But ignoring TV is like trying to ignore a 2-ton elephant.

The networks have gotten into trouble when trying to show nudity, so the other avenue to get viewers is to increase the violence.

For a long time, no one ever wanted to admit that television was anything but this horrible, horrible contagion in society.

For a long time, we only asked questions such as, 'Does TV make kids stupid? Does TV make kids violent?' So the field was understudied.

You see people taking storytelling more seriously, ... Shows like 'Lost' and '24' have complex narratives you couldn't think about doing in film.

are much more artistic and vibrant now than the cinema.

Sadistic is the only word to use for some of these shows.

The study resonated because I was writing at a time when people were making amazing predictions about new technologies, such as computers -- saying they could save us from everything,

They are always terrorized and chased by sadists and psychos,

disproportionately the number of crime victims in movies and television.