I think there's a trend out there among entertainment consumers that is a basic change in a certain type of audience. It's an audience that enjoys the chapters enormously but that has lost patience with having those chapters doled out on a delayed basis.

The trend has occurred before, certainly. Canny admirers of Charles Dickens know that his novels were released over a span of months -- and that the process affected the books we read today only in collected form. What happened to Little Nell in Old Curiosity Shop was not intended from the beginning; in fact, she originated in a whimsical piece that was more essay than story, and Dickens pretty much forgot about her brother, who had initially appeared to be a major character. The downside of that sort of creation may be best known, in fact, via Dickens' The Mystery of Edwin Drood -- which remains a mystery, since the author died in the midst of writing (and publishing) the story.

But as far as the way fiction in general is published today, we find novels published as a whole, without installments. In fact, the last major novel-in-installments was Stephen King's The Green Mile.

However, it remains the tradition in our own comics field -- and in TV series.

It's already apparent that comic books today are, by and large, being designed to satisfy the reader who doesn't care about the installments. I find myself delaying reading comics series until several issues of a story arc have been published; I don't have to remember the ever-increasing plotlines of current stories in order to bring myself to the point at which I can start a fresh installment, and what may seem to be a weak issue can turn out to be a key transition.

And the same has begun to take hold in the TV sries I enjoy. It began with Veronica Mars. As it happened, I saw a recording of the pilot of the first season, enjoyed it mightily, and checked my local schedule to find out when the next installment would air, only to find out that the series being broadcast was up to the 10th episode. Heck with it, thought I, I'll wait for the DVD collection. And I did and I loved it.

I never tried Boston Legal, despite Brent's recommendations. But, when the DVD set came out, I took a chance -- and loved it. Two for two. Soon, others joined the mix -- including series I'd initially watched on a regular basis. So I've virtually given up watching broadcast continuity shows, opting instead to wait a few months so's to enjoy them without commercials or delays between episodes. House, Bones, Lost, Smallville, The Riches, The Office, My Name Is Earl ... I'm having a great time (though I find it increasingly difficult to stop watching -- burning through weekends sometimes). These days, when they're on new, I'm pretty much limited to Heroes, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report.

But what does that mean for the broadcast shows down the line? And comic books?

Veronica Mars was, after all, canceled.