Binge-Watching FTW

For the longest time I dutifully watched multiple-part series streaming on Apple TV/Prime Video/Netflix etc.

When I first encountered the term "binge-watching" it was in reference to peeps locking themselves in for a weekend to watch whole seasons of old favorites.

I noticed that each week's new multiple-part series episode required that I watch "Last week on XYZ" to remind myself exactly where it had left off.

But that got annoying over time — I wanted to get right to the new episode.

Besides which, as I'm getting older my memory's not nearly as good as it used to be: I've noticed myself more and more often watching a movie and then realizing part way through that I watched it years previously, though I can't go beyond that fact: I don't remember what happened in the movie, so it's like watching it for the first time in terms of enjoying it.

Likewise, a week's hiatus from a multi-episode series sometimes renders the previous episode a vague scrim.

I started waiting until a series had broadcast its final episode and only then started watching it from the beginning on a daily basis, making it more like a multi-part movie.

The more I did that, the more I liked it.

Now I wouldn't watch the old one-episode/week way.

I learned to look up how many episodes there would be in total, then I'd work backward from the final episode's air date, allowing for two episodes at a time.

Wikipedia is the quickest way to get this information, BTW.

So, for example, when I read earlier this year that "For All Mankind" Season 5 was all set to premiere  on March 27 on Apple TV, I calculated forward and noted that Episode 10/10 would air Friday, May 29, 2026.

Working backward at two episodes/day, that meant that my binge-watching should begin next Monday, May 25, with episodes 1&2, to finish with 9&10 on Friday the 29th.

I've got my popcorn ready.