Is there any feeling greater than discovering a complete series on Netflix Instant? You get to start watching a television show knowing that you have access to the complete series. You don’t have to wait a week for the next episode. You don’t have to endure any sort of hiatus. You can just sit for hours on end watching episode after episode until the series is over.
Sure, there are strong arguments against this type of viewing: it hurts advertising revenue, it doesn’t help the shows ratings, you don’t get to discuss the show with your friends each week, etc. All valid arguments. But watching a series from start to finish in a short period of time allows the viewer to be totally immersed in the show as an experience. Often a viewer’s short attention span, personal growth and experience, unreasonable expectations, etc. can diminish interest in the characters/the storyline over time. Not so when one can watch the whole series as quickly as one likes.
The following is a list of the five best complete series available for viewing on Netflix Instant. Admittedly, there are a few complete series on Netflix that could very well end up knocking off one of these shows if I were familiar with them. I have to admit that I have not watched the full series of either Buffy, The Vampire Slayer or Lost. I plan on expanding this list as I gain further experience with some of the shows on Netflix Instant and as Netflix obtains the rights to stream more complete series.
Note: The list only includes shows that have a story arc from the first episode to the conclusion (i.e., no sketch shows, no anthology shows).
5. The Sarah Silverman Program
“Ive done some drinkin, some druggin. Tried it in the butt one or nine times.”
Creators: Sarah Silverman, Rob Schrab, Dan Harmon
Stars: Sarah Silverman, Laura Silverman, Brian Posehn, Steve Agee, Jay Johnston
--The show centers on the adventures of Sarah--an irresponsibly self-centered, extremely offensive, unemployed woman--and her small group of friends: Laura (Sarah’s sister who supports Sarah financially), Jay (Laura’s love interest, who Sarah vocally disdains), Brian and Steve (Sarah’s gay neighbors), and Doug (Sarah’s pet dog that she found in the trash). Episodes deal with delicate social and cultural issues in an extremely irreverent manner. The show also boasts an amazing cast and hilarious writers. Some great alternative comics play smaller roles throughout the series including Zach Galifinakis, Paul F. Tompkins, Tig Notaro, Scott Aukerman, Doug Benson, Andy Samberg, Tim Heidecker, and Eddie Pepitone.
Plus, it is an absolute truth that Sarah and Laura Silverman were created in a lab as part of some nefarious adorability plot. I’m not sure how it’s supposed to play out, but they will inevitably succeed.
4. Star Trek: The Next Generation
“Space... the Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.”
Creator: Gene Roddenberry
Stars: Patrick Stewart, Brent Spiner, Jonathan Franks, LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Wil Wheaton
--Eighty years after Kirk’s Enterprise crew retired, the USS Enterprise, under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, begins its mission. From the first episode to the last, the crew of the starship Enterprise attempts to maintain the Prime Directive, which basically says that Star Fleet will not interfere with the lives and cultures of others. The Klingon’s have allied with the United Federation of Planers, while new enemies like the Borg have been discovered. Star Trek: The Next Generation handles issues of race, relations between societies with deeply conflicting ideologies, the value of all life, and the human condition. TNG is super entertaining, and is loaded with interesting characters and strong stories.
Most Trekkies would say that this choice is sacrilege, as the original Star Trek series is also available on Netflix Instant. However, I feel TNG has a deeper mythology and superior acting, and the special effects are undoubtedly far superior.
3. The X-Files
“Before the exploration of space, of the moon and the planets, man held that the heavens were the home and province of powerful gods, who controlled not just the vast firmament but the earthly fate of man himself, and that the pantheon of powerful warring deities was the cause and reason for the human condition, for the past and future, and for which great monuments would be created, on earth as in heaven. But in time man replaced these gods with new gods and new religions that provided no more certain or greater answers than those worshipped by his Greek or Roman or Egyptian ancestors. And while we've chosen now our monolithic and benevolent gods and found our certainties in science, believers all, we wait for a sign, a revelation. Our eyes turn skyward, ready to accept the truly incredible, to find our destiny written in the stars. But how do we best look to see? With new eyes or old?”
Creator: Chris Carter
Stars: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Mitch Pileggi, Robert Patrick, Annabeth Gish
--Special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully investigate paranormal and mysterious occurrences labelled as X-Files. Mulder begins searching within the X-Files for the truth concerning his missing sister, who he believes was abducted by aliens when she was eight years old. He is assigned a partner--Agent Dana Scully--who is given the task of determining the validity of Mulder’s work on the X-Files and who is very skeptical of Mulder’s ideas. The agents begins to uncover a government conspiracy to bury the truth about the existence of extraterrestrials and their plan to destroy human life on December 21, 2012.
