Whether you’re watching it for the first time, or re-watching it, don’t do it. Whether it’s on Netflix or downloaded to your computer, don’t do it. Whether it’s a sitcom with 20 minute episodes, 20 episodes per season and 10 years’ worth of seasons, or a show with 1 hour episodes, 13 per season and 5 to 6 seasons total, whatever the numbers may be, DON’T DO IT. You are the only person that will suffer, and you yourself and no one else will be the cause of that suffering. If you’re a masochist like me, then by all means, go ahead, binge away. 

If it’s a sitcom where every episode is pretty much independent even if it is all tied together, you’re not doing yourself any favors by plowing through it. These shows are simple and mindless for a reason. It’s that type of silly fun that you can have every now and then to unload; free your head.. And then get your ass back up and go on with your day. By sitting your ass down however, and indulging in episode after episode, you’re consciously drowning yourself in stupidity. You tend to just enter this monotone mode, and before you know it you’re going to sleep at the crack of dawn. It’s very easy to get sucked into. You will wake up one day and think to yourself “Hmm, I wonder how Will & Grace” are doing, let me pay them a visit. So you re-watch the entire series in a few days. Sure the show is pretty mundane and can still be entertaining if it’s just background noise.. But the fact that they’re there constantly, plays a huge part on your subconscious. Sometimes they even start appearing in your dreams. [Shrug] And let me tell you, Grace is a lot to take in. I didn’t realize how I felt about her until I re-watched the whole thing over again. She’s a psycho bitch and she’s fucking loud. I’m very disappointed in her character and in myself for allowing me to be taken to that place. Couldn’t leave well enough alone where she was just a funny flat girl with a big head of red hair, noooo I had to ruin it by going back. 

That can happen when you re-watch something in a short period of time. If you thought it was good once, be prepared for that opinion to more than likely be shattered. All the plot holes will rear their ugly heads. All the things you haven’t noticed before will surely be there now. Most of the things you thought made sense in the past, mainly because you weren’t paying that much attention in the first place, will no longer make sense. Why do that to yourself? You’ve lost time thanks to it once, you enjoyed it, leave it at that.  

Now, if someone comes up to you and advises you to watch something that is “a must”, and you’re even remotely intrigued, beware. This too is how you get sucked in. It’s not exactly a second-time-around sitcom experience, but it also carries negative side effects.  See, when you watch a show as it’s released, you’re forced to only see one episode at a time, as it was intended. You are required to take that break in between episodes, which is what I’d like to call necessary breathing room. That break is essential because your mind has the time to recuperate and greet the next episode with a refreshed head and open arms. It is particularly so, if it’s the kind of show that tends to end its episodes with a cliffhanger. Then the level of excitement is crazy real, because you’ve been waiting for the entire week to find out what happens, craving that explanation. When you’re binge watching something like that, you’re depriving yourself of that feeling. On purpose. Not only that but you’re also wasting more time than you realize.. Your mind had barely processed what happened in the last hour, and you’re already baffled and excited about what’s going to happen in the next. And of course it’s right there, in front of you, waiting for you to hit play.  Just one more episode, you think. Okay, just one more, but this is the last one. Ooookkkayyy, I guess one more won’t hurt. Alright this is the last one goddamn it! One more… You get the gist.  

Not only that, but you will probably experience frustration with yourself due to your own inconsistency. How so do you ask? Well, character development in a fast forward motion is a very scary thing. You see, when you’re fed every episode with a spoon, in healthy proportions, your mind is gently guided into acceptance of what people in these shows are becoming. When you, on your own time, at your own will, decide to gorge the fuck out of the show, no wonder you get heartburn. Your stomach can’t handle it! One day he’s a moron and a dickwad, then he’s a nice guy, in a few hours he’s killing people, then he’s crying like a little bitch, then he’s back to being a cunt, then he’s back to being a good-doer (yes I’m talking about Jesse from Breaking Bad), and you catch yourself being so frustrated with this character that you inevitably start being frustrated with yourself because you can’t form an opinion on him and stick to it. So you’re like, Fuck! Why am I so inconsistent? Why? Because you decided to watch an insanity packed show that was filmed over the course of several years, in a matter of a few days. You have no one to blame but yourself. 

So you’ve done it. You watched the show. You re-watched the show. Have fun with your withdrawals. Don’t do it again.