Rewired: Part Three - The Minuses of Hulu Plus

Item: Hulu Plus
Price: $7.99 per month
Days to pay for itself (compared to cost of cable): 1.6 per month

It's been well over a month since we cut cable, and we're surprisingly happy with our new set-up... With one exception: Hulu Plus.  First off, here's what it is: Hulu Plus is a streaming service available through the PS3, Roku, mobile Apple devices, and a few select TVs/Blu-ray players. Hulu Plus has over 400 shows and 800 movies available for streaming to your TV/game console/mobile device.
They have some good shows (Nova, X-Files, Firefly, Law & Order SVU, Spaced, Little Britain, Daily Show, etc.). They have a plethora of crap shows (Airwolf, Time Tunnel, Major Dad, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, etc.). They have a bunch of shows I never watch, but that people seem to like (Family Guy, Glee, Jersey Shore,30 Rock, etc.).
It sounds like a pretty good deal for 8 bucks a month until you realize that the standard version of Hulu has four times the number of shows FOR FREE. I can watch Simpsons, Venture Brothers, Fringe, Walking Dead, Sons of Anarchy, etc for free on Hulu, but NOT on Hulu Plus. I realize that it's a licensing issue, but I really don't want to shell out $8 per month just to watch Nova with commercials (sometimes thrown in mid-sentence).
The selection isn't even the worst bit. I don't know if Hulu Plus won an online auction for a load of Soviet-era Bulgarian technology, but that seems to be what their running their service on. Damn near every show you watch will skip ahead, freeze, or (if you're lucky) completely lock-up so that you have to manually re-boot the PS3. It's ridiculous. I have never had that problem with Netflix's streaming service, but It happens constantly with Hulu Plus.
The one thing I can say that I really like about Hulu Plus is that they've started to make available a load of Criterion Collection films, and seem to be adding in more all of the time. That's good. When I was trying to watch Nobuhiko Obayashi's 'House' The film kept locking-up and it took me over 2 hours to watch an 88 minute film. That's not good.
Don't believe the hype - There's no "race" between Netflix and Hulu Plus, that'd be like a race between a Ferrari and a filing cabinet. Hulu Plus could be a great service if they work out the bugs in their system and focus on securing more licenses for current shows. That looks like it is a long way off, so until they work out their myriad flaws, I can't (in good conscience) recommend Hulu Plus to anyone. Then again, it's still better than Comcast.

Rewired: Part Two - Broadcast n00bs

Item:  RCA ANT1450B Multi-Directional Digital Flat Amplified Home Theater Antenna (Black)
Price: $22.09
Days to pay for itself (compared to cost of cable): 4.5

It's funny how you you forget that there's free television floating in the air all around you. We're lucky enough to have one of the few functioning outdoor antennas jutting majestically from the side of our apartment - We've had the second TV hooked up to that for years. Once we cut the cable I bought a cheap digital antenna for the main TV. It took no time to hook up, and after a 5 minute auto-program we had 55 free channels. Some of them are even in English (It must be impossible to sell cable to the Spanish speaking populous of Chicago, hence my new axiom: He's so good, he could sell cable subscriptions to Mexicans). Anyway, after some acclamation to not being able to pause, rewind, or skip through the commercials and having to move the antenna around occasionally when a signal drops, it isn't all that bad. Plus, it's kinda cool to rediscover ephemera you never thought you'd ever need again, such as TV listings.
With our current set-up, I'll get all of the Bears games and most Cubs/Blackhawks games. I'm gonna miss NFL Red Zone, but I can't justify paying $1800 annually for 16 afternoons of football coverage. We get 7 PBS stations, which is pretty sweet, and I discovered that they telecast the Roe & Roper show everyday on NBC 5.2 - SCORE! All in all, I'm not noticing too much of a difference. It seems that PBS always has something on worth watching, and there are several news programs scattered throughout the day (this morning I had my coffee to Al-Jazeera English, which probably landed me on a watch-list somewhere). I'm good-to-go with my cheap-ass antenna, just don't bother me between 8PM and 9PM (CST) on Fridays - I'm watching Fringe, motherfuckers.

