I’m going petsitting in a few days where they only have Netflix on their television. I tend to spend a lot of time perusing the menus looking for something to watch and probably passing over some good entertainment because I don’t know what to expect. So I need your suggestions on what to see. I’m open to pretty much anything as long as it isn’t too racy or too violent. (OK, I did see John Wick and liked it but didn’t care for Chapter 2 as much.)
Good science fiction is a plus and maybe someone can point me to some anime, too. Is there anything from Studio Ghibli on now? There’s a lot of television series that I haven’t seen from the beginning so some suggestions here would be good, too. And, is Game of Thrones on Netflix? If so, I might check that out.
Anyway, thanks for reading this and for your suggestions. I’ll check back tonight to see what you’ve got.
I have not been impressed by most of the Netflix Original sci-fi movies but some of the series were decent to pretty good. Altered Carbon was OK but somewhat violent. Dark was pretty good but hard to follow and ends on a cliffhanger so you might get frustrated if you won’t have access to next season. It’s also dubbed/subtitled if that bothers you.
I did like Black Mirror a lot. It’s an anthology show so you don’t have to watch the entire season. Most people I know enjoyed the Lost in Space reboot. Also the new Mystery Science Theater if that is your kind of thing. And of course, Stranger Things.
For movies I liked Moon but it’s kind of slow. I didn’t really like Ex Machina but a lot of people thought it was great. There are some Star Wars movies and some recent superhero stuff. A lot of the sci-fi movies on there now are B or C grade.
I think they have all of Breaking Bad if you haven’t had a chance to check that out. Oh, and The Fall is a great British detective show with Gillian Anderson but it is sometimes violent and gets quite racy.
The Last Kingdom is fantastic swashbuckling historical fiction. Game of Thrones-ish without the magic (though there’s a hint of pagan mysticism, which is consistent with the history of Britain). It’s about the various Viking invasions of England around the time of King Alfred the Great.
Altered Carbon is a lot of fun hard-R (graphic sex and violence) science fiction, though I thought the story petered out a bit towards the end of the season.
Castlevania is anime-ish supernatural fantasy cartoon (vampires and magic). For adults – sex and violence. I thought it was good but not great.
Reggie Watts’ comedy-music special is magnificent, though I recognize his style isn’t for all tastes. Hard to explain exactly what he does without watching.
If you liked John Wick and you don’t mind comic book shows, I strongly recommend Season 1 of Daredevil. The writing is solid and Charlie Cox is a fine actor.
Netflix Canada has different stuff but, while not amazing, “Extinction” was just what I expected. Middling sci-fi. “How it Ends” was alright. Both under two hours and originals so should be on U.S. Netflix as well.
Seconding “The Fall” excellently done and Gillian is amazing.
I’ve been watching Outback Truckers lately. Good show for trucking enthusiasts; I have yet to notice any manufactured drama or huge assholes, unlike “Ice Road Truckers”.
My favorite Netflix undiscovered gem is Sing Street. It’s about Irish kids in the 80s who form a band to escape their dreary lives. The music is really good and on point if you like the 80s Britpop invasion at all. Plus it’s a nice little story.
Roman Empire is on of the best docudramas I’ve ever seen.
There are two short seasons out now. Both seasons are good, but S2 is a little disappointing because they fast-forwarded a LOT of stuff at the end. Guess they didn’t have time to fit everything in six episodes.
Phil Rosenthal has a good food-centered travelogue. “I’ll Have What Phil’s Having” was on PBS for its first season and the second season, retitled “Somebody Feed Phil”, is original to Netflix.