Tis the stream-son to be jolly. Hu-lu-lu-lu-lu…You get the point. Happy holidays, everybody! TV is dead this week without a lot of series putting new episodes out there, so the main way to handle that is to wade through the wrapping paper until you reach the Internet. The Internet is your friend. You know who has a lot of friends? This guy.
Pee-Wee’s Playhouse - The Entire Series
Regardless of whether or not Paul Reubens and Judd Apatow’s Pee-Wee Herman feature ever gets released, the world will forever have all five seasons of the still-fabulous Saturday morning series Pee-Wee’s Playhouse to revel in. A vibrant and surprisingly sophisticated series with imagination and noise as its driving forces, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse transitioned the childlike bow-tie-wearing big adventurer Pee-Wee into a TV star that made millions of children jealous of his afternoons filled with cartoons, talking furniture, a genie, a hottie with big hair and Laurence Fishburne as a cowboy. Keep this show’s generational momentum going.
All five seasons of Pee-Wee’s Playhouse can be found on Netflix Instant, along with the star-studded excellence that is the Christmas special.
X-Men: The Animated Series - The Entire Series
Though it arguably wasn’t as good as DC’s 1990s animated series, the former Fox Kids program X-Men: The Animated Series is still probably my favorite of all the Marvel cartoons. (I admittedly don’t keep up.) This action-swamped madness delivered on all fronts, both with original storylines and comic-originated arcs. And when you’re tired of seeing Jubilee ruining things, you can hop over to Hulu’s other recent Marvel offerings, such as Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Spider-Man: Unlimited, Iron Man: Armored Adventures and Superhero Squad. You won’t save the planet sitting on your ass and watching Wolverine and Gambit do awesome shit, but you aren’t trying to destroy it either.
All five seasons of X-Men: The Animated Series are currently available on Hulu Plus.
Dead Like Me - The Entire Series
Ten years after its cancellation, the former Showtime series Dead Like Me remains criminally underseen, much like everything its creator Brian Fuller (Wonderfalls, Hannibal) develops. The darkly comedic drama starred Ellen Muth and Mandy Patinkin (among others) as grim reapers who take the souls of people near death, and inevitably involve themselves into those people’s pre-death lives. Often with hilarious and unexpectedly deep results. Props also go to Cynthia Stevenson as the main character’s mourning mother. If you’ve never seen Dead Like me, do it now. Because as we learn time and time again, you never know when you’re going to go.
Both seasons of Dead Like Me are available on Hulu Plus.
Stargate SG-1 - The Entire Series
The Honorable Woman – Season 1
Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas
All Hail King Julien – Season 1
The Addams Family -The Entire Series
