"Star Trek" expands almost instinctively - the more information you seek from it, the more it gives. It also has the benefit of taking place in our future, our mutual destinies as occupants of a peaceful, non-polluted Earth.

I'm a fan of half-hour shows that can be both funny and dramatic.

My first few years as TV critic, I would go to parties and people (usually older Posties or ex-Posties who seemed to pride themselves on not watching very much television) would take me by the arm and insist that I watch this show they'd recently starting watching on DVD, about drug dealers in Baltimore.

While I don't like violent programs per se, I do like good storytelling, which made me a fan of shows like Breaking Bad and American Horror Story.

In fact, when it comes to TV, I'm not even sure what my real, true preferences are.

In the end, all critics should be guided by this one principle: Is this piece of work [TV show, movie, play, concert, album, restaurant] succeeding at what it set out to do?

I'm not much a TV reporter, as in someone who covers the daily machinations of the television industry, though I certainly follow it and weave it into my reviews and essays about the medium.