Personally, I prefer a season dump to weekly episodes. I like to watch an entire season/series before moving on to the next. I can watch one episode a night for a couple weeks or months, depending on how much I've got to catch up on, be done and move on to the next show.
I don't think I have a strong preference either way but I do have one problem with weekly streaming shows: remembering they exist.
If it's one show I'm keeping up with or a show I'm really excited about sure, I'll remember it comes out on Fridays or whatever, but I have...9? streaming services and shows I'm nominally watching being released weekly on I think 6 of them, with releases on different days of the week. Back in the cable days I could always just look at my DVR saved shows and the upcoming recordings schedule and know what was available to watch and when whatever show would be available in one place. If I want to do that now I've got to make my own spreadsheet - assuming I can even figure out what day a given show is released each week other than by experiment since not every service makes it obvious.
This idea the shorter season removes bloat is demonstrably false all the time. It could, sure. But longer runs could remove as much too. More episodes means more time to tell the story (a constant problem with this sub 10 episodes shows) and have more entertainment out of it. Or not, it really just all depends on the writers if it's 8 episodes or 22. I'd like to think if writers of old pulled off longer seasons off and mostly hit the mark they could now.
I think weekly episodes are better at building buzz and encouraging people to share any cultural impact, but there are examples of whole shows dropping having similar or related effects, like Squid Game. Word of mouth was about the show as a whole, not the latest episode.
I certainly prefer weekly episodes.
Buzz about Squid Game came and went so fast that I wasn't even sure if it was a series or a movie. I saw stuff about Squid Game but never so much as saw discussion of it; just a quick puff of attention, then it's old news.
In comparison, I've seen loads of discussion about Peacemaker, the Boba Fett series, and The Mandalorian. Those weekly drops are definitely how you keep people engaged and give people a reason to hang around on your service. Not to mention it avoids this absurd half-season crap that Netflix does which forces a show to either write for a long gap mid-season or have a weird, clumsy gap right in the middle of the story.
I mean, I was 100% not interested in Peacemaker and it was entirely the weekly release and discussion around the episodes that changed my mind to try it. In comparison, I have yet to bother with Squid Game because I know so little about it besides "sinister game in dystopian future" and there's no discussion of it anywhere.
Slight point of order, Squid Game’s about the dystopian now of South Korean culture in a similar vein to Parasite, if you dumped Parasite in a blender with Battle Royale and zest of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
But very much agree that the weekly model is better for letting content sit and digest, and I think encourages writers to actually make individual episodes matter more, instead of having 3 or so draggy middle things that spin the wheels in a plot cause people will just watch it all at once.
The half season split has the disadvantages of both formats while only getting some of the advantages of each.
"Go down, kick ass, and set yourselves up as gods, that's our Prime Directive!"
Full drop is best for the consumer, that's what I want. I just saw an article where 2 friends from little league baseball are making a subscription bat company and I'm wondering if anybody else is paying attention. We are going to have separate subs for ketchup and mustard soon unless people push for consumer friendly companies. We can have discussions about binge shows, we just have to put in some effort.
This stuff with dropping half-seasons always annoys me because weekly drops are immensely superior. People actually get a whole week to discuss and share about the episode instead of this nonsense where you've either seen the entirety of the new material or nothing at all.
Netflix needs to just drop releasing seasons in chunks and go over to weekly episode releases as standard.
I vastly prefer mini drops or entire season drops.
Weekly drops are just extra time for people who are hate watching things to whine about them.
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Ninja Snarl PMy helmet is my burden.Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered Userregular
This stuff with dropping half-seasons always annoys me because weekly drops are immensely superior. People actually get a whole week to discuss and share about the episode instead of this nonsense where you've either seen the entirety of the new material or nothing at all.
Netflix needs to just drop releasing seasons in chunks and go over to weekly episode releases as standard.
I vastly prefer mini drops or entire season drops.
Weekly drops are just extra time for people who are hate watching things to whine about them.
