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Netflix: Revive Everything I Liked

WerewolfWeekday

By WerewolfWeekday
in Network Talk

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WerewolfWeekday

WerewolfWeekday

Netflix technically isn't a network, but by this point its more useful than actual TV and I want to talk about it. I love Better Off Ted, the under-the-radar work comedy with one episode in the canon, but after all of this time I think it shouldn't be resurrected. Comedies especially seem to be hurt more by a hiatus than dramas, and so I want to propose rebooting the TV show Life, starring Damian Lewis. They made only two seasons, and the second in particular went off the rails quite annoyingly, but if we could somehow just call the entire second season a dream and start again without the weird changes that season made it would be great. It was an unique police procedural that had great banter between Sarah Shahi and Lewis, and the zen themes and the conspiratorial story arc made it stand out as something that could be more enjoyable and interesting than the rape-of-the-week on SVU. Anyways, that's just my idea; does anyone else have a show and a reason why to bring it back on Netflix, or is there a show made by Netflix that you have an opinion on?

millennium

millennium

On 6/29/2016 at 7:18 PM, giovannif7 said:

Netflix has ordered a Lost In Space series remake...

Please be better than the movie!

PLEASE be better than the movie!

PLEASE BE BETTER THAN THE MOVIE!

 

From the article:

“The original series so deftly captured both drama and comedy, and that made it very appealing to a broad audience,” Netflix’s Vice President of Original Content Cindy Holland said in a statement.

Um no, it didn't.   The original series was hijacked by Jonathan Harris's camp routine as Dr. Smith.     The network had a good, solid science fiction show on its hands (any of the black and white episodes bear this out) but that wasn't good enough.   The network decided Lost In Space should be more like Batman, with pop art colors and campy characters, so they elevated Dr. Smith to the forefront (to the deep resentment of the other adult actors), started bringing in celebrity guest stars every week, and dumbed down the scripts to the point of idiocy.  

Batman was tongue-in-cheek from the start, but Lost In Space was lobotomized in the name of attracting the same ratings.   

  • Love 3
Just Here

Just Here

(edited)

From The Hollywood Reporter -- The Netflix Backlash: Why Hollywood Fears a Content Monopoly

It's about 3000 words. Here's the summary:

Quote

The streaming service is spending $6 billion a year on content, choking basic cable and brusquely rattling the relationship business of the town as fears of a Google- or Apple-sized dominance send a chill down the entertainment industry's spine.

And, some core sections:

Quote

"Out of the blue Netflix comes into the market and says, 'We're going to give you a number [to license a network show],' " says one television agent. "For the studios, it was, 'Holy shit. Do we even need a cable sale?' They all got addicted to crack. Nobody really thought they'd be a competitor on the originals market. They used stuff from the studios and became important. Now you see the backlash."

The backlash is real but muted — mostly because few are willing to risk the wrath of a company that is spending $6 billion a year on programming and scored 54 Emmy nominations this year. But some executives, producers and agents who rely on deals with the streaming giant nonetheless increasingly view Netflix as an existential threat.

Studios and cable channels fret that the company, with its 83 million global subscribers, is sucking up so many eyeballs and bidding up prices for programming so high that they won't be able to compete. And agents worry that as Netflix elbows out competing buyers, the company's growing insistence on buying up all rights to its original programming around the world will do away with the profit participations that on breakout shows (such as Modern Family) provide steady income in an unsteady industry. "We love the money and we can still grow our clients [by getting them Netflix deals]," says one agent. "But I'm worried about the long term. If backends go away, what's the future? This is why CAA and WME have diversified."

 

Quote

That's one point of view. Another was offered by John Landgraf at the July gathering of the Television Critics Association in Beverly Hills, where the FX Networks chief warned that Netflix could be bucking for a Silicon Valley-style near-monopoly in entertainment, such as that enjoyed by Google in search or Amazon in shopping. "I think it would be bad for storytellers in general if one company was able to seize a 40, 50, 60 percent share in storytelling," said Landgraf. The clear implication: If Netflix amasses such clout, the generous deals will start to evaporate and creative freedoms could be curtailed.

Some assert that the latter already has happened. Sources say, for example, that Beau Willimon, who adapted the British series House of Cards to give Netflix its first breakout original, was taken off the show after its fourth season because he pushed back hard on notes from Netflix execs. Willimon declined comment.

Edited by Just Here
removed unnecessary whitespace
  • Love 2
kdm07

kdm07

Adding to the article above:

http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/how-netflixs-bela-bajaria-hire-puts-tv-business-on-blast-1201878431/

On one hand, I understand the concerns about Netflix becoming a monopoly but on the other hand, this is on the broadcast networks. They had the opportunity to adapt to the TV landscape now before Netflix became what it is today and they refused. Now they're struggling to adapt quickly enough and the horse has already bolted from the stable so to speak.

