Streaming Video Power Rankings Week 44 (Special How long before pitchers and catchers report Edition

1) YouTube: When TV icon Mary Tyler Moore died this week, people who wanted to watch her most famous work would have been puzzled to find Hulu only had 3 seasons of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Fans of The Dick Van Dyke Show might have fared better, but it's goofy that you have to go to YouTube to find this stuff. And if you want to see her not-so-famous (or even infamous) work, well, you have to rely on YouTube for that because the major streaming services don't bother with things like short-lived sitcom flops and short-lived variety/sitcom hybrid...uh, flops.

2) Amazon: Let's not pat Amazon on the back TOO much for being "the first streaming service to get a Best Picture nomination." After all, Manchester by the Sea isn't even on Amazon Prime yet!

3) Netflix: Congrats for the nomination for 13th and for a couple nominated documentary shorts. Also, it's impressive that CW's No Tomorrow shows up on Netflix so soon after its season finale, proving that the CW deal is indeed legit.

4) Hulu: It does get credit for The Dick Van Dyke Show, but how lame is it that it has only had the same 3 seasons of MTM Show ever since the service launched? I'll tell you--too lame to be overcome by the premiere of season 2 of The Path.

Also, Hulu did something really annoying. It posted a photo of Golden Girls in its recently added shows section even though the show isn't coming for several weeks. Of course you can't tell that until you click through and experience the irritation. Hulu does this kind of thing all the time, and it's a big knock against it.

5) TuneIn: I'm STILL tired of hearing "Father Figure" on the 80s channels, though.

6) Pub-D-Hub: Last week's update included Plymouth Theater's presentation of "A Tale of Two Cities," which is notable because of the cool animation in the sponsor opening and because it gives me the opportunity to say it was the best of updates, it was the worst of updates. OK, sorry about that. Actually it was far from the worst because it also included a batch of clips from previous presidential inaugurations, a nicely timed feature for subscribers.

7) The CW: Well, I wasn't thrilled with Riverdale, but it was nice to see it for free the morning after it premiered.

8) HBO  Now: The new Beware the Slenderman might get more attention this weekend, but I want to mention Becoming Warren Buffet in the vain hope that somehow the mere association gets me some money.

9) PIX11: Good to see PIX throw a few more nuggets from the archives, but, jeez--Challenger tragedy coverage, an item about the death of Andre the Giant...Give me Phil Rizzuto or a promo for an Abbott and Costello movie.

10) Warner Archive Instant: Still lacking in streaming content, but it is showing some signs of life by offering regular blogg-ish content promoting its website. That and the fact they put together a "Debbie Reynolds Collection" enough to sneak into the top 10 in a slow week.

Battle of the Network Shows returns today with a special wrap-up of season one!

We have one more show to wrap up our first season before we kick off season two shortly! This is a special awards extravaganza, as Mike and I give out the Battys, celebrating outstanding achievements among the episodes we watched for the podcast.

Click right here to see if your favorites take home any virtual trophies! And thanks to all of you who have listened to and supported the podcast.

Half-assed Gormet: Chik-Fil-A's Berry Protein Blast

You  know, I'd write more about Chik-Fil-A except I have one big problem with it: No, it's nothing political. It's  just that I loathe having to type "Chik-Fil-A" and remember how to spell it each time.

The chain has revamped its menu a bit recently, not necessarily for the better. It got rid of my favorite breakfast item and seemingly raised the prices on everything else. The place has tasty chow and outstanding service, but it's not perfect and it's hardly a "value" compared to other fast food joints, which helps me from going there every week despite it opening a location very close to Cultureshark Tower.

I had a gift card, though, and a desire to reward myself after a trip to the auto mechanic (Every time I walk out of there with any money left in my account at all, I consider it cause for celebration), so I hit the place for breakfast last week. I was thwarted in my attempt to order lunch because  it was too early, but I didn't go all Michael Douglas; the cashier informed me in a polite and friendly manner (there's never any other way at Chik-Fil-A) that I could get lunch in about 10-15 minutes. I settled for breakfast despite the appalling continued absence of the thing I used to get.

After breakfast I decided to try their touted Berry Protein Blast item.  Let me tell you, there is no way I would have bought this had I not been using a gift card. It looked good, but it was something like 4 1/2 bucks. 4 1/2 bucks for a beverage??? OK, a smoothie.  This ain't Starbucks. I know the coffee drinkers of the nation have voted to pay outrageous prices for "premium blends" and fancy caffeinated beverages, but I don't recall smoothie fans ever getting any say in making their preferred treats so damn expensive.

I don't even think it's an issue that ingredients are so expensive. Let's see, berries, some kind of dairy (milk/ice cream), a little granola on top? In a modest plastic cup? Hardly worth $4.50. It's not just Chik-Fil-A, either, although the prices are high across the board there. Go anywhere and look at the beverages: soda, tea, etc. is one price, but introduce the concept of "healthy" or even just "bare minimum of nutritional value," and then you're gonna see a much higher price.

I was tempted to get a milkshake because, even though it was all empty calories, it was about half as expensive and probably twice as big. However, I wanted to try the Berry Protein Blast, so I surrendered my $10 gift card again and ordered one...and I wound up having to surrender a penny out of my pocket.  A basic breakfast meal with no add-ons nor upsizing plus a small smoothie should not cost more than a single Alexander Hamilton. I'd like to think Harriet Tubman, were her visage on the $10 bill, would be appalled that she would not be sufficient for that haul.

Bottom line: Was it good. Yeah! It was quite tasty, and I suppose it gave me a PROTEIN BOOST to kickstart my day.  It's just not worth the cost.  I think smoothie lovers of the world should unite and demand lower prices .In the meantime, I think I'm gonna take very good care of my Magic Bullet.

