This Week and Last Week in Instant Watching Part 2

So yesterday I wound up going long while looking at what debuted on Warner Archive Instant. Therefore, I'm back today to talk about the other stuff.

Anyone who is interested probably knows already that WWE Network added all the Clash of Champions to its on demand library, but I'll mention it, anyway. The Network seems to have abandoned most other vault content for now, though.

The single biggest event in streaming video last week was the arrival of HBO programming to Amazon Prime. I'd care a lot more about it if I had Amazon Prime. Still, it's a bold move for Amazon. I don't think it will drive a lot of new customers to the service, but I think it may well help soothe current customers in the wake of the huge price increase it announced recently. The funny thing to me about this was how negative the media coverage was: It was like, oh, yeah, Sopranos, The Wire, blah blah blah BUT YOU AIN'T GETTING GAME OF THRONES!

Let's get to issues that are more important to ME--namely, Hulu's continued inconsistency in adding CBS library shows. It has been touting Wings the last week, and it looks like, as with Frasier and Cheers, all episodes are available. But look at what else is new:

About 3/4 of The Brady Bunch!
Some of Touched by an Angel!
And if you're a Happy Days fan, hey, there are a whopping 25 episodes streaming.

That's right, out of 9 seasons, 25 episodes are there. There are none from season 1, which many would argue was the best, and 12 from season 2, and then one token each from most other seasons. Inexplicably, the final season is the second-most stocked one, with 5 available. There are more episodes from the awful season 11 as from 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 combined--and that's partly because there are none from season 7. Was Hulu that irritated by the burning down of Arnold's Drive-In?

It's not just CBS, either. I saw a story online that touted the debut of Sailor Moon on Hulu Plus. I am not an anime guy, but I am pretty sure this series is a big deal. Out of curiosity, I clicked on the show page. There are 4 episodes. Well, at least it does say there will be "more episodes every Monday," which is more than we see written on the CBS show pages.

I remember seeing Battle of the Planets when I was a kid. I don't remember there being only 12 episodes, but that's all there are on Hulu. Maybe I'm spoiled by Netflix, but this piecemeal approach to catalog titles doesn't cut it.

Netflix added a bunch of apparently direct to something or other movies with names like Alicia Silverstone, Cuba Gooding, Brendan Fraser, and Stephen Dorff. I don't always get hyped about that kind of thing, but whenever I see them listed at Instantwatcher, people seem to be gobbling them up.

The biggest deal of the last two weeks is probably Star Trek: Into Darkness, which I apparently liked more than a lot of people did. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 is another high-profile new title. Also for the kids: Free Birds with the voices of Woody Harrelson and Owen Wilson. Frozen Ground, a thriller with John Cusack and Nic Cage, intrigues me.

Robert Rodriguez's follow-up to "Machete," Machete Kills, is now online. I don't know, I'm sure I won't be able keep up with the narrative unless I see "Machete" first. It must be Danny Trejo week, because you can also check out 20 Feet Below, about a filmmaker exploring abandoned tunnels underneath the NYC subway.

Birth of the Living Dead is a new documentary about George Romero and the "Night of the Living Dead" franchise. There are a lot of other recent documentary adds, too, including some that I'm pretty sure are returning to Instant Watching. Someone please give me a reason to NOT watch The Hidden Hand: Alien Contact and the Government Cover-Up, because I'm tempted.

There are also a bunch of TED talks. Hey, season 2 of Boss is in the house! I loved the first season, then stopped getting Starz. I am pretty sure there's a direct correlation between that event and my not seeing the second season.