The fun of watching a series out of order [Text View]

TeighVaux

05-10-2008, 12:25 AM

Ever watch a long running series out of order and in bits and pieces and try to put it all together?

I'm referring to long running shows (5-15 seasons) that you did not watch when it was originally on. (Maybe you were too young or too busy then or not interested, whatever).

Now it's on in heavy rotation reruns in syndication, maybe even on two or more channels in multiple time slots if you live in a big market. Maybe each channel is running different years of the series.

So now I find myself watching entire series for the first time, out of order, on an irregular basis, and maybe just part of an episode. However over time, I try to put the characters and pieces all together. (OK I could resort to Wikipedia or tv.com, but only if I cave).

I just get a kick out of trying to figure it all out. After a while, I realize, wait those two lead characters are not husband and wife, they are brother and sister? Oh, his boss is also his father-in-law? Wait, when did she have a baby? Hold on, who is this character? Wait, now they are all working in another place? What happened to that character, wasn't she a lead? Now we got this one in the same role? Is it a new character or a new actress?:)

I know I could TIVO it or rent the DVD series disk, but these are series that I just catch while they are in reruns. It's not like The Wire where I am literally renting every disc from Netflix in order and reading about it beforehand to catch the subtleties.

I never watched Frasier when it was on, not once. Now I am trying to put all the characters and plot lines together although I admit I seldom catch a whole episode or watch two episodes back to back.

Other series I am trying to piece together are George Lopez, Sister, Sister, Scrubs, Friends (never watched it while it was on), Mission Impossible, Perry Mason, Still Standing.

murgatroyd

05-10-2008, 01:30 AM

More often, I leap in somewhere in the middle of the run, watch it from wherever I started, and then pick up the earlier bits in the manner you describe.

When watching Xena, the first 'meeting' I saw between Iolaus and Xena was in third season. Then I saw the first season episode where they meet up again. And after that, I saw the beginning of the story with Xena on Hercules.

Due to some superb acting by the classically-trained Michael Hurst (Iolaus), I knew there was some intense backstory I had missed. Finding out by going backwards was ... very interesting.

Jan

Uncle Briggs

05-10-2008, 04:39 AM

I didn't start watching Friends until the 3rd or 4th season. It took a long time to figure things out.

taronga

05-10-2008, 06:35 AM

I have an unfortunate talent of stumbling upon the final episode of show (Angel, Forever Knight, Sex and the City). And to make it even more bewildering, two of those slaughtered half their cast in the last episode (I'll leave it to you to guess which didn't!), so I sat there astonished as main character after main character snuffed it.

Usually I'm stickler for watching a series in order from the first episode, so this kind of thing really frustrates me.

justen_m

05-10-2008, 07:09 AM

Raises hand in shame. I watch Angel all the time. I have the complete boxed set sitting here right next to me, yet I still watch the show on TNT.

sushikitten

05-10-2008, 08:02 AM

I would NEVER do that. I absolutely HAVE to watch shows in order.

Vendikarr

05-10-2008, 08:42 AM

LlamaLarry

05-10-2008, 10:07 AM

I would NEVER do that. I absolutely HAVE to watch shows in order.I am sorting my way through Earth2 courtesy of Netflix and it appears a couple of episodes are in airdate vs production order. Makes it a little confusing when character injuries re/appear, character knowledge about something is different each time. As distasteful as networks toying with them on original airings, what makes them keep the wrong order on a DVD?

BeanMeScot

05-10-2008, 10:36 AM

I would NEVER do that. I absolutely HAVE to watch shows in order.

+1. Although it doesn't always work out that way. I tend to watch TV shows while on my treadmill and sometimes they aren't in the right order when you rip the DVDs. Irks me. I never saw Dead Like Me and started watching the DVDs I had ripped onto my PMP. I enjoyed the first episode and then the 2nd showed a "previously on Dead Like Me" where something VERY major had happened that didn't happen in the first episode. I was not happy. I couldn't continue to watch it AND I knew an important later plot point all at once.

Cainebj

05-10-2008, 10:41 AM

I would NEVER do that. I absolutely HAVE to watch shows in order.

I completely agree with you - in fact - I was irritated last week when I was catching up on Doctor Who Series 3 on DVD and realized where Jack was between Series 1 and 2 of Torchwood :):o

TeighVaux

05-10-2008, 11:34 AM

So I'm not the only one.

