A few months ago, I went from no streaming services to, like, all of them. I have since been trying to catch up on all the crap I have missed. Here's a rundown of what I have watched.

Finished Seasons/Series

The Witcher-- I really enjoyed this one, but I am an easy sell on swords and sorcery stuff. I never played the game or read the books. This one got better as the season went on.

Jack Ryan-- Season 1 was fantastic, IMO. Season 2 was a little more hit and miss, although I ended up liking it okay. I would be interested in seeing a third season, but would like it to focus on a Russia/Europe area espionage. It felt weird going to South America for the second season.

Altered Carbon (Season 1 only)-- I loved this, but I am a big fan of gritty scifi. Definitely a visceral, no holds barred watch. A lot of blood and brutality. It did have some real moments of drama and cinematic quality, though. I listened to the audiobook last year and the changes they made from that worked. I am about to start Season 2.

The Mandalrian-- I have nothing to add which hasn't been said elsewhere here. I loved it. It was a bit of a slow grind at the start as I got used to the characters, but it grew on me as it went on.

Peaky Blinders-- I absolutely loved the first two seasons. Couldn't get enough of that. It felt like it went a little bit overboard after that. Now, I still enjoyed easons 3-5 and I will keep watching for sure when Season 6 comes. But there was an ugliness factor to the story and character development that was just beginning to drag a bit. I would still highly recommend it to anyone who likes mob stuff.

Outlander (Seasons 1-3)-- I watched what was available on Netflix. I have read the first book, and Season 1 did a fantastic job following that. It was pretty intense in the first season. The second season started slow but ended up really good. Season 3 trended to a little bit too romance-novelly. I mean, how many times can I watch the same two people screw? I'm here for the adventure stuff. Anyway, I'm not sure I would continue, but I have heard Season 3 was the worst and they get to America in Season 4. So, 'Murica. I'll probably eventually get Starz for a bit to finish it.

Stranger Things-- I was the last person in the world to see this, I think. I loved it more than I expected. I thought it wouldn't meet the hype other people told me it would, but it did, especially Seasons 1 and 2. Season 3 got a little more sloppy, and I couldn't stand what they did with David Harbour's character at the start (put his balls in a jar). But I'm intrigued to see what they do with the next season.

The Ozarks-- I was a little hesitant at the start, but it got better and ended Season 1 strong. Season 2 was also very good. A little draggy in the middle, but again, strong finish. Season 3 felt a little like a show trying to figure out where it was going. I'm in if they approve a Season 4, though. The brother story in Season 3 was both absurd and yet poignant.

The Last Kingdom-- This one started slow for me, as much of Season 1 felt a little sophomoric to me. It ended well enough, though, and as I said, the D&D geek in me likes swords/medieval stuff. I was pleasantly surprised with Seasons 2 and 3, which had much better writing and story telling. Season 4 was a little bit of a step back, but it was still solid. Definitely looking forward to next season.

Still Watching/Mid Season

The Watchmen-- I am five episodes in on this one. I am really enjoying it. I recognized the sound work of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross before I even knew they were part of the project. That pleases me greatly (the music compositions and song choices on this one have been incredible so far). Great world building, too. Never read the comic but did see the movie, so I have some idea of what is going on.

Lost In Space-- My boss at my furloughed job recommended this to me a while back. I like it, don't love it, at least not yet. I'm maybe four or five episodes in. Keep meaning to go back and start it up again, but other things catch my attention.

Parks & Recreation-- As you can see, I am not really much of a comedy guy, but I always wanted to start in on this. I'm halfway through Season 2, and it's hilarious. Amy Poehler is almost The Office Season 1 Steve Carrell cringey. I still push it aside for dramas, but I find I return to it when I have a shorter window.

Dark is the best show on Netflix by a wide margin. Reviews for the third and final season (which comes out in a few days) have said the ending is incredible.

I saw that pop up on my Netflix and wondered about it. It looks intriguing. Good to know.

