Completionists Anonymous: I've Started So I'll Fini...

[aradia22]

OK, I have another decision to make. The Witches of East End popped up on hulu again. I tried so hard to like this series and make it the next Charmed but it was unrelentingly terrible. I finally managed to quit it towards the end of last season. But now the three episodes I didn't watch are back on hulu and I could pick it up again. What do you say, support group?

[ramble]

Are any of you into youtube?

I call it the rabbit hole.

Add me to that list! It sucks me in specifically late at night. If I can't sleep I'll make the stupid decision to just watch a couple of videos. But I blink & it's an hour or two later having clicked on suggestion after suggestion. It's like potato chips, I'm always just going to watch one more. It's uncompletable.

[aradia22]

I don't know if any of you are into musicals, but I find that while I can get sucked into watching anything from beauty videos to cooking instructional videos on youtube, the things that really get to me are series. I binge-watched a lot of the concert series "If It Only Even Runs A Minute." And I like to save up crashcourse history and literature episodes to watch. I binge-watched a lot of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. I highly recommend all of them.

[BizBuzz]

Thanks for the recommend on the Lizzie Bennet Diaries @aradia22 - it's on my radar, watched the first episode and I can say, I think I am already hooked!

 

So, I was actually going through my DVR recordings last night, and totally forgot I had the season finale of Glee in there, never watched.  I actually contemplated erasing it, but didn't.

 

I don't know what that makes me?

[ramble]

@aradia22 let me add my thanks as well for the Lizzie Bennet Diaries. I had to force myself to quit watching after 25 episodes last night. (Yes 25! I'm ridiculous.) I usually watch a lot of silly & entertaining things like Honest Trailers, Everything Wrong With movie clips or beauty & how to videos. Alternatively I watch lectures & teaching videos that are often long & sometimes a bit dry. The Bennet Diaries are a fun change.

[Sandman87]

I'll have to admit to watching a few shows all the way through even though they had stopped being enjoyable. For example:

 

- Buffy after season three, even more so after season 5. Character derailment is not the same thing as character growth, no matter what Whedon thinks. But I sat there like an idiot and watched all of it.

- X-Files is kind of an odd example, because I'd call myself a completionist just for the main story arc. The one-off episodes were always fun to watch, but for me the main story drove off a cliff even before Duchovny wisely decided to bail out .

[Qoass]

I give any new TV show three episodes.  If I'm not into it by then, I'm out.  Likewise, if an episode lingers in my TiVo, I'm usually okay with just deleting it and moving on if I need the real estate for something else.  That said, if I've watched a show for a season or more, I feel the need to continue until it gets canceled.  I'm a slave to American Idol and America's Next Top Model forever no matter how bad they get.

 

I seldom bail on movies because it's nice to sit quietly in the dark for a couple of hours even when the screen in front of you no longer entertains.  At home, fast forward is my friend.

 

With books, 50 to 100 pages is my limit.  There are just too many other good things to read out there.

[aradia22]

 

I'm a slave to American Idol and America's Next Top Model forever no matter how bad they get.

Oh, honey. You need a big old cyber hug for that one. I'm so sorry.

 

With books, 50 to 100 pages is my limit.  There are just too many other good things to read out there.

It's tricky with books. I've quit on Sense and Sensibility, The Sun Also Rises, and Pride and Prejudice (though I'll probably go back eventually). I think I was definitely in that 50-100 page range. But then, sometimes I get books (usually from the library) where I tell myself "just power through it." If I hate a book it usually takes me forever to read it which defies my logic that I can just power through it quickly but I guess with some books I want to just be able to go "yup, I read it." Maybe it's that then I know I'll never have to go back to them again. Two that stick out for me recently are Not Since Carrie and Beloved. 

[Qoass]

Ah, you see library books are different from bookshelf books.  With library books, I have the pressure of a due date which makes it easier to quit because heaven forbid I should pay a nickel fine.  Bookshelf books just sit up there mocking me for my illiteracy.  It took me about five tries to make it all the way through The Count of Monte Cristo (which I ended up loving to pieces) but when it's very, very quiet in my home, you can hear Anna Karenina snickering.

