Neither the family calendar nor the family disposition permits what folks now routinely describe as “binge-watching,” but my group has enjoyed watching several series the way one might read a long novel — a chapter or two at a time. We’re currently on Episode 17 of Season 6 of The X Files, and, no question, the Smoking Man is one of the most compelling characters. Here are the series we’ve particularly enjoyed:

■ Lost
■ Sherlock Holmes (The Complete Granada Television Series, featuring Jeremy Brett)
■ Veronica Mars
■ Planet Earth
■ Slings and Arrows
■ Buffy the Vampire Slayer
■ Sherlock
■ Elementary
■ The West Wing
■ Colony
■ The X Files

On the subject of “binge-watching,” a recent scholars’ luncheon whet our appetites for Tug of War: Foreign Fire, and the reviews are good: WSJ, Trib, Sun-Times. Six-plus hours of Shakespeare!