It's almost meaningless to compare pop cult eras. Every period has its shit, its treasure, its mediocrity. As far as TV goes, HBO is creating most of the imaginative, quality programming that you can find, while the nets wallow in "reality" squalor, much of which caters to the worst part of ourselves. Sadly, the latter reaches more people than the does the former, and this must have a deteriorating effect on those who consume it (based on what little Prof. Perrin has sampled). That's why I always laugh when I see a Partnership for a Drug Free America spot -- as if "reality" shows and local "news" are less harmful than a hit off a joint.
I agree with Joanna on one thing -- you don't see the kind of absurdist & odd programming now that you saw during the 60s. Imagine getting "The Addams Family" on today. Hell, I fear that Tish, Gomez, Fester and Lurch are far too conservative and tame for an audience conditioned to accept anonymous people being cheated, ridiculed, made to perform demeaning acts all in the pursuit of whatever fleeting video exposure they can get. In fact, the Addamses are upstanding, solid citizens by comparison, and as any programmer or producer will tell you, that don't move product.
America, free yourself! Watch reruns of "Green Acres"!
DP