My Problems with TV (and Fall/Winter Plan!)

Posted September 24, 2016 / Personal / Information / Etc. / 13 Comments

I loooove watching shows. I really used to binge-watch like nobody’s business during college because of my schedule. The earliest I had class was 9:15 sometimes and it was two days a week; otherwise I would never have it earlier than 11. This meant that from basically 9 or 10 PM until 2 AM, I would be in bed watching Netflix. I binged some of my all-time favorite shows this way, including…

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My binging habits changed once I moved in with Chris because (a) I obviously wasn’t staying up until 2 AM anymore, (b) I started watching shows with him in the evenings and we didn’t really binge, and (c) my laptop was really no longer used as a Netflix-watching-device and just hung around without a purpose. I recently asked for some advice about which shows I should prioritize but I have kind of failed at that too. Let’s talk about my inability to start and/or finish TV shows and how I hope to change it.

TV Problems

Not enough hours in the day

2016-08-12 07.33.52I know everyone feels this way but there is literally not enough time every day to read, watch TV, keep a house clean, cook, go to the gym, talk to friends or spend time with them, watch movies, build Lego, etc. Work make things impossible and I hate it. I try to carve out time in the morning before work and at night before bed, but it gets divided between reading and watching. Chris goes to bed earlier and leaves for work earlier. Depending on what I have going on, I’ll try to wake up earlier and/or stay up later to watch shows or read my book. It usually will be selected based on my mood but regardless… not enough time to do it all. Should I just read in the morning? Watch shows at night? Or vice versa? I don’t know. I spend my hours after work (during/after dinner and before bed) doing things with Chris or with friends. We watch our shows but I don’t watch my shows. I know it’s probably easy for me to just go into the bedroom and watch what I want but it doesn’t happen. I also don’t like to read with the light on when Chris is sleeping so I will either watch a show or read on my Kindle. I probably give myself between 2-4 hours a day to do all of the things I want, by myself. I obviously can read while Chris plays video games or builds Lego too; it just depends on what we have planned that day.

Never finishing what I started

When I was in college, I would binge a full show from start to finish. I had nothing stopping me – really no life to get in the way. I had my designated Netflix time every night for like four hours (insane, right?). I would start a show then finish it with no problems. After graduating, some of my shows fell by the wayside. Some got cancelled and some I just never worked on finishing for one reason or another. I love starting new shows and getting addicted. So many of these are great shows (or, if not great, shows I enjoyed and WANT to watch) and I just have not watched them. I don’t understand what’s wrong with me.

Completed shows to finish off

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The 10th Kingdom // Watched 1 out of 10 episodes (9 episodes to go)
To be fair, these episodes are like movie-length because it was a miniseries okay? I’ll definitely finish at some point because the concept was really intriguing. I love portals and fantasy things on TV shows.

Chasing Life // Watched 29 out of 35 episodes (9 episodes to go)
I loved this show but a certain big sad thing happened and it made me not want to continue for a while. The show was cancelled and now I have no reason not to watch the final episodes. JUST CRY AND DO IT.

Community // Watched 5 out of 6 seasons (13 episodes to go)
This was a show all my friends would try to watch together and talk about, but it fell by the wayside for me. I have to finish off the last season but I’m sad that my fave character isn’t on the show anymore either.

Devious Maids // Watched 46 out of 52 episodes (6 episodes to go)
Ugh I loved this show and it was recently cancelled. I was doing a good job of watching this season as it was happening but then completely forgot. Now the episodes aren’t online. Ugh. Must finish up the final season.

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Finding Carter // Watched 10 out of 36 episodes (26 episodes to go)
I totally thought I had seen more episodes but I guess not. I still have the long-ass season two to watch plus the final couple of episodes in season one. I was really intrigued by the story so I will do it someday!

Faking It // Watched 43 out of 48 episodes (5 episodes to go)
It’s a serious shame that this was cancelled. It was so fun and diverse and funny! I loved everyone. I think I’m just bitter about the cancellation because it’d be quite easy just to watch the last episodes of this show…

Friday Night Lights // Watched 27 out of 76 episodes (49 episodes to go)
I started this one on Saturday mornings when Chris was working overtime and just haven’t picked it up again. It’s dumb because the show is AMAZING and I LOVE football. I’ll start again this fall and finish it for sure!

