Movies vs. TV series: Which side are you on?

TV shows. 🍿

I just get way more attached to the characters and the plot, which makes everything way more intense.
Plus, the actual storytelling has so much more room to breathe and actually go somewhere.

Doesn't mean I won't sit down for a solid movie, but if I've gotta pick? Series, hands down.

Brandon Williams86 said:TV shows. 🍿

I just get way more attached to the characters and the plot, which makes everything way more intense.
Plus, the actual storytelling has so much more room to breathe and actually go somewhere.

Doesn't mean I won't sit down for a solid movie, but if I've gotta pick? Series, hands down.

Facts. Once you actually care about the people on screen, you can have two or three main characters stuck in a single room for an entire episode—those "bottle episodes"—and it'll still be great.

Growing up, I pretty much dodged TV series—unless something happened to catch my eye while flipping channels. I mean, back when CBS was running those 90s sitcoms, I’d occasionally stumble upon something like *Two and a Half Men* or maybe a random episode of *Dr. House*, *CSI*, *FBI*, *NCIS*, or *The Mentalist*. Nothing ever really stuck, though—just bits and pieces here and there.

By high school in the early 2010s, I started getting actually serious about movies. At first, I was all about the big blockbusters, but they got old fast, I guess. So, I shifted to hunting for stuff with decent scores on IMDb. My whole criteria back then was basically just finding something relatively recent, rated above a 7, and—crucially—not a romance. Some of the first ones I dove into were *Inception*, *Shutter Island*, *Oblivion*, *No Country for Old Men*, *Django Unchained*, *Memento*, *The Prestige*, and *Crank*...

Since I didn't know much about what made a "good show," I was totally floored when I caught *Homeland* on PBS (yeah, on PBS) for the first time. It was the first time a plot actually felt connected from one episode to the next while I was watching. After that, I had a similar "wow" moment with *Game of Thrones*—which I knew nothing about until I accidentally saw it airing on PBS (p.s. they were already filming season 4 by then). Then, finally during college, I heard about *Breaking Bad* for the first time. From that point on, I went through this phase where I only watched series. *Fargo*, *True Detective*, *The Leftovers*, *Band of Brothers*, *Pacific*, *The Wire*, *Black Mirror*, *Twin Peaks*, and *Westworld*—those are the ones that actually blew me away. Sadly, I started noticing the quality dip in some of their later seasons pretty quickly. Like, *Game of Thrones*? Massive disappointment. And honestly, I've started noticing how shows lately—especially on Netflix's—tend to drag things out with so-called "filler." Sure, they look gorgeous visually, but half the time they’re just painfully slow and the plots are full of holes. That's actually why I gave up on *The Reasons Why*. *Sex Education* was alright, I guess. Right now, I'm working through season two of *American Gods*.

So, after that long stint, I've kind of drifted back into the world of movies. I watched *Apocalypse Now* recently and it hit me—even if you can connect more deeply with characters over ten episodes of a series, a movie still feels superior because, for it to work, every single scene has to actually matter and push the story forward. A few other things I've watched lately: *Mulholland Drive*, *The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo*, *Jojo Rabbit*, *Knives Out*, *The Lighthouse*, *Parasite*, *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind*, and *Good Will Hunting*.

I guess my experience says it all. Every few years, we just go looking for something else. Whether it's a new genre or a different format, luckily there's so much out there now that it's hard to stay bored for long.

The issue with TV shows is how insanely inflated their IMDb ratings have become. It feels like every single series is sitting at an 8. Is an 8.2 really supposed to be the standard for a mediocre show? Seriously, what is the point?

Besides, a series is just something you can knock out in a 45-minute episode before bed, but let's be honest—real quality still lives in movies.

Quote: The Great Duck

Linda Wood96 said:Growing up, I pretty much dodged TV series—unless something happened to catch my eye while flipping channels. I mean, back when CBS was running those 90s sitcoms, I’d occasionally stumble upon something like *Two and a Half Men* or maybe a random episode of *Dr. House*, *CSI*, *FBI*, *NCIS*, or *The Mentalist*. Nothing ever really stuck, though—just bits and pieces here and there.

By high school in the early 2010s, I started getting actually serious about movies. At first, I was all about the big blockbusters, but they got old fast, I guess. So, I shifted to hunting for stuff with decent scores on IMDb. My whole criteria back then was basically just finding something relatively recent, rated above a 7, and—crucially—not a romance. Some of the first ones I dove into were *Inception*, *Shutter Island*, *Oblivion*, *No Country for Old Men*, *Django Unchained*, *Memento*, *The Prestige*, and *Crank*...

