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The Creators

The past, the present, and

the future of the creators of
Netflix is revealed inside

We Give it a 10!
Our top 10 shows we give
a 10/10 to

5 Things We Wish
Were on Netflix
See what made this months list

Gilmore Girls

The long awaited revival is coming

soon! Get the details on page 4

CONTENTS

1
3
6
9
14
18
FLiX REViEW

Reliving Your Childhood:

Childrens Shows on Netflix

Reliving Your Childhood:

Childrens Shows on Netflix
S

To watch or not to watch

Gilmore Girls

Documentaries

The Rom-Com Generation

Netflix on the Go

12

Friends

15

Action!

20

We Give it a 10!

Daredevil

Five Things We Wish

Were on Netflix

The Creators

ometimes you just want to turn back the clock

to those Saturday mornings in your pjs in front of
the TV with a big bowl of cereal. Well, time travel
hasnt been worked out just yet, but Netflix has. The
childrens section on Netflix has hundreds of shows
that just might help bring back memories of your
childhood, or at least memories of your childrens
childhood.
So whats the selection like? Well, there are over
500 options with more being added each month.
Netflix even has a breakdown of age groups so you
can be sure your kids are watching the right things.
If youre watching for yourself the option are not
quite as extensive. Browsing through it might seem
as though most of the shows are new and not really
something any adult would willingly sit through.

But thats not always the case. After some digging

I managed to find some shows that might interest
any adult and certainly will help you to relive those
Saturday mornings.
From 1988 there is Jem and the Holograms. What
a better way to travel back to your youth than to
watch Jem turn her friends into rock star holograms.
Okay, so maybe its not your favorite show but youre
sure to have a laugh. Its sure to be a hit with your
kids as they laugh at how weird TV was in your
day, youll probably even laugh along with them
If Jem and the Holograms isnt what you want,
how about Garfield and Friends from 1990? Garfield is spectacularly sarcastic and witty. He never
seems to learn a lesson and is a glutinous mess.
Garfields friends, however, do learn lessons. Its

something youll want to watch over and over again.

If youre looking for something a little newer you
might try The Magic School Bus which came
along in 1994. Surely you remember Ms. Frizzle
and her lizard Liz and that magic bus that takes the
students on fieldtrips where they always learn what
they need to. Its one of my favorites to watch when
Im stuck home with a cold or when its cold outside.
It no doubt would be enjoyable to share with children of any age.
The final suggestion is Arthur which ran from
1996 to 2014. Who doesnt love Arthur? I know
I do. The theme song is one that stays with you

forever. There is no age requirement or limit when

it comes to Arthur, everyone will find something
enjoyable. For kids it will be the lessons learned
by Arthur and his friends. For adults it will be the
sarcastic wit that slips in here and there. Regardless,
youre sure to enjoy Arthur any time.
So maybe you cant travel back in time to your
childhood. Maybe you cant spend a lazy Saturday
morning in front of the TV with a bowl of pjs.
Luckily Netflix is around. So grab your bowl of
cereal and cuddle up in your bed with any of the
childrens cartoons on Netflix.

So maybe you cant

travel back in time to
your childhood.
Maybe you cant
spend a lazy Saturday
morning in front of
the TV with a bowl of
pjs. Luckily Netflix is
around.

To Watch or Not to Watch

hat is the question I always ask myself when I see the ratings
on Netflix-made shows. How do you decide if the rating on Netflix is trustworthy or not? Using three original series shows, well
see if the ratings accurately reflect the shows.

than it should be. This show certainly shouldnt be rated as low as

Fuller House but it probably should be somewhere in between.
There are times when the language is more than is appropriate
for younger audiences. There is nearly no violence and very little
suggestive dialogue or sexual situations. Again, the rating seems
to be a little off for this show.

D
Fuller House
Fuller House is rated TV-G which means that it should be suitable
for all ages. A TV-G rating should also have little to no violence,
no strong language, and little or no sexual dialogue or situations.
Thats all great and fine but what does little really mean? And
what is classified as strong language These are vague terms used
that allow shows to get around ratings and work in content that is
sometimes more than what the rating should suggest. In the case
of Fuller House, there is a bit of language but it isnt strong. Its
certainly less than what youre likely to run into on most cable TV
shows. The sexual dialogue is perhaps more than some might feel
comfortable allowing children to watch. As far as violence content, Fuller House has none. Overall, the rating here seems to fit.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is rated TV-14 which indicates it is
not suitable for children under 14. This could include content like
suggestive dialogue, infrequent coarse language, intense sexual
situations, and intense violence. Having watched Unbreakable
Kimmy Schmidt, it seems as though the rating is actually higher

