I think generally people are fine with pausing Netflix/Hulu, so an increase in price was bound to happen at some point.

I generally keep Netflix because its one of the few streaming services that has 4k HDR content (Amazon is the other). I tended to pause Hulu in the past, but my wife has Sprint and they offer the low commercial tier of Hulu, which I'm totally fine with for free. I frequently watch for a few months then pause HBO/Starz, etc. HBO is on pause right now until April. I have Starz as the moment because they had a $5 a month for 3 months deal and we are catching up on "Outlander" and I started watching "Counterpart".

I guess the one thing Netflix has going for it is they have so much content. It's not particularly good but passes the time while you're doing something else. I do find myself throwing on random stand-up specials or documentaries a lot. But outside of maybe Bojack, there isn't a single show they have that I would be sad if it got cancelled. Most of the shows they make feel like rejected pilots from other premium channels.

Really? The volume lately has surprised me, true, but there are several top-notch shows - Stranger Things and Ozark of the top of my head are fantastic, and I've heard nothing but raves about Bojack, Bigmouth, and others.

I think because there is so much stuff, a lot of it is underrated. I also thought Black Mirror, A Series of Unfortunate Events (which has ended its 3 season run), Narcos, Glow, Master of None, etc. have been fantastic shows in addition to the ones named in your post.

I guess Stranger Things falls into the really good show camp. I enjoyed it but its not necessarily my type of show. Ozark was good but there are a bunch of shows on Showtime at any given time that are of the same quality. I did enjoy Narcos but haven't gotten to the newest season.

Have they ever made a show that you'd say was in the top 5 of all shows at any given time?

Master of None had a great first season. I subscribe to too much stuff I barely watch so Netflix is not something I pay for at the moment

Bojack easily fits that in my mind for a couple years (I'm behind on this season and don't keep up the way I used to). The first season of Orange Is The New Black maybe as well.

Alan Sepinwall usually releases a "top shows of the year" article every December.

This year he has Bojack 3rd, and a show called Big Mouth (also animated, not sure if its come up here) 7th.

2017 Master Of None was 8th
2016 Bojack 4th
2015 Master Of None 8th
2014 Orange Is The New Black 6th
2013 Orange Is The New Black 2nd (behind Breaking Bad)


In the past couple years his top 20 has seen 10-20 littered with Netflix shows.

Netflix certainly releases a ton of volume but the top tier of it is very, very good IMO.

Hell, I'm subscribing to Starz right now and I sure wouldn't say any of their shows are close to top 5 of all shows at any given time.

However, I'd say earlier Orange is the New Black was in the Top 5 shows of the year and BoJack Horsemen as well. Maybe Master of None. The Crown is more 5-10, and so is Dear White People.

That's a good amount of shows in my Top 10 for any particular year. Far more than HBO shows that inhabit those same lists.

HBO has Game of Thrones, Westworld, True Detective, Sharp Objects, Big Little Lies, Young Pope, and a bunch more that I'd say were in the top 5 at some point in time. Plus all the old stuff like Sopranos and Band of Brothers that is better than almost anything Netflix has put out.

Netflix is fine. I just don't think they've ever had that big prestige show that demanded my subscription. Its always felt like they've pushed quantity over quality.

Oh I did really like Daredevil last year. Season 3 was one of the best shows of the year. But that's cancelled.

Glow was a pretty terrific show.

I know they have pricing plans that allow multiple people to be streaming at once under one account, but with Netflix making noises about shared accounts I don't understand why they don't have "family" plan or something similar. I think a lot of people would pay an extra $5/month for that and it would help offset some of the freeloading.

Also, Hell or High Water is on now. One of the best movies of the past couple years imo.

We cut the cord from directv and lost Nick Jr. In it's place Netflix has all sorts of kids crap that they watch and enjoy. My wife also watches a bunch of cooking shows. As for me not much on there that demands my viewing but for under $15 month still worth it. We also have Amazon prime and I am sure I could find stuff there but their kids shows are kind of goofy and off the beaten path.

