Forgotten Shows to Binge In Quarantine

Why does it seem like every time I sign up for a new streaming service, I burn through everything I want to watch in less than a week?

Part of the problem is that all streaming services have terrible user interface menus. Sure, they divide their features into categories like “drama,” “comedy,” “action,” etc., but have you noticed that the same six or seven movies appear in every category?

To get to something you actually want to watch, you have to scroll past the “anointed” films so many times that you finally give up and submit to them out of exhaustion.

It’s a shame too, because there is a lot of great stuff hidden deep in the matrix which can provide you with hundreds of hours of quality binge watching entertainment. Here are three forgotten shows that provide a visual experience unlike anything else currently available on television.

The Twilight Zone

The television landscape was different when I was growing up in the 80's. There were only six channels, half of them had terrible reception, and your parents always sent you to bed right as the programming started to get good.

Back in those days, we’d wait with enthusiasm for the network television premiere of a popular Hollywood film. In the days before video stores, there was no other access to movies. Sometimes you’d catch the second half of some awesome show and never have any hope of ever watching the rest of it. When your parents sent you to bed before the ending you were devastated.

There was a lot of bad stuff on the tube, but the second Rod Serling came strutting onto the screen, you knew something strange and wonderful was about to transpire.

‘The Twilight Zone’ was as ubiquitous in those days as ‘Star Trek’ is today. If you watched antenna television for long enough, sooner or later the eerie intro would start blazing from the tinny set speaker. As a youngster, I managed to catch a dozen or so episodes on the nights my parents weren’t being attentive to the clock and let me stay up.

The original Rod Serling series ran from 1959 to 1964. This is an era of television that predates high-tech special effects so the show relied on good storytelling, acting, and clever filming techniques. The original ‘Twilight Zone’ is a case study for anyone who wants to learn some effective techniques for making an engaging feature on a shoestring budget.

Even today, films like ‘Ex Machina’ still show a ‘Twilight Zone’ influence. If you want to dip your toe into the ‘Zone’ waters, I’d suggest perusing a list of the best episodes. Start with ‘To Serve Man’ and follow it up with ‘Eye of the Beholder.’

‘The Twilight Zone’ is highly engaging, appropriately creepy, and has delightful cameos from a plethora of actors you’re likely to recognize. At around 25 minutes per episode, you’ll find the whole series a whole lot easier to binge than you might expect.

But enough of that, now for something completely different.

Monty Python’s Flying Circus

Most Americans already consider British humor to be slightly off, and ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’ takes that assessment, cranks it up to 11, smashes it over the head with a mallet, grinds it into a paste, injects it into a doughnut, and tosses it out the window of a Boeing 737.

The show is weird, and there’s a lot of men dressing up as little old ladies and talking in funny voices. The legendary comedy troupe showcased the talents of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam. Towards the last few episodes, there’s even a “blink and you’ll miss it” appearance by Douglas Adams of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy fame.

One of the elements that elevates Python is Gilliam’s animation. Before he’d go on to direct major Hollywood films like 12 Monkeys, or The Fisher King, Gilliam was cutting up Renaissance paintings and mashing the bits together in disturbing ways. The animation alone is unlike anything that can be found anywhere else on television, film, or the internet, and that’s saying something.

Often imitated, but never equaled, ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’ will guide you down a deep, dark, rabbit hole if you have the courage to follow. You might have a hard time comprehending the accents for an episode or two, but don’t worry, as your sanity is slowly peeled away the whole thing will start to make a deranged and delightful kind of sense.

‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’ is a great example of what can happen when you combine the right amount of unbridled creativity with a small budget and plenty of outside attention. The show is a landmark in television history and you don’t know what it truly means to binge until you’ve feasted upon the Python.

The next show on my list hits a little closer to home.

Northern Exposure

‘Northern Exposure’ is a quirky little comedy-drama that follows the adventures of big city doctor Joel Fleischman (Rob Morrow) as he is hijacked into becoming the general practitioner for the town of Cicily, Alaska. It’s a typical fish out of water type premise featuring great writing and a dynamic cast.

Check out this Cold open where Dr. Fleischman and local radio DJ Chris Stevens (John Corbett) discuss the artistic merits of catapulting a cow.

My appreciation for ‘Northern Exposure’ is largely due to how the events of the series mirrored my personal life. Back in 2009, I moved from Lima, Peru to a small town in northern Wisconsin. My wife, who had lived all her life in Lima, found the contrast between a massive South American city and rural Wisconsin life to be disconcerting to say the least.

As we started our new life, I dialed up ‘Northern Exposure’ on Netflix, and my wife howled with laughter as poor Dr. Fleischman tried to figure out how to handle problems like extracting a family of raccoons that had taken up residence in his bedroom. It turns out that no matter how much professional training you’ve received in your life, the wilderness can always throw something at you which strips you of any illusion of preparedness.

‘Northern Exposure’ ran for six seasons, and it’s one of those shows that starts out good and then catches lighting in a bottle to become more than the sum of its parts. There are some truly sublime episodes that do a terrific job of exploring core human emotions.

If you ever move to a new city or start a new job and you’re feeling as if you don’t quite belong, dusting off your copies of ‘Northern Exposure’ is guaranteed to have you laughing and feeling better in short order.

On Your Mark, Get Set, Binge!

In addition to their infuriating interface menus, another terrible thing about streaming services is how often they swap around content. My advice is to never sign up for a new service until you’ve canceled one of the old ones.

The good thing about older shows is that they're often available on a variety of platforms. Chances are that if you can’t find ‘The Twilight Zone,’ ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus,’ or ‘Northern Exposure’ on a paid streaming service, you might be able to watch a good number of episodes for free on YouTube!

Good luck, stay healthy, and enjoy your exploration into three different eras of forgotten television excellence!