Oh, hi there, nice to see you.
Welcome to 52 Seasons, the pet project I’m using to torture myself. I’m glad you’ve come along to bear witness.
My name is James and I’ll be your host. Think of yourself as a guest in this online home. I’d serve you a drink, but my hands are busy typing, so please pour yourself one.
Why are we here? Well, you see, I love television. And I’m guessing you might too. I also love talking about television and dissecting what I’ve been watching.
These days, I don’t feel very well versed with what’s on the box. And that’s fine. FOMO has driven me to wish I’d watched everything you’ve been watching so we could have a good chin wag. But those days are over.
We’re balls deep into the streaming age. Ambient television, peak television, slow burn television are just three categorised terms critics have observed within the last few years. It’s no wonder that we’re not watching the same series with all that is on offer. And where do we begin to choose? The paradox of choice is real people, and it affects more than what we watch.
These days, our conversations revolve around repeating ‘what episode are you up to?’ as we beg our partner in conversation to catch up so we can pick it apart. Except we rarely do. Okay, sometimes we do.
Eloquent and severe takedowns of this phenomenon have been published by writers more skilled than I. But I’m not here to slag off anyone.
So, back to the question, why are we here?
I need to get my writing groove back*. It’s that simple. I used to contribute freelance pieces here and there on film and television. As this freelancing was taking off, I opted for a safe corporate job as a marketer for an educational publisher. Yep, total sell-out. I love my job, but I miss writing about my television consumption.
Enter 52 Seasons.
Each week I’ll publish ramblings on a specific season of a television series. That’s it. The parameters are purposefully scant. Deviations are acceptable, as the main purpose for this substack is to write.
What I can guarantee for you, dear reader, are pieces with my honest response. I aim to steer away from academic wankiness and focus more on what television makes us all feel, using my response as the guide. Expect musings on new seasons of existing series, new seasons of new series and even the odd retrospective look back to old favourites.
Thank you for finding me and if this reaches you, please share your thoughts with me. I’ll leave comments open on my posts. I’d love to hear what you think of the series I write on.
Wish me luck.
James
December 2020
* Should I have called this substack ‘How James got his writing groove back’?**
** No, that would not only be presumptuous (will I even get it back?) but plain weird.
Got a burning question for me? Contact me via Twitter.
Sign up now so you don’t miss the first issue.
In the meantime, tell your friends!