Two years in-here’s what we learned streaming only #StreamTeam

I’m part of the #StreamTeam, a group of bloggers that works with Netflix.  All thoughts are our own. In the fall of 2012 my wife and I realized that we were watching the wrong kind of programming on television.  We were channel surfing and settling for things to watch, as opposed to seeking out the good stuff that we should’ve been watching.  It was then that we decided to stream all of the programming on our television.  Netflix has been a part of that including introducing our child to countless quality children’s programs, most of which are with a British accent.

Actually, many of the programs that my wife and I have watched over the past two years originated across the pond.  It’s not that we’re elitist, we just latched onto  Doctor Who, Sherlock, Downton Abbey, MI-5, Peppa Pig, Thomas the Train and more.  For the record those last two and many other imports were for our children, while the first one was solely for me, despite my many attempts to have my wife join me.

To be clear, it wasn’t that we were avoiding network television either.  It’s just that we didn’t have time to watch what was more appropriate for us and ended channel surfing or watching whatever was on and on….

At the time it wasn’t like I was jumping on the #StreamTeam, it was simply a more efficient way to watch television.   However, now that we’re two years into our streaming lifestyle here are a couple things that we’ve learned or discovered.

Better use of time

Gone are the days of lounging on the sofa looking for something to watch.   Granted that was kind of relaxing, but it was also a big waste of time.  Instead we look at the “Because you watched” menu or directly search for things.

Discovery of better quality shows

Because of this we’ve watched water cooler shows that are topics of conversation; but were at times that conflicted with the early wake up schedule of a 3 and 5 year old.   I have discovered the joys Breaking Bad and my wife can stream The West Wing, which is her TV comfort food-whenever she wants.

For the children it’s a whole new world

This is ironic because at the time that we were researching going exclusively to streaming television we were concerned about not seeing certain children’s programming.  Within a day of joining the #StreamTeam our child (at the time) was not disappointed.    His brother joined him and a world without the ability to search at will for programming that is 100% search oriented is non-existent.   We also have all of the Curious George that our children can handle.  As you can see, our babysitter is a Believer, even though she makes fun of him to her sisters…..we are so telling.

And it introduced me to Phineas and Ferb.  We were initially skeptical of the show because it was on Disney, but this show is hilarious.  It’s the second funniest animated show that we’ve seen, next to The Simpsons.  Phineas and Ferb is deep with pop culture references, guest voice actors, varied music in the show and genuine, belly laughs for everyone in the family.

For me, it’s ninja central

OK, ninja central is a bit of an exaggeration, but when I have the free time to watch movies the #StreamTeam greets me with ninja chops and all the subtitles I can handle.  Why, hello Donnie Yen, your movies are quite entertaining.  And Tony Jaa, while some of your movies are bad, I still like you, so I’ll watch them.

It’s our first official year on the #StreamTeam with Netflix, but we’ve been here in practice for the past two years.  Over the next year we’ll review some movies, post  special things they have coming up or highlight things that subscribers might have missed.

What about you?  Are you streaming?  If so, what’s the best thing that you like about it?