Ever see the video Shovel in Head? It’s three seconds of pure gold, proliferated via Internet in the mid 90’s. Title summarized plot: kid 1 sits on rock, kid 2 smacks kid 1 on the head with a shovel. It was the sort of easily-digestible, universally funny clip that made you say “Whoa. There are videos on the Internet? Awesome.” YouTube soon followed and became a sensation. Now, following in that viral video lineage comes NBC’s new video Web site, Hulu.com
Hulu is a much cleaner site, lacking the visual clutter of YouTube or Blip.tv, with a simple interface. Registration is free, and aside from the probing questions about your education level and household income (i.e. “What crap do you want us to try to sell to you?”) Hulu is no different than signing up for an e-mail account.
Hulu’s near-endless content makes signing up worthwhile. In addition to the YouTube style clips of shows like Family Guy (“How’s that novel coming?”), Hulu offers full TV episodes, movies and sporting events. If you want to watch “The Big Lebowski” but lack the DVD and hate hearing Walter shout “Do you see what happens when you have fun with a stranger in the alps?!” on the TV edit, Hulu is your place. Click on The Dude and get 2 options: watch one full length movie trailer get The Dude battling Nihilists and Porn Kings without interruption, or skip the trailer and watch the film with 15-second commercial breaks. Either way is light years better than TV.
Once you’re into your given TV show or movie, Hulu’s video player gives a plentitude of viewing options. You can switch from small to large screen, play the movie in a separate window, even “lower lights,” which dims the screen surrounding the video for easier viewing. Hulu’s video resolution is higher than YouTube, and although the sound is watery at times, overall Hulu plays cleaner than other sites. Some clips are even available in HD. Add into the mix full episodes of “The A-Team,” and “The Office,” films like “The Usual Suspects,” and BCS Bowl Games (among many others), and you get a functional and worthwhile offering from Hulu.com.
So now we have Shovel in Head’s great-great-grandchild, a Hulu-hosted SNL skit called “People Getting Punched in the Face Right Before Eating.” Again, title sums plot, and again, it’s pee-your-shorts funny. So what if you have to watch a 15 second clip for Sprint phones before the fun starts? For better quality, full films and TV shows, Hulu.com is well worth the price. .
