I spent a lot of time talking about Hulu yesterday, and with good reason. There isn't as much going on in Netflix Land lately apart from the decision to raise prices a buck a month. That's not a terrible increase, and existing customers are told they are "safe" from any hike for two years.
The May 1 haul brought in the James Bond movies yet again. Maybe they'll last more than a month this time! Same holds true for the batch of old Godzilla flicks that return.
Other notable May 1 titles: Forrest Gump, The Big Chill, Fantastic Voyage, Heavy Metal (Hey, now!), Kill Bill 1 and Kill Bill 2, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.
One thing Netflix has been good at is adding recent documentaries. Some interesting music docs in the past two weeks: (Green Day's) Broadway Idiot, Metallica Through the Never, Muscle Shoals, Beware Mr. Baker. Others that caught my eye: JFK: The Smoking Gun (which aired on Reelz last year), The Trials of Muhammad Ali, Cocaine Cowboys Reloaded, and Eyes of the Mothman.
Crackle scared me for a day or two by delaying its monthly addition of Seinfeld episodes. Yet 10 more arrived eventually, with this month's theme of "Sports." I still wish they didn't repeat so many, and part of me thinks it's a cheat counting a two-parter ("The Boyfriend"--the Keith Hernandez one) as two of the 10, but I'll enjoy what I get.
Crackle did irritate me by removing "Drive." It was there for only about a month or two! I should have caught it while I could.
New on Acorn TV this month: Series 2 of Blandings with Timothy Spall, Jeeves and Wooster (with Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie), The Civil War: The Untold Story (Wait, whaaaa?), Midsomer Murders Set 24 (!), Theatreland with Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart, and An Idiot Abroad. That last one has just been on cable TV and is already on Netflix, so while it's nice that it's there, it's not a game-changing asset for Acorn. I'd rather see more pre-1990 comedies, for example.
Warner Archive Instant has been quiet again the last few weeks, though it did add the complete series (minus the pilot movie) of The Man from Atlantis. I think that instead of the "Dallas" shower scene, the go-to joke when Patrick Duffy shows up in something should be based on "The Man from Atlantis." I remember seeing ads for the show in old comic books, but I've never seen it. Here's my chance!
A handful of movie adds include Rio Rita (the Abbott and Costello version), Summer Holiday (the Mickster and Judy Garland), Tom Thumb, and Reckless (William Powell and Jean Harlow). It seems like more movies have gone out than have come in the last month or so, and I think we're due for a big update later this week.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Monday, May 12, 2014
This Week in Instant Watching: Hulu
So let's talk about what's being going on in the world of streaming the last few weeks.
Hey, remember how I was complaining every week about Hulu not adding the CBS library shows as had been announced months ago? Well, with apologies to the Wyatt Family (sorry--WWE reference), "They're here." Sort of.
Yes, although it is hard to find information about new shows coming to Hulu, especially on platforms like Roku, where additions can be buried for some reason, I did notice some newcomers that excited me--believe it or not, even more than new programs Sex Sent Me to the E.R. an d America's Worst Tattoos. Yep, some of those CBS oldies have arrived!
Only, there's a catch. You know there's a catch with Hulu. There almost always is, right? First let me mention some of the titles:
The Odd Couple, Laverne and Shirley, Mork and Mindy, Taxi, Beverly Hills 90210, Everybody Loves Raymond, Everybody Hates Chris, Cheers, Felix the Cat Platinum Collection.
OK, "Felix the Cat" has nothing to do with CBS, but I'm still happy it's there. I enjoyed watching them with my daughter when they were on Netflix a few years ago.
So a lot of CBS hits, and I am not even mentioning America's Next Top Model. Seriously, forget I just typed that. Lots of new content, right? And while I think virtually everyone is streaming "Cheers," most of these haven't been streaming anywhere, ever. On the surface, this is a coup for Hulu.
