Hurry up and watch ‘Buffy’ before it leaves Netflix in April

Time is a cruel mistress. You’re here one day, gone the next. This goes extra for titles streaming on Netflix. There’s a veritable April Fool’s Day Massacre coming up, with a number of beloved shows abruptly disappearing, forcing you to binge on — who knows? — maybe one of their original programs? Maybe you need to finally get around to “Love” or “The Get Down”?

But of course, this could always be an elaborate April Fool’s Joke. So consider that.

‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ — all seasons

What began as an instantly forgotten Kristy Swanson-Luke Perry movie blossomed into one of the greatest shows of all time. And guess what? It’s not just Sarah Michelle Gellar et al. who are leaving; “Angel,” its almost equally beloved spin-off, is disappearing, too. Sad!

‘Arrested Development’ — Seasons 1-3
Leaving April 1

Surely one of the most rewatchable shows ever concocted is one of the biggest titles to go bye-bye. Hopefully you didn’t throw out all your old DVDs? On the plus side, the controversial fourth season, which was instigated by Netflix, isn’t going anywhere. We get why people aren’t crazy about it; it’s very different. But different is good, and the kind of different it is is good, too. Maybe the absence of “classic” Bluth family action will inspire you to give it another chance. If you’re the kind of person who gave up on it around episode six, you’ll perhaps discover that episode seven is where it all clicks and starts to reveal its singular, batty, dense nature.

‘The X-Files’ — all nine seasons
Leaving April 1

Remember when TV didn’t have much in the way of continuing stories? There’s some narrative progression on this classic, but by and large each episode was a mystery of the week, with some humdinger solved (or not) within the hour. Anyway, again, hope you get your old DVDs.

‘House, M.D.’ — all eight seasons
Leaving April 1

No one’s very happy right now, so we could use Hugh Laurie’s grump master Dr. Gregory House, who stalks about a hospital giving everyone a hard time. No doubt he’s grouchy this one’s leaving, too.

‘Firefly’ — its one and only season
Leaving April 1

First it only lasts one season; now it’s leaving Netflix. Joss Whedon’s beloved whatzit — basically a Western in space — did have a happy ending, of sorts: Three years after Fox left it for dead, it was picked up as a one-off movie (which killed one of the most beloved characters). The good news is it’s short enough — only 14 episodes — that you can kill it before the first of the month, then weep at a show that struggled to find its voice, finally found it, then abruptly ended.

‘Ally McBeal’ — all five seasons
Leaving April 1

There was once no bigger show than the one about a female lawyer with short miniskirts, who sometimes battled a dancing cartoon baby. Maybe zero in on the stretch where Robert Downey Jr., who was then deemed difficult to hire based on his repeat visits to rehab, becomes Calista Flockhart’s Emmy-nominated screen partner.

For more titles, see here.