There are shows you watch once and enjoy — and then there are those shows that are a continual presence in your DVD player or Netflix queue. So what makes the difference?
In response to this post, about enjoying Lost but not its ending, a discussion began about just what took a show from a show you liked, to one that you wanted to see over and over:
https://gizmodo.com/could-the-star-wars-sequels-be-worse-than-the-prequels-1551983319
Postman, I’m in full agreement about Lost: The whole point of it was never the overall plot, but the day-to-day experiences of the people on the island, and how those experiences contributed to their personal journeys in a weird and unpredictable world. As such, Lost had some of the most and most incredible character development of any show. If you were going to develop a machete list, you’d do each one around individual characters’ personal journeys, and ignore the overall plot elements.
I enjoyed the hell out of Lost. I didn’t start watching it right away but binge watched the season 1 and 2 DVDs when season 3 was on the air. I then watched the rest of the show mostly along with when they aired (although I never watch any TV show live anymore) through DVD, streaming, or “other means”. And unlike many people, I was even fine with how it ended. It was a hell of a ride.
Having said all that, I’m curious. How many people re-watch it? I don’t really have the time to watch the show sequentially from the beginning again, and since it is more of a serial-type of show, the episodes don’t really lend themselves to just throwing a random episode on to watch (say the way you can with a monster of the week show like Buffy). Do people find that it has re-watch value? This is the main reason I never bought the DVDs. Well, that and the fact that I really don’t even have the time to watch the re-watchable DVDs that I already do own like all Buffy, Angel, Firefly, X-Files, Brisco County Jr., Simpsons, Futurama, Battlestar Galactica (closer to Lost in its rewatchability in my opinion), etc.
Good question. I plan to buy the DVDs eventually, but no time soon. I do plan to rewatch the series, as I have other series on DVD… on the other hand, like you, I’ve got two series that I haven’t fully rewatched yet.
I’d think Lost has plenty of rewatch value, since, as I said, it’s about individual personal journeys, and some of them were downright epic journeys.
So what do you think? What makes you want to re-watch a show? Tell us in the comments which shows (and particular episodes) you’ll happily watch again and again — and why.
