what I really learned from all this is not to watch shows until they are all done with their run - so I know going into it how many seasons I am going to get up front.

Nooooo! Watching week to week with friends is the BEST! It's how I watched Buffy from S3 onward, and all of Angel. And you can't do that if you wait til a whole show run is done before starting... or something. I guess you could talk friends into waiting?

I even used to watch some DWTS with online friends, chatting in Yahoo as we watched. Good times!