Something about the way they aggressively released all their content, streaming it 24/7 on all platforms, removed the magic for me completely.
I used to love these, but now I can't sit through more than 5 minutes, because that sense of "oh this is special" is gone. I think for slow burn/buildup art, you have to kind of keep it special.
I'm not trying to be a dick, but there is nothing stopping you from self regulating.
We watch one episode of mst3k as a family Sunday night. Popcorn, lights off, huddled under blankets on the floor.
If anything, it's more special for my kids (than it was for me) because they can see what we'll watch next week, and enjoy looking up random trivia about the terrible movie throughout the week.
I get the parent's point though. There's a certain late night weekly thing that, for many of us, is hard to replicate with anytime/anywhere even if you could in principle.
There are shows like "Twin Peaks" that, if you first introduction to them is binge watching, you'll wonder what all the fuss was ever about. (Some shows seem to need some water-cooler time in order to keep you on the edge of your sear, wondering, trying to make the connections yourself.)
I don't really disagree. There's something to be said about being able to watch things at your own pace on your own schedule. At the same time, you give something up by not having historical broadcast TV schedules. Though I expect a lot of people (perhaps here more than in general) would deeply resent that sort of scheduling. And I say that as someone who doesn't even get broadcast TV any longer.
While it had its flaws, Babylon5 was like that as well. Probably Lost even if it IMO went downhill latterly. I'm not really a fan of binge-watching. A lot of shows are constructed in a way that rewards a slow rollout even if that's not the modern style.
Back in the 90's, the Sci-Fi channel would regularly run MST3K marathons that would last all weekend. It was pretty much the same experience as the modern streaming channels, and I loved it. The golden age of cable was full of those kinds of marathon runs of series.
I used to love these, but now I can't sit through more than 5 minutes, because that sense of "oh this is special" is gone. I think for slow burn/buildup art, you have to kind of keep it special.