We've cancelled our Netflix, and loading up our Jellyfin server with all those classics (legally... naturally!). And we're in S02E08 of X-Files, because it really was that good. We're also watching Julia Child, and a few other shows.
We were some of the first on Netflix's DVD library, and went to streaming as soon as they offered it. And early on, it was the best of the best. Now, it's throw-away B movie garbage you wouldn't even pay $1.99 in the Walmart's dvd bin, and riddled with shows that were great but naturally cancelled on a cliffhanger. I'm still sour about "Dark Matter". Bought from SyFy to Netflix, and summarily canceled.
I'll just wait until/if the shows are complete. And then I will acquire them. I've been done for a while, after paying waay too much and being jerked around by the media companies. Back to Yo Ho Ho. That means I can afford expensive rum :)
Yeah given the numbers of shows being produced, as long as 3-4 new ones per year are worth watching what more do you really need? There's tons of back libraries of good shows and HBO and Apple TV is still making high quality stuff.
Let Netflix produced a pile of garbage and I'll sift through the diamonds the year after... I have yet to have a year where there wasn't 3-5+ high quality streaming seasons (this yr = White Lotus, The Offer, and Severence).
If not you can always rewatch The Wire for the 5th time.
The only losers are those looking to binge watch new stuff every week... AFAIK those people were previously the audience for garbage prime time network shows on FOX/NBC/etc that no one even remembers the names of 5yrs later.
So I guess it sucks for them - being the guinea pigs for the rest of us ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
> Yeah given the numbers of shows being produced, as long as 3-4 new ones per year are worth watching what more do you really need? There's tons of back libraries of good shows and HBO and Apple TV is still making high quality stuff.
True that, but much of it isn't anything I'm interested in. 95% of it (to me) is crap - good ol Sturgeon's Law is certainly in effect.
So it leaves like maybe 1-2 shows per streaming service. Lets just say that math doesn't work out. And some networks show 1 episode a week, like the old analog days. Again, not watching until they're complete. And when they're complete, there's a great site that hosts ($name-$group-S##-complete). No subscriptions, no DRM, no anti-customer garbage.
> The only losers are those looking to binge watch new stuff every week... AFAIK those people were previously the audience for garbage prime time network shows on FOX/NBC/etc that no one even remembers the names of 5yrs later.
What I also do is look abroad to other tv shows that aren't as easily acquired in the USA. There's also a lot of gems that we just don't come across. You have more than a few really good European shows (some ENG, other subtitled). And the K-shows have some good fansubbers, as do CN and JP shows. And then there's anime. That's a whole different thing, given a lot now has been licensed.
But lest to say, we're picky. If we're going to spend time, we want something good. And well, the sole dealer that did this (Netflix) now has 1/15 the original selection. That tells me that I had to step up.
And on completely different note, you can get a 20 core/128G ram/ (6TBx8) 48TB storage dell for $830 on ebay. And it's surprisingly quiet after bootup.
> What I also do is look abroad to other tv shows that aren't as easily acquired in the USA
The Dutch, Swedes, and Iceland seem to produce an exception amount of good TV/Movies despite their otherwise lack of cultural reach. Those regions are always a safe bet.
Netflix has no interest in paying for bad shows. Its not like networks, where they have to fill N hours a week whether anybody has a good idea or not. Their incentive is different from the networks, in that they can target the tiniest niches while the networks have limited airtime and must have big draws.
Is Netflix actually producing "garbage"? Or is it just appealing to vast numbers of niche audiences? Just because I think it's badly written and badly acted and utterly dumb doesn't mean it's not the favorite thing ever of some 12 year old girl in South Korea. Or a middle-aged computer programmer like me, who happens to (unlike me) enjoy noise in the background while they work.
I'd be really curious to know the distribution of Netflix show downloads -- what never gets downloaded, and what gets downloaded but shut off halfway through. Too bad they'll never tell us.
I might be crazy but a lot of the 1-2 season cancelled shows are still worth watching. A really fun journey that ends prematurely is still really entertaining.
The comparable analogy is someone giving you a book that has the last 20 pages cut out. And only when you're a few pages to the "end" do you realize that you'll never know the real resolution to the story.
That's what ending on a cliffhanger is like. You know there's more, and completes the whole story.. but you'll never see/read it.
These shows are artistic creations. When it's clear that the painting is unfinished, and the artist's vision and intent incomplete, why bother? Not every show is like this, many say what they have to say in a single episode (many sitcoms, police procedurals) or season (e.g., Hacks, Watchmen, The Wire). But there are a lot of shows that are just unfinished works-in-progress without the end of their story.
We were some of the first on Netflix's DVD library, and went to streaming as soon as they offered it. And early on, it was the best of the best. Now, it's throw-away B movie garbage you wouldn't even pay $1.99 in the Walmart's dvd bin, and riddled with shows that were great but naturally cancelled on a cliffhanger. I'm still sour about "Dark Matter". Bought from SyFy to Netflix, and summarily canceled.
I'll just wait until/if the shows are complete. And then I will acquire them. I've been done for a while, after paying waay too much and being jerked around by the media companies. Back to Yo Ho Ho. That means I can afford expensive rum :)