The 2nd season was even better. I'd put it as one of my favorite TV seasons of all time.

Tumbleleaf is really good FWIW.

I think the first and maybe second season of House of Cards was the closest Netflix came to "prestige TV". The whole show fell like a, well, you know for a variety of reasons, but seasons 1 and 2 were great.

Solo: A Star Wars Story is now on Netflix

You may just have a strange Top 5 then. I mean I really like Westworld and Young Pope, but neither were Top 5 shows in their seasons (2 for Westworld, 1 for Young Pope). Also not many place Big Little Lies or Sharp Objects in their Top 5 for the year.

Even if Netflix isn't putting top 5 shows out there they are releasing enough quality content to justify the subscription for me. If they release 100 shows in a year and 85 are shit, but the other 15 are good then I'm fine with that. I don't care how much shit they release as long as there's enough good stuff to keep me interested.

Between Stranger Things, Santa Clarita Diet, Black Mirror, Travelers, GLOW, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Ozark, Haunting of Hill House, and Altered Carbon I'm happy.

HBO has been great as far as the top quality content goes, but I watch considerably more shows overall on Netflix.

Yeah. I subscribe to HBO like 3-4 months a year, while I usually have Netflix year round.

HBO is my #2 fav behind Netflix, and it's close between them as to which I watch more of.

Steve Carell to Star in Netflix Comedy Based on Trump's 'Space Force' | Hollywood Reporter

Looks like Steve Carrell is joining up with The Office creator Greg Daniels to create a new Netflix workplace comedy called "Space Force" (yes, inspired by Trump's idea for a space force branch of the military), centered around the people tasked with creating the branch.

Fyre is a great documentary. Strongly recommended if you want a true inside look at the disaster that ended up being the Fyre Festival.

Is this the Nexflix version, or the Hulu?



I've heard the Hulu version may be better.

I watched the Netflix version. Didn't know their was one on Hulu too.

FYI this is Gamespot's summary of the two:

Forbidden

Really liked season 3 of the Last Kingdom, the 2nd half in particular.

Damn these bots and shills.

Been watching the Punisher. First season was pretty good (and way out there). I'm in the middle of the second season and not as good, they made him more human and toned down the heroics. But still enjoyable.

The Seven Five is a great documentary that covers the corruption problems that plagued the NYPD's 75th precinct over the 80s and early 90s.

We're only 2 episodes in to Punisher. First episode was the most violent rom-com ever. Enjoying it, but does feel toned down (which is OK for me - would prefer the superhero stuff stay in the background in this series).

Then I think you will like Season 2 more. Less (but still a lot) of violence, less superhero stuff.

Abducted in plain sight was pretty crazy

We watched that yesterday.

I think that kind of thing happened way more, pre-80s, than we would know. This particular story was wackier than most, but so many families have these stories of "in plain sight" molestations. It was a private matter that families would maybe try to mitigate, but many people had no clue about grooming, pedophilia, or how damaging sexual abuse is to kids long-term.

Men who molested girls just "liked 'em a little too young." (or, like the brother said, were perverts), and men who molested boys were just gay and were morally wrong in the same way other gay men were, they just liked them younger too. In both cases, the kids were often seen as too flirty and shared some of the blame.

I went to a prosecution CLE recently where one of the speakers is a U.S. Attorney who was molested as a kid. Obviously he was a kid, so it's different then those hapless parents in the documentary, but it didn't occur to him that this was something that shouldn't have been happening to him until, years later, he watched that 80s' Different Strokes episode with the bike shop molester. He finally disclosed after that. He talked about how when the kind detective told him, "I believe you," it rocked his world because until that moment, he never considered that someone might not believe him, like, why the hell would he make this up?

We've gotten really good as a society on awareness and education of this stuff, but, I think we still risk pushing it back into the shadows with the growing culture of non-believing of victims. And I know not all victims are truthful, and of course people can't be punished for these things lightly, but, this is the new way this stuff stays within families, the new way molesters keep thing secret - "nobody's going to believe you." So it's a tough balance.

