The Boob Tube on T3H TUB35 or Internet Killed the Television Star

Television was big back in the days before MTV sucked, but now that we can have nearly instantaneous gratification it is going the way of the radio. That being said, television still offers a level of consistent quality (reality television aside) that most of the internet has yet to produce.

But once again the tubes have come through with on demand television. Sure, depending on where you go, it's a legal gray area, but anyone that hasn't downloaded a song without paying for it or borrowed a picture is a liar.

First up, hulu.com. This is one of the only sites on the Internet that has legal access to current material and is sponsored by the major networks. Hulu is a good source for some high quality vids of shows including Family Guy, The Simpsons, American Dad, 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live, and several others. It now even hosts some movies, older ones mind you, but good ones nonetheless.

Evaluation: The site has a selection that is hard to find in other locations. That aside, it only host some episodes rather than keeping older ones. The internal search engine could use some refining, but serves its purpose. The quality can't be beat, but commercials are integrated within almost all of the videos. It's still developing so this is one to keep your eye on.

Rating: B


Next on the chopping block is surfthechannel.com. This site offers a pretty good selection from a wide range of shows. All content is generated and linked from other sites.

Evaluation: Legally this is dubious. There is no guarantee that the material you are viewing is legal or of any noteworthy quality. Depending on who uploaded the video, the link may not even work. There's no guarantee that a certain show will have one, several, or any episodes available. On top of that, site navigation is sluggish. The selection is adequate though. Take a look, you never know what you will find.

Rating: C-


Veoh can be viewed as a more refined version of Youtube. Even though users can upload any content, there are plenty of shows available and nearly every video has a very high level of quality.

Evaluation: Veoh is an excellent source for many shows that are either hard to find or are in poor quality elsewhere. Site navigation is easy and fast.

Rating: B+


If you prefer to watch your television programs on an actual television then locatetv.com is your promised land. This site lets you look up show times for almost any show and is a wealth of information.

Evaluation: The site is quick, informative, and to the point. It achieves everything it sets out to do and nothing else.

Rating: A

Last up, one for you otaku out there, here's a little dedicated anime site. Animefuel.com has what I assume (I don't really keep up with the genre as a whole) is a good selection.

Elvaluation: Videos load quickly and most are availble in dubed and undubbed format. As with most sites, more popular animes will have more selection of episodes, but older classics like Ranma 1/2 and the Gundam series have an established video base. No Robotech though; not a good thing in my book.

Rating: B-


Got suggestions, sites, rants, ect? Then either post or send an E-Mail to doabarrelrollblog@gmail.com