Streaming Video Power Rankings #112

This was a good week for streaming, and a good week for  me watching TV since I had a little more free time than usual. Some big guns are bumped out of the list this week. I could have easily gone 15 deep this time.

1) Netflix deserves the nod this week for the second batch of The Toys That Made Us, my favorite TV documentary right now, and it comes right as I finish The Wild, Wild Country. I still feel icky about 13 Reasons Why, but I may get to that eventually. New this weekend is Michelle Wolf's new show and a Steve Martin/Martin Short comedy special. Hopefully some of this makes up for my massive disappointment with the new David Letterman series.

Now for the "my kids" report: My kids tore through Nailed It, which I mentioned last week but repeat now, and to my surprise, they got back into The Who What? Show. I didn't think that would have rewatchability, but it's a big hit at my place, and I have found myself chuckling to it as well.

2) Hulu: I read about a site redesign and dreaded it, but maybe that was just the live TV side. Somehow I think I am giving Hulu credit for not screwing up its interface, even though I still don't like the current one, which I considered a screw-up from its previous one.

As far as actual watching goes, I have rediscovered Seinfeld on here, plus I am still watching a few older shows I don't want to mention until they show up on Battle of the Network Shows. Hulu hasn't excited me much in a while, though, and could use another batch of classic shows. Hey, it just so happens I will name 5 good fits for it on Tuesday as part of my series on shows that should be streaming! (That's two shameless plugs in the same entry! Yeah, baby!)

Have all these DC Comics animated movies been on here all this time, though? I discovered a whole category of them the other day, and though I think I've seen them all, I credit Hulu for having them.

3) WWE Network: The announcement that the Hidden Gems feature will now be a weekly drop solidifies my feeling that this outfit is finally getting right as far as delivering classic content. Of course, now that WWE is getting massive amounts of cash from USA and FOX to show its flagship programs, I kind of feel like it should be paying US to watch the network. Come on, share the wealth!

4) YouTube: The Museum of Classic Chicago Television channel posted a special edition of NBC Nightly News that aired after Egypt announced it was recognizing Israel. It's a fascinating watch and a nice glimpse into the times (including the original commercials).

5) MLB.TV: It gets docked a few points this week for a quirk that really annoys me: an automatic commercial when you load a game. So if you are watching one game and find out about something going on in another one--like a no-hitter in progress or someone at bat you want to see--you have to sit through an ad before the live game loads. That's absurd.

6) Tubi TV: I watched a certain early nineties action movie on here the other day. It's too embarrassing to say twice, so I will reveal the title in another post. However, I was reminded how much there is and how much variety there is on the free but ad-supported Tubi. It adds titles throughout the month, too, not just at the beginning. I saw a nice big list of movies coming in June, too. Tubi is one of the more underappreciated services out there.

7) ESPN-Plus: I am still irritated that ESPN is moving so much previously "free" content here from ESPN 3, but the massive UFC deal it announced this week ensures a lot of exclusive programming for the new service. It will also put a ton of CFL football on here .It's an interesting line ESPN is walking here, trying to add attractive stuff without taking it from "regular" ESPN. It's moving in the direction it needs to go, but I don't know if it has enough to demand an extra 5 bucks a month just yet. Actually, I should say that the reaction I see online is almost all negative to this service. ESPN better hope a lot of UFC fans sign up for this thing.

8) Hoopla: I watched a couple of movies via this library-related streaming service, and I think there is a problem with one of them, but I don't blame Hoopla, which is offering a valuable service. I would advise anyone interested in the old Disney live-action movies to get Hoopla and watch them on it before Disney pulls them for its own streaming service.

9) Filmstruck: As I mentioned last week, I do not currently have Filmstruck, but it uploaded a bunch of Joan Crawford and Peter Sellers movies (or I should say Joan Crawford movies and Peter Sellers movies; I don't know if they collaborated very often). I mean a LOT. We're talking Trog on the Crawford side.
 
10) Boomerang: Right after I give the service a fairly negative review (it's OK, but not enough value for the price), it adds one of my favorite cartoons of all time, Top Cat. I want to recognize Boomerang for adding it, and in fact it makes me want to watch the series again, so I will...but I will dig out my DVDs.