Online TV series offer the good, bad and really ugly

As a TV critic, there's one question I'm asked more than any other: "How is 'According to Jim' still on the air?" (Because no one's figured out the right mix of garlic, holy water, silver bullets and Latin incantations to send it back to the dark realm from which it came.)

But the No. 2 question is a little more timely: "Is there anything worth watching right now?"

Thankfully, this summer's full of good TV. It's just that most of it isn't on TV.

Being able to watch episodes streamed online is nothing new. I wrote about what the networks offer on their own Web sites back in February 2007. But since then, sites such as Hulu.com, Fancast.com and Veoh.com that offer a wide range of current and past series have helped turn your computer into a better version of TV Land. (Assuming your computer is new enough and preferably a laptop -- you don't want to be stuck at a desk for hours on end -- and your modem is fast enough and preferably wireless -- again with the desk thing.)

If you're wondering who'd want to watch TV on a computer, especially in the days of 42-inches-and-up flat screens, you're obviously not familiar with "Gossip Girl."

The CW drama has become a sensation, whipping tweens and teens into a full-on, OMG-it's-like-Miley-Cyrus-and-the-Jonas-Brothers-had-babies-and-they-grew-up-to-be-really-mean frenzy. Yet it averages roughly 2 million viewers and rubs elbows in the Nielsen ghetto with 10-year-old reruns of Fox's "Breaking the Magician's Code."

It turns out most of those young fans had been watching the episodes on The CW's Web site. With five episodes left, the network stopped streaming "Gossip Girl" to boost its ratings, but they remained pretty much the same. Apparently, today's youth would rather miss their favorite show than watch it on an actual TV.

But you don't have to be young, on the cutting edge, or even know what The CW is to get the most out of online viewing. The three sites I've been spending the most time on seem to be geared mostly to Generation X.

Hulu.com, a joint venture from NBC and Fox, offers series from their vast libraries, including current hits such as "The Office" and "House." Veoh.com and Fancast.com, meanwhile, borrow a lot of the Hulu content while adding series from the likes of CBS and MTV. (I mostly stick with Hulu when I can. Fancast has an annoying yellow bar across the bottom of episodes in the full-screen player, and I can't seem to get Veoh's full-screen player to work at all.)

So what's out there?

A handful of episodes, full seasons, and even multiple seasons of everything from some of the best series ever made -- "Hill Street Blues" and "St. Elsewhere" -- to some more offbeat selections -- 24 episodes of something called "The Munsters Today," for example -- that must be seen to be believed. (One look at the opening credits, with a new cast and theme song -- "We went to sleep many years ago, and we woke up with a brand new show" -- should suffice.)

There are classics -- "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "Mary Tyler Moore" -- and curiosities -- the infamous "The Dana Carvey Show," with Carvey's horrifying impression of a lactating Bill Clinton nursing puppies.

There are cult favorites -- "Arrested Development," "American Gothic" and "NewsRadio" -- and great series that never got a chance -- "The Tick," "Firefly" and "Kitchen Confidential."

There are shows that will transport you straight back to the '90s -- "Beverly Hills, 90210," "Melrose Place" and "Party of Five" -- and shows that are symbolic of earlier decades -- "Miami Vice," "The Rockford Files" and "I Spy."

There's even the "Family Ties" with Tom Hanks as alcoholic Uncle Ned and the "What's Happening!!" where Rerun bootlegs the Doobie Brothers concert. And a lesser site, In2TV (television.aol.com/in2tv), has the "Growing Pains" where Matthew Perry dies after drinking and driving. Now, the only thing missing from my childhood memories of "message" episodes is the "Diff'rent Strokes" where Dudley gets molested.

The gone-but-not-forgotten WB network is even being reborn online. Now in beta testing (you have to register and wait about a week for a password), the site is expected to be fully functional in August, offering many of The WB's former shows, including "Gilmore Girls," "Veronica Mars" and "Everwood."

Online viewing is showing no signs of slowing down, especially as gadgets that will hook your TV to the Internet get better and cheaper.

Until then, boot up your computer and get ready to watch the summer away.

Just be sure that if you go wireless, you get your router encrypted.

You don't need your neighbors knowing you stayed up until 3 a.m. watching that Dana Carvey sketch.

Christopher Lawrence's Life on the Couch column appears on Mondays. E-mail him at clawrence@reviewjournal.com.