Law and Order - why watch reruns?

Law and Order is shown constanty it seems. CI is now looping through
with its episodes on USA. I don't know why people would watch the same
episode more then once. You know who did it so why watch it more then

jayembee...

Why watch COLUMBO after the first five minutes, if knowing who did it
is the only reason to watch a mystery?

Does the same rationale apply to movies? Is CITIZEN KANE not worth
watching once you know what "Rosebud" refers to? Is CHINATOWN not
worth watching once you know the Mulrays' secret?

Hell, when you think about it, you might as well expand this idea
into saying that *nothing* is worth re-watching -- not just mysteries --
because you know everything that happens.

TV shows and movies are more (or, at least, *should be* more) than
the elements of the plot. One might rewatch them to listen to the
dialogue, or watch good performances by actors one admires.

once.

Barry Margolin...

Why do people watch reruns of anything? When I was a teenager in the
70's, I watched Star Trek over and over. I could almost recite some of
the episodes from memory, but I still enjoyed it.

This also ppplies to CSI.

I watch just to catch episodes I miss. Am I alone in this or is watching
the same episode more then once worth it?

I can see watching comedies or cartoons more then once in case you
missed a joke. But mysteries?

wes wildcat...

Watching the reruns on USA and Spike is what got me hooked on L&O, and
SVU and CSI because I never watched them the first time they were on.

Barry Margolin...

They aren't just mysteries, they're character dramas. So you might
watch L&O to see McCoy's arguments, or Lennie's clever quips -- they're
still fun to watch if you've seen them before.

And believe it or not, not everyone remembers everything they've ever
watched before. I was halfway through this week's SVU before I realized
I'd seen it already and remembered the twist at the end (Kerry Lynn
Pratt has been guesting on lots of shows this season, so at first I
thought this was just another one).