Streaming Video Power Rankings: Week 43 (Special #HereWeGo edition)

1) Netflix: One event this week made it obvious that Netflix is number one this week and, for all practical purposes, is still the clear #1 in streaming video and will be for the foreseeable future.

It wasn't the debut of Jason Momoa's Frontier nor the arrival of more Voltron nor the announcement of a premiere date for the next set of House of Cards episodes. It wasn't the addition of vintage He-Man and She-Ra, nor was it the Neal Brennan standup special, nor the original film Take the 10.

I'm talking about a news item regarding a project that won't even be ON Netflix until  "late 2017." Jerry Seinfeld is taking Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee--the whole library and upcoming episodes--to the service (in addition to two standup specials and possibly other projects). The telling thing to me is the reaction. Look at the comments wherever the story is posted, and you will see people saying things like, "Good, finally it's on Netflix," or, "Now there's no reason to watch Crackle." I know I'm glad I don't have to struggle with Crackle's crummy interface to see the show. Netflix is perceived as the industry leader and rightfully so.

2) Amazon Prime: Not a huge week for Amazon, but I have to be selfish here (because I am so detached and objective every other week) and say that Prime Video offers fodder for a podcast episode we're taping this weekend, so I have to give it props.

3) YouTube: What a joy it is to hear a song, mock it, then be able to go to YouTube and rediscover the music video, which is even funnier.  I hate to leave you hanging, but the song/video deserves its own post.  Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, I have another post planned touching on some content one of my new favorite uploaders presented this week, but since I feel I should name at least one specific thing, I'll mention the promo clips for A.K.A. Pablo, Norman Lear's sitcom flop showcasing Paul Rodriguez and a Latino family. It's funny seeing the attempt to link this new family to the Bunkers and the Jeffersons; it's even funnier to see Hector Elizondo's toupee.

4) Hulu: Broadcast TV is coming back after the holiday break, so it's time to remember Hulu is there for us.

5) TuneIn: See #3. I enjoyed various 1980s stations quite a bit this week.

6) Pub-D-Hub: Any week that brings an episode of Richard Diamond is a success, even if the quality is ecch. I also give credit for the addition of 99 River Street (1953), though I really recommend the recent Kino Blu-Ray release with the Eddie Muller commentary!

7) PIX11: back on the charts on the strength of a new Magic Garden section offering Carole and Paula introducing vintage clips from the show. But while I enjoy seeing old news stories about, say, John Wayne's terminal cancer, I'd like to see some more non-bummer material from the PIX news vaults.

8) SeeSo: I had no idea the writer of Blackadder had a new sitcom about William Shakespeare on BBC2 last year, but it's now on SeeSo...and so is Blackadder. This is an intriguing development.

9) HBO: The Young Pope debuted this week, Bill Maher returned, and Sarah Jessica Parker and The Rock won People's Choice Awards for their respective HBO series. No, that last one is not meaningful, but I felt I needed a third item.

10) The CW: I'm all caught up now on my CW "stories," and this spot is mainly in anticipation for the "hatewatching" event of the year: the premiere of Riverdale this week and the (I hope) debut the next day on this Roku channel.

Shameless self-promotion: TV Time again!

Spock's Brain! Veggies in Space! A Leprechaun on a sub! And Superman kills someone? All in my latest TV Time column for ClassicFlix:

 

TV Time: Bizarre Sci-Fi Episodes   You'll see many strange things in science fiction and fantasy television: space aliens, interstellar travel, super powers, and more. Yet even within the fantastic realm of genre entertainment, you sometimes encounter episodes that are just...bizarre. This month, let's look at some of the strangest episodes of popular sci-fi series. They may have their detractors, but I guarantee each is worth watching at least once.
Click the link for more...and tell 'em Cultureshark sent ya! Don't ya dare miss it!

Brooks on Books: Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan

Since standup comic Jim Gaffigan credits his wife Jeannie as co-author and co-creative director for his whole act as well as this book, I want to credit her, too, so let me put it this way: The Gaffigans are geniuses. "Food," a collection of insights about all things edible, is hilarious. We throw the term LOL out a lot today (at least I do; have the kids moved on to something else?), but it's rare for me to literally laugh out loud while reading a book. Yet I did just that just about every few pages in 'Food." The rest was "merely" really, really funny.

If you've ever seen Jim's standup, some of this will indeed be familiar. The book is not just a regurgitation of his stage material, but it does reference, draw on, and expand on much of it. "Food" is organized as a series of very short chapters with subsections devoted to types of food, local food specialties, shopping for food, ways to consume food...You get the idea. Sprinkled throughout are pictures of members of the Gaffigan family (including their 5 children) eating. They add a pleasant charm to the text, and the captions are often witty.

I could go into a breakdown of everything discussed here, but why bother? It's all funny. Yes, he talks about Hot Pockets. Of course he gives you his take on pizza (he's in favor of it). He explains how he divides the United States into different regions based on their food, like "Mexican Foodland" and "Super Bowl Sunday Foodland" (and even has a nifty map).

His style is extrememly joke heavy but always readable. Even though it seems like every other sentence has a line about his lack of control, it's never repetitive nor forced, and the whole thing sounds like, yep, this is Jim Gaffigan talking to  you. Sometimes there are clever callbacks to previous chapters, an indication that the book is not just a collection of jokes as well as proof that the writing is much more skilled than one might anticipate from such an easily digestible (sorry) humor volume.

In short, if you like Jim Gaffigan, read this. It's a riot.