Monday, March 21, 2011

Netflix Changing its Instant TV Section

Last month, I noted that one tv series replaced 4 pages for its 4 seasons with 1 Netflix page for the whole show. I predicted this was a sign of a coming overhaul. This weekend, thanks to the imperfect recommendation system, I spotted the change in listings for "Xena," "21 Jump Street," and the excellent "Farscape." I have no idea why these genre shows were chosen for the upgrade.

I'm happy to have some news that's my own, that isn't re-posted off tAVC or Aint It Cool. Nobody likes an "I told you so," but my prediction was right: Netflix is changing the way that it displays its multi-season TV shows for the Streaming audience.

The new format is more versatile; you can choose between episodes and seasons smoothly. It's also more efficient - gone are 5 pages for the whole run of "21JS." I guessed it was a gradual change, and it looks like I'm right.

After I noticed the latest additions, I scanned through Streaming-available TV series. I found 8 more: "Cagney and Lacy," "Angel," "The A-Team" (snicker), "Quantum Leap," "Columbo" (yay), "Hunter," "Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles" (hahaha), and BBC's "Torchwood." This makes 12 total, including USA's "Psych." A regular superstar wall of great shows, huh?

Yes, Netflix' first choice for this make-over was unusual, and the trend continues. I'm not even talking about the selection of shows, which is obviously strange. I say it's odd because "Angel" was a spin-off from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Xena" followed "Hercules," and "Torchwood" spun-off from "Doctor Who," apparently. None of the parent shows have gotten this special treatment.

Other shows, on-going or over, have yet to receive the same treatment. "24," "A Touch of Frost," "Futurama," "The Rockford Files," "Coupling," and "Law & Order: SVU" - none made the grade. I'm complaining about any of the shows in- or ex-cluded; I just try for good examples.

Of course, I think that this development was motivated by the company's recent focus on the Streaming market. The same system, though, also displays multi-season DVD entries as well, so any Netflix user will benefit once this is a site-wide alteration. I won't over-reach, however, and guess whether or not it'll come standard with all those CBS-owned shows that Netflix recently acquired.

In the end, I still recommend the following as vastly superior to watching TV: exercise, volunteer work, education/job plans, learning to do something new and/or actual social interaction. You'll have an improved way to spend your downtime, tho, if you're in a mind for computerized tv.

I just used less than 500 words. *sigh* A rare gift for us both, right?...

4 comments:

  1. I think the conversion has made things a little wonky, so I'm glad it hasn't been rolled out all at once. I had Season 3 of Angel on my queue (following along with the AV Club's coverage of Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and I was wondering why suddenly the system couldn't keep track of which episode I'd seen most recently.

    Better now than when I finally get around to watching Lost, I guess.

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  2. Thanks for the comment! I didn't notice any wonkiness this weekend, but I find Netflix' system often doesn't register what ep I watched last. I always put it down to using my browser's "back" button - but it happens other times, too.

    And, I hate to say it, I might not recommend "Lost" at all because of where it ends up. The 1st season is magnificent, and the 2nd is solid, with many fantastic eps through season 3-5. The last season, though, had too much in common with The X-Files' run - a massive "job" with no payoff.

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  3. Its interesting, since I got the Apple TV I watch all my Netflix streaming on it and I love this roll up of seasnd under one banner. I've found the excellent British show called MI-5 (Spooks in the UK). Great stories, good clean acting and 8 seasons to watch.
    Also a great little American show called Dead Like Me.
    I'm loving the streaming, shame it feels like TwC slows down the throughput or even blocks the site every so often

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  4. You've got excellent taste! I haven't watched Dead Like Me, but it's got a solid rep; MI-5 got a rec from me last week. I haven't seen or used Apple TV, but I have the same provider and the site experiences slow-down at least a few times per day. No idea why, tho...

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