My youth was the era of "My Mother the Car," "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "Gilligan's Island," and the idea that television could be serious art seemed laughable. Sure, there had been a "Golden Age" of television in the 1950s, with shows like "Kraft Theater," "The Honeymooners" and "Your Show of Shows," but those days seemed long past. Yet here we are today in a second Golden Age when it's possible to argue that the once-derided medium of television has emerged as the most vibrant and exciting art form of the 21st Century.

I'm getting a little tired of the annual post-Academy Awards gripe fest. Smart criticism and thoughtful suggestions on how to improve the Oscar telecast are always welcome, but the knee-jerk moaning and groaning has got to stop. Especially annoying is the automatic complaining about every host -- which seems to stem from the fact that nobody can replace the late Bob Hope or Johnny Carson in the role, or Billy Crystal when he was at the top of his game. It negates whatever impact critics may have and makes so many of their remarks seem pointlessly generic. In other words, …