Tag: Netflix

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I have a Smart TV.  It was a birthday gift when I turned fifty – several years ago.  About two or three years ago I got an email from Amazon telling me not to renew my Amazon Prime because the software on my television could not support it.  Some time over the last two years, I gave up cable television and my love affair with Netflix began in earnest. For anyone who reads this blog, you will already know that I have written about that several times.

Up until now, I have not written about my problems with Netflix.  I began getting error messages that the episode I wanted to watch was unavailable – try again or try another episode. If you know anything about my television habits, you will know that watching episodes out of order would destroy my sense of Netflix purpose.  solution was to unplug my router, turn off the television, plug it back in, turn on the television and try again.  Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t.

Just about that time my son told me that YouTube was going to stop working on our television because our software was too old. That is when I figured out why I was having so much trouble with Netflix. So I was faced with a dilemma.  Should I buy a new television when mine was in excellent working condition or break down and pay for cable again?

Luckily, there was a third choice:  Roku, a little piece of magic.  At first I was concerned about changing my television routine (the older I get the harder I find change), but I decided to give it a try.  Netflix was back! You can imagine how incredibly happy I was. Back to binge watching until 2:00 am, waking at 5:30 to get ready for work, almost back to normal.

Then it happened.

My niece gave my son her Hulu password. “Try it,” he said.  “You ‘ll like it.” My sister said the same thing.  And then my niece chimed in.  “Give it a try, you can watch General Hospital again.”

Well, frankly, the whole General Hospital thing is a completely different story for a different night. Suffice to say that I read Soap Opera Digest ever since the Soap Opera Channel was taken off of cable.  I can’t make that change and go back to watching. Then I would have to watch Days of Our Lives and Young and Restless.  Are there really enough hours in the day?

Back to the point, I agreed to give HULU a chance.  I didn’t bother looking at the movies available because these days I only watch series TV. After a cursory scroll across the available shows and I came across The Good Wife.  And thus, my exclusive love affair with Netflix is no more.  In fact, over the past week or so, I have not even turned on Netflix.

I am currently on Season 6, and Alicia is  considering the run for State Attorney.  I  really had no idea how she was going to move on from Will’s death, but this whole Cary Agos has gone to jail and is now out on bail and Diane joining the firm has left no doubt the writing team is on the top of their game.

I feel like I am meeting new people and getting to keep my old friends.  Cary Agos is played by Matt Czuchry, Logan from Gilmore Girls.  I promise not to gush about that show, but really, this character is the perfect follow up to Logan.  Cary is Logan all grown up,  successful and just as endearing as one would expect.

Frankly, just when I thought the show couldn’t get better, who now works for the firm?  Taye Diggs!  Can we say Private Practice? I cried and cried at the final episode of Private Practice.  And here he is again, on my TV screen and in my heart.  Right now he is on screen and his character is so well written I can forgive Sam for not bringing Naomi and Addison with him.  Once can hope, though.

As I have learned from Netflix there are some amazing ensemble casts on television.  I am so very glad they are available to me.  The writing is superb, the acting is superb, I am hooked.

Unfortunately,  that means the most recent season of House of Cards will have to wait.  I don’t even know if the next season of Scandal is available but that is ok for now.  The Good Wife has so many guest stars from my recent Netflix days that I am ok with my new obsession, HULU.

Who knew Roku was going to be this much fun?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The End

I played the clarinet from third grade all the way through college. In high school, I was in the marching band.  I marched in parades and on the football field and played at pep rallies and football games in the heat, the rain and the snow. I wore a cool uniform, an even cooler hat, and had a lot of fun.  I never learned much about football though.  I didn’t understand the intricacies.  I was a hockey girl, still am.

So when I decided to watch Friday Night Lights, I figured I would last two or three episodes and then search for the next great thing to watch.  After four or five episodes I thought, well, I don’t really care about football, but I am starting to get attached to the characters.  By season two, the characters were as real as any I had fallen for before.

