This article originally appeared onDen of Geek UK.
Can you ever have too much of a good thing?
Robotlonger than an hour to reach the end credits.
More than at any time in US televisions past, were receiving an influx of elongated episodes.
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And these arent in the form of an opening pilot or epic season finales.
Game Of Thrones.Fargo.Daredevil.House Of Cards.Jessica Jones.
These US dramas and plenty more are susceptible to epic running times on seemingly random occasions.
Theres only so much nihilistic motorcycle gang violence a person can take.
This curious situation is one that, twenty years ago, would have been unthinkable.
US networks were still king, and they had plenty of ads to squeeze in.
Nowadays, that seems almost quaint.
Streaming shows were the next step in that evolution.
What does it matter if its 40 minutes or an hour and a half?
And if youre sat there binge watching, it can all blend into one homogenous viewing experience anyway.
The length of what youre watching becomes irrelevant.
It will start, and it will end.
For a drama likeMr.
Thats the very definition of a win win.
But is it a win for the audience?
Are writers being indulged too much in detriment to the programs that they create?
Take that aforementioned episode ofMr.
Can we blame these writers for indulging themselves, though?
Perhaps the problem lies not with the media, but the person consuming the media.
Modern day attention spans seem to shorten by the week.
Lists, videos, snapchats all brief and spiky.
Famously, HBOsThe Wirewas pitched by its creator David Simon as a novel for television.
Chapters in books are usually wildly different in length.
Not all of them will be perfect.
Some will waffle a bit.
Some will take odd diversions.
But thats a small price to pay for so much of a good thing.
