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Copyright © 2010 Andrea Langworthy
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Last Sunday night, I asked my husband what we did before Netflix. He shook his head and said he didn’t know. For sure, we spent a lot of time at the movies eating salty popcorn we knew was bad for us. And the money we shelled out for tickets, bottles of water, and must-have bags of red licorice — yikes! Coordinating the day and time when we could get to the theater got to be a lot of work but video stores never seemed to have the movie we wanted in stock. Then, friends mentioned Netflix.
My husband and I were skeptical at first but people raved about the selection and ease; the low cost and speed of the company’s system. We decided to give it a try. And kept increasing the number of discs we could have out at one time. We’re up to three right now. On occasion, we’ll stay home on a Sunday, cozy up in the den with healthy snacks, and watch three new releases. We did just that right after the Oscar telecast this year and gave two thumbs up to two of our selections, Frozen River and The Wrestler.
We chose Frozen River because Melissa Leo was a best-actress nominee for her starring role as a single mother so desperate for money she gets involved in smuggling illegal immigrants. We wouldn’t have been so interested in Leo if we hadn’t just spent weeks — no, months — watching her in the 1990s series, Homicide: Life on the Street At Oscar time, we were on season two. Now, we’re watching season five, disc four, with a goal of finishing the seventh and final season by New Year’s Eve. Of this year. To say we’re hooked on this show doesn’t begin to describe it. It originally aired Friday nights on NBC but we never saw it. Perhaps, we were at the movie theater. Perhaps, we should have learned to operate the VCR.
One morning last January when I didn’t feel well, I flipped through television channels looking for a diversion. I found Homicide. I watched it the next day and the day after. Just when I thought I’d found the perfect “take a break” show, it was replaced by something else. My husband suggested checking Netflix so we could both enjoy it. Now, we’re fans of the gritty cop show set in Baltimore. Unlike another favorite, Law & Order, which is strictly business, Homicide gives viewers a closer look at the characters’ personal lives. We watch detectives interact while solving a murder. As a side story lets us in on the captain’s dilemma about leaving a stakeout to attend his daughter’s out-of-state wedding. We feel a detective’s pain when he’s unable to shake off an unsolved case. After eight months with Kay and Gee, Tim, Frank, Mike, Munch, and Meldrick, my hubby and I may have to rethink our goal and stretch the last few seasons into next year. Otherwise, we’re sure going to be lonely for this hard-working, complex cast of characters. They’ve spent so much time in our den, they’re like family. Dysfunctional, but we love them, anyway