Written by Liz
I have a new love in my life. It has revolutionized how I live and my day to day activities. It is more than just a tool- it is a lifestyle. This love…. Is Netflix.
For just $16.99 a month I get an unlimited amount of DVD’s (3 at a time) and access to their “Watch Instantly” section where years worth of TV shows and movies are available with the click of my mouse. Already I have gotten hooked on Dexter (a Showtime series) as well as relived Charles in Charge and the Dick Van Dyke show. Not to mention the movies you can watch online as well as those DVD’s I get in the mail.
I recently bought a house and instead of getting a good cable package chose to just go with Netflix. Granted this is a little more expensive than a cable upgrade but it also substitutes for all those nights wandering around Blockbuster trying to decide what to rent. For those unfamiliar with how Netflix works, once you are a subscriber you set up a ‘queue’ of movies you would like to see. This can be altered at any time, with movies moved up and added. For instance, I chose to get Season 3 of Dexter (which is not available to watch instantly) on DVD. Since there is a bit of a wait on this item (which is rare- typically discs are available as soon as you want them) I moved other items up until those are available. At this time I am watching the tv series “Christy” (based on the Catherine Marshall novel) and have “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” on the way.
Netflix gives you the chance to watch movies you may have only thought about watching in the past. I may not have considered renting movies about John Wayne Gacy or Ted Bundy, but after reading “The Stranger Beside Me” my curiosity got the better of me and I watched parts of these movies online. While I like an occasional documentary, I would not pay $5 at Blockbuster for one. On Netflix I can instantly watch one of hundreds of documentaries, from political to inspirational, so if I get bored with the movie I can switch to another.
While this service can be overwhelming, in a way it is liberating. Pick a movie- almost any movie- and its available within a couple of days. I was completely unaware of the instant movies and shows available online as well. Not only can you watch via your computer, but over TiVO and certain DVD player systems on your TV. While I would love to use one of these options, I would rather wait and save for a really nice new TV first and then also get a good HD DVD player.
Have you tried Netflix? If so what movies should I add to my queue? Anything that really caught you off guard, or that I should steer clear of?
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Comments
7 Responses to Ode to Netflix
I LOVE Netflix as well. I haven’t watched online yet though. I tried once and ran into problems with my PC. I need to try again (obviously!).
ITA that having features available ASAP online would make me try out things I normally wouldn’t if I had to wait two days to pop in a DVD.
I do think I go through periods where I am more “engaged” with Netflix. For some reason, the last couple of months, I haven’t been getting my money’s worth. It just seems with the longer summer days, baseball and “Big Brother” (my three day a week guilty pleasure), I haven’t got around to watching DVD’s the way I normally do.
My queue contains plenty of things I am dying to watch, however, and I am looking forward to seeing some good stuff in the coming weeks.
I’m a recent Netflix convert. We got the first month for free, so it was worth giving it a try.
I’m a fanatic about getting as much out of the plan as possible. I try to watch the movies as soon as possible and get them back in the mail the next day. The turn around is about 48 hours, so I can get about 6 discs a weeks if I have the time to watch them (this is with the 2-disc-at-a-time plan).
I haven’t had anything more than basic cable in the last year, so I’m missing the cable series that I love …. The Tudors, etc. I just ordered the line-up of the first season of True Blood, and now I’m working through those. Love it! It’s quirky and funny.
Since we don’t go to every movie out there in the theatre, I’m keeping a running list of previews for movies that I see as they’re being released so I remember to order them when they come out on DVD if they look interesting. Mostly chick flicks I can’t drag my husband to.
I definitely don’t get my money’s worth most of the time. I let my son get a lot of movies and it sometimes takes him a while to finish watching them.
I’m always reading reviews of movies that sound interesting, then I forget about them when I go to add things to my list (happens with books, too). I need to put a notebook around my neck.
My husband and I have had Netflix for many years. We have the plan where we can have four movies at any given time. We love it and rarely go to a movie anymore.
I gave my parents Netflix as one of their gifts for Christmas this past year and my Mom was not thrilled. She never thinks anything is necessary. However, many times when I would talk to her she would complain that there was nothing to watch on those cold winter days that they were snowed in or in the summer.
I set the Netflix up on my computer and pick the movies for them ( they are 80 and 85 so it is just easier this way.) It was hit an miss the first month or so on finding what they really like but now there hasn’t been a movie they haven’t liked in a long time. My Mom and Dad now love it and look forward to getting the next movie in the mail. It is so easy for them since they live rurally and they don’t have to worry about returning movies on a time line.
This is something that has definitely added to my parent’s enjoyment in their twilight years.
I got Netflix about 6 months ago and finally figured out how to use it properly instead of them just mailing me random stuff. I am now working my way through a whole film noir series – The Big Sleep, The Third man – all those late 30′s and 40′s detective movies, Bogey and Bacall, etc.Old Bette Davis movies. My local Blockbuster has none of this – basically a poor selection other than whatever has just come to DVD so I dote on Netflix. My daughter is getting interested in those big production musicals too and it’s fun to share those with her and her GFs and to hear them discuss the hair and dress styles, the cars (Buick Roadmaster, 1940!)the way women acted and were portrayed back in the day – how smoking was glamorous then and is considered low class now…
My OH is big Bill Murray fan so we have our share of Stripes and Caddyshack moments too, all my kids love those comedies…
I too love Netflix, though like Anya my usage tends to be cylical. Sometimes I’ll be really into watching movies for a couple of months, and then I’ll get out of the habit, be spending more time reading or watch TV shows, and I won’t return a DVD for weeks. I just like having the service available, even when I’m not getting all that I can out of it.
I really love the queue because you can put stuff in there for a rainy day; I’ve often just added movies after hearing something about them here or there. Sometimes I forget why I added something! I would say that I use it mostly for movies I wanted to see in theaters but didn’t get to, and older/obscure/foreign movies. I don’t usually get old TV show DVDs because I just don’t have the patience to sit through 10 episodes of something. The very idea is daunting.
I really appreciate that Netflix saved me from Blockbuster. I hated going to Blockbuster. You’d get there, the movie you wanted wouldn’t be available, so you’d have to wander around, surrounded by annoying people, looking for an alternative, then get in a long line only to be served at the end by a surly clerk who would shake you down for late fees because you didn’t return the last video on time (and I hated having to run out there at 10 at night just to return a video and avoid late fees!). I had already pretty much given up on Blockbuster before I got Netflix; that’s how much I disliked it.
I got my H a Netflix subscription for our birthday. We’re officially hooked. I haven’t tried watching online yet. I should ask our satellite provider about the TV stuff though. That could be cool.