1. Serialized, Not Episodic
At the time of writing this, the Netflix original series House Of Cards has just premiered online. With each episode debuting at once, viewers can watch House Of Cards at their own pace on their televisions, computers, and on a ridiculous number of handheld devices that would have seemed like, well, science fiction when Deep Space Nine was on the air. The idea of watching TV by appointment is quickly eroding away. In order to watch Deep Space in the 90's, you had to show up at the same time each week and dedicate a full hour of your time to it. If real life ever reared its ugly head, you missed it. Sure, you could tape it while you were away - but programming a VCR was both an act of faith and frustration. You could make up for lost time once the show went into syndication, but that meant showing up at the same time five days a week ... that or the unholy prospect of setting up a week's worth of VCR programming, a fate I wouldn't wish even on my most hated, least technically-inclined enemy. DS9's writers expected you to show up every week and to be completely invested in an ongoing story that developed over seven years. That's a lot to expect out of an audience. Enough people showed up to keep Deep Space on the air, but a lot of fans couldn't - or wouldn't - be bothered to keep up with it. Watching Deep Space Nine is now easy and inexpensive. With no commercials or delays, it plays like a long, unfolding story - and it's all the better for it.
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