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hoboal87 · 4 years ago

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Some thoughts and a quasi fix-it on the Finale (SPOILERS)

I want to preface this by saying that I like the finale, if you didn’t, I completely get that, and if you just want to say nasty things, you can move on to the next post =)

I’ll try to keep my thoughts coherent, but no promises. Obviously, a lot of things had to change with this final episode of COVID-19, and I’ll try to address how I think they could’ve worked around it without changing the essence of this episode, which again, I’ll reiterate, I liked.

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

As the episode opens, we see the boys living a “normal” life. They don’t have to worry about cosmic entities anymore, they can just do what they do best. I honestly loved this, the boys just being domestic: cooking breakfast, doing research, doing laundry, all of it. My one complaint about this opening montage is there is no clear passage of time. How long has it been since Chuck was rendered powerless? A day? A week? A few months? A year? In my opinion, it’s been maybe a couple of weeks, but I feel like the writers were trying to imply that it’s been a couple of months and it was just unclear. For me, that would have solved one of my few issues with the episode. So let's change it up a little =)

We open similarly, but in the background, we can see the date it is actually five years (or whatever amount) later. The boys are getting ready for their respective days, Dean is living in an apartment over a bar, and we watch as Sam returns from his run and enters a small house. Dean doesn’t just live above the bar, he owns it, finally having some normalcy in his life, this is what wants. He proudly displays pictures of Sam, Bobby, Mary and John, his own way of keeping them close.Sam walks into the kitchen and sees a note on the refrigerator.

“Gone to get supplies, see you tonight, Love, E.”

Sam smiles at the note as he twirls the silver band on his finger, taking in the black and white sonogram displayed prominently next to the note. We follow Sam through the house, and we see photos of his and Eileen’s wedding, and pictures of their families. His kids will never have questions about their pasts, about their families, Sam and Eileen are intent on that.

Dean opens his bar, it’s a steady crowd, flirts with some of the women, but isn’t really pursuing anything, he’s closed himself off to the idea of a wife and kids. He’s got a nephew that’ll be here in a few months anyway, and he’s already told Sam how he plans to spoil that kid rotten. We cut between Sam and Dean, watching them go through their day, Dean working at the bar, Sam with papers splayed in front of him, implying he’s gone back to school. They’re both content, finally getting what they’ve always truly wanted. They still hunt, that much is apparent as we see them at one point cleaning their weapons or doing research.

As Dean closes up the bar he sends Sam a message.

“You ready for tomorrow?”

Sam rolls his eyes playfully, “are you sure its the best idea?”

“Hell, yes. I was born ready, it’s my destiny. Tomorrow 8 am.”

This would be, maybe a 5 to 7 minute opening scene? Then we get the title card. The rest of the episode plays the same from here. Sam and Dean go on a mini-vacation, which turns into a hunt.

So about Dean’s death. I wouldn’t change a single thing.

Personally, I don’t think there was any other way to end the series. As a bunch of people pointed out, Dean’s been saying some form of “I die bloody” since the beginning of the show. Now, did I want Dean to die? No. Dean deserved to live a full and happy life, but as Michael said, “since when do we get what we deserve?”

I rewatched the episode yesterday, and I SOBBED like a fucking baby throughout Dean’s death scene. I will agree it was a little Wincest-y, but, honestly, is it really that surprising? Sam and Dean have only ever had each other. Dean raised Sam, Dean is Sam's parent in every way that counts. A user pointed out, I’m so sorry if you see this please let me know and I will tag to your post, Dean speech starts more as a father to son type instead of brother to brother.

Sam is in shock when Dean tells him that he’s hurt, immediately going with “I’ll get the first aid kit.” The look on Dean’s face is heart-breaking, and you can see that he has already accepted his fate, he’s known since the second that the rebar (NOT A FUCKING NAIL) went through him that he was not walking away. Sam is going through all the stages of grief in just a few minutes.

Denial – “I’ll get the first aid kit.”

Anger – “No, we are gonna get [the boys] somewhere safe.”

Bargaining – “I’ll find a way, I’ll find another way.”

Depression – “Don’t leave me. I can’t do this alone.”

Acceptance – “It’s okay, Dean. You can go now.”

All the while, Dean is telling Sam how proud of him he is, and that he “loves [Sam] so much.” Now, please correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that this is the first time that Dean has said to Sam that he loves him. I know we’ve heard him say it to other people and it’s definitely been implied, and the closest we got was in sacrifice, “don’t you think that there is anything, past or present, that I would put in front of you.”

Dean died in his brother’s arms, which to me, was beautiful. Can you imagine, though, Sam, carrying his brother’s lifeless body back to the Impala, setting him down gingerly in the back seat and driving back to the bunker?

