Like many new things that have come from technology, I have often been slow to a, ccept them, I once swore I would never get a cell phone, now like everybody else in the world, my cellphone is my lifeline to the world. Call me, text me, check Facebook, all involves my cell phone. That is kind of how my unhealthy relationship with Netflix began.
I first heard of Netflix when they came out and thought, “That’s dumb, I would never use that.” Since I am somewhat stubborn I stuck with that until about two years ago, I bit and signed up for the free month trial. I was skeptical because I didn’t think that there was any television show or movie that I would like enough to want to watch each episode of. What I found was not only would I like it, I would become obsessed with it.
It all began innocently enough, I liked the show Royal Pains and wanted to catch up on the doings of Hank Med, so I got those DVD’s first, and at the time you could get dvds in the mail and stream shows. The first Royal Pains DVD had an episode of a show called Psych on it, which I had heard of but never seen. It was humerous so the next day I started streaming the first episode of Psych.
This article is called Netflix OCD because much like a person with OCD who can’t control their compulsive behavior, I could not control my viewing of this show. I had to keep watching, each episode in order, in every spare moment. I would watch at night and bargain with myself, “OK it is 1 o’clock in the morning and you have to work tomorrow, only one more episode then that’s it for today.” Two episodes later I would finally pass out and that would be that.
Finally the day came that I finished all of the episodes of Psych that existed. I was finished. Perhaps now it would end, my Netflix OCD would end. That didn’t happen.
I got hooked on shows that I knew were dumb, but started watching and couldn’t stop. Greek was one of these. I know college isn’t like that but I found it fascinating to watch. I was hooked and the pattern continued.
Then came The Guardian, which was a short lived show with only three seasons about a stuffy lawyer in Pittsburgh of all places. Simon Baker of the Mentalist was the star and I found the show riveting as the producers and directors clearly searched for a cast that would make the show go and stories that would interest an audience. Finally ending with the two stars having a baby with down syndrome.
The next show was In Plain Site. It was about two US Marshals and the people that they protected. There were only three seasons of this so for me that is a momentary distraction. I moved on to the Closer and watched all of the seasons available on that little treasure. I was in a full blown addiction and didn’t want to be cured.
I would even watch series that I didn’t particularly like like Saving Grace. Nice premise, but characters totally unlikable and stupid. I was glad when that was over, and I could stop watching. Then I started watching Scrubs.
Finally I had to do something before my life was consumed with old shows like Magnum PI and WKRP in Cincinnati. So I quit cold turkey and started to read books instead. I was running out of things to watch anyway. Hopefully someday I will be able to handle the power of Netflix in a more healthy way, but for now I am going to have to keep going to Netflix anonymous and trying to find my entertainment in books.
Netflix: The One Mistake That Might Haunt Them Forever
More On-Demand Goodness: “Adventure Time,” “Robot Chicken,” More Coming To Netflix
5 Things to Watch on Netflix This Weekend