The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

Ouch, Netflix opted to start 2021 a little harshly by removing The Office, all nine seasons of which have gone on to stream exclusively via Peacock, NBC’s new streaming platform. In its stead, Netflix has added new episodes of original series such as Disenchantment and pick-ups like Magicians.

History of Swear Words (2021) is a solid comedic docuseries starring Nicolas Cage. The show delves deeply into the etymology of all the dirtiest expletives and digs into what makes them so satisfying to say and such an indelible part of our culture.

Another noteworthy Netflix endeavor is Death to 2020, starring Samuel L. Jackson. It has a similar energy, except it’s a satirical documentary that does a great job of succinctly chronicling the events that rocked 2020’s headlines. It is incredibly satisfying to make fun of a year that’s given so many people such grief, even more so when it’s the deadpan stylings of Jackson, who is known to have a history with swear words all his own.

Disney+, following the success of its original series, the Mandalorian, is pulling out all the stops for the streaming season. Soul is an animated feature-length film in which music teacher Joe (Jamie Foxx) leads an all-star cast on a heartwarming romp as he lands the gig of a lifetime at a jazz club in town. One misstep lands Joe in a fantastical place: The Great Before. There, he teams up with Soul 22 (Tina Fey), and together they find answers to all the big questions. Heartwarming down to the very cockles. Fun for ages four to 104.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is stirring with WandaVision at the center of the buzz. Fans of the Honeymooners, the Dick Van Dyke Show, and other vintage classics will rejoice in the throwback black and white style and banter. Yet even as Wanda and Vision play out their wholesome new life, tension builds as other Marvel mayhem is in the works.

Amazon Prime is now streaming My Spy (2020), a live-action comedic-spy movie starring Dave Bautista, who is also Drax the Destroyer in the MCU. Nine-year-old Sophie catches JJ (Bautista), a hardened CIA operative, spying on her family during a routine surveillance operation. In exchange for keeping his cover intact, JJ begrudgingly agrees to show the precocious girl how to become a spy. What at first seemed an easy task soon turns into a battle of wits. Sophie proves you don’t need a lot of experience to outsmart a seasoned agent.

Prime members can also enjoy I, Pastafari: A Flying Spaghetti Monster Story (2020), directed by Michael Arthur. This is the elusive story of the flying spaghetti monster religion. Members of the church are determined to evangelize the church’s message of the Flying Spaghetti Monster while fighting against the intolerance of skeptics and for the freedom to access religious rights. R’amen.

Perhaps new on Hulu only to me, I invite you to the visual spectacle that is DreamCorp LLC (2016). DreamCorp LLC is an absurd comedy set in a neglected dream therapy facility. Each week desperate patients have their dreams recorded, analyzed, and sometimes “adjusted” by DreamCorp’s absent-minded professor, Dr. Roberts, and his team of scientists. The live-action sequences are spliced with animated interpretations of each patients’ dreamscape. This show is altogether outlandish and hilariously highlights the desperate funding needs of scientists.

If you enjoy irreverent comedy at the expense of millennials, Save Yourselves! (2020) is a must-see movie. A young Brooklyn couple heads to an upstate cabin to unplug from their phones and reconnect with each other. Blissfully unaware of their surroundings, they are left to their own devices as the planet falls under alien attack. You’ll finish the film feeling capable and authentic.

And a bonus flick: Watch Johnny Mnemonic (1995), which is set in futuristic 2021—gasp! This gem stars an unbelievably young Keanu Reeves on a mission to recover lost memories.

People remember, we’re living in the golden age of television. There is no shortage of knockout entertainment, but with the onset of some occasional early spring weather, I invite you, in those instances, to take the advice of an old show called Zoom: “If you like what you see, turn off your TV and do it!”