So, I really want to see this new Paul Giamatti special about John Adams. It premiers on Sunday night on HBO. Except, I don’t have HBO. My first inclination was to just add it, but it’s $12 a month. Granted I would get ALL the HBO channels, but I really don’t need it, and I dread calling Cablevision for any reason. Plus, this is only a 7 episode mini-series.

So, my choices are:

1. Suck it up, get HBO, pay the damn $12, then cancel.
2. iTunes - Hope HBO puts this show on iTunes. From what I can tell, HBO doesn’t have an agreement with Apple, but some shows have appeared from time to time. iTunes as of this writing, does not list HBO as a studio they offer. Cost: $2 per episode.
3. Amazon Unbox - I’ve tried it before and hated it’s HDTV unfriendly format. But they do offer HBO shows for download. The problem is, how quickly will they appear, if at all? Cost $2 per episode. HBO also not listed in the TV Show section.
4. Hulu/Joost - Carries TV shows, but not HBO, and from the looks of it, it takes a while for the latest episodes to get online. Cost: Free.
5. BitTorrent - I can set up a tracker to catch every John Adams episode and probably have them within an hour of them airing. They will be in HD and can be converted to my iPod, PSP, or played directly on my 360. Convenient, fast, no restrictions.

Now do you wonder why the pirates are winning?