Watched "No Country for Old Men" again. That might be as close to a perfect movie as you can get

Funnily enough I was talking about this movie last night with my wife when she was scrolling through Netflix looking for something to watch. I was so disappointed by the ending that I can't bring myself to watch it again, despite finding every other aspect of it just about perfect.

Eh, the subtle ending is perfect. Like how Bardem just checks his boots nonchalantly as he's leaving after tying up his last loose end.

Late to the game on some of these but I watched a Bird trilogy while on a flight the other day.

Bird Box (edge of my seat good)
High Flying Bird (parts were great, but overall, a little flat)
Fyre (hey, there's a Magic-Bird reference....and I thought it was really good)

I can't help but think things would have been different if the father wasn't living in the closet. B was able to read that dynamic and exploit it with both the father and mother.

I watched both Fyre docs. I liked the Netflix one better because I thought it had a much more direct narrative of the events and spent more time on how the island workers were screwed. The Hulu one was still good, mainly because it had an interview with Billy McFarland, and the interviewer deserves props for not letting him off the hook.

Both seasons of Roman Empire were good. I'm a fan of docudramas.

Saw Conspiracy tonight.

Really enjoyed the first 30-40 minutes and then it seemed to drag on and really get depressing seeing how some that had doubts were steamrolled.

But would still recommend it for WW II buffs.

I've been considering starting this...just started it now. Not bad, though they're already a little loose on facts with Caesar's early career (at least from everything I've read on Rome and Caesar).

edit: And they ignored Caesar's time as a captive to pirates, which is so absurdly awesome).

In case anybody else was wondering ... (i have a Masters in history and

somehow nobody told me about that particular event ;) ), per wikipedia:



On the way across the Aegean Sea, Caesar was kidnapped by pirates and held prisoner.He maintained an attitude of superiority throughout his captivity. The pirates demanded a ransom of 20 talents of silver, but he insisted that they ask for 50. After the ransom was paid, Caesar raised a fleet, pursued and captured the pirates, and imprisoned them. He had them crucified on his own authority, as he had promised while in captivity—a promise that the pirates had taken as a joke. As a sign of leniency, he first had their throats cut. He was soon called back into military action in Asia, raising a band of auxiliaries to repel an incursion from the east


So yeah, definitely qualifies as "absurdly awesome". Well, maybe not for the pirates ;)

Yeah, Caesar and the Pirates would make a pretty awesome 2 hour flick. Pretty sure the only place I'd heard of it before was on the History of Rome podcast by Mike Duncan.

I HIGHLY recommend the Emperor series by Conn Iggulden, centered around Caesar (and briefly Augustus in a followup novel). Historical ... Part-Fiction/Part-Fact? writer. He basically has a style of researching history, and filling in some blanks and writing a novel out of historical fact.

And does the nice thing of, at the end of each book, explaining "this is historical fact, this I changed because it simply wouldn't work right in novel form, this I omitted for reasons of pace, etc". They make for some very good reading, especially for fans of Roman history.

He also does a Ghengis Khan (and his successors) one, which is not bad, if you can get through the first book, and a War of the Roses one, which I personally had to slog through.

Ahh, I didn't make it through the first book. Maybe I should've stuck with it. Someone recommended it to me when I mentioned I had an interest in the Mongols and also had read a bunch of Bernard Cornwell books.

Yeah, the first book is a slog. Once the Mongols unite and start heading into China, however, they become very good reads.

Just finished Russian Doll. Solid show, but I'm not buying the "best netflix series ever" talk. Natasha Lyonne is outstanding.

Yeah, pretty much my take as well. I thought all the recurring roles were good.

Thirded

I enjoyed Russian Doll as well.

Not the greatest ever, though.

Anybody watched Umbrella Academy yet? I think that's next up for me.

I'm like three in on Umbrella Academy and I still can't quite tell if it's good or not.

Just finished season 6 of OITNB. Liked it better than last season. Excited to see where they go for the final season.

