Streaming Video Power Rankings #156

1) Amazon Prime Video: One of the best Prime weeks ever for fans of vintage TV. Yes, I was disappointed that the collection of Bob Hope specials was virtually all Christmas ones--let's get some variety in there--but I can't complain about season one of The Carol Burnett Show and a bunch of Red Skelton Hour shows, and I hope all of these collections add more episodes soon.

In addition, The Joey Bishop Show is new, along with the obscurities Tucker's Witch (1982) and an old sitcom called Love & Marriage starring the great William Demarest! It's cool that a new season of The Tick debuts this weekend, but this week was all about this older programming.

2) WWE: Normally I'd put WWE at #1 since this is its biggest week of the year with WrestleMania and associated events, but, come on--William Demarest! I'd actually be more likely to resub to WWE for the vintage Mania press conferences it uploaded this week.

3) CBS All Access: I think the reviews for Jordan Peele's The Twilight Zone are all over the place, but the series got CBS a ton of attention this week. Kudos to CBS for making the first episode available for free online, too.

4) Netflix: It's actually a big weekend, with new season of Sabrina,  the debut of prestige Attenborough series Our Planet, and Unicorn Room, Brie Larson's feature directing debut. I was all over The Ranch, though. I'm still way behind, but here's an unpopular opinion: the show is much funnier than One Day at a Time.

Speaking of that series, stories circulated this week that Netflix is blocking a pickup of the canceled show by CBS All Access. Amazing that CBS can somehow look like a good guy here. Combine stories like this with the rate hikes, and I'm just getting a little Netflix fatigue. I'm even toying with the idea of doing the unthinkable and canceling it at some point and making it part of a rotation of services instead of a monthly given.

5) Hulu: It's getting some moderate buzz for its recent originals like The Act, and while that sounds like faint praise, it's better than no buzz. Personally, I'm glad for Hulu so I can catch up on Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

6) YouTube: Here's another from the Anecodotal Evidence Department: Not only do my kids seem to want to watch only (or most mostly) YouTube, it seems like their friends are more focused on YouTubers than on traditional "TV shows." Disney and Nickelodeon are feeling it now, but in another decade or so, it will be all the other channels feeling it, right?

7) MLB TV: I remember when I used to think that the Free Game of the Day almost always featured two random sucky teams with little national interest or chance of contending. That's why it was so gratifying to see the Pirates show up twice--hey, wait a minute!

8) HBO: I finally watched Wonder Woman (solid, but I don't envision a need to see it again) and started the Adnan Syed docuseries (I'm very impressed by the first chapter).

9) Roku Channel: New for April: Grudge Match (I have to give in and watch this now, I think), Willy Wonka, Tin Cup, and others. It gave me some nice background viewing in The Patty Duke Show when Shout! TV wouldn't work all last week.

10) Criterion Channel: The eagerly awaited new service for film lovers begins tomorrow. It promises hundreds of titles, but it hasn't released a lot of details about exactly how much of the Criterion Collection will be available. We'll have to see tomorrow. I know a lot of people will be all over it.