[mythtv] RFE: Watch list - show oldest EPISODE for a given series

[John P Poet]

On 1/4/07, Bruce Markey <bjm at lvcm.com> wrote:
> John P Poet wrote:

<snip>

> > OT:   I would actually like to see an option (maybe as part of the
> > dupe check method selector?) which could be used to tell Myth never to
> > record a "generic" episode of a series.
>
> My initial reaction was to say that it's there but...
>
>
> >   I do this using custom
> > records now, but it would be convienient to be able to do it using the
> > normal record options.
>
> I never added it, only thought about it. Related is that there
> could be an option to not match repeats for New Episodes Only
> rather than matching them and marking them "r". I have a lot
> of custom rules with "program.previouslyshown = 0" for just
> this reason. Some shows like SNL, I like to have the "r" entries
> to see the descriptions and decide if I want to "Record Anyway"
> but for most shows, I don't need all the reruns added to the
> reclist.
>
> Maybe in addition to "New Episodes Only" there could be "Exclude
> Generic Episodes" and "Exclude All Old Episodes".


That would be very cool.

<snip>

> Generics aside, I've been using the new program.first flag
> a lot for shows that are repeated to death and I know that I
> will be able to record the premiere showing. Take Top Chef
> for example.
>
> Rule Name: Top Chef
>
> program.title = 'Top Chef'
> AND program.previouslyshown = 0 AND program.first > 0
>
> mysql> select count(*) from program where program.title = 'Top Chef';
> +----------+
> | count(*) |
> +----------+
> |       77 |
> +----------+
> 1 row in set (0.00 sec)
>
> mysql> select count(*) from program where program.title = 'Top Chef'
>     -> AND program.previouslyshown = 0 AND program.first > 0;
> +----------+
> | count(*) |
> +----------+
> |        2 |
> +----------+
> 1 row in set (0.01 sec)
>
> I know I'm going to be able to record this each Wed at 10. I
> don't need to match the other 75 showings. I could use a
> Weekslot rule for Wed at 10 but what if they have a two hour
> finale at a different time or a mid-season recap at a non-
> standard time? By using the 'first' flag I'll catch each new
> episode once regardless of the time. I do this enough that
> I have it stored.
>
> First new episodes (stored example)
>
> program.previouslyshown = 0 AND program.first > 0

That works.  Still requires a custom record.  I don't mind doing
custom records, but it does take longer to setup....

> > This is exactly how I have been using this feature.  To indicate which
> > series I should watch, but not the actual episode.
>
> I get the impression that you manage to record series out of
> order much more than I do =). I usually chose a different item
> than the suggestion for reasons other than the date. For example,
> I recently re-added a variation of the B-Movies example. When
> it tells me that I have a backlog of B movies, I pick the one
> that most appeals to me at the moment (using the new "Searches"
> lists BTW). It suggest "The 27th Day" but I have "The Blob".
> "The Man From Planet X" and "Invisible Invaders" too.

I often get hooked an old series.  For example, "Da Vinci's Inquest".
An old Canadian series, that WGN started showing about a year ago.
WGN shows about a dozen episodes of it a week, but they are not in
order.  In that series, there are re-occurring sub-plots which thread
through the episodes that make it nice to watch in order.

John