REMEMBER the good old days when we used to watch movies in a theater, scarfing down butter-barbecue popcorn and ice-cold soda, or chomping on a cheeseburger and fries? Damn. It feels like a million years ago.
These days, still incarcerated in our Covid-19 prison camps, many of us have already maxxed out our Netflix subscriptions. But for a few winners like, say, Roma (2019), the streaming service doesn’t really have the most extensive film or TV series archive. Try looking for Dirty Dancing (1987), West Side Story (1961), or even Silence of the Lambs (1991) — you won’t find it there.
In fact, it was only during this pandemic that Netflix decided to release When Harry Met Sally (1981) and Little Women (2019), which I guess helps make up for the earlier dearth in titles. And, well, they are still riding high on Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, which I’ve already watched twice! (It’s just hilarious good fun. Consider, an Iceland singing duo ends up as contestants on Eurovision, that popular competition with the weirdest participants wearing outlandish costumes, but, yes, they can sing! This time, Will Farrell has a hit.)
Still, with so much time on our hands, many of us have probably exhausted the Netflix pool of creativity and limited library. So as little Kirsten Dunst whispered in Interview with the Vampire (not on Netflix either)….we want some more.
Hulu and Amazon Prime are both great choices as additional streaming services. I’ve found Hulu to have a more extensive library. And from Hulu, one can subscribe to HBO Go, Disney Channel or Starz. The basic Hulu package includes ads, but one can upgrade to the ad-free plan.
Unfortunately, Hulu isn’t available locally, so one needs to subscribe to a virtual private network (VPN), which will allow the subscriber to jump over the Internet confines of his country.
Anyway, these are my Top 8 must-watch series on the streaming services:
1. ‘The Umbrella Academy’ (Netflix): Adopted children of an eccentric billionaire all have the same birthdays and have superpowers. They try to prevent the end of the world again and again. Now on Season 2. Main lead: the brilliant Ellen Page
2. ‘High Seas’ (Netflix): Now on its third season, the Spanish series is set in the 1940s on a cruise ship bound for Brazil from Spain. Sisters Eva and Carolina bring along a woman their car had hit, after telling them, “They’re going to kill me!” The plot is written in the style of a classic Agatha Christie mystery novel and will keep you guessing “whodunit?”
3. ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ (BBC iPlayer): Edina Monsoon (Jennifer Saunders), half-wit PR with the worst fashion sense, and her friend, fashion editor Patsy Stone (Joanna Lumley) booze up, take drugs, and party like it’s still the 1960s. The series, which ran from 1992 to 2012, some seasons of which were shown on local TV, gave us the most clever lines, like Edina’s unforgettable, “Just tax the stupid people!” (Patsy: And let them die!)
4. ‘Killing Eve’ (BBC iPlayer): Black comedy starring Sandra Oh, who as British investigator Eve Polastri, tries to capture a psycho-hired assassin Vilanelle (Jodie Comer). The past seasons depict the development of their seeming convoluted and codependent relationship. BBC really has the best comedies around. (Miranda is another favorite.)
5. ‘Somebody Feed Phil’ (Netflix): Even diehard fans of Anthony Bourdain’s hard look at the underbelly of countries in conflict, and the food their citizens eat, will be hard pressed not to love this Netflix show. Phil Rosenthal, former producer of Everybody Loves Raymond, brings a fresh, fun take on eating without delving too deeply on the dishes served him, and the lives of the chefs he features on the show. He just enjoys eating, which he shows by shaking his arms above, his eyes all wide.
6. ‘Star Trek: Picard’ (CBS All Access/Amazon Prime): The very much retired Starfleet commander Jean Luc Picard (Sir Patrick Stewart) is content growing grapes in his vineyard until a young woman, Dahj (Fil-Brit Isa Briones), seeks his help. The pace of the series can be a bit sluggish, and it can be confusing if you haven’t watched all Star Trek iterations, but Trekkies and Picard fans like myself are eagerly awaiting Season 2.
7. ‘The Wire’ (HBO Go): A police drama tackling various themes in each season (e.g. drug trade, port corruption/human trafficking, government bureaucracy, etc.), where a special investigation unit uses wiretaps and other electronic techniques to bust the criminals. The series (2002-2008) made the sexy Idris Elba famous in the US, and shows a baby-faced Michael B. Jordan cutting his teeth on the show.
Film and TV have always been the cheapest forms of entertainment. And with this pandemic not letting up, we’re lucky to have so many streaming services and bigger film/TV libraries to choose from, so we can escape even just a few minutes, and not think about a bleak future amid Covid-19.