I've started running on a treadmill five days a week. I really hate treadmill running and it takes all of my willpower to do 30 minutes without going crazy.

I watch shows on my tablet to distract myself. But most 'half-hour' shows are actually 22 minutes (maybe as much as 25 minutes if they're from the 80's). So that leaves me with almost one-third of my running time unaccounted for. And 'one-hour' shows are 44 minutes. Which is a little too long. And I don't like breaking the show into more than one session. I've tried, and it doesn't work for me.

What I need are suggestions for shows with run-times that are an some evenly divisible increment of 30 - 35 minutes. 40 minutes at the ABSOLUTE outside. So, 12, 15, 20, or 30 minutes. If there's such a thing as an awesome show with 6 minute episodes I'd love to hear about it.

So far I've watched all the Adventure Time and all the Steven Universe and all the Regular Show. And all the John Oliver.

Does anyone have any other good suggestions?

Other than the run-time I'm willing to entertain anything. Genre, mood, tone, plot, whatever. So long as you enjoyed it, and it meets my single criteria.

Rpol, O Great Pool of Knowledge, in which can be found all Wisdom, can you help me?

EDIT(S):
-Anything Youtube probably isn't going to work as I don't have access to it during my runs.
-Anything that involves multiple, different-length pieces isn't good either. It's too fiddly. Ease of use and consistency.
This message was last edited by the user at 12:03, Tue 25 July 2017.

I'd suggest picking an hour show, which usually runs around 45 minutes without the commercials.   There's plenty of those to be found on the various streaming sites.

I mentioned that in my post. 44 minutes is too long, and breaking them up over two viewings doesn't work well.

Thanks, though.

Don't know where you are geographically, or what you have access to in terms of streaming services, but the BBC doesn't have adverts. So their half hour shows are about 28 minutes, and hour shows are about 58. Not exactly 30/60, but closer.
There's a huuuuge back catalog of things to choose from, if you're somewhere you can access it.

Or YouTube videos, maybe? They come in all sorts of lengths, I'm sure you could find some on subjects that interest you at appropriate run times.
I find let's plays good for exercise because you don't have to pay attention to every second, but they're good for distracting you from the exercise. But I can also see how you might find them the most boring, pointless thing ever. So it all comes down to personal preference, hence the blanket suggestion instead of specifics.

Hey Low Key! Long time, no talk. Hope you're doing okay.

Somehow BBC shows had never occurred to me. I have no idea why. That's a really good idea. I could binge Hello, Minister. Or Are you Being Served.

Youtube videos are a fine notion, but once I get into variable run-times I start getting all weird about everything adding up to equal exactly 30 minutes and it all gets too fiddly and I just abandon the whole thing.

About three(?) years ago I decided I was going to watch Ted talks. But I stressed myself out over it all and just stopped running for a few months.

So ease and consistency are key.

And, for the sake of argument, assume geography is no object and I can access all streaming services.

Have you considered audiobooks as an alternative?  Depending on the book, I imagine that 1 to 3 chapters probably equate to about the right amount of time.

In reply to W0LF0S (msg # 6):

I have, actually. And that would be right up my alley, but alas, I have real problem concentrating on them. Sometimes podcasts work, but I can only pay attention to an audiobook for about 18 seconds before my mind wanders and I lose the thread. I tried this a bunch of times when I had a 35 minute highway commute to work.

Thanks for the suggestion, though.

I'm doing good, thanks! :)
Hope you are too?

I can understand the randomness of YouTube running times being a problem.

BBC is good.
I'm not very good at coming up with shows on the spot, but looking at the DVDs I can currently see on my shelves some 30 minute series I like are Gavin and Stacey, The League of Gentlemen (very British dark humor, be warned) and The Mighty Boosh (not sure how well that one's aged without the nostalgia goggles...)
Other good shows are Dinner Ladies and The Thick Of It (worth watching for swearing Dr Who even if British political satire isn't your bag!)
I also have a very good BBC adaptation of Neverwhere from the '90's, but the box doesn't tell me if the episodes are 30 or 60 minutes, and I can't remember.
If you're ok with splitting 60 minutes into two 30 minute blocks then there's a wealth of Attenborough nature documentaries that are all excellent.

Teen Titans and Star Wars Rebels are both highly enjoyable.

In reply to pawndream (msg # 9):

Both tend toward 22 minutes an episode, though, yeah?

