Taking series television seriously makes some people cringe, of course, the ones who 'never watch TV' or 'only watch PBS,' who bemoan the new commitment to covering TV by highbrow-ish magazines such as The Atlantic and The New Yorker. When TV writers use the word 'narrative,' those people roll their eyes. But there was a time when novels, too, were considered beneath cultured individuals. The value of truly outstanding TV shows, many of them products of auteur producer-writers such as the Davids  Simon, Chase, Kelley, Milch, and Larry  is undeniable. As vibrant storytelling, they yield more meanings the more we explore them, withstanding years of reassessment. They elevate the medium, despite the forces  incendiary and pandering reality and news shows  that damage its reputation.

So it's time for the next step: What should last? Which TV series belong in our canon, elevated to an honored position like the 'Great Books' of the past, highlighted for future viewers and TV creators to watch and study? TV shows no longer disappear into the ether, as they once did, a trace of memory dying out with a generation. Digitized, they stay available seemingly forever, destined to exist as 'content' somewhere in the future  online, on devices, on demand, maybe on the chip in our brains. Which series do we, the people of the first century of recorded, audiovisual fiction, want to have a long-term shelf life  to be the 'Pride and Prejudice' or 'House of Mirth' or 'Vanity Fair' of TV?