The English dubbing is pretty good if you prefer that over subtitles. It can be tough to keep track of everything but it's one of the best shows I've ever seen.

Yeah, Dark is a great show and gets better as it goes on even. Happy to hear it 'translates' well, but not surprising since it was designed to apeal to international audiences. There is some stuff that appeals especially to german viewers, but it also plays with foreign perception/expectations in terms of the atmosphere it creates.

Not a show to watch in passing because it can get confusing, would not even recommend binge watching it but do it an episode or two a day.

I've really been enjoying "The Kingdom".

It's been compared to a Korean "Game of Thrones" in that it's set in medieval Korea and there are plots and intrigues and an "army" of the undead and all. Between this and "Train to Busan" the Koreans have a incredibly tight zombie game.

So, how hard is it to pick back up on Season 2 after 2 years of not having watched it? I saw Season 1 a while back, and now am just wondering how hard it will be to get back into it.

I just finished a binge watch of Succession. I am glad I gave it another chance. I tried to watch it when it came out but I had the whole these people are totally unlikable feel and dropped it. Then I saw all these great reviews for Season 2 and was like, really? It wasn’t until I saw something which categorized the show as “satire” that it clicked. You aren’t supposed to like any of the characters - they are all supposed to stand in for how terrible the rich are. So I went into watching it with that in mind. Makes it 10 times better.

I am also watching The Wire (I was watching both it and Succession, but Succession was far more interesting so I finished it first).

If you have Amazon Prime, give The Expanse a try.

Started watching Bosch. It's good, but it's a horror show of bad procedures and incompetence for the LAPD.

Loving season one of Jack Ryan.

Finally finished season 2 of Barry. I think it found itself. Really enjoyed it.

I'm guessing a little hard. I'd look on YouTube for a recap of Season 1. These looked ok.

YouTube

YouTube

Season 2 is better than season 1.

Thanks. I actually completely forgot about this one. I have actually been a huge fan of the Expanse since the start. In fact, it and the Mandalorian were the primary reasons I deciddd to get streaming services again.

It's simply one of the best shows out there, and particularly for anyone who is into intelligent scifi.

I felt that Season 4 was a very slight step back. I still very much enjoyed it, but the storyline as a whole didn't grab me quite as much as the first three stories (Eros, Mars/Earth conflict, the ring). I would still recommend it to anyone, though.

Athlete A is brutal.

The amount of girls this guy abused is just unbelievable. But the way those girls were treated I can see why it happened for so long.

Shame on MSU, USA Gymnastics, the USOC and the FBI.

Couldn't even watch the trailer. I know my wife wouldn't be able to watch it.

okay I finally did it. Got back on Netflix again. altho I got the free month :)

I really need to watch last 2 seasons of Bojack Horseman and Shera.
Plus there's a couple of great anime there I just found out about

and I heard about Dark

altho Hulu still has much more stuff to watch.

GLad to see NG finally got Community. I've only been nagging them for like 7 years.

I just started a 30-day trial of the streaming only service. I see some older shows that I wouldn't mind revisiting, but do you really feel it is a good value for what will be $8/month? "Newer" shows like The Shield & The Wire don't appear to be available for streaming. I read they were negotiating with the networks to get more current content. I don't know - maybe I should wait for that to happen. Your thoughts?

Heart of Gold is another excellent Documentary on this. It is a hard watch, but well worth it.

I've started this series recently and it's really sunk its hooks into me. Even after a night of drinking with friends I stayed up til 3:30 am last night, just to get another episode in.

I’d recommend Alex Garland’s Devs if you haven’t seen it. Set in Silicon Valley, it’s a dark drama set around a huge tech firm, what goes on in the devs department and the lengths to which they will protect it.

Note I didn’t say it was about these things - what it’s about is actually a spoiler!

It’s thought provoking, well acted and well worth eight 45 minute episodes of your time.

I think it’s on FX and Hulu in the states.