I believe that we were supposed to get a lot of people at Dean’s funeral. Jody, Donna, Charlie, Bobby, Claire, (honestly, probably anyone who could be there.) But with travel restrictions into Vancouver, this had to change. It is not realistic for the writers/producers to ask people to quarantine for 2 weeks to shoot a half-day (if that) of filming. I did see that Samantha Ferris did say she wasn’t spoken to about the possibility of returning. I truly believe Shoshanna was supposed to be in this episode, but, her role was going to be very limited, and as much as I wanted to see her (obviously, from the above section) I firmly believe that she was supposed to be the woman Sam married.

Again let’s fix the second half of the episode:

Sam and Eileen give Dean a hunter’s funeral, and Sam quits the life altogether. He doesn’t want his son to ever lose him to a hunt. Eileen helps Sam through his depression, knowing exactly how it feels to lose your family. We get a similar montage, Sam takes over the bar, takes in Miracle, and keeps the Impala tucked away, for now, it’s too painful to even look at. Sam leaves Dean’s apartment as is for the longest time, afraid to move anything, what if he forgets where to put it back? We can see he’s just going through the motions, that is, until his son is born.

We see Sam cradling a newborn in his arms, Dean had joked from the moment Eileen announced her pregnancy that they should name the baby after him. Sam and Eileen laughed him off at the time, saying the world only ever needed one Dean Winchester. But now, Sam can’t think of any better way to honor his brother, than to name his son Dean.

Dean is in Heaven, greeted by Bobby who tells him all about new Heaven. Jack fixed it, and it is the Heaven that Dean deserves. When Bobby mentions Cas, Dean smirks, and Bobby assures him that Cas is around. Dean spots Baby, and tells Bobby that he's going to take her for a drive. Dean doesn’t know how long he's going to drive, but remembers Bobby’s words, “time works different up here,” and knows that eventually Sam will join him.

Dean watches from afar as Sam lives on, raising his son and daughter (cause honestly Sam would want more than one kid), he keeps them knowledgeable about the life, but they don’t hunt. On Dean Jr.’s eighteenth birthday Sam takes him to get an anti-possession tattoo, but it is more of a symbol to honor his family, Sam teaches Dean about the Impala, and how to take care of her, and he’s a natural mechanic just like his Uncle. Once a year, on the anniversary of his brother’s death, Sam sits in Baby, and feels connected to Dean, telling him much he misses him and how he wishes he was with him.

Dean watches as Sam grows old, and keeps his word, even though Sam didn’t know it, he’s been by his side the whole time. On his deathbed, Sam is surrounded by his children and Eileen (or an Eileen stand-in), who tell him it’s okay to go, and tells them all how much he loves them before letting go.

We cut to Dean, waiting on a bridge, the same one from his and Sam’s first hunt, and he can feel himself becoming whole again.

“Heya Sammy.”

#supernatural #supernatural finale #supernatural spoilers #dean winchester #sam winchester #semi-fix it fic #fix-it fic

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shimmershae · 5 years ago

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I thought I’d come around on M!chonne’s decision to set out on a quest to bring R!ck home—a rewatch of M!chonne’s last episode yesterday hit me harder than it had the first time— but the previews for the finale reminded me why it just doesn’t sit right with me.

No matter how much she loves that man and feels like his absence has left this big hole in her life, those babies’ lives, and the lives of all the friends and family that also loved him and no matter how capable of hands she thinks she’s leaving them in—because Uncle Daryl and Aunt Carol and Tia Rosita are some of the most capable survivors still around, not to mention Uncle Aaron, the fact of the matter is...

...the communities under the alliance are at war and under attack from the largest threat they’ve come into contact with yet. I mean, sheer numbers wise, Beta’s horde could be overwhelming to them.

I’m not a parent myself so I can’t come at this issue from that standpoint, but as an aunt to a niece and nephew I would do anything for? I can tell you what I wouldn’t do. I would not leave in a time of such turmoil and I would not be swayed by the emotional plea of a 10 year old and allow them to give me the free pass to go after what I want.

Personally? Even though I can understand the desire? I feel like that would make me look at least a little bit selfish. Especially taking into account the very real possibility that not only might my quest prove fruitless in the end, it might cost the lives of the children and friends and family that I love while I’m away.

So look. I know this is just a television show and that these are fictional characters and everything is done for ooohhhh drama. And that Danai’s departure and TPTB’s desire to eventually give fans that dramatic reunion between R!chonne fueled much of this—hey, I’m still probably get emotional about it myself, not gonna lie about that, but.

This way, even though Cailey and Danai might have initially sold me? Because my goodness, that child does things to me with her little face and those expressive eyes and Danai plays the love and affection she has for that little girl so well. Still.

It just feels wrong to this M!chonne fan.

