Mystery Viewing

Being a pessimist, I just know that it can't last.  (Experience has taught me that if something can go wrong for me, it will).  The 'it' in this case being new streaming service that has just become available via my Roku box.  It really is about the best Roku app I've ever installed, presenting a selection of channels, (all free to view), apparently emanating from Houston, Texas.  Most of them aren't available elsewhere on Roku and many aren't available in the UK at all.  It ranges from the likes of Retro TV to a whole slew of movie channels.  These are all continuously streaming channels, most of which have no onscreen indication of what's showing, let alone a schedule.  Which is great, as it takes me back to the good old days of TV, before electronic programme guides, when you just tuned in to a channel and kept watching until the show you had come into ended or there was a commercial break, when you'd get more information.  (Of course, if you wanted to spoil the fun, you could always buy a newspaper or listings magazine for the schedules).  It provides a magnificent 'what the fuck?' experience which is all too often missing from modern TV viewing.  Trying to work out exactly what you are watching is half the fun of watching TV.

Of course, the internet is a huge help here - if I can recognise an actor, then I can work back from that to try and work out the show or film I'm watching.  If you go through their CV on something like IMDB, you can often work out what it is, factoring in the actor's current age and how old they look on screen.  If you can get the name of the character they are playing, all the better.  If you  can't recognise an actor, then deeper research is needed - trying to work out when the film was made, (condition of the film stock, lighting styles, hair styles and types of vehicles on screen can all help here), cross referenced with whatever the theme of the show or movie seems to be, can often yield results via search engines.  It adds a whole new dimension to the viewing experience - the sense of satisfaction I get from successfully identifying what I'm watching is hugely gratifying,  So, with all the fun I'm currently having with this newapp, the pessimist in me is sure that it can't last - someone is bound to decide that it is somehow illegal, violating international copyright laws or something.  Which is why, right now, I'm making the most of it by engaging in hours of channel hopping, taking in all manner of weird and wonderful films and TV shows before it all disappears.