The 3-day weekend brings us the opportunity for rest, reflection, and...really intense streaming? I don't know. A lot happened in the SVOD world this week, so these rankings do not reflect the September 1 adds that so many of our favorite streamers will unveil this weekend. Expect them to be a factor next week.
1) CBS All-Access: How does a fairly lame overpriced paid service win me over? Well, giving away a 30-day free trial helps. It's amazing that it includes the ad-free option. When I signed up and saw the prompt to choose ad-free or with ads, my reaction was:
"Uh...is this a trick question?"
Also, CBS obviously is reading and reacting to these rankings. At some point in recent weeks, it added a bunch of Gunsmoke episodes as I recommended right here. For now it's only the first two hourling seasons (7 and 8), but it still counts. Now let's get Mannix on here before my free month expires.
2) Netflix: It might have been #1 if not for a frustrating morning I spent trying to watch an episode of...anything except the Disenchantment trailer it seemed to want to force me to sample. I thoroughly enjoyed the end of The Flash season 4, plus my kids and I enjoyed the new series Magic for Humans. Bonus points for my kids being done with Fuller House...for now.
3) Filmstruck: I caught Singles (dated? Let's say it's a time capsule, but it's a fun movie either way) and Where Danger Lives (Mitchum in an entertaining noir) before they expired, and Filmstruck just added collections devoted to Paul Newman, mockumentaries, and--this is fun--early animation shorts (or as those of us in less posh circles might say, cartoons) featuring the likes of Felix the Cat.
4) YouTube: This week, I checked out a 20-minute (or so) clip of mostly 1970s CBS TV promos and bumpers, and I loved it. I also watched Ray Parker Jr.'s Ghostbusters video for the first time in years. You know, the Jeffrey Tambor and Al Franken cameos may not hold up so well now, but I still wonder why they happened then.
5) WWE Network: On a weekend in which a huge indie wrestling event is going to celebrate ring action and non-corporate action, let's not forget that on the Network you can see an episode of Prime Time Wrestling that has a 5-minute match between The British Bulldogs and The Hart Foundation followed by 20 minutes of the Harts on a parody of The Dating Game hosted by Vince McMahon.
6) Nosey: I'm not telling you I didn't watch another episode of Sally devoted to troubled teens, but I sure ain't telling you I did. Let's say the high ranking is based on this: I can't find it there now, but one day I saw a "Nosey Hidden Gem" of an episode of a mystery daytime talk series. The description involved heroin and prostitution. What a gem!
7) Prime Video: I didn't watch a lot of Prime this week, but the service gained a ton of MGM library films this week, and it debuts the nifty-looking Jack Ryan series this weekend. I think TV could use some more non-comic book straight-up action shows. Lethal Weapon ain't cutting it.
8) Tubi TV: The "Tubi channels" concept is going into effect, with free "channels" akin to the paid ones on Amazon Prime. The good news it's free here. The bad news is it's hard to organize and sort through them.
That said, it is very cool that a lot (but not all...yet) of the Shout! TV content is available here. It may have less ads (I haven't tested that yet), plus unlike on Shout!, you can add to a queue, the continue watching is reliable, and you don't have to add a stupid ! each time you write Tubi.
9) NBC: Give this free outlet credit for adding all episode of Heroes and Saved by the Bell. Man, I rank NBC and CBS in the same week? Feels like I'm selling out to THE MAN.
10) Hulu: I'd like to see Hulu step it up a bit in September, though Castle Rock does seem to gain momentum each week.
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