What I've Been Watching

[dreamshark]

I'm still tranfixed by the magic of streaming video services. I'm still spending a lot of time just paging through the Netflix offerings without actually watching anything. I also signed up for Vudu to get the free movie. I haven't used my freebie yet, but this weekend I discovered the free trailer park section, and happily watched trailers for an hour or so. I think I'd like to see Rango, Jane Eyre, The Adjustment Bureau, and possibly Source Code.

The really seductive thing about streaming Netflix is the old TV shows. I've always had a weakness for watching anything that's in nightly reruns right before I go to bed. I'll get addicted to almost anything that comes on every night at 10:30. Well now I don't have to wait for TV Heaven to schedule something for me - I have streaming Netflix! I've mostly been watching 30 Rock, Kids in the Hall, Red Dwarf and Soap, with side excursions into Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the Dick Van Dyke Show, Scrubs, Psych, Tripping the Rift, and Bullwinkle. If Richard wants to join me we've been watching either Eureka or a delightful little claymation bonbon called Creature Comforts. Or something in the documentary line like Guns, Germs and Steel.

I don't watch too many streaming movies because starting a movie seems like such a commitment at 10:30 pm. But I would like to start watching more movies. I can spread it out over two evenings if I want to. I did that with De-Lovely and it worked just fine. Or stop watching it if I don't like it (as I did with Slaughterhouse 5). Some recent winners: Shutter Island, De-Lovely and Ponyo (which Richard wanted to see, but I enjoyed much more than I expected to).

I was delighted to discover that The Tudors was available on streaming, but not so delighted when I found that it was only the first two Seasons! This is the primary problem with streaming Netflix. Not only is the available selection severely limited, it gets you hooked on a series and then abruptly stops delivering! So we still have a 2-DVD mail subscription as well. But I really prefer to watch TV shows streaming so I can watch at my own rate. Having a disk in the house with 3-6 episodes of something on it feels like too much pressure. It's not consistent enough for a bedtime addiction, but too many to watch all at once. The only DVD-based series that I'm really into right now is "The Tudors," which is complicated by the fact that Thorin and I are both watching it and are now out of sync. Richard and I occasionally watch a Chuck, Glee or Big Bang Theory, but it's even harder to get through a whole disk if it involves two people, so I've kind of stopped ordering the ones he likes unless he asks. I figure sooner or later every TV show will be available streaming, with the possible exception of current seasons. Honestly, I am baffled that it is taking so long. What does the studio possibly have to gain by restricting access to 30-year-old reruns of Mash?

Good DVD movies we've rented lately include: How to Train Your Dragon, MirrorMask, Ghostbusters and Walk the Line.

Do you have streaming Netflix? Got any recommendations?

Comments

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

I've been watching a lot of streaming Netflix lately, myself. Since you mentioned it, I've gone back to watch 'Soap,' and I've been watching 'Lie to Me,' and "Dexter,' and will soon be looking for 'Warehouse 13.'

[mle292.livejournal.com]

1. A year ago, having the mail delivery discs was so much more convenient than anything else. There was no picking just one movie from the rental store and then having to return it by a set time, there wasn't even the trouble of needing to drive somewhere to return the thing. Now it seems like an imposition to have to choose just two or three discs at a time.

2. I have a few TV series that I watch with vanaabegra and if it's one that I'm really excited to watch more of, it can be excruciating. We watched all of Farscape together and there were times that it was like toothpicks under the fingernails. Once, we went three months from a season ending cliffhanger to the next episode. After that, I try to keep separate "my" series and "our" series. The issue is - I watch more TV than he does, he prefers MMORPGs. If there's something that he really wants to see too, one disc can be for what we're both watching and the other two can be my current obsession. It's a great improvement over having three discs that needed to be "saved" until we both wanted to watch. It might be worth it to go to three DVDs out at a time.

Of the titles that are available by disc, I've recently seen and liked Smallville, Black Books, and Sherlock.

From "Watch Instantly," I'm enjoying A Bit of Fry and Laurie, The X Files, Downton Abbey (though I'm thoroughly ashamed that I like that one), and Kevin Smith: Too Fat for 40.

I haven't watched, but I've heard endorsements for Parks and Recreation, and The Whitest Kids U' Know.

[jiawen]

With mle292, I watched Moon on streaming Netflix. I thought it was pretty danged good. Some flaws, sure, but overall good SF.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, looks interesting. Added to queue. Thanks.

But, hey - it's no longer available on streaming! I added it to my regular queue, but now I feel cheated somehow. Grrr. That's the other annoying thing about Netflix Streaming.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

After that, I try to keep separate "my" series and "our" series. The issue is - I watch more TV than he does...

Exactly the problem in our house. I fall in and out of love with TV, but I seem to be in a "love" phase right now. Richard just never got in the habit of regular TV watching (he blames it on growing up on a farm, which kept the kids too busy working to watch much TV). So I feel like the little devil on his shoulder, constantly trying to tempt him up to the attic to finish that Netflix disc that is gathering dust.

Downton Abbey (though I'm thoroughly ashamed that I like that one)

*heh* There's a good topic for a survey - Netflix guilty pleasures. For a while, mine was "The Sopranos." I even watched "Sex and the City" for awhile (but at least I didn't seek that one out - it was in 10:30 reruns and I've already confessed my weakness to those). Most recently I gave "Desperate Housewives" a spin, but thank God it didn't take.

[huladavid.livejournal.com]

Hulu has Glee, if you're interested.

I've been hitting MST3K, The Adams Family, and...I can't recall the rest. I do go for good ol' dumb B-Movies. Oh, Netflix has the three Science Fiction movies that DEFA (a film studio in the former East Germany. The Silent Star a.k.a First Spaceship On Venus is great, if only for the scenes of the evil, evil American capitolists. (First Spaceship... has been done up by MST3K, which is also on Netfilx.)