Somehow it turned out that in the current period several drama series that I watch accumulated, and trying to master them all became more frustrating than usual. The problem arose mainly due to the fact that all these series only provide one new episode a week – a kind of old-fashioned custom that has expired since the invention of the binge.
If reality TV can burn brain cells when watched continuously, then drama series are actually meant for marathon viewing. They build a whole world for us and draw us to it like in a story with sequels; And to fully enjoy the experience, you need to dedicate several hours to it in a row.
An episode a week extends the duration of the experience, provides a time interval between episodes to digest hidden layers, and helps the series to increase the circle of viewers during the season. But to keep the audience glued to the series for a long period of time requires much more than a suspenseful “cliff-hanger” at the end of each episode. You need added value that will make viewers come back next week as well.
Because of the many series in the sequels that I am trying to devour, I started to get confused between the characters and the stories. Not every series opens with a summary of the previous episodes, and even if it does, the first few minutes always challenge the brain trying to remember who is who, what they want and where we left off last week. It is unnecessary to explain why people abandon series in the middle, and never return to them. Sometimes this is done consciously, and sometimes they are just forgotten and left behind.
Take, for example, the two series broadcast on the commercial channels: “No One Leaves Palo Alto” and “Blackspace” – good crime dramas, which suffered a significant drop in ratings from episode to episode. Those who managed to faithfully follow the seven episodes of the “Palo Alto” season, which ended last night, deserve a medal. The journey of the series in Keshet 12’s broadcast schedule was dizzying – you could never know in advance when it would be broadcast, it changed day and time every week, and even if you somehow managed to catch it on the screen – the experience was, how to say, complex.
“Palo Alto” starring Maggie Azzarar is a series with a certain vibe. The characters in it are tired, the plot is slow and complicated, and a kind of deep Haifa calm prevails in it. It goes smoothly in binge watching, but becomes annoying when the plot is interrupted here and there by commercials for cleaning liquid and sanitary napkins. The final episode made it clear that behind the mystery of the murder and the criminals’ wars, “Palo Alto” was a series about damaged characters who made amends and completed the fusion of family rifts. The question is how many viewers got there.
And with one series coming to an end, I thought it was a great opportunity to check out what’s going on with Network 13’s Blackspace, whose second season has so far aired on Monday nights and has made signs of a gripping suspense series dealing with gang rape and mysterious murders. So I buzzed, and of course I found out to my astonishment that the broadcast of episode 3 was postponed for a day until tonight, because what was is not what will be, and no one will commit now when the next episode will be broadcast.
There is a sentence that I hear more and more people say recently: “I’m waiting for the series to end to start watching it”. I once did not understand him, today I do. Waiting for the end of the season to start watching is suitable for “Nobody Leaves Palo Alto”, sewn on “Blackspace”, and in general it is a recommendation for many series that have been lost in the unconsidered broadcast schedule of the Israeli channels.
Nobody Leaves Palo Alto – The Final Chapter | Sagittarius 12, 9:30 p.m
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