Every geek knows what I’m talking about when I say it’s entirely possible to binge on a particular fandom or series, right? I wholeheartedly blame Joss Whedon and his ridiculously amazing sense of continuity for this. Unfortunately, I didn’t learn about Firefly until it was out on DVD (let’s blame Fox’s lack of marketing this brilliant series). After that, I eagerly borrowed and cried over consumed Buffy: the Vampire Slayer on DVD as well.
Now that I have the dangerous combination of On Demand and Tumblr, I’ve discovered I’m not the only one who will spend the better part of a day falling in love with a TV series, watching most of it in one sitting. Of course, this is an ambitious endeavor depending on the series. Here are some recent binge favorites:
Greek – I absolutely adore nostalgia, and I obviously understand what it’s like to be a geek. This series follows Rusty Cartwright (Jacob Zachar), a polymer science major who navigates the collegiate Greek system, proving you can be a geek and a Greek. That was the hook for me, as I’m a member of Alpha Phi Omega. As the series progresses and some characters graduate, it’s fair to say that most college graduates will nod along with these experiences.
The last fifteen minutes of this show consisted of me looking like Chris Hemsworth as George Kirk at the beginning of Star Trek. So, so teary-eyed.
Downton Abbey – You had me at historical fiction. It’s always been my favorite genre. While I’ve always loved PBS, I didn’t expect to find a series as interesting as Spartacus, The Borgias, or The Tudors there. What really inspired me to check it out was the fact that both a younger friend and my elderly grandmother encouraged me to watch it. And then I fell in love with Anna and Bates (OTP). My affinity for the series was only reinforced when I noted its cameo in Iron Man 3.
Ugly Betty – I’m still not through this series, but I’m adoring it. As a veteran of the publishing industry, I find Betty’s idealism constantly inspiring. The show gets pretty campy and some of the soap opera-esque tropes are reused three or more times, but it doesn’t get old…even when watching such episodes back to back.
I’m not sure exactly why it’s so gratifying to binge on TV shows, but so far it’s working out for me better than ice cream binges – at least my waistline seems to think so.
Why do we binge on TV shows? What are your favorites?
