the UGC: How We Watch TV

How We Watch TV
July 23, 2014

Did I ever mention we bought a Roku? We bought a Roku. A few years ago, actually. We even upgraded to a newer model earlier this year. I just searched and it appears I really have never mentioned the Roku. Wow.

It's pretty much how we watch TV now. I wouldn't say we were big TV watchers before, and I don't know that it's changed the amount of it we watch, just how we watch it. Which is a couple of episodes a night of a series that we both kind of like.

What have we been watching?

Moone Boy (on Hulu): Possibly our favorite. It's sort of like the Wonder Years, except the time period is late 80's/early 90's. In Ireland. In a very tiny rural town. And the main character has an imaginary friend played by Chris O'Dowd (you know, the guy from the IT crowd). It's really good. It's so good that we blew threw the entire first season in a couple of nights. Of course this isn't hard to do since there's only 6 episodes. And then the second season finally came out, and we blew through that one almost as fast. I hope the third season makes it to Hulu soon....

The Awesomes (on Hulu): An animated series created by Seth Meyers, who is also the voice for the main character. You'll probably recognize some of the other voices as ex- or even current SNL cast members. They're basically a "B" team of super heroes that muddle their way through saving the world. The first season has been on Hulu for a while, and the second season starts August 4th.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (on Hulu): I showed up super late to this party. Even after the show won a Golden Globe, I still didn't really consider it something I'd want to watch. It's not that I don't like Andy Samberg, I just, I don't know what it was. We ended up watching the pilot on my in-laws DVR last month, and we got hooked. Like two or even three episodes a night hooked. We blew through the entire first season in a couple of weeks, and now I want more! I may have been late to the party, but I'm really glad I finally showed up.

Better Off Ted (on Netflix): The husband came across this one while searching for a Brooklyn Nine-Nine replacement, and it's filling the void quite nicely. I remember seeing ads for this show when it was on the air, but never checked it out (maybe it was the name). Ted is the head of R&D at a large company, Portia de Rossi plays Veronica, his supervisor, and there's a bunch of supporting cast that you'll recognize from other things but probably won't be able to name (I had to look them all up, and that still didn't help much). It's definitely dark comedy and I kind of love it. There's even fake ads for Veridian Dynamics, the company they all work for, which reminds me of early Six Feet Under episodes, but without the death stuff.

And speaking of Portia de Rossi, we finished the final season of Arrested Development a few months ago, and ended up watching this A.D. documentary the other night on Netflix, and it was really good. They talk to the actors, fans, and other people that helped make the show and it was fascinating. It also made me want to watch the whole series again starting from the beginning. Which we may very well do after we finish Better Off Ted...

You may notice that were watching shows on both Netflix and Hulu. We've had a Netflix subscription for a long time, and I honestly don't remember when or how the streaming feature was added, but I'm really glad it's there. It was so nice to catch up on How I Met Your Mother without waiting for DVDs to arrive in the mail. We might be able to get by just with the streaming, but we find that there's still a good chunk of titles only available on DVD (like most of the Miyazaki animations - My Neighbor Totoro, Howl's Moving Castle).

I love Hulu for TV. We don't have a DVR, and it's been the best way for us to keep up with shows that we can never manage to stay awake for (e.g., SNL, the Daily Show, The Colbert Report, @Midnight). It's also how I've kept up with shows that I manage to miss when they're on during the week (e.g., New Girl, the Mindy Project).

Now it's your turn, are there shows you watch on Netflix or Hulu that you'd recommend?

$\"Along$ \n\n\nDid I ever mention we bought a Roku? We bought a Roku. A few years ago, actually. We even upgraded to a newer model earlier this year. I just searched and it appears I really have never mentioned the Roku. Wow.\n\nIt's pretty much how we watch TV now. I wouldn't say we were big TV watchers before, and I don't know that it's changed the amount of it we watch, just how we watch it. Which is a couple of episodes a night of a series that we both kind of like. \n\nWhat have we been watching?\n\nMoone Boy (on Hulu): Possibly our favorite. It's sort of like the Wonder Years, except the time period is late 80's/early 90's. In Ireland. In a very tiny rural town. And the main character has an imaginary friend played by Chris O'Dowd (you know, the guy from the IT crowd). It's really good. It's so good that we blew threw the entire first season in a couple of nights. Of course this isn't hard to do since there's only 6 episodes. And then the second season finally came out, and we blew through that one almost as fast. I hope the third season makes it to Hulu soon.... \n\nThe Awesomes (on Hulu): An animated series created by Seth Meyers, who is also the voice for the main character. You'll probably recognize some of the other voices as ex- or even current SNL cast members. They're basically a \"B\" team of super heroes that muddle their way through saving the world. The first season has been on Hulu for a while, and the second season starts August 4th.\n\nBrooklyn Nine-Nine (on Hulu): I showed up super late to this party. Even after the show won a Golden Globe, I still didn't really consider it something I'd want to watch. It's not that I don't like Andy Samberg, I just, I don't know what it was. We ended up watching the pilot on my in-laws DVR last month, and we got hooked. Like two or even three episodes a night hooked. We blew through the entire first season in a couple of weeks, and now I want more! I may have been late to the party, but I'm really glad I finally showed up.\n\nBetter Off Ted (on Netflix): The husband came across this one while searching for a Brooklyn Nine-Nine replacement, and it's filling the void quite nicely. I remember seeing ads for this show when it was on the air, but never checked it out (maybe it was the name). Ted is the head of R&D at a large company, Portia de Rossi plays Veronica, his supervisor, and there's a bunch of supporting cast that you'll recognize from other things but probably won't be able to name (I had to look them all up, and that still didn't help much). It's definitely dark comedy and I kind of love it. There's even fake ads for Veridian Dynamics, the company they all work for, which reminds me of early Six Feet Under episodes, but without the death stuff.\n\nAnd speaking of Portia de Rossi, we finished the final season of Arrested Development a few months ago, and ended up watching this A.D. documentary the other night on Netflix, and it was really good. They talk to the actors, fans, and other people that helped make the show and it was fascinating. It also made me want to watch the whole series again starting from the beginning. Which we may very well do after we finish Better Off Ted...\n\nYou may notice that were watching shows on both Netflix and Hulu. We've had a Netflix subscription for a long time, and I honestly don't remember when or how the streaming feature was added, but I'm really glad it's there. It was so nice to catch up on How I Met Your Mother without waiting for DVDs to arrive in the mail. We might be able to get by just with the streaming, but we find that there's still a good chunk of titles only available on DVD (like most of the Miyazaki animations - My Neighbor Totoro, Howl's Moving Castle).\n\nI love Hulu for TV. We don't have a DVR, and it's been the best way for us to keep up with shows that we can never manage to stay awake for (e.g., SNL, the Daily Show, The Colbert Report, @Midnight). It's also how I've kept up with shows that I manage to miss when they're on during the week (e.g., New Girl, the Mindy Project). \n\nNow it's your turn, are there shows you watch on Netflix or Hulu that you'd recommend?

Follow...