[Athena]

As I mentioned earlier, I rarely quit books. I read fast so it helps to skim and still get most of the character details. Sometimes, the timing is not right for the book. I attempted Jane Eyre as a fifteen year old and dropped it after the first fifty pages. Picked it up in undergrad and loved it. It doesn't happen often though. I usually just grin and bear it.

 

The one book I tried reading more than two times is the Mists of Avalon. Something about MZB's style really bugs me. I wanted to throw the book at the wall more than once. I gave it a lot of shots because I was obsessed with mythology growing up so it was disappointing.

[briochetwist]

Can't stop watching Supernatural.  To my eternal shame.  Every episode makes me feel like I'm doing the walk of shame and in desperate need of a hot shower, but I can't stop.  And yes, in my heart of hearts I do know that it sucks, but I'm just so many years in....

 

On the plus side of things though, I have bailed on many shows lately.  Downton Abbey?  Do not understand why this is Emmy worthy, it's a soap opera with scenery.  Two seasons and buh bye!  Once Upon A Time?  Not everything is a fucking fairy tale.  Have the Keebler elves gotten a storyline yet?  Adios.  Bones?  NCIS?  Just can't do it anymore. 

[ramble]

I recently finished binging all of Battlestar Galactica & then watched the prequel, Caprica. I watched all this on Amazon Prime, which is what I have besides cable. It's bugging my silly completionist mind that that not all of the three extra movies are available. Well they are but they aren't all free. I feel like they're taunting me. I know they're there but I also know I don't need to see them. It's just a want. Sigh. I hate being responsible.

[aradia22]

 

On the plus side of things though, I have bailed on many shows lately.  Downton Abbey?  Do not understand why this is Emmy worthy, it's a soap opera with scenery.  Two seasons and buh bye!  Once Upon A Time?  Not everything is a fucking fairy tale.  Have the Keebler elves gotten a storyline yet?  Adios.  Bones?  NCIS?  Just can't do it anymore.

If the goal was to sell me on Downton Abbey, you succeeded. A soap with scenery? Fantastic. The only thing that would really clinch it would be singing. (See: Smash, Glee, and Nashville)

 

I'm with you on OUAT. I don't think I will ever stop ranting about that show because fairytales and Disney are so close to my heart and they are so bad at writing and acting. But the costumes are great. I might go back and mute/fast-forward for the costumes. I shudder to think what they'll do to Frozen now that they've gotten their hands on it. It was bad enough when they were just (redacted) on Mary Shelley's grave.

 

Technically I've given up on Bones but I also gave up when the season finale ended with that great One Eskimo song and then I went back. I regretted that decision. 

[AuntiePam]

I'm a bailer -- books, TV, movies.  If something ticks me off, it doesn't matter how much time I've invested, I'll bail.  But I might cheat and read a review to see how things turned out, so I guess there's a little bit of a completist in me.

 

Dancing With the Stars -- first season, when the competition was so obviously fixed.  Jericho - first episode, when a couple of bad guys killed cops and stole their uniforms, which fit them like they were tailored.  Under the Dome, third episode, I think, when that stupid guy started the house on fire by burning papers in a trash can which he could just as easily have taken the papers with him.  Desperate Housewives, second or third season, when everyone's personalities changed.  Any network "drama", when it should really be a daytime soap. 

 

I would like to watch all of Supernatural some day.  I think I stopped at the fifth season.  I don't like it when characters keep returning from the dead, even on a supernatural show.

 

But Sleepy Hollow?  I'm so in.  The show doesn't take itself seriously yet it doesn't quite wink at the audience either.  I love it.  It's the only major network show I watch.

[Splash]

The first show I ever bailed on was The X-Files and it wasn't entirely intentional.  I had started to lose interest during the 5th season, my living situation changed not long after, and I just never made an effort to be home or record it.  Basically, I kind of drifted away.  

 

I've lost interest in some new shows after a couple of episodes, but I'm almost always in for the long haul after the first couple of episodes of the second season.  We've had a DVR for many years now and that's allowed me to be annoyingly wishy washy about shows that annoy me.  Once a show get on the DVR list, I used to never delete it, even if I stopped watching because it started to suck, but I finally, and gleefully, got rid of both Covert Affairs and Scandal in the past year.  I had about 7 episodes of Scandal that needed to be watched and finally sat down to see if it was going to get any better.  After about the 3rd episode, I realized I was fast forwarding through half of each episode, so I finished it out and deleted it.  That's the first and last Shonda Rhimes show I will ever watch.

