While it can be said that TV has slowly progressed to tight, more concentrated storylines in the past couple of decades, I’ve noticed a dramatic increase in the uses of drama and suspense with the recent surge of programs that are written for an audience that is expected to digest them all in one sitting. One big troupe characteristic in these binge shows is the steady, unrelenting increase in stakes, giving little time to breath and let tension or peace linger. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Can made-for-streaming shows still be considered TV, or are they moving towards more extended movies?
I like this idea, but I have to say that I am a little worried about how you are going to prove any of these ideas. For example, how will you tangibly prove that binge watching is either bad or good? By what metric will you judge the circumstances? These are factors that need to be considered... – agramugl7 years ago
Agree with agramugl that proving whether or not binge watching is good or bad will be challenging at best, however perhaps this can be compared to potential effects it may have on the way people watch films? Most binge-worthy TV shows are more or less extended films, as you said, particularly with their high production values. Perhaps this could be likened to how a lot of drama/suspense/action films nowadays have a run time of around or over 120 minutes - any less, don't we feel they're not giving us enough? Would anyone bother going to the cinema to watch a short mediocre film, when they can watch something epic on Netflix? – Sonia Charlotta Reini7 years ago