Ok, I guess I'll spam this thread with my "insights" into modern television in lieu of starting my own thread ( bit arrogant for me to consider, but what can I say ).
The Americans, one of tv's great triumphs, final season premiere starts tonight. Some of the tv shows of late have beautifully demonstrated the power of story. Take Boss - the protagonist in Boss ( the mayor of Chicago ) is a clear demon, NOTHING redeeming about him, a pure bastard through and through. YET - we still "root" for him since the story is being told from his vantage point. We all LOVE stories ( take the enthusiasm for this forum's story - people have even sworn off Bakker, now that's emotion! Not dropped it for lack of interest, but "betrayal" ).
The American's makes a contribution in kind. For those who don't know the show, it's about "regular Americans" who are actually soviet spies based in early 1980's. I grew up during that time and remembered the paranoia that any of our neighbors could be spies. As an American watching it ( I take it a Russian's viewing may be different - would be cool to learn how one would watch it ), my "nationalism" was stronger than my love of story as I was "rooting against" the protagonists for the first couple of seasons. And as I connected with the characters, my evolution for "rooting" for them only evolved to the point I now wish they suffer no harm, but still "root against" their missions and hoping they always fail. I learned our nationalistic world view trumps story, which is fascinating to me.
Fucking phenomenal show, highly recommend it - if you give it a go, have to get past the first season. It's good, but it gets WILD during the second season and thereafter. One of the best shows ever made, it's gut wrenching, realistic/plausible ( tiny bit of the fantastic, but just enough to make it fun - could be too stale without a little "luck" and maybe a tad too much "exceptional training" ... but who knows, maybe there are people walking around who can take in all human details around them with amazing efficiency/accuracy ). This one will be sorely missed.