 

With Covert Affairs, I grew sick of early on in the season before the current one, decided it wasn't worth the aggravation and deleted everything without watching the recorded episodes.  

 

I have a tendency to bail on books if I lose interest, but will suffer through movies.  The only movie I ever shut off was Forgetting Sarah Marshall and suffered through most of it, but just gave up about 15 minutes before it was over.

[aradia22]

I tried to get in on Covert Affairs as one of the few female driven shows on USA and also because Coyote Ugly used to be one of my guilty pleasure movies. It was kind of boring from the start. Piper Perabo didn't really pop as the lead actress. She was much more fun in She Gets What She Wants. Have I only seen terrible Piper Perabo movies? Anyway, I hated the actor who played the guy she was pining over. He popped up again on OUAT when I was getting ready to bail on that show as well. I kind of wish I'd stuck with it because I like Oded Fehr, the actor who plays Eyal, and who was great as Zankou on Charmed but yeah... I couldn't do it. Did they ever reveal the big conspiracy or resolve anything? It was like the political storylines on Nashville. If you can't write that stuff in a way that's compelling then why did you make it a part of the show?

[Splash]

aradia22, I so agree with most of what you said.  I really wanted to like Covert Affairs because it seems to be rare to have a female character being the focus of an action show now.  I liked her in Coyote Ugly, so I had high hopes, but I got bored with her character constantly acting like an idiot, but things still working out for her time and time again.  I adore Christopher Gorham and actually had high hopes for their relationship, but they seemed to take great care to screw that up and I was done at that point.  

 

I guess I had hoped for it to be Alias, but with "Sydney" being aware of her involvement.  I have no interest in watching a terrible spy surviving from week to week.  I mean, I'm a regular person and I am easily sneakier than Annie has ever been.  

[TheGreenKnight]

To be honest, I think I'm a very loyal viewer to most shows I watch if I make it through the first season. A lot of shows I hear others bailed around the 2nd or 3rd season I stuck/will stick out to the end, including Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, Downton Abbey, Scandal, Once Upon a Time, and American Idol.

 

I believe there's only 2 shows that come to mind that I've quit, and those were Glee and House. I quit House because the majority of the cast changed around the 3rd season, which ruined the show for me. Glee is another case--I just got bored of it when the 3rd season started. I actually liked season 2 despite the complaints of many other fans, and I still enjoy Lea Michele, Darren Criss, Chris Colfer, and Naya Rivera, but when season 3 started, for some reason I was just bored of the show. I watched on and off for about a season or two, but no longer even bothered when season 5 started. The "new" students definitely didn't inspire me to keep watching.

[aradia22]

 

I watched on and off for about a season or two, but no longer even bothered when season 5 started. The "new" students definitely didn't inspire me to keep watching.

I can't really make an argument for why you should be watching Glee now. I will say that even though they never had interesting storylines, the 2.0's did perform some good musical numbers. Jacob Artist and Alex from The Glee Project did some songs I'm happy to hear on my Spotify shuffle rotation. Melissa and Blake are a little more milquetoast but they had their moments as well. Kitty was promising as a character but I don't think she really had a solo number or even a duet that I loved.

[whack-a-mole]

I really regret How I Met Your Mother. It might be the last show I stick with past it being a good idea. 

[Jellybeans]

Well, I bailed on all the Star Trek series (I tried..) and Battlestar Galactica, and no Downtown Abbey for me. Too much war and too much soap opera. I have a hard time finding things to watch that don't involve war, a substandard plot line or fakery. I do like The Little Couple, Married at First Sight (how do I bold titles?) AND the news because well it is mostly real. Even the wars. I know, weird.

[AuntiePam]

Jellybeans, Ctrl B will bold a title.  Or just click the B above. 

 

I'm sticking with Downton Abbey mostly to see what they do with Edith's lover in Germany.  Is it Edith?  There are too many E names on that show.  Anyway, Mary's sister, the one with the rotten luck and the baby.

 

 

[ramble]

stewedsquash I completely understand! I watch both New Girl & Mindy & am thisclose to bailing on both. It's more a habit than enjoyment any more & it's increasingly rare for me to laugh more than once or twice during the combined hour.

