Is binge watching the new theatrical experience?

[Axel]

To me - a cineaste if there ever was one - contemporary Hollywood cinema is like this:

 

Modern TV series - particularly the Netflix approach - are better entertainment. Traditional series used to have a cliffhanger. The hero literally hangs from a cliff, and you have to wait a week to see him rescued, which of course happened. Suspense in the new series is created by slow character development. The end of each show promises that things are explored deeper, that more is revealed. Even, as with Daredevil, if there is a hero and a villain, you can't know how the story unfolds. In Rectify, the authors even play with the prejudices of the audience. Fair is foul and foul is fair, nothing comes in the expected package. Comparing this to the latest blockbusters is like comparing Shakespeare to a Punch&Judy show.

I found out for myself, that generally only the first season is worth watching (= spending many hours). Exceptions prove the rule. The third season of Six Feet Under is unbelievably good. But it only works if you know the first two seasons.