Remotely: Travels in the Binge of TV

by David Thomson

A leading film critic on the evolving world of streaming media and its impact on society
 
The city at night under lockdown, a time of plague and anxiety. It is an exciting new age of television, the light that flutters in every cell in the city. But no one seems to be What is the endless stream doing to us?
 
In Remotely , the most innovative writer on film and screens asks what happened to us as we sought consolation under lockdown by becoming a society of bingeing creatures. From Candid Camera and I Love Lucy to Ozark , Succession , and Chernobyl , David Thomson and his wife, Lucy Gray, wander through shows old and new, trying to pin down the nature and justification for what we call “entertainment.” Funny, mysterious, and warm, at last here is a book that grasps the extent to which television is not just a collection of particular shows—hits and misses—but a weather system in which we are lost pilgrims searching for answers.

Genres: Nonfiction

280 pages, Hardcover

Published January 23, 2024

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads data base.

For the film critic, see https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Reviews

[Zach Koenig · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read every page of Remotely—even when at times I wanted to do some major skimming or call it quits altogether—and gave it every opportunity to entertain/inform me. Sadly, this did not happen in the slightest. Instead, confusion reigned—even if there might kinda-sorta be a kernel of an idea here.

Basically, author David Thomson seems to be proposing in Remotely that television is a really bad thing for society overall. Mainly, it seems, because of the distraction of being constantly around or available in keeping us mildly entertained while the world sort of floats by. He seemingly comes to this revelation during the 2020 pandemic period in which he and his partner Lucy sunk into their couches (like a lot of us did) for hours on end.

Here's where things get weird: Thomson makes his argument about TV being a cultural negative—by examining TV dramas (some of which being extremely obscure to readers outside of the U.K.). Thomson uses prose that could be described as “flowery” (if generous) or “overwrought” (if not) that makes it quite difficult for the reader to “get to the point”.

Personally, I guess I would have preferred a straight up “TV is bad” book as opposed to the feints and dodges that Thomson uses here. Even if uncomfortable in the current era, I could have respected that take based on more evidence than spurious connections to TV dramas and intellectual wordplay.

All in all, I found Remotely to be frustrating from beginning to end. I’d give it 1.5 stars if able simply because it has a thesis, but I can’t even round up that paltry figure because quite literally everything else about Thomson’s approach confused me.

[Ula Tardigrade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very peculiar book. A collection of erudite essays on TV shows, old (like I Love Lucy) and new (Ozark), famous (Breaking Bad) and somewhat obscure (Babylon Berlin), written as a kind of stream of consciousness mixed with dialogues with the author's wife. I think the setting - a living room in the middle of a COVID lockdown - best explains this strange format. It can be meandering at times, but is also full of surprising analogies and thoughts. It will certainly be a treat for streaming fans.

Thanks to the publisher, Yale University Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

[lizzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remotely is such a fun and interesting read! I never once thought about the science behind how and why we watch TV or the shows that we choose. I hadn't really thought of "bingeing" TV until this book and now I realize that I do it more often than I realized! I hadn't thought of how the rise of streaming services has entirely changed how we consume media. I remember waiting an entire week to find out what happened on Grey's Anatomy and now I can watch 17 seasons while I work..

Thank you NetGalley for the e=ARC!