I have to admit, as a lifelong fan of the cinema, that some of the best cinema I have been privileged to see in recent years wasn't in movies per se, but on television.
Having recently re-watched episodes of "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" and "Game Of Thrones," I come away from the experience reminded that -- despite what Marshall McLuhan opined -- the medium is *not* the message. Only the message is the message. Both TV series contain some of the best writing, plotting, direction, and acting I have seen in recent years. For example, even if the Emmy Awards do not notice, I can think of few better performances in recent years by an actor than Viva Blanca as Ilythia or Sean Bean as Ned Stark. Both of their performances are transcendent of the characters they play, and their inner qualities. I repeat my "movie crit" thesis. A great movie is the counterpart of a great short story. There just is not enough time in a two-hour movie to do justice to a great myth or story. But television! In the wrong hands, it can be the lowest of artforms. In the right hands, it can be the highest.