[aradia22]

For me, the good episodes of Mindy are still really good and the mediocre ones can get at least one or two laughs out of me. After a while with comedies, I find that I'm OK with stories over laughs. I really enjoyed Community at first but as the seasons went on I felt happy to laugh two or three times and episode and get a Jeff/Annie moment. There was a run during the gas leak year where I wasn't laughing at all but just going along with things out of habit. Drop Dead Diva stopped being funny very early on. Shows like Leverage continue to get laughs out of me but it helps that it's a very plot (at least the plot of the week) heavy show and isn't resting just on the comedy. Right now Brooklyn Nine Nine is the comedy that I consistently laugh at the most. 

 

There are comedies I'm keeping up with right now that I should really probably drop because I never laugh. Faking It and Awkward stand out. I watched all of The Hotwives of Orlando even though I probably laughed less than 5 times through the whole season. I started watching Castle a few seasons ago even though I never laugh watching that.

 

Comedies are tough. I think that's why I'm more drawn to dramas with jokes. 

[Nightbaron]

No one's mentioned Dexter yet?  It's the quintessential example of sticking with a show LONG after its due date to see it through for me.  While I'm getting better at dropping shows I don't enjoy anymore (One Tree Hill, Supernatural), for some reason I had to see Dexter through.  And it was NOT worth it.

[dcalley]

I feel like I've given up on more shows this fall than ever before. I have deleted these shows from my hulu favorites:

• Revenge (easy to do, but why did I watch for so long?!) after I couldn't make it through even 10 minutes of the premiere, which I hadn't even planned on watching.
• New Girl because I didn't enjoy last season and didn't even want to watch the premiere.
• The Mindy Project after the "slipped" episode, because I thought some things were handled poorly and that was the final straw. I no longer remember the details, but that's OK.
• Modern Family after putting up with a lot of laughless episodes terminating in the motel room/Nigerian family episode (I actually did like the Sex Grenade Axe Body Spray joke). This one may not stick if I am looking for something short and mindless in the future, but I doubt I'll enjoy it if I do go back.

I am frustrated with Nashville and The Good Wife, so those are on notice. And Castle is just weird now, but I admit I'll probably keep watching. I don't know if I'm getting more ruthless because of getting older or what, but it's kind of nice.

Edited October 19, 2014 by dcalley

[Beezel]

some reason I had to see Dexter through.  And it was NOT worth it.

 

See, after season 6/early season 7,  I just had too bail on Dexter. Honestly season 6 was more over-the-top cheese fest bad than soul-crushing bad, but it completely ruined my ability to take the show seriously.

I mean, I hate that phrase, but  Deb realizing she was *in* love with Dexter  was complete jumping the shark territory.

 

 

Also, I recently started Twin Peaks, but the way it just kept progressively getting weirder as the show went on (I knew it was gonna be weird, but at first, at least, it initially had *some* basis in reality that made it more interesting, I thought) combined with how boring it could be in parts just frustrated me to the point I looked up the ending, realized it would be more of a chore to wait to see it executed, and just quit the show cold turkey. 

 

Glee in itself should have been enough for me to quit Glee back in the day, but this is what really clenched my decision to get over this show. 

 

The Glee Project

 

 

Admittedly that show was terrible, but the way he treated the kids as one of the judges, just made me kind of hate Ryan Murphy with a burning passion. So, I made it a point to cut his show out of my life.

 

Then, of course, American Horror Story happened, rendering me a huge hypocrite and putting me right  back under RM's thumb.:/

 

Also, I bailed on Doctor Who pretty easy post-season 5. Really all it took was one or two season 6 episodes for me to get bored enough to bail. 

[aradia22]

I'm in an interesting place right now after pilot season. I'm still in the process of figuring out which shows I want to commit to. And a lot of the ones I went with got cancelled while the ones I decided to pass on got renewed or got a full season pick up.

 

For instance, I love Selfie and it would totally be one of those shows I'd watch a season or two past when I should stop and of course it got cancelled.

 

How to Get Away with Murder is interesting and it's my first Shonda Rhimes show but I don't really find it that dramatic or compelling. I don't care about any of the characters and I care very little about the mystery but it's an easy show to watch, especially since I've cut out pretty much all of the procedurals I used to watch (Law and Order, Bones, Castle, etc.). I'm partially watching to see if I'll get more invested and partially watching on a more meta level thinking about what Shonda Rhimes is trying to accomplish with this show.

