I think it makes a difference, for me the anticipation (especially the collective one)  plays a big role for fan culture and fandoms. I started watching it in May 2012, so I had to wait over 19 month for series 3 and I think the cliffhanger after TRF was even more worse than after TGG, or maybe I just think it was because I never had to wait for series 2 ;)

And I already "hate" all those future fans who can watch all episode at once when the series is ending some day.

SolarSystem wrote:

Ivy wrote:

And I already "hate" all those future fans who can watch all episode at once when the series is ending some day.

Oh, but I actually already pity them, because they'll be missing so, so much...! Everything you've just mentioned yourself... sharing the hiatus with other fans, discussing details over and over and over again... Binge watching really takes away a lot of the fascination of a tv show. There certainly are some advantages, but all in all each new episode is far more special if you had to wait for it for such a long time as we have to.
 

I absolutely agree with you! The hiatus is a big part of being a fan here.

ukaunz wrote:

Now you're making me feel like I've missed so much. I only starting watching Sherlock in January this year, and the longest I've had to wait between episodes was about a week or two, when I decided to order S3 after watching the first two. And I had no idea who Benedict Cumberbatch was up until I watched Sherlock. I have had a lot of catching up to do! There is such a huge amount of fan culture attached to this show. At least I can try to get a feel for the fandom during this hiatus Can't wait for the Special and S4... I am keeping away from those threads for now, I don't want any spoilers, but I might change my mind after I've been waiting several months!

Come to the darkside ukaunz!  We have cupcakes and smut!
 

I started watching Sherlock last year. Only S1 and S2 was on Netflix, but I was so eager after TRF that I couldn't WAIT! I managed to find TEH on some low-quality Viveo video or something online, and saw it on my laptop. Then I saw the entire series again with my hubby. 

So my first Sherlock wait is now. Reminds me a bit about Harry Potter. I started reading when book 5 was out, and the second movie was on it's way. So I was in the middle of it all, analyzing, speculating and waiting for book six and seven, and movies three until the end. Great fun!

I'm actually glad I didn't get into Sherlock earlier. I don't know how I would have survived two years between TRF and TEH.