Last night I watched
So You Think You Can Dance for the first time in weeks.
The first time in five weeks, to be exact.
When I realised this, I was at a loss as to exactly how this had happened. How does one of my favourite, must-watch, oh-my-god-it's-almost-here-again shows of the year go from being something I cancel all bookings in order to ensure a clear two hours' of viewing time to, well, something I forget is even on?
(In a brief recap, I was pleased that the bodacious Ivy was still in the running, and horrified that hot Gaz had gone, though the latter
had been sent in an SMS alert from a concerned friend at the time. Perhaps that's why I stopped watching...)
It's something that happens with alarming frequency these days: I'll start watching a show, with every intention of tuning in for every single episode, and then everything just kind of goes... pffffft.
The wind has gone out of my sails when it comes to watching television in a normal and timely fashion.
Remember the days when these little buggers would send you into apoplexies of anticipation?
I know, neither do I. Bonus points for cutting away moments before Sad Dawson, though, WB:
Moving right along...
It feels like so long ago that we were actually prepared to endure the delicious agony of waiting a whole seven days (sometimes more!) to find out what happened next, or in the case of finales, wha' happen' full stop.
There are two likely reasons for this: DVDs and the internet.
That's not meant to sound as talkback radio as it probably does, but hear me out: it's nearly impossible to watch television "the way we used to" these days.
The advent of both the DVD boxset and streaming/torrenting video online, coupled with networks' near-clockwork inability to show series either in their entirety or at least all at the same regular timeslot, means that the idea of sticking it out week to week in order to watch something is anaethema to most viewers.
Even in the case of "new"/live TV, like
So You Think You Can Dance, which isn't available (or likely to be in any way other than edited highlights packages) on DVD, the motivation to watch week to week is lessened by the sense that "Oh well, I'll just watch it on catch-up online".
Part of me is thrilled by this development - if anything, it celebrates the power of television's creative achievements (i.e. The Sopranos full-series box set) while diminishing the actual television's ability to rule our lives.
DVDs, the internet, Tivo/iQ - they all mean that an evening is no longer dictated by having to be home at a certain point to make sure you find out what X did to Y and where Z's been gone since last week.
Couple that with the (relative, in the case of commercial streaming) lack of advertisements in the online and DVD realm and all the evils of television as espoused by its 1950s detractors are little more than a vague scent of desperation on the wind.
Do you watch television "normally" anymore, or is it all streamed, i-Viewed and box-setted? I'd be interested to hear if anyone is still prepared to endure a weekly wait, for those days seem so very far away for me.
As for So You Think You Can Dance, I'll probably check in again at some point, but all I really care(d) about is Gaz, and I can watch him on YouTube. For as long as I like.
What a wonderful world.