Netflix?

I'm now trying out the free Netflix trial streaming.  Like before, we haven't found a lot of current movies on Netflix that we'd like to watch although we enjoyed Intouchables and Into the White. 

Therefore instead of movies, we've started watching TV type shows.  So far we've enjoyed/are enjoying Doc Martin, Sherlock, Inspector Lewis and last night, Foyle's War. (We really like Foyle's War.) As I look at the list I'm seeing that they're mostly... ummmm... all British TV shows.  Aha, I've turned into an Anglophile.

Are you doing Netflix?  Can you recommend some shows?  Have you tried any other streaming site?  Is it better than Netflix?

Mad at Netflix?

In June or July of this year I thought we were paying $8.99 for one DVD at a time and Instant Streaming.  Maybe it was $9.99, I wasn't paying attention.  We used to constantly have to make time to watch the DVDs because we'd often be too busy.

It was also getting harder and harder to find movies we wanted to watch.

Then Netflix said they were changing the subscription prices to $15.99 for the same thing, about a 60% increase...OR $7.99 for Streaming and $7.99 for DVD rentals.  What's with the 99 cents thing anyway?  Why not call it $16.00 or $8.00?  Actually I did see some TV ads using the $8.00 pricing.  It's all so silly.

Since we were taking trips and were otherwise too busy, we cancelled our subscription and thought we'd change to just the streaming once our lives calmed down.  The problem with streaming is that there's not a lot of good movies.

All in all, I was rather irritated with Netflix thinking it was all just corporate greed.  We hear so much about Corporate Greed.  It seems only yesterday we were paying $5.99 a month for the DVD rental.  The price went up slowly.  However, a 60% increase sounded really greedy.

Then I got an e-mail from the Netflix CEO apologizing for disrespecting me by not explaining why the cost increase was necessary.

THEN I heard that the company became Netflix for the Instant Streaming and Qwikster for the DVD rental.  OK.... Is that supposed to make it better?  The price jump was still in place.

THEN I heard that the Netflix market share plummeted from $304.00 in July to $104.00 in October. 

Now I hear that it's back to the whole thing being Netflix BUT the price increase is the same.  My son-in-law was checking to see what the new pricing was and he was confused as to whether they were still offering the $7.99 price for just streaming or DVDs.  He gave up and went with Blockbuster since they still have a store very, very close by.

So the bottom line is that we're back to the same place with the giant increase, and this is supposed to lure subscribers back?

The problem here is that the Fall line-up of regular TV shows (we don't have cable) is here and it feels like it's enough TV for me.  I'm also discovering a lot of books I haven't read on my Kindle.  Some people have already found a lot of alternatives to Netflix. There are also a bunch of projects I can work on now instead of being stuck in front of the TV.    I'm thinking a lot of people are discovering the same sort of thing. 

This has to be good, right? 

Doc Martin

Sarah of Brit Gal in the USA told me that I should watch Doc Martin on Netflix (Instant Stream). She guaranteed that I'd enjoy it.

I got this from Wikipedia:
"(Martin) Clunes plays (fictional) Portwenn's local GP, Martin Ellingham, a brilliant and highly successful London surgeon until he developed haemophobia (an extreme fear of blood) that prevented him conducting operations. After retraining as a GP, he applied for a post in the sleepy Cornish village of Portwenn, where he had spent childhood holidays with his aunt.

Much of the show's humour revolves around Ellingham's interactions with the local Cornish villagers. Despite his surgical brilliance, Ellingham lacks vital social skills and any semblance of a bedside manner, and often fails to understand other people."

I used to enjoy House a lot, but haven't been watching lately. I think I got tired of the negativity. I wasn't eager to watch another doctor who had no bedside manner. Actually they did have a bedside manner... rude.


However, Art and I finally decided to give it a try. After watching the first episode of Season 1 we weren't entirely impressed, but were still somewhat drawn to it. We're on Season 3 now and are completely, totally hooked. The question is why? The character of Dr. Ellingham is not exactly likable and he sure doesn't look like Dr. McDreamy of Grey's Anatomy, and yet you care about him. There's something about the show that just sucks you in. You also begin caring about the other quirky characters in the village. I'd even love to see Cornwall after watching this series.

There are 4 Seasons of Doc Martin available on Netflix. I've read that they're planning a Season 5 in 2011. We have a season and a half to watch yet. I'm going to really miss it once we finish watching all of them. Maybe then I can get back to my blogging more regularly, too.

Do you have something else to recommend once we're done with Doc Martin?