Meandering thoughts about streaming TV

Streaming has generally changed the way visual media can be presented to us. A lot has been said about the accessibility of it, and our ability to watch what we want, when we want. We binge shows instead of week to week or even all summer. The dissemination has changed, but it's also changed what is being made, and what we look for. 

Going back 20-40 years ago, you get some great shows, cultural touchstones, like Friends or Cheers that got a decade on the air. There are procedurals that were highly regarded, and some remain on the air. Part of the reason that these shows had such great lasting power is because of the writing and acting. Particularly the sitcoms I mentioned, some were popular because of the serialized continuity of the shows, but that wasn't quite it. The shows offered familiar settings and characters. They were more lived in.

Now with streaming, less is about the setting or the characters, and they are often more story driven. Sure, characters and setting matter, but the show is unlikely to click with viewers if there isn't a broad story arc. The story is generally done after a few seasons of good writing, and the pressure doesn't come from networks to keep a ratings darling churning. Viewers aren't trying to get back to a familiar place next season, with old TV friends, but rather, they are moving on to the next story. 

This has changed the expectations for movies as well. Where once they were the home of good story telling, they are now the home of higher production values. Superhero movies belong in theaters, on big screens with huge special effects. Deeper explorations of character, or introspective plots are told in a ten hour limited run series. The stories are more effectively told than when you only get 90 minutes. Who wants to leave the house anyway?

I'm nostalgic for an era where I could work on something with a familiar character, or repetitive plot on in the background. I wonder if, for many people, Reels has replaced syndicated TV? Now that I have kids, going to the theater feels like fun again, but I'm not sure it is because I really wanted to see Gabby's Dollhouse on the big screen. 

No doubt, the quality of streaming shows steadily improves, and more worthwhile stories are being told. It's a greater investment in attention, is not appointment viewing. 

Back where we started

 The start of the offseason saw the Twins part ways with long time broadcaster Dick Bremer. Everyone was sad about losing a local legend like that, but I insisted it had less to do with Bremer, and more about the Twins vision for the future. If bidders knew what to expect, they would be more willing to secure the rights to air their games. 

It seemed to me that there may even be some sort of a bidding war for the Twins' rights, and they were in a good spot, out from under Diamond Sports, just as the company collapsed. There were other local options. WFTC, WUCW and 45 have all aired sports before, including local athletics, and all were backed by major network affiliates.

Then, as we all know by now, we waited. There were interminable stories about trades the Twins could make or free agents they could sign, but no actual action. Every transaction brought a new round of those articles, with each local writer seeing the potential salvation of the offseason on the horizoin, still remaining among the available free agents and trade candidates. 

Nothing has changed. Those articles continue to stand as reliable clickbait, the Twins still had the same logjams and the same areas that needed improvement, and free agents continue to find new teams. Derek Falvey has commented on the lateness with which the trade market has heated up in recent years, but it still feels like we are all waiting on the TV deal to fall into place before anything actually happens. 

Recently, news broke that Diamond Sports might be pulling out of their death spiral thanks to a cash infusion from Amazon. Amazon will purchase the streaming rights that Diamond Sports owns, and presumably, will have access to regional sports network streaming opportunities in the future.

That means that in the end, the most likely suitor for the Twins television rights is the company that held them in the past. Now, though, they are getting those rights without the long time voice of the team, and the realization that there isn't much competition for said rights. But maybe now we can start the offseason.

A show that isn't Ted Lasso, but is still good.

 I'm not someone who binges TV shows. I don't have the patience or attention span to stay with the same show over the course of a week, or whatever, but I will watch the season of a show released every week (like The Mandalorian) but because a couple of factors, (I'm watching with my wife and the shows are really good) I've recently gone through two shows with the aggressive passion that we are supposed to this day in age.

The first show is Ted Lasso, but if Halloween has taught us anything, it is that we are all pretty saturated with Ted Lasso. If you haven't watched the show, I recommend it, because you will like it. It's widely acclaimed, so that is a pretty common opinion. I am not a fan of sports shows or movies, and even I like it. So yes, it's good, but you probably already know that, or are sick of hearing that. 

I am here to tell you to watch Netflix's Sex Education. Like Ted Lasso, it isn't quite what you would expect going in, and the first few scenes, and the first couple of episodes definitely lend to the belief that it is a raunchy, graphic show, that caters to the basest TV watchers, but as it progresses, you find that it is a smart character study of a diverse cast. 

Like Ted Lasso, Sex Education takes place in England and is smarter than one would expect. It looks at the lives of promiscuous high school students and their families. The show starts focused on Otis Milburne (Asa Butterfield) and his mother, Jean (Gillian Anderson) but expands its scope to include a vast array of characters that it never forgets, even if they were introduced in a seemingly secondary manner earlier in a given season. And all of the characters are complex.

The show is funny. It's a different brand of humor, certainly, than what Ted Lasso offers, but it also deals with very serious topics related to sexual health, gender identity, classism and bullying, but never feels as heavy as all that sounds. Still, it has a heart, brought to pass because it respects every character and allows us to connect with each of them. I'm surprised it hasn't ever received the acclaim of other shows, but that might just be because of the name.

I know that I've drawn comparisons to Ted Lasso at every turn, so here is one last one for you to take note of if and when you start watching the Sex Education. One of the main characters on Lasso has a small role on Sex Education as well. Can you spot them? Give it a shot, because you should give Sex Education a shot.