My (Extra)ordinary Way to Watch TV

I don't think I watch TV (or more accurately, TV shows) quite the same way other people do, if I were honest. 

It starts off one of two ways: I either find a show through tumblr by seeing dozens of gif sets or what not, finding a couple that looks beyond adorable to ship, and then jumping in to join the party. Or, I find a show through sidereel or my mother's recommendation and THEN move to tumblr.

As you can see, tumblr is pretty important in my watching method either way. I'm emphasizing this because it's going to be extra important in just a sec. 

After I've decided on a show to watch, I usually watch around the first eight episodes in one go... and maybe the whole season. I Just binge right through them. Worth noting:

• If a show has eight episodes and I find myself stopping in episode three or four, then I probably won't continue with it because it means the show is not for me. Usually, I know why I'm stopping but sometimes it just doesn't click.
• If a show is ongoing and doesn't have that many, even if I'm head over heels in love with the episodes I've watched, chances are I'll drop it until there's at least a full season before I continue watching because I tend to forget shows.

So, after these eight episodes, there is usually a huge gap until I continue with the show.

In all honesty, it's like this; when I'm reading, I don't watch tv or anime as much, if at all. I usually find myself watching maybe an episode in two weeks, and I am currently watching dozen of shows. Some get precedent over the others, so unless you're my top favorite show at the moment, you're going to get sidelined and find yourself watched once in a year or so. 

Truth be told, I'm a crazy show addict... when on a reading slump. In a reading slump, I can finish entire shows in a matter of a week. In a reading slump, I crave tv and anime like an addict looking for his next fix. Mostly because my normal dealer is on vacation in Hawaii and won't be back who knows how long.

The only problem with that? I hate not being up to date with shows that have a story arc (i.e; not episodic like Castle/Criminal Minds where most episode have nothing to do with each other so who cares but more like Arrow that builds on each episode).

This is where the glorious site that is tumblr comes in. It's like this: I find key blogs in the fandom and I follow them. I watch scenes unfold through gifs and read reviews and occasionally do a broader search for the series title to see more gif sets of what's been happening. Who's been kissing who? Who broke up with who? which villain turned out to be whose dad? I know all of these things.

Take Arrow for example - my mother watches arrow religiously. Unlike me, stuck in the mid-season finale of season 2, she's seen all the episodes. And yet, I can have a full conversation with her - including predictions and reassurances because my mother takes her tv very very seriously - without watching a single episode from season four. Or three or the last half of two for that matter.

I have had hour long conversations with her on episodes I have not watched, just because of tumblr. I have told her who was in the grave after the first episode. I have discussed specific lines against specific lines to illustrate their important without ever watching them spoken. 

If I do say so myself, I have an uncanny ability to grasp and assimilate the plot line of an entire episode just through those gifsets, connect it with last week's gifsets, and with the aid of some reading material in between, puzzle the full picture. Some of it has to do with reading so much, some with studying movies and script writing for two years, some with being a life-less geek. I understand the structure, and the logic, behind the scenes, and so I am holding my own fantastically.

In a way, I AM watching the show. Just not through the episodes. And yes, I basically spoil myself of entire seasons.

I have not yet met anyone who's like me in this regard. How do YOU watch tv shows? do you binge? Do you watch every week religiously? Can you relate to my weirdness or not at all?