“Game Of Thrones” & “Dexter” broke me: that’s why I don’t want to watch any more series!

Perhaps I should start this text with a division: Of course, I cannot completely avoid watching series in my work. Since we regularly report on new starts in this field, publish articles on relevant topics or conduct interviews with those responsible behind the productions, I can’t resist watching newer series every now and then – even if I have actually sworn off them.

I’m not a notorious serial hater, on the contrary. For me, series have always worked as a good counterpoint to movies because they allow for long-lasting character development. Season after season, complex and layered characters can be told – a possibility that the film only has a limited scope due to its limited running time. I was and still am a big fan of sitcoms and animated series. “The Simpsons” is still my favorite comfort zone (until season 11), “South Park” continues to entertain me brilliantly and in recent years I have paid a lot of attention to anime series like “Attack On Titan”.

What I have avoided, however, are the large series productions that are told over several seasons, because they have simply disappointed me too often. The last time I really delved into a series was “Dexter” and “Game Of Thrones” – and I bitterly regretted it. The problems I have with these series are, in my opinion, symptomatic of many productions of this format.

Series takes too much time

There is a persistent claim among my circle of friends that series are much easier to get away from than a movie and are therefore the ideal medium – especially for working people. Quickly watch an episode of ‘Peaky Blinders’ during your lunch break or dinner – that’s just in time.

And that is also true. An episode is over quickly. And then? Who is so disciplined and stops at just one episode? Especially when it ends on a nasty cliffhanger, you can’t help but watch another, and another, and another… until it finally ended after 3-4 episodes and thus took up more time than a 100 minute film would have.

Only 5,600 minutes for “Dexter”?

Much more annoying than the appeal and addictive effect of series, which almost imperceptibly steal more time than actually planned, is the total time investment. Let’s take a look at the ones called “Dexter” and “Game Of Thrones”. “Dexter,” including its sequel “New Blood,” has a running time of 5,617 minutes, which is almost 94 hours. If you want to treat yourself to all eight “Game Of Thrones” seasons, you only need 70 hours and 14 minutes.

Absolute madness – which then becomes absolutely annoying as the quality of the series diminishes over time. Anyone who has already killed 4,500 minutes with lovable serial killer Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) can still complete the remaining 15 hours, right? For example, for me, the last two seasons of the series have been absolute hell. Little by little, I tormented myself through the final episodes and watched the series hit the wall at full speed.

I repeatedly notice declining quality in the course of series productions. Series start with a strong premise and often fail in their attempt to bring the plot, which has become unnaturally overblown over the course of several seasons, to a satisfying conclusion.

And how frustrating is it when, after 70 hours of sitting together in front of the television, you just look desperately at the things that those responsible for the series thought were a good idea to end the series? In the case of ‘Game Of Thrones’ for example, I found the result so disappointing that I even lost the desire to watch the first seasons again. Why would I get involved in the epic adventure with the characters again when I know how badly it ended?

The fear of dismissal

But there are other reasons why I’ve lost interest in series: If a series doesn’t die the death of quality, there’s still a risk of it being canceled prematurely. In the age of streaming platforms, series must meet a whole range of requirements. In addition to achieving certain viewing figures, the programs should ideally also attract new customers – but very few series succeed in this in the third or fourth season. That’s why streaming services and pay channels have pulled the plug on even established productions. the past favored new, fresh ideas.

And what could be more down-to-earth than learning after three seasons that the story of the beloved characters is now simply over? And that despite the fact that the last episode ended with the main character’s life hanging by a thread? Will she survive? We will never know…

For this reason, in the past I have often waited until a series was completely finished. Only then could I really be sure that I would not be left empty-handed again or that I would receive the final episodes in the form of a comic strip or a novel (or not at all…).

Miniseries are the better series

Exceptions prove the rule, so of course not all series formats are dead for me. Unlike serial novel series, which aim to keep the tension high throughout the seasons through cliffhangers and loose storylines, I discovered my joy in mini and anthology series.

These are over after a maximum of 10 episodes, are often well thought out and follow an understandable arc of tension and plot that doesn’t extend to what feels like 50 seasons based on ratings or ratings. “Chernobyl,” “The Terror,” and the first two seasons of “Fargo” were highly enjoyable viewing experiences for me that I still happily recommend to others today.

And if a season isn’t great (I’m looking at you, “True Detective” season 2), there’s no reason to suffer through it. It is possible to ignore the new episodes completely or give them a chance and then cancel them prematurely. Since the seasonal plot in an anthology series isn’t essential to the plot of future seasons, there’s no need to battle through eight to ten mediocre episodes. So you can safely take a break – and just wait for the next episodes. When they come.