The thing is that only some of the episodes are there. Now, this approach doesn't fly in this day and age. A few places can get away with a "curated" (usually random) assortment of episodes, like Crackle's 10 Seinfelds a month, but this ain't that. Mork offers 39 of 95 episodes, Laverne has 38 of 178, Taxi 75 of 114, and The Odd Couple 65 of 114. Lame!
Faring better are "Everybody Hates Chris" (75 of 88) and "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Cheers," which are apparently complete. Oddly, "90210" is the only one of these offering just one season, but at least it's the first season and is intact. Now, that approach at least makes sense. I'm not sure why putting up, say, 3 episodes in a single season of "Laverne and Shirley" is the way to go.
And you might think, well, this is just a start, and more episodes will be added later. Folks, let me tell you something about Hulu. It doesn't "add episodes later." If they aren't up when the series launches, or pretty soon thereafter, they ain't coming. Ask fans of Lou Grant, Bob Newhart Show, Mary Tyler Moore, St. Elsewhere, The Rockford Files, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. It was a big deal to me when Kojak added season 1 to go along with season 2 and 3--but it had been taken down a month earlier, so it wasn't a new batch of episodes, just the return of previously available ones!
Heck, ask fans of another CBS show that was added last year--I Love Lucy, which is represented by just over 100 of 181 episodes.
Another of my patented research efforts--yep, going to Facebook--yielded little information. Here's an exchange between a curious customer and a Hulu rep about when (or if) more episodes will arrive:
Hey, remember how I was complaining every week about Hulu not adding the CBS library shows as had been announced months ago? Well, with apologies to the Wyatt Family (sorry--WWE reference), "They're here." Sort of.
Yes, although it is hard to find information about new shows coming to Hulu, especially on platforms like Roku, where additions can be buried for some reason, I did notice some newcomers that excited me--believe it or not, even more than new programs Sex Sent Me to the E.R. an d America's Worst Tattoos. Yep, some of those CBS oldies have arrived!
Only, there's a catch. You know there's a catch with Hulu. There almost always is, right? First let me mention some of the titles:
The Odd Couple, Laverne and Shirley, Mork and Mindy, Taxi, Beverly Hills 90210, Everybody Loves Raymond, Everybody Hates Chris, Cheers, Felix the Cat Platinum Collection.
OK, "Felix the Cat" has nothing to do with CBS, but I'm still happy it's there. I enjoyed watching them with my daughter when they were on Netflix a few years ago.
So a lot of CBS hits, and I am not even mentioning America's Next Top Model. Seriously, forget I just typed that. Lots of new content, right? And while I think virtually everyone is streaming "Cheers," most of these haven't been streaming anywhere, ever. On the surface, this is a coup for Hulu.
The thing is that only some of the episodes are there. Now, this approach doesn't fly in this day and age. A few places can get away with a "curated" (usually random) assortment of episodes, like Crackle's 10 Seinfelds a month, but this ain't that. Mork offers 39 of 95 episodes, Laverne has 38 of 178, Taxi 75 of 114, and The Odd Couple 65 of 114. Lame!
Faring better are "Everybody Hates Chris" (75 of 88) and "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Cheers," which are apparently complete. Oddly, "90210" is the only one of these offering just one season, but at least it's the first season and is intact. Now, that approach at least makes sense. I'm not sure why putting up, say, 3 episodes in a single season of "Laverne and Shirley" is the way to go.
And you might think, well, this is just a start, and more episodes will be added later. Folks, let me tell you something about Hulu. It doesn't "add episodes later." If they aren't up when the series launches, or pretty soon thereafter, they ain't coming. Ask fans of Lou Grant, Bob Newhart Show, Mary Tyler Moore, St. Elsewhere, The Rockford Files, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. It was a big deal to me when Kojak added season 1 to go along with season 2 and 3--but it had been taken down a month earlier, so it wasn't a new batch of episodes, just the return of previously available ones!
Heck, ask fans of another CBS show that was added last year--I Love Lucy, which is represented by just over 100 of 181 episodes.
