My Favorite TV Shows (right now) Part 6
Here we are – the last article in the series. As promised from the last installment, this article is all about video downloaded from the Internet.
Streaming video has been around forever on the Internet but with recent advances in video compression, wider penetration of broadband connections to homes, and a host of new video capable devices – it looks like the Internet is on the verge of taking on broadcast television, and let you watch “”TV”" when and where you want.
My Favorite TV Shows (right now) Part 6
– Internet Only –
There has been a pleasant surprise in amateur created content distributed on the Internet that is worth watching. All of these are free to download, view, and share. Most of them are of the techie how-to variety, but some have more to offer.
Most episodes of these shows run 5 – 30 minutes, averaging in size from 50 – 200 megabytes. I don’t think any of them stream, so you really need a broadband Internet connection to download and watch them.
Also, they generally use the newest bleeding edge codecs (compressor, decompressor) giving them the highest quality with the best compression. Because of this, you’ll likely have to install the newest versions of DIVx, 3ivx, or xvid. I strongly suggest just grabbing the latest Full K-lite collection and be done with it.
Tivo is slowly getting into the download video scene. They are doing a test right now, with limited free content from Comedy Central and some football games. I could certainly see them offering a method to download amateur content. Tivo also signed a deal with Netflix, and it is rumored that they will begin offering movie downloads from the Internet (for a price, of course), but then, that is outside the scope of this article.
Some video content is now available through Apple’s iTunes store to watch on your computer, or video iPod. While these are exclusively ABC TV series and music videos (at $2 bucks a pop), I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple started offering these other types of content, like they did with Podcasts.
Finally, some of the below sites offer inexpensive DVDs for sale that are higher quality compendiums of shows, so there’s an option if you don’t want to bother with downloading stuff.
| Show Name: | Red vs. Blue |
| Channel/Where: | www.redvsblue.com |
| When aired: | Every week or two |
| Genre: | Machinima (computer animation / comedy) |
| Content Rating: | R |
| Types of content: | Language, violence, adult humor |
| Age: | Three “”seasons”" |
| Cast: | Burnie Burns, Gustavo Sorola, Geoff Fink, Matt Hullum, Joel Heyman |
| Why I like it: | Irreverent and clever dialog. A long ranging wacky plotline with lots of twists and turns |
| Improvements needed: | The current plot arc has been a little dull.. they need to get back to the war |
| Summary: | Red vs. Blue is a show that utilizes the “”Halo”" game on an XBox console with a custom dialog soundtrack to create a pretty impressive animation style known as machinema. Its a lot of fun to watch, even as a non-Halo player (I’ve never actually played it, or seen it played for that matter) because it has little to do with the game. The show follows two waring armies (red army and blue army) who have bases set at opposite ends of a box canyon. The fun comes in the dysfunction of each army as they partake in ridiculous missions fighting within their own units, more than with the enemy. The current season actually has both armies working together with a mysterious alien who can only communicate with them through the help of a multi-lingual bomb. Yes, I said bomb. Episodes are between 5 and 15 minutes long and are packed with jokes and bizarre situations. The DVDs are well worth ordering, because you can no longer download the older episodes from the site. Though, I’ve archived them all as they’ve been posted, so if you ask ..really nice.. I might share them with you  ) |
| Show Name: | The.Scene |
| Channel/Where: | www.welcometothescene.com |
| When aired: | Monthly |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Content Rating: | PG |
| Types of content: | Deviant behavior |
| Age: | Fourteen episodes |
| Cast: | Mitchell Reichgut, Joe Testa, Corey Weiner, Rebecca Brandt, Jeff Brainson, David Wood |
| Why I like it: | Intriguing story about a very secretive lifestyle, told in a novel style. |
| Improvements needed: | I know the show isn’t about the acting, but sometimes its like they’re not even trying… |