Rewired: Part One - Enter the TVoid

Several weeks ago The Girl and I decided to ditch cable, and as of 11AM this morning we're cable free. This isn't anything new to me.  Over the last 20 years, I've only had cable for about half of that time.  I came to the realization that in the times that I didn't have cable, I got a hell of a lot more accomplished than the times that I did have cable. Obviously.  Okay, it wasn't really a realization, more of a recognition.
I looked at the Comcast bill and saw that we were shelling out nearly $150 a month for HD cable with a DVR and HBO/Showtime (including the city tax). Then I made a list of all of the shows that I'm watching on a weekly basis.  Here is that list in it's entirety: Fringe.  I then expanded my list to all of the shows I watched regularly over the last year: Fringe, Venture Brothers, Dexter, True Blood, Boardwalk Empire, Walking Dead, and  Sons of Anarchy.  Then I threw in Idiot Abroad, which we just started to watch (but not V, which I watch but can't figure out why I'm bothering to watch it). I totaled up all of all of those episodes per year and divided it by the cable bill per year and came out to... It's costing me $20 per fucking episode!  Are you fucking kidding me?!?!  I'm being robbed!
Now I'm taking the cable money and spending (a small part) on several different technologies/services and will be doing a series of posts on each item/service.  Look for new posts in the days and weeks to come as I try out the alternatives (HD Broadcast, Hulu Plus, Netflix, etc.) and have some time to process my experiences.
Keep tuned.

Limited Time Offal

In the new Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode, Three sirens move into the old ATHF house and Carl tries to make nice with the new neighbors.

...oh, and the sirens are Neko Case, Kelly Hogan, and John Kruk.
Awesome.

You can watch the whole episode HERE (in 2 parts).
This episode will be up until Friday or Saturday, and then the link will expire - So, Hurry.

Fall '07 Tee-Vee Update

Heroes (NBC)
The second season just started and I'm seriously geeked-up about it. What I want to see: I'm just waiting for a mid-power hero to go the "underwear pervert" route - I can't wait for some schlub with some stupid power to dress up in tights and a cape, thus spilling the proverbial beans.
Verdict: You know you're already watching it - Don't stop.

Dexter (Showtime)
Everybody's favorite serial killer killing serial killer is back! This show alone is worth the price for Showtime.
Verdict: If you don't have Showtime find a friend that does, and who doesn't mind you visiting every Sunday.

Dirty Sexy Money (ABC)
The basic premise is that a do-gooder lawyer (no, really) played by Peter Krause inherits his father's ultra-rich clients after he dies mysterious. The family he represents is essentially a mix of the Kennedys, Rockefellers, and the Hiltons. Chaos ensues. I've been a fan of Krause since his Sports Night days - His best-known role was that of Nate on Six Feet Under (which also starred Michael C. Hall of Dexter). The superb cast carries this show, which includes Donald Sutherland, Glenn Fitzgerald, a Baldwin, and a tranny. Good stuff.
Verdict: A pretty good show that's worth a watch.

Journeyman (NBC)
This is essentially a re-thinking of Quantum Leap starring Kevin McKidd (Lucius Vorenus from HBO's Rome). It's a pretty good show and I appreciate that each episode stands on its own - I have too many story arcs to keep straight as it is. Check it out.
Verdict: Catch it if you can, but not a "must see".

Pushing Daisies (ABC)

Best new show, hands-down - This one gets the L&E Walrus of Approval. I'm really digging this show. It's only one episode in, but I'm watchin' 'em all until this one gets canned (in probably a month or two). Pushing Daisies has a very Tim Burton/Terry Gilliam/Jean-Pierre Jeunet feel to it - Real freakin' cool.

Verdict: Watch it!!! Now!!!
LINK

Reaper (CW)
Kevin Smith's Dead Like Me meets Ghostbusters meets Dogma mash-up. I'm watching it, but it really isn't doing that much for me. I really like Ray Wise (Twin Peaks) as the Devil, but everyone else just seems one-dimensional. If you do check this out, be sure to Tivo it - It seems like 1/2 of this show is fucking commercials. It's worth a watch if there's nothing else on.
Verdict: Meh.

Californication (Showtime)
I like David Duchovny. I like shows with gratuitous nudity. I like this show. It's like Sex and the City for misanthropic single guys.
Verdict: Watch it if you like Mr. Duchovny or nekkid girls.

More 'John From Cincinnatti' Crap

Okay, I've been totally obsessed with this show. A couple of things I recently realized/discovered while poking around on the internets:
a) Half of the fucking cast is from Deadwood (sans funny facial hair). I knew they looked familiar.
b) I'm revising my initial theory on John's origin. I no longer think he's the messiah - I'm pretty sure that he's God.
I knew that John's last name (Monad) seemed familiar, so I hit Wikipedia for some answers this is what I found:

Monad (apophatic theology)

In many Gnostic systems (and heresiologies), God is known as the Monad, the One, The Absolute, Aion teleos (The Perfect Æon), Bythos (Depth or Profundity, Βυθος), Proarkhe (Before the Beginning, προαρχη), and E Arkhe (The Beginning, η αρχη). God is the high source of the pleroma, the region of light. The various emanations of God are called æons.

Within certain variations of Gnosticism, especially those inspired by Monoimus, the Monad was the highest God which created lesser gods, or elements (similar to æons).

