Readers, treasured and few, welcome to The Epinion. It is my goal to inform and direct your television-viewing habits, making sure that instead of watching Gilmore Girls and Full House re-runs, you actually gain something from that crappy box you bought at Target for $60. Heed my words, for I am one of the few who has hope for that wretched soul-sucking box we call TV.All of that may confuse you. You might be thinking that television hasn't ever done anything for you and it probably never will. But that's just not true. Television is the single media that has shaped the consciousness of our generation more than any other. While they may not be the memories that stick out, a lot of your memories were made in front of, or were related to, the television. Stories were told, discussions were had, friends were made, hearts were broken. Your televisual life is a life in itself. These seemingly insignificant stories, in a lot of ways, are a reflection of who you are. People who want to be popular watch what's popular. People who like sports watch a lot of ESPN. People who like music don't watch MTV. With that in mind, isn't it important to know and pay attention to what you're watching? Socrates said, "Know thyself." There is no better way.

We are at a critical moment in the world of television, a turning point. Not a crossroads, really, but more like a five- or six-way intersection. Within the networks, there is a push to make the most grandiose programming possible. The era of the sitcom is over; we have moved into a more complex, intelligent age. Spending more and more on Hollywood talent and special effects, a good network drama is more like a serialized movie than the episodic adventures of the past. And while some comedies still use the same tried-and-true storylines of decades past, shows like How I Met Your Mother and Burn Notice have found ways to put that episode-sized humor in a frame that ties the whole show together; a series of real moments rather than piles of interchangeable life-like scenarios.

At the same time, there is the digital movement. The Youtube revolution has changed our expectations of media. The individual has power now, more than he or she ever has. Don't like what's on? Make something better. If people like it, you might get a job making videos for some company, or maybe even in television or film. That said, media dissemination at this level has its disadvantages. First and foremost, 90 percent of Internet-only "television" is crap (Numa-Numa is not television.) Just because you have a digital camera, doesn't mean people want to hear about how last night's date went, how great your boyfriend is or what color your poop was. Also, lasting success is much harder to come by. What once was once a star's 15 minutes of fame is now five.

There are many more miniature movements I plan to track: cable elitism, censorship, the effects of downloading, the era of biased news, neo-classical game shows, serialized-commercials and more. And at the same time, many major pieces within televisual nomenclature have come to an end. Bob Barker retired. Law and Order, almost the longest running non-daily show, is on the verge of being cancelled. People have been waiting for the Simpsons to die for years, and most of the men who delivered the news to our parentshave moved on. And with their absence, a void has been left.

There has never been so much to watch and it has never been this accessible. Yet there has never been a more important time to be keeping your eyes glued to the television, because you never know if the next fad will become the voice of the next generation. For now, tune in, turn on and strap yourself in. It's going be a bumpy ride.