Netflix Isn’t Dropping Doctor Who But Red Dwarf Is Gone
It's a Festivus miracle!
This article is more than 2 years old
Reports circulated earlier this week that Netflix was going to drop streaming for a ton of popular British shows—most notable for our interests were Doctor Who, Red Dwarf, Torchwood, and a handful of others. The news kicked off a massive outcry from fans, but as it turns out, there wasn’t as much need to be concerned as many initially thought. At least some of those shows, chief among them the adventures of a certain two-hearted Time Lord from Gallifrey, will remain available for your streaming needs. For a few others favorite titles, however, fans are shit out of luck.
According to Variety, a new deal has been struck between Netflix and the powers that be at the BBC, and for the foreseeable future you’ll still be able to watch these shows on your computer, tablet, smartphone, TV, or whatever your preferred delivery system:
Doctor Who: Classic Episodes
Doctor Who: Seasons 1-7
Torchwood: Seasons 1-4
Luther: Seasons 1-3
The Office U.K.: Seasons 1-2
Robin Hood: Seasons 1-3
House of Cards U.K.
Copper: Seasons 1-2
Top Gear: Seasons 17-20
North & South
Wallander: Seasons 1-3
Keeping Up Appearances: Season 1
Monarch of the Glen: Seasons 1-6
The Buccaneers
But not all the news is good news. While Whovians will be able so stream their favorite adventures with the Doctor of their choice, new and old alike, you may have noticed that Red Dwarf is not on this list, neither are Black Adder or Fawlty Towers. So basically if you want to revisit those classic British comedies, and don’t already own them for yourself (you probably should), you have some serious work to do between now and February 1. Each episode is only half an hour long, so I have faith that you can pull it off. And these are three of the funniest shows ever made by humans, so you should have a pretty enjoyable binge for the next two weeks. Who needs sleep when you can hang out with Dave Lister, Arnold Rimmer, Cat, and Kryten in deep space, 3 million years from Earth?
This is kind of the way things go with Netflix. I know I’m not the only one out there who has finally got around to watching one show or another that’s been on my list for far too long, only to find out that it’s no longer available. With the ever increasing glut of streaming services, exclusive and expiring contracts, and weird metrics they use to decide what’s popular and what isn’t, the landscape is always shifting and it’s always kind of a crapshoot.