According to Hippolytus, this view was inspired by the Pythagoreans, who called the first thing that came into existence the Monad, which begat the dyad, which begat the numbers, which begat the point, begetting lines, etc. This was also clarified in the writings of Plato, Aristotle and Plotinus. This teaching being largely Neopythagorean via Numenius as well.

This Monad is the spiritual source of everything which emanates the pleroma, and could be contrasted to the dark Demiurge (Yaldabaoth) that controls matter.

The Sethian cosmogony as most famously contained in the Apocryphon ('Secret book') of John describes an unknown God, very similar to the orthodox apophatic theology, although very different from the orthodox credal teachings that there is one such god who is identified also as creator of heaven and earth. In describing the nature of a creator god associated with Biblical texts, orthodox theologians often attempt to define God through a series of explicit positive statements, themselves universal but in the divine taken to their superlative degrees: he is omniscient, omnipotent and truly benevolent. The Sethian conception of the most hidden transcendent God is, by contrast, defined through negative theology: he is immovable, invisible, intangible, ineffable; commonly, 'he' is seen as being hermaphroditic, a potent symbol for being, as it were, 'all-containing'. In the Apocryphon of John, this god is good in that it bestows goodness. After the apophatic statements, the process of the Divine in action are used to describe the effect of such a god.

Plus, The symbol that he keeps tracing with his foot looks like the Monad symbol with a line connecting the perimeter to the radius.

Monad Symbol

Interesting huh?

Summer Tee-Vee Update

John From Cincinnati
First off, I've been reading web-rumors that HBO is paying off bloggers to create positive buzz for the show. I'm highly offended that I never got that offer.
That being said, bloggers have just surpassed bored housewives, preteen girls, and congressional staffers on the gossip front.
I genuinely like the show, and if Home Box Office is dolling out the green they should feel free to provide me with an "artist's grant" via PayPal to dclies(at)gmail.com. Please?
Yeah, that'll never work, but I felt it was worth a try.

This is my one and only "must see" show on the air right now. Five episodes in, and I'm ready to throw out my original speculation: "John" is the messiah.
I had the feeling from the start, but wasn't ready to call it until now. I've been intrigued by this particular "what if" scenario for a while now, and even wrote a short story about it last year. Needless to say, I'm hooked.

The show is excellent, and if you haven't been watching it, you should.

Other
I'm digging the Showtime series Meadowlands, but the story-arc needs a shot in the ass. Hopefully that'll happen before the end of season one.
Flight of the Concords is a fun little show, but I'm not 100% sold on it just yet.
I'm totally psyched for the second season of Dexter this September.

That's just about it, except for the excessive amount of Cubs games I've been watching on WGN this year. I've already watched more baseball this year than any other season I can think of, and we're just past the break. I need a fucking job.

The Best Show On The Televisions

It's Monkey Dust, it's British, and it's on the higher tiers of your premium cable package. More specifically, It's on Sundance Channel and it's one funny fucking show.
Here's a taste(NSFW):

My Two Cents - Sopranos

I've been holding off on doing a post on this one, but finally decided to give in and throw in my two cents.

I loved the ending, and I may be the only one who thinks it was clear-cut. Immediately upon watching it, I thought "Holly shit, they killed Tony." I actually jumped in my seat when the screen cut to black. Since he WAS the show it just makes sense that there would be nothing left to watch once he was gone. I've had some time to think about it, and I stand by my initial reaction. He's dead as Di dropping downers at a disco.
Earlier in the season when Tony was in the boat with Bobby he had said something to the effect of "I don't think you ever see it coming, All of a sudden everything just goes black" - I'm paraphrasing, but you get the point. They also did long black holds last season when they were cutting between his "everyman" coma fantasy and the waking world, so after the 5 second ending of blackness you could legitimately insert Heaven, Hell, Tony stuck in a hotel as a businessman without his wallet, reincarnation as a cat, or an eternity of nothing - Insert afterlife here.
I'm not placing any bets on who got him, I think that's the point. Death could come from anywhere at any time - In Tony's eyes, everyone is his potential executioner. It doesn't really matter who pulls the trigger - You're dead.
I was really hoping that Tony would make it all the way through without any comeuppance. I would have preferred to see it end with him giving Meadow a hug and sitting down for a malt. It seemed too hackneyed to end it with a judgement (death, jail, descent into madness, etc.), but I appreciate how Chase wrapped it up with five seconds of ambiguity rather than a bombastic climax.

For me, Tony died at the end, but the ending is wide-open to other interpretations. The greatest aspect of the cut to black is that everyone is left to fill in the blanks for themselves - To think. No wonder so many people are pissed.