My 9 year old is really digging Floor is Lava.

I enjoyed Eurovision Song Contest. It didn't get great reviews but I enjoyed it, its a typical Will Ferrell movie.

This was a decent zombie series. s3 was supposed to be coming out this year but coronavirus may have impacted it.

Thanks for mentioning this, we watched a bunch last night and my 10 year old loved it.

So, finished Season 1 of The Wire. I am hoping it gets better because for the life of me I can't understand this "Best Show Ever" hype it gets. It was an above average cop/drug drama IMO.

I personally thought seasons 3 and 4 were far superior to 1 and 2 but you kind of needed 1 and 2 to understand 3 and 4's characters. I did think season 1 was still great tv though.

I think it is just personal taste. I never could really get into the Sopranos or the X-files or understand the hype but love the Wire and Breaking Bad and rank them as 2 of my favorite.

At least stick with it through season 3. Season 2 is the worst of the five. If you can make it to season 4, I think that's the best, but it won't make a whole lot of sense in isolation.

I honestly think 5 is the worst by far.

A lot of people I know that have watched the series multiple times did not like 2 at first. I think they were not expecting the partial change in focus. But now they understand what was going on.

Yeah since you said you completed season 1 I guess I would ask how you felt about Wallace and Kima. That's kind of what the whole series is built upon, really strong character development that makes you really care about the characters. I liked 4 a lot since I am a teacher but no doubt 3 is the crown jewel. Season 5 upon several rewatches is definitely necessary to bring closure to the series.

Absolutely agree. But the driving plot is a bit suspect.

Watchmen was cool and I enjoyed it. It was a nice, self-contained story with few loose ends, which I really was worried about with Lindelof at the helm. Most of the story was good stuff. It also looked good, sounded good, was well acted, and presented in a melodramatic way that fit the tone of the comic and movie. Well worth a watch. Kindof glad it's only 1 season as it was pretty neatly wrapped up but would definitely sign up for more.

CONS: It had the "prestige drama" problem of having some out of place violence and sex that seems to litter most of these shows. It also tried to be extra "dramatic" at time, that just made it tiring to watch.

I'm edging closer and closer to just cutting the cord and then just getting a month or two of each of the major services. Once season 2 of the Mandalorian is done, grab Disney + for a month then cancel. Same with next season of Picard, etc.

SI

Well, to be honest, I think cop dramas tend to be a bit dull to begin with, but I heard/read that a lot of the show is based on the politics is corrupt and there is some of it in Season 1, but I assume it gets more fleshed out later (I would prefer watching the political show).

I thought the story of Wallace was pretty good, but I far preferred D'Angelo - esp his statement about how they are raised and live in this environment where they can't breathe, so they go right into the business. Kima's was ok, but I don't think I saw much 'development' there. Far more development was the cop who early on got his gun taken away for police brutality (which was shown to be effectively covered up) and then demonstrated he had a talent for finding patterns.

This is what we do. We have Amazon Prime all the time due to the shipping service, but we bounce around on the others. Tend to have Netflix over the summer because that's what the kids prefer, and then do the others a month at a time. I can avoid spoilers for the most part so I don't worry too much of watching something like Mandalorian as its released.

The political side will definitely get ramped up in a big way. Season 2 for union politics and then season 3 for more standard politics. I just think the big draw was there aren't really good and bad guys. I mean there are some bad people but most people are just products of a bad system on both the police side and the crime side. Without getting into spoiler territory at all I think the show pretty much flushes out what life could look like with some of the police reforms people want right now but also why it will never happen.

The problem is going to be keeping you watching after season 2 because even loving this show as one of my all time favorites I would put season 2 as just good.

Had I known we were losing sports for a good part of 4 months I would have done this as well. My problem is I just watch too many live sports. I can still figure out ways around it a little bit but last fall I ycord cutting b running Hulu live with Philo because my wife likes MTV shows and my total cost was saving me like 10 bucks a month over just having directv and having it all in one place without internet outages.

