As you may know, networks were an important 20th-century innovation, “broadcasting” simultaneously to the entire country via something akin to a primitive, nationwide Wi-Fi system; they also pioneered many of the entertainment forms we enjoy today on streaming services and premium cable, from serial dramas to situation comedies to talk shows. And they still offer many hours of programming a week on special occasions, these shows are even allowed to be nominated for Emmys. You may have seen advertising for some of them during commercial breaks on major sporting events.
I decided to spend the week watching network television. I found myself in a curious, archaic world, a world where crimes are solved in less than an hour, rather than over four or five seasons; a world where you can hear invisible people laughing uproariously when a character on a comedy makes a joke, even when the joke is only so-so; a world where people know what N.C.I.S. stands for. I kept a diary. I hope you will find it useful, should you at some point choose to venture into this world of network-television-watching yourself.