 

I find A to Z and Manhattan Love Story more tolerable than other people, I guess but I'm not brokenhearted that we're losing them. A to Z wants to have heart but it's struggling to find its footing. MLS might be the worst of the overbearing voiceover shows but I find it watchable in the way The Carrie Diaries was watchable. 

 

Marry Me is a little better than A to Z but not by much. I still prefer Selfie. I think it has the coldness of A to Z where I see the gears turning and I'm super aware I'm watching actors and not characters like they're trying to compete to see how fast they can get out the dialogue and how many jokes (most which don't land) they can get out in the span of an episode.

 

Cristela is kind of amusing. I think I'll save episodes to watch as filler when I'm bored. It's fairly predictable but I'm hoping it'll get into Mindy Project territory.

 

The pilot of Red Band Society was painful for me. I keep trying to make myself watch episode 2 but it hasn't happened so far.

 

I decided to try out Bad Judge, Stalker, Scorpion, and The Mysteries of Laura and dropped them all. Three of those got picked up. The world is a weird place.

[ennui]

I will watch a bad movie just to see how it ends so I don't have to watch it again to see how it ends. 

 

I forget tv shows are on -- even shows that I like. And I don't miss them. I can set reminders, I know, but that seems kind of silly in the grand scheme of things. 

[aradia22]

Checking in, I finished up all the available episodes of Selfie, Manhattan Love Story, and A to Z. I still haven't watched episode 2 of Red Band Society.

[ratgirlagogo]

 

Checking in, I finished up all the available episodes of Selfie, Manhattan Love Story, and A to Z. I still haven't watched episode 2 of Red Band Society.

While that is completionist I suppose,  it's not exactly like finishing up all the available episodes of Gunsmoke or Doctor Who. :)

[Quof]

I watched every episode of Hostages, feeling like I was being held at gun point. So I didn't watch the show finale. I have no idea how it ended. It was very freeing.

[aradia22]

Podcasts are making me crazy right now. There are the ones I enjoy, the ones I catch from time to time, and the ones that feel like a burden. I am loving Hollywood Prospectus and Right Reasons on Grantland. I used to love OTI and TFT but it's too much to keep up with and they have a lot of off weeks. Still, I do want to catch up. I'm pretty much picking and choosing which ones I listen to now. How Did This Get Made is great. The Grace Helbig podcast is generally very funny but I fell off when Miranda Sings was on (I can't stand that character) and I haven't caught up yet. I'm trying to catch up on Paul F. Tompkins Spontaneanation but I don't think I'll ever catch up on the old one. I stopped listening to that when my iPod crashed for the last time. It's going to be really hard to catch up on I Seem Fun the diary of Jen Kirkman. That might be a lost cause. I've kind of given up on Harmontown. It's too much to catch up on and I don't know if I can just dive into the new ones given how much continuity there is. I've started a new one, Hang Out With Me with Myq Kaplan but that's easy to listen to. It's difficult though because so many shows have running jokes and segments that you can't just pop in and out.

[Silverglitter]

I'm not a big completionist. If I no longer enjoy something, I drop it.

Power Rangers is about the one thing I can't seem to quit. It started when I was 7 and I'm damn near 30, but I just can't give it up for some reason.

 

Anyway, I'm about 98% certain that I'm done with Vikings. The first 2 seasons were amazing TV. Season 3 sucked though for the most part. I enjoyed the Wanderer storyline and the Saxons would be awesome if they'd just get rid of that dull, cheating bitch Judith (who ruined Athelstan by the way).

 

Ragnar is the worst (I mean, like, he's up there with Sonny Corinthos on my list of characters that need to die an excruciating, painful death) and even Lagertha took a massive hit in characterization.

[bmasters9]

I finished the main Barney Miller series from that full-series release of the same, but I've been conflicted as to whether or not I would enjoy that first season's worth (short as it was) of the ill-fated 1977 Fish spinoff. Opinions are sharply divided, and I don't know who to believe. 

[pandora spocks]

"Then, of course, American Horror Story happened, rendering me a huge hypocrite and putting me right back under RM's thumb.:/"

I was hospitalized during the last three episodes of AHS: Freak Show. After I was discharged, I didn't read any episode recaps or spoilers. This first of the season must have been shittier than I thought.

