What I’ve Watched on Hulu So Far

Alright, like I said in my last post, I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist the siren call of the Hulu. So I thought I might as well fess up to what I’ve watched since then:

March 14th: I eased into the whole “free TV shows not broken up in 5-10 minute increments a la YouTube” with a classic season 1 episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was “Teacher’s Pet,” where Xander fell into the clutches of a preying mantis. Truth be told, as much as I love Buffy (I became a fan through syndication), this episode was a bore. I think it’s because it was a very early episode, and the characters and the signature wit weren’t yet fully formed. Anyway, I thought after this that I wouldn’t be visiting Hulu.com that much after all, seeing as how I couldn’t even make it through the entire thing.

Yep. I was wrong.

March 16th: Arrested Development, Season 2 (minus two episodes). Once you watch one of them, it’s hard not to go to the next one, then the next one. I mean, c’mon! There’s Franklin! And Operation Hot Mother! And Mrs. Featherbottom from Blackstool! And Ann! (Who, her?)

See, unless you’ve watched the show you think I’m crazy based on like the last few sentences. But it’s super good.

Today: I was better because I did actual normal person things, like venturing outside my home. I just watched the last four episodes from this season’s The Office. I barely made it through the last two, not because the show wasn’t great, but each one was interrupted three times by the same 30-minute commercial in which a fluffy white dog nudged his pink-obsessed owner–she had a pink tank top, wall, bedding, dresser, everything–out of sleep so he could eat. It was cute like the first time. Not so cute the second, fifth or eight time. I must admit I was feeling a bit murderous toward the poor pooch toward the end of my Office mini-marathon. Hey Hulu: If you’re going to interrupt a show with commercial breaks, can it not be the same one every single time?

On a side note, I’ve resisted watching Picket Fences, my favorite drama when I was in high school. I was talking to my sister about it and she was wondering if the show could possibly be as good as we thought it was ten years ago.

I saw her point. It was a David E. Kelley show, so it was pretty quirky. And quirkiness in a TV series could easily veer off from charming to annoying. What if it was more of the latter, and we hadn’t realized it? We both agreed that we had such fond memories of Picket Fences back then that neither of us wanted to tarnish those memories by revisiting the show, at least for now.

My sis said to me, “remember that really sad episode where at the funeral they sang ‘The Rainbow Connection’”?

I said, “yeah, I think it was for the midget lady.”

“There’s no other show you could say that about,” my sister mused. I have to agree.