We are often told that we are living in a golden age of television, and it is not difficult at first sight to see why people might be tempted to such a view: production values, acting and screenplays have probably never been higher, but in my more jaundiced moments I ask myself what does all this mean? That the sex is more graphic than before and the violence more violent than before? Is there any attempt to understand what is happening in America and the West? None that I can see, no suggestion that it's about time for all of us to grow up.