#The Walking Dead #Shae’s thinky thoughts #things that make me cry #for reasons

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luuuna-rambles · 4 years ago

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Lost Rewatch: 3x16 One Of Us

You get it, guys? It’s a reference to One Of Them - where everyone thought Henry Gale was a good guy, but he was actually an Other. Now eveyone thinks Juliet is an Other, but she’s actually... well, it’s complicated

Jeez, this is why I don’t ship Jate. They don’t talk about anything

And while Jack seems to be acting coy just for the sake of acting coy, what does Kate hope to get out of this conversation? The Others wouldn’t tell Jack anything, and she’s gobshite at emotional support (with the men, at least)

Once again, pour one out for Juliet’s flashback hair

Juliet and Rachel’s relationship is adorable and I’m still mad they never did anything with it

Oh piss off, Jack. What, were you not expecting Sayid to be the least bit suspicious?

Awww, look at Sawyer helping Claire with her headache. Start of that relationship proper

Sawyer and Jack shake hands and I am suddenly reminded how long it’s been since the two of them said a single word to each other. The last time was the season 2 finale

Yo, that might be the only time Hurley ever threatens anyone. And... it’s quite scary, coming from him

Wait, why is Goodwin in the surgery with Juliet? I thought he worked at that chemical place?

Why is Ben so against letting anyone leave the island at this point? We see several Others leave and come back before and after this point, and this is way before the communications go down

Ben, you manipulative little prick. Obviously Rachel’s cancer hasn’t come back, and at the very least Jacob promising to cure it is complete bs

Also, why isn’t Rachel allowed to come here? It’s not like she’d be a burden, she seems pretty smart, and there seem to be families as part of the Others - Goodwin seems to be here just because his wife is a therapist, and why else would the 16-year-old Karl be here?

Is Jack supposed to be coming off as a stubborn, unempathetic moron here? Cause that’s sure what it feels like

Hey remember when we had that Claire memory episode? And Juliet clearly wasn’t there?

Also, learning that the goal is to keep pregnant mothers alive makes Claire’s storyline completely absurd. Why are they trying to kill Claire and take Aaron? How would that help?

Uh, since when did Sawyer and Sayid pal up? The best they have been with each other is cordial. Hell, they were arguing earlier this very episode!

So, Juliet finds out about Ben’s tumour just before the plane crash. And yet, it’s a different book he’s reading for the book club

Elizabeth Mitchell is quickly moving up the ranks of amazing actors in this show. The scene where Juliet tells Ben about his tumour displays her incredible range in one short scene

And that’s followed by the Juliet vs Sayid and Sawyer scene - another great scene for Juliet!

‘Yesterday you called me a liar’. Wait, so this episode says Ben found out about his tumour the day before the crash? But what about ‘Two days after I found out I had a fatal tumour on my spine, a spinal surgeon fell out of the sky’? Why are you contradicting yourself in the same season???

Congratulations, Elizabeth Mitchell, you have moved into the very small subsection of actors in this show who can consistently make me cry

Hey remember when this was the last time Juliet ever saw Rachel? And the only time she ever saw her nephew?

And she didn’t even get to meet them in the flash sideways???

No, me neither 😭

Okay, the scene right at the end here is the second time I can remember this show punching me in the gut with a twist in the whole run thus far (The first time being Michael shooting Ana Lucia and Libby). Wtf????? Juliet isn’t on their side???? But she just saved Claire???

But watching back, it is nice seeing the last time Juliet ever taking orders from Ben directly. And also it’s quite funny that Ben’s hubris destroyed him in the end - he still believed, despite everything he’s done to Juliet, that she’s on his side. And that was his undoing

However, why would they put an implant in Claire to make her ill? What’s the point? I thought you were just planning on killing her?

Overall Review:

I love the Juliet episodes. While the plot on-island might be a bit wishy-washy and inconsequential, and Jack is really annoying, the flashbacks are golden. It’s another episode showing off what a threat Ben is, this time on a personal level. And even if you don’t like Juliet at this point, you have to feel sorry for her. Poor baby’s been through so much, and the show is nowhere near done putting her through the wringer

Overall Rating: 8.3/10

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wolverinequeen · 7 years ago

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Our Dish got cut off yesterday and so I’ve not seen a rerun of Suicide Squad tonight and I’m quite pleased with that. (It’s on DVR and my family has been rewatching it like 2 times a day for many days now and I was gonna blow a gasket. But now DVR is cut off lmao). I’m serious, they wake up - watch it, and watch it again around maybe, 6pm. Sometimes when my nephew stays up all night with me, he watches it a third time!!!

So when they found out they didn’t pay the satellite bill and we got cut off, my sister lamented “Oh no! We should have bought Suicide Squad as a DVD!”

Like really, they get on these kicks to rewatch the same shit over and over again for weeks at a time. It drives me nuts.

My inlaw watched Captain America daily for 2 months straight once and it got bad enough if I woke up and heard it through my wall I’d go back to bed another hour or 2. Also Transformers is another they’ll watch over and over each day. I fucking despise Transformers with a passion, and Marvel/super hero movies are a strong runner up. If they put in Transformers I get a killer headache.

Like damn, I love Shrek, but you don’t see me watching it daily. I watched Shrek tonight for the first time in like, 5 months. I wanna see the new Star Wars again too, but you don’t see me going to the theater daily for it. I sometimes rewatch shit like, once every few months or a couple times a year.

