It seems like we’ve been waiting a long time for Hulu. Or Netflix, Tivo, or YouTube. I don’t have to watch my favorite shows when they’re on anymore. I can watch whatever I want, when it’s convenient for me. Yet I watch Battlestar Galactica on Friday night, at 10p.m. I let other things pass so I can go home and watch it. This week I even sat through Dollhouse because it was on before BSG and seemed interesting.
I love Battlestar Galactica, mostly because it’s the best television show, ever. But would it really make a difference if I watched it the next day? It’s not like watching football later, the show isn’t actually happening right now. It was shot last summer and will air many times. I partly watch it because I enjoy the ceremony of having a certain time. Partly it’s because the show is so compelling I don’t want to wait any longer than necessary.
But there’s also a new reason for watching the show at a certain time. Twitter and Facebook allow me to interact with other people watching the same show. Twitter and Monitter allow me to see what other people are saying, and I can publish my own comments. It’s like watching the show with a bunch of like-minded smart people. This is good, because a lot of my real friends fail to understand why the show is so awesome.
Twitter also makes watching a mediocre show like Dollhouse more of an adventure. Nobody knew what to expect, and as the show started revealing its flaws, all of us could talk about it. By the end of the show, there were some redeeming features, and there was room to hope that Joss Whedon might make something of it. But more importantly, watching it with everyone else was a good time.
The other reason I like watching television in real time is that it’s less of a committment. Sometimes I like having the television on in the background, or I like to watch it for a short time. But if I start a show on demand, or put a DVD in, then I’m prepping for full attention, and probably setting aside a full period. So I’ll click over to bad Sci-Fi Channel movies or something else that requires little attenion.