The Very Best Way To Watch a Show

It started off innocently enough.

It was summer, our shows were all on hiatus, and it was about a year before the networks caught on to the fact that people still like to watch TV when it's hot outside and started a full slate of programming from June through early September.

At this point you may want to say something like, "it's summer! Go outside and do something summery! For the love of God, get up off your couch!"

And you might be right, but we're not listening.

Because we love TV. TV has been central to our relationship since it began. Our first kiss happened while we were watching TV. We bonded at first over a shared love of The Office and a mutual need to unwind at the end of the day with the TV on. As time went on we each adopted some of each other's shows so that much of our time spent together was in front of the TV, which suited us fine because talking at the end of the day gives us both a headache. When we got married we decided we were above compromise when it came to our shows, and became the proud owners of two DVRs to accommodate our habit.

But that summer we didn't have anything to watch. We subsisted for awhile on movies and some random stuff that had been crowding our DVRs, but before long we were out of shows, and in withdrawal.

It was David who came up with the idea for 24. Neither of us had seen it and we figured 192 episodes would take us all summer to watch. We figured wrong. We watched them all in three weeks, barely stopping for things like eating, sleeping and going to work.

And our era of binge-watching was born.

When Jack stared up into CTU's camera drone and the clock counted down to zero for the final time, David and I looked at each other in similar torment, wondering what to do next. We tried going back to our regular schedule of a show or two a night before bed, but we were strung out like meth addicts jonesing for a fix.

Binge watching was the only answer.

The next night we started The West Wing, and plowed our way through its seven seasons. By the time we were done with that, fall TV had started up again and we had little choice but to watch our shows like regular people. But we decided that was the amateur's way to watch TV, and we had graduated to the NFL.

So while we watched our weekly shows we also downloaded all the seasons of Fringe, Big Love, Friday Night Lights, Weeds, Gilmore Girls and a few others. And lately it's been House of Cards, Falling Skies, and Chicago Fire. Some we watched together and some we watched separately, but to both of us it was clear.

Binge watching is the absolute best way to enjoy a TV show.

There are plenty of people who disagree with me, and that's just fine. The truth is, I don't really have time to argue.

Netflix just released all 13 episodes of Orange is the New Black, and tonight, it's go time.