Indefinite rewatchability is my revealed top criterion for a TV show to be on my favorites list. Surprisingly, this maps to a certain mediocrity and inefficiency in storytelling. Fat narrative over lean. So shows can fail to make my list by being too bad OR too good to rewatch.
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Of shows I’ve watched though at least once:
Too good to rewatch indefinitely: Deadwood, Firefly, The Office
Too bad to rewatch indefinitely: Two and a Half Men, Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond
Sweet spot: Futurama, Psych, Monk, Castle, Rick and Morty, Seinfeld
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Forgot South Park as a big one in the sweet spot.
Some shows I need longer between rewatches. If shortness of refractory period between rewatches is the metric, my top shows are Futurama and Psych.
The Simpsons fails this scheme due to zombification.
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The mediocrity manifests as a 2d character arc, lots of undeveloped little bits of fat, non sequitur jokes. Narrative comfort food.
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Probably surprising, but The Office is not among my favorite shows. Never rewatched after it finished airing and I finished my blog series on it.
Futurama otoh is my most rewatched show. Probably 6-7 full watch-throughs. But it’s never really fueled any writing.
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No Hindi shows from before I moved to the US are on the list. 🤔
Partly lack of access, but mostly just poor quality. Indian TV 1980s-90s was... not good. And I think it got worse after I left in 97, not better.
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Psych was the first show I watched where I finally figured out that the overall plot wasn’t as big a factor in what makes tv series appealing as everyone pretends.
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Avatar was one of those movies that can be watched repeatedly for its rich world construction. Except for the ham-fisted morality, which forces you to let it lie fallow for long periods of time.






