TVShows automatically downloads your favourite shows
Originally downloaded May 3, 2007. Now, I'm not going to recommend TVShows, because it's illegal to torrent actual TV shows, isn't it? But wait! TVShows doesn't actually download the illegal content, folks. It just searches for the available torrents and keeps you updated with them as they come up. So, say you want to subscribe to
American Idol---I know! Just say you do, OK?--you select it from TVShows friendly interface, tell it what quality you want and how often it should check for torrents, and it'll make sure your torrent client gets the messages.
I'm testing it now, and we'll see. Unfortunately, I don't have time to watch TV, so the networks definitely aren't going to lose money on me.
Version as tested: 0.3.4.
Updated 8/14/12:
This free, open-source software is now up to version 2.0 and appears to be quite stable. I've tried it out by subscribing to three shows, and I'll have to wait to see if my torrent client (Xtorrent) actually picks up the files and downloads the shows, as promised. TVShows installs as a System Preference pane, and it has a very easy interface for selecting and subscribing to your favorite shows. The list of shows is quite extensive. TVShows also has integration with Miro, a video (mostly) podcast client. And I'm pleased to report that TVShows does exactly what it promises. It's a dream way of getting your favorite TV shows regularly via your torrent client. I had some trouble importing the HD downloads into iTunes, so I've just been using the regular def versions, but other than that I highly recommend TVShows as an easy alternative to using NetFlix or iTunes/Apple TV.