I Love Marginal Revolution, part 2

They point me towards this NYT article about the relative complexity of television narrative structures over time. As a longtime fan of "24", "Alias," and "The West Wing," this is really cool stuff.

MR adds visuals and pulls out the graf that cross-cuts the culture wars like a seasoned potato:

Instead of a show's violent or tawdry content, instead of wardrobe malfunctions or the F-word, the true test should be whether a given show engages or sedates the mind. Is it a single thread strung together with predictable punch lines every 30 seconds? Or does it map a complex social network? Is your on-screen character running around shooting everything in sight, or is she trying to solve problems and manage resources? If your kids want to watch reality TV, encourage them to watch ''Survivor'' over ''Fear Factor.'' If they want to watch a mystery show, encourage ''24'' over ''Law and Order.'' If they want to play a violent game, encourage Grand Theft Auto over Quake.

Finally, salt to taste with cheeky intergenerational warfare:

Ever notice that old tv shows and movies are boring? Why should this be? Were people more easily entertained thirty years ago? Were they dumber? Why yes, they were.

Delicious!