How do you smooth over the bad feelings stirred up by losing the streaming rights to a handful of beloved TV shows? Previously, Netflix did, well… pretty much nothing. But now it looks like the company is acknowledging the angst with a new approach: a specially made “goodbye” video.
I noticed it the other night on Facebook, and it seems like that’s the only place you can find it. Look for the March 17 post date.
It’s dedicated to the upcoming April 1 removal of five shows in particular: Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Roswell, and The X-Files. The 1:23 video features silent clips from the shows being played over a generic, piano-filled music bed, with an equally generic farewell via the following text overlays:
It’s the final hurrah for some of our favorite titles…
Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Roswell, and the X-Files…
We’ve become old friends, but it’s time to say goodbye.
We chose to believe
When others had lost hope
We made new friends
And powerful enemies
We found time to laugh
Even though sometimes we wanted to cry
We became our own worst enemies
And found unexpected heroes among us
We lost our way
But found each other
We’ve had our disagreements
But we always came together
Even when the world was falling apart
It feels like it was just yesterday
But we’ll always have our memories
Thanks for saving the world… a lot.
Streaming Until April 1st
At last check, the video had been viewed 364,000 times.
So, did this bit of public relations smooth over any of the hard feelings? Not quite. The typical internet venom poured forth on from fans. Netflix did engage with some of them, though.
At least it’s a better heads up than searching for the relatively hidden ‘My List’ section and hunting for the “Available until” date.
