By Darren Johnson
Campus News
You know, dear reader, Netflix isn’t going to be No. 1 forever. It already has competition, and Disney is launching a streaming competitor (and they not only own the expansive Disney library, but also “Star Wars,” ABC, Marvel, Freeform, ESPN and the rights to so much more — they will instantly wow audiences). Netflix’s stock is plummeting, profits are down and most Netflix Originals titles are mediocre. They seem to keep bankrolling 1990s slapstick stars like Adam Sandler and David Spade, who no longer can deliver laughs with their slapdash, soulless efforts. They present themselves as dead inside. Netflix has yet to have an HBO-quality breakout show — the kind we all talk about, say “The Sopranos” or “Game of Thrones” — though perhaps “Orange Is the New Black” or “Stranger Things” had a month or two of good buzz.
Of course, HBO has an app, too; though, the opposite of Netflix, it doesn’t have as many titles but the titles it does have, on average, are better. Though sometimes I do want what Netflix has — a rough-cut documentary or a third-rate comedian on stage in Cleveland. Netflix has more of everything, and is cheaper. Whether HBO’s “Hard Knocks” football training-camp docuseries is better than Netflix’s “Last Chance U” is debatable.
What a lot of people don’t realize is, they also have access to the Amazon Instant app (it was revealed earlier this year 100 million people do). If you signed up for Amazon Prime — say to get free shipping at Christmas — you have access to their streaming service. People with access to a .edu email address get it for only $55 a year.
Many great, older HBO shows are available for free via Amazon Instant.
Last year, I watched “The Sopranos” beginning to end in marathon format. Somehow, it was better to watch it this way, as opposed to waiting a week between episodes, when the show was live. There are so many little details in the show that can be forgotten in a week. Then I watched “Six Feet Under.” Holy cow, was that great, too, with the best finale in TV history, except, maybe, “Newhart’s.”
I was on a recent flight and on the little TV behind the seat in front of me HBO shows were offered. On a previous flight, I had watched Season 1 of “Crashing,” about a fictional version of comedian Pete Holmes trying to be a clean comic in a dirty profession. He has to “crash” on people’s sofas, as he doesn’t have much money — but he does have a dream. On this more recent flight was Season 2, which brings me to where the show is presently. It’s cute and funny and an honest look at the art of the comedic craft and the trials young comics face today. Also on this recent flight were the first few episodes of the Bill Heder dramedy “Barry.” The title character is a former marine and current contract killer who is hired to kill an aspiring actor, happens into an acting class and decides he wants to change careers and try show business — but his past haunts him, as the cops and mobsters are on his tail. His smarmy acting teacher is humorously played by Henry Winkler. Well done.
Then on that flight, I found a few episodes of the current season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” This show is created by and starring Larry David, the co-creator of “Seinfeld,” and actually has pieced together nine full seasons in the past 18 years. I’m a big “Seinfeld” fan, but “Curb” may even be better. First, it’s on HBO, so the jokes can go a bit darker. Second, no laugh track. No three cameras. No studio set. And David playing himself is hilarious. Here’s a guy who obviously is a nudge but people have to pay attention to him because he has his “Seinfeld” resume and riches.
In one season, he is starring in Broadway’s “The Producers.” In another, he gets the actual “Seinfeld” cast together — even reclusive Michael Richards as Kramer — and that season ends with a reunion show. Some episodes with Michael J. Fox play on his Parkinson’s disease; Fox is a great sport. In the most recent season he tries to produce a musical called “Fatwa!,” about the Iranian hit that had at one time been placed on author Salman Rushdie for his anti-Muslim writings. Only David can get away with such teasing, it seems.
The show also has a great supporting cast, whom we have seen age gracefully over these 18 years. Jeff Garlin (also on mainstream TV’s “The Goldbergs”), as David’s manager, plays yes-man Jeff Greene who enables David’s bad behavior and validates his unique perspectives on social etiquette. Greene’s wife Susie (Susie Essman) plays an over-the-top shrew, perhaps one of the most unique characters in TV history. Comic JB Smoove plays Leon Black, who moves in with David mid-series and gives David advice from the street.
The tease I’d gotten from my flight led to me searching for “Curb Your Enthusiasm” on Instant. Seasons 1-8 were there, ready to marathon watch. Then I decided to re-order HBO to get the current season, and finish “Barry” and “Hard Knocks.” Maybe someday I will understand what “Game of Thrones” is about, but there are only so many hours in the day. I try to read, too — you know, actual books.
Darren Johnson writes about what he finds on streaming services, and a lot more. Currently, he is peddling a novel he wrote to agents and publishers. Find more reviews on Nu2u.info.
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