Streaming Video Power Rankings #120

I didn't run a few posts I planed to this week, and I wish I had a good excuse, like I was watching TV all week, but no, it was boring, old real-life stuff. Fortunately, the weekly power rankings are here, they're clear, and we're used to it!

1) Netflix: Back on top despite Captain Underpants bombing with one of my kids (the other was enjoying it until she turned it off). It looked decent from the 45 seconds I saw and 10 minutes I sort of heard.

Netflix gave us an odd grab bag of original series this week, like Dark Tourism, but I am making an effort to really take advantage of my membership--why should the kids have all the fun--and got into shows like Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. And Netflix wants me to watch Lost in Space (the reboot), and I almost started, but then I thought, hey, I can get back into season 2 of the original Star Trek and watched that instead.

2) YouTube: The highlight for me this week is this vintage CBS special about comic strips:

However, I also enjoyed some great old commercials and a vintage news report on the death of Natalie Wood. I should mention, too, that my kids watched a ton of wacky "eating gross foods" videos on here. Overall, YT got a lot of streaming time at Cultureshark Tower this week.

3) Hulu: Speaking of the kids for the third consecutive entry, they enjoyed them some Teen Titans Go! and after I saw the new trailer for Titans (see #10), I got a new appreciation for the cartoon. I would like to see a little more classic TV added, though, since new TV is a bit is a little slower going in the summer.

4) PIX11: It didn't add much, but I got a kick out of catching up on some of the archival content it did add in recent weeks. The reopening ceremony for the Statue of Liberty is a highlight and comes complete with a newscast including Jerry Girard's sports.

5) WWE Network: This week's hidden gem is a fun one: A non-televised tryout match pitting The Rock (billed as Dwayne Johnson) against Chris Candido, but the real treat for me was rewatching Starrcade '85. I may or may not renew this new week; we'll see what the next big catalog drop is.

6) The Roku Channel: This free channel is gaining momentum and solely gearing up to be a real contender. It has added live news feeds to its assortment of movies and TV shows, and while it will have to add content more often to be a frequent stop for me, it's worth a regular look-in.

7) Pluto TV: This other free channel (free is great!) announced a deal with Sony to add "more than 200 movie and classic TV titles." The news is light on specifics, but this is welcome news that bolsters Pluto's growing on-demand library. Bewitched is one show mentioned, and this reminds me that I would rather watch it on Roku Channel or on Pluto than on Sony's own free streamer, Sony Crackle. That's not a good thing for Sony Crackle. This news is fantastic for Pluto.

8) Amazon Prime: I didn't get to see much on here except Dojo Pro, an intriguing take on pro wrestling with a fresh format. I'm grateful that the Jaws movies are here, though, considering I just started listening to the Inside Jaws podcast.

9) Shout! Factory TV: I said it before, and I will say it again: One of the more underrated TV shows of the 1990s is 1997's The Weird Al Show. Only thing is I think when I said it before I got mixed up and said it was one of the more underrated shows of the 1980s. Anyway, in 2018 the goofy comedy is streaming here on Shout!

10) DC Universe: OK, OK, so this technically doesn't exist yet, but it's on the way, and it finally has a pricepoint, some original footage (that Titans trailer), and, yes, BUZZ! I don't like the pricepoint, I don't care for the original footage, and I want more programming detail and less buzz, but I still give DC a spot this week.