How to mark titles as watched by era for decade completionists

Build an era checklist, define what counts as watched, and keep a clear record of completed titles and gaps in each decade.

By VLClean · 2026-11-09

VLClean is published by the makers of Askarr and Watcharr, which are compared here alongside other tools.

Choose a defined set of titles for each era, keep a separate watched status beside each title, and record the viewing date when marking it complete. Decide how release dates, unfinished viewing, and repeat watches count before working through the list.

Option	Suggested use	Things to check
Spreadsheet	Keep a title, era, watched status, and viewing date together.	Check sorting, saving copies, and moving the record elsewhere.
Paper checklist	Group titles by era and write a watched mark beside each completed entry.	Decide where changes, unfinished viewing, and uncertain dates will go.
Plain text checklist	Group titles under era labels and use consistent status words.	Check searching and keeping earlier copies.
Watcharr	Turn a public IMDb list into a movie link for Radarr and a show link for Sonarr. ^[1]	Decide where the project's watched marks and era boundaries will be recorded.

What you need before you start

Prepare the titles or types of content that belong in the project, so the checklist has a clear boundary. Decide whether completion means watching a personal selection, a particular published list, or everything within a defined category. Write down that boundary beside the list so later additions do not quietly change the goal.

Choose what an era means for the project. A release decade is a different grouping from the period in which a story takes place. Keep those ideas separate, and choose which determines where a title belongs. For releases with conflicting dates, select a date rule and record exceptions.

Prepare somewhere to keep the title, release year, era, watched status, and viewing date. Add a short note when similar titles or different versions could cause confusion. For shows, decide whether completion applies to an episode, a season, or the whole show.

Choose where the watched record will live. The choice can be a spreadsheet, a paper checklist, or another method that gives each title a clear place. Keep a copy of the starting selection so the original goal remains visible.

Step by step

Define the collection. Write a short description of what belongs in the project, including the type of title and the date rule. Decide whether the collection is fixed or can grow. If additions are welcome, keep a note of when and why they entered the checklist.

Make an era reference list. Put each era beside its date boundaries. Choose how to handle a title released in different places at different times. Keep uncertain titles in a review group until the date is settled, rather than placing them wherever they leave the smallest gap.

Create the title record. Give each title its own entry, with space for its year, era, status, and viewing date. Include enough detail to distinguish remakes and alternate versions. If the project includes shows, record the exact unit being completed so a finished season does not accidentally stand for a finished show.

Separate intentions from finished viewing. Keep titles planned for later distinct from titles already watched. Mark an unfinished viewing as in progress or paused, according to the rules chosen at the start. Do not use presence on a list as the watched mark itself.

Add earlier viewing carefully. Mark titles remembered clearly, and leave uncertain memories for review. If the viewing date is unknown, say so instead of inventing one. Decide whether older viewing counts toward the project or whether the project requires a fresh watch.

Update after watching. Change the status and add the viewing date while the details are fresh. Record the version if that affects completion. Keep repeat viewing separate from the original completion so watching a favourite again does not appear to fill another gap.

Review an era against its defined collection. Look for unfinished entries, duplicate titles, and unresolved dates before calling the era complete. Check the whole agreed selection, including titles that have become difficult to find. Keep availability and watched status separate.

Preserve the finished record. Save a dated copy when an era meets the project rules. If the collection later expands, record the new scope beside the earlier result. That preserves what was completed without preventing the project from continuing.

Tools that can do it

Choose the place for watched marks before adding tools for finding or collecting titles. Keep the request simple: a title needs an era, a clear status, and enough detail to identify what was watched. Compare possible methods against that record rather than choosing by the length of a feature list.

A spreadsheet: Make a row for each title and separate columns for the era, status, viewing date, and notes. Keep the era wording consistent throughout the record. Before choosing an application, check how to sort the entries, save a copy, and move the record elsewhere if needed.