| Summary: | There is a completely hidden culture of people who steal, rip, encode, and distribute movies on the Internet. You may have downloaded an AVI, VCD, or DVD ISO yourself from a Bittorrent site or newsgroup. Well, this show is a fictional tale of one of the groups that gets these releases ON those peer to peer networks. There are a couple of really cool things about this show; one is the technical details of how movies make their way onto the Internet; one is organizational details of the groups of people who do it; and one is the way in which the story is told. First is the style of the show. Instead of a conventional movie or TV show, you watch the action unfold in The.Scene by spying on somebodies computer. Every episode has a little webcam window in a corner, but the rest of the screen is the actual computer desktop. Most of the dialog takes play in Instant Messenger windows, or IRC channels. This makes sense, because it is the primary communication method of groups within the real Scene. It can get a little confusing and may require some pausing and rewiding at times, as (just like real life) the windows update pretty fast and there can be more than one conversation happening at the same time. Thanfully, they try and minimize this multi-tasking and only do it for specific effect to build suspense, or give that feeling of urgency. The technical and organizational details are actually pretty minimal, so if you don’t care about that stuff, it shouldn’t get too in the way of the story. If you are into that stuff, its pretty cool to recognize the different programs and methods used in their activities. The story primarily follows one main charact “”Brian Sandro”", aka “”Drosan”" who started selling DVD releases – something frowned upon that can get you banned from The Scene. Drosan is caught up in a web of lies that saw other people busted by the feds. Each month we get a new little 15 – 20 minute piece of the puzzle that sees him get deeper and deeper into trouble, both within his group, and his personal relationships in meatspace. Its a compelling story and I can’t wait to see where it all goes. Some people may not be able to handle the style, but if you spend any amount of time IM’ng, then you shouldn’t have any problems keeping up. |
| Show Name: | Nerd TV |
| Channel/Where: | www.pbs.org/cringely/nerdtv |
| When aired: | New episodes weekly |
| Genre: | Interview |
| Content Rating: | PG (very rarely expletives are used – a few s-words and I’ve heard the f-bomb dropped once) |
| Types of content: | Geeky technology interviews |
| Age: | Seven Episodes |
| Cast: | Robert X. Cringely |
| Why I like it: | Interviews with legends of the computer industry |
| Improvements needed: | |
| Summary: | Very simple – hour long interviews with legends of the computer industry, as well as up and comers that you will certainly be hearing about in the near future. If you don’t care about technology at all, you may think there’s no reason to watch, but there are frequently fascinating stories of the behind the scenes goings-on of some of the biggest companies around: Apple, Microsoft, Sun, E-Bay, and Paypal to name a few. It can be quite interesting to hear how these companies were founded, and what the real cirumstances were surrounding some of the mega mergers, and departures. You may have noticed that I left the “”improvements needed”" column blank. This is because I have a confession to make: I’ve never actually watched this show. I have listened to every interview, via the audio-only podcast that is released simultaneously, but haven’t actually watched the video. I don’t think that I’ve lost anything in not seeing the actual video, but don’t feel that I can really offer up any improvement suggestions if I haven’t actually seen it. The interviews themselves are wonderful and I hope the show goes a long, long way. I am somewhat biased, though, as I’m a big fan of Mr. Cringely’s having bought two of his videos and reading his column every week. |
| Show Name: | the.broken / systm |
| Channel/Where: | www.thebroken.org / www.systm.org |
| When aired: | Sporatically |
| Genre: | Documentary |
| Content Rating: | PG-14 |
| Types of content: | Language, deviant behavior, drinking |
| Age: | Four and a half episodes |
| Cast: | Kevin Rose, Dan Huard, Ramsey |
| Why I like them: | Geeky hacking how-tos – what’s not to like? |
| Improvements needed: | A consistent release cycle |
