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![David Pope's view. David Pope's view.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/8WgcxeQ6swJGymJT6BMGEL/b5971c2e-2fe2-4e1b-ab56-5c0a1a96da20.jpg/r0_0_1540_1003_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The muscles on the back of the neck are balled into a knot. Beads of sweat dampen the forehead and the heart races. The hypothalamus has released a flush of stress hormones and the body is reacting as it should - preparing for fight or flight.
This isn't the anxious wait for the RBA's decision on interest rates. Nor is it the Matildas' thrilling comeback at Canada's expense in the FIFA Women's World Cup. It's sitting through another episode of Apple TV's brilliant series, Hijack. There's a loud exhalation when the episode ends and the heart rate returns to normal.
Hijack is an edge-of-the-seat thriller told in real time and without the usual pyrotechnics and computer generated imagery on which so much contemporary television relies. Instead, much of it is shot in close-up, capturing the terror and tension on the faces of passengers as their plane is hijacked en route to London from Dubai.
The acting is first-rate, especially that of Idris Elba. He plays Sam Nelson, a corporate negotiator whose professional skills are used to try to save the passengers on board. The series is even more savoury because it's served up in weekly instalments, complete with cliffhangers, just like good old-fashioned appointment television.
After years of binge-watching, it's refreshing to have to wait a whole week for the next episode - to have something to look forward to. And there are associated health benefits in breaking the binge habit. An analysis of scholarly studies on the US National Library of Medicine website found "potential health risks resulting from binge-watching include developing behavioral addictions, sleep problems, sedentary behaviors, and psychological distress (eg, depression, anxiety, loneliness, and stress)".
Like any addiction, binge-watching ups our dopamine, or pleasure hormone. It makes us feel good in the short-term but can also make us ratty in the long-term. And it can see hours wasted on the couch when we could be engaged in more meaningful pursuits.
Binge-watching can also be bad for business. Companies like Disney, which followed Netflix into the streaming El Dorado, twigged that potential subscribers were gobbling down entire series in one go and not hanging around for more.
The habit was also eroding the shared enjoyment of watching TV series and upending the water cooler effect when co-workers gathered to mull over the latest episode of whatever hot show was on. When a staggering 361,000 Americans watched the entire second season of Stranger Things in one day in 2017, they stopped talking about the show as quickly as they viewed it. Gone. Just like a sugar hit.
Hijack has (excuse the pun) stayed on my radar for weeks now. Each new episode is a high point in the week's viewing. An appointment is made to sit down and enjoy it. And that intoxicating tension that has me so utterly gripped is a reward for patience. Plus, it's so good, I don't want it to end.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Are you a binge-watcher or do you ration great TV? What TV series are you engrossed in right now? And what's your all-time favourite? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Interest rates have been kept on hold for a second consecutive month, stoking hopes that interest rates have peaked. In a widely-tipped decision, the Reserve Bank of Australia board decided to extend its monetary policy pause following evidence that inflation retreated to 6 per cent in the June quarter and consumer spending was unexpectedly weak in June.
- An El Nino event remains likely for Australia but the weather bureau has stopped short of declaring it will definitely happen. The Bureau of Meteorology on Tuesday released its latest climate driver update, stating an El Nino development is "considered likely" in the coming weeks.
- Scott Morrison has faced a lashing in federal parliament for framing himself as a victim of the robodebt royal commission. During Question Time on Tuesday, government services minister Bill Shorten described Mr Morrison, who represents the NSW electorate of Cook, as a "bottomless well of self-pity with not a drop of mercy for all the real victims of robodebt".
THEY SAID IT: "He that can have patience can have what he will." - Benjamin Franklin
YOU SAID IT: Testimony claiming a huge UFO cover-up by the Pentagon made for gripping news, except that it came without a shred of evidence.
Deb writes: "If aliens are checking out our planet I hope they never decide to land. The most intelligent creatures on earth are also the cruellest. If there are beings out there who have the intelligence to master space travel, imagine how cruel they might be."
"I have never believed in UFOs," writes Peter, "but you have to wonder: do we have any evidence that Donald Trump is human? Where is his birth certificate?"
Alan writes: "UFOs/UAPs or whatever is piffle. What these X-Files conspiracy theorists conveniently overlook is the tyranny of distance between our small blue dot and any known extraterrestrial intelligence, which amounts to some thousands or millions of light years. The usual UFOs that are supposedly seen in the skies above the US are too small to make such trips, so where are the motherships? Hollywood has much to answer for. Too many Trumpians think Independence Day was a documentary, not fictional entertainment."
Greg's adamant he's seen UFOs: "On numerous occasions and with witnesses. I am now 81 years old, and on at least three occasions, have seen UFOs. Can I prove it? No. In those days we didn't have mobile phones or instant access to all media sources, but I haven't seen any little green men (or women) except on TV."
Bill writes: "Years ago my family lived in some fairly isolated places. My parents told me that lights from UFOs were sometimes seen, usually late at night coming home from friends' places. I believe the explanation could be in the phrase found in police reports: 'alcohol was a factor'."
"I must admit that I have seen lots of UFOs," writes Sue. "Most of us have. Not being an entomologist, and particularly at night when I can't see them very well, I have no way of identifying most of those insects flying around. Dusk and dawn, I can't always tell whether it is a bird or a bat either. As for the extraterrestrial type, while I admit the possibility of their existence, I find it amusing that they focus their presence on the US, the centre of the conspiracy theory universe and also the location of the major players in the audiovisual and entertainment industry. It is interesting that David Grusch has 'whistleblower' protection on a topic where the need is moot. Julian Assange published - but did not steal - official documents containing information which, arguably, the public should know and US law has been endeavouring to reach well beyond its borders to punish him for a long time."