

This might be old news to many of you but I just recently discovered the fact that I can relive parts of the ’80s and ’90s through the new existance of…
In addition to the usual buttons found near the top of YouTube (Home, Videos, Channels, Community), there is now a “Shows” button that takes you to a listing of full TV shows and movies that are now legally available to watch in their entirety directly on the video sharing site.
In browsing through list of TV shows, the ones that stuck out as interesting to me are:
While I’m not thrilled with the idea of watching a movie on my computer (regardless of if it’s on YouTube or anywhere else), I think classic TV shows definitely have a big future in the online world. Hulu really began the process by putting so many great shows online and now YouTube is following along.
YouTube has even taken a few pages from Hulu’s playbook including allowing TV and movie watchers on their site to “turn down the lights,” making most of the page turn dark to provide a better video-watching environment. The shows and films can also be displayed in a larger in-browser size than standard YouTube videos (full screen is still available as well).
Unfortunately, unlike most YouTube videos, the TV shows and movies are not embeddable, so I can’t put any of them on this blog or anywhere else. Before each bit of media, a short advertisement is also played, but that’s easily ignored.
Overall, I like the trend of adding classic television to online video sites. I’ve been buying old TV shows on DVD for several years and would be happy to have access to it all on the Web for free, especially if someone can figure out a way to let me watch them on an actual TV.
distant creations is a blog about the world and more. the world is: amazing. amusing. creative. confusing. this blog is here to deliver the best and most bizarre of the world and beyond. from distant lands to your home town.
topics to be featured here include technology, movies, television, music, collectibles (mainly action figures), theme parks (mainly Disney), video games, and any other interesting or strange news that pops up in the world.
the name 'distant creations' originated when I needed a term to summarize my many projects. my creations encompass a wide variety of fields and areas and are thus deemed as 'distant'.
Roddy Barros
May 5th, 2009 at 9:23 am
Unfortunately, those channels are unavailable outside the US, just like Hulu. And it’s too bad, because I was aching for some Excellent Adventures.
dj drew
May 5th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
it’s easy to watch on your tv if you have a mac. just use a mini dvi to s-video cable and run an audio jack to your sound system. your tv becomes your 2nd monitor. wireless keyboard and remotes become almost like a remote control [a bit harder to lose in the couch!]
Louise
May 6th, 2009 at 2:53 am
Roddy has made the main point. This is ridiculously unfair until it becomes a worldwide system. Just like non-us itunes stores can get almost zero Disney music.
Thankfully I can get Alf, He-man, bewitched, I dream of jeannie etc etc through my various cable TV channels. I’m surprised they aren’t on US cable channels?