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Golden Age of Television | March 23, 2007

My fiancee, Claire's, parents saw Janis Joplin on stage. Janis Joplin, of course, was a part of a select group of rock and rollers who personified what many consider to be a golden age of rock and roll, that period that seems to get kick started by the arrival of Beatles and ended by the abrupt departures of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and others. Claire's parents have their story of seeing Janis Joplin perform, and I'm riveted by it whenever I hear it. Apparently, we are living through a golden age at this very moment: a golden age of television. Don't believe me? Well, ask Ira Glass. So we're living though a golden age of television. What I'm wondering is... am I fulfilling some kind of civic duty by watching as many hours of tv as possible each week? Does this mean that my seven-day-a-week, sun-to-moon habit is actually edifying? I am beginning to think so. In fact, I'm starting to think of myself as a steward of history. I am a PhDVR whose main capacity in the future will be to regale my descendants with stories of the kinds of great things that were on television. I imagine a conversation going something like this:

Child: You mean there were more than 40 hours a year of this show called American Idol?
Me: Well, you've gotta keep in mind that those were wild and reckless times.
Child: And this Seacrest guy?
Me: Strangely captivating. Not especially funny but he definitely had something.
Child: You mean frosted hair?

This April, the Golden Age continues with the returns of Entourage, The Sopranos, The Shield, and the conclusion of this season of Lost, which I feel is as strong as ever. So of course, I'lll be there for the big shows, but are there some small shows that I'm missing out on? I will do you the favor of inviting you to check out Top Design. It isn't quite as compelling as Project Runway, but it's far better than Top Chef. My friend, Olivia, has suggested to me that what separates Project Runway from Top Chef is that you can validate the work on Project Runway but not on Top Chef. You have no way of knowing how the food prepared on Top Chef will taste, but you know what clothes you like. The validation theory works for Top Design, too. You can look at a room and tell whether you like the way it looks or not.

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