I Like Streaming

You may remember that we got rid of our two-ton tube television set and bought a "smart" TV.

We did this for a couple of reasons. "Two Ton Tessie", the old tv set was purchased in 2002. That still seems like yesterday to me, but it was 17 years ago.  The son, who bought a house a couple of months ago, had just graduated elementary school.  We rented DVDs at this place called "Blockbuster". You might have heard about "Blockbuster".  It was there where I got charged a dollar fine for being 30 minutes late returning "Remember The Titans".

Tessie was old, but she still worked well so the cheapskate in me wanted to keep it.  However, smart TVs are relatively inexpensive and we heard about this new service called "streaming".  I'm not sure what it is but it has something to do with  the internet. I think. I was raised in an analog world so it takes me a while to understand the digital universe.

Our son encouraged us to buy a new TV and eventually old tightwad (me) relented and we bought this brand new smart TV.

There are three major streaming services: Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu.

We already had Amazon Prime because my wife likes to order things off of Amazon and the things arrive within a day or two. Sometimes the things arrive within an hour after the order. Sometimes, it is mere minutes. Some people are worried about Amazon, but I say bring on the stuff!

We bought a subscription to Netflix.  We haven't bought into Hulu.  I'm a little miffed by Hulu because their biggest show is "The Handmaid's Tale" which is about a dystopian world where Peggy Olson of "Mad Men" has babies. Okay.

But we have enjoyed our digital entertainment and here are some reviews of some the shows we've seen.

"Stranger Things 3":  We just finished ST3 and it was very, very good.  It is hard to explain ST because a lot of it is kind of "made up" and you can't really write about it unless you want people to type "TLDR"  next to your post. It has good acting. The kids on the show are all likable. It can be very scary. It also has plot holes you can drive a truck through. For example, all of the parents, with the exception of Winona Ryder are AWOL.  I know parents of the '70s and 80's were not as helicopterish as now, but if their 12-year-old, didn't come home at night, they would have started looking.  But, you can't help to like a show where two characters, Max and Lucas, are making fun of Dustin by singing the theme of "Neverending Story" and Dustin flips them off.

"Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story":   Martin Scorsese's pseudo-documentary of Dylan's "Rolling Thunder Revue" in 1975.  I say "pseudo" because a lot of the material is a put on.  Bette Midler's husband appears as the director of the movie. Sharon Stone says she joined the tour. (She didn't.) This harks back to Dylan's beginnings when he told everybody he was a runaway that worked for the circus instead of the truth: a nice Jewish kid from Minnesota.  Still,  Scorsese manages to take "Renaldo and Clara", the four-hour movie Dylan made about the revue, and makes it watchable. ("Renaldo and Clara" is Bob awful.)  It is nice to see when Bob gave a crap.

"The Romanoffs":  My least favorite show I've seen streaming.  If you have ever wondered if Matthew Weiner can do a bad TV show, the answer is yes.  We gave up on it after two viewings.

"Forever":  Take two Saturday Night Live alumni and add a "Parks and Recreation" writer and you should get a fairly funny show.  You should. But you don't with "Forever".

"Dead To Me":  What happens when a weirdo moves in with the widow of the man she ran over? Hilarity ensues.   It's actually not bad. There is just a lot of swearing in this comedy.

"Schitt's Creek":   This is a Canadian version of "Green Acres".  There are times when the show is literally laugh out loud funny.

"Goliath":  Billy Bob Thorton plays a brilliant but down on his luck attorney. Are there other kind? If you like Billy Bob, you will like the first season of this show. Plus, it has Dwight Yoakam as the CEO of a Defense Contractor.  Southern accents abound in this show.  Season two of this show is depressing and gross.

"Bosch":  This is the most underrated show on any type of television.  A detective that doesn't follow the rules.  Where have we seen that before?  It is just a well-made show with a great cast.