Another of my patented research efforts--yep, going to Facebook--yielded little information. Here's an exchange between a curious customer and a Hulu rep about when (or if) more episodes will arrive:
Glad to see the additions of MORK & MINDY, THE ODD COUPLE, TAXI, and LAVERNE & SHIRLEY. I noticed that many episodes are missing (rights issues, I suppose). Will more become available as time goes on?
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Public Service Announcement: So there's a Marx Brothers DVD set coming out this summer...
Several months ago, a pre-order link for a new Marx Brothers DVD set appeared at Amazon.com, and naturally it drew my interest. Unfortunately, the only info was the name (Marx Brothers TV Collection), the cool box cover (a Drew Friedman portrait), and the release date. What could be on this? What is it about?
Well, we still don't have all the details, but we know enough to know that for any Marxist with a DVD player, this is a must-buy. Even if a lot of the footage is available on YouTube, it'll be great to have it all in one place. Here is an official rundown from Shout! Factory:
Over 50 Television Appearances
GE Theater, The Jack Benny Program, The Jackie Gleason Show, The Colgate Comedy Hour, The Dick Cavett Show, All Star Revue, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, Kraft Music Hall, The Red Skelton Hour, The RCA Victor Show, The Perry Como Show, The Arthur Murray Party, Championship Bridge, Celebrity Golf, Celebrity Billiards and many, many more!
Sold!
Today, though, the great Mark Evanier posted a news item on his blog about this set, and if he vouches for it, that's even more confirmation I need to get this. Marx historian Robert Bader is spearheading the DVD set, and that's a guy who knows what he's doing. In fact, go ahead and check out this blog post from someone who attended a recent sneak peek of the footage, and prepare to drool.
Maybe a fellow Marx Brothers fan who has hungered for more info on this set will see my little post today and get some more 411. Hopefully we'll see more about this collection soon, but I already have seen enough to know I want it.
Well, we still don't have all the details, but we know enough to know that for any Marxist with a DVD player, this is a must-buy. Even if a lot of the footage is available on YouTube, it'll be great to have it all in one place. Here is an official rundown from Shout! Factory:
Over 50 Television Appearances
GE Theater, The Jack Benny Program, The Jackie Gleason Show, The Colgate Comedy Hour, The Dick Cavett Show, All Star Revue, The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, Kraft Music Hall, The Red Skelton Hour, The RCA Victor Show, The Perry Como Show, The Arthur Murray Party, Championship Bridge, Celebrity Golf, Celebrity Billiards and many, many more!
Sold!
Today, though, the great Mark Evanier posted a news item on his blog about this set, and if he vouches for it, that's even more confirmation I need to get this. Marx historian Robert Bader is spearheading the DVD set, and that's a guy who knows what he's doing. In fact, go ahead and check out this blog post from someone who attended a recent sneak peek of the footage, and prepare to drool.
Maybe a fellow Marx Brothers fan who has hungered for more info on this set will see my little post today and get some more 411. Hopefully we'll see more about this collection soon, but I already have seen enough to know I want it.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Half-Assed Gourmet UPDATE
Recently I expressed my discomfort
(“bitched” just sounds so inelegant) with McDonald's decision to
slap mayonnaise—which has been classified as biohazardous material
in half a dozen states—on it's chicken, cheddar, and onion
sandwich. Well, you know me and my jet-setting active lifestyle. I
visited McDonald's yet again last week and saw a huge picture of this
particular entree above a menu. Yes, this photo made it pretty clear
that there was some kind of weird sauce on the thing.
OK, so shame on me. But in my defense,
I got the chicken sandwich at the drive-through, where 1) they didn't
post that picture and 2) even if they did, I never would have seen it
because of how they position the menus after the food-ordering speaker,
making it impossible to peruse the offerings even when you don't have
a line of hungry drivers behind you.
So what I'm trying to say here is, yes, I could have known this sandwich had mayonnaise it, but I didn't, and it's all McDonald's fault, and besides, why don't they make menus easier to read before you have to make your order?