Mid-Season TeeVee Update

With Rome having fallen, Heroes on hiatus, and Adult Swim sucking it lately, there has been a severe drought of good stuff on television.
This leaves my agenda wide open for obsessing over weird little software bugs that have infiltrated my computer. When I'm not doing that, here's what I've been watching:

Bullshit
This is one of my all-time-favorite shows, and it's just starting up its fifth season of no-holds-barred goodness. I've been putting off doing a full post on this one for awhile, so (for now) this shout-out will have to make due.

Andy Barker P.I.
Andy Richter stars as an accountant turned soft-boiled private investigator in a surprisingly clever fish-out-of-water series. Tony Hale (Arrested Development) co-stars as Andy's video store clerk sidekick and Conan O'Brien serves as series co-creator and executive producer, but Harve Presnell steals the fucking show as an elderly, misanthropic, anti-social, amoral, hard-as-nails, 70's era detective who begrudgingly serves as Andy's mentor.
Added bonus - There are a ton of movie-geek references packed into the series ("Why does everyone keep saying 'Chinatown'? I told you, I haven't seen it. Would someone please explain what that means?"). I'm absolutely hooked -Fucking brilliant.
If you haven't been watching this show, start doing so RIGHT NOW. They have 5 full episodes available online. Be sure to watch "Three Days of the Chicken" it's easily the funniest fucking thing I've seen on network television in a long time.
I'm sure that it'll be cancelled before too long, so enjoy it while you can.

Asia Extreme on Sundance Channel
Every Sunday at midnight Sundance serves up an uncut flick from Tartan's Asia Extreme series. I love me some Asian horror, psycho thriller, and gonzo films. This weekly treat is like manna from heaven for me... and The Girl likes it too.

Bizarre Foods
Who knew that watching a happy-go-lucky food critic traveling the world and eating weird shit could be so engrossing? Despite a couple of 'Fear Factor' moments in each episode, it's hard to pull yourself away from this one. I'm really digging it - In fact, I've been tempted to You-Tube up my own "Bizarre Liar" clip onto the internets after a shopping trip to the Thai market down the street. Don't hold your breath. That's definitely one of my 'looks good on paper' ideas.

Anything on the Science Channel
This is easily the best reason to shell out the cash for extended-tier cable.
This is what the Discovery Channel should be. Tons of nature shit, physics crap, and end-of-days bull-plop. I'm so hooked. This is the immediate 'default' channel on my remote.

24
Has it jumped the shark? Hell yes.
Do I care? Not if that jumpin' shark keeps blowin' up real good every goddamned week. *

I'm still eagerly waiting for the return of Heroes, The Sopranos, Venture Brothers, Dexter, My Name is Earl, and Metalocalypse. Until then, the aforementioned shows are keeping my ass in the couch for at least a few hours every week.
Remember, even mediocre television beats interacting with loved ones on any given day.
---

*If anyone else out there still watches South Park, they fucking NAILED the whole '24' thing last episode. Hilarious.

Tivolution

Mr. ChrisB sent out an ePissy e-mail checking on what everyone was watching on their picto-tubes. Since my brain defect prevents me from shooting off a simple list like a normal (not OCD) person, I sent out a freaking link-ridden overly-descriptive mess out to everyone. It works fine as a blog entry, though. So, here you are.
...
Here are the shows that I have set up in my Tivo 'season pass':

Heroes
This show rocks - period. It's a total X-Men rip-off, but (so far) it's way-better than any of the X-Movies.

Dexter
It's like HBO had a fire-sale on character actors and Showtime went nuts. Dexter features one actor from Six Feet Under, one actor from Sex & the City, one actor from The Sopranos, and four from OZ.
It's only a couple of episodes in, but this series has true promise. It's about a blood-spatter specialist who serial-kills serial killers. Wow, the premise just collapsed into itself. It sounds kinda gay, but is actually really good.

My Name is Earl
White-trash zen makes for some great television. For my money, the best cast on TV.

Venture Brothers
Superb - I can't get enough of this show. Plus HUGE props go out to J.G.Thirlwell for the best soundtrack in the history of television.

Metalocalypse
METALOCALYPSE FUCKIN RULZ!!! *banging head furiously*

12 oz. Mouse
Once again, this is either the best show ever to be aired or the worst. I'm still not sure, but I can't stop watching.

Most of the shows above have free downloadable episodes on their websites, or extended clips. Check 'em out. If nothing else, click on the 12 oz. Mouse link for a hard-ripping guitar solo (I think that that was an entire episode, if I'm not mistaken).

I also have been watching Studio 60, The Office, and most of the Adult Swim lineup, but they haven't made the Tivo cut yet. I also gave Jericho a shot because it's pretty hard to fuck-up a post-apocalyptic storyline - They managed it.
That's about it. Well, except for football... Go Bears!