| Summary: | I think that “”The.Broken”" may not ever see a new episode, so this may really just be about “”Systm”" now. Kevin Rose was one of the many hosts of “”The Screen Savers”" on the now defunct TechTV. On TSS Kevin did a lot of how-to stuff, but it was mostly mild or “”safe”" stuff, like how to use certain programs, or new gadget reviews. While he was on the show, he started a side project, and produced a couple episodes of “”The Broken”". This could only be described as a hacking variety show. On the show, they would explain and give how-tos on some borderline illegal activities. Soon “”The Screen Savers”" was no more, and Kevin started independently producing short how-to video segments called “”Systm”". These are focused geeky segments that are completely legal, though some are edgy, and all seem to be produced in a way that they could be slipped into other existing shows. The episodes so far have covered building a wireless camera “”monitoring”" device (to eavesdrop on any wireless survelance cameras nearby); disassembling the new iPod Nano; building your own “”Monster”" video/audio cables at a fraction of the cost of store-bought cables; and a tutorial on how to get started creating your own podcasts. These shows are very well produced and pack a lot of great information. The hosts sometimes get a little tongue tied and things could be a little better scripted, but overall they’re a great watch. |
| Show Name: | Pure Pwnage |
| Channel/Where: | www.purepwnage.com |
| When aired: | Roughly monthly |
| Genre: | Mock documentary |
| Content Rating: | PG |
| Types of content: | Violence, mild language |
| Age: | Seven episodes |
| Cast: | |
| Why I like it: | Very funny depiction of what you think some of your gaming opponents on the other side of the Internet are like |
| Improvements needed: | The last couple episodes were very disjointed.. they need to get back into a plot |
| Summary: | Pure Pwnage (Pwnage = ownage; the act of defeating or “”owning”" an opponent in a multi-player game) follows a guy named Jeremy (aka “”Teh Pwneror”") as he spouts his philosophies of gaming and the art of owning noobs. The story is told as Jeremy is folllwed around town by his brother Kyle with video camera in hand. If you’ve spent any amount of time playing multi-player Internet games, then you should get a real kick out of this show. Whether its real-time strategy (Jeremy’s favorite genre), first person shooters, or MMOs (massively multiplayer Online ala World of Warcraft, or Everquest). Some episodes have followed Jeremy to an epic showdown at a LAN party; seen him fall in love; seen him comitted after a mental breakdown where the online world of an MMO became his reality; and so on. The show is a lot of fun to watch, though it can be very repetative. If you’re into online video games, you gotta check it out. |
| Show Name: | Digital Ground Zero |
| Channel/Where: | www.surf.to/dgz |
| When aired: | Varies, averages one a month |
| Genre: | Documentary / Reality |
| Content Rating: | PG-14 |
| Types of content: | Language, deviant behavior |
| Age: | Ten episodes |
| Cast: | Redman, Zero |
| Why I like it: | Tech, hacking, explosives – oh my! |
| Improvements needed: | Could use a consistent format/framework. Some eps include a lot of needless/boring driving and walking around which gets old. |
| Summary: | Hacking show, similar to “”The Broken”", but includes a lot of home made explosives, skateboarding, and people shooting each other with BB guns. There are some decent tech how-tos, but they are very scattered with other misc. stuff. The video quality is pretty good, and the potato guns and explosives are fun to watch. |
| Show Name: | Hack TV |
| Channel/Where: | http://www.binrev.com/hacktv |
| When aired: | Rarely |
| Genre: | Documentary |
| Content Rating: | PG-14 |
| Types of content: | Language, deviant behavior |
| Age: | One episode |
| Cast: | Stank Dawg |
| Why I like it: | Lots of hacking how-tos |
| Improvements needed: | I’ll tell you if they ever release another episode |
| Summary: | Along the lines of Digital Ground Zero, but typically better produced and more focused on hacking instruction (no booms or skateboards). Hack TV is brought to you by the Digital Dogpound, who also does “”Binary Revolution Radio and podcast. There is a ton of great info, but it doesn’t look like it will ever be a regularly produced show. Maybe one or two eps a year. |
Wow – we finally made it.. If you’ve actually come all the way to the end with me, I thank you!
When I started, this was going to be one essay that highlighted some of my favorite shows. Then I stated compiling the list, and was amazed at just how many show I like and watch on a regular basis.
To be fair, its not like all of these play at the same time on a weekly basis or anything.. Since it ended up taking so long to write all of this, we’ve spanned a couple different TV seasons.
Sadly, that means you may have missed out on some really cool TV.. I’m sorry for the long gaps between installments. I was really shooting for one a week, but you know how life gets in the way.
So – what are YOUR favorite shows? Feel free to post a comment and share with everybody what you’re into watching.
I hope this series led you to a show that you might not have found otherwise. Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next time.
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