Watching broadcast television, even cable, puts the schedule is out of your hands.  You watch when the presentation is shown.  

Watching online gives you absolute control of not merely where and when but how much.   How much, meaning how many episodes of a particular drama do you want to see, now. 

At first, it may be a bit daunting.  You are used to a variety of programs and now have one you can kick back and watch until all the episodes are finished.  You might feel you have to juggle, this one, than that one, then the next, but eventually, you probably decide to watch one series, episode 1 to episode last, in order, one after another.

These are a few random tips to make your experience a bit more enjoyable.

1. FREE

There are a number of free sites.  Find them.  Find as many as you can, and use them. It is ridiculous to pay to see television programs.

Why?

Unlike Movies television programs are already paid for.  They may be paid by the sponsors or subscribers. 

An American Television program which went a few seasons is paid for by the advertisements.  If you watch American television an hour means 42 minutes of show, and 18 minutes of commercials.  Those 18 minutes you are spared paid for the show.

Secondly, many programs may be run on a Name Brand Station then sold to a local station.  Hence in New York, for example, a top drama of 1963 is shown on Channel 4. In 1968 it is sold to Channel 5 which runs it with just as many, if not more commercials.

Star Trek, for example, went off the air in 1968 and was resurrected on one of those minor local stations, and ran from 1970 - 1972.

The series had been paid for, episode by episode more than once.  Why should you pay for it?

British programs are paid for by the subscribers to the station. They may be given some support by companies which have them 'silently' advertise their products; i.e. the beer the characters drink, the computer they use, the sneakers they wear, the places they visit, the jewelry that adorns them.

Hence, without the Internet these programs would be broadcast, then shelved.  Maybe sold to a second level station.  Maybe even find a niche in a third rate station. But were paid for initially, paid for again on subsequent airings, or put in a cupboard.

Why should you pay again?

Skip Around 

You may fall in love with one particular online free site, but, as you know, sites go down.  If you only have one, when that goes down you either kick foot or start your search. 

As you know, or will learn there is ALWAYS another site.  It can be anywhere in the world.  It can be places where there is no 'copyright' law or the programs are not hosted there but 'referrals' are given.

Always have your backup plans as many sites may have Episode 1, 7, 8, 9, 12 only and it isn't much use to miss so many episodes.

PASS 

There are a number of shows in which the viewership was not great so a number of episodes might be missing and as it is an 'episodic' program, (that is each episode stands alone, outside of the characters and environment there is no 'Story Arc') it doesn't really matter if you miss episode 8.

Although this may seem in contradiction to the previous paragraph, you can see the difference.   You can find the series somewhere, you can find all episodes somewhere, but sometimes it just isn't worth the time to search.

MARATHONS

On many occasions you will find yourself watching episode after episode, hour after hour.  When you have nothing to do, this is pretty good.  Of course, it's better to have a life and just fit the programs around life.

For example, where I live there is no real television.  There was once a time where the two stations aired first rate American and English programs so the biggest problem was whether to watch CSI or House.

Of course, not all episodes were aired, so that Jamaica might get Season 1, episode 1 - 22 in a series which had 5 seasons of 24 episodes each. 

As unpleasant as that is, for the past few years, there has been virtually nothing to watch.   The first run series are gone and evenings are full of local nonsense no one with a fully operational brain needs to subject themselves to.

To actually be able to find a 1st run American or British series and to see all the episodes tends to make one a little insane.

The ability to gorge needs to be resisted.

One should put themselves on a diet of no more thant 180 minutes of television a day when it is the usual 90 minute British standard, (two episodes) and 168 minutes of an American program; which is 4 episodes at 42 minutes each.

OBSERVATIONS  

What you will find is that many American programs are little more than sound/sight bytes.  Many of the characters are not 'unique' and are vehicles for the plot.  Many tend to act the same, speak the same, and despite using different ethnicities, they are the same person.

The plot is important, hurrying from start to end seems the main purpose.  Characters speak quickly, so as to get everything over with.

British programs, without the pressure of commercials and with all the time in world developes the characters, the scenery.  The dialogue isn't rushed through so as to get to the end of the show, but as part of the quality of the production.  

In American programs there is very little sitting still and slowly developing relationships.  Everything is as quickly as possible.  British programs focus more on the characters whose uniqueness makes it impossible to confuse one with the other or to attribute a line or an action to the wrong character.

IN CONTROL

To watch a television series on line puts you in control.  You start and stop the show as you desire.  You terminate viewing when you are bored.  As the item is free you don't have to strap yourself to the chair so as not to waste money, you can lock off at whim, moving from one series, which doesn't capture you, to another, which does. 

If you miss a line or an action, you can go back.  You can rerun an episode, or skip it. It is all you.