So what I'm trying to say here is, yes, I could have known this sandwich had mayonnaise it, but I didn't, and it's all McDonald's fault, and besides, why don't they make menus easier to read before you have to make your order?
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Last Week and This Week in DVD
Labor Day: This Josh Brolin/Kate Winslet melodrama was widely panned by critics. Jeez, everyone is so sensitive these days about convicted murderers who escape from prison invading women's houses, holding them hostage, and making them fall in love.
The Legend of Hercules: Kellan Lutz? Isn't he some kind of vampire? He's not Hercules, I know that. The Rock is Hercules. What the hell is this movie trying to pull?
The Art of the Steal: Kurt Russell and Matt Dillon are a couple of old pros. As for this little-seen heist movie...uh, Kurt Russell and Matt Dillon are a couple of old pros.
Devil's Due: In this horror flick, a couple experiences awful things after their honeymoon in the Dominican Republic. See, travel agent in 2005 who tried to pitch it to me as a perfectly safe alternative to Aruba?
Veronica Mars: I'm not a Marshmallow, but I don't mean any malice when I ask, was it worth it? I don't mean raising money for the reunion film, but was the theatrical experience so special? It's already out on DVD for general release now, and I just wonder why there "had to be" an actual movie movie. I don't get the whole "6 seasons and a movie" thing with Community, though--the 6 seasons, sure, but the movie? And I don't need to see an Arrested Development film at the local multiplex. And those are shows I do watch.
Challenge of the Go-Bots Volume 1: I honestly don't remember if this cartoon, now coming from Warner Archive, was just OK or total crap, but something about the word "Challenge" in the title gives it gravitas.
Son of Batman: I never liked the idea of an actual son of Batman. He has a ward. His name is Dick Grayson. Anything that happened after 1985 isn't really Batman.
Francis the Talking Mule Collection: 10 years ago, Universal put 4 of these out in Volume 1. Apparently the thought of putting out a volume 2 with the other 3 was just too strenuous for the company. "No, no, that's too much work. Hell with it, just put them all out!" Fortunately the price is low enough that the double-dip fans will have to make to finish the series isn't too big a deal.
Hill Street Blues Complete Series: It's not a big presence in reruns at all, even with all the retro-themed subchannels around today, but this groundbreaking cop show deserves to be remembered. Shout has pried it from Fox (could St. Elsewhere be next?), and we can enjoy all 34 discs' worth of the low-rated but acclaimed Steve Bochco joint. Complete series sets like this are a boon to fans who don't have to wait years more for season sets to dribble out, but unfortunately they do price out casual fans or people who just want to give the show a try. Plus I assume this release makes it less likely that Hulu will add to the 3 seasons it already has. Still, kudos to Shout for licensing this and getting it out there.
Star Trek: Enterprise Complete Series: This Blu-Ray release should please fans. Me, I ignored this show, proudly sticking to my idiotic stance of hating on every Star Trek series that isn't The Original Series.
Dynasty Season 8: 70 bucks MSRP for 22 episodes. I'm just sayin'.
Mr. Selfridge Season 2: If you had ever told me a PBS British period piece starring Jeremy Piven would not only do well, but would last multiple seasons, well, I would have--I would have--I don't even know, but it would have involved the ingestion of some inedible object.
Betty Boop Essential Collection 3: Another Boop set from Olive Films. It's well reviewed, and the 'toons are remastered, but maybe it's a bit pricy for one disc with 12 shorts and no special features. Still, at least Olive is willing to take these from Paramount and do something with them.
The Legend of Hercules: Kellan Lutz? Isn't he some kind of vampire? He's not Hercules, I know that. The Rock is Hercules. What the hell is this movie trying to pull?
The Art of the Steal: Kurt Russell and Matt Dillon are a couple of old pros. As for this little-seen heist movie...uh, Kurt Russell and Matt Dillon are a couple of old pros.
