Our mission at SAW is to foster conversations about this thing we all love (or love to hate): film/TV. Many of our features are designed with you in mind. Your opinions, to be more to the point. You have ’em. We want to hear ’em.
Question of the Day (QOTD) is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a film/TV-related question that we put to you, the reader. The comments section below is like the feedback box at work; except, in this example, we actually read what you write and care about what you have to say.
We need your help again. After settling the debate on whether or not Mad Max: Fury Road is a legacy sequel, we have a new problem. You see, a new argument popped up in the SAW offices over whether “Appointment TV” still existed in the age of streaming.
One side argued that since there was not a definitive start time for a series, there was no appointment to make, since you could hop in five minutes “late” but still watch from the beginning, or just watch two hours later, a day later, on your way to work. With there being more content and fewer major shows on network and cable TV (that still have schedules), “Appointment TV” is a thing of the past.
The other side stated that it did exist, but the definition had evolved with the times. If a streaming show like Cobra Kai drops all 5 episodes at once and you’re there on drop day watching, isn’t that “Appointment TV”? Break it down even further, if a show like Agatha All Along or The Mandalorian is releasing new episodes weekly on Disney+, if you watch the episode the day it first debuts, isn’t that “Appointment TV”? You’re making time each week to watch it as soon as possible. Some streamers like Disney+ have even announced the exact time a new episode will debut on its service, meaning that fans can jump in as soon as it drops and hit play. Sure, it’s not the “Appointment TV” of the ’80s, ’90s, and early ’00s, but it’s the “Appointment TV” of the Streaming Age.
So, with both sides heard, it’s time for you to jump in. The question I ask today is: does “Appointment TV” still exist in 2024?
I’ll see you in the trenches.
