Battlestar Galactica

Are you a Battlestar Galactica fan on a limited budget, or perhaps you do not get the SciFi Channel in your area? Then have no fear, for ITunes loss is your gain.

Previously fans could purchase BSG episodes from the ITunes site after they were shown on the SciFi Channel, but earlier this year SciFi’s parent company Universal removed all of its material from ITunes in order to support the launch of a new web venture called Hulu.com.

Hulu went beta last fall, and I was among the lucky folks who got to try out the site during its building period. It’s fast, easy to navigate and offers a surprising number of options that include canceled television shows and the occasional full movie. Universal, which owns the SciFi Channel, has been a strong partner and advocate of Hulu which gives fans hope that Season Four episodes will be posted there after they are broadcast later this Spring.

Currently there are five full episodes of BSG available on Hulu as well as some special features. “Dirty Hands,” “Maelstrom,” “The Son Also Rises,” and both parts of “Crossroads” can be watched instantly once you join Hulu’s membership. There are also over 83 clips of interviews, excerpts, and other material for perusal as well as the entire first season of the the classic version of the show.

There is a treasure trove of non-BSG material on the site as well. Folks who have always wondered why people refer to Joss Whedon’s short lived space western Firefly as a “masterpiece” can get their fill of Chinese curse words and gun fights by watching all fourteen episodes on Hulu. There are also full episodes of Eureka, The Office, as well as older shows like Fantasy Island and Doogie Howser, M.D.

More content gets added to Hulu every week, so it will be interesting to see how the site grows now that the writers’ strike is over and original television episodes are becoming more common on the air. The first two episodes of USA’s new show Canterbury’s Law are on Hulu, as are the first four episodes of Fox’s New Amsterdam. Let’s all hope that the new BSG episodes will be on Hulu by this time in April.