Just throwing this out there as an idea, I don't have much of a preference in this, but what if there were per-network threads? That would tend to segregate the shows somewhat but limit the proliferation to a handful of networks. For example, the shows people have mentioned here and elsewhere are:

Heroes - NBC
Supernatural - CW
Lost - ABC
BSG - SciFi
Drive - Fox

Wait, are we talking about general TV or genre TV?

Bottom line is I read too much, skim too much, often irrelevent and I really have no preference. But I will say the crossover inthread does have the potential for drawing new viewers from the current population. At the same time, the prevalence probably has the potential for driving people off, annoyed with having to skim so much.

Sara kind of just said what I wanted to say. I don't mind skimming. If it wasn't for reading all y'alls various ranting and ravings and flailings, I'd never have watched Deadwood, The Wire, Eureka, Heroes, or Supernatural. And hey, I keep thinking that I'll give BSG another chance sometime, since the Buffistas like it so much. So I lean towards not wanting to break threads up so much, because I would miss being influenced.

I am an old spoiler whore, who doesn't mind reading about shows before I see them. Right now, I get no shows at the same time as the US. But I have to say for the spoiler phobic among you who have to wait for DVD, if you've never seen the show, reading the posts doesn't really stick. Maybe it's because my brain is pea-sized, but I read the white-font for the Season 1 VM finale, and by the time I got around to seeing it myself, I had forgotten who killed Lily Kane.

That said, but because VM and the Premium shows are DVD shows to me, I just don't go in there anymore because it's so far in the future that I'll have a chance to get to see them.

I think that's too many, and frankly, I would have a hard time naming what networks various things were on. I'd guess most of us Tivo folk are the same.

It also squicks me on a base level that I can't quite articulate, except that we're not a TV board.

A SciFi thread I can see, and would support. I could also probably get behind the cable/non split (merging VM and Lost and adding the non-cables there would be my suggestion).

That would tend to segregate the shows somewhat but limit the proliferation to a handful of networks.

Dude, you just suggested five threads. At least.

merging VM and Lost and adding the non-cables there would be my suggestion

Now I echo -t's question.

In a cable/premium split, what about those shows like Dr. Who that a lot of people ahem to watch?

Expanding on my last post, I'd really prefer making Box Set a SciFi network thread and using one of the other show threads for the non cables. Identifying simply as cable/broadcast leads too closely to the whole general tv thread idea, which I'm not a fan of.

eta: x-posted with ita

Dude, you just suggested five threads. At least.

Yeah, but versus every popular show for the next five years? seems like it'd balance out. There's a relatively finite number of networks but new shows are always coming out.

versus every popular show for the next five years? seems like it'd balance out

Lots of popular shows don't have their own threads or even agitation for their own threads. I'm reasonably confident that the next five years will be kinda like that.