Yeah, this is 100% not been my experience in the slightest. The people hate watching tend to drop out after a few episodes at worst, the people invested in the show hang around the whole time and get to enjoy actually processing the show when it's a weekly release. Even the people hate-watching have far less to actually say about the actual show and it's dead easy to just filter them out of whatever discussions you're interested in.
And with weekly drops, I don't have to worry about having the whole series spoiled for me within days of release. I have to wait for the end just like anybody else and a week is tons of time to catch up on a single episode so I'm not behind the curve. Conversely, folks who want a whole season dropped can literally just wait for the whole season to release if they want to watch the show that way. They lose nothing, and the weekly release approach gives people enough time to properly enjoy the show with other people and for its own sake rather than having to race to catch up to be current. You can go watch the whole first season of Peacemaker right now if that's your preference for watching, but I also got to discuss the show a bunch with other fans weekly until it finished up. The latter was a markedly improved experience over binging the whole show myself weeks down the line after all the discussion has basically died.
If you waited to watch Peacemaker until it was all released, you lost the entire DCEU thread for 2 months. When you say they lose nothing, you haven't thought it all the way through.
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Ninja Snarl PMy helmet is my burden.Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered Userregular
If you waited to watch Peacemaker until it was all released, you lost the entire DCEU thread for 2 months. When you say they lose nothing, you haven't thought it all the way through.
And if dumped at one time, it's there for a week, maybe two, of discussion, massively reducing the time for getting to enjoy discussing it. And the thread would've put stuff in spoilers if people wanted to, so the folks wanting to binge could do it afterwards and not be spoiled.
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KetarCome on upstairswe're having a partyRegistered Userregular
If you waited to watch Peacemaker until it was all released, you lost the entire DCEU thread for 2 months. When you say they lose nothing, you haven't thought it all the way through.
I mean, I feel like "of value" was implied. They lose nothing [of value].
I kid, I kid. Mostly. Giving up the DCEU thread for 2 months is not exactly a hardship, but I know some folks would find it difficult to avoid a thread they enjoy.
I don't think I would have ended up watching Peacemaker if it weren't for the continued conversation that stemmed from weekly episode releases though. I had no interest in a show about that character after The Suicide Squad, and if the conversation about how good the show turned out to be faded after a week or two as is typical for a binge release, I never would have changed my mind. I've been thinking about it lately, and I do think weekly releases are better for shows like this that capture a lot of interest. There is so much more conversation when the episodes are spread out, it's easier to participate in that conversation rather than miss it all if you can't binge a show immediately, and the quality of discussion is just better.
If you waited to watch Peacemaker until it was all released, you lost the entire DCEU thread for 2 months. When you say they lose nothing, you haven't thought it all the way through.
And if dumped at one time, it's there for a week, maybe two, of discussion, massively reducing the time for getting to enjoy discussing it. And the thread would've put stuff in spoilers if people wanted to, so the folks wanting to binge could do it afterwards and not be spoiled.
You could organize a watch group and discuss it for eternity. Both ways have winners and losers, both ways have work arounds to maximize your enjoyment. We've had these discussions about streaming multiple times, it's my opinion that it's a balanced equation with an equal amount of loss in enjoyment either way you release it. It's not balanced economically.
This stuff with dropping half-seasons always annoys me because weekly drops are immensely superior. People actually get a whole week to discuss and share about the episode instead of this nonsense where you've either seen the entirety of the new material or nothing at all.
Netflix needs to just drop releasing seasons in chunks and go over to weekly episode releases as standard.
I vastly prefer mini drops or entire season drops.
Weekly drops are just extra time for people who are hate watching things to whine about them.
Yeah, this is 100% not been my experience in the slightest. The people hate watching tend to drop out after a few episodes at worst, the people invested in the show hang around the whole time and get to enjoy actually processing the show when it's a weekly release. Even the people hate-watching have far less to actually say about the actual show and it's dead easy to just filter them out of whatever discussions you're interested in.