FLiX REViEW

Daredevil
Daredevil is rated TV-MA indicating that it is only suitable for
mature audiences. This is not a show ever meant for children and
should only be viewed by adults. TV-MA could include content
like crude, indecent language; explicit sexual activity; and graphic
violence. Does Daredevil have all of these things? Almost. There
is very little explicit sexual activity, if any but that is likely because
the show is about a superhero and doesnt need sexual content to
help the storyline. It is likely that the main reason Daredevil has
such a high rating is because of the graphic violence. There is an
abundance that could even warrant a higher rating than TV-MA.
The language usage is similar to that used on Fuller House or
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
So what is the conclusion? Well, in most cases you might need to
screen a show before allowing children to join you. But if youre
just looking for yourself, turn to some other sources to make sure
that youre comfortable with what content is in any given show.
There may be ratings on shows but they are guidelines more than
anything else. At the end of the day you have to decide if the content is okay or not.

How do you decide if

the rating on Netflix
is trustworthy or not?

Daredevil

ark. Gritty. Exciting.

These are the words Netflix chose to describe their
original series Daredevil. Well, it certainly is all they
promise it to be. I decided to watch the first episode to
see what the fuss was all about. These are my thoughts.
Storyline
The writers did something wonderful here. They took
a Marvel anti-hero and made his story come to life. To
be honest, Im not exactly familiar with the original
storyline from the comics but from the first episode I
can say that its a compelling story. Part of this comes
from the masterful weaving of the present life of Matthew Murdock (Daredevil) and his heartfelt backstory.
In the first episode Daredevil is shown as a character
that is trying to do the right thing in the best way he
knows how. This leads us to the words chosen to describe Daredevil.
Dark
This idea of darkness is presented in two main ways.
The show is dark in the filming and in the subject matter. The choice to make the show dark in filming makes
sense because Daredevil is blind and, therefore, in
constant darkness. There are few moments where light
is present in the show. Daredevil doesnt need lights on
because it doesnt make a difference for him whether
the light is on or off. Most of the scenes also take place
at night in a city with few street lamps. Its dark and
it shows. But this is more than just lighting, although
the lighting does seem to anticipate this. The subject
matter is dark. Daredevil is an anti-hero who will do
whatever required to bring the justice he believes is
right to his world. So in this way dark also mean violent. Where network TV stations would be more cautious, Netflix isnt afraid to go to extremes with blood
and gore. There certainly is a lot of blood. Im sure

their special effects person slaved to create buckets and

buckets of fake blood. To their credit it looks realistic.
But this is what makes it a dark show: we see violence
being fought with more violence which yields lots of
blood. Some might think that is just the nature of an
anti-hero, but it seems to be more than that.
Gritty
Gritty is a creative way to describe Daredevil. I think
they chose this word because gritty brings to mind
something abrasive that can slowly break something
down. Daredevil seems to be that kind of show. The
violence is gritty. You know its there in the first episode but its not all consuming. In reality there is very
little actual fighting seen. Its the gore that is overpowering. This is why the violence is gritty; it builds up and
becomes more blatant. The gore will likely be constant
throughout but the violence will build upon itself in
the way that gritty things do.
Exciting
Netflix is spot on labeling Daredevil as exciting. There
wasnt a moment during the opening episode that I was
bored. The storyline keeps moving, the violence keeps
coming. Its an exciting storya blind anti-hero who is
trying to better the corrupted society that he lives in.
Sure, youre not going to agree with most of his methods. But the bottom line is that it gets the job done.
Hes out there as a force for good and thats exciting.
Would I watch it again? I dont think so. Its just not
my cup of tea. But I enjoyed, to some extent, the story
being told. I could have lived without so much blood
and violence but that is the nature of the beast. Superhero stories crave blood and gore these days. Daredevil
is not one for the family, but it might be something Id
watch on a cold October night in the dark.
3

