First episode length / One minute openers
One minute openers
These four first episodes run from 48 to 62 seconds, so you can sample the whole shelf in about the time it takes to make a sandwich, and pay nothing.
First episode, in seconds
The four short starts, by the clock
Here they are in running order, shortest first, with the premise in a phrase. Only the first episode was timed in each case, so these figures say nothing about what comes afterward.
- My Wife's Dance Instructor, 48 seconds: tango lessons as a thin excuse.
- Under the Chief, 60 seconds: rank and rivalry on a hospital ward.
- Dragon Queen's Dark Desire, 61 seconds: you are hired to cure a queen who cannot transform.
- My Neighbor Stopped Closing The Blinds, 62 seconds: a deck, open blinds and a watchful neighbor.
Adding the four together gives 231 seconds of viewing, or under four minutes for the set.
What a short opener does and does not tell you
A brief first episode lowers the cost of curiosity, and that is about all it proves. It says nothing about quality, and it is no promise about the length of what follows. All four series give you a second free episode as well, then ask for 12 tokens per episode at list price, or 36 tokens in total. Promotions can lower that for a time, so check the current price before you unlock anything.
Our advice is unglamorous: watch two or three of these, note which premise you are still thinking about an hour later, and ignore the others. If you would rather begin with a slower pace, try the longer openers instead, where the first episodes run past the 70 second mark. Either way, spending begins only at episode 3, so the sampling itself carries no bill at all.