And with weekly drops, I don't have to worry about having the whole series spoiled for me within days of release. I have to wait for the end just like anybody else and a week is tons of time to catch up on a single episode so I'm not behind the curve. Conversely, folks who want a whole season dropped can literally just wait for the whole season to release if they want to watch the show that way. They lose nothing, and the weekly release approach gives people enough time to properly enjoy the show with other people and for its own sake rather than having to race to catch up to be current. You can go watch the whole first season of Peacemaker right now if that's your preference for watching, but I also got to discuss the show a bunch with other fans weekly until it finished up. The latter was a markedly improved experience over binging the whole show myself weeks down the line after all the discussion has basically died.
The people who wait have the exact same spoiler problems you talk about though. Just waiting means avoiding a lot of the internet weeks to manage that with no guarantee of success. There is no one best solution. Both groups cannot be happy, and I kind of wish both sides would stop pretending only their way has any benefit for people.
Ain't they staggering that for awards eligibility reasons? Lameo, drop it all at once ya fuckin' nerds.
I mean, Netflix's business model is in a questionable state since they are hemorrhaging subs and market price. I wouldn't blame them for changing things up a bit.
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38thDoelets never be stupid againwait lets always be stupid foreverRegistered Userregular
Their plan to put in ads has me thinking of dropping my subscription.
Ninja Snarl PMy helmet is my burden.Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered Userregular
It's probably just Netflix compromising on their way to admitting that weekly releases are better than season dumps, both to keep users interested and to keep subs going. Wouldn't be surprised if they're doing weekly releases of new episodes by the end of the year.
Their plan to put in ads has me thinking of dropping my subscription.
After Stranger Things.
The only reason I haven't dropped Netflix already over their shitty views and practices so far is so my kiddo has something to find decent things to watch on that's not an even worse streaming company or youtube.
If ads get put into our already paid subscription I'm 100% dropping it, though.
I don't know whether it's excellent performances or I've just got more sensitive in my old age, but the bullying scenes in episode 1 make me incredibly angry
So many of the plots have long passed the threshold of being farcical. Namely Joyce/Murray, but really everything involved in the 'Where's Hopper?' plot.
Awesome! I binged through all 7 new ones, and the closer the end of episode seven I came the more I thought "wait, how are they going to resolve that in X minutes", X growing ever smaller.
Hoo boy. That ending to that first episode of season 4.
Poor DM guy. How is he going to explain that?
Yea I've just watched the first episode and that dude is fucked. They already pretty much waved in our faces the satanic panic, and now this dude is going to have a mangled girl on his hands. Ain't no hope.
There are some real 47 year old people playing high schooler vibes going on here to make the main cast look younger.
Yeah! Like just do a big time skip? Everyone's in college, Hopper has been missing for years or something.
The weird part is looking up the actors ages you wouldn't even need to bounce them into college. They were all roughly high school senior age for original 5 kids. It would probably push season 5 to the end of the 80s as well which would be very fitting considering that is the final season.
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If it's one show I'm keeping up with or a show I'm really excited about sure, I'll remember it comes out on Fridays or whatever, but I have...9? streaming services and shows I'm nominally watching being released weekly on I think 6 of them, with releases on different days of the week. Back in the cable days I could always just look at my DVR saved shows and the upcoming recordings schedule and know what was available to watch and when whatever show would be available in one place. If I want to do that now I've got to make my own spreadsheet - assuming I can even figure out what day a given show is released each week other than by experiment since not every service makes it obvious.
Slight point of order, Squid Game’s about the dystopian now of South Korean culture in a similar vein to Parasite, if you dumped Parasite in a blender with Battle Royale and zest of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
But very much agree that the weekly model is better for letting content sit and digest, and I think encourages writers to actually make individual episodes matter more, instead of having 3 or so draggy middle things that spin the wheels in a plot cause people will just watch it all at once.
The half season split has the disadvantages of both formats while only getting some of the advantages of each.
I vastly prefer mini drops or entire season drops.
Weekly drops are just extra time for people who are hate watching things to whine about them.
