I’m beginning to think that your Heroes addiction might be incurable.

Or would I?

Dear God, I think I might.

*hangs head in shame*

Do you think that there is anything that Heroes could do to stop you watching?

I think that your slightly demented love for Heroes is related to TSE, but is a sub-branch. There is definitely the idea of an unwarranted sense of loyalty that keeps you watching when you shouldn’t, but your case is different in that it seems that it is your loyalty that is making you watch, and that’s almost the enjoyment of it!

I think there is definitely a point where the amount of time you’ve already invested in something means you’re going to stick with it. I had the same thing when I used to read monthly comic books; I’d start reading a title because of the creative team on it, the team eventually leaves, the book goes downhill, yet you stick with it because it *might* get better again. If you give up and then go back to it when it starts getting positive reviews again, then you have the headache of trying to catch up with what you missed.

I think Friends is certainly a show that I always seemed to watch despite never really liking, I know that there are other examples but I can’t think right now (just thought of The Big Bang Theory – no idea why I watch it). The opposite of that is when you occasional watch a programme and really enjoy it, and yet never start watching it regularly.

I agree that often the quality drops with longer seasons, but the point is not quality but the fan loyalty!!

Heroes is a tricky one. I adored season 1, but since then, even I, no.1 fan, knows it has gone downhill like an avalanche. And yet still I watch it and stick up for it, and enjoy it more than anyone else does over on Unpopcult. I’m not sure if it’s the soap effect for me, it’s more that if I start off really loving a show, it becomes a bit more than a fun way to pass an hour sometimes. I can develop a loyalty to them, however mad. So these shows become more like a relative or a friend who’s started to get on my nerves a bit – I stick with them anyway, out of loyalty and a hope that either we’ll get back what we had, which sounds absolutely demented, or at least we’ll get to the end and there will be closure. Which is equally crazy. So I watched ER till the very end, despite the distinct patchiness of later years (astonishingly good finale though), I’m still watching Without a Trace despite loathing its central character, and I continue to watch the often irritating Grey’s Anatomy. Weirdly though, I managed to cut Gossip Girl off cold turkey after a few irritating episodes. I wonder why?

Anyway, I think you’re right about the “pop culture addict, afraid of missing the next big thing” part of things with some shows, Sherby, I definitely fall into that category, otherwise I wouldn’t have bothered with the first eps of Harpers Island or Pushing Daisies (both of which I was glad I gave up immediately), and I also think the soap effect can kick in with shows you never really love but always just seem to watch (like Voyager and JAG, as I’ve commented before) but I don’t think British shows would do any better if they had longer seasons. I think longer seasons often mean a drop in quality and shedding of casual viewers who are not as obssessed as we are….

I think a lot of people do think that the grass is always greener; you can pick and choose good and bad TV from any country. I do think that there has been a bit of a shift in recent years with the ‘mutli-channel revolution’ having opposite effects on the UK and the US. The UK isn’t large enough to support so many channels and maintain the quality, whereas, in the US, the expanded market has allowed HBO to flourish. I’m still proud of what the BBC manages to accomplish though, although all these points are for a post I have planned for the future!

I think I will stay with Chuck and Eureka (not sure why we have the slightly different name in the UK). I enjoy them both, it’s just that I don’t think I’d be upset if they got cancelled. Actually, I just watched the Eureka season 3 finale this week and it will be intriguing to see if anyone will be left in Eureka for season 4!! There was also a good episode of Chuck this week; actually it was a decent episode with an excellent ending. I won’t give any spoilers for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet, but it was the one with the Tron poster.