This seems like the catch all thread for shows even though it is on Epix and not netflix. Is Berlin Station worth investing the time into to watch 3 seasons? The description seems like something spy intrigue that is right up my alley but didnt know how well done it was.

It's plenty good i think. Not like they reinvent the wheel and at times a tad too forced/obvious/cliche and a few weak dialogues, but the overall premise is well executed and the cast ranges from solid to really good (and it's very refreshing that they really commit to the bi-national nature with a host of pretty high caliber german actors). Would definitely say that it's well worth starting.
All seasons have seperate main storylines btw, with the first concentrating on the hunt for a whistleblower (with some ISIL terrorism thrown in), season 2 concentrates on the german right-wing resurgence and domestic terrorism, season 3 mainly russian aggression in the baltic.

Abducted in Plain Sight made me really, really angry.

I'm way, way, way late to the party, but I'm enjoying the hell out of Luther. Watched the first season over the weekend with my new roommate (parents' dog).

Umbrella Academy is pretty damn fun. Kind of an alt-XMen thing. Have the trade paperbacks ordered now, interesting mythology/world-building.

After watching all of season 1, I found the Umbrella Academy to suffer from 'LOST disease', in that the show is based on presenting a bunch of mysteries that are key to the plot & setting, and you might *think* you are going to eventually get the answer to those questions, but when the season was over 50% of those mysteries/questions were left entirely unanswered or un-adressed, and the other 50% were replaced by new questions.


I ended up being frustrated by the tease. It's good to know that they're at least working from finished material, which gives them a much better chance to tie things up in a satisfying fashion. On the other hand, I got the distinct impression that the show would need to make it through its entire run to offer any kind of narrative payoff, and that seems like it might be a risky bet, considering how Netflix has treated its other shows.

I'm almost done with season 1 of Altered Carbon and god damn this is a f*** edup show....

'Last Chance U' coach Jason Brown resigns after text exchange with player

Compton White Guy is the new Hitler.

Really enjoyed Russian Doll.

And it's only 8 30-minute episodes, so you can knock it out pretty quick.

I'm enjoying Umbrella Academy. I get the LOST vibe, but I'm satisfied they'll tie it up neatly given the source material (which I haven't read, but I'm assuming it doesn't end with it all being a dream or purgatory or some other nonsense).

Also really loving Punisher, halfway through season 2.

Thumbs up from me on Russian Doll as well.

Well Abducted in Plain Sight turned out to be as disturbing as I had heard.

Is it a movie reenacting the events, or more of a documentary?

Documentary

Am I unreasonable for disagreeing with the conclusion from the daughter that her parents were just manipulated by a master manipulator? Seems to me the parents were just fools.

I get that she had to forgive them in order to cope with the situation. But I agree with you except I think they were more than just fools. The part where they signed that affidavit exonerating him wasn't foolish. It was calculated self interest. They put their own fear of embarrassment (about the affairs being made public) over their daughters well being.

Yep, also agree with that. In a story about a kidnapping child molester I did not expect to walk away disliking the parents the most.

Parents should have been charged with child neglect.

Not just embarrassment. They could have been disciplined by the Mormon Church, which I'm certain played a role in their decision to keep things quiet.

To get ready for the upcoming baseball season watch Fastball on Prime.

What a great documentary Goes into the myth and legend and how unhittable the fastball is. Has a lot of HoFers talking about the power of the fastball.

Great show.

EDIT: Science as well. But that should have been expected.

Agree with all that was said about ABDUCTED IN PLAIN SIGHT. The parents come out so unlikable. The mom still talks like she misses having the affair with the molester, like she remembers it so fondly. The whole thing was unbelievable fucked, and if I were the daughter I wouldn't have been quite so forgiving.

On another note:

LOSERS

This is right up our alley here. Go watch it. NOW. So well done. 8 half hour documentaries about famous (and not-so-famous) sports losers. About half worldwide, half American. Doesn't have fun at their expense, is not at all a downer. Animation helps retell the stories, in some cases in place of the actual footage.

