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Why Hulu and Marvel.com Are On My List! (And Not The Good One...)

Saturday, 14 November 2009 00:00

Written by howefitz

(0 votes, average 0 out of 5)

I've mentioned before how we don't have any kind of television service in our home. In this age of streaming video, seriously, who needs it? So, naturally, one of our favorite outlets for entertainment is hulu.

At hulu, you can find just about everything you want with limited commercial interruptions. Instead of a two minute commercial break, it's around thirty seconds. Or, in some cases, you're allowed to choose a roughly two minute 'long-form' commercial before your program, and then enjoy your show commercial free! Score, right? Well, most of the time...

The reason we choose to stream television shows is essentially to give us more control. We're not worried about our kids being advertised to, per se, it's just that we don't want them seeing things that they're not ready for, such as 'M' (Mature) rated video games and images from horror movies and the like.

For the most part, hulu is great. But sometimes, while watching a classic episode of She-Ra or X-Men Evolution, you could possibly be subjected to images from the 'M' rated Dead Space, Grand Theft Auto, or Halo 3 ODST. Same thing goes for if you just go to the 'Family' channel and watch something there. Whatever the hot commodity that they're advertising is, that's what you're going to see.

As for Marvel. com? My wife was horrified one day when she tried to watch The Super Hero Squad Show from the video link at Marvel.com and was subjected to a trailer for the 'Saw' video game. Let me repeat that. Super Hero Squad, the cute little squat versions of Marvel heroes, what my three year old refers to as 'Baby Shwoos', brought on the 'Saw' trailer. Really? That would be like if I was watching 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood' when I was little, and it was sponsored by Freddy Krueger. Luckily, Super Hero Squad does have their own site, where the commercials lately have been for Pokemon. I can deal with that.

Now, if you were watching these shows on broadcast television, you'd be assaulted by commercials for sugary cereals and toys, but the 'M' rated games and horror previews would come much later in the evening.

By way of talking from both sides of my mouth, I am not suggesting some kind of internet regulation. As a blogger, I enjoy the freedom to say what I want when I want, and I've always been a huge supporter of the first amendment. (There's a reason it comes first, after all.)

But there's also a time and a place for anything. Advertising 'Saw' to my three year old is about as far from appropriate as you can get. What I'm suggesting is that these sites should better screen their advertisements, and place them with the appropriate target audiences; before someone does start calling for regulation...

What do you think?

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written by ciara, November 14, 2009

i think it's all about the benjamins, baby. not gonna matter what 'type' of advertisement as long as they pay top dollar. but i agree with you, i don't think mature advertisements should be placed on kids' shows or websites. i also think that they figure most of their demographic is over 18, so that could be the issue as well.

p.s. japanese spiderman is awesome! lol

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written by Daddy Files, November 14, 2009

I'm sorry, I read "we don't have any kind of television service in our home" and I blacked out after that.

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written by ciara, November 14, 2009

lmao @ daddyfiles

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written by howefitz, November 14, 2009

@ciara - Japanese Spider-man does rule! Anything with an unexplainable robot assembled from other robots in the middle of an unrelated story is OK by me! As for your comment about the Benjamins and demographics, I understand, but it's along the lines of the disclaimer of the Sesame Street old school DVDs claiming that they are 'for adults only and may not meet the needs of today's preschooler'. Do they really expect nostalgic parents not to want to introduce their kids to the same things they liked as children? I enjoy giving my toddler a Sesame Street without Elmo, I'll explain why Cookie Monster smokes a pipe and doesn't eat veggies, thank you very much. What I can't explain is why a zombie is suddenly jumping out at you while watching Pink Panther cartoons. Am I alone in this?

@Daddy Files - I know, right? But I get along fine. I still keep up with my favorite shows, and I'm not into sports, so I don't really have a need to catch things as they air. Plus, TV actually upsets me with how much time one can actually waste on useless garbage...

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written by Daddy Files, November 16, 2009

Plus, TV actually upsets me with how much time one can actually waste on useless garbage...

Actually, that's why I need the TV in the house. Don't get me wrong, I need to watch sports and the news (which is my profession) but more than anything, I need a little escape at the end of the day. After the kid is taken care of and in bed, I need something mindless for an hour or so to unwind. I want to be entertained and escape just for a little while. TV provides that.

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written by howefitz, November 17, 2009

I'm not bashing the act of watching TV. I definitely understand the need for escapism and entertainment. I just ran through the entire first season of the Big Bang Theory in a day.

What I don't enjoy is how there's a half-hour of commercials in an episode of SNL, for example. Or at least 8 minutes of advertising in a half-hour comedy. That's why I enjoy sites like hulu: 30 second commercial and I'm back into my chosen fantasy realm. Seems a lot more sensible to me!

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written by Joeprah, November 17, 2009

I think that commercials should be regulated somewhat since there are definitely more mature issues being talked about in the Viagra commercials than in a toothpaste commercial. I for one can't stand all the commercials being aired during sporting events that revolve around male genitalia. If they want to throw those commercials on say after 8:00pm that's fine, but seriously why do my young kids need to have conversations with me about the uses of Cialis and Viagra and why a someone could have an erection for four hours. Yes on the Saw video game as well. Although we are fighting against advertisers and folks receiving money from advertisers, not an easy battle.

Also, Hulu is awesome. I love how you can embed clips based on time frames in the video that you specify.

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written by eyesofbabes, November 17, 2009

We too got rid of our main television - the one all the living room furtinure pointed toward for years. We have a small one over to the side for DVDs but we get no television service. The kids watchs less TV but, they still watch quite a few videos - at least we can control that and they are not subject to commercials. They haven't watched much streaming TV yet so I will brace myself for inappropiate commercial interruptions when they do start asking to watch this or that on the computer. I definitely watch my shows on the computer but I don't spend nearly the amount of time I used to spend in front of the TV screen. The best thing about no TV and the fact that our computer is monopolized by my wife and is slow to boot (the computer, not my wife :-), has been the fact that my piano playing has improved and I've read much more.