Toby Atkin-Wright

I enjoy watching films. Over the years I’ve bought more than my fair share of video tapes, laser discs, DVDs, and Blu-rays. But the days of physical media are over for me. I’m now happy to exist in a world of Netflix and iTunes, where I can stream or download films to my various devices, and without shelves full of dusty boxes.

Now that iTunes allows purchased films to be re-downloaded as desired, it seems like a practical way to buy films. The immediacy of downloaded content beats mail-ordering discs, and to my eyes the 1080p downloads compare reasonably with 1080p from a Blu-ray.

In practical terms, we have nine or ten devices in the house that can play Netflix or iTunes media, compared to the single Blu-ray player connected to the TV. This is particularly useful when Beth develops cinematic obsessions. (How many times can an eight-year-old watch The Lion King in a weekend? How many times do we want to watch it?)

But more importantly, I have developed an intolerance for the preambles and introductory material that pervades films on physical media. Why on earth would I want to watch adverts, trailers, copyright warnings, menu loading screens, or, for that matter, use menus that look like 1990s multimedia presentations? When I want to watch a film, I want to get the film as quickly and painlessly as possible, without hassle or interruption.

We wouldn’t tolerate record companies putting guff like that at the start of CDs, so why do we put up with it with films?

What a joy! I’ve found Relic Hunter on Netflix. We have three series of televisual delight ahead of us.

Before breakfast on Sunday morning I showed Mary how to use Netflix on our Apple TV. She started playing the first episode of the early 80s cartoon series Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.

Around 7pm we finished watching the last of the three seasons, having seen twenty four episodes in total. What a fine way to spend a Sunday. I thought that episodes from the third season featuring narration by Stan Lee were generally the best.