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On Hate-Watching a TV Show
I just completed my first experiment on hate-watching a TV show. For a bit of background, I typically give any TV show 4–5 episodes to capture my attention and show some promise. I don’t have to love the show after 4–5 episodes, but I should be able to see where they’re going, be interested in at least some of the main characters, and want to see where the series ends up. If I don’t see this development after 4–5 episodes, I will drop the show, even if I thought I would have liked it based on the concept, the stars, or the development team.
Over the years, I’ve dropped many shows after 4–5 episodes because I saw nothing in them for me. I have only rarely returned to a show after dropping it. In those instances, it has been because someone whose opinion I value convinced me to give the show another shot by wading through those introductory episodes to get to the good ones.
Recently, when the shows I enjoy watching ended their seasons, I fell into watching the NBC sci-fi series La Brea on Peacock. I’m a major sci-fi fan, so I’m willing to give almost any sci-fi TV series a shot at gaining my viewership. La Brea had been appearing in my suggested shows for quite a while, so I decided to take a look. After the first episode, I realized I hated it. Within that single episode, it exhibited all the signs I hate about mainstream broadcast network sci-fi shows. I decided if I…
