This champion channel flip can happen in three big ways:
1. The Missing Link. This is when you suddenly realize you haven’t seen this episode before—ever! You love the show, you’re a huge fan, you’ve seen most episodes ten times ... but now you landed on the missing link. Maybe you always knew this episode existed but didn’t get to witness it until today. You know you landed on a missing link if you find yourself saying things like “Is this the backwards episode?,” “So that’s when she got braces,” or “Ahhhh, now I get that joke mentioned later in the series. My soul is at peace.”
2. The Full Fave. Here’s when you find your favorite episode of the series and get giddy with anticipation. Maybe it’s The Soup Nazi on Seinfeld, the time Carlton gets cut from the frat, or that dark day when Jessie Spano takes too many caffeine pills. Chances are good you’ve seen the end of this one twenty times and that’s exactly what makes the full version such a sweet release.
3. The Surprise Marathon. This gem involves crashing on a surprise rerun of your favorite show on a Sunday afternoon. You watch till the end and then are surprised when just before you flick off the TV ... another one starts up again! You raise your eyebrows and smile before settling back into your couch dent and checking the local listings out of curiosity. That’s when your blood starts bubbling with excitement as you realize you just stumbled on a surprise marathon.