Amazon came out with a commercial for their Amazon Fire TV last year that demonstrates a woman that has finished watching a television series. After watching this show and becoming invested in it, it had become part of her life. This show had dragged her into the show hole. The show hole is hard to pull yourself out from. I have done it several times with "Friends," "Gilmore Girls," and I am currently doing it with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I want to give you the 10 basic stages of the show hole to get you started.
Stage 1: Mourning the End of Your Show
After becoming invested in a show it is hard to see past it if you get super hooked. A true fan will accept the characters as part of their lives, their friends, and their family. Who didn't want the gang from Friends in their life? Once your show is over, the feeling you get is comparable to losing a dear friend.
Stage 2: Fan Fiction
Fan fiction is a great tool to keep your show alive. Stage one shows how you are clearly not ready to let go. Fan fiction not only gives you a way to "resurrect" your show, but also to change it to your liking. If you wanted two characters to get together who never did, fan fiction is your solution.
Stage 3: Word Vomit
At this point all you can think about is your show. If it's all you can think about, then it's all you can talk about. People will start getting tired of hearing about the show and your take on it. My grandmother is my "willing" victim for word vomit.
Stage 4: Changing Genres
Watching movies or TV shows within the same genre is still too hard at this point because it reminds you of the show you lost. For example, if you were watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a supernatural drama, you could turn to Friends or The Little Rascals which are comedies.
Stage 5: Searching For a New Show
This can be one of the longest stages of the show hole. Trying to find a show that will be as great as your last show is hard, especially since you have built up the last show in your mind. You will go through hundreds of shows before you are ready to chose. Sometimes, you might go back to the first one.
Stage 6: Picking a New Show
This stage is when acceptance begins. You have accepted that until you start a new show, no show will compare to your last one. Accepting this makes the process of picking a new show much easier.
Stage 7: Show Hole Denial
How do you go from acceptance to denial you might ask? This form of denial is about the continuation of the process. A lot of people in this position think that they will not be in this situation again. Odds are they're wrong.
Stage 8: Getting Hooked
Of course you find a great show to get hooked on, you have great taste! Getting hooked on a show is inevitable in your case.
Stage 9: Binge Watching
Once getting hooked on the show, you can't get enough. You must have more immediately. Unfortunately, as much fun as binge watching is, it sets you on this path much quicker than you want.
Stage 10: Rinse and Repeat
You have come back to the beginning of this circle despite your denial in stage seven. Get ready to rinse and repeat the stages of the show hole.
