Television

I was at first leaning toward Bojack Horseman, but after thinking it over, I have to say Babylon 5, too. That has a lot to do with how I experienced it.

I first heard of it before it even aired, because they used Lightwave on the Amiga for the CGI sequences. I think I still have the VHS tape from the first airing of The Gathering. It turned out to be an interesting show. I quickly forgot about watching for the CGI, and found myself watching for the story.

Not only that, but the shows creator engaged fans directly during production on CompuServe, and later, Usenet. (That was totally new at the time.) Since it was back in the ancient times, episodes aired once a week. We fans had plenty of time to discuss each episode, and speculate about where it was going.

Then, And the Sky Full of Stars hit like a ton of bricks. ("Wham! Wham! Wham!" as JMS liked to say online.) The story, the imagery, and the music just created the perfect storm of grief and dispair, and we got the full treatment of what it meant to have a 5-year story arc. (Oddly enough, I just realized that it was also the 8th episode of Bojack in which that show demonstrated real depth, and started to get really good.)

As the show continued, my personal life fell apart, as major depression took hold. I don't quite recall when I stopped being able to catch it when it aired, or why. (I think it moved to cable after PTEN folded?) But it wasn't until years later that I watched the 5th season, when I was scrabbling out of the deep hole of depression.

Holy hell. Getting to the series finale was emotional enough, but That Scene hit like 20 tons of bricks. It was played well, yes, but I had known these characters for literal years by then, learned what they'd gone through, felt the weight of all that they had done and felt, and I cried for a long time. And it was amazing to feel anything so deeply, which is why the show will always be special to me.

In many ways, I think that the streaming format robs us viewers of something vital. Binge-watching doesn't allow time for the characters and stories to really settle in your soul. And then there's no social group to share the experience with. I didn't watch Game of Thrones when it was new, and I know that the experience wouldn't be at all the same now. I did binge The Good Place last year, and the effect was like a summer thunderstorm—intense, but brief. It's a great show, but didn't affect me so deeply. As such, I'm glad I watched Bojack when it was new, to be able to share the experience online with other people. It was made for streaming, and the season-at-a-time release, so it couldn't be any other way, but nothing will quite match the experience of a dedicated fan base and weekly episodes.