If we're truly living in a snack culture, how come so many forms of entertainment-TV shows, games, movies-are getting longer? Most of us, I suspect, have had this experience lately: You tell a friend that they simply have to start watching one of the new long-format dramas, like Heroes or The Wire. There's no question of picking it up midseason. They've got to go back and start at the very beginning-using iTunes or BitTorrent or Netflix to catch up-or they'll be utterly confused. Invariably, your sales pitch also comes with the disclaimer that they'll have to watch four or five episodes before they really get hooked. Some of the most complex shows-like Dead-wood or Lost-take multiple episodes just to introduce all the main characters.
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