Distracted-and-diffused - My Thoughts Are Many Miles Away...

DEAD BOY DETECTIVES (2024)

1.06 - The Case of the Far Too Many Big Brown Cow Eyes

Hit my subscription renewal date - Thoughts Part 2

At this point, my subscription to Netflix is functionally a subscription to Dead Boy Detectives.

That's partly because I really, really love the show -- and I do! Partly because I've been rewatching the show as much as I reasonably can in hopes of supporting the fandom as we hope to change Netflix's mind about the cancellation. And partly because -- for a lack of time, to get a point across, out of stubbornness / spite -- I haven't been watching anything else on Netflix since the cancellation.

My Basic subscription was recently dropped, and before the cancellation news, I was actually telling myself that the forced move to new plan would have an upside, because this show is one of the very few things that have made me wish I had that higher resolution subscription.

I want to see all the details, and it feels rewarding to notice little things in the show, like the plaque on the moose bobblehead in Episode 2, or the wording on the label on the black salt, or the different ways that Esther accessorizes with the evil eye necklace that she wears constantly. I've paused the show so many times to get a better look at things, and it's almost always been rewarded.

And also, before the cancellation news, I thought that I would give "with Ads" a try for at least a couple of weeks, to see if I could live with it, since I couldn't keep my Basic plan.

But I can't imagine, now that rewatching the show is part of my routine, having ads pop on in between scenes. (It would very much be a "flames on the sides of my face" situation if they messed with the timing and transitions of the show at this point. I don't feel like this is a show that is written to have ad breaks.)

And that's not even counting the whole targeted ad situation I talked about in my previous post.

Because of this show and this fandom, I'm watching more Netflix right now than ever. (I'd previously have bursts of watching, at most, a few 22-minute episodes a day while I cooked, followed by weeks of nothing as I watched shows on another service. Now I'm averaging at least 14 hours a week, while I do other things.)

Now, I'm renewing so I can keep up the rewatches (round 12 right now!), and in hopes that Netflix, too, might choose to renew (hint, hint).

But frankly, I'm considering my options, in the event that they don't.

If there's ever an official DVD/BluRay release, I'm going for it. (Very much hoping that Warner Brothers will put one out; what can I say, we're a passionate fanbase, and at the very least I hope they'd see that it would be worth it for them to do so.)

And if there's no hope of further seasons, I can't see myself keeping up a subscription full time. I'm sure I'd want to come back and visit the shows that I already like that have ended, but I don't think I'd have any motivation to try to keep up with anything new that's exclusive to Netflix as it comes out. What would be the point?

(Since the cancellation, I've learned about multiple Netflix shows I've never heard of before that sound interesting to me. I've heard about them specifically because they have also been cancelled -- and because Netflix's recommender thinks I'd be interested in them since I like Dead Boy Detectives. The fact that they have multiple recently cancelled but well-received shows in that segment seems somewhat damning.)

If I do drop back to part-time, I don't think I'd be coming back for enough time to make up the revenue they'd lose compared to the last price point, so that, too, seems like a loss for Netflix. (For the cost of a year's subscription at the last price point for Basic, I can manage almost 8 months of Standard. But I'm not sure I'd be coming back for 8 months at a time, if I knew I wasn't planning to stick around.)

Maybe I'm not the customer that Netflix is thinking of. Maybe I'm not the demographic that they want, or I'm not motivated by the same things that they think I should be.

But for a service that wants steady revenue and is concerned about cancellation/subscription churn, Netflix has been making some odd choices lately, as far as I'm concerned.

You IMPRISON the sprites? You put them in a jar like the fireflies?? Oh! Oh! Verbal abuse for protagonists! Verbal abuse for protagonists for ONE THOUSAND YEARS

I like to think the Cat King was damn near shaking in his Gucci leather boots when Edwin made his first guess. Right out of the gate he was swinging “142”. The correct answer was literally 146 not counting himself. He took all that time setting up this elaborate cat and mouse seduction play only for the Edwardian twink to nearly chuck the game board out the window. He didn’t even give him the chance to make another guess before the bracelet fell off and Edwin still took the time to sassily beat him at his own game. “Not even close” he was WORRIED

whenever @netflix brings up budgeting for their reasons for cancellation i want to laugh in their faces, because i promise you that Dead Boy Detectives had a small budget, and you wanna know how i know?

the fact that they have a "magic item" for detecting a spirit's presence, and it's literally fucking rocks

they could have made anything they wanted for some kind of cool device or artifact, but nope; plain-ass grey rocks. they're not even cool gems or have any kind of engravings on them or whatever. just fucking rocks.

but please, @netflix, tell me again about how "expensive" it was to film this show. i'm ready to believe you any minute now. 🙄