What I’m Watching On The Tube These Days

17 Jun, 2005 by John Hawkins

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One the most fascinating things about TiVo is the way that it allows you to absolutely consume a TV series. Take a 30 minute show that runs 4 or 5 seasons for instance. TiVo records multiple versions of each show, each day and if you regularly watch the show, you can easily go through the whole series in a couple of months. Because of that, shows like “Futurama, “Family Guy,” & “The Simpsons” are old news for me now.

Anyway, here are my current 10 faves on the tube:

1) Samurai Champloo
2) Sealab 2021
3) The Venture Brothers
4) House
5) South Park
6) WWE Raw
7) WWE Smackdown
8) CSI
9) The Shield
10) Angel

I’m cheating a bit there because I’ve started watching the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” series from the beginning using Netflix, which I’d highly recommend by the way.

Typically, I receive a movie in the mail on Monday, watch it, put it in the self-addressed stamped envelope Netflix sent and mail it off Tuesday, then on Wednesday Netflix receives it, and on Thursday I have another movie in hand.

Furthermore, not only do they have Buffy as well as other TV series that aren’t syndicated anymore like Highlander, Hercules, & Xena, that have lots of movies you can’t go pick up at the local Blockbuster (which is 20 minutes away each way for me now). For example, I’ve got The Street Fighter on the way, which is a killer movie — well, if you like seventies chop socky flicks (and I do). Here’s a short review:

“The Street Fighter is a classic ’70s exploitation film that first introduced American audiences to Sonny Chiba, earned the first X-rating (equivalent to NC-17) for violence and established Chiba as the most charismatic martial arts star since Bruce Lee. Clearly inspired by the gritty yakuza films of the day, it features Chiba as an unrepentant antihero who ends up doing the right thing, but the wrong way by leaving behind a bloody trail of cracked skulls, gouged eyes and castrated rapists.”

Now, that’s a sweet martial arts flick….