2011 is winding down, exams are picking up, and here at The Eye we’re feeling all sorts of bittersweet about our last issue of the semester. To commemorate a year well done (or just plain done), this week’s lead story features nine editor’s opinions on the Best of 2011. Over the next couple of days we’ll be featuring additional stories on Spectrum—today, check out Molly Speacht’s Best of 2011, with the “Best Netflix Binge.”

Every Friday, I make a vow to myself: I WILL work all day on Saturday. I WON’T leave all my work until Saturday night and have a panic-induced breakdown in Butler 209 at three in the morning.

Do I often keep this promise to myself? What do you think? Of course not. Though it’s not like I don’t try. I set my alarm for 10AM, which should be a reasonable time for a normal human being to wake up on a Saturday morning. After hitting the snooze button until one, I try to convince myself to take a shower, put on real clothes, and responsibly head to the library.

But then I think to myself, “I have such a warm, big comfortable single in a suite that is relatively quiet during the day—perfect conditions for optimum concentration. And, in the time it takes me to get ready to go to Butler, I could memorize Czech numbers 1 to 90. But, then again, I have all day to study so watching one hour of something wouldn’t be bad. It’s Saturday after all. I deserve to relax. And oh damn, Netflix streaming is getting better and better these days…”

And there goes my productive Saturday. But there was one specific Netflix binge that I thought particularly worth staying up until 4AM on Sunday night—The Walking Dead. I watched the entire first season in one day. This feat I accomplished could be considered either extremely impressive or pathetic depending on your perspective, but—to ensure that I don’t seem like a complete shut-in—the first season is only six riveting hours long. And this show is hard to stop watching. Every episode ends with a WTF invoking cliffhanger, making it all too easy to click the Next Episode button. Not only does the series provide a decent amount of zombie blood and gore, but it also takes an interesting and deeply emotional look at human relationships in a post apocalyptic world. When modern society as we know it completely breaks down, how are race, class and gender relations affected? When do people stop working together and start just looking out for themselves in this cruel world?

Although I do check Sidereel for the new episode every Sunday night, the second season hasn’t been nearly as fast-paced and addictive. It’s slowed down a bit, and maybe that’s not a bad thing. But, for me, watching the first season that Saturday was like eating a bag of fun-sized candy bars—you can’t stop eating them until you’re surprised to reach the end and you’re left wanting more. Oh great, now I’m making myself sound like a fat ass too. Oh well, you get the point.