Censorship of "The Office" on Instant Watch?

[Mark Zajac]

From the first five seasons, only one single episode of "The Office" is unavailable for Instant Watch. It is neither the very first episode nor the most recent but rather the first episode of the third season. Why that episode? I thought and thought. What could possibly distinguish this one episode for exclusion from Instant Watch? I then had a crazy idea. Could it be that "Gay Witch Hunt" is unavailable because it mentions homosexuality? If so, I would love to know who was offended. Were conservatives offended by innocuous humor involving a gay character? Were gay people offended that any aspect of being gay could be treated with levity?

I am curious. Perhaps it is all a coincidence. For other series, has anybody else noticed exclusion of seemingly random episodes from Instant Watch? Perhaps this is a standard practice.

[:-)] Mark

[Spindaddydad]

If particular episodes are missing from series, it is usually due to them not being able to obtain distribution rights for some reason or another. Sometimes it's because a particular actor appeared or sometimes because a song appeared and they can't get distribution rights for that actor or song.

[thatboy]

It's not anti-gay censorship. NF has other gay-themed WI material available. As Spindaddydad says, it's most likely a rights issue. Dead Like Me also has episodes missing, and I know there are other examples.

[Knaldskalle]

Dead Like Me has gotten a lot "better". It used to have exactly 1 episode from each disc of the season not be available on IW. Which meant that to watch the entire season, you had to get every disc. Kinda ruins the point of IW...

[Mark Zajac]

Further info: at one time this episode was available. To avoid commercials, I only watch "The Office" via Instant Watch and I know that I have seen that episode. This is partly why it struck me as weird that, all of a sudden, this particular episode was unavailable.

I had considered the issue of distribution rights but figured that would apply equally to Instant Watch and to disks. You can still request that episode on disk.

The idea of censorship seemed far-fetched to me. I am open to any other ideas. It's no big deal, really. Just a mystery that got me curious.

[:-)] Mark

[Pihk]

To avoid commercials, I only watch "The Office" via Instant Watch

So you are fine with censoring commercials, the lifeblood of our capitalist way of life?

[Microwaved]

And the way I make a living.

[Mark Zajac]

I do not have cable. Instead, at a reasonable cost, Netflix provides entertainment without expecting me to expend my limited leisure time on commercials. I am voting with my dollars by giving my patronage to Netflix instead of the cable company.

I did the math and realized that I could save hours of time each week by not watching commercials. I might consider cable if it was cheaper or if there were fewer commercials. The cable company is free to compete for my business by responding to my desires.

For major purchases, I try to read "Consumer Reports" and then give my business to companies that make superior products, rather than rewarding whichever company has loudest hype-machine. That is my brand of capitalism.

Finally, my refusal to watch commercials is not exactly censorship. I did not suggest a gag rule to prevent companies from advertising. I only claim my right to boycott companies that bore me with too many commercials.

[:-)] Mark

[Microwaved]

I'll tell that to my son when he asks me "daddy how come we don't have anything to eat?"

[ColdOne]

Why does Mark Zajac hate your son?

[Microwaved]

No kidding man, no kidding. Next time why doesn't he just kick him it's quicker.

[ColdOne]

That's just what a commie would say.

[Spindaddydad]

The cable company is free to compete for my business by responding to my desires.
does the cable company provide all the episodes of The Office you want to see? Maybe their competitive edge is that you don't have to worry about missing some episodes?