Remember when television was dismissed as a passive medium? I do, and every time I write a next-day review of a new episode, I grin as I recall those bygone days. Watching TV used to be a mindless experience to be shared with only those in the room (often just oneself); thanks to Twitter, Facebook, and blogs, it has become a group activity, practically a hive mind. On Sunday, TV’s blockbuster night, I decide which of the evening’s notable shows to watch live and which to DVR for later: This spring, the prime pickings included Sherlock, Game of Thrones, Once Upon a Time, Girls, Veep, The Killing, The Borgias, and The Good Wife. I keep my laptop open to see what other people have to say about them as they air; for a TV critic who can’t be everywhere at once, social media is like an amateur wire service. Then I settle in to watch Mad Men, a drama I review each week for New York’s Vulture, and any lingering doubts that I’m living in TV’s most exciting, engaged era dissipate like cigarette smoke.
http://nymag.com/arts/tv/upfronts/2012/matt-zoller-seitz-2012-5/