Entire Seasons of Series On DVD

I love watching TV-shows. Instead of as in a movie where you only get a couple of hours with the characters, in a show you can follow the same people for months, or sometimes years.

Earlier I used to be so upset if I missed an episode of my favorite show, sometimes I would completely turn my schedule around to make sure that when a specific series aired I was right there in the chair ready with a bowl of popcorn. Now however, times have changed.

Most series nowadays give out box sets on DVD with the entire season on it. This allows me to watch the shows at my own pace, and I’m free to pick the times I want to watch it. Not having to be a slave to TV-channels times, and having to reorganize my own life because I want to see a certain episode is a big relief. It also allows me to skip the wait in between episodes, like I remember from before when I would be so upset because someone was in a state of life or death right before the episode ended, or the suspense would almost kill me. Now I can go two months in between every time I watch it, or I can watch a whole season in one weekend if I feel like it.

Then it got me thinking, is this really such a good idea?

The last six months I’ve managed to swallow six whole seasons of 24, the last two seasons of CSI, as well as Desperate Housewives and Lost and a few others. The amount of time that I’ve spent watching these series amounts to a great deal of hours; hours I probably would have spent more efficient if it wasn’t for the ready-to-watch box sets on DVD.

I’m not going to say it’s a complete waste of time, because I do enjoy watching it. It’s about just how much enjoyment I really need. Earlier it would be enough to follow two shows a year, now I find myself watching eight or nine, and countless seasons of every one of them. This is not really necessary of course, but because of the accessibility it’s very easy to get drawn into the net of entire seasons.

So while I want to say thank you to the producers of these box sets, I also want to say that a small part of me wish I could go back to the time before these were readily available and it was merely a dream. As for now however, I’ll turn on the latest season of 24 and hope I manage to finish it before work.