I never would have thought to buy it for myself, but my family chipped in to get me this thing and it's kind of a gas! I was a little freaked out by having to get into the whole "ipod subculture" but it turns out there's some oddball stuff out there. I have no interest in buying the latest episode of THE OFFICE on itunes, but there's some bizzaro stuff to be found on google video and archive.org. I downloaded an episode of the silent serial THE EXPLOITS OF ELAINE, for example.

So does anyone know any websites or services (legal, of course) where one can download movies or TV shows that are a little more cult oriented?

D.

Well, there's always the old standby:

Internet Archive


This is a French animation site:
Catsuka
(lots of anime clips & whatnot, but lots of other stuff too)


There's some overhead for this site (download app install, player), but it might be worthwhile:
Zudeo
I think you can download or save the files.

Anything on YouTube can be downloaded and converted into m4a videos that will play on an iPod:

http://javimoya.com/blog/youtube_en.php

There is also UBUWEB where you can find Buñuel's UN CHIEN ANDALOU, Yoko Ono's EYE BLINK, and several dozen more infamous short films to download and convert to iPod compatibility with a program such as MoviesForMyPod, etc.

Thank you, Gentlemen! My first stop was the internet archives, which basically has everything you might find on DVD at a dollar store, but all in one place and - you know - free. It really is a great resource. They also have tons of old radio shows, so I'm sure I'll spend the next year following the adventures of Speed Gibson.

I'll check out those other sites as well. I know there's some good stuff out there and it's really only a matter of time before much more becomes available. I'm not at all interested in simply watching movie trailers (who does that?). Oddball short films seem to be the best option - less eye strain.

D.