Netflix thinks I’ll enjoy Strong Bad’s Emails. Apparently the Netflix recommendations algorithm (or possibly “group of recommendations elves”) has created a correlation between “people who like Strong Bad”, “people who like Eddie Izzard” (okay, with you so far), and … “people who like Rivers and Tides.”
I mean to say: “Quoi?”
Now, as you likely know (if you know me), I like Strong Bad’s Emails very much indeed. Overall I’d give ’em a 5-star rating on the Netflix scale. Same goes for most of the Izzard oeuvre (well, Circle gets a 4 because the audience was dense, and I kinda hated the film Circus, but that had nothing to do with Eddie). Andy Goldsworthy is off-the-charts my favorite artist. I know that many of my friends like all three works/artists/oevres very much as well. I’m not disputing that there could be some significant Venn Diagram overlap between fans. It just seems like a spurious leap for the Netflix algorelves to say that since I liked Rivers and Tides, I’ll like Strong Bad.
Sorta like saying “We know you loved The Terminator; why not try A Room With A View?” Or “Hey, you like foie gras, right? Try this rhubarb!” It’s true, I love them both, but I certainly wouldn’t use one as a basis for recommending the other.