Back in the before times, of the long long ago, there existed cable TV. We paid exorbitant rates for hundreds of channels, of which we watched but few. Clicking through endless channels for hours, only to find nothing. I often fantasied of a world in which we could pick and choose the channels, paying only for those we wanted.

Then, like manna from heaven, streaming services arrived. At last, video Xanadu had been realized. On demand, uninterrupted entertainment Bliss through my PC!

But it was not to last. Once the the streaming services’ cable and broadcast competitors were crushed, the profiteers looked down from atop their overflowing money-bins and saw an opportunity for more profit through enshitification. Unabashedly, they reintroduced adds, before, during and after every on-demand episode. First Prime, then Netflix, and the rest.

We had many glorious years of unadulterated entertainment. They’re gone now, fallen to corporate greed. Offended by Hulu’s lengthy adds and Amazon’s “Go add free” button, and the data scrapping voyeurism of online services, I’ve walked away from the lost paradise. Back to the simple & private shelter of books and DVDs.