Breaking The Rules: Hello to "The Good Wife," Goodbye to "Revenge"

Photo Credit: CBS

I have a problem. I refuse to start watching a TV show at any episode other than episode 1, and after watching the first two seasons of a show, I always see it through to the end.

I don't understand how people say things like, "Oh yeah, I started watching that show during the second season. Haven't seen Season 1 yet." What??? How is that possible? How do you just jump in without knowing all of the back stories? Without knowing every conversation each character had? Without understanding all of the minutia of all the relationships that led up to the very moment you're watching now? That's what Netflix and Hulu are for, right? So you can start a show at the very beginning even if it's already been on for years (like what I just did with Breaking Bad.)

On the flip side, as I said, I can't just stop watching a show. Once I've invested at least two seasons of my time into it, it just feels wrong to stop. I need to know where the characters end up. That's why I stuck with Desperate Housewives 'til the end. And it's why I'm still watching Grey's Anatomy.

All of this brings me to where I am today. I think I'm about to start watching The Good Wife... in the fifth season. Do you hear that? The FIFTH season! To me, this is ludicrous. I've watched a few episodes here and there and read about the show, but I haven't watched it religiously. Then, this past weekend I was visiting my grandma, and she asked me to watch The Good Wife with her because it's her favorite show. I was hooked instantly. Grandma filled in some of the back story details, but it was pretty easy to follow even without that. And since next week's episode is supposed to be "phenomenal" (just look at the photo up top!), I kinda don't want to miss it. Maybe I'll go back later on and watch the first four seasons, but you tell me, do I even need to?

Then there's the show I'm about to break up with. This is not easy for me. Like I said, I can't just give up. If I could, I promise you I would have stopped watching Private Practice after Season 2. And yet, I think I'm about to dump Revenge. I was never a die-hard fan. I never watched it live or even DVR'd it. But, when I had nothing else to watch, I'd binge-watch Revenge On Demand or on Hulu. Then this season came around and I swear I tried. I tried several times to get through the first episode. But I still haven't passed the 14-minute mark. Now I'm four episodes behind and it's starting to feel like too much work to jump back in.

Curious as to what you guys think... Do I need to go back and start The Good Wife at episode 1 in order to truly appreciate it? Should I quit Revenge? Does anyone else take TV this seriously?