What Should You Watch on Netflix?

December 22, 2014

By Bess Murad and Sophia Ferlenda

Staff Writers

Netflix is watched by 158 out of 175 students surveyed at Jamesville-Dewitt High School. Students at J-DHS watch an average of one to two hours of Netflix a day. However, the amount of Netflix that students watch drastically increase during a break. During your holiday break this year, if you are looking for a way to spend your time while you are stuck inside from the snow, try watching some of the many underrated shows on Netflix. Students at J-DHS normally watch well-known shows, including “Breaking Bad,” “Prison Break,” “Orange is the New Black,” and “Gossip Girl.” However, students at J-DHS have discovered shows that have flown under the radar, but are worth watching over your break. The following are shows and movies recommended by your fellow classmates.

TELEVISION SHOWS:

* DESIGNATES SHOWS OR MOVIES THAT MAY CONTAIN INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT.

*Trailer Park Boys:

Senior Nate Shapiro says that Trailer Park Boys “never is not hilarious.” A Canadian television series that focuses on the adventures of a group of trailer park residents, some of whom are ex-convicts, living in the fictional Sunnyvale Trailer Park in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The show is comical, and Canada’s No. 1 show on television. 

*Bo Burnham: 

Junior Connor Flanagan enjoyed this American comedian, actor, singer-songwriter and poet’s comedy special so much he literally “watched it 19 times.” Burnham performs comedy shows and writes songs to go with his acts. His first comedy special is on Netflix and it is called “what.”

Bob’s Burgers: 

Freshman Evan Allen says the animated show “Bob’s Burgers” is very funny and recommends it to anybody that likes “Family Guy.” The Belchers, which include parents, Bob and Linda, and their children, Tina, Gene, and Louise, run a hamburger restaurant. Bob’s Burgers is not very successful because Bob competes with other restaurants for business including his biggest rival Jimmy Pesto’s Pizza. 

*Hannibal:

Junior Taylor Peters recommends the thriller-horror television series to anybody who enjoys watching thrillers because “Hannibal” is, “always interesting.” Criminal profiler Will Graham is tasked by an FBI agent to help investigate the disappearances of eight young girls across Minnesota.  

Dawson’s Creek: 

Junior Sam Leavitt watches the teen drama television series that follows four friends, Dawson Leery, Joey Potter, Jen Lindley, and Pacey Witter who live in Capeside, Massachusetts because, “it’s relatable to life as a teenager.” This show captures these four best friends struggles and challenges as they reach a difficult time in their adolescence where they discover that nothing is really as it seems.  

*The League:

Physical Education teacher Jeff Ike watches “The League” because he likes to watch “mindless television,” when he gets home from work. The show follows the lives of the six members of the fantasy football league, showing that they will do everything to win. The series is set in Chicago, Illinois, and is a semi-improvised comedy. 

Paranormal Witness:

This show gives the inside scoop on actual paranormal experiences through home videos, photos and personal stories. It also shows and follows haunted things, poltergeists, and much more. Not only does it focus in on horror but also strange syfy discoveries such as UFO’s. “It’s like “Criminal Minds” but real life,” says sophomore Livvy Behan. 

Leftovers:

Sophomore Tate Horan says that this is an extremely interesting show to watch and its highly recommended. After a sudden disappearance of about 140 million people a cult called the ‘Guilty Remnant” known as “GR”, who dress in all white, is formed. The members of this cult only communicate with notes because they have taken a vow of silence. 

The 100: 

The 100 is an American post-apocalyptic drama television series that premiered on The CW. The series is set 97 years after a devastating nuclear war wiped out almost all life on Earth. The only known survivors are the residents of 12 space stations in Earth’s orbit prior to the war. The space stations banded together to form a single massive station named “The Ark.” After the Ark’s life-support systems begin to fail, 100 prisoners are declared “expendable” and sent to the surface in a last attempt to determine if Earth is able to be lived on again in a program called “The 100.” Flanagan says the show is, “intriguing and suspenseful.”

*United States of Tara:

A comedy-drama, the series follows a suburban housewife and mother coping with dissociative identity disorder. When stressed, Tara often transitions into one of her alternate personalities: wild and flirty teenager T, 1950s style housewife Alice, and male, loud, beer-drinking Vietnam vet Buck. As the seasons progress, other personalities are added.

*I Escaped a Cult:

The show I Escaped A Cult allows viewers to explore the lives of people who have experienced living through mind control,fear, deception and intimidation. Although these survivors have escaped these traumatizing situations, they are still psychologically scarred. This show brings viewers attention to how the damage of living in such a dark world could affect these victims forever. Peters likes I Escaped a Cult because it is “weird but interesting.”

MOVIES

Christmas with The Kranks:

Senior Trenajiah Harris loves watching this 2004 film, starring Tim Allen, during the holidays because “its so funny.” The film is about a couple who decided to skip Christmas one year because their daughter is away on a trip and is not coming home for Christmas. Their plans are suddenly changed when they get a call informing them at the last minute that their daughter will in fact be coming home to celebrate with them. The Kranks have to begin frantically decorating with only 12 hours before their daughter arrives.  

Gabby Douglas:

This movie shadows Gabby Douglas’s rise to stardom and amazing success as a gymnast. It shows that the challenges she faced an immense amount of time and effort that she put in payed off as she became the first African American to be named Individual All-Around Champion in gymnastics. Sophomore Cassie Durkin says that she was looking for something good to watch on Netflix and was “uplifted” by this movie. 

Dog Pound: 

This film features three juvenile delinquents who are sentenced to a correctional facility. At this facility they witness gang violence, death, and harassment of others. Sophomore Tate Horan says its interesting because it shows life is juvy and how awful it is. 

*Birdemic:

As two people fall in love, the small town they’re living in is attacked by birds. These killer birds with acid breath destroy their town. Sophomore Jake Sala says Birdemic is, “so fun to watch.”

*Dead Snow:

The 2009 Norwegian film, Dead Snow, is a zombie splatter movie. It focuses on a group of students surviving a Nazi zombie attack in Norway. While on Easter vacation these students stay at their friend Sara’s cabin and are told about this region’s dark history by a mysterious hiker. The morning after they were told this story they discovered this hiker’s body realizing that something strange was happening. Sala says, “the concept is so over the top.”

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