This always baffles me. I get the desire to rewatch things - I do. And I understand that sometimes we’re in the mood for something specific and familiar. Like an old friend, we know what to expect. We don’t fear disappointment.
But life is about experiencing new things, and with the cornucopia of TV available to us today, there’s just too much waiting to be explored to settle for the same three-show rotation.
Granted, it can be overwhelming. Whether it’s classics like The Wire (NOW TV), or more recent knockouts like Fallout (Prime), the backlog grows continuously for those of us with lives outside television. That shouldn’t put us off though; Walk into any book shop and you realise it's impossible to read everything you want - yet we don’t re-read The Hungry Caterpillar every year (I hope).
Art is meant to transport us, whether to faraway lands or to new parts of the soul. There’s only so much of that we can achieve by the time we get round to our fourth lap of the US Office.
However, everything changes when it comes to one thing: watching with someone else. The only thing better than living these highs and lows for the very first time, is sharing one of your favourites with someone who’s never had those experiences.
We get to live vicariously through them, watching their expressions closely for the ‘right’ reaction. Our knowledge of what’s to come doesn’t dispel the novelty, but adds a new dimension to our own enjoyment. Every scene is reinvigorated, and we feel the same excitement as we did that first time.
More than this, an entire vocabulary of obscure references opens up to us - a secret language for those who know.
Of course, there’s always the risk of soul-crushing rejection if it’s not for them. Fellow fans of ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ will know the delicate art of choosing the right episode to introduce someone to this marmite of sitcoms (it’s ‘Frank's Little Beauties’, if you’re wondering).
If you’ve chosen well, however, and the lucky soul you’ve selected becomes hooked as you once did, it is as though your bond is strengthened, and your opinion affirmed.
To bring this lengthy rant to a point, I implore those of you who settle for the same characters, storylines, and no-longer-twisty plot twists: Open up IMDB’s list of top TV shows, find one you haven’t seen, and just give it a go. You never know - in time you might find yourself rewatching it with someone special.
