Epistemographer

Around midnight last night, I flipped on my TiVo to see what it’d collected over the weekend, and realized that the first two episodes of Season 4 of 24 premiered Sunday night. Needless to say, I tore through ‘em immediately, happily rekindling my relationship with what’s arguably the most addictive show on TV.

Something struck me midway through the second episode; the experience of watching them back-to-back reminded me much more of the way I watched Season 1 (downloaded divx files) and Season 2 (DVDs via Netflix) than the way I watched Season 3 (live, week by week). There’s almost a compulsive feeling to it; one hourlong episode isn’t enough, and it’s difficult to turn off the TV with the next one at your fingertips.

On last Thursday’s episode of Charlie Rose, Kiefer Sutherland (the star and exec. producer of 24) made the point that they were starting this season in January so that they could run straight for 20 weeks. The producers apparently found that many viewers lost momentum during the several weeks off over the winter holiday, and again in early spring, so they adjusted the schedule to ensure one uninterrupted experience. I’m wondering if their sensitivity to audience preferences went even a step further; given the wild success of 24 on DVD, the decision to show the first four episodes in the span of two nights almost seems a conscious choice to mimic that success, offering viewers an initial experience that bears a closer experience to watching the show on DVD (where, notably, each disc holds four episodes) than on broadcast television.