Animation is great, storytelling is really top notch. You can binge it in less than 4 hours, do it tonight.

I'll second LOSERS. I've already watched the first four episodes and the stories they've covered have all been well told.

I'm also looking forward to the F1 documentary that will be released to coincide with the start of the new season. Unfortunately the top 3 teams didn't participate but should still be interesting none the less.

Losers is definitely on my list for the weekend.

Best description I've heard for Abducted in Plain Sight is that it's a documentary where the child molester might not be the worst person in the film.

Can we please be careful about spoilers.

I’m currently watching The Rain. Halfway through. Has a walking dead feel to it but enjoyable.

I watched the first episode of LOSERS. I'll echo the others - that's just fantastic television.

I thought Red Bull did and only Ferrari and Mercedes didn't. I am pretty sure that one of the first few episodes are about Ricciardo and what pushed him to sign with Renault.

That being said, I'm really excited about it as well.

There's a F1 McLaren documentary series on Amazon Prime that's worth watching in a "this isnt the way to run a F1 team successfully" kind of style. It's well done and worth watching, if you've not already caught it.

That was a good doc. I think it's funny that Vandoorne was the wunderkid, but now he's in Formula E and still stinks.

You are correct

Not long to wait, apparently the Netflix F1 documentary is released on Friday.

Just watched Bird Box. A little late to the party but man, what a ride. Can't remember the last time I was so stressed watching a movie

Watched the new Ricky Gervais netflix series tonight, After Life. Drama/dark comedy about a guy not really coping after the death of his wife.

Well worth the watch, if you're not one of those countless people online who hate Gervais.

Tried Russian Doll.

Didn't take

Thanks to the rec here, I've watched the first two episodes of Losers. Fun. Well done.

Just got done Umbrella Academy, and it got me thinking that we need more superhero/mutant shows where the powers are close to pointless.

Something like Mystery Men, but with more plot.

I just finished episode 8 of Umbrella Academy. It does feel like a modernized update of something like The Watchmen, which is definitely not a bad thing. This was the fresh take I needed in this genre - both this and Punisher (still yet to finish that as well).

Wife and I watched Losers and enjoyed it.
However, one episode will not open and has not opened at all for us the last 3 evenings we have checked. Anyone else with this problem?

Yes. I get the basketball episode to start and then I get the message

The documentary on Szukalski is amazing. There's so much there about art, genius, humanity, it's wonderful.

I'm seven episodes into the new F1 Netflix series and it's really well done. I'm not even a fan of car racing but this series has me researching the upcoming 2019 season and I'll likely be sitting beside my son on the couch this weekend when the season-opening Aussie Grand Prix comes on. I think I'm even going to crack open Motorsport Manager for the first time in a couple of years...

There is the notable lack of cooperation from the two top teams (Mercedes and Ferrari) but if anything, it may help this documentary flesh out some of the F1 series also-rans.

Highly recommended.

Been loving Working Moms. Pretty cool that its Ivan Reitmans daughter who wrote/produces it (Maureen Ponderosa, cat lady from Always Sunny)!

I'm really enjoying it as well. Very well done. They really brought some high end cameras and did some good in depth interviews. In 4k, it's breath taken. It's not even in HDR, but it sure does seem like it half the time. It's just filmed that good.

A good recap of last season - so I hope they continue to do it. Maybe Merc will join in (though this year better to see the focus on F1.5), but Ferrari is incredibly secretive.

As for the Aussie Grand Prix, I'm still debating if I want to stay up to 3am to watch the whole thing.

The Dirt

This is the autobiography movie of Motley Crue. It is based off the book that all the band members wrote.

What a fantastic movie. Sex, drugs, and roan and roll. All in our day.

This is no redemption story, just one of hard work and talent winning.

And sex, drugs and rosck and roll

FANTASTIC.

Now Im watching the docuentary called Twisted f***ing Sister. What a grea story about a band most of us know only for "we're not gonna take it"

Halfway through season one and really liking it. I must say the lead characters upper lip is really distracting.