Generally, I love Netflix. Its been a very reliable service for me and its very easy to use. But there's just one quirk that is annoying the hell outta me.
I've just discovered HBO's The Wire--arguably the most quality television drama ever made--and i've recently completed season 1. Disc 1 of Season 2 is first in my queue, with all the other Season 2 discs following it. Next to the listing, it says that the disc is "available now". Excellent.
But.
When it comes time for me to receive that disc, I get Chinatown instead. Another excellent film that i've been looking forward to watching but not NOW! I'm in quality-television-drama mode; not quality-classic-movie mode. My brain can only process all things Barksdale, Stringer, McNulty and Daniels. I'm not ready for anything else.
So now i'm stuck. My internal wiring (pun strongly intended) will not allow me to return a Netflix film unwatched. I just can't. There's just something unethical and morally wrong about that.
I've called Netflix about this problem before. I asked why can't they just list things as "short wait" like they normally do when it's not available now? So at least i know not be expecting it. Some customer service boy whose dad forced him to work at Netflix hoping to get free rentals replies, "well sometimes copies ship at the last minute and we think it's available for you but it turns out to not be so we ship you the next available film on your queue. We apologize for the inconvenience."
Whatever.
So i guess it's Chinatown tonite. *sigh*
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3 comments:
That's the worst. I've never had that happen w/ them. My issue with them is that if I get into extreme movie watching mode, they start slowing down how quickly they send my next flick. It's like they have some kind of monitor on me. Like there is a limit to how "unlimited" they want my movie-watching to be.
I never got into The Wire. It always came on too late for me. But my last boyfriend watched it & I caught it a few times, so I know it's good. And it's always nice to see black actors working, particularly on a quality show (no coons).
Did you watch Six Feet Under? That's the one that I think is the best TV series of all time. My heart still goes pitter-pat when I think about it!
there was a famous courtcase where someone sued Netflix over that very issue. Since then they've added the fine print that they reserve the right to limit the rentals of heavy users in order to preserve their bottom line. Thereby placing limits on how unlimited one can get.
Six Feet Under was definitely my all time favorite show until i started watching the Wire. The Wire can't be appreciated in a piecemeal fashion. You gotta start at episode 1 to see how the writers and actors masterfully craft a detailed, well-written and engaging story/characters from beginning to end. It's quite remarkable.
As far as I'm concerned, all the HBO shows are like that. Even Entourage. And certainly Sex In The City. You've inspired me - I will watch The Wire this summer - it's official!
Leave it to a team of corporate lawyers to change the definition of the word unlimited!
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