Sunday, September 17, 2017

Streaming Video Power Rankings Week 77: Special "Gonna stop doing the Special... deal next week"

1) Hulu: I just redeemed a gift code, so I have 3 months of free Hulu ahead of me, baby! It makes it a lot easier to love Hulu, I will say that.

2) Netflix: Any other week, Netflix would be a runaway #1, and I am sure it will be next week after my kids discover the droppage of a new season of Project Mc2. American Vandal is generating some buzz, Pocahontas returned (insert standard comment about why the Disney movies have to leave in the first place), the epic George Harrison documentary that originally aired on HBO is here, and a well-regarded Angelina Jolie film premiered.

I didn't have access to my DVDs this week, and it was nice to remember that, hey, I can watch The Dick Van Dyke Show here. That said, I was a bit underwhelmed by the finale of Stranger Things (Hey, I said I'd get there eventually).

3) MLB.TV: The arrival of NFL Season reminds us how great baseball is. Yes, the local blackout restrictions stink, but other than that, you can watch every out-of-market game when you want on multiple devices. Sounds simple, but the NFL doesn't want us to do that. it was cool checking out the Indians' winning streak on MLB.

4) Shout! Factory TV: So this old Starcade is an incredible watch: A game show with people playing video games, and the prizes are video games, the questions are about video games, and host Geoff Edwards keeps making comments about how he loves to play Burger Time.

5) YouTube: My pod co-host got me on a David letterman kick. Current phase: watching old clips of Letterman guesting on old game shows.

6) Warner Archive Instant: I said it before, and I will say it again: I want to throw my shoe at the TV when Harry Nilsson starts singing in the middle of a Courtship of Eddie's Father episode. And often my shoes are all the way on the other side of the room!

7) Pluto TV: It's adding more channels, like the new Stadium TV, and if you're in the mood to just kind of browse a bunch of random live channels, this is a decent option. I find it amusing that 6 or so of the channels are now devoted to the Big Sky Conference and its member schools.

8) Tubi TV: I think I'm in the middle of a mini-John Hughes phase, and it was nice to see She's Having a Baby for the first time through Tubi, but, oh, that sinking feeling you get when it goes to a commercial break and you see "Ad 1 of 5" at the top of the screen...

9) HBO Now: Pretty much putting this here in anticipation of it winning a ton of Emmys this week. Plus Amazon Prime is saying it wants a Game of Thrones. Netflix is the streaming leader, but HBO continues to be a programming influencer and leader. Plus it's premiering La La Land!

10) Pub-D-Hub: No update this week due to the hurricane, and I would say that's a pretty good "excuse." Stay safe, Pub-D-Hubbers!

No comments: