Netflix should let us search a movie script like Criterion Channel does

Streaming services are all similar thanks to homogeneous user experience design. They all have categories that give way to an endless scroll of thumbnail tiles, and each one’s actual video player is nearly identical. In other words, new features are very hard to come by in the streaming space — but boutique streaming service Criterion Channel has a great one: searchable transcripts.

The feature includes a pop-out display that lists the movie you’re watching’s entire script with timestamps for each individual line. Then you can click through it all and skip to the line that interests you.

This is a pretty unique and niche feature, but it’s also the perfect kind of neat tool to provide on a service that specializes in classic and great movies. You can skip directly to a scene or line that you’d like to hear Humphrey Bogart repeat. This feature is currently available only on certain Criterion films, not all.

Image: Criterion Channel via Polygon

But just because it’s the perfect little addition to a service like Criterion doesn’t mean that services like Netflix or Prime Video shouldn’t have it. After all, with how often people make memes of Netflix series — or how often the service’s own Twitter accounts tweet out subtitled stills — why shouldn’t fans be able to hop right to the moment of the series they’re looking for? In fact, one of the most valuable features of streaming is being able to skip and watch certain parts of movies.

More than the specific feature itself, Criterion’s addition is really just a great reminder that streaming companies aren’t doing enough to make their products unique or exciting. They aren’t pushing hard to make the viewing experience better, and they really should be.