  • Love 4
WendyCR72

WendyCR72

1 hour ago, kdm07 said:

Adding to the article above:

http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/how-netflixs-bela-bajaria-hire-puts-tv-business-on-blast-1201878431/

On one hand, I understand the concerns about Netflix becoming a monopoly but on the other hand, this is on the broadcast networks. They had the opportunity to adapt to the TV landscape now before Netflix became what it is today and they refused. Now they're struggling to adapt quickly enough and the horse has already bolted from the stable so to speak.

I agree here. Sure, I realize broadcast is still beholden to FCC regulations that cable and streaming are not. But broadcast should have been fighting to adapt a good decade plus ago and the FCC should have softened. I'm not saying all broadcast shows need to be filled with swearing, violence, and nudity or whatnot, but like it or not, the freedom people get with cable and now Netflix to tell their stories and may include any of that cannot be found within the confines of broadcast and the ever-lowering ratings and what now constitutes a "hit" bears that out.

"Change or die" is never as true as it is now for the broadcast channel model.

millennium

millennium

18 hours ago, kdm07 said:

Adding to the article above:

http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/how-netflixs-bela-bajaria-hire-puts-tv-business-on-blast-1201878431/

On one hand, I understand the concerns about Netflix becoming a monopoly but on the other hand, this is on the broadcast networks. They had the opportunity to adapt to the TV landscape now before Netflix became what it is today and they refused. Now they're struggling to adapt quickly enough and the horse has already bolted from the stable so to speak.

So Netflix is the 800 lb. gorilla?   Netflix is the Google of the streaming world?   The Amazon?

Then why do I have to spend at least half an hour poring over listings or checking instantwatcher.com before I can find *anything* worthwhile to watch on Netflix?   And even then, why do I come up empty-handed more times than not and decide to listen to streaming music instead?

Netflix's selection is appalling.    And unapologetically so.   Whenever I have called to complain about the miserable choice of movies and shows, the reply is, "We don't expect to be your single source for entertainment.   Think of Netflix as a local movie theater that has only a limited selection at any given time."   When I tell them that in some ways Hulu has a more diverse selection, they shrug it off and recommend I watch Hulu.

The new releases each month contain maybe ONE movie that I would consider watching, usually something I've already seen, and something that I would probably not seek out again on my own.    The rest of it is stand-up comedy specials, third-rate documentaries, bottom-of-the-barrel "found footage" horror movies and adult cartoons.

You can't even find many older shows, despite that no other streaming venues are offering them.   Say you want to watch Barnaby Jones (I don't) or Ghost Story/Circle of Fear (I do) or Northern Exposure or Chris Carter's Millennium.   Or even cheesy Vancouver-based serialized shows of the 90s like Earth Final Conflict or Andromeda or War of the Worlds.    You're SOL on every count.

Ditto for older movies.   I have Race With the Devil (Peter Fonda, Warren Oates) in my Netflix queue.   It's been there for nearly five years with a big fat "Unknown" next to it.   Yet I see the damn thing being sold in the DVD remainder bins at Target.   I could name a dozen other movies and TV offerings of the 70s that I'd like to see but can't:  Let's Scare Jessica To Death, Crowhaven Farm, Burnt Offerings, Dark Secret of Harvest Home, etc.

Netflix SUCKS.   The original series are a fleeting respite but they are used up and gone before you know it, leaving you staring down another six months of nothingness.

If Netflix is the gold standard of the streaming world, the future of the streaming world looks very bleak.

  • Love 5
jumper sage

jumper sage

On 10/6/2016 at 11:39 AM, millennium said:

Netflix's selection is appalling.    And unapologetically so.   Whenever I have called to complain about the miserable choice of movies and shows, the reply is, "We don't expect to be your single source for entertainment.   Think of Netflix as a local movie theater that has only a limited selection at any given time."   When I tell them that in some ways Hulu has a more diverse selection, they shrug it off and recommend I watch Hulu.

I love Netflix and also subscribe to Hulu.  I watch Netflix the most and only watch Hulu for shows I have missed.  I have to say I love Netflix original programs:

  • Grace and Frankie
  • Orange is the New Black
  • 3%
  • The 100 and more
  • I also like the selection of comedy shows with Fluffy, Jim Gaffigan, Chelsea Handler etc.

I would love to discuss 3% but can't find a topic on the board.  Anyone else?