Since I didn't know much about what made a "good show," I was totally floored when I caught *Homeland* on PBS (yeah, on PBS) for the first time. It was the first time a plot actually felt connected from one episode to the next while I was watching. After that, I had a similar "wow" moment with *Game of Thrones*—which I knew nothing about until I accidentally saw it airing on PBS (p.s. they were already filming season 4 by then). Then, finally during college, I heard about *Breaking Bad* for the first time. From that point on, I went through this phase where I only watched series. *Fargo*, *True Detective*, *The Leftovers*, *Band of Brothers*, *Pacific*, *The Wire*, *Black Mirror*, *Twin Peaks*, and *Westworld*—those are the ones that actually blew me away. Sadly, I started noticing the quality dip in some of their later seasons pretty quickly. Like, *Game of Thrones*? Massive disappointment. And honestly, I've started noticing how shows lately—especially on Netflix's—tend to drag things out with so-called "filler." Sure, they look gorgeous visually, but half the time they’re just painfully slow and the plots are full of holes. That's actually why I gave up on *The Reasons Why*. *Sex Education* was alright, I guess. Right now, I'm working through season two of *American Gods*.

So, after that long stint, I've kind of drifted back into the world of movies. I watched *Apocalypse Now* recently and it hit me—even if you can connect more deeply with characters over ten episodes of a series, a movie still feels superior because, for it to work, every single scene has to actually matter and push the story forward. A few other things I've watched lately: *Mulholland Drive*, *The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo*, *Jojo Rabbit*, *Knives Out*, *The Lighthouse*, *Parasite*, *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind*, and *Good Will Hunting*.

I guess my experience says it all. Every few years, we just go looking for something else. Whether it's a new genre or a different format, luckily there's so much out there now that it's hard to stay bored for long.

Movies still win. Why? Because if you want a film to actually work, every single scene has to earn its keep. Every shot needs to make sense and push the story forward. If it doesn't add something to the plot, it's just filler. That’s what makes them superior. 🤔
Can a show actually be good if the scenes don't make sense? Like, if they don't even move the plot forward? I mean, I've sat through some stuff where it felt totally random. Sometimes you just vibe with the atmosphere, but man, it can be a struggle. 🤣

Does every single scene in a movie actually matter? Like, does every shot really need to drive the plot forward? Or is that just some Hollywood myth? Sometimes I feel like I'm sitting through ten minutes of nothing just waiting for the actual story to kick in. What do you guys think? 🤔

Quote: The Great Duck

Joseph Edwards4 said:The issue with TV shows is how insanely inflated their IMDb ratings have become. It feels like every single series is sitting at an 8. Is an 8.2 really supposed to be the standard for a mediocre show? Seriously, what is the point?

Besides, a series is just something you can knock out in a 45-minute episode before bed, but let's be honest—real quality still lives in movies.

What's the issue?
What difference do ratings for some show or whatever on a website even make? lol

I'm still not really following that second sentence. What do you mean?
Got it.
The best part about short story collections? You can knock out a quick twenty pages right before hitting the hay. But honestly, nothing beats the depth you get from a full-on novel.

What the hell, guys?

Currently stuck in movie mode

I used to be all about binge-watching series, but honestly? Lately, nothing really hits the spot. I think we’ve just hit this massive wave of overproduction where there's just too much junk out there

Don't get me wrong, movies have been overproduced for ages too, but you can always sniff out a hidden gem if you look hard enough

Plus, let's talk about the commitment—series have these endless seasons that just don't work for me when life gets busy. It’s way easier to just carve out two hours for a solid movie🤷

Who knows, maybe I'll crawl back to the world of TV shows eventually, but since I've been leaning more into that "artistic" headspace lately, a movie just feels like the better move

Morgan Brown4 said:I honestly will never get people who can binge half a season of a show in one sitting, but then they start complaining about a movie being slightly long—like, "Ugh, I can't watch this, it's three hours looooong"—or they react the same way to a limited series with a few sequels. They'll moan, "Oh man, there are ten installments!" yet they have absolutely no problem powering through a 15-season show where every season has 30 episodes 😕

It’s just as weird when you see the exact opposite. You know those people who knock out two movies a day like it's nothing, but for some reason, they struggle to commit to a series. Even though watching six episodes takes the exact same amount of time as two two-hour movies, they still find the series too much to handle 🤔

Personally, I don't have an issue with either approach. I'm perfectly fine powering through an entire season of a show in a single day, and I'll knock out two or three movies back-to-back regardless of how long they are. It seems silly to me; I just don't get why people draw such a big distinction there.

It’s simple: no TV series can ever match the quality of a truly great film. I don't care if you're picking from cult classics or whatever else; it doesn't matter. Sure, certain shows have their perks—if the characters are well-written, you feel a connection to them—but even a masterpiece like Breaking Bad suffers from filler episodes. Sometimes an entire season or a huge chunk of it just drags. Real movies don't deal with that. That is the fundamental difference.

The issue is that inflated ratings make people think every single series is a masterpiece. An 8.5 rating should signify a mediocre show, and once you hit the 8.0 mark, you're looking at something subpar. But because the scores on the biggest rating sites aren't comparable to movie scores, it creates this false impression that shows are superior while movies are lacking. People swallow this misinformation whole.

If you actually look at things objectively, even the best series tend to overstay their welcome. They have dull episodes, tedious seasons, or they simply fall off a cliff. Yet, the ratings don't reflect that reality. They are biased upward, whereas movie ratings are often unfairly harsh.