Episodes of the series alternate between a continuous story arc concerning alien life and government cover-ups and monster-of-the-week episodes. The series was praised for its strong writing and excellent acting. The stories are rarely predictable, the characters have depth and charm, and the dialogue is often eloquently poetic. I most appreciate the show’s witty, dark humor and the ability of Duchovny and Anderson to make it seem organic. Duchovny delivers lighthearted lines with a sardonic smile that charms the viewer while denoting the deep pain and guilt that drive him. That’s not to overlook the responses of wry skepticism to Mulder’s ready credulity which Gillian Anderson delivers with a playful condescension.
2. Battlestar Galactica (2003-2009)
“You know, when we fought the Cylons, we did it to save ourselves from extinction. But we never answered the question, why? Why are we as a people worth saving? We still commit murder because of greed, spite, jealousy. And we still visit all of our sins upon our children. We refuse to accept the responsibility for anything that we've done. Like we did with the Cylons. We decided to play God, create life. When that life turned against us, we comforted ourselves in the knowledge that it really wasn't our fault, not really. You cannot play God then wash your hands of the things that you've created. Sooner or later, the day comes when you can't hide from the things that you've done anymore.”
Creators: Glen A. Larson, Ronald D. Moore, David Eick
Stars: Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, Jamie Bamber, James Callis, Michael Hogan, Aaron Douglas, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park, Tahmoh Penikett
--Humans created cybernetic entities called Cylons to serve as workers and soldiers. After some time the Cylons gain sentience and rebel, leading to the First Cylon War. Battlestar Galactica picks up forty years after the humans and the Cylons declare an armistice that ends the conflict. We discover rather quickly in the opening scene of the three-hour premiere that the Cylons have developed a new model that looks human. The Cylons that appear to be human infiltrate the planetary defenses after which they destroy the humans’s 12 colonies (planets) in a surprise nuclear attack. A small group of survivors in a fleet of spaceships work to evade the Cylons and search for a new home.
Technically, Battlestar is science fiction, but it is more closely aligned with the post-apocalyptic genre in many of its themes and in the survivors’s struggles with the trauma of the genocide of humanity. The show addresses extremely deep issues including the essence of humanity, striking a balance between associative and logical thought, the concept of free will, and more. Battlestar is obsessed with subjectivity and promotes coming to peace with uncertainty. In the end, an argument could be made that there are no true villains in the series.
Battlestar is a frakking addiction. This video from Portlandia makes my point for me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzY7POVQhp0
1. Arrested Development (2003-2006)
"Now the story of a wealthy family who lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together. It's Arrested Development."
Creator: Mitch Hurwitz
Stars: Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Portia de Rossi, Tony Hale, David Cross, Michael Cera, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, Alia Shawkat, Ron Howard
--After Bluth Company founder and CEO George Sr. is imprisoned by the Securities and Exchange Commission for numerous illegal business tactics, his oldest son Michael becomes the Bluth families only hope of regaining their fortune and staying together. The Bluth’s are thrown into a state of mutual dependence and forced into close quarters together. We soon discover that almost all of the Bluths are spoiled, inept, and rather clueless. George Sr. and his wife Lucille are immoral and unethical social climbers. GOB, Michael’s older brother, is an incompetent magician. Lindsay, Michael’s twin sister, is a spoiled, self-centered shopaholic. Tobias, Lindsay’s husband, is a never-nude (he wears cut-off jean shorts at all times). Maeby, Lindsay’s and Tobias’s daughter, is a scam-artist. Buster, Michael’s baby brother, has a seemingly Oedipal attachment to his mother. And George Michael, Michael’s son, is in love with his cousin Maeby.
Arrested Development was critically acclaimed during its brief three-season run on Fox, and received a total of twenty-two Emmy nominations with six wins. The show has a devoted cult following that seems to grow more and more dedicated even six years after the final episode aired. The series may very well have benefit from its short run, though hardcore fans (like myself) find it difficult to believe the show couldn’t have maintained its momentum through one more season. Lucky for us Mitch Hurwitz recently confirmed that a fourth season of Arrested Development will premiere on Netflix Instant sometime in early 2013 to be followed up by a motion picture. It could be argued that this show doesn’t fit the criteria of this category as there will be ten more episodes next year. Duly noted, but, to be fair, those ten episodes are a revival of the series, and the original run is a complete series by itself.
No comments:
Post a Comment