Streaming Video Rankings #103

We had a bit of weather this week, so you might think I had more time to consume streaming video (wow, that phrase sounds pretentious). Yes, because I worked so hard I didn't feel like doing anything as strenuous as...reading. Here's the top 10:

1) Netflix: I don't know how much Netflix I watched. I don't know what half of these so-called Netflix Originals are even about anymore. I surrender, though, to the ubiquity of Netflix. They are still the top dog, whether their shows are any good or not. Maybe I will get around to Santa Clarita Diet or The Mechanism or Requiem. In the meantime I can only bow down to the onslaught of original content.

Plus it bought the streaming rights to the entire Monty Python catalog, indicating it hasn't totally given up on vintage material.

2) Filmstruck: Now that I am actually paying attention to this service on a weekly basis, I am thrilled that so much new content arrives each week. Just this weekend, there is a collection of Hepburn/Tracy, an assortment of movies directed by Herbert Ross, a few of Scorcese's first flicks, and a fun collection called Troubled Waters with The Breaking Point, His Kind of Woman, and more.

3) Warner Archive Instant: Yvonne Craig on Dr. Kildare alone justifies a high ranking.

4) Hulu: Is anyone out there watching Hard Sun? I'm not sure anyone is. I know I am watching Gotham and Brooklyn Nine-Nine now that they have returned

5) Hoopla: This 100% free app is available through your local library (hopefully), and the only hitch is the monthly rental limit determined by the agreement it has with Hoopla. It makes it difficult to watch a TV series this way, but it's great for ebooks and movies. I just used this for the first time to "borrow" a video on Roku, and the 72-hour rental period is annoying, but it's free.

For the record, I saw an hour of Ric Flair footage--not coincidentally from territories with murky non-WWE-owned library rights: Flair against Billy Jack Haynes from Portland and Flair against Jerry Lawler from Memphis. The whole process was smooth and easy. Thumbs up to Hoopla/

6) Amazon Prime Video: Amazon didn't bring a lot of flashy new adds this week, but I don't really mind when I can sit down and watch a few Make Room for Daddy episodes.

7) YouTube: The PRO Classics channel from Peter Rodgers Organization is quietly uploading dozens of uncut episodes of shows like The Rifleman and lately My Favorite Martian. It's free!

8) The CW: Black Lightning continues to stand out in its point of view and different slant than the other superhero shows. It's not my favorite show on TV by any means, but it is solid entertainment that manages to be distinctive.

9) NBC: Out of the blue, NBC added Punky Brewster to its "Throwback" section. Reminds me of how you may be lonely and then one day you're smiling again.

10) Pub-D-Hub: An interesting add this week was an episode of Dial 999, a show about a Canadian solving crimes in London.