Yeah, this is 100% not been my experience in the slightest. The people hate watching tend to drop out after a few episodes at worst, the people invested in the show hang around the whole time and get to enjoy actually processing the show when it's a weekly release. Even the people hate-watching have far less to actually say about the actual show and it's dead easy to just filter them out of whatever discussions you're interested in.
And with weekly drops, I don't have to worry about having the whole series spoiled for me within days of release. I have to wait for the end just like anybody else and a week is tons of time to catch up on a single episode so I'm not behind the curve. Conversely, folks who want a whole season dropped can literally just wait for the whole season to release if they want to watch the show that way. They lose nothing, and the weekly release approach gives people enough time to properly enjoy the show with other people and for its own sake rather than having to race to catch up to be current. You can go watch the whole first season of Peacemaker right now if that's your preference for watching, but I also got to discuss the show a bunch with other fans weekly until it finished up. The latter was a markedly improved experience over binging the whole show myself weeks down the line after all the discussion has basically died.
And if dumped at one time, it's there for a week, maybe two, of discussion, massively reducing the time for getting to enjoy discussing it. And the thread would've put stuff in spoilers if people wanted to, so the folks wanting to binge could do it afterwards and not be spoiled.
I mean, I feel like "of value" was implied. They lose nothing [of value].
I don't think I would have ended up watching Peacemaker if it weren't for the continued conversation that stemmed from weekly episode releases though. I had no interest in a show about that character after The Suicide Squad, and if the conversation about how good the show turned out to be faded after a week or two as is typical for a binge release, I never would have changed my mind. I've been thinking about it lately, and I do think weekly releases are better for shows like this that capture a lot of interest. There is so much more conversation when the episodes are spread out, it's easier to participate in that conversation rather than miss it all if you can't binge a show immediately, and the quality of discussion is just better.
You could organize a watch group and discuss it for eternity. Both ways have winners and losers, both ways have work arounds to maximize your enjoyment. We've had these discussions about streaming multiple times, it's my opinion that it's a balanced equation with an equal amount of loss in enjoyment either way you release it. It's not balanced economically.
The people who wait have the exact same spoiler problems you talk about though. Just waiting means avoiding a lot of the internet weeks to manage that with no guarantee of success. There is no one best solution. Both groups cannot be happy, and I kind of wish both sides would stop pretending only their way has any benefit for people.
Weekly releases are 100% a better revenue play when you have less content though.
Jeez, I forgot that season 4 starts a week from today.
My Backloggery
I mean, Netflix's business model is in a questionable state since they are hemorrhaging subs and market price. I wouldn't blame them for changing things up a bit.
After Stranger Things.
I don’t think it’s for awards, I think it’s to get at least 2 months of subs out of people coming back for it.
Less, I think! It's more coldly cynical and less desperate feeling. A'ight, well done Netflix.
If it wasn't for my four-year-old being addicted to Paw Patrol and Peppa Pig, I'd have cancelled my Netflix subscription long ago.
I thought it was just a separate ad supported tier?
Bojack Horseman is incredible
The only reason I haven't dropped Netflix already over their shitty views and practices so far is so my kiddo has something to find decent things to watch on that's not an even worse streaming company or youtube.
If ads get put into our already paid subscription I'm 100% dropping it, though.
As is better call Saul.
I don't know whether it's excellent performances or I've just got more sensitive in my old age, but the bullying scenes in episode 1 make me incredibly angry
Yeah! Like just do a big time skip? Everyone's in college, Hopper has been missing for years or something.
There are too many plots these days. Please eliminate three.
This would be much cooler yeah.
how many are in pt2?
I think just 2? But they are both movie length, so more like 4 if you go by run time.
Origin ID: Discgolfer27
Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
Two but they're stupidly long. The finale is like 2.5 hours.
Origin ID: Discgolfer27
Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
The weird part is looking up the actors ages you wouldn't even need to bounce them into college. They were all roughly high school senior age for original 5 kids. It would probably push season 5 to the end of the 80s as well which would be very fitting considering that is the final season.