Canada's online magazine: Politics, entertainment, technology, media, arts, books: backofthebook.ca

Politics, tech, media, culture and more, from a Canadian point-of-view

  • Politics
  • Media
  • Culture
  • Science and Tech
  • Living
  • Arts and Books
  • Features
  • The Video
You are here: Home / Culture / TV’s new normal

TV’s new normal

06/26/2012 by backofthebook.ca Leave a Comment

Image: People made up as zombies with TVs on their headsBy Mark Leiren-Young

“The DVD legitimized TV as an art form,” Glen Mazzara, executive producer of the monster smash “The Walking Dead,” told an audience of TV creators and broadcasters during an onstage Q&A at the Banff World Media Festival earlier this month.

The DVD also changed the TV viewing experience — a change that’s becoming the new normal in the Netflix era.

The last time I attended the Festival, “The Sopranos” finale aired.  Despite the fact that everyone was caught up in buying, selling, and schmoozing the day after the infamous fade to black, it seemed like there was no one who hadn’t seen it.

This time I felt positively ahead of the curve, because had I watched Don Draper’s season-ending leer via my iTunes subscription just a day after it aired. When I asked a few people at the Festival for their thoughts on the finale, they told me they’d be watching the show on their PVRs as soon as they got home.

“We’re all watching the same shows,” one TV producer told me, “but none of use are watching at the same time.”

I’m part of the club that believes that, ipso facto, if you wouldn’t place David Chase’s “The Wire” in the top 10 dramatic series of all time, you probably have tastes that are six feet under. But as a citizen of the formerly HBO-free zone known as Canada, I didn’t catch a single episode until I borrowed the DVD collection from the library and found myself riveted by the murder of Snot Boogie.

And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, seriously, buy or download the series already.

I have friends who loved Kiefer Sutherland’s adventures as tortured spy Jack Bauer in “24” — but they loved watching the series all at once, after each season was over.

Some of my recent favourite TV shows haven’t been on TV in years, but I’ve found them on Netflix — which is where I’ve finally started checking out “The Walking Dead.”

But while the afterlife of TV shows has created a much richer experience for audiences  — and how could any TV creator not love the idea that their work lives on even after it’s been sent to the cancellation graveyard? — it’s a scarier prospect for producers and broadcasters. The idea of destination television being replaced by fans holding out to experience entire seasons must feel a bit like a zombie invasion, but bloodier. Attack of the Ratings Killers.

Meanwhile, a lot of “Mad Men” fans will be waiting until the release of the DVD box set so they can watch the whole season at their leisure or, since this is “Mad Men” we’re talking about, in their leisure suits — ideally with a martini in hand.

– Mark Leiren-Young blogs and does all sorts of other stuff at leiren-young.com

Filed Under: Culture, Leiren-Young Tagged With: DVDs, internet, iTunes, Netflix, television, The Wire

Subscribe to BoB by e-mail or RSS

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Google+
  • Living
  • Politics
  • Media
  • Culture
  • Arts and Books
  • Features
  • The Video
Fire sale sign

Fort McMurray: Shopping time!

By Brady Tighe We’re now officially in the aftermath phase of the northern Alberta wildfire crisis. The fire is long gone, and everyone with a home to return to is back in its … [Read More...]

Nathan Cullen

Electoral reform: Hashtag fresh thinking

By Alison@Creekside The most interesting and innovative idea to come out of the first meeting of the all-party Special Committee on Electoral Reform, or ERRE, was Nathan Cullen's suggestion, … [Read More...]

Trudeau on quantum computing

The Trudeau gush fest is getting old

By Jim Henshaw There have been several bewildered as well as angry accounts coming out of the USA lately about how little media time has been spent covering the Democratic Presidential Primary … [Read More...]

Rick Meyers in Nanaimo Pride Parade

My friend, Rick, at the Pride Parade

By Frank Moher On this dreadful day, I don't want to write about the shootings in Orlando. I want to write about my friend, Rick. Rick lives just outside of Nanaimo, a city of about 80,000, … [Read More...]

Stephen Colbert on Late Night set

Triumph of the drama nerds

By Frank Moher Two drama nerds have recently moved into high profile positions. Before I name them (or perhaps you’ve already guessed who they are; or perhaps you’d like to scroll down and look at … [Read More...]

From “Our Rape Blog”: Shooting the Moon

Originally published on Our Rape Blog, the author's account of the aftermath of a violent sexual assault. By Mary Fraughton Have you ever played Hearts? It’s a card game. For our purposes, … [Read More...]

First Nations defending Lelu Island

The video: Lelu Island: “They will come.”

From Creekside: The B.C. provincial government is trying to green light the construction of a massive LNG terminal on Lelu Island in the Skeena Estuary -- Pacific Northwest LNG, backed by Malaysian … [Read More...]

Google

Follow Us!

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

RSS CBC News



Recent Posts

  • Fort McMurray: Shopping time!
  • From “Our Rape Blog”: Shooting the Moon
  • Electoral reform: Hashtag fresh thinking
  • The fish hotel
  • Hatred on an Alberta golf course
  • The video: Lelu Island: “They will come.”
  • My friend, Rick, at the Pride Parade
  • Our selective sympathy
  • The Water Bomber, The Frogman and The Great Canadian Novelist
  • Komagata Maru: The story behind the apology

Tags

9/11 Afghanistan Alberta bad behaviour books British Columbia business Canada Canadian military Canadian politics CBC celebrity computers Conservatives crime environment family film G20 Globe and Mail internet Jason Kenney journalism Justin Trudeau law Liberals Maclean's music National Post NDP newspapers oil sands online media Ontario Quebec RCMP religion sports Stephen Harper television theatre Toronto U.S. Vancouver women

Archives

The Video: Lelu Island: “They will come.”

Pages

  • About
  • Privacy

Copyright © 2023 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in