Gilmore Girls
Rory and Dean played by Alexis Bledel and Jared Padalecki

Lorelai and Christopher played by Lauren Graham and David

Suttcliffe

t was a part of our lives for seven years and then it

ended and we were left with a gaping hole in the shape
of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore. When Netflix announced
that all seven seasons would be available to watch,
I challenged myself to watch all seven seasons in a
month. I succeeded, by the way. Well, its been eight
years and we can finally expect to have that hole filled
sometime this year. Netflix has yet to say when the
release date will be and whether the four final episodes
will be released at the same time or over a period of
time but they are coming.
Before digging into the
rumors and leaked details of
the new episodes, lets look
back at some of our favorite
moments and what made
the show great. With seven
years to draw from its easiest
to look at the characters and
how they all relate to each
other. If you have yet to see
Gilmore Girls, youre going
to want to take the time to watch all seven seasons
before the return.
The Girls
Lorelai and Rory Gilmore work as mother and daughter more than most TV mother/daughter duos. They
laugh, they cry, they fight, but at the end of the day
theyre there for each other. Lorelai, youll remember,
is only 30 and is determined to be her daughters best
friend and the mom her mother never was for her.
Rory is 15 and possibly the best behaved child in the
world, even if she is a bit mouthy at time, but thats
to be expected when your mom doesnt act her age.
Moms everywhere wished for a kid like Rory and to be
a mom like Lorelai. Even in the most heart wrenching
moments (like when they stopped talking for several
episodesor was it a whole season?) they were still
wonderfully relatable characters. So why did they work
so well? Well, because they were relatable and real
they had real problems like not having enough money
and having to navigate issues like boys and dating.
The Boys

There were certainly some of us just interested in the

mother/ daughter dynamic but more likely we were
watching to see who the Girls would end up with. Well
start with the string of men in Lorelais life. There is
the first love and Rorys dad Christopher. Hes set up
as the flighty bad boy type. The relationship between
Christopher and Lorelai is a mess. If you were rooting
for them to end up together, you were probably kidding yourself. They never belonged together. Which
brings us to the on and off relationship between Lorelai
and Luke who owns Lukes Diner. If you remember
the finale, you know that Luke and Lorelai
were finally going to get back together. They
seem to be meant for each other but their
timing is always off. Lets not forget the
brief season devoted to Rorys teacher Max
and the mess that he created. Lorelai and
Max were interesting together. Rory had to
deal with her mom and teacher dating and
then breaking up and then dating again.
Although Lorelai likely loved Max and could
have married him, she was always distracted
by that bigger love with Luke. My opinion? Lorelai and
Luke belong together.
Lets move onto Rory and the boys in her life. There
are three main guys in Rorys life and some we root for
and one we dont. Okay, maybe thats harsh. But think
about Dean for a moment. He was the new boy in town
and he was Rorys first boyfriend. He was the perfect
gentleman. But the first love doesnt ever really last
does it? Rory moves on and so does Dean. That is until
Rory comes back from her first year at Yale and runs
straight into the married arms of Dean. I think at this
point we were all shaking our heads and wishing she
would listen to her mom. Lets go back to the guy that
Rory moved onto when she and Dean broke upJess.
Jess, youll remember, was the bad boy nephew of Luke
who came to town and stirred up buckets of trouble.
Jess and Rory were hard to watch at first. He was so
standoffish you just wished Rory would stand up for
herself until she did and then you just didnt know
what you wanted. Jess left everyone with a broken
heartbut thats all he could have done. Even when he

Well, its been eight

years and we can
finally expect to
have that hole filled
sometime this year.

