Leaving the Stream: Week of November 21st, 2010

The beginning of a new month makes things a little confusing. Like you’d expect, a huge amount of titles are set to leave Netflix instant streaming, but a good chunk of those will be coming back – hopefully all of the ones on this week’s list.

Doctor Who: Seasons 1-3 and Specials (12/1)

I could write pages on the brilliance of ‘Doctor Who‘. The reboot that happened in 2005 brought new talent to the series as well as a whole generation of new fans. If you consider yourself even a moderate fan of science fiction, it’s a show you need to watch. I feel completely confident in saying that it’s the best sci-fi on TV right now.

Seasons One through Three are set to leave the stream at the beginning of next month. I strongly recommend that you take advantage of the long weekend and start watching them. You’ll get two Doctors in Christopher Eccleston and (my favorite) David Tennant, as well as some of the best storylines in the series. Season Three even features my absolute favorite episodes, guest starring John Simm as The Master.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (12/1)

Let’s keep on the nerd trend with another of my favorites. ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ is a BBC miniseries based on the book series, based on the radio play of the same name. It’s very faithful to the books, unlike the recent Hollywood version, but looks much more dated since it was made in 1981.

If you’ve seen the newer one but not the BBC version, it’s well worth checking out. I have to admit I prefer Sam Rockwell’s Zaphod Breeblebrox, but David Dixon will always be the Ford Prefect for me. Science fiction comedy doesn’t get much better than this.

Annie Hall (12/1)

So you’re not looking for spaceships, robots, time travel or aliens? That’s fine, there are options for you too. Take ‘Annie Hall‘, for example. It’s one of the most influential comedies of all time, and one of Woody Allen’s best.

‘Annie Hall’ is one of those great comedies that even the Academy couldn’t ignore. It famously earned the Oscar for Best Picture over ‘Star Wars’. It’s a film that’s deserving of all the hyperbole thrown at it, and really goes to show just how good Allen can be. If you’ve seen it, you know what I mean. If you haven’t, well, you’ve got a few days left.

6 comments

  1. Why do any of the leave streaming?
    Since they are pushing streaming so much, plus the 28 day wait for new DVDs, They should just keep adding more streaming and not rotating them out like this.

    • It’s an issue of licensing between Netflix and the studios. I’m sure if Netflix had its way, everything would be up and stay up.

      That’s supposed to be one of the big advantages to digital distribution – unlimited shelf space. Hopefully as time goes on the folks at Netflix can get this sort of thing worked out.

  2. I think it is a travesty that they are getting rid on the titles and THEN making it more expensive to get physical DVDs sent to you. I understand that it basically comes down to the fact that they are doing it because they can but it still sucks a lot.

  3. DUDE, Doctor Who AND Hitchhikers leaving on the same day!

    I have actually been watching the heck out of Doctor Who the past week or so. I am halfway through Season 2 of the new series, but too a break to watch The Three Doctors. Nothing like a little classic Doctor Who every now and then to remind you where we came from!

    BTW, I like Hitchhikers in all its form – the book, the BBC radio drama, The BBC miniseries, the Disney movie, and the text-based game (even though as far as I could ever get was to lie down in front of the bulldozer – could never figure out how to get past that. Every entry is unique to the media being used, and each is quite enjoyable. Adams was a genius! (And yes, the movie was made based on his script, so he did have a huge role in it).

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