Hosting shows like this is where the Internet does its best work. Narrative web series’ are great, but these short-form documentaries about art and culture have real staying power. I want to say it’s because educational programming is easier to sit through in short spurts, but it’s also because art movements are so transient that, unless you’re fully immersed in it, the Internet might be the only way to keep up.  D.I.Y. is particularly compelling because a majority of its episodes (thus far) are about the very American past time, skateboarding.  It’s a culture that has only been around for 60 years or so, but one that has always had an intrinsic relationship with art.  And to see that association acknowledged by the likes of Tony Hawk, Tommy Guerrero, Harmony Korine, and other hugely influential pop icons is just so totally (for lack of a better word) rad.

What I like about the Skate + Create episodes are that they address a subject that extends beyond skateboarding: they draw attention to art as an adaptive movement. For skate culture, adaptation relies on its reaction to ‘mainstream’ attention. What once was social-suicide is now a trend-setting sport. (Before seeing this series, I had no idea that skaters in years past were bullied for doing what now seems so commonplace). When art sells out it’s forced to adapt or it dies, and the impressive thing about skate culture is that although people like me might see it as “the all-American past time” it has somehow maintained its integrity, though it might have something to do with it’s get-back-on-the-board-and-persevere mentality. The best part is it has done so without sacrificing its core values, all of which you’ll have to discover by watching the show.  I guarantee that in the 20 minutes it takes to get through them, you’ll be looking at every crack in the sidewalk with a little bit more respect.

Catch the first episode below (give it time to load!), and if you want to see the rest, go here.

In providing the complete programming guide for Internet television, Clicker is focused exclusively on two core user needs: navigation and discovery.  That is, finding what’s available to watch online and where it’s located, and helping you discover new programs that are worth watching.  (When it’s time to watch, we direct you to the content owner’s own website.)

When we launched Clicker last November, our focus was almost entirely on navigation, in the form of search and browse.  We’d spent nearly a year in stealth mode building those core products and their supporting technologies.  As a result, the content of our homepage reflected our narrow focus: a search box, a list of categories, and limited display of important new shows of the day.  Many of our discovery features were hidden from sight.

Now, just over three months after launch, we’re launching a new version of our homepage that not only offers more to discover each time you visit (while keeping search front and center), but also lays the groundwork for the social, personalization, recommendation and management features we’ll be launching in the next few months.  In fact, some of the things you see today with the 2.0 homepage will morph automatically as we roll these features out, based on your activity and that of your friends on Clicker.

We have tested this new design for a few weeks now, and the sentiment from both new Clicker users and veterans alike was, “Much better.  Launch it.”  And so we are.

Most of the new aspects of the page are self-explanatory, but here are the deets:

Classic TV shows are constantly moving online, allowing their fans to relive the glory days whenever they want. Sports fans, however, seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes to finding classic games to watch online. While ESPN Classic allows you to re-live great games on their schedule, the idea of watching any classic game online and on-demand is tantalizing.

This week, an exciting first step was taken towards that future as the NCAA posted 150 classic March Madness games from the last decade.  With the 2010 tournament fast approaching, it’s the perfect time to catch up on some of the best games in recent memory.

5) Auburn vs. Syracuse, 2003 Sweet 16: Carmello Anthony’s only season at Syracuse led to a national title and his coronation as the country’s the best young player not named LeBron James.  But everyone forgets that getting to the title game that year meant surviving an unreal shooting performance from Auburn. In the game’s final 78 seconds they gave every Syracuse fan reason to worry by hitting four 3-pointers and bringing the game to the last play.

4) George Mason vs. UConn, 2006 Elite Eight: After years of hoping that a Cinderella team could make it all the way to the Final Four in a sixty-four team field, it was unlikely George Mason that put it all together. In the final win of their stunning run, they met a top ranked UConn team that led by 12 at the half.  Fast forward to the halfway point to watch George Mason take control.

3) Villanova vs. Pittsburgh, 2009 Elite Eight: Since winning the NCAA title as an eight seed in 1985, Villanova had not returned to a Final Four.  In this classic battle for a final four spot, Nova’s Scottie Reynolds is forced to go the length of the court in effort to break a tie against a strong Pittsburgh team led by Sam Young.

