You open your laptop, go to bookmarks, and click on Netflix. You click your name and icon, and a list of all the new movies and shows that have been added this month pops up. You scroll past it without a second thought and click on the show that you've already seen all the way through about a hundred times (maybe an exaggeration, maybe not).
So you sit there and you watch your show, happily... Until someone walks in while you're watching. Could be your mom, your boyfriend, your roommate, whoever–and they give you a look. But not just any look, the look. That "haven't you watched this already?" look. The "how is it still entertaining?" look.
To answer your questions, yes, I have watched this show before. Yes, I know every word that every character will say and I can sing along to the intro. And I'm still going to laugh and cry when things happen, despite the fact that I know they are going to happen. And no amount of judgments or looks are going to change that.
I'm sure there is a whole wide world of new, funny TV shows out there that I would really enjoy. That's all fine and dandy, but sometimes no one understands your hangriness the way Joey Tribbiani does. Sometimes, it's possible that you need Ron Swanson to tell you to whole-ass one thing instead of half-assing two. And sometimes, it's been one of those days where you really need Brooke Davis to remind you to put hoes over bros.
That is why I am here to tell you that you most certainly have not watched your favorite show too many times. Watch it again, and again, and again, and maybe one more time after that. The quotes are obviously applicable to life. There may be some lessons to remind yourself of, but most importantly, the familiarity of a good TV show can be one of the best ways to de-stress.
Not that getting lost in a fictional world is the best way to cope with stress, but sometimes it won't hurt you to go spend a few hours with the lovely workers of Dunder Mifflin.
So it's time, fellow TV show nostalgics: Grab your favorite snacks, the fuzziest blanket you own, and make sure that your laptop is fully charged. Let that significant other of yours give you one more questioning look. Maybe they'll understand it someday.
But until then... On your mark, get set, binge!