FLiX REViEW

Rory and Jess played by Alexis Bledel and MiloVentimiglia

Lorelai and Maz played by Lauren Graham and Scott Cohen

Rory and Logan played by Alexis Bledel and Matt Czuchry

Lorelai and Luke played by Lauren Graham and Scott

Patterson

Richard and Emily played by Edward Herrmann and

Kelly Bishop

Sookie played by Melissa McCarthy

Kirk played by Sean Gunn

Taylor played by Michael Winters

comes back at the wrong times or when Rory goes to

himhe just doesnt fit. If youre rooting for Jess and
Rory, youre likely going to be disappointed. So how
about that Logan Huntzberger? He was Rorys only
relationship outside of Stars Hallow and their relationship lasted the longest. Was it always the best relationship? No. They had ups and downs and times when it
felt like they just didnt belong together. But at the end
of the day it made sense that they were together for so
long. They fit in a way that Rory didnt fit with anyone
else. So even though were probably all tempted to be
rooting for Jess and Rory, its probably a good idea to
be rooting for Rory and Logan.
The Others
Luckily Gilmore Girls is more than just Lorelai and
Rory and their many love interests. Lorelais parents
add an interesting dynamic to the show. Richard and
Emily Gilmore are wealthy and want the best for
their granddaughter. Lorelai feels big and confusing
emotions toward her parents. She doesnt want their
help but needs it. She wants them to love her but she
also wants them to leave her alone. They just want to
be good parents and dont understand what they could
possibly have done wrong. I love the addition of Richard and Emily because of the emotion that is added.
The awkward Friday night dinners the girls have to sit
through with them are done perfectly. There are times
when Lorelai seems close to getting along with her
parentsuntil they do something to offend her and
she is back to feeling big emotions.
One of my favorite characters is Sookie, chef/best
friend. Sookie is the best kind of friend to have on a
show. She is noticeable to be interesting but not too interesting to steal the show. She gets a side story with a
love interest who turns quickly into a spouse and then
starts to have adorable children. Shes there for Lorelai
every time Lorelai needs a friend or a chef. Since Lorelai gets a best friend, Rory needs one as well. For Rory,
the best friend is Lane Kim, the American Korean with
a very traditional mom. She is secretly a rebel and has
cds and books and makeup hidden in her floorboards.
Hopefully this doesnt spoil anything for you, but my
favorite part is when Lane realizes that she is traditional just like her mother when it comes to marriage.
The towns people in Stars Hallow also add something special to Gilmore Girls. They are people you
might meet in a small town but they are so weird they
couldnt possibly be real people. Well start with Kirk
because he is probably the weirdest person in the
whole town. He is the jack of all trades. If there is a
random job that needs to be done, hes doing it. You
never know what hell say or what hell be doing. A fun
bit of trivia: when you first meet Kirk in the second
episode as a DSL installerhe is actually called Mick. In
later episodes he is established as Kirk and the character Mick is never mentioned again. Miss Patty is the
town gossip, something that every small town needs.
Shes also the dance instructor. Then there is Taylor
Doose who is the self-appointed town ruler of sorts.
He hosts the town meetings and does crazy things
like install traffic lights without asking anyone. These
quirky characters make Stars Hallow the lovable place
that we know and love.
The Revival
Eight years later and were finally, finally getting what
we all want. So lets talk about the rumors and the

confirmed details. We know that there will only be four

episodes where each will represent a different season.
This is why the revival has been called Gilmore Girls:
Seasons. The best news is that this revival will be done
by Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino. If
you recall, they werent there for the final season of
Gilmore Girls so many years ago. I know that for me
the final season just wasnt the same as the rest. The
ending just wasnt satisfying. Im hopeful that this revival will be all that it promises to be. Most of the main
characters will be returning. Sookie wont be returning
because it seems someone dropped the ball along the
way. Sherman-Palladino wants her to be in the show
but says there is no real story line for her and that
when asked Melissa McCarthys people said she was
too busy. But McCarthy says that she was never asked
to return for the revival. All three of the love interests
of Rory will be returning as will Luke and Christopher.
There are major rumors about a wedding taking place
somewhere within the four episodes. Emily Gilmore
will be returning but Richard wont because of the
untimely death of Edward Herrmann in 2014. Most
of the cast was left in shock as Herrmann didnt tell
anyone he was sick. Kelly Bishop, who plays Emily, has
a feeling of how the character should act with the loss
of her husband. She plans to draw from the real life experience of losing her mother and how manic she was
then. Its sure to be an emotionally charged character.
So how about the release? Well, there has been plenty
of speculation as to when and how it will be released.
Netflix has yet to release a date when we can expect to
see it. Some seem to think that it might be released as
early as the summer of this year. There is hope that it
wont be released any later than the fall. Since all four
episodes have been filmed it could be released at any
time. Amy Sherman-Palladino has a hope that the
episodes will be released one at a time instead of all at
once because the episodes function as seasons. This
rarely happens on Netflix. When it does happen it is
because the show is being released on networks on a
weekly basis instead of being released solely on Netflix.
Further speculation as to why Netflix wont release
the episodes one at a time has to do with the potential
for flopping. Its possible that with all the waiting and
build up the first episode might not live up to the hype
and the other episodes wont get the same amount
of attention. I somehow doubt that is possible. Were
talking about a conclusion fans have been waiting eight
years for. There are enough of us who will stick with
the show even when it sucksrefer back to when I
talked about Sherman-Palladino leaving the show for
the seventh season. We stayed then, well stay now.
In addition to that, Netflix released Fuller House and
most people watched all the first season of 13 episodes
within 24 hours of the release. But at the end of the
day there is no way of knowing how the episodes will
be released or when until Netflix tells us. I just hope it
comes soon.
So there you have it. Theres not much to go on as of
now, but were waiting with baited breath for any news
as to when well see our beloved Gilmore Girls again.
In the meantime, Im re-watching the show to relive
the emotions. If you want to be prepared for the return
of our favorite people, perhaps you should indulge and
re-watch all seven seasons again tooor if you havent
experienced it yet, watch for the first time.
5