  • Love 1
millennium

millennium

5 minutes ago, jumper sage said:

I love Netflix and also subscribe to Hulu.  I watch Netflix the most and only watch Hulu for shows I have missed.  I have to say I love Netflix original programs:

  • Grace and Frankie
  • Orange is the New Black
  • 3%
  • The 100 and more
  • I also like the selection of comedy shows with Fluffy, Jim Gaffigan, Chelsea Handler etc.

I would love to discuss 3% but can't find a topic on the board.  Anyone else?

I subscribe to both as well but find I am watching Hulu more than Netflix lately.   They have a lot of Lifetime-like movies that I can watch while working on other things.  They also have mainstream movies like Iron Man, Spectre, Mission Impossible, etc.  But Hulu took a major hit with the loss of the CW shows.  I used to watch The Flash, the 100, Green Arrow (before it sucked), and Supernatural on Hulu.   Now if I want to stream those shows I have to go to the CW site, which has a crappy streaming service.  Hulu is also annoying when I click on some movies only to get a message that I have to pay extra and subscribe to Showtime to see it.  No thanks.

I sometimes have to spend more than half an hour trying to find something to watch on Netflix.  I'm not very big on modern comedy.  I find it more obnoxious than funny.   And that's probably more than half of Netflix's programming now.

  • Love 3
WendyCR72

WendyCR72

Netflix is good in terms of its original content. But other stuff is VERY hit and miss. You could be watching a show or movie you like/love, get busy, and come back just to find it has gone POOF.

And from all I have read, it is still an issue. Maybe it's why Netflix is so slavish to its own material - because the other offerings don't seem like such a deal.

And both Hulu and Amazon seem to be trying to cut in. I do wonder how much Hulu getting the complete Golden Girls series (starting in February) will make a difference for that service since that show, even 30+ years old, still seems to have massive popularity going for it.

  • Love 1
zxy556575

zxy556575

(edited)

My tastes and needs aren't everyone's (more's the pity!), but out of the big three, Amazon is the one I'd jettison first if I didn't still want Prime shipping benefits.

I watch Netflix almost exclusively for TV series and have hundreds of hours of older shows waiting in my queue. Hulu is good if I've missed an episode of a current show, although those are generally also available online with commercials. I've gotten in the habit of putting Hulu on hold for 2-3 months at a time until there's something I want to binge. The ad-free version of Hulu is also 43% more expensive per month than Netflix. From what I see on their "new releases" list, I agree that Netflix's movies are poorly reviewed bottom dwellers.

In the end, Netflix would absolutely be the last service I'd personally give up, although I agree that having content go POOF is frustrating.

Edited by lordonia
Hanahope

Hanahope

I've become addicted to Netflix's downloading service.  I can download numerous TV episodes onto my ipad, then watch them while commuting on the subway.  I don't have to worry about losing signal underground.  And it was great when I was on vacation and could use it to watch my own stuff on the plane.  In the past 4 weeks I watched all 3 seasons of Penny Dreadful and the first 2 seasons of Supernatural (only 9 more to go there, lol).

  • Love 2
friendperidot

friendperidot

I used to have a smart tv, had Netflix, I mostly got it for Longmire, binge watched the entire series along with the new season they produced, loved it. Also liked Grace and Frankie, haven't been able to watch Orange is The New Black, it cuts a little too close to home, I have a niece in prison and I can't handle it. But then smart tv developed problems, had to limp along without a remote (tv problem, not the remote), got a new tv, but for some dumb reason, I got the dumb version, and returning it was more than I could deal with so I got a Roku. I'm still not sure it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, but I love getting YouTube on my tv, I watched 5 different companies dance the Nutcracker! I took Hulu up on their 30 day free offer, watched it a few times, but really couldn't find a lot that I was interested in. I like Netflix for the documentaries. I love the ones about the castles in England and Ireland, the big houses in Wales, hope they do one on Scotland too. I am currently watching one about art theft, first the Nazis, then the Fabrege eggs, then Van Gogh, it's interesting. I love all the archaeological ones where they're looking for the "real" Noah's Ark, Red Sea Crossing, etc. 

I also have Sling and Amazon Prime. I'm thinking about letting Sling go. I did without Cable for a couple of years and I am not spending much time watching it, so it will probably be the one to go. I've only watched 2 or 3 movies on Prime, I mostly have it for postage.

Alakey

Alakey

Guys, it's all about the content!
Hulu adds new episodes of currently ongoing shows pretty fast, whereas Netflix holds up till the whole season is complete before making it available for streaming.
If I have to choose only one - Hulu or Netflix, it would be the last one because it simply has more content and available in more countries.

roseha

roseha

Is anyone else having this problem - I canceled Netflix a couple of months ago, since they didn't have the few movies I really wanted from them, and I wasn't interested in their shows.

