There was a lot of discussion week after week about “The Mandalorian”. For FILMSTARTS editor Björn Becher a clear signal and once again proof that bingeing on Netflix is probably not the real thing after all – at least for him personally!
+++ opinion +++
With Netflix came the bangs and the big cheers. At last you are no longer tied to the weekly broadcasting rhythm of the TV stations, but can watch the episodes when you want them: take them all away in one day, over a weekend or comfortably over many weeks.
But I quickly noticed that when I was watching a series, a part that was always very important to me was missing: discussing it! Television used to be a great community experience. The next day, people at work, at school etc. talked about the “crime scene”, “Wetten dass …” or “Twin Peaks”. I spent hours debating with friends about the latest episodes of “Lost”, “Sons Of Anarchy” or “Dexter” and speculating: What could we expect now?
That doesn’t exist anymore with Netflix, because one of them is only in episode 3, the other is already in episode 8 and I’m somewhere in between. So in the end we just talk about seasons – and by then it might be weeks since we saw them …
“The Mandalorian” would have been strangled by the Netflix model
When Disney + launched, there was a lot of ridicule for the Maushaus announcing that it would go with the old release model and give us mostly one episode a week. When this was done again months later at the start of Germany, even though, for example, the complete first season of “The Mandalorian” was already available, people were downright angry that Disney was denying them the binge option for the time being (which we only use for letters therefore received that we should turn the mood against).
» “The Mandalorian” on Disney +*
But the recently completed second season of “The Mandalorian” proves to me that Disney did everything right. Because I am sure: Much of the experience this second season would have had with the binge model. The series would have been properly strangled by that.
Who else would Cobb Vanth or Ahsoka Tano care?
“The Mandalorian” created the old campfire situation again. Week after week they discussed the current episode together, speculated how it could continue and increased the anticipation for the new episode. But that’s not the only reason The Mandalorian broadcast model is just better than binging on Netflix. It also helps the secondary characters.
After all, we not only talked about how the episode about Ahsoka Tano was consistently staged like a samurai film and even individual takes were taken directly from the Akira Kurosawa classics, but we also saw the appearances of characters like Cobb Vanth and Ahsoka Tano or Boba Fett celebrated – together.
Would only one person say a word about Timothy Olyphant’s great performance as Cobb Vanth after a binge release? No, even Ahsoka Tano would probably only be a side note because the discussion about another Jedi would dominate everything.
Binge renunciation is not a solution
So far, when I have repeatedly addressed in discussions why I am critical of Bingen (although I do it extensively and have done it before when I catch up on series), I often hear: “Why don’t you just watch one episode a week? Nobody prevents you! “
Apart from the fact that you could easily turn the tables (binge fans can also wait until everything is there and then watch “The Mandalorian” and Co. in one go): I could do that, of course, but it doesn’t help. Even if I find a community of like-minded people and we watch every episode at fixed times, that’s just a small compensation.
After all, the Internet has been part of the community experience of watching series for over 20 years, so that people can also exchange and discover theories therethat you may not have thought of yourself. I am even convinced that series like “Lost“Or” Game Of Thrones “owes a large part of their success (but also the later disappointment with the final episodes) to the discussion and debating on the Internet.
Netflix is losing me a bit
Of course, both will continue to exist in the future. Netflix will not give up its binge mantra, Disney + is also relying on its weekly rhythm for upcoming “Star Wars” – or the Marvel series soon to be launched with “WandaVision”, which it already has for series from classic TV such as “The Walking Dead” gives.
I have long since established that I prefer the weekly broadcast, “The Mandalorian” has only proven that to me once more. With the binge, Netflix even loses me a little. My recently retrieved user data confirmed to me: In 2020, I watched fewer series on Netflix than I have ever seen in the more than six years that I’ve been a customer. And my Netflix highlights are probably not by chance “Better Call Saul” with a weekly broadcast rhythm, because it is a classic TV series in the USA, and the sports documentary “The Last Dance” which can be discussed very freely, no matter how far individual interlocutors.
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