The OC // Watched 79 out of 92 episodes (13 episodes to go)
Like so many people, I loved the first three seasons of the show. I was sad when *big thing* happened and haven’t pushed myself to finish. It’s been literal years since I watched this. I will finish for sure.

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Pretty Little Liars // Watched 114 out of 152 episodes (38 episodes to go)
My friend and I would get together each week and watch, but we stopped doing it a few years ago when life got in the way. We both haven’t touched an episode since. It seems like it’s gotten more ridiculous though. (I put it here in the “finished shows” section because it’ll be done by the time I finally watch these episodes.)

Sailor Moon // Watched 1 out of 5 seasons (154 episodes to go)
I love how quick the episodes are and my addiction for this happened quickly. However, I haven’t watched it in about a month now! I still love it and want to finish it as time goes on. Just need to find the time.

Skins // Watched 35 out of 63 episodes (28 episodes to go)
I loved Skins but it was hard to keep up with once I got rid of my Netflix DVD plan at the time. Now all of the episodes are there for streaming so, again, I hope to finish this show someday! I loved it back then.

Witches of East End // Watched 13 out of 23 episodes (10 episodes to go)
I watched season one and the first three episodes of season two but lost interest or something. It was cancelled after that season but I still think I’ll go back for those last episodes. I liked the concept a lot.

In-process shows I started & will finish someday

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Girls // Watched 1 out of 5 seasons (42 episodes to go)
I stayed up super late one weekend and binged the shit out of the first season… then totally lost steam. Again, not really sure why? Lena Dunham doesn’t do anything for me anymore so I don’t know when I’ll finish.

Gilmore Girls // Watched 6 out of 153 episodes (147 episodes to go)
I guess this technically ended but the new season thing means it’s still happening in my mind. I really don’t like the characters that much yet but I know I’m bound to get sucked in at some point. Plus, Connecticut!

Guilt // Watched 1 episode out of 10 episodes (9 more to go)
I liked the pilot of this but got sidetracked and never continued. It’s done for the season but I’ll definitely finish this one up at some point. I loved the creepy vibes but the acting wasn’t fantastic (not surprising).

The Vampire Diaries // Watched 34 out of 156 episodes (122 episodes to go)
I was doing okay with this one for a while when we had our old apartment but literally since we moved, I haven’t watched a single one. Not sure why that fact matters but it’s true. The guys are hot Lauren, let’s go!

Shows I started & am not sure if I’ll ever bother finishing

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Resurrection // Watched 1 out of 2 seasons (10 episodes to go)
Chris and I watched the first season. It’s definitely a weird show and I get why it was cancelled, but I’m curious enough to possibly continue? We’ll see if I ever do; I know Chris won’t be joining me haha.

Shadowhunters // Watched 2 out of 13 episodes (11 episodes to go)
I liked what I saw (for an ABC Family kind of show) and probably might finish at some point? I don’t know. I never read the books so I’m not super invested, but I am kind of curious. We’ll see about it.

Once Upon a Time // Watched 1 out of 6 seasons (92ish episodes to go)
I don’t remember anything about the show or even where I left off. I have a vague idea. I LOVE the concept of it and would want to continue possibly, but I really feel like I’d have to read hardcore episode summaries…

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Sleepy Hollow // Watched 2 out of 49 episodes (47 episodes to go)
I sort of liked the first couple episodes but clearly not enough to continue. I forgot about it and then missed one of them before Hulu deleted it or whatever. Not a lot of motivation to continue, but some curiosity perhaps.

Star-Crossed // Watched 4 out of 13 episodes (9ish episodes to go)
Frankly I don’t remember where I left off. I love Matt Lanter and want to see his hot face some more, but why bother finishing the show when (a) I barely started it and (b) it was cancelled probably without resolution? Idk.

The 100 // Watched 7 out of 45 episodes (38 episodes to go)
I watched the first handful of episodes and stopped because I thought Chris wanted to join me. It kind of fell by the wayside after that for some reason? It never fully grabbed me but I’ve obviously heard it gets better. We’ll see.

