"Don't sit so close to the TV!" Heed those words, oh dedicated television watcher. Keep far away from the TV. In fact, turn around and stare at your computer instead: More and more providers are releasing TV shows for free, legal viewing online. Great for TV junkies, or those who just want something good to watch with a bowl of popcorn. Whether you prefer new shows or old, turning the channel is now even easier, thanks to free online TV shows.

With few exceptions, most providers make you watch a commercial or two during a playback of a television show; they've got to make money somehow. But 30 seconds of interruption is nothing compared to the eternity of prime time commercial breaks.

ABC.com gives us popular streaming TV shows, currently advertised as free until June 30. Watch from previously broadcast episodes of "Lost", "Desperate Housewives", "Alias" and "Commander in Chief".

From our friends at AOL, watch episodes from 1960s to 1990s TV shows. They include pretty diverse options, from 1980s comedies like "Perfect Strangers" (a personal favorite) and "Head of the Class" to those like the science fiction epic "Babylon 5", or the fist-flailing, flying-feet of "Kung Fu".

Watch vintage, classic TV shows online like "Andy Griffith", "The Beverly Hillbillies", "Bonanza", "The Three Stooges", and a slew of old-time commercials and TV clips.

Perfect for those with diverse tastes, or those without a TV: Watch free streaming online TV. In addition to English-speaking entertainment like Sci-Fi, cartoons, comedy and music, you'll also find news, sports, fashion and educational channels. When your motto is "Free Online Television Channels From Around the World", your options go beyond English. Get streaming TV shows in Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Chinese. Not impressive enough? There are over thirty languages to pick from, including Greek, Croatian, Latvian and Dutch.

Is there a catch? Sure, but nothing too horrible. Some providers will offer free TV shows, with the option to spend money to download episodes for later watching, access more shows, remove the commercials, or view the video full-screen instead of a reduced size. With others, you'll put up with intermittent commercials or ads surrounding your video.

Overall, this is one new technological innovation where the consumers (that's us) win. TV is so ingrained into our culture, we're used to long commercial breaks and putting up with mediocre (or worse) programming. Now we've got the option to watch a lot of popular and classic shows whenever we want, with far fewer commercials than on TV. Goodbye, remote control. Hello, mouse.