Episode VI

SERIES

As I was writing down notes for my other blog my initial thoughts were about series: series of books, a TV series, and movie series. I noticed that thoughts were starting to focus on this topic rather than the original subject. And since "series" is a general topic, I thought I'd post it here for your enjoyment.

So what could I possibly talk about on such a broad topic? And it's this, I have a problem with watching or reading any series that is mid-way through it's story arc. For instance: my best friend Burger told me for years to watch House M.D., saying it was one of the best shows out there. I had watched an episode here or there and was never really impressed. But then I caught an episode somewhere in Season 5 or 6 and got hooked. But instead of waiting for the next episode, I went to the library and rented Season 1, then 2, and so on. I needed to know how the storyline and played out before hand. 

Did I really need to do this? No. I could have waited and then eventually watched some of the other episodes. But I can't. I become, well, obsessed, with making sure I've seen it all. Or read it all when it pertains to books. Fringe is another good example. I caught an episode in Season 2 or 3 and got roped in, and then had to watch every episode up to that point. Stargate SG-1 and Star Trek: The Next Generation have also fallen into this dreaded problem.

After SG-1 came out I started buying up the dvds, and at some point I got my wife hooked on watching it. Now mind you there are ten seasons to this show, with twenty plus episodes per season. So when I introduced it to here we started from Season 1, but at some point we stopped. Months or so later she wanted to pick-up where we left off, and I nearly flipped! "What?! Watch something part way through a series?! Are you serious?! Yes I know we only just began watching it a few months ago, but that was such a long time ago. We need to go back and watch it from the beginning!" Was basically what I said. But she wasn't gonna sit there again and watch it all over, so we watched a few more seasons, and stopped again. This time almost a year had passed since we'd seen an episodes. And yet again, she wanted to pick-up from where we left off. At some in the past five years since we've been married we actually finished the series. It bothered me each and every time when she wanted to pick-up from a mid-point, but I don't think we'd have ever finished watching the series if we'd have done it my way.

And this obsession of mine even goes to movie series like Star Trek and Star Wars. And each of those has it's own can of worms too. Star Trek, which spans two different casts (well, now three), has a linked movie, Star Trek: Generations. While it's not critical to watch the first six Star Trek movies, Generations does involve both crews, which to me signifies that I need to know what happened in the previous films (even though I've watched them numerous times). And because the Enterprise is destroyed in that film, when Star Trek: First Contact comes out, there's a new ship. So I can't skip Star Trek: Generations, and just watch First Contact, no, I need to watch Generations to see what happened to the Enterprise.  Which then means watching the original six movies. So you see it's a vicious cycle.

Until recently though Star Wars fell into this cycle as well. Though we (the Star Wars fans) knew George Lucas had changed things when he created the prequels I never thought much of it. That is, until just a couple weeks ago when I was watching the prequels with my daughter.

As a fan, you've got to decide at some point which of the six Star Wars movies you're going to let your child(ren) watch. Now my daughter's not even two yet, so she really won't be cognizant of any of the story for a couple more years. So I decided it had been a while since I last watched the prequels so I sat down with my daughter over a week and watched the trilogy. And as any good parent would do I taught her the names of the main characters. So far she's picked up, "Padme."  Score! Once the prequels were done I had to start the original trilogy.

Normally I would have watched the originals and thought nothing of it. The cycle would have been complete and I would have moved on to the next movie or TV series. But thing's started catching my attention. With the prequels still rather fresh in my mind I started counting all the things that Lucas had fucked up. And I was only through the first hour or so A New Hope. I began wondering how I would have written the prequels, because Episode 4 doesn't really fit with the story arc that's presented in the prequels. So I didn't even bother watching The Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi, I just couldn't bare the thought of sitting there and knit pick how the prequels weren't telling the same story that was already etched in stone by the originals. So thank you George Lucas for breaking my habit of watching things from the beginning . . . at least for Star Wars. But I have at least decided that the original trilogy will be watched first, as that is what is the purest story line.

However George, you failed to break me of my habit completely. I still feel the need to watch, or read things from the beginning.

Books are the same way as TV shows and movies. I need to read it from the beginning.

At one point I was at the book store on a weekly basis. My wife and I loved to browse the latest books and dvds, hoping to find something new. I had seen one series several times and saw that it's volumes were increasing every so often. While I never picked up one of the books to read what it was about I kept my eye on it. then one day the SyFy (then SciFi) Channel came out with a TV series of the same name as the books, The Dresden Files. I watched an episode or two and knew immediately that I had to read the books. I could have grabbed the latest release, but again, my mind doesn't work that way. And so I read books one through nine before finally catching up to book ten, Small Favor, which by then was out in paperback. there are now thirteen books in the series, with a fourteenth one on the way.

Though not as long, Harry Potter fell into this trap as well. I remember my mom was asking me to go see this film called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Who the fuck was Harry Potter? At that time I wasn't watching the news, nor was I very interested in reading. Little did I know, at that point, that Pottermania was taking off. So we go to see this movie. And I'm there thinking, "what the hell is this all about?" And then BAM! I get hooked. By that point I believe there were four books out with one on the way. Then, while on a trip to Pittsburgh I ended up buying the first four books. And each time a new book was released I went back and read the entire series again. As much as I was anticipating the newest novel I still had to go back and read the old books first. I guess to make sure I was up to speed on what was happening.

This infatuation with series is pretty evident in my apartment too. You'll notice that a majority of MY books and dvds are sets. For some reason I tend to lean, or rather only purchase a book or DVD if it's in a series. Why? Perhaps it's because I don't want to see the story end. And when I do purchase a book or DVD that's not in a series, I secretly hope that one day there will be a sequel. Like Top Gun. That movie came out in the early '80s and is just now getting a sequel.

In closing, yes my obsession of watching or reading a series from beginning to end is weird. But it stems from my desire to not see it end, and by needing to know what happened from the very beginning. I need to know!