brave

Netflix Stream Team – Some current family favourites

Netflix Stream Team – Some current family favourites

nao

We had no Wifi…. I’ll pause there for dramatic effect!

……….

Can you imagine? A lightning strike knocked us out, so we had no internet, no on-line work access and…. NO NETFLIX!  There were tears!

Luckily it all got sorted and we are back on-line and almost feel we are entitled to some binge viewing, just to catch up. So what have we been watching?

THE ADULTS

We were delighted to see the new episodes of Better Call Saul arriving and jumped straight in. It is looking good but the next episode can’t come fast enough. I believe there should be one new one every week (on a Tuesday). We loved the first series and can’t wait to see what poor old Jimmy gets up to next.

We are big fans of Eastern films and loved Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, so when Sword of Destiny arrived on Netlfix we had to check it out. It was a good movie, not as good as Crouching Tiger, but I’d still recommend it.

Another great arrival to Netflix is the Downton Abbey series. We got completely hooked on the box set, but had only seen four series. Now we have found series five on Netflix we have our viewing sorted for the foreseeable future. So far it is still as wonderful as we remembered it.

When we just want something light to watch before bed we have hit on the perfect solution; we have started watching The Big Bang Theory … right from the beginning. It is 20 minutes of guaranteed laughs and the scientist in me gets an extra kick out of their self-depreciating, nerdy humour.

I love a good ‘detective’ type series, especially if there is some science involved. I’ve dipped in and out of the Silent Witness series on Netflix, which isn’t bad, but, even better is Lie to Me series. We have just started into it but already love it. A fictitious series based on the real-life science of interpreting facial expressions that tell what we say is what we really mean.

I have mentioned how much I loved the Grace and Frankie series in a previous post so I was delighted to see that Neflix will be releasing the second series on 6th of May… That’s only three more sleeps!!

 

THE CHILDREN

The children have now watched every Fuller House episode and have decided to return to the original Full House series too.

They have really enjoyed rewatching some old favourites like Hotel Transylvania, A series of unfortunate events and The Spiderwick Chronicles.

They are currently watching The Little Vampire, in small daily installments and have plans to watch Astro boy for a movie night during their mid term break.

 

FAMILY VIEWING

We were hit by a nasty tummy bug recently. When myself and my daughter found ourselves convalescing on the couch instead of heading off to a family get together, we compensated with an afternoon of Netflix. First up we watched Brave, a wonderful movie no matter how many times you watch it, and appropriate enough for some Mum and daughter time.

Then we watched Ella Enchanted; I have to say, I really enjoyed it. An interesting variation of the classic Cinderella story with plenty of humour and lots of girl-power to boot.

Ella Enchanted

 

And that about sums up what everyone in the Science Wows house has been watching of late. Netflix have a lot more great series and movies coming on-line soon so stay tuned for more of our recommendations.

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Disclosure: As a member of the Netflix Stream Team I have received a years subscription to Netflix, free of charge, and an Apple TV, for streaming purposes. As part of Netflix Stream Team I will be posting regular updates on what we are watching and what is on offer.  All opinions expressed are my own.

 

 

 

 

Joining Netflix Stream Team – one happy family

Joining Netflix Stream Team – one happy family

nao
Netflix Stream Team
Netflix Stream Team

I recently became a member of the Netflix Stream Team and, considering the lack of quality viewing we have available from our current set up, there was great excitement when the apple TV and subscription arrived. We only have one “modern” TV in our house that could take the HDMI cable so we set things up on that one. It was surprisingly easy and painless and within just a few minutes I had registered our account online and we were good to go. I really liked that you could set your personal preferences and get individual profiles for each family member.

Lots of Documentaries for the Science Wows household
Lots of Documentaries for the Science Wows household

I was very excited about the wonderful line up of nature programs and documentaries. From Netflix own Mission Blue to The David Attenborough’s Life of Birds – I have so much to choose from. I loved the fact that I could add them to my list in my profile, ready to watch later.

 

So Netflix was installed and we were all set to go, the only thing I didn’t factor in was the rest of my family.

The children took to Netflix like ducks to water. The five year old had the tiny remote control sussed within minutes. For the first week he came home from school and, using his most “poor tired me” voice, asked could he have a little Netflix to unwind! I love the way he can watch an episode or two of a cartoon series and then he is happy to turn it off and walk away. He has discovered Rugrats and Lilo and Stitch, programs that never really made it onto his radar before as his older siblings tended to choose the viewing. There are also Netflix originals such as Turbo for him to enjoy.

Keeping the five year old happy
Keeping the five year old happy

I asked all three children what they thought of Netflix and here are their replies…

The five year old… I like having the remote, you can just watch what ever you want. If you turn it off (pause it) and turn it back on and you can watch the things you really like. Some of his favourites are Sonic, Jimmy Neutron and Sponge Bob square pants.

The eight year old… my favourites are Spongebob, Adventure time, and the fact that I can watch The Hobbit (he has notions that one!)

The ten year old… loves seeing new movies and rewatching old ones; her favourites so far are Brave, Open Season three and Wallace and Gromit

Then there was my husband…. when he realised that the last series of breaking bad was at his fingertips he was one very happy man. The only problem I had was that between the children and my husband I wasn’t getting a look in myself.

Hubby’s Netflix verdict?… he loves that there are no ads, that he can pause to make a cuppa and that if he turns it off it will resume in the same place for him the next day. Apart from Breaking Bad he has been enjoying some documentaries and was delighted to see Twilight Samurai (a personal favourite)among his viewing options.

Eventually I came up with a solution to the problem. I decided to put Netflix on the other (ancient) TV by streaming it through the Wii. I found these instructions on line and, with a fair amount of techno trepidation, I had a go. My fears were unfounded as that worked a treat too. Despite the children claiming “Oh great now we can watch Neflix on one TV while Dad watches his programs on the other!” I have put my foot down and claimed my space on the Netflix viewing couch.

With the colder nights settling in and the fire being lit it is nice to have the TV viewing sorted. I loved watching Brave with the children and when they go to bed Hubby and I have checked out a few movies and started into those Nature documentaries I mentioned (but there will be more about them later).

Last night we found a very interesting documentary called Life Below Zero – a reality adventure series follows individuals who’ve chosen to live in the remote Alaskan wilderness, miles from civilization. We are looking forward to catching another episode this evening.

So what do I like most about Netflix?… I love the fact that it is choice TV viewing on demand, no ads, no endless flicking through channels of nothing interesting. I like the fact we can watch what we want, when we want. I am really looking forward to watching those Science and Nature documentaries and checking out what else is on offer… now that I have got my hands on the remote!

 

Disclosure: As a member of the Netflix Stream Team I have received a years subscription to Netflix, free of charge, and an Apple TV, for streaming purposes. As part of Netflix Stream Team I will be posting monthly updates on what we are watching and what is on offer.  All opinions expressed will be my own.