I do watch a King of the Hill episode before bed each night but it’s always a different episode!

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youremyonlyhope · 6 years ago

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The Rains of Castamere

Yeah so I’m scared to see where this is going for the next few episodes.

Oooh. We’re actually at the Twins now. Robb’s coming to his senses about his mother’s opinions, so he’s gonna die now. Hi Filch. Since last seeing Walder Frey, I’ve rewatched An Adventure in Space and Twice Upon A Time so I’m reminded that sometimes David Bradley can play very nice characters. It’s a shame that so many of his characters are such horrible people. Well. He seems.... understanding... and forgiving... so far... but I am wary. Wow Daario. Very forward. My girl Dany is internally like “Fight the urge... fight it... fight it...” The Black Gate.... I know that there’s some sort of Gate that Hodor guards eventually... is that it?

Ok. I gotta say this. I do love Sam and Gilly. I love that they bonded, I love that he helped her run away and protected her baby. I love it all. But.....

This scene where she’s like “You know all that from looking at marks on a paper? You’re like a wizard.” feels very... Born Sexy Yesterday. When I first saw this video and realized that this trope is everywhere, I was disgusted and kind of horrified. And though I LOVE my baby Sam, and he IS very smart, I hate that this is almost falling into that trope. Basically, a female character meets a male character, and she’s super naive, basically a child in her mind, because usually she was literally just created before meeting him (alien, robot, clone, etc.) and knows nothing, yet has the body of a fully grown woman. So, because of that, the male character seems amazingly fantastic to her, the best man she’s ever met because she’s literally never met anyone else. Gilly wasn’t born yesterday, but the only man she ever met before Sam was her father, who rapes her, her sisters, and her nieces and kills off her brothers and nephews and wanted to kill her son. She knows nothing of the world outside of her little prison of a village and family. So, by comparison, Sam is “a wizard” because he can read. The video explains the trope better and the effect it has on men in real life and in fiction because to this female character they get to be the best without even trying because there is no competition. But yeah. Born Sexy Yesterday is what I got from the “you’re like a wizard” scene.

Aww, the Hound has a soft spot for the Stark girls... That sounds wrong. So far, it’s been very innocent. OOoohh that’s who Ilyn Payne is and why Arya wants to kill him. I literally could not remember what was special about him when Cersei pointed him out to Sansa during the battle. Greattttt. JON’S THERE. AND THE BOYS HAVE NO IDEA. NO. How in the world did Bran control Hodor? I thought wargs could only do animals? Is Hodor like... too primitive? Or is Bran extra special? Jon’s like “...Direwolves?... MY BROTHERS ARE HERE?” Wow. Did Orell just protect into the Eagle as he died? That’s amazing. SO I’ve heard literally nothing about Rickon from the fandom. I’m assuming he’s gonna die at some point. He’s going off with Osha now, so maybe that’s why I never heard of him. Hopefully he’s off living a life protected by Osha. This wedding is too happy. Something’s about to go wrong. “Eddard. Do you want to teach little Ned Stark how to ride horses?” “I do.” All of this is confirming to me that Robb will die before his kid is born.

WELL. Well. This is worse than I thought it would be. AND POOR ARYA THOUGHT SHE’D FINALLY REUNITED WITH HER FAMILY. OH. MY POOR GIRL. NOT THE DIREWOLF TOO. Please Hound where are you?? GOOD. TAKE HER AWAY. I DON’T EVEN CARE THAT YOU KNOCKED HER OUT TO DO IT. SHE’S SAFER UNCONSCIOUS WITH YOU. Robb why. Catelyn WHY.

WALDER/FILCH THIS IS WHY NO ONE LIKES YOU. (David Bradley I’m sure you’re fantastic)

I hate to say it... but if Robb had kept the promise... maybe this wouldn’t have happened... it was a horrible promise... but he did love Talisa... but also honor... and now everyone’s dead. Ugh.

#hope watches game of thrones #ignore me if you want

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averagemagicalgirl · 6 years ago

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Monthly Media: May

Last month I shared my first ever Monthly Media post on my WordPress blog so I thought this month I’d share to both!

MOVIES

I really wanted to see Infinity War which meant sitting down for some well deserved MCU entertainment. Note: I was VERY behind when this month started.

Spiderman: Homecoming ~ Coming from a place of never liking Spiderman I found this movie to be enjoyable, well paced, and interesting. I wish it had included more "backstory" but I think we all know how Spiderman came to be at this point. Looking forward to more character development in the future. Peter Parker is a treasure and needs to be protected at all costs.

Black Panther ~ Straight up loved this movie. I can see why a lot of people on my various social media feeds went crazy for it. A pure joy to watch and would definitely want to watch again/own in the future.

