how to watch tv

I am sure there will be many reading this that wont believe a few things I remember from my earlies tv watching days. In the uk it was 3 channels, everything was on and then went till it was repeated. If you missed it there was no recording, no catch up and no plus one channels. It meant that if you needed a comfort break or drink you had to wait between programmes or rush during adverts, a famous cry would come up of "its back on" and you would need to rush back as there was no pause.

I write this after just finishing the stunning "Gangs of London" on sky tv. I watched the nine parts in three goes, a paused if need a break of went straight through the episodes if didn't need one. A brilliant watch, brilliantly made but now i feel slightly deflated as its over. I could have spaced them over a period but they were too good to miss. I watched Ricky Gervais "after life 2" in one hit and felt the same after.

Perhaps its my lack of will power but much as I enjoyed it all in big chunks and not having to wait, if I waited the shows would have been in my head longer and the anticipation would have lasted. Its why shows like that have cliff hanger endings, so that you want to see what happens. If you can find out a minute later its satisfying but still not the same as waiting.

The old fashioned way would be to watch your week of television and then start the cycle again with which ever series you were watching. Plus was it was a special moment in your week, problem was that you needed to be there at the time it was on. It meant if you missed an episode or didn't know it was on then you might not bother from then on. Indeed my father told me about a series starting tonight that I didn't know was on. I asked my fiancé to record it and will catch up another time. Also I could have waited and used the catch up series or could have waited for the boxset. I can watch anytime and in any amount at a time.

Although I will watch it fairly soon I also have recordings from 6 months ago I haven't watched. Is it all too easy now or is this the best way?

I have heard only a small fraction of British television is ever watched when broadcast. With services on computers and smart phones this isn't surprising. Is it healthy though as means there is so much more to watch and turning the television off doesn't mean you have to stop watching?

I like the freedom but then regret having it after. A plus is you can watch one program at a time and not forget who people are or important plot points. Also box sets allow you to start at the beginning if you missed parts before and allow you to also discover new programs. You don't have to keep checking your watch to put the television on at a certain time only to find you don't like the show. I have watched a few based on a certain actor or on the preview, once tried I can watch them all or give up with little time wasted.

So in summary I don't know the answer, maybe don't release all episodes till after they have been shown on a weekly basis. Then you can watch weekly or choose to wait till the end. Then you get streaming services like Amazon thrown in to confuse things more. Because they are not designed to fit a schedule the episodes don't have to be fitted in a time frame. It means the writer can tell the whole story rather then fit in a constraint.

Perhaps the only conclusion is I need more will power and this lockdown to end. Then I can make myself go out rather then just jump to the next episode each time.