Frasier is the show I am now catching here and there out of sequence. It runs constantly in L.A. I never watched one episode while it was on.

I get a kick out of any revelation that appears to me after watching a lot of episodes. Oh..... Daphne LIVES in the father's apartment?! LOL for years I thought she just worked there during the day. Why does she need to live there, the dad does not need 24/7 nursing care. And then I figured out, wait, Frasier lives there too? Why!?:)

Then it took me a while to realize that the Kelsey Grammar character is the exact same character he played in Cheers. That seemed strange because the "Frasier" show character seemed more confident than the "Cheers" one and why would he move 3,200 miles from his young son and then basically ignore him?

Oh Friends, I also seldom watched but now it is hard to miss it in reruns. I know the basic relationships of the characters but can't keep track of all the revolving characters.

lordargent

05-10-2008, 02:31 PM

I would never do that, simply because of the fact that it would be a royal PITA just to keep track of which episodes I've seen.

VS just knowing that I'm up to season 3, episode 11. I'd have to track each individual episode if I were watching the show in random.

Heck, there are even some shows where a long long time ago, I saw one random episode from the middle of a random season, and didn't like the show because of it (babylon 5, farscape). But when I got netflix, I gave those shows a second chance, started from the beginning and loved them. Then when I got to the episode that I had seen out of order, I realize that those were some of the worst episodes in the entire series.

/For Babylon 5, that episode was "Soul Hunter"
/For Farscape, it was "Meltdown"

I have been watching a few CSIs, Law & Orders and NCISes out of order. But those are usually one shot episodes. Occassionally they have a long going story arc, but I ignore those parts.

TeighVaux

05-10-2008, 04:31 PM

I would never do that, simply because of the fact that it would be a royal PITA just to keep track of which episodes I've seen.

.

I agree for series that I really want to watch. That is why I am starting on The Wire from Netflix disc by disc.

Watching bits and pieces of other shows is just a guilty pleasure. Often it's just watching a scene that seems interesting as I flip by. I might not even watch the whole episode. Or just watching parts of a silly show from years ago. There are so many shows in heavy rerun syndication that I don't even have to make an effort to watch them.

aadam101

05-10-2008, 04:35 PM

I try to avoid watching out of order but I did watch Friends and Seinfeld that way. The first episode of Seinfeld that I watched was the last episode. I didn't start watching Friends until around the 5th season.

panictivo

05-11-2008, 12:17 AM

I think I watch most anime series inside-out. I stumble on an interesting episode and watch the series through to the end. Then when the series restarts I watch until I get to the part where I started.

It is like watching a movie followed by its prequel (the Starwars paradigm). I enjoy watching series that way. First I get interested in the fully developed characters and then when the series restarts, I learn their background. When the series start over, it is like watching a really big flashback. There are a lot of moments when I go "Aha, now I understand why that character behaves that way".

janry

05-11-2008, 10:01 AM

I would NEVER do that. I absolutely HAVE to watch shows in order.

Same here. Even sitcoms like Corner Gas. OK, I will watch it out of order to some degree within a season, but I won't start a new season until I have watched the last episode of one season and the 1st episode of the next season. I now have 35 episodes recorded waiting on the 1st episode of season 4 to show up.

MasterOfPuppets

05-11-2008, 11:08 AM

TeighVaux

05-11-2008, 11:42 AM

I've never seen The Simpsons in order, never plan to.
I don't think that sitcoms really matter much if you see them in order, you may miss an occasional inside joke, but meh, who cares.
It's certainly not as important as watching a drama in order.

Or Baywatch.

I didn't even think of those. I have watched Simpsons, Family Guy, and South Park totally out of order in reruns. It's rare I will watch the current episode on its first airing.

smark

05-11-2008, 12:53 PM

TeighVaux

05-11-2008, 01:58 PM

Comedies are usually more or less self contained so there is no real need to "watch them in order". Same can be said for a series like Star Trek where while there is a reach back to past episodes, for the most part they are self contained.

That's true, to an extent. They don't tend to have the story arcs. However, Frasier and Friends are comedies, yet there is a disadvantage to watching them out of order because you don't know the back stories or even the premise or even the relationships of the characters. Comedies just have more subtle story arcs.

