Time Warner Cable lets subscribers view shows they couldn't watch live up to three days later

A new episode of one of your favorite shows was on last night. What if you not only couldn't watch it when it originally aired, but you managed to forget to program your DVR to record it? For Time Warner Cable subscribers, viewing that episode is now as easy as clicking a couple of buttons on your remote thanks to the new Look Back feature.

The pay TV provider has just rolled out the new service for select regions, with a more complete roll-out promised by year's end. Any subscriber with a digital cable box -- a Time Warner DVR isn't even necessary -- can watch shows from a range of channels up to three days after they originally aired, so you don't need to go to the Internet, or the on-demand menu, to hunt them down. If they're even available there.

Look Back complements Time Warner's Start Over features, which lets you begin a current show from the beginning if you start watching in the middle of it. But there are a few usual caveats. Only 48 channels will be supported initially, half of them in HD. Unlike a DVR recording, you won't be able to fast forward through the ads in a Look Back show. And, of course, the option won't be available past that 72-hour period, though your shows may still be available through the Primetime On Demand or HD Showcase On Demand features.

On the other hand, Look Back is free and is the type of innovation cable companies need to deliver as more people decide to cancel their subscriptions and get their programming elsewhere. It might keep you on the couch instead of getting up to go to the PC to watch Hulu.com instead.