::A Geek in Korea::

Some companies are slowly realizing their is a “Worldwide” part to the “World Wide Web”, and they are slowly making their video based entertainment available on it. I’m deeply appreciative of this effort.

South Park and The Daily Show have two of the best websites ever. I love both of the shows, and I’ve been watching them since their beginnings.  They have nearly all of their content available, streaming, for free, accessible online. Who needs to worry about a few pesky advertisements (as long as they are optional and unobtrusive) when the entire archive of a show is available, for free, online? This is such an easy, and awesome solution, and I’m happy that the American Media companies are slowly “getting it.”

I’ve heard rumors South Park isn’t available everywhere yet from people scattered around the globe. It’s still rolling out in The UK and Australia, and possibly other countries, but Korea is up and running now! Wee!

Making things easier to connect to, easier to watch, yet possibly advertising supported is one way to beat piracy and yet not make everyone hate you in the process. I’d rather watch The Daily Show when it was released, but waiting a day for it to be added online is an acceptable compromise now that the entire archive of the show is available for viewing anywhere.

South Park has been one of my favorite shows for the past few years, but digging up older episodes was harder to do. Now if I want to watch a show, I can check out their website and see anything they’ve done. If the point of making a television show is to promote a point of view, or to entertain, then the only way that is accomplished is by making it available for viewing to as wide an audience as possible.

MSNBC’s politcial coverage is top notch. I like Keith Olbermann’s stuff, and I’ve been watching Countdown and other MSNBC programs because they are available, streaming, online. CNN got removed from my cable package. There is no English language news source ON television anymore, so if I want to keep up with politics or news, MSNBC’s video player was the single best, easiest source for news I could watch online. CNN might have videos, but it’s not organized by show, or topic, so why bother sorting through it all? MSNBC’s organization blows CNN’s out of the water.

These are websites that “get” it. I’m so appreciative of the effort, I’d be MORE willing to support something they’d do monetarily, even though they are giving things out for free.

I’ll have to again state my hate for Hulu.com, which is stupidly unavailable for use in Korea. This website puts television shows online, but kneecaps their service by making it only available to Americans in the continental USA. Most broadband users in America probably appreciate this, but over here in Korea, land where American television goes to die, it’s a total waste. I’d love to discover new shows, and would even tolerate watching some advertising to do it, but I’m not afforded the option.

It works for MSNBC, South Park, and The Daily Show, but not Hulu? Why not?

A few months back, I borrowed “Darkly Dreaming Dexter” from a friend in a book swap. He highly recommended the title as a unique crime drama style novel. I don’t read crime drama, and other than The Shield, I don’t watch crime drama either.

I read Darkly Dreaming Dexter in a two day marathon session over a weekend. I thought the novel was interesting in theory, but ultimately unsatisfying in execution. The protagonist was not worthy of sympathy, and I didn’t find his version of vigilante justice admirable at all. The angst stuff was way overdone, and the glorification of murder left me off put. The potential was there for a lot more than what was done.

It was unique to read something from a “killers” point of view, but it didn’t seem real, but more of an excuse to write gore. It wasn’t my cup of tea. The ending of the novel was awful. I wouldn’t have read another in the series. I got all my “crime is solved with a vengeance” kicks out reading Batman as a kid. It doesn’t do too much for me now.

Today, a few of my plans fell through, so I didn’t have anything better to do other than check out the Dexter series on MegaTV. I had heard that the series was good from the same people that recommended the book, but the Totally Rad guys didn’t like it much. I watched the first two episodes today, and I’ll probably watch a few more.

It’s not a BAD show, but it’s not that impressive either. Is it better than a CSI or other procedural drama? Sure, but so is watching paint dry. This is more of a anti-hero story than a crime procedural anyway.

I almost wish I hadn’t read the book, because I know where the story will go at the end of the season, and it’s going to suck. The first two episodes made it through 50% or more of the book. There are some differences, like Dexter’s victim in the first episode NOT being a abusive priest, and a few “extra” kills to keep the episodes from dragging along. It’s interesting enough that I’ll watch a few more episodes to give it a chance.

It’s odd. For a show about death and murder, there weren’t any shocking things in the first two episodes. The Shield manages to shock me every single episode, but this dark and edgy show with a serial killer is more murder-porn than poinant and unsettling.