Also some of the humor in sitcoms is driven by the knowledge of the character.

murgatroyd

05-12-2008, 01:25 AM

That's true, to an extent. They don't tend to have the story arcs. However, Frasier and Friends are comedies, yet there is a disadvantage to watching them out of order because you don't know the back stories or even the premise or even the relationships of the characters. Comedies just have more subtle story arcs.

Also some of the humor in sitcoms is driven by the knowledge of the character.

Yes, indeed.

As I'm writing this, I'm watching (courtesy of my local PBS station) The Vicar of Dibley (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108981/).

We've only seen a handful of episodes so far, so I'm still sorting out some of the characters.

Jan

EchoBravo

05-12-2008, 01:48 AM

I sort of did that with Las Vegas. Caught it on TNT from the pilot and liked the show. Then started watching the new ones on NBC on Friday nights. It was kind of fun watching it arc up to the points of major cast changes... Then a letdown, as writing wasn't exactly the guilty pleasure show's strong point. Then NBC dropped it without a finale, leaving some storylines dangling. Out with a whimper.

ElJay

05-12-2008, 07:47 AM

I did it with the first few seasons of House and Scrubs. For Veronica Mars I started out with the first season finale (holy dark writing, Batman) and then caught it for a few summer reruns on CBS, but I never did see the entire first season. I considered doing a similar thing recently with "Doctor Who," but I chickened out after the first episode I watched.

kdelande

05-12-2008, 09:21 AM

bychance

07-05-2008, 10:07 AM

I would NEVER do that. I absolutely HAVE to watch shows in order.

I feel the same exact way.

More often, I leap in somewhere in the middle of the run, watch it from wherever I started, and then pick up the earlier bits in the manner you describe.

When watching Xena, the first 'meeting' I saw between Iolaus and Xena was in third season. Then I saw the first season episode where they meet up again. And after that, I saw the beginning of the story with Xena on Hercules.

Due to some superb acting by the classically-trained Michael Hurst (Iolaus), I knew there was some intense backstory I had missed. Finding out by going backwards was ... very interesting.

Jan

Interesting, considering Iolaus never appeared in the third season of Xena, lol.

sushikitten

07-05-2008, 10:10 AM

Funny this should be bumped today... yesterday I happened to be in the same room when hubby was watching Torchwood. I got hooked, so now we have to go back and watch the previous episodes...

gchance

07-05-2008, 10:44 AM

Funny this should be bumped today... yesterday I happened to be in the same room when hubby was watching Torchwood. I got hooked, so now we have to go back and watch the previous episodes...

But why is Jack's lover suddenly reduced to getting him coffee?

Greg

WinBear

07-05-2008, 11:23 AM

If you stumble onto a series you are interested in, but it is in the middle of a run, do you setup an auto-record wish list to get the pilot or desired episode to jump back in?

I was recently watching Dead Zone in syndication and for some reason, the station dropped it in the middle of season 2, so I setup a wish list to let me know when it comes back around on another station.

Cainebj

07-05-2008, 11:46 AM

Friday Night Lights:

I didn't watch the first airing and accidentally caught part of a marathon during a weekend trip at my Mother's house. I set up a season pass on UHD but waited until they started back from the Pilot to watch.

Warren

07-05-2008, 12:42 PM

i did this with stargate sg1

scandia101

07-05-2008, 02:31 PM

I am sorting my way through Earth2 courtesy of Netflix and it appears a couple of episodes are in airdate vs production order. Makes it a little confusing when character injuries re/appear, character knowledge about something is different each time. As distasteful as networks toying with them on original airings, what makes them keep the wrong order on a DVD?

Production order of Earth 2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Earth_2_episodes

Cragmyre

07-05-2008, 09:52 PM

So? When trying to watch a series in order, after it has already aired, do you go by episode number, or date of first air?

Einselen

07-05-2008, 11:33 PM

So since this was bumped this is how I caught my two favorite series. House I joined I believe half way through the first season and now I own Season 1 and 2 on DVD and watched every episode since I caught my first one. How I Met Your Mother I saw some of season 1 in reruns after seeing most of season 2 (thanks to working at a CBS TV station) and for Christmas my sister bought me season 1 and we spent the entire day watching ALL of season 1 :eek:

TeighVaux

07-06-2008, 11:37 PM

When I did the original post, I was thinking of watching a series for the very first time out of order (usually in reruns/syndication).

