A couple of month ago I watched the first season and a half or so of Breaking Bad, on Netflix. It was pretty good, but I’m done with it. It was compelling,  but depressing. I don’t need to be bummed out.

This week I tried to watch the first episode of Game of Thrones on some streaming service. Wanted to see what the fuss was about. Turns out it isn’t available on any streaming service at all. HBO and their ilk want you to be tied to them and the cable companies. I see that I can “buy” the whole thing streaming from Amazon.com for $38. Fuck that. I don’t need to own it. I just want to see it.  So I’m done with that too.

Same thing happened on the Wil Wheaton Project, on SyFy.

Thus, I have penned this excellent open letter to the Television Industry:

Dear TV content producers,

There’s this thing called the internet. It’s pretty cool. Y’all should look into it, because pretty much the whole world already is, and y’all are sadly and pathetically behind the curve. Here I am, actively seeking to waste my time watching your shows, and you make it as hard as possible to do so, because some bean-counter is watching the bottom line on a show that has already made you millions of dollars.

Your poor business decisions are not going to suddenly make me see the error of my ways and decide to subscribe to more expensive cable TV options. In fact, they are driving me further away.

Your shows, while sometimes entertaining, are not that boner-inducing. So get with the reality-based program, and put the old seasons up on NetFlix and Hulu and all that.

Sincerely,

A Guy Who Reads