We used to be a nation of values. One of these values was the shared commodity of watching things at the same time. Since literally prehistoric times, there have existed records that despite being annoying twats, people like doing things with other people.
However, the streaming era has been the equivalent of a sugar rush in terms of content. While Sherlock fans waited years to see what happened when its titular detective did a flip off a building and Haruhi fans went mad from being in a physical time loop, the binge model has effectively killed this experience. We want all of it, and we want it now.
It’s never been more apparent than with the newly released Fallout TV series on Amazon Prime. the show is by all accounts amazing- but as social media has taught us, how can it be amazing if no one can talk about it? Had the post apocalyptic drama released weekly, I’d happily be checking my favorite forum threads like some ancient philosopher, listening to everyone’s opinions about the direction of the show after putting aside an hour of my day to catch up to the latest episode.
Now, I find myself cowering at the mere sight of any discussion of Fallout. I’m an adult with chores and pets and cripplingly low self-esteem, I don’t have time to consume all eight episodes, let alone ponder on the greater meaning of the series! The only thing I have time to commit an 8-hour burst to is sleep, and even then my chat history the morning after shows that I’m not immune to taking breaks from that to reply to texts with typo-riddled garbage.
Weekly Or Weakly?
There’s been a lot of back-and-forth on weekly vs binge releases. For the pro-binge people, they get their free time in large, infrequent bursts. They use terms like hyperfixations and can magic up the time to watch 8 mini-movies in one sitting and then complain that reddit mods aren’t letting them post about the ending for another week. The weekly model is an artificial speedbump, one that interferes with their Content Darwinism.
I suppose to them, us pro-weeklies look more like Weaklies. We moan and we ache that something meant to be entertaining, watching a TV show, is somehow work and effort, and that we can’t simply just enjoy seeing Walton Goggins’ noseless sex appeal on our tiny phones while we’re out making ourselves tired all the time for fun.
I mean, this whole discussion comes from a place of extreme privilege, I’ll give them that. The roof over my head is in no danger of collapsing any time this month, I’d like to watch my funny retro apocalypse show in a way that didn’t imply I was about to be precision-bombed before I ever find out where Lucy’s dad is.
Why Else Would We Make Bad TV If Not To Complain About It
Issues of time aside, the reason I think we need to move back to the weekly model is that life was just more fun. Media was meant to be a Sweet Tart, something you sucked on and savored, and a big part of that was the weekly discussions for every episodes. There was a time where people thought Darling In The Franxx was going to be good- I don’t think Zero Two would have quite the cultural zeitgeist if we as a society didn’t collectively engage with it for as long as we did.
I’ve seen arguments that “weekly discussion” is some sort of faux pas but it feels like people have forgotten that that’s what we do. We consume art, and then we digest it. We sit around at the end of Evangelion and argue for decades if Anno hates Otaku Culture. We bicker about just how gay The Witch From Mercury is going to get every week as Suletta and Miorine go from uncomfortable around each other to angrily demanding the other person never leaves their side.
Art is a social experience, and media doesn’t have to end just because the playhead’s stopped. The best media are the ones we talk about, and it’s hard to talk when you don’t want to have big reveals taken from you. Part of the reason all my arguments in favor of weekly viewing have been anime is that it still keeps this tradition alive- just look at Dungeon Meshi and Frieren, which didn’t go for the binge model and were some of the most talked-about anime of their season.
I suppose maybe I have too high an opinion on funny drawings of grieving elf girls. Maybe the hype cycle has a shorter half-life than before, and we should all struggle to “finish” shows like they were chores to do so that we can share awkwardly-framed TikTok edits guilt-free. I don’t know about you guys, but I like my chores to be chores and my show time to be relaxing, even if it’s an episode that’s going to retroactively ruin one of my favorite anime.
