There is an Amazon commercial on TV right now that introduces the term "show hole." They describe it as the depressed state you are in once you complete a TV series. I always thought it was a pretty funny commercial, but having just finished two series within the same week, I now know how incredibly accurate it is.
I had been watching "Game of Thrones" and "Entourage," and felt that I really got to know all of the characters. This was especially true with entourage, which makes the viewer feel as if they are a part of Vincent Chase’s crew. So when the series ended, I felt like I lost a group of friends. It is equivalent to when you first start your freshman year of college, and you and all of your friends are going to different schools. You know you guys will still be friends, but it is not like you can hang out with them every single day like you used to. Sure you will see them during breaks and whatnot, but it still won’t ever really be the same again and it is a bit depressing.
Ending a show also means that you must find a new one. This, again, can be seen as the beginning of freshman year when you are trying to find your new friends. At the beginning of the year you may hang with a bunch of new people trying to find the ones you click with. You have to put in work to find a new series, which entails watching the first episode of a couple of different shows until you find the right one. It may also be like dating again after being in a relationship for a while. You are unfamiliar with how to find a new show after being with the same one for so long and while looking for new ones you are always just thinking about how much you miss your old show.
Ending a series also leaves you feeling somewhat helpless. You really are in a show hole, where you don’t know how to spend your free time and can’t find anything you like. You even resort to watching regular TV which means you are stuck watching commercials, have to watch whatever someone else decides should be on, and unless you pay a lot of money you can’t rewind to watch that scene you just missed because you were on your phone.
I also imagine that being in a show hole is somewhat like driving was like before cell phones. I do not know how people got around without using Google Maps on their phone. This is how I feel now. I do not know where to go or what to do without a series to watch. I find myself just aimlessly trying to find something to do with my free time, much like helplessly driving around looking for an address without a phone. The show hole is a terrible place to be, and I really would not wish it upon anyone.