2) Kansas vs Memphis, 2008 National Title: National title games are frequently the least exciting game of the tournament, but when Mario Chalmers hit a stunning last second three pointer to force OT, this game was elevated to classic status.

1) Gonzaga vs. UCLA, 2006 Sweet 16: While the game may be forever remembered for Gonzaga forward Adam Morrison’s emotional breakdown afterwards, the final minute ranks with the best March Madness games of all time.  Perennial underdog Gonzaga came out on fire, up as much as 17 in the first half and continuing to hold the lead into the final minute.  Watch as UCLA fights back with a full court press for the ages…

Bonus Reason to Watch: The game is called by Gus Johnson, without a doubt the most over the top and enjoyable close game announcer in sports.

The Clicker office has fans of UCLA, Kentucky, Texas, and Villanova and each team has been involved in some memorable, if sometimes heartbreaking games this decade.

March Madness begins with Selection Sunday on March 14th and continuing rapid fire with the always-crazy first two rounds of games taking place over four days from March 18 – March 21st.

Full Schedule:

Selection Sunday…………………….March 14

Opening Round Game……………..March 16

1st Round…………………………….March 18-19

2nd Round…………………………..March 20-21

NCAA Sweet 16…………………….March 25-26

Elite Eight…………………………..March 27-28

Final Four…………………………..April 3

National Championship…………April 5

There’s been a lot of guff thrown around about NBC’s lack of online Olympic content, primarily its insufficiency of live coverage. The argument is valid. A fan living on the West Coast, Vancouver’s time zone, should be able to watch an event as it’s happening, at that moment, on TV. NBC kind of dropped the ball with that one. And If NBC can’t juggle live content on television then there’s not much hope for live coverage online. But as the Olympics come to an end, I’ve noticed something: viewers like me still got our (free) money’s worth… via the internet.

Don’t get me wrong, I love watching the world’s finest athletes compete under the world’s most intense pressure, but I hardly have time to dedicate the necessary few hours to my television set as it is, much less if NBC covered everything all the time. So I’m going to take this opportunity to stop focusing on the half-empty glass and start thinking about what’s really inside it. The moments most of us look for when watching the Olympics are those heart-stopping big-ticket wins or losses. And this is where the grass gets green: almost all of those moments are posted online. If you missed an amazing trick, or an outstanding feat, or an all time world record breaker, you can catch it all online.

If the exciting bits are what you’re looking for, you really don’t have much to complain about.  The shortage of full-on Olympic coverage is made up for with video news briefs, second-hand discussions, and NBC’s own collection of interviews and highlights. It even looks like NBC is getting the hint, as it posted The US-Switzerland Hockey Game Live online yesterday afternoon (more from NewTeeVee). This is awesome, because even if I know the outcome of an event, I’m going to want to watch it, just for the sake of witnessing greatness. So quit whining! You can watch Bode Miller take Gold without having to sit through the daunting stress of his pre-race jitters (talk about efficiency!). Everything you could possibly need to keep yourself up to date with the biggest Olympic events are available online. And that’s really all that this Olympic fan could ask for.

See? It feels good to focus on the positive. (You’re still allowed to writhe in hopes that NBC steps up its Olympic game in 2012)

Before you read this, you should know that this post might inspire jealousy:

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to attend Crackle.com’s American Cinematheque event at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. Crackle’s first original series, The Bannen Way, 16 Web-episodes in length, was thrown onto the big screen as a full-length movie. And it looked fantastic. (You can check out my interview with creators and cast at the bottom of this post).

If you’re not already there, here’s the first reason why you should be feeling the pangs of envy: my experience last Friday was bigger than a screening for a well-written, skillfully-shot series about a con man gone good. What I really saw was the materialization of the Web colliding with film. Sure, I’ve seen Web shows screened as full length movies before, and it’s not news that aspiring filmmakers turn to the Web in hopes of gaining credibility as directors and screenwriters… but for The Bannen Way crew this dream is actually becoming a reality. This screening was living proof that the lines between the online and theatrical mediums are blurring. That’s a pretty incredible thing to witness (commence jealousy).