Then this week I started getting "Welcome back to Netflix" emails.  I always look at the sender to see if it's spam but this claims to be from Netflix.

If this got sent just because I clicked on their home page (kind of by mistake actually) then I don't know what to think....

JocelynCavanaugh

JocelynCavanaugh

It seems like every Netflix original lately shoehorns a graphic, slurpy sex scene into the first episode or two of a series, no matter how out of place or unnecessary. It’s happened with Mindhunter, The OA, Dark, and Friends from College, just off the top of my head. It feels very freshman-in-art-school, like because they’re not beholden to network censors they’re just doing it because they can. It doesn’t add anything to the stories. I’m really not into sex scenes as a means of storytelling anyway, and if I wanted to watch porn, there are probably a few websites for that. This is getting really annoying. I’m afraid they might do a season of Daniel Tiger or Dora the Explorer with grunting, humping cartoon characters at this point. 

  • Love 1
MaggieG

MaggieG

I watched The Chalet over the weekend. A French show, it's only six episodes. It was pretty good. It's told in two different timelines, the present and 20 years previously. Throughout each episode you get little clues from stuff that happened in the past that corralates to what is happening in the present. The premise is basically childhood friends going back to the village they grew up in for a wedding and then people start dying.

Ambrosefolly

Ambrosefolly

(edited)

Just found out that I Am Not Okay With This has been cancelled because of logistical issues thanks to COVID. I understand a pause and delay, but to cancel it out right? Stranger Things is going to be filming, why not this show?  I wonder if this has less to do with COVID and more to do with signing that baffling $150 million deal with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, thereby freeing up some cash. I can understand signing Ryan Coogler or Ava DuVernay to a deal like that, since they have their own experiences with "woke" material and directing prestige movies or starting the couple on $20 million deal seeing if they can deliver, since Prince Harry being Prince Harry will draw in some eyeballs but $150 million? Kind of bitter. First Curious Creations of Christine McConnell (which I think could have either been rejiggered to make the lessons more beginner level, or turned into Halloween Specials) now this show. 

Don't even get me started on "Cuties". 

Edited by Ambrosefolly
DanaK

DanaK

Wow, I just got an email from Netflix saying they will end shipping DVDs on September 29 (not sure if they mean it will shut down then or that's the last date they will ship DVDs). I guess it's not unexpected since I read an article last year that their DVD business has shrunk a lot since streaming took off. I've had trouble keeping up with watching DVDs from Netflix this last couple of years as I've been busy trying to watch stuff I've recorded and attempting to watch things on streaming. I'm not sure what I'm going to do now to watch titles that aren't on streaming yet, maybe rent titles from Amazon or iTunes? I don't know if that would save me money over what I've been paying Netflix for 3 DVDs at a time. I've been with them since 2002 so this will be a loss, for me at least, especially since there really aren't any valid DVD rent by mail companies left. I actually going to miss that part of their business. I remember when you could rent like 8 (maybe?) DVDs at a time and I would switch my account to that during the Summer and watch as many titles as I could

DanaK

DanaK

(edited)
5 hours ago, chessiegal said:

I didn't know Netflix rented DVDs. I haven't rented a DVD in decades. I've bought them for shows I'm invested in. I've also "rented" shows from Netflix that you have 30 days to watch. You can also "buy" them for more money and can watch presumably forever.

That policy may have been ages ago. For as long as I can remember, I could have a rental disc from Netflix for at least a year, though they will nag you about it (there have been times in the last few years I’ve been too slow to watch and return a title)

Netflix was founded as a DVD rental business in 1997 and as a result of that success, were the ones to knock Blockbuster out of business. 
 

I am on the 3 DVD plan, so I will have about $20 a month extra to spend by the end of September and maybe will use it either renting a few titles a month or maybe another streaming service or something similar

Edited by DanaK
chessiegal

chessiegal

27 minutes ago, DanaK said:

That policy may have been ages ago. For as long as I can remember, I could have a rental disc from Netflix for at least a year, though they will nag you about it (there have been times in the last few years I’ve been too slow to watch and return a title)

Netflix was founded as a DVD rental business in 1997 and as a result of that success, were the ones to knock Blockbuster out of business. 
 

I am on the 3 DVD plan, so I will have about $20 a month extra to spend by the end of September and maybe will use it either renting a few titles a month or maybe another streaming service or something similar

Ah, I'm confusing Netflix with Amazon Prime. Prime is where I've gone to rent a show.

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