Alternative TV

Several years ago we cancelled traditional TV/Cable in our home and opted for alternative broadcasting such as Netflix. In the last year we bought  a Roku that allows us to get ala carte programming such as The Blaze, Amazon Prime, The Weather Channel and Netflix. Television consumption in the Netflix/Amazon Prime generation consists of finding a TV show, and then watching a whole season on demand.  I don't even think I could follow a weekly series now that I'm accustomed to seeing 85 episodes in one sitting.  Any way I really have enjoyed the BBC.  It started with Sherlock Holmes, which is very disappointing in that there are only a few episodes in a season and then you must wait until the new season ends to get access. Then I found Call the Midwife, which sounds dumb, but it is WONDERFUL!! And my current obsession is Lark Rise to Candleford, which also is missing a catchy title, but is FABULOUS! I think the BBC might rethink the creative team that comes up with their program titles. I tried Downton Abbey but it was not near as good as the shows  I mentioned above and too much soap opera stuff.   I must say I am a huge fan of the BBC period programming and would highly recommend these titles. Other favorites on Netflix were Eureka and yay that had like 20 seasons to go through!! There is nothing more upsetting than getting hooked on a show that has one season... Dr Quinn Medicine Woman is an all time fave in this house. Its the equivalent to Little House on the Prairie that I can actually tolerate. Yes, I'm not a Little House fan..shhh.. I think that might be akin to blasphemy in the homeschool crowd. My husband was recently watching Parking Wars, now that is a job NO ONE wants! Being a meter maid is tough. It was interesting for about 5 minutes and then over and over were people bleeping out the meter maid. My husbands taste in TV is not as refined as mine :)

Oh and the number one best thing about this TV alternative is you can unplug the tiny Roku, or Wii, and lock it up in the safe or take it with you in the car. So if over consumption becomes an issue, quick fix!! I cannot tell you how many times I've snatched the Roku off the mantle (its the size of a bulky cell phone) and threatened to smash it in a zillion pieces. That usually returns the focus back to chores and school work pretty rapidly.

So what's your favorite TV shows?