I mean at this point Lindelof has created two of my favorite shows of all time, Watchmen and the Leftovers. So in my book, I'll watch whatever he makes next.

The political stuff is what I am holding out for :D. So I mentioned I watched Succession starting the same time and just binged right through it - because that sort of wheeling and dealing was super interesting to me (and the satire of the rich was great). I'm actually thinking of starting another HBO Max show that I've never seen before to watch side by side with The Wire. Am thinking Carnivale. The issue may be that it'll get more into that and want to finish it first - but since I get HBO Max for no additional cost with my internet, I guess I have a lot of time to finish the Wire.

I haven't seen Leftovers, but I was more talking about Lost and its myriad of loose ends. But Watchmen was very self-contained and tied up quite nicely.

SI

Carnivalle tops The Wire for me. I remember you being one of the people that liked the Leftovers maybe? Carnivalle is kind of the same way, not the storyline but just an out there mythological show set in the dust bowl. Only downside is I think I remember it not renewing after season 2 so not sure it has any definite conclusion.

Yes (to the Leftovers and to Carnivale ending on a cliffhanger). I think at the time I thought Carnivale looked too weird and then later on I heard it was kind of a battle of mythological good and evil... and was like, oh I should have watched it.

At the time it was out, I was watching The Sopranos and Six Feet Under.

Yeah, don't worry about 'finishing' Carnivale.

YouTubeTV added Viacom channels so it's now $65 from $50. Throw in the internet for it and it's probably like going back to cable.

Damn, I wonder what Fubo is going to be now they added ESPN.

YTTV already had quite some negative press from going from $35 to $50. A lot of people are like, can't you make these add ons instead of the base package.

We have SlingTV - we had YTTV when sports were a thing. But when sports come back, I guess we may just stay on SlingTV. I don't need to pay $65 a month to get regional sports networks - and my wife would really be like WTF, let's just go back to cable.

Though I would note that I've heard that most of the streaming service providers barely make any money - mostly because the vast majority of what they charge goes right back to the content providers. So they add more content and put a little extra fee on top to hope they can make something. At some point these content providers are going to have to spin out their offerings (regional networks for live sports is the big issue here - as are sports not wanting to piss off TV broadcasters who pay them millions for rights).

I have no interest in any of the channels they are adding.

Looks like back to hulu for me. At $55 still have sports, locals, and hulu included. Also includes Marquee that I believe has the Cubs now? Not sure how interested I'll be even if they play but there is that.

I'm wondering if NFL netwowrk and Redzone will lower their prices to these services as it seems none have them anymore? Guessing that would be a "no". Last year I went back to PSVue during football for redzone. Are they only going to distribute with cable, dish, and dtv? Would think this would be a pretty big cut in their revenue? Or they think they are so big, and may be right, that folks will switch providers during season at least?

Just finished Dark. Best sci-fi show I've ever seen. Great ending. Highly recommend it to everyone.

It is a confusing show so this guide on their site helps a lot. You can follow along episode by episode to avoid spoilers. Will give you breakdowns of the characters to that point and their ties.

DARK | The Official Guide | NETFLIX

For the fellow Downton Abbey and Poldark fans, Lark Rise to Candleford is on Hulu. 4 season show that's got a similar feel to those entries. A really pleasant, light show that I think is criminally underrated. A relaxing watch in these stressful times.

Looks like ESPN+ is jumping up a dollar a month to $5.99

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

KBO and ESPN 2K league must be pulling huge ratings!

SI

Psyched for the Unsolved Mysteries reboot premiering overnight on Netflix. It was one of my favorite shows as a kid. I'm very slowly working through a re-watch of the Robert Stack episodes on Prime. Here's the Title Sequence for the new version:

Streamable Video

I know any supernatural stuff probably won't play as well in 2020 as it did before, but I hope there are mysteries beyond just unsolved crimes. Either way, I'm on board.