Does anyone know why sometimes there are shows available for streaming on Netflix that are missing an individual episode (or more)?
My latest example is The Greatest American Hero. For season one, at least, it seems that episodes 1 and 8 are only available on DVD.
I noticed this with Columbo and asked about it here (in Cafe Society). The general consensus was that the missing episodes had music in them which required separate rights for streaming, and the rights couldn’t be cleared by Netflix.
I’ve wondered similar things about Hulu. There are several series (e.g. Heroes) that I’d love to watch, but only from the beginning, and Season 1 is just not out there.
Aside from the rights issues mentioned above, in some cases the last “episode” or two listed in a series aren’t actually episodes, they’re the special features for the DVD set, and those are only available by renting the actual DVD.
ETA: Like the first season of the new Dr. Who. All the episodes listed that you have to add are actually special features that were aired with different episodes.
Presumably they want you to go buy the DVD.
A frustration that I experienced recently concerns the hour long B&W episodes of Gunsmoke that Netflix has available for instant streaming. A good number of the episodes are mistitled & misplaced to the incorrect season. It was irritating because I wanted to see the early appearances of Ken Curtis as Festus (when Dennis Weaver was still on the show) & every one of them was misplaced. I finally got to see them, but it was a chore to find them.
As a side note, I had quite forgotten how many rapes occurred in Dodge City.
All without using the “R” word.
In one episode, Ben Johnson played a bad guy who raped a widow. Dillon tracked him down & beat him to a bloody pulp in some saloon.
I was surprised at how graphic it was for an early 60s TV program.