My little cousin asked me what a 'season finale cliffhanger' was

We were talking about the show 'Stranger Things' and I mentioned waiting a whole year for the next season after that big ending. He just looked confused and said, 'Why didn't you just watch the next episode?' It hit me that he's never known a world where you couldn't just binge a whole story at once. I tried to explain the old weekly schedule, but it felt like describing dial-up internet. Made me miss the crazy theories and water-cooler talk we'd have for months. Anyone else feel like that shared weekly hype is totally gone now?

3 comments

3 Comments

wade_lewis2mo ago

That water-cooler talk was half the fun of watching.

gray_roberts2mo ago

Water-cooler talk just feels like forced hype now, Wade. The actual show should be good enough on its own.

shane2441mo ago

Wait, didn't that whole "water-cooler talk" thing start dying out before streaming even took over? In my experience, the real water-cooler moments were when you'd talk about a show because it surprised you or made you think, not because some online campaign told you to. Gray_Roberts has a point that good shows don't need that kind of push, but I'd add that the best talk comes from shows that earn it naturally. Your mileage may vary, but I think the forced hype stuff is what kills the authentic conversations that used to happen. Take it with a grain of salt though, I'm probably just getting old and cranky about how things used to be.