By season Five, I had a new found respect for the game, but a sinking feeling that the show was about to end.  So I checked with google.  How many seasons for Friday Night Lights? Five.

So here I am again, where most binge watching TV show fans are.  The show is about to end and I am losing another group of people who have somehow become real to me.  I am going to miss one of the happiest married couples on series TV. I am going to miss, the kids, because there is so much left unsaid for some of them.  I am even going to miss the games. So what’s next? Will there be another good show?

The answer to that is, yes.  There is a lot of quality writing out there, a lot of quality acting, and a lot of good shows.  So glad I gave up cable and only watch Netflix.  Gives me a chance to really appreciate the talent out there.

“Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose” – Coach Taylor

I wonder if my sisters have watched this one yet.  Knowing Lisa she is still watching Gray’s Anatomy, again.

And me? Well, who knew that football could make me cry?

 

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Sometimes I don’t have the attention span to pay attention to a “new” show on Netflix.  That is when I rely on a “go to” show. A “go to show” is  one that has familiar characters and interesting story lines, but episodes that stand alone.  I can fall asleep, wake up, go to the next episode and not miss anything.  It is a show that I can watch over and over and not get bored, yet, not see for years.  This kind of show is almost like comfort food for the brain.

My “go to” show is NCIS.  Currently I am watching Season 3, Episode 13.  Besides the quality of the show and the great characters, there are 12 seasons on Netflix.  I can binge for hours and hours or not.  What a great feeling.

Your favorite “go to” show?

 

 

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Binge watching series TV has become one of my favorite past times.  I particularly like the very long lasting shows, Criminal Minds, Gray’s Anatomy, Gilmore Girls, Parenthood, Once Upon a Time…you get the idea.  Usually after a series ends it takes me a day or two to sample shows to decide what to watch next.  Sometimes I do “interim” binging like catching up on easy to watch shows like Baby Daddy, or catch an episode of How I Met Your Mother or Parks and Recreation. Now, I have a new quandary.

What to do when you find a show that you really like, it’s late, another night of insomnia and the last episode of season one has just ended and instead of going to season two, you are right back at episode one, season one!

Yes, the one-hit wonder quandary.

It just happened to me. Finished Criminal Minds. Finished Gray’s Anatomy. Searched and found a new show: A Gifted Man.

I really liked the show.  Uptown Neurosurgeon runs into his ex-wife. She had been working in a free clinic downtown.  Kicker is (SPOILER ALERT) she is dead.  He is the only one who can see her. The remainder of the ensemble cast either work in the Neurosurgeon’s hospital or the downtown clinic.  Love is in the air, really good story line, one I could have gotten involved in;  one I could have discussed with my niece, Angel, as we are the binge watching team.  But alas, not to be.  A quick Google search revealed the show was gone after one season.

It got me thinking, maybe I should binge watch one-hit wonders for a while.  It would be interesting to see how many there are on Netflix.  It would be more interesting to find out why the shows don’t make it.  A Gifted Man, in my humble opinion, should have gone on for years, like NCIS…

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If you have been keeping up with my Netflix habit, you know that I am currently watching Supernatural. It started because my niece has been after me to watch it.  Since I would do anything for her, I agreed – on the condition that she watch Parenthood with my sister.  Happily, they are complying and so am I.

By the way, it is now 12:08 am, the cats are hanging out next to the computer, the dog is laying on the couch watching Supernatural, and I am sitting at the computer instead of getting much needed sleep.

At first, I watched because I promised. Much to my surprise, I am liking the show.  And like my urge to count orange and yellow cars when I take a long road trip, I am starting to pay attention to the references to other shows.  I am thinking about keeping a list so I can discuss it with my niece. Tonight, Season 3 episode 15, a nod to Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman:

Dean: Yeah, zombie with skills, Dr. Quinn, Medicine Zombie.

