Streaming Video Power Rankings #128

Special shout-out to everyone dealing with Hurricane Florence, many of whom may not even have power this weekend. Believe me, I know how fortunate I am to be able to sit on my duff and watch streaming video in the comfort of my own place.

That said, it was a tremendous week for streaming, with tons of high-profile shows debuting and even a brand-new service launching a few days early. Let's get to it:

1) NBC: The mantra around here is, "New old stuff rules." So when I see that the NBC app (apparently the shows aren't available on the web) has added The Equalizer, The Six Million Dollar Man, and The Incredible Hulk, I give them extra credit. The first two weren't around anywhere else, and only half of the third was already on Hulu, so this is a great development. Also note that none of these shows appeared on NBC, which is embracing the "Universal" part of its library.

2) NewsOn: This aggregator on Roku collects newscasts from local stations around the country and makes it free and easy to watch them. It's a great service that is especially valuable in times of national disasters and emergencies.

3) Amazon Prime Video: I'm not even really interested in new series Forever, but I have watched a lot of Prime this week. I didn't mention Netflix debuting Black Panther last week, but that was because the highlight for me was Wait for Your Laugh, a charming documentary about the amazing Rose Marie:

I also enjoyed The Disaster Artist, and checking out recommendations after watching that led me to a bunch of, "Hey, that's on Prime!" finds.

4) YouTube: Apart from my kids getting hooked on some kind of running storyline involving a bunch of prominent YouTubers, I went down a rab-Burt hole the other day. There is always a fascinating undercurrent of hostility to Burt Reynolds, even sometimes when he is in "charming and self-deprecating" mode on Late Night or The Tonight Show. But my journey began with this gem: Burt denying he has AIDS (to Rona Barrett, no less) on Entertainment Tonight:

5) Netflix: I vowed last week to start getting back into the Netflix originals, and indeed I did, but, bam, then Netflix goes and dumps new seasons of Bojack, American Vandal, and a new show with Norm McDonald, which I intend to watch even if the obnoxious home page is trying to force me to do so.

6) Filmstruck: I sure do love Filmstruck, which gave me Advise and Consent  and Cleopatra Jones this week, then added a ton of James Mason...and Citizen Kane. Freaking Citizen Kane (and other movies with cinematography by Gregg Tolan)--come on!

7) CBS All Access: It enabled downloading/offline viewing of many of its programs this week, which is a cool move. Plus it threw up an assortment of old Murphy Brown episodes. I watched a couple, and it hit me: Yeah, I never did like Murphy Brown and probably never will. Still, credit to CBS for adding even a limited assortment of a series that isn't streaming anywhere else.

8) Hulu: Sean Penn has a new series on here, and that's a pretty big deal, right? I just have some kind of instant "UGH!" reaction when I see he's in something, so this will have to have great reviews to get me to check it out.

In other news, Hulu is adding a ton of Discovery shows, and that does nothing for me, but I'm sure some people are excited. Similarly, good timing to add The Haves and the Have Nots from OWN now that it's been in the news lately.

9) MLB TV: Well, at least it's a chance to see the young guys. That's what we tell ourselves when our teams aren't playing meaningful games in September.

10) DC Universe: It debuted a few days early on Roku, and it looks pretty good. I'm curious how the comic-reading experience looks on a TV, and I wish the Filmation cartoons and a few other things were available, but overall there is some cool content. Enough for 7 bucks a month? I'm not sure about that, but it does look worth a try.