How to Binge All The Shows You've Been Meaning to Watch
There is, simply, too much TV. Right now, various critically-acclaimed dramas litter the landscape, just a small handful of the prestige television on offer every goddamn day. Yes, I know I need to watch The Wire, I know my mom loves Orange is the New Black, I know Vince Vaughn is kinda good in True Detective's bad season. I don't have time!
Everyone has their shameful blind spots; I've never made it through the pilot of The Americans in one sitting and, no, don't give a single fuck about how good it gets. You probably know your blind spots, and you might even want to rectify the situation. Good for you.
The problem you then run into is, wow, there is sometimes a lot of any given show.Dexter ran for 8 seasons and 96 episodes. Fucking Dexter! To that end, we've compiled a list of the very arguable 15 most-started, least-finished TV dramas, and a quick, nasty guide on how to get through them.
Friday Night Lights
The Strat: Skip Season Two
Boy, if you don't already know about the terrible, almost immediately scrapped murder plot in the excellent Friday Night Lights's second season, count yourself lucky. The show's entire sophomore effort is skippable, for that matter.
The Leftovers
The Strat: Skip Season One, then circle back
A method personally endorsed by GQ Senior Editor Kevin Nguyen. The Leftovers Season One is as brutal (and low-key funny) as the rest of the show, but its shaky moments are undeniably shakier. Start at Season Two, watch through to the end, then head back for the "flashback" season once you're good and hooked.
Breaking Bad
The Strat: Sorry gotta start from the beginning
Breaking Bad is a relentless grind of terrible situations going from "terrible" to "even more terrible." it's a blast and you can't miss a beat.
The Sopranos
The Strat: Skip the first half of Season Six, which had some... problems
Tony Soprano goes into a coma at the beginning of Season Six, leading to an extended, several-episode dream sequence where he is a traveling salesman. A lot of people didn't like it. There are many, many Season 6 (Part 1) recap videos out there for this reason.
Mad Men
The Strat: Watch it all
Unfortunately, this very good show starts very good, is very good in the middle, and finishes very good. You're in for the long haul.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The Strat: Skip Seasons One and Seven
Look, everyone knows the premise of Buffy. You don't need to sit through the entire, very uneven first season to wait for things to really get going. Plus, the final season is just trash. Stick to the middle-season sweet spot
The Wire*
The Strat: Skip Seasons Two and Five
Even among the staunchest Wire super fans, more and more a dying breed, people hate these ones. Maybe this show wasn't as essential as we once thought.
The West Wing
The Strat: Just watch the first four seasons
There's nothing for you in Season Five and beyond. Just ask showrunner Aaron Sorkin, who just so happens to have left the show around that time.
True Detective
The Strat: Don't even think about watching Season Two
With just two seasons under its belt, it seems unfair to judge the show as a whole just yet. That said, Season Two is bad, boring, and racist. It should not be watched under any circumstances.
Orange is the New Black
The Strat: Watch it from the beginning, until you can't take anymore
Orange is the New Black is a fun, addictive show whose returns diminish on an almost perfect downward gradient as the show wears on. Just keep watching until it's no longer bearable.
Doctor Who
The Strat: Jesus Christ, who even knows at this point?
According to Wikipedia, Doctor Who has aired 840 episodes, 97 percent of which are "missing," so that's a good start. Unless you're a completist, only the very most classic episodes before its 2005 continuation/revival are really all that interesting. As far as the new seasons go, feel free to skip the third, the 2008-2010 "specials", and the seventh season.
Game of Thrones
The Strat: Eh, watch it all
Maybe some people didn't like Season Five, but you'll probably end up watching it all anyway.
Twin Peaks
The Strat: Follow your heart
Twin Peaks was perfect until it wasn't, then perfect again. Season Two is convoluted, slow, and goofy, but it arguably pays off, even before the splendor of 2017's Twin Peaks: The Return.
The X-Files
The Strat: Depends on how annoying you find it
There's a nifty guide here, that sorts the X-Files' overarching mythology episodes against its monster-of-the-week episodes. If you want a fast, gripping serial, skip the one-offs. If you want to have a brief but good time, skip the mythology episodes.
Lost
The Strat: Skip (most of) Season Three, then skip Season Five**
The final few episodes of Lost Season Three are flawless, but before that comes a lot of boring, dumb episodes, and extended storylines where key characters are literally kept in cages. Season Five is ambitious but messy—just watch a YouTube recap.