Too many shows in general

Between all of these shows above – the ones that are over but I still need to finish off, as well as the shows that are currently airing that I started at some point – and ALL the shows I want to watch, I feel like there are just too many things. I have to be better about prioritizing, finishing, and keeping up. I have 122 shows on Sidereel that I’m tracking and am not caught up on 81 of them right now. This number doesn’t include the shows I’m currently watching each week or just started. Those are just the shows I’m behind on.

Also, all the shows I shared above? That doesn’t even include the TV shows I watch with Chris! You can see more about those at the bottom of the post. Alllll of these are on top of the list of shows I want to binge at some point as well, like all of these here…



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Watching Friends repeatedly

I’m not going to lie, this may just be my biggest issue out of all of them. Each night before bed I decide to watch something. I decide 40 minutes is too long so I’ll watch a 20 minute show. What do I put on? Friends. For literally the trillionth time. Not kidding. The other night I even browsed all my apps and tried to find something else then just settled right back into it. If I were to add up all the time I spent re-re-re-re-re-(you get the idea)-watching this show, I could have probably finished every single one of these other shows! Seriously though. It’s a problem and addiction. I’m not mad about it because it’s my favorite show and it makes me so so so happy, but I really should limit myself. Maybe just 3 episodes a week or something?? I’m currently on the season 8 part of this rewatch so I know the end is soon. Hopefully I can take a hiatus after.

Official TV Plan!

If a show is over already, I can wait until I catch up on other current shows first. If I started a show and plan to finish it, I need to actually finish it before starting another one. If there’s a current or new show starting up, I need to keep up with it each week and watch the episodes as they air. That’s the general idea.

First of all, I’ve been using Sidereel to track shows I’ve watched, want to watch, and am in the middle of watching. It makes life so much easier because there’s a custom calendar to show your shows and when they’re on. I definitely will be using this like crazy as new fall shows have been coming out.

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Second, I want to get a plan going and limit the shows I’m watching at once. There will be only one show I can binge on Netflix that’s finished/up-to-date. Then, I’ll keep up with the weekly shows I like as they come out. I hope to go through the following process:

1. Finish the current TV shows I’m “binging”

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Because I started both of these on Netflix, I want to just get them done with. I have 200 episodes to watch between both shows so it’ll probably take me a while to do it. I like both of the shows enough to keep watching for sure but I definitely just need to make time to actually watch and finish them in between everything else.

2. Prioritize the shows I started watching and abandon some

You know how they say the best way to get rid of debt is to pay them off from smallest to largest? Pay off the littlest one first and then work your way up to the bigger ones for peace of mind. I hope to do the same thing here. Here’s all the shows I have to finish off, with the smallest number of episodes going first. Italics means I’m thinking about abandoning the show and/or saving it for last because I’m just not sure if/when I’ll finish. 

Finished shows:

Faking It – 5 episodes
Devious Maids – 6 episodes
The 10th Kingdom – 9 episodes
Star-Crossed – 9ish episodes
Chasing Life – 9 episodes
Resurrection – 10 episodes
Witches of East End – 10 episodes
Community – 13 episodes
The OC – 13 episodes
Finding Carter – 26 episodes
Skins – 28 episodes
Sailor Moon – 154 episodes

Non-finished shows:

Guilt – 9 episodes + counting
Shadowhunters – 11 episodes + counting
The 100 – 38 episodes + counting
Pretty Little Liars – 38 episodes + counting
Girls – 42 episodes + counting
Sleepy Hollow – 47 episodes + counting 
Once Upon a time – 92 episodes + counting
The Vampire Diaries – 122 episodes + counting

I’m still on the fence about some shows. We’ll see what I end up watching or not. I feel like I will generally avoid the shows that are still airing on TV because I want to make sure that I can get caught up and be done, instead of adding new episodes as they happen. I know a couple are ending really soon (Pretty Little Liars, The Vampire Diaries) so I’ll prioritize them once they’re done.

3. Decide which new shows I want to start/binge

I’d like to have one show going on Netflix that I can watch by myself when I don’t have other shows to catch up on. There are a bunch I’ve considered starting or know I want to watch at some point. Most of them are finished shows because that’s the best way to binge. Others are still happening on TV and I may jump in.