As I explained in the post, that's the problem I'm trying to solve.

In reply to truemane (msg # 10):

According to IMDB, bot Teen Titans Go and Star Wars Rebels are 22 minutes long. I think that's standard length of a "30 minute" show once you eliminate commercials. Just watch one and then start the next and use the last 14 minutes as your cool down. ;)
This message was last edited by the user at 22:25, Mon 24 July 2017.

In reply to pawndream (msg # 11):

Yeah, again, I go over all this in the OP.

Thanks all the same though.

As well as BBC; ABC (for Australian, not American) also has some good ones.

I think BBC is probably your best option though - depending on your likes will vary depending on which ones to go for; as what I go for with regards to BBC might not be what you go for.

Red Dwarf could keep you going for a while for example, but not sure what you feel about sci-fi. Classic series Doctor Who could keep you going for a very long time; but you've mentioned dividing the episode in two doesn't work for you, so not sure how you'd feel about multi-part stories - though each episode is about that 30 minute mark. I think.

Other suggestions besides BBC shows- Some rough searching suggests that Robot Chicken episodes are 11-12 minutes long- you could try watching 2 or 3 of them to get you closer to that 30 minute mark.

The Powerpuff Girls episodes usually consisted of two stories, each about 10-12 minutes long. So you could watch 1 episode, and then 1 story of the next. Not sure if that would work for you or not, but it might be worth a try.

I didn't realize Powerpuff Girls were 12 minutes each. That's an excellent idea. I loves me some Lauren Faust.

Robot Chicken is also a good idea. However, I've seen it all, pretty much. I'll edit that into the OP.

Thanks!

You might try watching comedy tracks on YouTube.  Things like classic George Carlin, Eddie Izzard, or Firesign Theater.  These are usually done as bits that segue into each other quickly, but can be interrupted at enough points to be able to stop anywhere you want.

Teen Titans Go is listed as 22 minute episodes, but in practice each episode is actually 2 11 minute episodes with no connection between (with the rare exception of a two-parter that would be an issue for any series, of course.)  It'd be pretty easy to watch 3 of those shorts and then save the last of the four for the next run.

EDIT:  I'm told the new reboot of Ben 10 does the same thing, if that's up your alley.
This message was last edited by the user at 06:03, Tue 25 July 2017.

I'd suggest shows like Robot Chicken, or other Adult Swim shows that are 15 minutes long on television.
I'd also suggest Youtube shorts, like Drunk History, or some of the Cracked.com skits.

Sounds like cartoon time to me - Tom & Jerry, Bugs Bunny, you name it, you should be able to fit two or three into a half hour slot.

Edit: And before anyone beats me to it - Roadrunner has got to be ideal for the treadmill. :)
This message was last edited by the user at 09:06, Tue 25 July 2017.

The youtube channel Extra Credits is amazing. They have history, playthroughs, and game design (geared for video gsmes, but a great deal can still be extrapolated amd applied to tabletop games. Still more is fascinating even without a desire to design games.).

I don't know how lonh they are, but you might check out RWBY or other Roosterteeth shorts. Thete is a few hundred Red vs Blue if I recall correctly.

I should have mentioned in the OP, but Youtube isn't a viable option as I have no Wi-fi where I do my running.

I'll look into Teen Titans Go, though. I've heard good things.

If you're doing Cartoon Network, my kids have me hooked on The Amazing World of Gumball, which follows the same format as Teen Titans Go! et al.

In reply to jpetoh (msg # 22):

Never heard of that one. I'll look it up.

Thanks!

You can download youtube videos pretty easily, and legally (probably not the pay-per-view ones though), then you can just pop them in a playlist.

Given my 2g dowload speed I usually set my phone to download a couple before going to sleep, then I watch them when I feel like it.
This message was last edited by the user at 22:37, Tue 25 July 2017.

If you'd rather not burn up the data plan on your phone, get an on-the-go drive that is compatible with your phone, copy videos from your computer to the drive, then transfer them from the drive to your phone.  That ought to open up a whole new world.

OTG drives are now being made which have micro USB and Lightning connectors on one end and standard USB 3.0 on the other end for cheap cheap.

Just a thought.

http://farlandsorbust.com/
These videos of traveling on an expedition to reach the fabled Far Lands of Minecraft, fit with what you are doing and run about the time you want.

Interesting. I'll have a closer look at that. Thank you.