This is not the first reference to other shows that I noticed, just the one that made me want to comment.

Just last night, still season 3:

Dean: I’m Batman!

Sam: Yeah. You’re Batman.

I wish he would have said, same bat time- same bat channel– but I wasn’t asked to write the episode.

Before this, there was the I Dream of Jeanie- Bewitched comment, which quite frankly, was the turning point for me, the point where I knew I was going to finish watching this series even though Scandal Season 5 is now available and I haven’t even finished House of Cards yet.

Sam: I don’t know. I guess they’re powerful enough. But not exactly like Barbara Eden in harem pants. I mean, Djinn have been feeding off people for centuries. They’re all over the Quran.

Dean: My God. Barbara Eden was hot, wasn’t she? Way hotter than that Bewitched chick.

When I was growing up I never could decide if I would rather be Jeannie or Samantha Stevens. They both had their advantages.  Of course at the time I also wanted to be Laurie Partridge.  It was a very confusing time.

I wish I hadn’t slept through some of the episodes because I probably missed quite a bit of TV and movie references.  Meanwhile I am trying to figure out which characters I really like and trying to figure out of Sam really is as cool as I think he is…and thinking about going to sleep at some point before I have to wake up again.

If you have any favorite Supernatural quotes, let me know.

Good night, all.

 

 

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Yes, I am an Netflix junkie. For someone who works as many hours a week as I do, I am finding sleep is getting in the way of my Netflix viewing.  In fact, work is getting in the way, too.

So my sister and my niece have been bugging me to watch Supernatural for quite a while. I did watch parts of the first episode about five times, but never thought it worthy of my precious viewing time.  That is until I came up with a plan:

I agree to watch one episode of Supernatural and they have to watch one episode of Parenthood. We discuss, and we move on to the next episode.  They agreed.

Let’s just be clear, neither of them has kept up with the bargain. In fact, I have inside information that they are currently watching General Hospital.

Nevertheless, I am plugging away with my part of the deal, good guy that I am. Yet, even this early in Season One, I have issues.

  1. So far, it seems like every episode starts with something really scary.  Since I was a kid I have had issues with scary.  I used to make my friends lock the doors and turn out the lights if we watched something scary so that shadows didn’t freak me out. I used to sleep over at my friend Phyllis’s house after watching Twilight Zone because I didn’t want to drive home alone.  When I was young I used to get a running start and leap onto my bed at night because I was afraid to get my feet too close to the edge of the bed (you know, someone under there could grab me).  You get the idea.  In each episode of Supernatural I have seen I have had to close my eyes and just “listen” at least once.  My sister and my niece did not warn me about this.
  2. Since I never finished Episode One, Season One, there are things I don’t know and my sister will only tell me, “keep watching and you will figure it out.”  This, too, is unacceptable and I think I deserve better than that.
  3. Season One, Episode 12, “Faith.” A Preacher claims to be a healer.  There is a lovely young lady with a brain tumor who needs to be healed but Sam and Dean naturally have to find out the truth behind the healings. They learn that black magic is behind the healings (the Reaper comes for a person of “ill-repute” in exchange for the life of the “good guy” who gets to be healed).  So the brothers stop the process because they say no one can “play” God, and the brain tumor lady doesn’t get saved.  Now isn’t that a bit problematic?  Are they not playing God by deciding the brain tumor girl can’t get healed?

Finally, after complaining about the show for so long, I find it hard to believe that it is now 1:00 in the morning, I need to get up for work at 5:30, and I am currently watching Season One, Episode 13.  I will probably fall asleep before the end and have to watch it again, but somehow that doesn’t seem so bad.

I am looking forward to discussing Parenthood with my sister and my niece. After that, they can watch Charmed so that we can all cry about the final episode together. That, my friends, was viewing perfection.

Drop me a line and let me know what you are currently binge watching. It’s kind of fun, isn’t it?