TV REVIEW: free streaming
"What’s the hammer for?"
"Hammering."
Hilarious in the context of the first episode of "Killing It" on Peacock. Which is the only episode I’ve been able to watch, as I don’t have a Premium (paid!) subscription to Peacock.
I’ve been watching a lot of the free first episodes of shows, and there’s definitely a handful I’ve added to my to-be-watched list. As well as a few I’m fairly sure are a do-not-want.
"Killing It," starring Craig Robinson, Claudia O’Doherty, and Rell Battle, is about a man named Craig who is desperate to come up with the money needed to get his business idea off the ground. As a result of some bad luck-induced desperation, he joins a Florida competition that gives a $20,000 grand prize for whoever brings in the most pythons (I’m pretty sure those were pythons). It was definitely a good first episode, and I really got left wanting more.
Signing up for Peacock is free but requires an email address and a password. There’s some free movies and the first episodes of lots of shows. But most of the content seems to be Premium membership only. (Plus there doesn’t seem to be a way to filter content so only the free stuff is listed, boo.)
Meanwhile… Tubi, Freevee, Crackle, and PlutoTV allow you to watch movies and TV shows without signing in. YouTube doesn’t require a sign in either. Though remember: If you aren’t signed into an app, you can’t create and use watchlists, and if you leave the app and come back, your movie will restart from the beginning.
I’ve been trying out the free services to see if there’s anything I like. And while there’s plenty of filler content, there’s a few gems worth watching.
I’ve found that I prefer to watch on Tubi, as the UI is easier on the eyes and the way content is arrayed is more pleasing. Freevee has a lot of stuff as well, though you’re probably going to want to go to the "Discover" view, as the "Watch" section looks like the cable guide and it’s harder to find anything you’re looking for.
PlutoTV also has a cable guide look to it, and since it’s "live" TV there’s movies and shows that start at specific times if you want to tune in. At the same time, there’s an "On Demand" option that lets you watch their shows and movies when you want.
Crackle is an all right streamer. They have a lot of older, harder to find TV shows. I’ve watched a few movies on there and I didn’t hate the experience. I have no complaints with their service and the free factor is a plus. Though it does kind of feel like being in an old movie rental place, where you would walk in and see a row of movie cover art and you’d have to pick up the box to read the back to see what you’d want to watch.
My Amazon shop https://www.amazon.com/shop/harperkingsley0
And of course, nothing is truly free, so you’ve gotta know that the free streamers come with commercial breaks. But the nice thing is, the commercials are largely non-offensive. Like, there’s some commercials on DirecTV that make me want to cringe. Just so much do-not-want. It seems that the free content streamers are more considerate of their viewers than cable TV.
And I do like the commercial breaks that come with a little timer in the corner so you know how long you have to run to the bathroom and back without pausing.
There’s a lot of free content available, so of course the following lists aren’t complete. Like, there’s a lot of old TV shows available like Bob Ross painting, Columbo, and Bewitched that someone might be flipping through and decide to watch.
I just glanced through the various catalogues to make a short list for each app to get you started. And to give an idea of what’s available.
What’s on Tubi:
– 3rd Rock From the Sun
– The 6th Day
– The 13th Warrior
– The Angry Birds Movie
– Battle Royale
– Beetlejuice
– Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey
– Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
– Blackfish
– Con Air
– Coraline
– Cube
– Cube 2: Hypercube
– Cube Zero
– Delirious
– Dick
– Doctor Sleep
– Earth Girls Are Easy
– Elvira Mistress of the Dark
– The Fifth Element
– Frozen (the "stuck on a ski-lift" movie)
– George Carlin: Life Is Worth Losing
– Gifted
– Hard Candy
– The Host (Korean)
– Hotel Transylvania 2
– Jumanji
– I Saw the Devil
– Little Nicky
– Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
– Meet Joe Black
– My Girl
– The Nanny
– The Oblongs
– Overboard (1987)
– Pandorum
– Penelope
– The Ramen Girl
– The Secret of Nimh
– She-Devil
– So I Married An Axe Murder
– Starship Troopers
– Terminator Salvation
– Train to Busan
– Who Framed Roger Rabbit
What’s on Freevee:
– Battle Royale
- Belle et Sébastien
- Cats
- Dead Like Me
- Deadpool
- Deadpool 2
- Dredd
- The Founder
- Frozen (ski-lift movie)
- The Hunt
- The Last Unicorn
- Logan
- Miss Potter
- Penelope
- Prometheus
- Shrek
- The Ramen Girl
- The Tribe
What’s on Crackle:
– The Borrowers (British TV)
– Das Boot
– Edge of Tomorrow
– The Flying Nun
– Freaks
– Gidget
– The Little Princess (Shirley Temple)
– The Man From Nowhere
– The Musketeers (British TV)
– Sherlock (British TV)
What’s on PlutoTV:
– A River Runs Through It
– Bebe’s Kids
– Benjamin Button
– Chappie
– Cloud Atlas
– Fargo
– Ghosts (TV series)
– Jawbreaker
– Jupiter Ascending
– The Host (Korean)
– Life (sci-fi alien)
– Little Man Tate
– Panic Room
– Overboard (1987)
– She-Devil
– Snow Piercer
– Their Finest
My faves: Tubi, Freevee, and PlutoTV.
Movies I recently watched and liked: Their Finest. The Ramen Girl. Gifted. Belle et Sébastien.
We have an Amazon Prime account, so the streaming device I have experience with is the Amazon Fire TV Stick => Amazon ADLINK: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08XVYZ1Y5/?tag=harperkingsley-20 <= and the Kindle Fire.
As such, the front end is pretty much an advertisement for Amazon content. But if you go into the Prime app on the Fire TV, there’s a section called "Free to me" that has all the free to watch stuff from your Prime account and your subscribed Prime channels (trials, on my part. I use the heck out of the 7-day trials when available). And of course, I’ve got the pin-protection on so nobody "accidentally" makes a purchase on the account.
This is the Alexa routine I made =>https://alexa.amazon.com/routines/shared/3haSlRa-QISGP_VQXXb9Fw <= though I didn’t know it would share as a QR code. The activation phrase is "Alexa, how does she walk?"
I’m thinking about making more Alexa routines, because it was kind of fun.
When you ask Alexa about the weather while you’re watching a movie, the bottom of the screen comes up while she’s talking… and the movie will continue to play with no sound in the background!
I asked her what’s the weather like on the moon, and she gave great information about the moon being cold in the dark and hot in the sunlight. But when I asked what the weather is like on Jupiter… She kept telling the weather for Jupiter, Florida!
