Everything from the Boys, to Marvel shows, to Lower Decks waste so much time every episode recapping what happened previously. We’re watching these shows on demand. If we needed a recap we simply watch parts of the last episode. Binging shows is so normal it’s a meme now.
Do the people making these shows seriously think there’s a possibility of network syndication or something? As if we’ll eventually go back to the network model?
What do you think?
A lot of times they re-cap the bits from previous episodes that are relevant to the one you’re about to watch. They aren’t random flashbacks.
Yeah. They always show that old character that you forgot about in the “previously on” right before his surprise comeback.
If they need a recap for the viewers to remember what’s going on then it’s bad storytelling.
Or possibly the viewers have more going on in their lives than focusing on one TV show.
Oh yeah, because everyone will obviously remember what a guy mentioned off hand on a random episode 5 years ago.
I agree that a “previously on” for what happened the previous episode is bullshit, but that’s almost never the case.
Not bad, just extended. If you’re watching season 3 and there’s a throwback to season 1, it’s good to have that reminder.
Not everyone binges shows, and some release weekly, and in either case are following the pattern of recaps for those who didn’t just watch the previous episode before starting the current one.
I’m just glad all of the ones I can think of have a skip recap button. Same for intros!
I tend to watch shows three or so episodes at a time, but then it can be a few days or even weeks until I get back to it.
Side note: I really appreciate shows that put out a proper recap of the last season. I ain’t rewatching an entire season just so I can watch the new one.
I’ve been watching Clone Wars with my partner and find the recaps really useful since we usually only watch one episode at a time.
Official chronological order, of course
I’d rather watch the recap than manually skip around through a previous episode. And if the recap leaves me confused then I’ll looks at the last episode.
I think there are loads of people that watch several shows at once and get their wires crossed. But there are platforms that are able to skip those
I appreciate the 30 second heads up of which exact previous scenes will be important in the upcoming episode.
Even if I’ve just binged a bunch, and don’t need a recap of the broader story arc, there may have been a name drop or specific reference that could have been missed.
So much time being 30s in an hour long episode?
I’d also consider “volume quotas”.
I’ll assume that the show creators have a set format/time per episode. Recaps are a “good” way to have filler time, meeting the target episode’s length without too much additional effort.
Personally, i feel like the recaps are somewhat of a spoiler to the episode. Usually these recaps are aimed at reminding you of things that you will need/want for the current episode (e.g. who was that character?). If you do remember the previous episode, these edits almost spell out what parts of the plot will be developed in the current episode.
I’d appreciate a solution like the one @vinny_93 mentioned, where the recaps exist, but I can skip them on demand.
I agree on the spoilers thing. Like, remember that bombshell someone dropped four episodes ago and then they never addressed? And that character from last season that left to go investigate on their own?
Most don’t, and the good shows have no problem with content. They have to cut things down.
I’ve been watching Murder She Wrote and each episode has a “this time on Murder She Wrote” at the beginning that is kind of a convoluted spoiler for the episode. I don’t know who would want that, especially on a mystery show.
Murder She Wrote was made with old people as the target demographic and old people have terrible memories. I imagine this greatly cuts down on the “Who is that person?” “Where is she driving to?” “When are they going to catch the killer?” type questions one generally hears when watching an episode of anything for the first time with their elderly parents.
I hate those too. Especially on Murder She Wrote. I skipped every one of them.
Columbo spoils all the action scenes at the start of the episode for no reason
I love those, gives you a feel for the type of episode you are about to watch
I watch shows 1-2 episodes at a time, then switch to another show.
I don’t always binge watch shows. And I’m not going to rematch all the episodes every time I come back to a show. And as an ADHD person I appreciate the reminders of what happened.
I like them. I watch stuff in bursts. Like ten episodes at a time, then I don’t have the time to watch anything for a month and my memory gets sketchy.
And The Boys recaps are funny.
Previously on The Boys: Splatter, splash, gloop, burp, blop!
Exactly what I was talking about!
If I’m binging, I’ll skip them if the option is there. Otherwise, they help when I remember a show exists and I come back to it.
My only gripe with this is with anime like Bleach. Each episode is 3 minutes of recap, 12 minutes of actual show, and 5 minutes of credits and the outro scenes that have nothing to do with the story. It’s somewhat infuriating to watch a recap of something that happened 10 minutes ago 4-5 times an hour.
Apart from that I don’t mind them as there is so much content out there and many shows are doing weekly releases, making it easy to forget details.