A paper checklist: Make a separate page for each era and leave space beside every title for a watched mark and date. Keep changes to the original selection visible. Choose this method if maintaining the record on paper is the preferred routine, and decide where unfinished titles and uncertain dates will go.

A plain text checklist: Write an era label above its titles and use consistent status words beside each entry. Include the year when titles could be confused. Decide how to preserve earlier copies and how to search the record before committing the whole project to this format.

Watcharr: Paste a public IMDb list to get a link containing its movies for Radarr and a link containing its shows for Sonarr. ^[1] Signed-in users can combine several IMDb lists into shared links, with a title included only once when it appears on multiple lists. ^[1] Consider this list-transfer step only when bringing the selected titles into Radarr and Sonarr is also part of the project.

Things to check before you choose: Where will watched marks be recorded? Can the record distinguish seasons and versions? How will an era's original selection be preserved? What happens to the record when the chosen collection changes?

Watcharr

Watcharr is made by the team that publishes this site, VLClean; its hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. ^[1]

It accepts any public IMDb watchlist or list from the desktop site, the phone site, or IMDb's other-language pages. ^[1] The same IMDb list always gives the same movie and show links because the links are based on the list's identifier. ^[1]

If a list read fails, the links keep serving the last list that loaded correctly. ^[1] Shows that cannot be matched to a TheTVDB identifier are left out, and Watcharr tells you which shows it skipped. ^[1] Check those skipped titles against the project's collection before relying on the transferred selection.

Common mistakes to avoid

Avoid starting without a completion rule. A personal selection and every release from an era are different projects. Write down which collection is being completed before marking progress, and keep later changes visible.

Avoid treating a title added to a collection as a title watched. Keep selection, availability, viewing progress, and completion as separate decisions. A title can belong in the project while still waiting to be found or finished.

Avoid mixing release eras with the eras depicted on screen. Either can be the basis of a project, but switching between them makes the boundaries unclear. Record exceptions instead of silently moving titles between groups.

Avoid letting a repeat viewing or an alternate version create a duplicate completion. Decide whether versions deserve separate entries, then apply that rule consistently across the collection.

Avoid forgetting to review the record after setup. Resolve uncertain titles and dates while the reasons are still familiar. Before calling an era complete, compare the watched entries with the agreed selection and preserve a copy of that result.

Frequently asked questions

How should a spreadsheet group watched titles by era?

Choose whether an era follows release dates or the period depicted, then use that rule throughout the record. Give each title an era field and a separate watched status. Keep uncertain dates marked for review, and record exceptions beside the title so later changes remain understandable.

How should a paper checklist mark a show as watched?

Decide whether the checklist tracks episodes, seasons, or complete shows before adding watched marks. Write that unit beside each entry and mark it complete only when the chosen rule is met. Keep unfinished viewing separate, and note the version or season where a title alone could be ambiguous.

Can Watcharr send a public IMDb list to Radarr and Sonarr?

Paste a public IMDb list into Watcharr to get a movie link for Radarr and a show link for Sonarr. ^[1] Watcharr leaves out shows it cannot match to a TheTVDB identifier and tells you which ones it skipped. ^[1] Keep the project's watched record alongside the selection and review any skipped titles against it.

Does Watcharr need an account for its hosted version?

The hosted version of Watcharr needs nothing to install and no account. ^[1] If signed in, Watcharr re-reads the list about every fifteen minutes and warns when a list fails three reads in a row. ^[1] Decide separately where to keep viewing dates and the rules that determine whether an era is complete.

How should a text checklist handle repeat watches?

Keep the original completion entry and add a separate note for later viewing. Decide whether different versions count as separate titles before recording them. When the viewing date is unknown, label it unknown rather than guessing. Review duplicate entries before judging completion against the era's agreed collection.

Its code is available to read under the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 licence; older versions remain under MIT. ^[1]

Try Watcharr

Sources

Watcharr's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher)