Last weekend, while chaperoning my school’s UIL trip, I was chatting with another teacher on the trip when the topic of television came up. I love television, for it always brings the most unlikely people to an agreement on their favorite shows. While the whole table gushed over “Legion,” the most glorious FX production to date, (not including “You’re the Worst,” which is different breed), this teacher mentioned how he and his wife recently gave up their DirecTV, and that he hasn’t missed it since.
For someone who never had cable all through college and never felt the use for it as I became an adult, I can vouch for this guy’s feelings. And after we gushed about watching “The Office” for the umpteenth time yet again, I can honestly say I have no use for dish services. I frequently use Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go and Amazon Instant Video. If I need to watch “Legion” or “Riverdale,” which FINALLY came back on last night, then I can just go over to a friend’s house and make an evening of it. I bring food, they provide the television, it’s a win-win for everyone.
While I do not strongly advocate for you to ditch your cable or dish provider, I do suggest you look into options for you and your household. If you are constantly watching “Stranger Things” on Netflix, or rarely turn on your television, you could be saving yourself so much money. And even if you could not live without every episode of cable television programs like “The Big Bang Theory,” chances are that cable provider already has an app for their channel, and it’s much cheaper and better. And trust me, once you have watched “The Good Fight,” you’ll want to try out CBS All Access.
I’ve talked about movie streaming apps in the past but CBS All Access essentially pays for itself. Only running you $5.99 monthly with limited commercial breaks, it already sounds better than cable. Plus, the app has specialized programming attached to it, meaning some shows, like “The Good Fight” and soon to be released, “Star Trek: Discovery.” This promotion gimmick is genius because now, CBS can get away with handling some risqué material in their programming and it allows them to up their programming material.
This can definitely be seen in the app’s exclusive content, “The Good Fight,” which is a spin off “The Good Wife,” which ran for seven years. The creators of “The Good Wife,” Michelle King and husband Robert King decided to come back to CBS to recreate this new idea, a show centered around “Good Wife” veteran lawyer Diane Lockhart, (played by Christine Baranski), who loses all of her life savings in a Ponzi scheme and decides to return to work at an all-African-American law firm. Joined by goddaughter Maia Rindell (Rose Leslie) and Lucca Quinn (Cush Jumbo), these women take on multiple cases, each with added flare, substance and thematic material that only seems fitting to keep on the app, because it is not family friendly.
Having only seen a few episodes of “The Good Wife,” I cannot speak to the show in the later seasons, because the show could not seem to pique my interest. Yet, I enjoyed Diane Lockhart on the show. Now, as she appears on “The Good Fight,” she remains to be the strong focal point in each episode and every episode seems to get better, leading up to an interesting case that further pits members of her new law firm against each other. There is only two episodes left in this season. “The Good Fight” is mostly dialogue, reminiscent to “House of Cards.” Viewer discretion is advised.
If you need your cable or dish service, keep it. But if new streaming services means that I can watch all of my favorite shows with spending no more than $25 per month, then what a time to be alive.
Out in theaters this week: Catch Scarlett Johansson in “Ghost in the Shell” and Alec Baldwin as a suspenders-wearing infant in “The Boss Baby,” which I am oddly excited for. Happy weekend, and happy watching.
