Netflix has changed my life

This may seem like an extreme statement but Netflix along with my Digital Video Recorder (DVR) has changed how I use the medium of television. For Canadians reading this, Netflix is a DVD rental company whereby you select DVD's to watch online and then Netflix will mail them to you with a return envelope. The system works remarkably well although I have noticed they slow down delivery when you use them heavily. One of the main benefits of Netflix is the depth of options for rentals. When you go to a local video store your choices are usually limited to the Hollywood blockbusters and the movies you watched once late at night out of desperation. Being a national company they have the widest selection of not only movies (even Canadian movies!) but old television.

I am a strong believer that excellent television programs must be killed by networks so that we don't realize what crap they are usually feeding us. Smart shows like Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly all came out of the same brilliant mind, Joss Whedon. Network television will never understand his vision. In the early 1990's Twin Peaks creator, David Lynch had to deal with not only the network but Twin Peak's audience themselves being confused and disoriented about the show's direction. What wonderful disorientation it was! What Netflix lets me do is watch shows like Homicide: Life on the Street or X-Files again on my own terms without having to buy expensive DVD sets. In some ways it serves as a library for me allowing me to find new directors, new shows, and new stories while revisiting old friends.