gateslacker

I see my f-list is awash with thoughts about Starz Camelot and I was going to avoid the spoilery until I discovered that it will be 90 days before I'd be able to have my own thoughts about it because Starz has decided to SUCK ROYALLY.

And, yeah, I could watch the first episode of a two parter on Starz.com but why do that when I am going to have to wait THREE MONTHS?!?

Here's the scoop. I've had Netflix for a loong time and I have always thought highly of the service. Then, instant streaming became available and I found the service even more valuable because what's not to like about being able to stream programs directly to my blu-ray player?. It's very cool. Then along came Starz Play. (Or maybe it was there all along but I just didn't notice or care until I wanted to watch Pillars of the Earth).

Now, I don't subscribe to Starz. It's not worth it because I just don't have the time to watch movies. (I'm too busy watching TV shows, you see, which I tend to fangirl about more and get more involved in). And it has never been worth it for just a couple of shows. (Unless said show is Stargate, which was the sole reason I subscribed to Showtime, once, and, to be fair, I was already hopelessly fangirling the show when I did it and that is always a valid reason for doing costly ridiculous things)

So, I watched Pillars on Starz Play and there was an expected, reasonable delay between the original airing and when it was available for streaming. And I thought, hey, this is really cool. Thanks Starz and Netflix!! Apparently, this delay was the same for other shows, such as Spartacus, which I haven't watched. For me, a delay of up to 30 days sounds reasonable but, THREE MONTHS. No way!! And it seems this is a recent decision that is already mucking up the viewer reviews of Camelot on Netflix (where I actually learned about this in the first place) because everyone is completely ticked. You know that Netlix and Starz must have come to some sort of deal for Starz Play to come about in the first place so, essentially, I am already paying a subscription to Starz, right?

I'm not paying for a subscription to both Starz and Netflix and I'm keeping Netflix, thank you very much. After all, I do watch other things and my son actually uses the instant streaming more than I do. For instance, he's watched just about every season of The Office via instant streaming.

Your craptastic tactics are not cool, Starz. If I didn't want to see both Camelot and Torchwood, I'd boycott you altogether!

But, to be fair, I did discover that you can still (supposedly) watch the show via Netflix. However, you have to watch it on your computer at the exact time it is airing live via a crap viewer with no HD. Uh, yeah, I only do that if I am hopelessly besotted. Thanks. If I wasn't so spoiled, this might satisfy me. But In a world of HD and DVR and being able to view stuff without disrupting my schedule, it isn't enough. I'd much rather experience a reasonable delay than have to be glued to my computer screen by a particular time on a particular night.

(Yeah, I've come a long way (baby!) from watching fuzzy episodes of Star Trek on a 13th inch television screen that I had to stand in front of, which served a two-fold purpose; one, to be able to actually see what was happening on screen and two, to be able to hold the TV rabbit ears in place for the best possible reception. LOL, Spoiled rotten is right!!)

(and once I get over my supreme irritation, I will likely suck it up and attempt this. However, my problem now is the fact that I have missed the second part of the second parter, because I assumed that I would be able to see it via Starz Play instant streaming within a reasonable time frame, and who knows when it will air again?)

Well, that is enough ridiculous ranting for one day, dontcha think?