Jack Bauer and Belmont Cragin resident Jefferson Burns have at least one thing in common.
While the “24” super agent sacrifices sleep to catch the world’s most dangerous criminals, Burns skips out on shut-eye to keep up with his favorite TV shows — the Fox serial drama included. One season, he watched all 24 hourlong episodes of the show in a single sitting.
Call it binge viewing. With the trend of watching TV shows via DVD or downloads showing no signs of letting up — TV on-disc packages did about $1.9 billion in sales last year, according to trade publication Home Media Magazine’s market research — it’s becoming easier to get seriously lost in your favorite episode of “Lost” — or any other drama for that matter.
The New York Times last month even posed the question: How much is too much? Five episodes at a time? How about taking in a 13-episode season of “Mad Men,” which returned for a third season last Sunday, in one sitting? When is it a problem?
If a habit is in any way controlling one’s life or prohibiting daily life activities, it qualifies as an addiction, according to Chicago-based clinical therapist Oren Matteson.
During the fall months, or premiere season, Burns, who works full-time, estimates that watching shows on TV and online consumes more than 70 hours of his week, commercials included. He sometimes splurges with full-day marathons. In addition to “24,” he has run through “Mad Men” and “The Wire,” two all-time favorites of his.
“I think I’m obsessive,” Burns said. “I can tell you that.”
As for that “24” marathon he conducted a few years ago? Perhaps a step too far, even for him.
“I don’t advise that for people,” he said. “You get kind of batty around 3, 4 in the morning without any sleep.”
On the flip side is “Lost” fan Kay Guebert, 27, of Andersonville, who watches the show when it airs instead of waiting for the DVDs. To add to her viewing experience, she invites over friends and other fanatics of the ABC series for a viewing party — or sometimes a full-on potluck — every Wednesday night.
“It’s kind of funny, because people always talk about how television isolates people — that a lot of people who are lonely almost befriend their televisions,” Guebert said. “‘Lost’ is definitely a social event for me. I don’t usually have people over to my house that often. … It’s an excuse for a bunch of friends to get together every week and drink some beer and watch TV.”
Gord Lacey, founder of tvshowsondvd.com — which allows registered users to vote for the programs they’d like to see on DVD — says the writers and producers of TV’s most popular programs know what they’re doing to get viewers hooked. By plugging in cliffhangers to shows both tense and serialized in nature, the producers can intentionally craft their product to keep viewers tuned in, he said.
“It’s really the shows where you have a continuing story [that are most addicting],” Lacey said. “With something like ’24’ or ‘Lost,’ all those shows end in cliffhangers, so you want to watch the next episode. It’s like, ‘But what happens next? I can’t just stop at one episode.’ “
“Beavis and Butt-Head” was one of the first shows to become available on disc in 1997, Lacey said, but it was the first season of “The X-Files,” released in 2000, that helped kick-start the market for at-home entertainment on demand. Lacey said going commercial-free via DVD and Blu-ray, in addition to those oh-so-well-constructed serial narratives, add fuel to the fire for anyone who might have a TV addiction.
But it can’t be that simple. Can it? According to Robert Thompson, professor of TV and popular culture at Syracuse University, it can be.
When the first season of “Mad Men” hit store shelves last July, Thompson said he steam rolled through all 13 episodes, pausing only by necessity — bathroom breaks, eating, etc. The equally addicting second season was released last month.
“Watching a season of ’24’ or ‘Lost’ is like falling down a hill,” he said. “Once somebody pushes you, and the episodes keep pushing you, you’ve got to keep rolling.”
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Hooked
Ah, the TV show on DVD (or Blu-ray). Watching your favorite shows wherever you want and whenever you want can deliver infinite relaxation or intense isolation, depending on how you look at it. More than a few RedEye staffers have been hooked on TV on disc over the years, and they’re not afraid to admit it. Here are just a few of the shows that have driven us crazy recently.
Weeds 9 p.m. Monday, Showtime
My name is Tran Ha and I’m a “Weeds”-aholic. It’s been a week since my latest binge, a six-hour marathon session that took me through Episode 8 of the current season of the increasingly outlandish Showtime series starring Mary-Louise Parker. (Thank goodness for DVD screeners.) I think I’ve finally kicked the habit though — at least until I can get my hands on the rest of Season 5. TRAN HA, REDEYE
24 Fox
My boyfriend and I got hooked on “24” a couple of years ago.
Each episode, which covers one hour of Jack Bauer’s mission, ends with a cliffhanger. We would watch the next episode to see the resolution of the cliffhanger, but there would be a cliffhanger at the end of that episode. And so on.
We broke up after the fifth season finale. Jack Bauer can save lives — but not relationships.
TRACY SWARTZ, REDEYE
True Blood 8 p.m. Sunday, HBO
“True Blood” has all the typical vampire genre elements — a beautiful heroine who’s different from everyone; a brooding, tortured vamp; a hot-blooded hookup; the big bad working to send everyone to damnation. What makes this show as addictive as V (that’s vampire blood to those in the know) is how it zooms through the plot, packing a ton of action, comedy and mystery into an hour. And then there’s always a crazy cliffhanger, making you scream at the TV for more. Just.One.More.Episode. DOROTHY HERNANDEZ, REDEYE
Sons of Anarchy 9 p.m. Sept. 8, FX
As a TV critic, I try to watch several episodes of a series before writing about it. Sometimes I barely make it through one. In other cases, I can’t stop. This week I popped in the upcoming Season 2 of “Sons of Anarchy,” FX’s gritty drama about an outlaw motorcycle club. I planned to watch a few of the five episodes, but at 2 a.m. I still was stuck to the couch. I love my job. curt Wagner, Redeye
Gossip Girl 8 p.m. Sept. 14, CW
“Gossip Girl” helps me remember my childhood of debutante balls, million-dollar gowns and high society scandals. My best friend Blair had everything: perfect hair, a girl-tourage and a hot mess by the name of Chuck Bass. And who could forget when my boyfriend’s spunky little sister Jenny single-handedly toppled the NYC fashion industry? Oh, wait … did this not all actually happen to me? Sorry, I must’ve been swept up in the dizzying, dazzling world that is “Gossip Girl.” It is so addictive. STEPH YIU, REDEYE
Mad Men 9 p.m. Sunday, AMC
Cigarettes are cool. Scotch is cool. Conspicuous consumption is cool. These are just three of the many pillars upon which “Mad Men” — the show about the sordid and sometimes splendid lives behind those hard-living advertising executives in ’60s New York — is built. What makes the drama irresistible and instantly addictive is that it rewards loyal viewing. A story arc may take an entire season to be resolved, but when the climax is finally presented, you remember why you’ve been sitting on the edge of your seat for so long. JIM WALSH, REDEYE
