The Netflix Stream: Week of February 5th, 2012

“A Netflix Original Series.” Bet you never thought you’d see those words. I sure didn’t. The Netflix stream loses some really good sketch comedy this week, as well as one of the few movie reboots that’s actually any good. In return, we get Netflix’s first original series. It’s not an exciting trade, but based on current user reviews, it might not be as bad as it seems.

Leaving the Stream
  1. ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus ‘(2/15): You have less than a week to squeeze in all the ‘Monty Python‘ you can. While there were sketch shows before this and countless more after, ‘Monty Python’ is still the best of the bunch. It mixes deep and intelligent humor with complete absurdity in a way that no other show has been able to pull off quite as well. Before it goes, I’ll be watching a favorite of mine again – an episode called “How to Recognize Different Types of Trees from Quite a Long Way Away.” Not only does it have the repeating gag of “The Larch,” but the “Bicycle Repair Man” and “Nudge Nudge” sketches as well. Pure awesome.
  2. ‘Star Trek’ (2/14): This one hurts too. The 2009 reboot of ‘Star Trek‘ is one of my favorite films of the last few years, right up there with ‘District 9’ and ‘Scott Pilgrim’. Despite its flaws, the J.J. Abrams vision of the voyages of the Enterprise is a great watch from beginning to end. It looks like I’m going to have to pony up for a new Blu-ray player if I want to watch it again. (Read Blu-ray review.)
Entering the Stream
  1. ‘Lillyhammer’: So here it is, the first original series from Netflix. ‘Lillyhammer‘ stars Steven Van Zandt and a whole bunch of Norsemen and Norseladies. I haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, though I’ll certainly have some thoughts in the Comments section as soon as I do. One thing that Netflix did here that I absolutely love is to put the entire series up at once. When I watch TV on Netflix, that’s how I do it – as much as I can, all at once. I’m sure I’m not alone.
  2. ‘Dragon Tattoo Trilogy: Extended Editions’: It’s like the Swedish ‘Lord of the Rings’. The extended edition of ‘The Dragon Tattoo Trilogy‘ gives you an extra two hours of content for a total run time of nine hours. Each movie is presented in two parts and streams in HD with subtitles. Adding the extended versions is a nice touch, especially since the movies are available to stream in their theatrical form as well. (Read Blu-ray review.)

2 comments

  1. OSS-117: Cairo, Nest of Spies, starring Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo and directed by Michel Havanavicius, all of The Artist fame, is going off the stream Feb. 15.

    This is easily the best spy spoof ever made (Austin Powers has nothing on this one). Hilarious throughout. Dujardin is terrifically charming as the suave, vapid secret agent.

    Someone on this site recommended this, and I wish I could remember who to thank.

    The sequel OSS-117: Lost in Rio (which isn’t quite as good) does not seem to be leaving the stream any time soon.

  2. OSS has been streaming for at least a year. I watched it back when I first heard Jean Dujardin’s name and it’s one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen.

    I really want to see the Artist but just have not had the time.

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