Thor Ragnarok ~ Thor has always been my favorite Avenger from this first movie. Despite his flaws he seems to be a genuinely good person who just wants to do the best he can. I laughed through this entire movie, everything was connected and nuanced in such a way that the comedy came from organic situations, none of it seemed contrived. I watched this at my friends house at least twice more.

Civil War ~ Rewatched to try and catch up a bit for Infinity War. Not my favorite movie in the MCU but tolerable. The problem is that everyone wants to be right or wrong about Captain America or Ironman that I think they miss the main message of "Life is never black and white", and therefore make the movie somewhat enjoyable for those of us who can see and appreciate the grey spaces between issues.

Ant Man ~ I like Scott Lang. He seems like an ok dude. I am looking forward to the "Ant Man and Wasp" movie that will be coming out shortly so this seemed like a good one to watch.

Infinity War ~ I HAVE LOTS OF FEELINGS. Lots of threads, little resolution, feelings everywhere. I know that a lot of people still haven't seen the movie so I'll be brief: I would recommend seeing it in a theater if you can BUT I wouldn't see it a second time until the 4th movie was ready to come out. That being said I am now also looking forward to several movies coming out in the next few years.

The Greatest Showman ~ Watched it 3 time, memorized all the songs, will buy it in the near future and turn up the volume so I can sing along without bothering anyone. The Honest Trailers dudes at YouTube did a pretty accurate job with this one. I watched it before the movie and found myself less moved by the actual story line and more by the secondary characters themselves. That being said, still loved it.

The Hobbit ~ I actually only watched the first one and not the extended edition when I was visiting my friend. Wish we'd watched the other two or at least the other edition but I still really enjoyed the movie as I did when I first saw it come out. It was nice to go back to Middle Earth even for a brief time and it reminded me that I really should download The Hobbit to my kindle to read it again since all my books are still packed away from my move.

Psych: The Movie ~ Overall disappointed. I was expecting something little more than an hour and a half-ish long episode. I'd like to watch it after finishing the series though, I think that might change my mind. Nothing against the characters or the actors, they were just the same with a little more years on them but I think the writing wasn't as good as it could have been.

TELEVISION

The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Seasons 1-3) ~ This was a rewatch for my friend and I because she'd introduced me to Kimmy and her gaggle of pals a couple years ago. After watching the first two seasons together I watched the third one on my own last year. I'm looking forward to season 4 because last season was disappointing in a lot of ways narrative wise but I thought overall it was a great setup to what has already been announced as the last season. Sustainably I feel like that was the best choice. Had things worked out a bit differently in Season 2, this last season could have been the end. Anything beyond 4 would be a mistake in any case.

New Girl (Somewhere around Season 2) ~ I've been watching New Girl on and off for a while and I lost track of where I was so I just picked up where my friend had left off. Still find it cute in a lot of ways but I'm NOT thrilled about Nick and Jessica being together. Maybe my feelings will change, they literally just got together from what I saw but I feel like she could do so much better...fingers crossed though. Nick has a lot of potential as a character and as a person so hopefully Jessica can help bring that out in him.

Galavant (Seasons 1&2) ~ 4th time through watching it. Still love it. The characters have GREAT growth through 2 seasons and it all feels equal throughout the cast, even among the minor characters. The music is a treasure that I will sing forever. Favorite character continues to be Madalena with a dash of Cook/Jester thrown in. It's a great feel good show with lots of action and romance.

History's Greatest Hoaxes (Season 1) ~ I love all sorts of weird conspiracy theory/hoaxy stuff so this was naturally right up my alley and I binged the whole season in one day. It was quite fascinating all together and they did a good job of balancing those who were defending the so-called "hoax" and those that advocated for the reality of the situation.

BOOKS

As I mentioned a few times above I went to see a friend this month for a couple of weeks, I was planning to try and get some quiet reading time with her boys as part of their "summer routine". It didn't really turn out that way so I'm still stuck on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "Lost World". I did however, get to read a lot of different children's books and have realized they're a little more sassy than when I was a child. Some of my favorites included: "Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus", "The Book without Pictures", "Dragons Love Tacos 1 & 2", "The Interrupting Chicken", & "Robo-Sauce"

I also read a story to my 7-year-old Nephew as part of his homeschooling curriculum called "The Toga Detectives" by Henry Winterfield. As a story book to read out loud to a child it was incredibly awkward. I often found myself shortening things so that the narrative sounded smoother than it actually was. I think part of the issue was that the books listed publish date was in 1953 and translated from the original German. That being said as a book for take-home reading in a classroom setting to then assign vocabulary words from I found it to be exceptional. There were a lot of great words to pull from in each chapter and the story really picks up after chapters 5/6. My nephew begged me to keep reading in certain points because it had gotten so exciting.

IN PROGRESS

GAMES ~ Pokemon Soul Silver (I need something but it's day specific and I keep missing it), Pokemon X, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (I LITERALLY JUST STARTED THIS YESTERDAY I AM STOKED)

TELEVISION ~ Just started watching the Netflix Lost in Space series so we'll see how that goes...

