Not to sound intellectual – I ain’t – but I prefer reading to watching TV. One reason I avoid TV is that I hate my cable company. Every time I watch I am reminded I’m paying good money for lousy service.
That said, over the last few months I’ve gotten into TV
big-time. The reason? Netflix, the video service that, for a flat rate of $7.99
a month, streams programming directly to your TV.
I had heard of Netflix – who hasn’t? – but was intimidated,
assuming it required all sorts of technical know-how, something I don’t
possess. A friend convinced me otherwise. All you need is a TV, wireless internet and
an inexpensive device such as a Roku, a plastic box the size of a pack of
cigarettes that attaches to your TV, for which I paid $59 at Target. It took a Luddite
like me less than 10 minutes to get up and running.
What I like most about Netflix is that, with few exceptions, you
can watch every episode ever made of your favorite TV shows or, better yet, the shows you always
intended to watch – including series that originally ran on HBO, Showtime and
other premium channels. And you can watch them back-to-back.
With summer upon us, there’s a dearth of original
programming on network TV, most of which sucks anyway. So here are suggestions for
shows those of you with Netflix will enjoy. Trust me on this.
Breaking Bad: Diagnosed
with terminal cancer, a 50-year-old milquetoast who teaches high school chemistry starts
manufacturing crystal meth in order to leave his wife, handicapped teenage son
and soon-to-be-born baby financially secure. Though it's a questionable career choice, you can understand why he is doing it. What you can't understand until you see it unfurl for yourself is what happens when a good man turns bad. Bad is, simply put, the most riveting TV series ever. The
writing is superb. So is the acting – Bryan Cranston as teacher/meth maker Walter
White, Anna Gunn as his wife who is horrified when she eventually discovers
what he’s up to and, especially, Aaron Paul as his sidekick, Jesse. There are also great performances by Dean Norris as Walter's DEA agent brother-in-law, Betsy Brandt as his kleptomaniac sister-in-law and Bob Odenkirk as a scumbag lawyer. We blew through 46 episodes – the first four years – last month. The series will
conclude this fall on AMC, the cable network that brings you Mad Men. (You’ll find 64 episodes of
that on Netflix, too. It’s good but can’t hold a candle to Bad.)
Keeping Up
Appearances (45 episodes): A neighbor got us into this hilarious BBC series
from the 1990s, starring Patricia Routledge as Hyacinth Bucket (she pronounces it
“Boo-kay”), a matronly woman from a lower class background who
has achieved middle class status and desperately wants everyone to believe
she’s descended from the aristocracy. She’s thwarted by her low-life sisters
Daisy and Rose and brother-in-law Onslow who have an uncanny way of popping up
just as Hyacinth is trying to impress guests, often at one of her dreaded
“candlelight suppers.” In most episodes she takes phones calls from her unseen
son Sheridan, the joy of her life, who calls only for money, and/or sister
Violet, who is married to a cross-dresser Hyacinth can’t bring herself to
criticize because he is well-to-do. Hyacinth is so despicably pretentious you can’t help but
feel sorry for her. And Routledge is the most gifted comedic actress since Lucille Ball. There are three or four honest-to-God laugh-out-loud moments
in every episode.
The Tudors (38
episodes): The story of Henry VIII, from the moment he realizes he’s sick
and tired of his queen, the dowdy Catherine of Aragon, until his death, by
which time he has wed five more queens, executed two of them and broken with
the Vatican, turning England into a torture chamber. Jonathan Rhys Meyers is
Henry. Your first impression will be that he’s too young and too thin but he grows into the
role. And here’s something to think about: If people were allowed to behead
spouses they no longer wanted, there would be fewer divorces.
House of Cards (13
episodes): We are as hooked on this original Netflix series as much as we
are on the Fresh Market Salted Caramel Crispy Cookies we eat while watching it. Kevin Spacey stars as a congressman who has been double-crossed by the
president he helped get elected and sets out to extract revenge. It’s
intelligent, well written and Spacey, who reveals his intentions as soliloquys directly
to the audience, is spot-on. Also stars the gorgeous Robin Wright as his
cold-as-ice bitch-of-a-wife. More episodes are in production.
These are only a few of the dozens (and dozens) of shows you
can enjoy on Netflix. There are National
Geographic specials out the ying-yang; documentaries galore; my wife’s
favorite series, Sons of Anarchy (53
episodes); West Wing (156 episodes); Downton Abbey (year one); The Borgias (24 episodes); 83 episodes
of Always Sunny in Philadelphia, etc.
There are even 68 episodes of the anything-but-funny
(and mercifully cancelled) Parks &
Recreation, one of the many so-called “comedies” that helped contribute to
NBC’s abysmal ratings, something that pleases me greatly since NBC is owned by Comcast,
my cable company. There’s an assortment of current and classic movies, too. All
for $7.95/month. You could watch 24/7 for a year and pay less than $100 for the privilege.
Don't have Netflix? Get thee (OK, I've been watching too much English TV) to your nearest store, pick up a Roku and some salted caramel cookies (including extra boxes to stash in your freezer so you won't have to leave the house) and you'll be set for the summer.
Enjoy.
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