I like things in order. To clarify before my wife corrects me, I like things chronologically. If I hear that a show is good in its 5th season, then I want to watch it from the beginning. This is probably true of most people. Chronological order is the way to go.
When I got into comic books in high school, I was faced with a problem. There was no possible way to “catch-up” to the likes of Spider-man, Batman, Hulk or the many other long-time super heroes. I wanted to join in, but I felt lost because I couldn't start from the beginning. It was then that I did the unthinkable. I picked up the current issue at the time and started reading. Yes, I was confused. Yes, a character would be introduced that I didn't know. My best resource was the staff at Westfield Comics. I would walk in and say, “Who the heck is Carnage?” In which the staff would clue me into the history of my character in question. While I didn't get to discover some mysteries on my own (half-empty), I was able to talk with others about comics and it became a nice social experience (half-full.) I remember talking with my mother about the Fantastic Four. Hearing her talk about past issues was probably more rewarding then if I had read them myself.
Until a couple of weeks ago, I had never seen a single episode of Doctor Who. My wife, who grew-up watching the show, always wanted me to watch. She received the “new” Doctor Who DVDs for Christmas one year and we have finally got around to watching them. I'm hooked. I absolutely love the show.
The new series has made me want to watch some of the old episodes, but I'm certainly having trouble finding a good starting point. Netflix has some earlier episodes, but nothing in chronological order. After a lot of hemming and hawing last night, I've decided to find some episodes on Netflix's Watch Instantly queue and jump right in. I'm sure my wife would love to fill in the blanks for me.