I've said this before: when I've been working all day and want to unwind before bed, it’s easier to commit to a single episode than a full feature. That’s the advantage. If the show is decent or even great, fine. A movie demands two good hours, whereas an episode is only 45 minutes. I hate pausing a film just to resume it later; I prefer to start something and finish it.

Joseph Edwards4 said:It’s simple: no TV series can ever match the quality of a truly great film. I don't care if you're picking from cult classics or whatever else; it doesn't matter. Sure, certain shows have their perks—if the characters are well-written, you feel a connection to them—but even a masterpiece like Breaking Bad suffers from filler episodes. Sometimes an entire season or a huge chunk of it just drags. Real movies don't deal with that. That is the fundamental difference.

The issue is that inflated ratings make people think every single series is a masterpiece. An 8.5 rating should signify a mediocre show, and once you hit the 8.0 mark, you're looking at something subpar. But because the scores on the biggest rating sites aren't comparable to movie scores, it creates this false impression that shows are superior while movies are lacking. People swallow this misinformation whole.

If you actually look at things objectively, even the best series tend to overstay their welcome. They have dull episodes, tedious seasons, or they simply fall off a cliff. Yet, the ratings don't reflect that reality. They are biased upward, whereas movie ratings are often unfairly harsh.

I've said this before: when I've been working all day and want to unwind before bed, it’s easier to commit to a single episode than a full feature. That’s the advantage. If the show is decent or even great, fine. A movie demands two good hours, whereas an episode is only 45 minutes. I hate pausing a film just to resume it later; I prefer to start something and finish it.

Well, someone's bound to be unhappy about it. I've binged a ton of series, and nothing has ever hit me quite like Good Omens. I actually watched it twice back-to-back. To me, it's better than 99% of the movies I've seen. Not for everyone, obviously—we all have our own tastes.

gentlehawk95

That was the response to Morgan Brown4

If I were going to watch this, it would need to move along at a much faster pace—like a campy B-movie...
Honestly, even standard feature films feel too long sometimes, let alone something dragged out through endless episodes.

Paul Thomas46 said:If I were going to watch this, it would need to move along at a much faster pace—like a campy B-movie...
Honestly, even standard feature films feel too long sometimes, let alone something dragged out through endless episodes.

Whatever. Since when does the runtime of a project have anything to do with how good it actually is? That's just nonsense. If you think that way, you clearly haven't sat through enough truly great epic films or top-tier prestige TV series to realize how wrong you are.

Movies. I’m just not really feeling series at all lately. I guess the only things I've actually sat through are the new Twin Peaks because I love the original, and that one American show, Shadow over the North America. That kind of stuff might be interesting to me.

I really don't see the point in trying to compare things that just aren't on the same level—apples to oranges, you know?
Take something like Seinfeld as a series, or maybe Mr. Bean when you look at it as a movie.
A film just doesn't have the runtime to pull off that kind of depth.
Then again, I’ve always felt Star Trek works better as a movie format.
So yeah, they're just two different beasts entirely.

Why on earth would one preclude the other? 🤷

Honestly, I don't care if it's a movie or a series—as long as the quality is actually there,

gentlehawk95 said:Whatever. Since when does the runtime of a project have anything to do with how good it actually is? That's just nonsense. If you think that way, you clearly haven't sat through enough truly great epic films or top-tier prestige TV series to realize how wrong you are.

But wait—whoever said length was a metric for quality in the first place? 😕

Paul Thomas46 said:If I were going to watch this, it would need to move along at a much faster pace—like a campy B-movie...
Honestly, even standard feature films feel too long sometimes, let alone something dragged out through endless episodes.

Well, my experience is actually the exact opposite 🙂

I consider myself an old-school cinephile when it comes to movies, however...

Lately, there’s this massive hyper-production happening in Hollywood (not counting the weirdness during the pandemic era), where they pump out so much absolute garbage that finding a decent watch is a struggle, let alone finding something truly great. Sure, a masterpiece pops up once in a blue moon, but they're getting rarer by the day.

If I head over to a streaming site like Netflix or Max, out of ten new releases—seven are just bottom-tier horror flicks (and I actually love horror), two are some mindless teen nonsense, and maybe one will be a solid drama or thriller (if you're lucky, that is).

And then, when you finally stumble upon a genuinely good movie—it's gone in ninety minutes or two hours. Then it's back to waiting months for the next thing.

That's why I find series more appealing sometimes—when I actually find something worth watching, I'm set for a while. I know I'll have something decent to sink my teeth into for the next few days.

My biggest gripe with series, though, is how they just abruptly cancel seasons if a show is successful, or worse, how they lack a plan. You can really see with certain shows that the new seasons weren't properly mapped out; they're clearly just making stuff up on the fly. It's usually the same repetitive formula as the previous seasons, except five characters die off and they just plug in five new ones to fill the void, and then the whole narrative starts to fall apart.

So, both formats have their pros and cons. I watch both and try to find what resonates with me, regardless of the format. The only thing that really turns me off is this recent trend where they take a single movie and chop it into fifteen 7-minute episodes—essentially turning it into a micro-series. To me, that's completely nonsensical, bizarre, and impossible to sit through.