by erin thursby scopes1925@msn.com
The writer’s strike has made well-scripted original shows harder to find on TV. News pundits predict
that TV will soon be a sea of reality-TV and news magazine shows. That doesn’t mean that you have to
be starved for good TV shows. Take the time to learn about your favorite shows online, or just catch up
on shows you wish you’d watched from the start of the season. Because of my inability to actually catch
any show regularly, I often find myself on the web, desperately trying to catch up with whatever show
I’m interested in at the time. Slow connection or a spotty Internet video feed can lead to giving up for the
season and just buying it later on DVD.
During my Internet travels, I’ve found that the world of online TV extras has expanded considerably.
Here’s what I’ve found so far:
They’ve got full episodes from their various
programs like Shark, How I Met your Mother, and
all the CSI’s currently on the network. I never made
it past the commercials for a web video of any
show, so I wish you luck on that score.
Looking at the show menu, I clicked on Numb3rs,
because I thought that this show would be
perfect for the web. When I got there it was pretty
bare. There was an interesting section on “The
Math Behind Numb3rs” but the web design was
clumsy, with far too much scrolling involved.
While it’s nice that CBS has something
online, they aren’t the best network to ever buy
a domain. The site isn’t as user friendly as other
networks.
ABC is definitely a step up from CBS as far
design is concerned. Check out the Ugly Betty
site, in all its brightly-colored, eye-popping glory.
You’ll have to have a Flash Player installed to view
many of the videos and extras, but as long as you
do, you should have a fun time on the site. In new
shows Pushing Daisies is my pick. They also do
pretty decently with Lost and Grey’s Anatomy, with
a good amount of extras and a link so that you can
buy merch.
The most web savvy network of the big three
is NBC. Even with a comedy series like My Name
is Earl, they mange to come up with creative online
hooks. Earl’s none-too-bright brother Randy even
has his own soul-searching blog. Each show on
the site has an easily accessible design. Thirteen
episodes were completed before the strike struck.
As far as I’m concerned, NBC’s Heroes is the
king of online content. The writers and production
people have done at least 11 episodes, so it will be
a few weeks before they’re affected by the strike.
In the meantime, explore the site! There’s plenty
to see. You can catch up with the series by watching
their video of past episodes (this season only)
but that’s not what keeps people coming back
to the site. There are links to websites of some
of the “corporations” and businesses you’ll see
on the show. Dummy sites for Primatech Paper,
Yamagato Fellowship and the casino run by the
shadowy Mr. Linderman can all be found. Some of
them even contain secret “Easter Eggs.”
Even characters (like Hanna aka Wireless)
that have very little screentime on the actual show
can take on a life of their own through the site’s
online graphic novels. Through the graphic novels,
you’ll learn about their back stories and you’ll get
to see flashbacks in the lives of main characters.
The Heroes series is great because not every
detail and person is fully explained. It leaves
viewers with questions, burning questions. Those
viewers go to the site and often join the online
community on the message boards, sounding their
theories about character’s relationships with each
other and their powers.
There’s much more on the site, like Claire’s
MySpace and behind-the-scenes blogs from creators.
My favorite online extra has got to be the
faux PBS series on Takezo Kensei.
If you’re a fan of the series or if you want to
know more, the NBC Heroes page is a terrific resource.
Even once you explore it fully, you should
keep coming back, because they add fresh content
on a regular basis, and there are always discussions
on the boards about the latest episode.
Cable or Satellite Online
Maybe it’s because you pay extra, but most of the
time shows on cable or satellite aren’t available
in their entirety online. Here are just two worthy
picks:
Unfortunately, I can’t watch The Daily Show
in its entirety online (not legally anyway). This is
sad because I can’t pay for a cable package with
Comedy Central, and I love The Daily Show.
I can, however, get a mini-fix by watching the
shortened “highlights” from the show. I miss some
of Jon Stewart’s lighthearted banter, but I get the
meaty parts.
Meerkat Manor is one of the few satellite/
cable TV shows online that you can watch in
its entirety. Those that want to catch up with the
meerkat saga can watch past episodes. If you need
to sort out which family is which, there’s a “Meet
the Meerkats” link you can click on. The characters
of the show are grouped by family, and each family
has a link to individual meerkat bios.
There are also interactive games and quizzes,
place to vote for your favorite meerkat, forums and
chat rooms. You can adopt your own meekat, buy
past seasons and meerkat merchandise.
Whatever you do during the writer’s strike,
don’t resort to lowering your standards. Check out
shows you haven’t seen before or couldn’t fit into
your schedule before by going online. By the time
the strike is over you just might have an addiction
to a show that’s new to you.
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