Bingeable shows (completed and hopefully on Netflix): Blood & Oil, Bloodline, Eureka, Galavant, Gracepoint, Grandfathered, Hart of Dixie, Hemlock Grove, Limitless, Lost, Mad Men, Parenthood, Privileged, Pushing Daisies, Recovery Road, Telenovela, True Blood, Veronica Mars

Current shows to maybe catch up on and start: Archer, Arranged, Bob’s Burgers, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The Detour, Grey’s Anatomy, How to Get Away with Murder, iZombie, Jane the Virgin, Making a Murderer, The Mindy Project, Nashville, Orphan Black, Quantico, The Ranch, Reign, Scandal, Scream Queens, Secrets & Lies, The Shannara Chronicles, Switched at Birth, Teenage Newlyweds, UnREAL, Young & Hungry

Shows to watch with Chris at some point:  Arrow, Atlanta, Gotham, The League, Weeds

Shows I’m watching with Chris: Adam Ruins Everything, American Horror Story, Angie Tribeca, The Flash, Freaks and Geeks, Fresh off the Boat, Game of Thrones, Heroes Reborn, Idiotsitter, Ink Master, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Life & Times of Tim, Louie, Agent Carter, Agents of SHIELD, The Office, Orange is the New Black, Rick and Morty, Road Spill, Supergirl, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp

4. Keep up with new fall shows as they air

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I already started watching The Good Place and This Is Us as they premiered, and I’m loving both so far! I usually watch the next morning on Hulu before work, so that’s a nice way to keep them current for me. I can’t wait for even more episodes. One is a comedy (although I haven’t really laughed out loud at all? It’s more charming and cute!) and the other is a family drama (that kind of reminds me of Brothers and Sisters).

No Tomorrow posterDesignated Survivor posterConviction posterAmerican Housewife posterThe Great Indoors posterAtlanta posterBetter Things posterDivorce posterTimeless posterFrequency posterMarvel's Luke Cage poster

I feel like I have a good mix of shows here! Some have sci-fi elements, some are politically based, some are dramas or comedies, etc.etc. etc. I’m just excited and hope they (a) all work for me and (b) don’t get cancelled. Some I’m not 100% sure about so I may wait and decide if I want to watch (once ratings are released and/or some eventually get cancelled). I’m definitely the most excited for Timeless (because Matt Lanter) and Luke Cage (because Marvel and Luke Cage!!!!) I also love Donald Glover, so Atlanta will also be GREAT.


Overall?

I hope I can get my shit together now that everything is laid out in order. I want to be able to have one Netflix show going and then have the other shows to watch as they air on TV. I also really need to limit my watching of Friends. It’s like coming home for me and nothing makes me happier, but it would be much smarter to slow my roll. I could watch a couple episodes a week at most, once I finish my current session of watching, and hopefully that’ll help too. I think I can do it once I catch up on everything else too! What a life.

13 responses to “My Problems with TV (and Fall/Winter Plan!)

  1. Emmah

    You gotta finish Chasing Life!! The big sad thing that happened made me all 🙁 because I love Scott Michael Foster. But it’s worth finishing!
    MAXXXXX!!! (Finding Carter)
    Ooo, you gotta finish The OC too! I think I was one of the rare few that wasn’t sad when Marissa died though :/
    PLL did get a bit ridiculous haha. But I love a majority of the characters, so I’ve kept watching.
    I LOVE Gilmore Girls!!
    Vampire Diaries is SO not worth finishing haha.
    Ahh, the only reason I watch Shadowhunters is for Matthew Daddario haha.
    OUAT can be really good, but then it can also be boring :/
    Star-Crossed was definitely canceled without resolution! I was mad haha.
    I love Hart of Dixie and Grey’s Anatomy!!
    You should check out the fox tv show, Lucifer. It’s hilarious! And there’s only 14 episodes right now (soon to be 15 come Monday)!
    Have you watched the tv show Merlin? Because that’s really good too! (it’s finished)
    I liked Recovery Road and was mad that it got canceled!
    Quantico, Reign, The Shannara Chronicles, Switched at Birth!!
    I love THe Flash, Agent Carter (so sad it was canceled. are you checking out her new show Conviction?), Agents of SHIELD, and Supergirl!!
    I’m watching This Is Us too!

  2. Oh wooow, this was a great post!
    I have been living the “Netflix for four hours a night” lifestyle for almost six years now (undergrad + currently doing my postgrad) and I still feel like there are so many shows to watch and so little time. The fact that I am a media student (film undergrad and now focusing mostly on TV) means that I usually have stuff that I “have to” watch and then after I watch those I have the stuff that I want to watch. I am happy Netflix does not have like an hourly counting system or something on it because I think my weekly numbers would be sky high.

