If you have never watched streaming video on ABC.com, then now might be a good time to start. The 2007-2008 WGA strike caused many shows to take an untimely break right in the middle of their story lines. ABC is touting the return of new episodes for some of their most popular shows. To get you in step with what they are calling the new spring season, they are letting you play catch up online.

Generally, ABC.com only offers the most recent four episodes for viewing online. However, for the shows that will have new spring episodes, they are providing episodes all the way back to the season premiere. Since none of these episodes are on DVD yet, this may be the only way to view them legally right now unless you saved them all up on yourDVR. The shows will be returning with new episodes in April are:

Samantha Who?, April 7
Boston Legal, April 8
Desperate Housewives, April 13
Brothers & Sisters, April 20
Ugly Betty, April 24
Grey's Anatomy, April 24

ABC's site is more user-friendly than some others I've used. The first thing you may notice is that the ability to watch video is featured front and center. The bright red button linking to the Full Episodes page is right on top to the right of the ABC logo. The rest of the buttons along the top are black so you can't miss it. There is also a button linking to the Full Episodes under the box that flashes ads for upcoming episodes. In case you miss those two, there is also another button at the bottom of the page. It is apparent that ABC believes the main reason a viewer goes to the network website these days is to find a link to an episode she missed, and they are willing to oblige.

The player itself pops up in a separate window. It requires that you install a plug-in on your computer. I've installed it on several Windows-based PCs and it hasn't done anything strange to them. According to the website, the plug-in works on Macs, as well. However, if you are a non-US fan, you will be out of luck as the site only works for US viewers.

Like most sites offering free video, your viewing is ad-supported. In ABC's case, this means that there are three commercials in an hour-long show and two in a 30-minute show. The bright side is that they are scheduled at regular intervals instead of popping up at awkward times. Another boon is that many times you only need to watch part of the commercial because the "Click to Continue" link usually pops up before the commercial is over. It took about 30 seconds after the initial commercial for my show to start, but then it ran smoothly after that.

My favorite feature of the ABC player is the episode carousel. If you choose to keep the video window at its default size, then you can see thumbnails for all the available episodes of the show under the window. Go down further and you can see thumbnails of the other shows that are on offer. This makes it easier to switch to another show without leaving the player.

ABC.com's streaming player isn't perfect, but at least ABC is trying to provide what their modern audience wants. I've been visiting the site since 2006 and it has been tweaked a lot during that time. I applaud ABC for attempting to improve the viewing experience.