IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO JUMP ON A POP CULTURE BANDWAGON
There is so much entertainment content available these days that it is impossible to watch and listen to everything. But no matter how many shows, films, albums and podcasts you manage to take in, there’s the inevitable sense that you’re missing out on something – especially when your friends or colleagues won’t shut up about it. And in this age of binge-consumption, you can always catch up on those nine seasons of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills (and its various Vanderpump-related spin-offs) or cram in the six previous seasons of Wentworth before diving in to Season 7. The only thing standing in your way is the time needed to watch all those episodes and subscriptions to the right on-demand services.
Sometimes, the opportunity to catch up is made easy for newcomers. Before the start of Game of Thrones Season 8, the previous seven seasons were available to watch on Foxtel, with enough time given so newbies only had to watch one episode a day in the weeks prior to the Apr. 15 premiere of the new season. In the lead-up to the release of Avengers: Endgame, a chain of US cinemas held marathon nonstop viewing sessions of the previous 21 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe before screening the latest movie. That’s more than 60 hours of
back-to-back superhero action. Maybe ‘easy’ isn’t the right word to use in that case. I decided not to bother seeing Avengers: Endgame since I’d sworn off Marvel films back in 2015 when I was bored senseless by Avengers: Age of Ultron – a decision I began to second-guess in the midst of the hype surrounding the new film.
Of course, you can always go into a pop culture franchise midway and hope you’ll pick up the gist. Or skip a few instalments and come back for the finale. But it’s just not the same – there’s always something you won’t fully understand if you belatedly climb on (or back on) the bandwagon. That’s why I find myself considering whizzing through the four seasons of smash-hit podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno. Firstly, I can finally find out what all the fuss has been about. Secondly, the upcoming TV special (airs Mon., May 27 at 8.30pm; Comedy Channel) will no doubt make a whole lot more sense. Yes, the HBO special, filmed at the Roundhouse Theatre in London and based on the live tour that followed the podcast, only goes for an hour, but surely it will make a whole lot more sense if I spend the 121 hours listening to the series first? I guess it’d be less a whiz and more a trawl, but the option is there.
And that’s the big caveat when it comes to my claim that it’s never too late to jump on a pop culture bandwagon. It’s all about prioritisation and time management. Who needs a social life or quality family time when there are 52 episodes of Downton Abbey, 20 hours of The Crown and seven DC Extended Universe films to fit in before the rest of the world starts going crazy for those particular franchises again? Ready, set, binge. •