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Problem is, this spam the market approach yields a lot of crap content. I realize this is anecdotal (feel free to ignore), but most times I open Netflix and go

Problem is, this spam the market approach yields a lot of crap content. I realize this is anecdotal (feel free to ignore), but most times I open Netflix and go through almost everything they feature on the home screen...before turning it off because there isn’t anything that looks good.

jhall1468 8y ago
So, you look at a bunch of book covers you don't like and call it "crap content". I can't even count the number of Netflix shows/movies that the description didn't look all that appealing and the show absolutely was wonderful. Chef's Table was probably the biggest example. It looks like a cooking show. In reality is a beautiful documentary series about how world-renown chef's made their way. Don't judge a book by its cover.
- fabianhjr 8y ago
  Black Mirror has gone downhill in an effort to create a mass audience. (Mostly the fourth season) What they do is create "hit" content that is very consumable not necessarily great or timeless. "We need writers who know the difference between the production of a market commodity and the practice of an art" ~ Ursula K. Le Guin That said, their documentary productions are way better than the crap Discovery, History Chanel, et al. have been producing this past decades or so.
  - baq 8y ago
    Exactly. My guess is that's why they passed on The Expanse - it's a great story that is absolutely impossible for the majority to watch because it actually requires you to look up from your phone and pay attention. That's also why sense8 got the axe.
    - jhall1468 8y ago
      Sense8 got axed because it was a $1 million niche show. The same reason they passed on The Expanse. at $700k an episode. They are both wonderful television, but the masses want Survival so that's the garbage we get. At least Netflix and HBO still show actual TV.
  - falcor84 8y ago
    > Black Mirror has gone downhill in an effort to create a mass audience. (Mostly the fourth season) I just wanted to say that I strongly disagree. "USS Callister" and "Hang the DJ" in particular were great episodes in my opinion and very well received overall. "Black Museum" was also quite good. And "Metalhead", together with the black and white versions of Fury Road and Logan, presented a very interesting view of a mostly hopeless future.
- jogjayr 8y ago
  > It looks like a cooking show. In reality is a beautiful documentary series about how world-renown chef's made their way. I was actually hoping for a cooking show :-) I stopped watching after a couple of episodes.
  - jhall1468 8y ago
    Food Network moved all their stuff to Hulu, so Netflix is going to have to fill out their offering to replace it.
sxcurry 8y ago
There are some great hidden gems. For example, India's Frontier Trains - fascinating.
cortesoft 8y ago
Yeah, I feel the opposite.. I go to the home screen and see so many things I want to watch but don’t have time for... I only have a few hours a week to watch tv shows, and there are so many ones that look good on Netflix. I don’t think I will ever get through the shows I want to watch, even if they never added anything more.
- always_good 8y ago
  Yeah, it doesn't surprise me that people who watch massive amounts of television or have extremely narrow tastes are not satisfied with Netflix. Though I think it's more like when people say "ugh, nothing to do!" after checking Facebook and Reddit.
siidooloo 8y ago
This is one area I think Netflix format puts them at a disadvantage. At any one time how many shows does HBO have running the one person likes? A couple? But HBO stretches thoes shows out over 3 or 4 months. By the time those couple things you like end, something else is on. On Netflix some people go through a season of a show in a day or 2. Then they complain there is nothing on for a couple months until they spend a weekend watching something.

jhall1468 8y ago

So, you look at a bunch of book covers you don't like and call it "crap content". I can't even count the number of Netflix shows/movies that the description didn't look all that appealing and the show absolutely was wonderful. Chef's Table was probably the biggest example. It looks like a cooking show. In reality is a beautiful documentary series about how world-renown chef's made their way. Don't judge a book by its cover.

fabianhjr 8y ago
Black Mirror has gone downhill in an effort to create a mass audience. (Mostly the fourth season) What they do is create "hit" content that is very consumable not necessarily great or timeless. "We need writers who know the difference between the production of a market commodity and the practice of an art" ~ Ursula K. Le Guin That said, their documentary productions are way better than the crap Discovery, History Chanel, et al. have been producing this past decades or so.
- baq 8y ago
  Exactly. My guess is that's why they passed on The Expanse - it's a great story that is absolutely impossible for the majority to watch because it actually requires you to look up from your phone and pay attention. That's also why sense8 got the axe.
  - jhall1468 8y ago
    Sense8 got axed because it was a $1 million niche show. The same reason they passed on The Expanse. at $700k an episode. They are both wonderful television, but the masses want Survival so that's the garbage we get. At least Netflix and HBO still show actual TV.
- falcor84 8y ago
  > Black Mirror has gone downhill in an effort to create a mass audience. (Mostly the fourth season) I just wanted to say that I strongly disagree. "USS Callister" and "Hang the DJ" in particular were great episodes in my opinion and very well received overall. "Black Museum" was also quite good. And "Metalhead", together with the black and white versions of Fury Road and Logan, presented a very interesting view of a mostly hopeless future.
jogjayr 8y ago
> It looks like a cooking show. In reality is a beautiful documentary series about how world-renown chef's made their way. I was actually hoping for a cooking show :-) I stopped watching after a couple of episodes.
- jhall1468 8y ago
  Food Network moved all their stuff to Hulu, so Netflix is going to have to fill out their offering to replace it.

sxcurry 8y ago

There are some great hidden gems. For example, India's Frontier Trains - fascinating.

cortesoft 8y ago

Yeah, I feel the opposite.. I go to the home screen and see so many things I want to watch but don’t have time for... I only have a few hours a week to watch tv shows, and there are so many ones that look good on Netflix. I don’t think I will ever get through the shows I want to watch, even if they never added anything more.

always_good 8y ago
Yeah, it doesn't surprise me that people who watch massive amounts of television or have extremely narrow tastes are not satisfied with Netflix. Though I think it's more like when people say "ugh, nothing to do!" after checking Facebook and Reddit.

siidooloo 8y ago

This is one area I think Netflix format puts them at a disadvantage. At any one time how many shows does HBO have running the one person likes? A couple? But HBO stretches thoes shows out over 3 or 4 months. By the time those couple things you like end, something else is on. On Netflix some people go through a season of a show in a day or 2. Then they complain there is nothing on for a couple months until they spend a weekend watching something.