I’ve decided to move TV Throwdown to Wednesdays because The Round Table reigns supreme on Thursdays. Here’s another open letter…
Dear Al Gore:
Mr. Gore, I owe you a debt of gratitude for your groundbreaking work on creating the internet. Were it not for you, my computer would merely be an overpriced jukebox on which I listen to Hanson and play Scrabble. Thanks, however, to your interwebs, I can rest assured that I will never fall behind on my favorite programs.
Long before Alec Baldwin and Seth McFarlane outted themselves as aliens (and really, who didn’t know) I was watching Hulu. I was able to see the entire series of Studio 60 without buying the DVD set. I was able to watch the first 4 seasons of Lost in a month and a half thanks to ABC.com. And (even with their inferior streaming video player) I was able to watch the entire series of Kid Nation on CBS – which was far better than anyone gave it credit for.
20 years ago, if you missed an episode of your favorite show – say, Family Ties – you were screwed. 10 years ago, you had to wait for 6 months and hope that they would put the season out on DVD. Now, if I miss the first 5 minutes of 24, I’m mad at Fox that I have to wait 12 hours for them to put it online.
So, again, thank you Mr. Gore for gracing the world with this incredible technology. I do have one tiny favor to ask, though: Could you maybe pull some strings to get Summerland uploaded somewhere for me?
Throwin’ Down,
Ryan
[Discussion: Do you utilize streaming video for your favorite shows? Have you found that any network has superior streaming media? Do you wish that they would put Family Ties on DVD because your need to complete your Michael J. Fox DVD collection?]
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[...] posted a new TV Throwdown with Ryan over at Truth on Cinema. It’s my open letter to Al Gore for creating the internet. Check it [...]
April 29, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Troy Sims
Ryan, yes I’ve used NBC.com to watched missed parts of Heroes and their webisodes. I’ve used Fox to watch 24 when something went amiss with our DVR. I’ve used ABC.com to watched missed episodes of the Unit. I’ve been watching Legend of the Seeker on Hulu, which are in better quality than what I had recorded on my DVR! I’ve been toying with watching Chuck, time will be the determining factor on that, if I have the time then I’ll watch, maybe this summer when nothing but reruns are on. So yes I’ve used the ol internet to supplement my TV watching.
April 30, 2009 at 7:12 am
Dan
Without the internet, my wife and I would be in the proverbial “black hole” of TV. We don’t have a TV with more than 5 channels and bigger than a foot, so we have depended on the Internet to catch up on shows like Ugly Betty (don’t knock it until you’ve given it a shot), Chuck, The Office, and an occasional Arrested Development.
As far as which network is the best, ABC.com’s player, to me, plays the best quality at full screen. You can even watch some shows in HD on your computer. NBC doesn’t handle full screen really well, you can see where the interpolation happens on shows.
What’s amazing is that the entire writer’s strike was over this very thing. Writers not being paid for the shows that were being aired online, because the studios considered them “promos.” I think we’ll start seeing more and more shows offered online and I would venture to guess that some studios will launch shows specifically online before they debut on regular TV.
April 30, 2009 at 7:54 am