Power Cycling and Perfidious Marketing

'Power cycling' is the term John Amato of Crooks and Liars came up with yesterday to describe staying home ill, and watching an entire season of a teevee series in a very short period of time. He maintains it is a far more intense experience, and the viewer catches much more of the subtlety of plot and action than seeing one on a week-to-week basis, and I agree wholeheartedly.
Of course, it depends on the series one chooses, and wouldn't go out and buy just anything on that basis.

Since I have to work a lot of evening shifts, I normally do not get to see much television. Here and there have caught two to three episodes of a series which really intrigued me, and was disappointed not to know how the rest of it developed. So if the interest is great enough, I save up my Euro-cents, and buy one to catch up, occasionally, like maybe twice a year. And yes, watching several episodes back to back without commercial breaks can be a very rewarding experience. And if I calculate the expense of seeing several movies equal to the running time of an entire season, it is still far less expensive. Plus the added pleasure of hearing it in Englsh. (Some things just do NOT translate, you know?) And the popcorn costs a fraction of what the Cineplexxes are charging nowadays. (Shocking.) So now and again, I get caught up on what people are raving about.

The first season of 'Lost' is a case in point. 'Queer as Folk' sort of puzzled me, as it was on late, but only caught the last bits of a couple of episodes getting in from work, and mangled by long commercial breaks with ads for telephone sex lines, (and you would NOT believe how tacky they are), but once I was able to sit down and see the first season within a two-day period, I was fascinated and still wonder how it ever got on the air. Am still waiting to get the last season in a version which will play on our system, and see how it ends.

But for me, fascinating to see how 'Desperate Housewives' has developed over three seasons. In the last, it became much darker, and two of the episodes were very uncomfortable-making. Terrific ensemble acting, and plotting.

Which brings us to the perfidious marketing part. When season two of 'Housewives' and 'Lost' came out on the market, some ass got the bright idea of splitting the season into two parts. So you had to buy both to see the entire season, and ended up paying about 7 Euros more than what the full season in one box had cost up until that time. A rip-off, in other words.

This year they ratcheted up a notch. Season Three of both series, (and so far, I notice that only Touchstone seems to be doing this), the full season is being marketed in two boxes as last year, BUT. The first half came onto the market by itself, and the second half a full six weeks later. (Worse, the first half of Lost 3 came out two weeks ago, and the second half is only available in March.) So what did this mean for the viewer? The first half of season three of 'Housewives' ends with Marcia Cross waiting for her latest husband to come home, gun in one hand and a handfull of teeth which are purportedly those of his dead mistress in the other. And then the fopped consumer had to wait for five weeks to find out what happened next.

(Ok, ok, I have to admit I have this 'thing' for Marcia Cross. She was the only reason to watch the odious 'Melrose Place', and a wonder of an actress.)

In ordering the second half, checked out the customer ratings on Amazon Germany, and they were all incensed about this strategy. Many of them were calling for a complete boycott of the two-box set, recommending that people order the series from Amazon US, where they are still selling seasons in a one-box full set. Even a bit more expensive, and long wait due to shipping, they maintained, but they just did not want to support this marketing strategy.

Am not sure which route I want to go on this. Either wait till both are available and buy them in one fell swoop, or join the other pissed off people, and order Stateside. In the long run, the latter would still be more in the line of 'instant gratification'. Don't know.

And oh yes, gotta keep up my movie rating here. So to Touchstone and the Disney folks, just FUCK YOU for being customer-hostile. And greedy. Obviously the first try didn't work out so well because people don't have the money to buy both at one fell swoop. So instead of doing the right thing, you fucked it up even more.

Whatever, power-cycling does have many advantages over a week-to-week viewing experience.