To be swept up is be moved rapidly, suddenly, and without warning. You never saw it coming, and in a blink, you're hurtled towards an unplanned destination. Arrival at the sweep's end means a quick inventory: Check for damage, survey the surroundings, and begin the search for meaning. Just as you were swept up, you are now in the disoriented aftermath of having been swept away.
While we would never suggest being swept away in perpetuity as a life or professional strategy, a person unwillingly pushed towards a destination unknown occasionally discovers they had the time of their life getting there. A surprisingly good time leads to the wonder of how did this happen and how can it happen again? That reaction explains why groups of kids jump off the roller coaster to return to the line to jump back on the coaster again.
But the second, third, and subsequent rides never quite match the topsy turvy delight of that maiden voyage. This is why theme parks burst with thrill rides. Parks do not profit from one-run-and-done. Multiple moments of mayhem must present themselves, and as our tastes sophisticate, the mayhem morphs into exotic adventures in jungle worlds with Kong, vast leaps carried by Bruce Banner's alter-ego, or, these days, carried on a broom through The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The Mummy haunts your thoughts as you descend into a pit of flame-belching darkness.
But what does any of this have to do with binge television watching as the topic for Dave Nemo Weekends?
Because the mental and emotional equivalent of being swept up and swept away by a roller coaster is binge watching. Think of the first time your eyes, ears, and mind devoured 10, 12, or 22 episodes over a 48 hour period. Did any subtlety of performance stay with you? Can you recall multiple character details, or does it all simply accumulate into a overall effect? Instead, what you do remember is the arc of character: The wild ride with Marty across The Ozarks, Al Swearengen chopping down the Deadwood, or taking a lift to visit the "B" who lives in apartment 23.
You don't pick over plot points but get whipped by the twists and turns of Person of Interest. You hold your breath with the tension of being balanced on The Wire. Or you race ahead of the bullets from The Man in Black in the hopes you can ride off into the sunset of Westworld.
You are not watching. You are there. And you are unwilling to accept anything short of resolution, conclusion, and catharsis. The Night King must be stopped at Winterfell, Jack must not be Lost on an island, and Tony Soprano... well, actually, what the hell did happen there?
You will not take a break from watching Walter White Breaking Bad. Not until all is said, done, and seen.
So, yes, Dave Nemo Weekends is going on a streaming bender this weekend. Tell us the shows you couldn't turn off, because you couldn't look away. Give us a call with titles, performers, and producers who pull you in deep and don't let go until its done. Speaking of producers, we've got two of them to talk about the art of constructing a binge.
On Saturday at 9:30am ET, Emmy-nominated writer and producer Billy Van Zandt will be here to give us a preview of his memoir Get In The Car, Jane. Recently released, Van Zandt's book takes us beyond the set and into the details of collaboration for some televisions most beloved comedies. Chances are you've chortled, guffawed, or busting a gut at one of Van Zandt's lines. Throw in some comic asides about Lucy, Sinatra, and The Wayans brothers, and you've got the makings of a morning filled with laughter.
We'll also welcome Terry and Liz Taylor at 10:30am ET, health care professionals on the front lines of COVID-19, and owners of a vintage horror-themed toy store in Lawrence, KS called 1313 Mockingbird Lane. Not only does the name of the store have ties to TV (that was the Munster's address), but they were recently featured on A Toy Store Near You. It's a new series developed and shot remotely during the pandemic, not merely to give a quirky look at pop culture, but also to show how America's economic system is - and isn't - working to help small businesses survive. You can watch for free by subscribing the the Nacelle YouTube channel.
We get a little more gritty at 10am ET on Sunday when writer, producer, and showrunner Eric Overmyer arrives not only to discuss the last season of the Amazon Prime series Bosch, but also his contribution to the police procedure genre with work like Law & Order, Homicide: Life on the Streets, and The Wire, which is still considered one of the greatest television shows ever produced. It's not lost on us that, in Overmyer, we'll be talking with the wordsmith for some of the small screen's most famous all-too-human heroic tough guys and gals on our show that caters to a group of callers and listeners who are all-too-human heroic tough guys and gals. (Writing that previous sentence makes us realize there still hasn't been a truly great show about the trials and tribulations of trucking.)
We'll get right on it after we talk to Overmyer.
Climb in the car, pull the bar across your waist, and throw the coaster switch by pushing the play button. Let's plunge into the binge!
Tune in to Dave Nemo Weekends every Saturday and Sunday from 7-11am ET, live on SiriusXM 146. Call in to join the conversation on air at 615-292-6366. Visit us on Facebook, give us a like, or drop us a line here.
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Photo by Gaspar Uhas on Unsplash