'60 Minutes' drops in Downeast for story on Netflix

In 38 years as the premier television newsmagazine, "60 Minutes" had never visited the most easterly corner of the country C until last week. Investigative correspondent Lesley Stahl, her producer and a crew of four camera people lodged at the Redclyffe Shore Motel for two days while they interviewed the couple next door, Bob and Bobbi Henkel of Robbinston.

Now, you may ask, what kind of nefarious skullduggery is afoot in this tranquil riverside community, seemingly so far removed from the more usual big city citadels of chicanery? Well, apparently none. The CBS staff just dropped in on the Henkels to inquire how they like the service they're getting from the mail order DVD movie rental company, Netflix. No, really.

It seems that Bob was quoted in an article that appeared a few months ago in a Stanford University alumni publication. He mentioned to the writer, a friend, that the one thing he missed about his former home in Manhattan was access to a variety of first-run and classic movie theaters. That is, until he discovered Netflix, the service that advertises "no late fees, no due dates and free shipping both ways" for DVDs that they rent for fees as low as $5.99 per month. All the customer has to do to get the next film on his wish list, delivered in about one business day, is to return the one he has. Theoretically, the supply of movies is unlimited, at least until the viewer exhausts the 60,000 titles the firm claims to have in its inventory.

Bob and Bobbi aren't exactly sure why, but something about Bob's remarks in the article intrigued "60 Minutes." Possibly, the program had already planned a segment on Netflix. Or, maybe the article suggested the topic. The Henkels aren't even sure exactly how their comments, filmed in their 1785 restored home overlooking the St. Croix River and the coast of New Brunswick, will fit into the segment on Netflix to be televised sometime in early fall. They believe the focus will be on the phenomenon that Netflix has become, and the possibility that changes in technology eventually may outrun the company's ability to maintain its position in the marketplace.

The couple says the CBS personnel were charmed by the sights of eastern Maine during their stay, as the Henkels were charmed by the "very attractive, very nice" Lesley Stahl. Coming from New York and Boston, and involved in the fast paced world of television, the crew welcomed the opportunity to "get as far away as one could get" from the busy street scenes of their daily life. It was the same contrast that first drew Bob and Bobbi to their present home after 25 years of living in Manhattan where Bob was a senior editor for BusinessWeek magazine. They bought the old sea captain's home, known locally as the "Mansion House," in 1991, first as a summer place and then, when Bob retired from full-time work, as their permanent home.

Bob continues to work -- he writes an online column geared to investors in the electronics industry -- but now he can do it from the cupola of his perch on the very edge of America, far from the hullabaloo of Wall Street. And guess what? "60 Minutes" comes to him!