If you are around my age (thirty-something), then you remember the days of television where only on HBO or Cinemax would you hear a four-letter word, see someone killed, or watch two people ‘get busy.’ There were unspoken boundaries of what was acceptable for mainstream media. Such boundaries are all but erased today.
Occasionally, I find myself stretched out on the couch, waiting for pain-killers to do their job so I can get back to mine, and I have nothing to do but flip on the TV. Channel after channel pops by with people selling stuff I don’t need, or tempting one or more of my senses. Even the news has traded in decent honest reporting for rumor and speculation over the hottest trends and buzz words. It’s all meaningless and corrupted.
I’ll grant you that a few channels (and that may be stretching it a bit) seem to be successfully holding up the respectable boundaries of the brighter ages of television. But they simply are not worth dodging ads for dating services and reality shows of young adults taking their clothes off.
But sometimes you want to relax with a good TV show or movie without 15-minute breaks filled with new medicines and car-care systems. So where do you go for the kind of worry-free television that build the industry? The internet of course. After all, EVERYTHING is on the internet.
I agree, the internet can be just as temptation-laden as modern television. But the difference is, if you WANT to, you can avoid it. (Very little options like that on television without turning it off.) If you are like me, you probably have your computer or laptop connected to your television anyway, so now you can watch GOOD media on your TV. Here are my three favorite sites for online viewing:
1. Hulu.com – They have a ton of shows and movies for online viewing completely free of charge! To pay for this, they only throw in one short commercial every now and then. Completely doable. In fact, they have a bunch of shows I’ve been looking for on DVD and could not find.
2. Netflix.com – They require you to subscribe to their service. But as online movie rentals go, they are the best. For one monthly fee, you get movies delivered in your mailbox AND you get to watch from a huge selection of online movies and television shows. It requires a simple one-time download, but then you simply watch what you want in the browser.
3. YouTube.com – You probably already know of this. But not many knew that some networks and channels actually post their official videos on YouTube. Plus, we love watching the old music videos and home-made films. (We would love to make our own one day.)
Also, here are some to avoid: Joost may sound impressive and unique, but that is because they are appealing to the average 16-24 year old, sex-starved male. Many of their offerings are of the “girls gone wild”variety or something very similar. Plus, try to avoid googleing for ‘free tv.’ Trust me on this… bad things will happen.