I also notice that I will catch episodes of a show that I did watch (or maybe am still watching currently in the later seasons) and now I see the earlier episodes on reruns.

Kind of a different perspective in that I notice that they let certain characters just fade away or never did follow up on certain story lines (probably because of the actor or the story line didn't generate the excitement or chemistry they hoped).

MegaHertz67

07-07-2008, 01:59 PM

So? When trying to watch a series in order, after it has already aired, do you go by episode number, or date of first air?I picked up Two and a Half Men in season 3 and used tivo to record episodes on reruns on the local WB/CW station. I used IMDB to figure out the proper order of the shows and got all caught up that way.

I know comedies are generally self-contained, but on Men (men, men, men, manly men, men, men) the writers will throw juicy lines that call back things that happened before and loyal viewers get a joke working on other levels. Especially with the Rose/stalker storyline and the Alan/divorce storyline.

allan

07-07-2008, 02:08 PM

i did this with stargate sg1

Me too. I discovered it in 2004, but they were showing the older shows in the afternoons. I just saw them in whatever order they happened to show them in.

tewcewl

07-07-2008, 02:37 PM

The wife and I are currently doing this for HIMYM as we just got addicted this past season.

mattack

07-08-2008, 11:23 PM

If you stumble onto a series you are interested in, but it is in the middle of a run, do you setup an auto-record wish list to get the pilot or desired episode to jump back in?

No, I'll catch them on DVD... though it's fairly rare that I'll start watching a show in the middle.

The last shows that I remember watching in reruns are "Mad About You" and "Thirtysomething". This was when "Mad About You" was on the air too, so I started watching the new episodes. Since then, knowing that episodes are totally chopped up in syndication, I won't watch reruns except for very rare cases like missing *one* specific episode, and then I realize I'm only seeing _most_ of the episode.

teknikel

07-08-2008, 11:38 PM

I still haven't seen most of the B/W episodes of "My Three Sons". My arch starts when Ernie gets adopted.

TeighVaux

07-08-2008, 11:55 PM

I still haven't seen most of the B/W episodes of "My Three Sons". My arch starts when Ernie gets adopted.

Ernie was adopted?!

jradford

07-09-2008, 10:08 AM

I have been doing this exactly with MONK during the past few weeks. I'm really enjoying it, but there are some things you have to just pick up on. For instance, I finally got to watch the pilot episode after watching about 6 episodes from Season 2 and a few from Season 4 or 5. I was a bit suprised by how MUCH darker it was in that first episode. It definitely helped establish Monk's character a little bit better than just the random mid-run episode.

mattack

07-09-2008, 11:05 PM

I still haven't seen most of the B/W episodes of "My Three Sons". My arch starts when Ernie gets adopted.

Apparently some are coming out soon
http://www.amazon.com/My-Three-Sons-Season-Vol/dp/B00005JOEB

(I also see that there's a set of Petticoat Junction on DVD.. It's not a season set, but it sounds like there was a lot more work done than the various public domain DVDs.. so it's some weird mishmash collection.)

TeighVaux

07-10-2008, 12:07 AM

Apparently some are coming out soon
http://www.amazon.com/My-Three-Sons-Season-Vol/dp/B00005JOEB

(I also see that there's a set of Petticoat Junction on DVD.. It's not a season set, but it sounds like there was a lot more work done than the various public domain DVDs.. so it's some weird mishmash collection.)

I just went and read wikipedia on the show. Wow, I did not realize it was on from 1960-1972. I started watching around 1966 (when I was 10). As I recall, it was on either Saturday or Sunday nights.

I did not even know there was an earlier "Uncle" or a disappearing older brother or that Ernie was adopted.

teknikel

07-10-2008, 09:00 AM

I just went and read wikipedia on the show. Wow, I did not realize it was on from 1960-1972. I started watching around 1966 (when I was 10). As I recall, it was on either Saturday or Sunday nights.

I did not even know there was an earlier "Uncle" or a disappearing older brother or that Ernie was adopted.

Yeah, I always wondered why they never aired those in syndication. I have been wanting to see them since the 70s.

Looks like we may have a chance soon.