#media #movies #mcu #spoilers #maybe #television #opinion #thor ragnarok #black panther #civil war #ant man #kimmy schmidt #new girl #hobbit #children's books #infinity war #galavant #psych the movie

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andrewdburton · 7 years ago

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How we watch TV without cable (and how much it costs)

One of the main reasons Kim and I decided to move from our condo to this quiet country cottage was to save money. We were spending far too much living in the city.

Simply moving made a huge difference to our budget. But now that the dust has settled, it’s time for us to look at other aspects of our spending to see where we can save. As part of that, I’ve been reviewing our recurring expenses to see what I can cut. Yesterday, I canceled our subscription to The New York Times (savings: $5/week or $260/year). Today, I’m reviewing how much we spend on TV and movies.

Cutting the Cord

It seems hard to believe, but it was ten years ago that I first “cut the cord”. Since then, I’ve used the Apple TV device to access most of my video entertainment.

In March 2007, my then-wife and I canceled our expensive TV package and moved to just basic cable. Our monthly bill dropped from $65.82 to $11.30. We supplemented our viewing with Hulu (free at the time), Netflix, and by purchasing shows from the iTunes store.

I’ve been cable-free for a decade now. I haven’t missed cable even once. Some folks are amazed when they hear I don’t have cable. “How do you manage?” they ask. Yet I am amazed that more people haven’t made the leap to a cable-free lifestyle. It’s easy.

One of the biggest objections I hear is, “What about live sports?” People pay big bucks just so they can have ESPN. Honestly, there are plenty of ways to watch live sports without cable. Sling, for instance, offers a package with ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN3. Plus, Kim and I have found that if we really want to watch a game, we’ll just head to a local sports bar where we can join the crowd over a burger and a beer.

In 2007, I calculated that Kris and I were spending $27.90 each month to watch television. If we added in our Netflix subscription, that total rose to $44.89. Not bad.

Reviewing our current expenses, however, I see that Kim and I currently spend $83 per month in subscription fees — plus whatever we spend to buy individual movies and TV shows on iTunes. Holy cats! How did that happen? We’ve experienced a bit of lifestyle inflation in the TV department.

Let’s review the different services we use — and how much we pay for them. Maybe there’s a way we can save some money.

iTunes (a la carte pricing)

By far, our biggest source of video entertainment is iTunes. I’m heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon. Since 12 October 2005, when video content became available on the iTunes store, I have purchased 611 movies (about one per week) and 107 TV shows. (It’s tough to determine exactly how many seasons or episodes that represents, though.)

With iTunes, you don’t pay a subscription fee. Instead, you purchase movies and TV shows “a la carte”. If you want something, you buy it and it’s your forever (at least in theory). Personally, I prefer this model, but I know I’m in the minority.

To avoid overspending, I have two rules for iTunes purchases.

First of all, I try not to buy anything unless I think I’ll rewatch it. That means I mostly use iTunes to buy movies or classic television shows that I’ve already watched many times. (I bought all three seasons of the original Star Trek, for instance. I watch those episodes over and over and over again. What can I say? I’m a nerd!)

Second, I rarely pay full price (which is between $15 and $20 for a movie, and up to $35 for a TV season). I’ll pay full price for something like the most recent season of Game of Thrones or maybe the latest Star Wars movie. Only if I love something am I going to pay top dollar. (Another exception: If I’ve waited years and never seen a price drop. Disney movies never go on sale, so I paid twenty bucks so that my nephew could watch Frozen whenever he’s here.)

In order to keep my iTunes costs down, I watch the weekly sales. Every Tuesday, Apple lists certain movies at a discount. This week, for instance, they have select “Spy Stories” on sale at “under $10”.

There are 32 of spy movies listed this week. Some weeks the sale only lists ten movies. It varies. If a film is under ten bucks and I want to watch it, I’ll consider purchasing it — but only if the price is less than twice the rental price.

For example, this week the 2011 version of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is on sale for $9.99. If the rental price were $4.99 or higher, I might buy it. But the rental price is $3.99, so I won’t consider it.

The best deals on iTunes come on weekends. Each Friday, Apple places one film on sale for $4.99, which is roughly the price of a rental. These films are often related to something timely. Right now, for example, they’re likely to place Christmas films on sale. Around Valentine’s Day, they’ll put a romance on sale for $4.99.

Here are two final tips, one of which is a bit morbid.

Whenever a big-name actor or director dies, Apple has a sale on their body of work. Strange (and maybe a bit sad) but true. If Steven Spielberg were to die next week, for instance, Apple would have a huge sale on all of his films. When Stanley Kubrick died, they offered some crazy bundle of all his movies for cheap. I bought it.

Lastly, I make use of the iTunes wish list. Whenever I find a movie I really really want that’s too expensive (over ten bucks, basically), I add it to the list. Every few weeks, I check the list for price drops.

