binge
noun
a period of excessive indulgence in an activity, especially eating, drinking, or taking drugs.
reprise
verb
repeat (a piece of music or a performance)."he reprises his role as the vigilante architect"
This week is the fifth and penultimate episode of Sugar Shots Podcast season one. It feels strange to be nearing the end already but alas here we are.
It was such a pleasure to record ‘binge’ with Ruvarashe Gutu as a guest. Ru and I have known each other since we were children. Ru is a mental health nurse, which might explain why she’s been able to remain my friend after all these years.
I’ve had so many conversations with Ru about different television shows. She’s the one who got me into Grey’s Anatomy. She’s also the person who’s received the most Love Island related voice notes from me too. When it comes to television, good or trash, Ru is my go to.
It’s interesting to be engaging with this concept of bingeing at three separate points in time. There’s when I originally wrote the post, when I spoke with Ru on the podcast and now, the time of release. In the time since I recorded with Ru I’ve rewatched Friends again, I think I might have a problem.
In the episode Ru talks about the shows she’s currently watching and gives her recommendations of things to watch. I also give my recommendations, which were a number of shows I’d been rewatching. I don’t know what I was going through then but I’m doing less rewatching at the moment.
I say less because I’m in the midst of Malcolm in the Middle at the moment which has been amazing to watch again. I haven’t watched that since I was young and it’s so much better second time round as an adult. If you don’t know, get to know. Also Dewey is the best, argue with your mothers.
The other two shows I’ve binged recently are Succession and season one of The Bear. I thoroughly enjoyed Succession, it’s brilliant in its horribleness. The characters are deplorable but that’s what makes the show, because they’re so well written.
The Bear is fantastic. I watched it in one sitting. Don’t judge me, the episodes are short. I’m excited because season two is out now and I’m looking forward to another binge.
What’s great about television is it’s a conversation start. Ru and I talked about relationships, loneliness, community and so much more. Every episode so far has been a pleasure and ‘binge’ with Ru is no different.
The original post is below. For the initiated enjoy the pod! For the uninitiated, it’ll be with you tomorrow!
binge
noun
a period of excessive indulgence in an activity, especially eating, drinking, or taking drugs.
The month of January has arrived with me deciding to rewatch Friends. Yes I have watched Friends in its entirety before, and yes I plan to now do so again. I’m four seasons deep and I can already sense that more comedy rewatches are on the cards for me this year. Modern Family and Community I’m looking at you!
I’m aware that Friends is a classic which due to its extreme success is now somewhat derided. It was so popular and lauded for so long that now it’s almost a little embarrassing to say you find Friends funny. I never watched Friends growing up but it was always on television so I saw episodes here and there. Also I didn’t live under a rock so of course I knew all the characters too because it’s Friends.
A few years ago a friend of mine who’s obsessed with Friends let me know that he was rewatching all ten seasons on Netflix. He swore Friends was the funniest show in existence so when the algorithms eventually started suggesting it to me I watched. Now it’s not the funniest show to ever exist–My Wife and Kids is the hill I’ll die on for that–but it is funny.
I’m watching the show for a second time because it’s good background television that you can also watch properly if you want to. I’ve laughed out loud at points and I’ve also been surprised by how well it’s managed to do some of the heavier moments. It’s a very well written show for the most part.
There is something strange however about bingeing a show that you know was released weekly. I can imagine that Friends–in the words of Chip–changed the weather in the whole country. I don’t imagine there were many offices or friendship groups that weren’t debating who was right about “we were on a break!” That side of television is something I very much miss.
The opportunity to gorge and instantaneously have everything we want isn’t so fun really. Line of Duty and Love Island are the last shows in the U.K where I remember feeling like everyone was tuning in each week.
As brilliant as Squid Game was, I never got the opportunity to have a prolonged experience of it with anyone. I had my own independent experience of the show and then talked to some people once I finished. Binge culture means we don’t really get to experience shows together week to week.
Although we want everything immediately, we also don’t. As much as we contribute to binge culture by our watching habits we also look for ways to subvert it. I’m a writer who follows a number of other writers on twitter. I kept seeing them post these grids of white yellow and green squares with the word ‘Wordle’ and a score out of six.
When I eventually asked someone about it I discovered that it was a fairly simple word game that renewed everyday at midnight. You can’t binge or do loads of wordles, you get one for the day and that’s it. I’ve got an open tab on my phone and I’m now committed to my daily Wordle.
Delayed gratification has become so novel in our society that something like Wordle feels revolutionary. It’s not. It is refreshing though–I have this one activity, I do it, then I have to wait before I can do it again. It’s nice.
I still binge, there’s so much content out there it’s hard not to. At the same time sometimes being forced to wait is good. I somewhat crave a return to the days when episodes released weekly and you knew everyone was watching at the same time.
There’s something about the way we currently consume content which is beginning to feel more isolated and lonely to me. I’m not able to put my finger on it precisely yet but there’s something about waiting and time that helps build camaraderie. It’s just television, but Wordle is just a game and seeing those squares still feels good.
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