Tv Show Binge Day Television Single Episodes Means

It is something of a tradition on "major" (important) American holidays, such as Independence Day, Labor Day, and Memorial Day, for certain television channels to "run" (show; broadcast) a "marathon" of a single show. A marathon is normally a long race for runners, but here it means to show several episodes from one TV show in a single day or weekend. During one Fourth of July holiday, for example, one channel showed more than a dozen episodes from the old TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation.

But it is no longer necessary to wait until a holiday to see multiple episodes of your favorite television show. With online video streaming services popular in the U.S., you can rent all of the shows from a "series" (a collection of TV show episodes) and watch them whenever you want. According to a 2012 article in the Wall Street Journal, some people sit in their house and watch an entire season or two of a TV show in a single weekend, watching 10-15 hours "back to back" (one right after the other). (A season is one year's worth of shows.)

This practice has been called "binge viewing." "To binge" usually means to spend several days consuming alcohol or being drunk, but can also be used when describing the "consumption" (use) of large amounts of something at one time, usually some food or drink that is bad for you. You can binge on chocolate or potato chips, for example. Now, with video "on demand" (whenever you want it) on your television or computer, you can binge on old TV shows.