quality, increasing quality, or decreasing quality series?
How many currently airing series have or had second seasons better than the first? The consensus is that Lost, Desperate Housewives, and 24, all had weak second seasons. I think this is especially true for series based on mysteries or twists -- if you solve the murder at the end of season 1, season 2 has to come up with a really ridiculous set of coincidences to get the same characters caught up in an even more bizarre crisis. This phenomenon seems to happen even if all the characters are stuck on an island or a spaceship.
Posted by: DK at Jan 10, 2006 12:11:42 PM
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.
Posted by: Matthew Cromer at Jan 10, 2006 12:27:51 PM
Intersperse listening to them with listening to the podcast audio commentary. If you don't watch x until having listened to the commentary for x-1, you'll naturally draw out the period over which you consume the stock. BTW, make sure you're tivoing season 2.5 to watch when you finish watching the miniseries, season 1, and season 2.0 -- you don't want to have to wait for 2.5 to come out on DVD.
Posted by: Gabriel Rossman at Jan 10, 2006 12:49:40 PM
Gabe,
He doesn't have to wait, he can watch them for $1.99 an episode from the itunes movie store.
Posted by: Matthew Cromer at Jan 10, 2006 12:58:21 PM
DK:
If we count The Sopranos as currently airing(new season starts in March, I believe) then I'll say that they had a better second season than the first. In fact, the second season of The Sopranos is one of the best seasons of a mini-series ever, imo, surpassed perhaps only by the final season of Six Feet Under.
I agree with the poster who said to make the decision on what/when to watch at the margin. When you have free time pick the most appealing activity. I've watched entire seasons The Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under, in a span of 2-3 days before and found it just as enjoyable as watching a season one episode per week.
Posted by: mjrmjr at Jan 10, 2006 3:15:24 PM
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.
Posted by: Lindsay at Jan 10, 2006 3:42:50 PM
I watched them on the treadmill at the gym, as an incentive to exercise.
Posted by: Jacqueline at Jan 11, 2006 4:58:53 AM
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.
Posted by: DK at Jan 11, 2006 9:31:43 AM
