Catching up on DVD -- What changes?

One of the best TV critics around, Myles McNutt, has a poll up on his web site right now that will help him choose what series to catch up on via DVD here in the coming months.

Obviously, DVD has done wonders for television viewers. We can wait until a entire season -- or series -- ends before watching. And of course, that also allows us to avoid both the long wait between episodes and commercials. Even more benefits certainly exist.

But what happens to our enjoyment of the season, series or even individual episodes when we catch up later on DVD?

Fandom and serial TV -- Letting go, holding on

A lot of ink has been spilled about the future of serial television, but even if I do not think that it is "going away" or "dying," I've recently been thinking about how troubling it is to be a fan of these types of series.

As a fan of serial television, there are usually two things that happen to me. And there are two series on the air right now that embody them perfectly: FlashForward and 24.

'Chuck' versus the Ridiculous Fan Reaction

FACT: NBC series Chuck has a ridiculously active fanbase.

For anyone who doesn't know, the fans -- which included critics like Alan Sepinwall and Mo Ryan -- of the series helped organize a slew of "Save Chuck" campaigns last spring, including pilgrimages to Subway, a sponsor of the show, and a number of social media-related outputs. For more info on the efforts of Chuck fans see here, here and here.

FACT: The fans feel as if they had a big part in the series coming back for a third season this year on NBC and thus have some "ownership" over it.

FACT: The Chuck fans are using this "ownership" to overreact to the most recent episode, "Chuck versus the Mask."