Are Filler-Free Watch/Read Lists Worth It?

I thought about this over lunch today. I was thinking back over the Animorphs series, and my fading memories of that experience. My brother once started the series, since I had them all, and quit somewhere in the teens saying, "They're too predictable. The twist always comes in chapter 17."

I couldn't really argue that point with him, but I do remember that the series as a whole takes a turn around book 45, but that always seemed like a heavy initial investment to get to "the good part." Smash cut to about fourteen years after finishing the series, and I've since entered and exited at least two otaku phases, maintained a sincere enjoyment of children's shows, and generally stayed the circles that would eventually bring me to this idea of a filler-free list. The concept has stayed around in anime circles mostly, but other shows have their own "skippables".

Still, I have to wonder if it's worth it to carve away pieces of the history of a fandom; even for the sake of lowering the bar of entry for new fans. Some of these "fillers" have quirky and off-beat charm to them, and I wouldn't enjoy some of my favorite properties as much without the weird pieces like "Doctor Who"'s Love and Monsters or "Avatar"'s The Great Divide.

Then you look at something like "Steven Universe" and have to wonder, is the show's tone set for the cluster without the earlier body horror of Frybo? Is charm lost without Garnet's Universe? Without Open Book, we're cutting into moments of charm and heart, and if you're not watching for that, then why are you even watching?

Then we can look at how hotly contested some of these lists can be. Even the most agreed upon list a person can manage is going to slice out someone's favorite episode.

Still, the barrier to entry is real. I get it. There's things I love, and I want my friends to love them too. When something makes me happy, it's instinct to shove it down the throat of everyone in my life who I want to be happy, too. That's fandom, and we all get that sometimes. If saving the "worst" episodes for last means getting them to watch the show at all, maybe that's worth it. 'Cause if the best the show has to offer gets them hooked like you think it will, they'll get every episode eventually, no doubt.

So, maybe there's not an easy answer, here. What do you think? Jump in the comments with your thoughts on filler free lists. Have they helped pull you in, or have they torn the heart of it out? Until next time!