early simpsons binge
I was a TV binge-watcher before it was cool. It was 1990. I was in Bangkok staying with a friend who worked for the Canadian Foreign Service. He and his coworkers exchanged VHS tapes of TV shows from home. I was nursing a cold. I spent the day in his flat, drinking tea and watching tapes. I pulled out one labelled The Simpsons. “A cartoon? What the hell is this?” Plugged it in and watched, alternating between nose blowing and laughing hysterically. I was hooked. The other day, my 20-year-old and I were talking about how media consumption has changed. When I was a kid, shows were weekly. You gathered around at broadcast time. Now, we stream one or more seasons in one go. Then I remembered The Simpsons and how I was ahead of the curve with my first TV binge experience.