Kim and I mainly use iTunes for movies. We do buy TV shows — we’re watching The Orville on iTunes right now — but that’s not as common. Why not? Because most of the time there’s no reason to keep TV shows in our permanent library. Are we ever going to rewatch The Voice? No. For this reason, we tend to use other apps for our television viewing.

Hot tip: If you liked Star Trek: The Next Generation, you may like The Orville. It deliberately mimics the ST:TNG vibe in tons of ways, both obvious and subtle. But it’s hilarious. (Here’s a short trailer for the show.) Even though it’s not an official Star Trek show in any way, I’d classify it as my third-favorite Star Trek series. (I haven’t seen the new official Star Trek series because I refuse to pay for the CBS streaming service. No way!)

Netflix ($11 per month)

Our second-largest source of video content is Netflix. Kim and I have a “two screens at a time” plan for $10.99 per month. (The price just went up by a buck last week.)

For a long time, I didn’t watch much Netflix. Honestly, I think their movie selection sucks. They have a decent TV lineup, but it lags behind Hulu (see below) and doesn’t include things like Game of Thrones or Big Bang Theory. I thought I was going to cancel Netflix until they started producing original content.

And that’s where Netflix has really begun to shine. The original shows on Netflix are, quite frankly, outstanding. Left to her own devices, Kim would watch almost exclusively Netflix. (She’s a huge fan of Chelsea Handler.) Right now, Netflix has so many great original series that I can’t even keep up with them.

I don’t get $10.99 worth of entertainment from Netflix each month but Kim does.

Hulu ($12 per month with no ads)

I’ve been using Hulu for almost ten years now.

The main virtue of Hulu is catching current programs. Kim and I watch The Voice on Hulu, for instance, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. She uses it to watch This Is Us. Whenever Kim hears about a current show that sounds interesting, she checks Hulu first.

Hulu also has a decent selection of older shows, which is something that appeals to me. For some reason, I get great comfort from watching programs like The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Adam 12. Over the course of 2017, Kim and I worked our way through all 180 episodes of Seinfeld.

The primary problem with Hulu is that its selection is even worse than Netflix. The movies are woefully outdated. (They used to own the streaming rights for The Criterion Collection, but not anymore.) Its library of classic TV shows is good but spotty.

Luckily, Hulu has begun creating its own original programming too, including the award-winning The Handmaid’s Tale, which I have not yet seen.

Amazon Prime Video (part of Amazon Prime)

If you subscribe to Amazon Prime, then Amazon Prime Video is included in the service.

Like Netflix and Hulu, it offers a variety of television shows and movies — plus original content, some of which has received excellent reviews. (Last year’s Manchester by the Sea was nominated for Best Picture!) Amazon Prime Video also offers paid add-on subscriptions to services like HBO and Showtime.

Honestly, Kim and I haven’t used Amazon Prime Video much. I watched season three of Survivor on Prime a couple of years ago because it was the only service that offered it, but that’s the only thing I can remember watching. Why don’t we use it? Because there’s no Apple TV app. Until today.

Seriously: The Amazon Prime Video app for Apple TV came out today, and I’m downloading it as I write this very sentence.

There. Amazon Prime Video has been installed on my Apple TV. This opens a whole new world of video programming for me and Kim to discover. I’ve been wanting to watch several of these shows, including The Last Tycoon, Mozart in the Jungle, and — especially — The Man in the High Castle.

Time will tell if Amazon Prime Video supplants any of our other services.

Sling ($45 per month)

For folks who crave real television channels but still want to cut the cord, Sling is a terrific option. With packages starting at $20 per month, you’re able to customize the service to access the channels you’re most interested in. And you can access those channels on almost any device. (I have Sling set up on all of our computers, all of our portable devices, and on the Apple TV.)

Sling offers two primary bundles: the orange bundle ($20/month) and the blue bundle ($25/month). While there’s some overlap between these two bundles, each offers some unique channels. The orange bundle, for instance, carries ESPN and the blue bundle does not. But the blue bundle has Fox Sports channels while the orange bundle does not. If you subscribe to both bundles, you get a $5 discount so that your monthly total is $40.

On top of this, you can totally customize your subscription by adding various “packages”, such as the Spanish TV package or the news package or the comedy package.

Since summer, we’ve subscribe to the combined orange and blue bundles plus the Hollywood package (which includes Turner Classic Movies). That’s a total of $45 per month.

How much Sling do we actually watch? Very little. We certainly do not need the orange bundle, which I subscribed to because I thought I’d watch ESPN. (Turns out that in much the same way that MTV rarely shows music videos, ESPN rarely shows actual sporting events. It’s all chat shows and endless repeats of SportsCenter.)

Kim and I both agree that we can axe Sling completely without missing anything.

HBO Now ($15 per month)

HBO Now is the online version of HBO. We’ve only been subscribed for about a year. We’ve paid maybe $180 into it — but we have not received $180 worth of value. In fact, we hardly ever watch it. So why do we have it? One reason: Game of Thrones.