The Bannen Way has come across some serious Web success, having wracked up way over 8 million streams since it’s online debut. It’s an amazing feat for co-creators Jesse Warren and Mark Gantt, because although Sony-backed Crackle opened a lot of doors for the duo, Bannen Way was their first ever Web project. (See? If you weren’t jealous before, you are now). This won’t be the last we see of Mark and Jesse. If they could land names like Michael Lerner, Robert Forster, and Michael Ironside for Bannen (all of whom raved that the riveting script is what brought them on board), just think of what they’ll be able to pump out next time around.

Crackle is hoping to meet similar success with their newest original series, Trenches, a sci-fi thriller created by Shane Felux that focuses on what war might really look like in the future. Rest assured: Trenches is not your typical “pew!-pew!”-instant-death-at-the-hands-of-a-laser-gun sci-fi battle.. this is full on filthy warfare, and that’s part of the point. Content creators want to look credible, and Felux has made a distinct effort to tweak a pre-conceived genre toward authenticity.

It looks like Felux’s hard work has paid off. We got a sneak peek of Trenches at the screening on Friday, but it’s online now so you should definitely check it out for yourself!

If you made it to the bottom of this post without skipping straight to the video, congratulate yourself, because you’re my favorite reader. But without further adieu, get a glimpse of my Friday night at the Egyptian:

Search Within has been an important feature on Clicker since our November 12 launch, letting you narrow the episodes within a show guide to just those that match the terms in your search. (Like searching for “Warren Buffett” within Charlie Rose.)  Now we’ve expanded Search Within to let you search for more types of information – for example, a certain character name, recipe or punchline – in more places on Clicker, from categories like Comedy to media pages like TV or Movies.

Here’s a short video we whipped up to explain how Search Within helps you find programs more easily:

View on Vimeo.

And here are more examples of when/where you might find Search Within useful on Clicker:

Search Within a Category: Say you are on the Comedy category page (Home > Comedy). Just type “Kimmel” into the Search Within box on the Comedy page and the first show listed changes from Saturday Night Live to Jimmy Kimmel Live. You could also use Search Within inside a category to find a show with a specific character name or topic, like “Liz Lemon” (first result turns into 30 Rock).

click to enlarge

Search Within a Show: For example, when on the South Park show page, you could search “Obama” and narrow the episode guide down to the only the one where they make fun of Obama.  That happens to be the one titled About Last Night.

Finding Interview Guests: Search Within has always shined within an Interview show like Charlie Rose. Now we’re even better at narrowing the results to the right episode by allowing you to search for more specific information. Let’s say you wanted to check out Charlie Rose’s interview with Barack Obama back when he was just a senator. You can type “Senator Barack Obama,” and in a split-second, the field is narrowed down to only the 7 episodes where that moniker applies. (You may even notice the results changing on the fly as you type, without having to click the search button. A small little feature, but one that saves you time!)

click to enlarge

Finding Topical Content: What Super Bowl XLIV videos can I watch? Who’s talking about the iPad? What’s the latest on Haiti? You can now use Search Within to find shows about a given topic, limited to just the shows in a specific Category such as Sports, Technology & Gaming, and News & Information.

Finding Recipes: Say your favorite cooking show is My Recipes TV. It has hundreds of episodes’ worth of recipes. Unfortunately, the only thing in your refrigerator is some turkey, and you have no idea what to do with it. Type “Turkey” in the Search Within box, and you’ll immediately find recipe suggestions from My Recipes TV that reflect your real life options.

This is just the tip of the iceberg for how much easier Search Within can make it to find the right online program, right now.  (And as you know, that is our mission in life!)  So please, give it a whirl and send us your feedback.  You may even use for something we haven’t thought of yet – in which case, please let us know in the Comments below!

Good news everybody!

NBC.com and The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien have put most episodes online for free. That’s 73 episodes of Conan’s now historic, 7 month stint as the host of The Tonight Show. Let me repeat that: SEVEN MONTHS’ WORTH OF THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH CONAN O’BRIEN. FREE. You can easily sort through them all on Clicker, and can even search for your favorite episode by guest. You can find all the available episodes on our Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien page. Enjoy!

UPDATED: NBC has taken down every episode of Conan. Hope you were able to catch a few while they were still available!