    From your completed shows to finish off list I’ve watched:

    – Community (I am actually writing my MA thesis on it, but I won’t go into a long rant about how much I love it 😀 )
    – Friday Night Lights (one of my faves ever and totally binge-watchable especially towards the later seasons)
    – The O.C. (I have like a season and a half to watch and I even own this on DVD, but just haven’t got around to watching it)
    – Faking It (I think I watched season 1 and never get going even though I really liked it)
    – Pretty Little Liars (I probably have like 15 episodes to catch up with, but I think I’ll just wait until it finishes and then binge on it)
    – Girls (I’ve seen season 1 for an essay I had to write but probably won’t keep going!)
    – Gilmore Girls (BEST. SHOW. EVER. I am literally counting down days til the Netflix eps)
    – Vampire Diaries (I watched the first four seasons in a frenzy and then lost interest)

    Haha, while I also love Friends, the show I always keep going back to is Parks and Recreation. I am now on my fourth rewatch of it this year… Yes, I am slightly obsessed. But it is my “happy place” show and always manages to put a smile on my face.

    From your list of hopefully bingeable shows I can tell that at least Hart of Dixie is a total happiness-inducing binge watch show. I watched the whole series in a matter of weeks (and that was during a time I did not actually watch TV for hours per day) because I actually wanted to prioritize time for it. Wade is so HOT, so be ready to fall in love! Parenthood and Pushing Daisies are really good as well. And Grandfathered! I really liked that show and I’m bummed they cancelled it.

    This comment is already way too long, but I’ll just say that from your current shows list Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Making a Murderer and Grey’s Anatomy are all super good for binge-watching. I have been watching Grey’s since it started, but from time to time go back to it and binge watch earlier seasons.

    Writing this comment made me realize how much I watch TV and how much TV there is out there at the moment (no wonder they call it the era of “Peak TV”).

    • Omg I love that you’re writing about Community! It’s one of my favorites; I just need to finish haha.

      Parks & Rec is one of my all-time favorites as well. I definitely can see a rewatch in order!

      Thanks so much for the comment <3

  3. Just came to pop in and scream at you to watch The 100 😉 Seriously, my favorite show in the history of television, so…. yeah. Clearly, I am unbiased ? True Blood I just finished binging the end of myself- it is on Amazon Prime, but Season 7 won’t be until next year, just a heads up on that. I also watched This Is Us, and was ugly crying for most of the episode, so that is a good sign, right? I also want to watch Timeless, too!

    So bottom line? Drop everything, watch The 100, then take a deep breath, and start from Season 1 again. No, just me? Seriously, good luck with all this! I tried to watch Stranger Things and I was just like… nah, I miss The 100. Actually, maybe I have a problem… I do watch other shows- just not a ton haha. Jane the Virgin isn’t back yet, and then I watch New Girl and Big Bang Theory (mostly out of habit on the latter at this point) which just resumed. But you are SO right, it is impossible to fit everything in! Adulting… isn’t great.

  4. Confession: I don’t watch a lot of TV! I did when I was still in school, but after I graduated and started working, it fell by the wayside. I generally prefer to binge shows, so I usually wait until a full season is out and available on Netflix (or Hulu, or On Demand) before I commit to any – though it means I’m perpetually behind. I’ve actually gotten better at watching weekly for shows I really love (mostly just Agents of SHIELD and Supergirl at this point) now, but definitely got room for improvement! Especially because there are so many finished shows that I want to watch at least once.

    I think it’s awesome you’ve worked out a way to organize all the shows you want to watch/want to finish/want to try, and I hope you get it all done!!

  5. I’m exhausted after reading this post. Haha. You have a lot of TV you’re trying to watch. I’ve mostly given up on TV – unless I’m watching a show with Jim. I like reading more. (Although I am re-watching Friday Night Lights on nights when I’m too exhausted to read.)

  6. Hi Lauren,

    I too loved watching Devious Maids but haven’t done watching all the episodes. Sometimes I feel irritated because if you are at the peak of something interesting to watch then suddenly something came up so important that you have to stop what you are watching.

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