Legitimating Television explores the increasingly prevalent idea that TV has gotten better. This notion, circulating in the popular press, the TV industry, and media scholarship, typically references shows like The Sopranos and new technologies like DVRs and HDTV sets. Across these sites, the cultural legitimation of television highlights the medium's rise in status from its previous reputation as the idiot box to a more respectable level, especially among cultural elites. But there are troubling ideological implications to this, as the upgrade of television's status comes at the expense of...