Today we’re pleased to announce Clicker’s first partnership with a major university: UCLA.

Many universities have begun to put proprietary video content online, for the benefit of both students and the general public. Whether it’s course lectures, sporting events, or symposiums, a world of wonderful, high-quality programs is emerging from academia that is every bit as good, and useful, as shows you might find on non-fiction cable channels. Clicker intends to make it just as easy to watch an Oceanography lecture as we make it to find an episode of Seinfeld. (Here and Here, btw.)

For their part, UCLA has two major priorities when it comes to online programming: 1) Making it dead simple for UCLA students to find UCLA video content; 2) Helping their students find and watch *legal* full-length programming on the Web.  (In fact, it was the Motion Picture Association of America who originally brokered the introduction between UCLA and Clicker in the hope that we might do something together in this vein.)

So, as of today, you’ll also find a Clicker-branded widget front-and-center on the UCLA student portal, http://my.ucla.edu. This widget will provide direct access to UCLA content indexed by Clicker, as well as to the 600,000+ TV shows, Web originals, movies, and music videos in our online programming guide. After searching through the widget, users will be taken to a co-branded Clicker/UCLA site: http://www.clicker.com/ucla. (Careful, if you visit this page you’ll have to clear your cookies to return to “regular” Clicker!)

We look forward to helping UCLA achieve their objectives, while at the same time giving all of our users access to a new library of shows they’ll enjoy.

Stay tuned as we expand this program to other schools over the course of 2010. And if you represent a school we are not working with yet, please visit our University Program page for more information.

Today is the special premiere of MyDamnChannel’s Easy to Assemble miniseries event: Flying Solo. The quirky comedy, about a group of Ikea employees, is premiering a three-episode arc set within a plane bound for Sweden, where new co-workers, relationships, and bitter rivalries come together for a flight full of entertainment and comedy.

Clicker got a chance to go behind the scenes during the filming of this special event and interview stars Illeana Douglas and David Henrie. Check it out:

View on Vimeo.

Easy to Assemble stars Illeana Douglas, (Clicker fan) Justine Bateman, David Henrie, Tim Meadows, and Ed Begley, Jr. You can find the new episodes right here on Clicker.

The Envelope, Please: Announcing The Best of Clicker 2009 WINNERS

It’s a new year and a new decade. Before you get too excited about the future, however (i.e., all the awesome shows you’re gonna find on Clicker this year), let’s pause briefly to take a look back at the best programs of 2009, according to you, our users.

For those of you who are new to Clicker, here’s how it worked: Voting ran for the last three weeks of December, in 16 different categories. Over 150,000 votes were cast (nice!). After we recovered from New Year’s, we tallied up the votes.

So without further delay, we present the winners of The Best of Clicker 2009. Congratulations to all!

Best TV Show Comedy or Variety – Chuck

We just can’t help but root for the underdog! Computer geek turned secret agent Chuck has won your hearts (and your vote!) for the best Comedy on TV.

Finalists: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Office, Glee, Community.

Best TV Show Drama – House

He’s the medical Sherlock Holmes of network television, and six seasons later he’s still got it. Catch this Clicker Award winner every week from FOX.

Finalists: Lost, Dollhouse, V, Grey’s Anatomy.

Best TV Show Nonfiction – Intervention

Intervention is the A&E show that challenges addiction with the intention of persuading its participants to volunteer for rehab. The show’s characters might have to face some tough choices, but it certainly wasn’t tough for you voters; Intervention takes home the Clicker Award for the best non-fiction program on TV.

Finalists: Project Runway, The Rachel Maddow Show, Nova, Pawn Stars.

Best Movie Available Online – Bottle Rocket

Wes Anderson’s 1996 debut was a cult classic…and apparently still is. Owen and Luke Wilson make their acting debuts as well. (CEO’s Note: This is one of my 10 favorite movies of all time, but I did not fix the vote. You all just have great taste.)

Finalists: Super Size Me, Ghostbusters, The Hunt for Gollum, Taxi Driver.

Best Web Original Comedy – Legend of Neil

It’s a gamer’s dream (literally). Neil’s transportation into his favorite video game is as funny as it is foul. And for once it looks like the gaming nerd is the most popular guy in the room (or in our case, the running).

