If you want to enjoy television don’t have start a marathon

We don’t have to wait months to find out what happened to
JR on Dallas.

The days of cliff hangers are over. Many people now
consume their TV on demand, stream it online, or watch
DVD-box sets.

When the cliff hanger comes and you’re eager to know what
happens, instead of “tuning in next week,” all you have to
do is click next, and you’re sailing through another
television favorite.

WHOAH! Slow down! Binge TV watching might be taking
the fun out of television watching, at least according to
Slate writer Jim Pagels, who joined Dave
and Luke.

“Cliffhangers,” he said, “they try to draw that out from
you, and make you have to endure before you get the
answer to your questions.”

Simply going on to the next episode is instant
gratification, like drinking that entire bottle of wine,
or having a second dessert even though that first cupcake
was delicious.

Pagels recommends taking the time to contemplate each
episode
before moving onto the next. He says that it will
help you enjoy the three arcs of a television show. The
first arc being the 30 or 1-hour arc of the episode; the
next being the story arc of a season; and lastly, in the
cases of shows like “The Wire” or “Breaking Bad,” the arc
of the whole series.

While Luke enjoys TV-binging, the
conversation did take him back to a time when watching TV
was an event. He would have people over to his
house for a big Italian meal to experience the most recent
episode of “The Sopranos.”

Pagels has five reasons for giving episodes
space, so before your next binging session of “True
Blood,” “Dexter,” or even something more light-hearted
like “Parks and Recreation,” consider slowing down so you
don’t become TV-obese.