Do we deserve more? 38 minutes

[Sir Stewart Wallace]

With its huge back catalog and episodes of all your favorite CBS series available at the click of a button, it would be mindnumbingly stupid NOT to have CBS Online! It's the best!

Discovery episodes generally aren't telling a self-contained story. It's all just propulsive plot, full steam ahead. It's like an old-time serial. So I don't think it matters how long the episodes are.

 

[Mage]

So much so that not even I can "ditto" it.

Yeah, but I actually frigging love this show.

 

[Mudd]

...episodes of all your favorite CBS series available at the click of a button...

Well, that's pretty weak tea.

...It's like an old-time serial.

Just about as familiar, simpleminded and stale, too.

 

[Galaxy]

With a streaming service like CBSAA that is not restricted to an on-air schedule, I would hope that they would make the episodes as long or as short as they need to be to properly tell the story that they want to tell. One of the problems with traditional TV is that since every ep has to be ~42 minutes long, they often have to do filler or edit things weird to make the ep fit. CBSAA should not have that issue. So, if one or two episodes are a bit shorter because that is all they need to tell a good story, I am ok with that. And if they give us some longer episodes because they need more time to tell the story, I am ok with that too. Basically, I want them to focus on telling good, creative stories and take as much as time or as little time as they need to do that well.

However, for the most part they have been restricting themselves to ~42 minutes for most episodes. Generally they edit this online streaming show as a conventional show. I guess CBS wants to keep the syndication option open. This short one was an exception. There were many episodes that could have used more time to explain stuff. For example how Discovery was able to beam abord Tyler/Voq.

 

[dahj]

Quite a few Trek episodes in the past should have been 38 minutes, but were padded out to fit the standard timeslot...

Variable episode lengths are a thing now, get with the times gramps!

 

[seigezunt]

Seriously though, I try to never look at the length of the show before I watch. It felt like there was quite enough going on in those 38 minutes. I do feel the previous episode was better, but I can't decide if that was a matter of direction or writing.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Most episodes of Trek were 42 minutes.

You're unhappy over 4 minutes.

Take out the technobabble from TNG or Voyager, and they'd be even shorter.

 

[BillJ]

Was the commercial time the same for those watching on the commercial plan? Or did they add some more commercials?

 

[Locutus of Bored]

With its huge back catalog and episodes of all your favorite CBS series...

Oh hells yeah, episodes of NCSIS Las Angelvegas 24/7! Plus all you can handle of JAG once you get back from your Early Bird Special at Denny's.

I'm not part of the CBS target demographic of eleventy year olds yet.

 

[XCV330]

Oh hells yeah, episodes of NCSIS Las Angelvegas 24/7! Plus all you can handle of JAG once you get back from your Early Bird Special at Denny's.

I'm not part of the CBS target demographic of eleventy year olds yet.

 

[ralph]

When they expanded the first season episode count from 13 to 15, my impression is that "Vaulting Ambition" and a previous one (I can't remember which) clocked in under 40 minutes due to the fact they were last-minute additions.

I think this episode was divided. The next episode by the same author.

 

[seigezunt]

I thought the addition was the Mudd episode.

 

[Noname Given]

I wonder how they'll handle this episode if they ever decide to syndicate the show on broadcast TV? SyFy, BBC America, or somewhere else might want to pick it up someday.

^^^
they can air it uncut/unedited for syndication.

 

[Dijeirusan]

I wonder how they'll handle this episode if they ever decide to syndicate the show on broadcast TV? SyFy, BBC America, or somewhere else might want to pick it up someday.

It'll either air like it did in Canada, in a 55 minute slot instead of 60 minutes, or they'll tack on some sort of EPK material.

 

[Amaris]

Was the commercial time the same for those watching on the commercial plan? Or did they add some more commercials?

Don't tell CBS, but I have the commercial plan, and haven't yet seen a single commercial.

 

[seigezunt]

It does seem wonky. I've had commercials on and off. And it seemed like twice as many this week.

 

[XCV330]

My ps4 just awkwardly pauses at the end of the commercial blocks like its not really sure if it wants to play another commercial or get on with the show. it eventually gets on with the show.

 

[seigezunt]

My neighbor's does that, and the screen goes black while DSC is still playing.

 

[fireproof78]

Oh hells yeah, episodes of NCSIS Las Angelvegas 24/7! Plus all you can handle of JAG once you get back from your Early Bird Special at Denny's.

I'm not part of the CBS target demographic of eleventy year olds yet.

I'm 33

 

[shapeshifter]

It was short but others have been long so I guess it all evens out in the end.

I suspect the contracts allow time variations between episodes but stipulate a total season running time. Probably about 645 minutes.