Finalists: Safety Geeks: SVI, Life with Kat and McKay, The Temp Life, Blue Movies.

Best Web Original Drama – Compulsions

What if, instead of repressing your impulses, you acted on them? That’s exactly what this web series thriller is all about. We’re glad you didn’t repress your vote.

Finalists: Anyone But Me, The Fall of Kaden, After Judgment, Angel of Death.

Best Web Original Nonfiction – The Web Files

You were smart to vote for this one if you love web programming. Why? Because this weekly news and interview series is all about everything web. Why choose anything else when you can vote for the show that covers it all!? Very clever, voters.

Finalists: Zero Punctuation, Brigitte Dale, Hungry Nation, A Comicbook Orange.

Best Web Original Music Show – Fader TV

Acoustic performances at an open bar, interviews with the best indie rockers around, and rock hard coverage of traveling tours and concerts of all shapes and sizes… if you love music, you love Fader TV. (And it looks like you love music.)

Finalists: The Blakroc Sessions, They Shoot Music, The Artists Den, Daytripping.

Best Music Video Collection – Taylor Swift

This country pop sweetheart has been tugging at the American heartstrings all year long, so it’s no surprise that she takes home the Clicker Award for having the best music video collection online.

Finalists: Kanye West, Lady Gaga, The Lonely Island, Royksopp.

Best Live Show – Live! From The Future with Stuart Paap

We just love that genre called comedy, but we love it even more when it’s live! This unique web comedy is equipped with interactive segments for its online audience amidst interviews and sketches galore. If that’s not the future of web television, we’re not sure what is.

Finalists: This Week in Startups, Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show, Coin-Op TV, @katiecouric.

Best Technology Show – Gadget Lab

It’s hard to keep track of technology at the rate it’s moving these days. Gadget Labs exists to keep track for you with the latest news and product updates… and after tallying the votes, it looks like it’s greatly appreciated.

Finalists: TED Talks, Tekzilla, Mossberg Solution, The Apple Byte.

Best Show for Kids – Spongebob Squarepants

If you don’t know who Spongebob is, you’ve got to be living under a rock (which is, oddly enough, also where his best friend Patrick resides). A favorite for kids and kids-at-heart alike, this underwater pants-toting sponge emerges victorious for the best kid’s show available online.

Finalists: Batman: The Animated Series, Iron Man: Armored Adventures, Strawberry Shortcake, Arthur.

Latest Favorite Viral Video – David After Dentist

Kids say the wildest things… especially after getting loaded on painkillers at the dentist. “David After Dentist” wins best viral video of 2009.

Finalists: JK Wedding Entrance Dance, “Bale Out” – Christian Bale Remix, The Swell Season Featuring Jason Segel – 11/18/09, Lego Matrix Trinity Help.

Best Sketch Troupe – The Casual Mafia

It’s a pleasant surprise that this sketch comedy troupe isn’t comprised of video-after-video making fun of the Mob. And although the temptation to utter that Scarface original, “let me introduce you to my little friend…” is massive, it doesn’t look like you need any introduction to this video-slingin’ Mafia – you voted it in for best sketch troupe of 2009!

Finalists: Good Neighbor, Craptastic, Pete and Brian, Waverly Films.

Best of What You Didn’t Know Was Online – Buffy The Vampire Slayer

A cult series in the late 90s, Buffy might have laid the groundwork for today’s Vampire fanaticism. And though you might have thought it was shunned to spend the rest of its days in a DVD box set, consider yourself enlightened. This was your favorite of what you didn’t know was online. So get watching!

Finalists: The Andy Griffith Show, Veronica Mars, Spaced, The Larry Sanders Show

Most Wanted Online – Battlestar Galactica

There are few fans like BSG fans. You have spoken, and you have spoken loudly. The Internet has a gaping hole where Battlestar Galactica should be. Let’s hope this science fiction drama about rebellious robots and the fate of humanity ends up online in 2010… or we might have a major revolution on our hands!

Finalists: Mad Men, The Wire, Dexter, The Big Bang Theory.

We’ve also added finalists in each category in the awards page, so make sure to check those out (Start here). Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to all our users for voting so much!

Killian