Allegory of the caveman

"We've been told that we're living in a new golden age of television, and suddenly we're expected not only to watch but to read essays, think about, and discuss one-hour nighttime dramas like Desperate Housewives and Dollhouse. Watching these shows is like joining the Masons, requiring the memorization of arcane trivia, the parsing of cryptic plot twists, and near-fanatical loyalty."
—Grady Hendrix, "Boxed In," Slate

A useful corrective: Watching the precious few episodes of Cavemen on YouTube!