[ratgirlagogo]

I started out feeling like American Horror Story was one of the most amazing things on television.  In many ways I still stand by that.  But I got exhausted about halfway through the Asylum season- every episode had some Huge Surprise that undermined some basic element of characterization and it got more and more difficult to care about what happened.  I can deal with not caring about what happens to anyone and just enjoying the atmosphere et. al. in a two hour theatrical horror film but a week after week television series -  no.  Mr Rat continued to watch (and to complain) but I bailed for the most part.  I did watch the Stevie Nicks one, for example.  I mean, of course.

Edited July 12, 2015 by ratgirlagogo

[backformore]

I kept hearing about American Horror story, people at work raved about it.  I thought I'd give it a shot, just when Freak Show started.  I DVR'd it, and watched.  About halfway though I was grossed out and thought the show was seriously twisted, and not in a good way.   Watching the show, I felt much like I was watching an actual "freak show" at an amusement park. 

 

I was compelled to finish the entire season, just to find out what happened to all the characters.   But I dreaded it, finally sat down and finished the series so I could delete it and swear I'd never again get sucked into a show that made me feel like some perverted voyeur.

[bmasters9]

I've now got 2 discs to go on that full-series M Squad release, and it's been incredibly entertaining. I think personally that M Squad is one of the greatest series I've ever seen, right up there with Barney Miller and The Bob Newhart Show.

[Qoass]

I finally watched season 6 of Oz and not since Gilmore Girls have I regretted a final season more!

[NutMeg]

I let go of the Good Wife almost a year ago...

[Qoass]

...and cycle 3 of The Newsroom was also horrible.  I think if I like a TV show, I should just bail the minute I hear the words "final season"!

[aradia22]

Hulu adventures...

 

I didn't think much of iZombie and didn't lose sleep when it expired from my queue. I'm really into it now. It's digestible and compelling.

I know people love it but I'm having trouble keeping up with Mr. Robot. One episode at a time is enough for me and then I have to work myself up to watch the next one a week later.

I'm saving up the last few episodes of Blackish. It's one of those shows I can step back from for a while but when I watch it again I really enjoy it.

[ratgirlagogo]

I love iZombie.  I feel like I ought to like Mr Robot more than I do - I watched the first two episodes and felt like I was totally on board, but now all the other episodes are piled up on the DVR and somehow I never feel like catching up.

[Blergh]

I'm so thankful I quit "Lost" in the first part of Season Three and didn't get suckered in like so many others only to get BURNED at the very end. I only wish I'd quit at the end of Season One when The Hatch was JUST a hatch that lit up.

  reason for edit-  take out duplicate hiccough

Edited August 16, 2015 by Blergh

[xaxat]

In most cases, I have no problem quitting a show. After two episodes I decided True Detective (season one) wasn't for me. After five seasons, I felt Supernatural had told its story (something I guess the creators confirmed) and was out. No regrets, and I don't feel any reason to go back and watch.

 

However. . . when I sense there might be a potential train wreck in the making, then I'm hooked. Persons Unknown, The Event, Last Resort, Under the Dome. I'm hooked.

 

I just can't stop rubbernecking. 

[Qoass]

I'm still trying to figure out why I powered through Susana Clarke's 1024 page novel Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell whereas I bailed on the television adaptation after three out of six episodes.

[dcalley]

I'm still trying to figure out why I powered through Susana Clarke's 1024 page novel Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell whereas I bailed on the television adaptation after three out of six episodes.

Interesting. I haven't had the opportunity to watch it yet, but I read the book ten years ago and liked it OK. Rereading it has no appeal, and I'm not sure the me of today would get through it on a first read, either. How long ago did you read the book?

[Qoass]

Right when it came out.  I remember being fascinated by the premise if not by every little plot point.  I think I would have gotten further with the miniseries if I had had closed captioning.  I had difficulty understanding the dialogue because much as I love listening to English accents, I don't always comprehend what's being said in them.

[dcalley]

At the time, the premise seemed novel/interesting to me--not so much now (at least as a book). I usually watch British shows with captions, too, and am surprised to hear it didn't have them. I don't have BBCA so will be waiting for the DVDs through Netflix.