2012: The new Golden Age of television

A Tory resides in 10 Downing Street and a Democrat in the Oval Office. International Wars are being fought in Asia. A Culture of Fear exists within the civilian population due to International political tensions. Television has never been better. This admittedly vague and brief description could refer to either the year 1952 or 2012.

1952: Harry Truman leads America into The Korean War and, as always, Britain gives them a helping hand. The Cold War has now been long-established and the threat of Mutually Assured Destruction lies awkwardly at the back of everyone’s minds. However, within the next five years, eyes and ears of Americans and Brits alike will be soothed and sharpened by such magnum opuses as _Alfred Hitchcock Presents_ and _The Twilight Zone_ – Television’s historic “Golden Age”. This is as much I have garnered from a History GCSE and endless _Mad Men_ re-runs.

2012: Global Financial Crisis. Threats of terrorism are common and prominent. Nick Clegg is in a position of power. Dark times indeed. But with a touch of a button we can be transported to the lands of Westeros, where dragons find maternal figures in the form of naked albinos and ginger women give birth to murderous ghosts. With a click of a mouse that-guy-from-_Malcolm-in-the-middle_ becomes a Chemistry teaching drug lord. Strangest of all, a single DVD can make Chevy Chase seem funny.

Indeed, television on both sides of the Atlantic has never felt more robust and vital then it does today. A-List directors such as Michael Mann (_Heat_), Guus Van Sant (_Milk_) and Martin Scorsese (most good films) have all found homes and happiness exploiting the unique possibilities of television. Whereas films require a short two-hour story arc, predictable plot-twists and character transformations, television series allow directors and writers to build up their story-line and character progressions over several hours’ worth of episodes. It is more realistic and it is more involving.

This year’s array of smart, involving drama shows has been as appetite-wetting as the Marks and Spenser adverts that intersperse them. The second season of _Game of Thrones_ has been a runaway success, earning plaudits outside of the typically high horny-15-year-old-boy demographic. Mad Men has once again proved that an hour watching Jon Hamm pout and January Jones blush is an hour well spent. _Homeland_, the show that makes Jack Bauer seem un-cool, has provided more twists and turns than an entire series of _Strictly Come Dancing_. Meanwhile up in Scandinavia the Danes have had word-of-mouth successes with clever-as-they-come dramas _The Killing_ and _Borgen_.

In terms of comedy, _Fresh Meat, Veep_¸ and the final season of _30 Rock_ have been more chuckle-filled than the royal response to Gary Barlow’s latest knighthood attempt. The wave of support for sit-com-of-the-moment Community, when the NBC bigwigs threatened it with cancellation is a testament both to the show’s laugh-so-hard-you-wet-yourself hilarity (this didn’t happen to me…I swear) and the loyalty of its cult fan base.

Such is the magic of television at the moment. I can honestly say that I am more excited for Aaron Sorkin’s (_The Social Network_, _The_ FRICKING _West Wing_) latest drama _Newsroom_ than I am for the next _Spiderman_ film or Michael Bay’s latest explosion-fest. Similarly the _Sherlock _finale was far more of an event than that time I finally got round to watching _The Artist_. This year, television has become not only compulsive but compulsory. Remember the days when TV was just _Friends_ re-runs and _Jeremy Kyle_? Now there’s good stuff as well.