Until the most recent season, Game of Thrones was delayed by an entire year before being released to iTunes. Impatient man that I am — and wanting to play by the rules (no BitTorrent) — I thought we should sign up for HBO Now when it became available on Apple TV.

“We can watch the other shows too,” I told Kim. She likes Girls and True Blood and Entourage. I also thought we’d take advantage of HBO’s movie library. But you know what? We didn’t do those things. We’ve maybe watched two things on HBO Now in twelve months. That’s a colossal waste of money. (Think of all the beer I could have bought with $180!)

Besides, if I’m seeing things right, it looks as if some HBO shows are included with Amazon Prime Video. Rock on!

The Bottom Line

Let’s put all of this together. As a summary, here’s what we’re paying for individual services:

iTunes: no subscription fee — pay per show

Netflix: $11 per month

Hulu: $12 per month

Amazon Prime Video: cost is built into our Amazon Prime subscription

Sling: $45 per month

HBO Now: $15 per month

We’re paying a total of $83 per month (or roughly $1000 per year) in subscription fees. Plus our Amazon Prime membership. Plus whatever it costs for individual purchases from iTunes.

That’s too much.

Fortunately, we can easily trim $60 per month by getting rid of Sling and HBO Now, two services we barely use. That’d save us $720 every year. I’m comfortable keeping Netflix and Hulu. We use both pretty often, so that $23 per month is acceptable.

So, there you have it. It’s perfectly possible to watch all the TV you want without cable. But if your goal is to save money by doing so, you have to be careful. If you’re not, you can end up paying as much (or more!) than you were before you cut the cord.

There’s nothing wrong with paying for TV — if you use what you’re paying for. But if you’re not getting value for your money (as in our case with Sling and HBO Now), then it’s in your best interest to cancel services and put that cash to work someplace else.

Footnote Based on this post, you might think I watch a lot of TV. I don’t. I watch maybe an episode while I eat dinner with Kim on the week nights, then maybe one movie each Saturday and Sunday. Kim watches tons more than I do.

But don’t get the idea that I think I’m more virtuous for watching less television. I still waste my time, but I’m much more likely to waste it playing videogames. (As some of you already know, my game of choice is Hearthstone. But I’m also a fan of the Nintendo Switch, especially retro games like Mario Brothers.)

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foursproutwealth-blog · 7 years ago

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How we watch TV without cable (and how much it costs)

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How we watch TV without cable (and how much it costs)

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One of the main reasons Kim and I decided to move from our condo to this quiet country cottage was to save money. We were spending far too much living in the city.

Cutting the Cord

It seems hard to believe, but it was ten years ago that I first “cut the cord”. Since then, I’ve used the Apple TV device to access most of my video entertainment.

In 2007, I calculated that Kris and I were spending $27.90 each month to watch television. If we added in our Netflix subscription, that total rose to $44.89. Not bad.

Let’s review the different services we use — and how much we pay for them. Maybe there’s a way we can save some money.

iTunes (a la carte pricing)

To avoid overspending, I have two rules for iTunes purchases.

Here are two final tips, one of which is a bit morbid.

Netflix ($11 per month)

Our second-largest source of video content is Netflix. Kim and I have a “two screens at a time” plan for $10.99 per month. (The price just went up by a buck last week.)

I don’t get $10.99 worth of entertainment from Netflix each month but Kim does.

Hulu ($12 per month with no ads)

I’ve been using Hulu for almost ten years now.

Luckily, Hulu has begun creating its own original programming too, including the award-winning The Handmaid’s Tale, which I have not yet seen.

Amazon Prime Video (part of Amazon Prime)

If you subscribe to Amazon Prime, then Amazon Prime Video is included in the service.

Seriously: The Amazon Prime Video app for Apple TV came out today, and I’m downloading it as I write this very sentence.

Time will tell if Amazon Prime Video supplants any of our other services.

Sling ($45 per month)

On top of this, you can totally customize your subscription by adding various “packages”, such as the Spanish TV package or the news package or the comedy package.

Since summer, we’ve subscribe to the combined orange and blue bundles plus the Hollywood package (which includes Turner Classic Movies). That’s a total of $45 per month.

Kim and I both agree that we can axe Sling completely without missing anything.

HBO Now ($15 per month)

Besides, if I’m seeing things right, it looks as if some HBO shows are included with Amazon Prime Video. Rock on!

The Bottom Line

Let’s put all of this together. As a summary, here’s what we’re paying for individual services:

iTunes: no subscription fee — pay per show

Netflix: $11 per month

Hulu: $12 per month

Amazon Prime Video: cost is built into our Amazon Prime subscription

Sling: $45 per month

HBO Now: $15 per month

We’re paying a total of $83 per month (or roughly $1000 per year) in subscription fees. Plus our Amazon Prime membership. Plus whatever it costs for individual purchases from iTunes.

That’s too much.

The post How we watch TV without cable (and how much it costs) appeared first on Get Rich Slowly.

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