Devil's Due: In this horror flick, a couple experiences awful things after their honeymoon in the Dominican Republic. See, travel agent in 2005 who tried to pitch it to me as a perfectly safe alternative to Aruba?
Veronica Mars: I'm not a Marshmallow, but I don't mean any malice when I ask, was it worth it? I don't mean raising money for the reunion film, but was the theatrical experience so special? It's already out on DVD for general release now, and I just wonder why there "had to be" an actual movie movie. I don't get the whole "6 seasons and a movie" thing with Community, though--the 6 seasons, sure, but the movie? And I don't need to see an Arrested Development film at the local multiplex. And those are shows I do watch.
Challenge of the Go-Bots Volume 1: I honestly don't remember if this cartoon, now coming from Warner Archive, was just OK or total crap, but something about the word "Challenge" in the title gives it gravitas.
Son of Batman: I never liked the idea of an actual son of Batman. He has a ward. His name is Dick Grayson. Anything that happened after 1985 isn't really Batman.
Francis the Talking Mule Collection: 10 years ago, Universal put 4 of these out in Volume 1. Apparently the thought of putting out a volume 2 with the other 3 was just too strenuous for the company. "No, no, that's too much work. Hell with it, just put them all out!" Fortunately the price is low enough that the double-dip fans will have to make to finish the series isn't too big a deal.
Hill Street Blues Complete Series: It's not a big presence in reruns at all, even with all the retro-themed subchannels around today, but this groundbreaking cop show deserves to be remembered. Shout has pried it from Fox (could St. Elsewhere be next?), and we can enjoy all 34 discs' worth of the low-rated but acclaimed Steve Bochco joint. Complete series sets like this are a boon to fans who don't have to wait years more for season sets to dribble out, but unfortunately they do price out casual fans or people who just want to give the show a try. Plus I assume this release makes it less likely that Hulu will add to the 3 seasons it already has. Still, kudos to Shout for licensing this and getting it out there.
Star Trek: Enterprise Complete Series: This Blu-Ray release should please fans. Me, I ignored this show, proudly sticking to my idiotic stance of hating on every Star Trek series that isn't The Original Series.
Dynasty Season 8: 70 bucks MSRP for 22 episodes. I'm just sayin'.
Mr. Selfridge Season 2: If you had ever told me a PBS British period piece starring Jeremy Piven would not only do well, but would last multiple seasons, well, I would have--I would have--I don't even know, but it would have involved the ingestion of some inedible object.
Betty Boop Essential Collection 3: Another Boop set from Olive Films. It's well reviewed, and the 'toons are remastered, but maybe it's a bit pricy for one disc with 12 shorts and no special features. Still, at least Olive is willing to take these from Paramount and do something with them.
Monday, May 5, 2014
Things Only I Want to See: Drive-In Follies
Someone should put together a montage
of vintage film clips showing hapless drive-in customers pulling away
without replacing the speakers. I want to see cars racing off and
bringing a little stake or post out of the ground. I want to see a
cheap little speaker dragging along in the grass behind the vehicle.
It's beyond cliché at this point, but you have to admit "Yakety Sax"
would be the perfect musical accompaniment for this parade of
wackiness.
Does anyone have this kind of material—genuine examples of this, mind you, from the glory days of the drive-in—on hand? I doubt there's enough to make a 5-minute gag reel, let alone a feature film. Boy, would I pay to see a documentary just about that, though. That has to be the funniest aspect of drive-in theater history.
Maybe we could even get some footage of
sheepish patrons handing over a tangled mass of cable or wire to a
bemused attendant. Ideally the camera angle would show Dad's family
in the background, trying to duck out of sight.
Does anyone have this kind of material—genuine examples of this, mind you, from the glory days of the drive-in—on hand? I doubt there's enough to make a 5-minute gag reel, let alone a feature film. Boy, would I pay to see a documentary just about that, though. That has to be the funniest aspect of drive-in theater history.
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