The 1.5x speed trick saved me from quitting shows halfway through

I got so tired of starting a new series and then dropping it after 3 episodes because the pacing felt like molasses. My buddy who watches like 5 shows a week told me to just bump the playback speed to 1.5x for the first two episodes of any drama or slow burn. I thought it would ruin the vibe but honestly it just cuts out all the dead air and lingering shots that don't matter. Tried it on The Leftovers last month and finally got past episode 4 which I usually bail on. Now I do it for every show that gets recommended but feels draggy at normal speed. Has anyone else found a weird trick like this to get through the slow parts of a series?

2 comments

2 Comments

michael_jenkins391mo ago

You're basically admitting you don't actually like watching shows for what they are. You're just consuming them as background noise to say you finished them. The pacing, the lingering shots, the dead air that's what makes good television breathe and hit you emotionally. If you speed through everything you miss the subtle performances, the atmosphere, the director's actual vision. The Leftovers specifically relies on those quiet moments to build dread and sadness. Speeding through that is like reading only the first and last page of a book. Maybe the problem isn't the shows being slow, it's that your attention span got fried by TikTok and YouTube shorts.

kevin_west1mo ago

Breaks the whole mood the director spent millions crafting.