You’ve Seen the TV Show, Now Surf the Web Sites

FrontlinePBS’s “Frontline” regularly turns out incisive and fascinating documentaries, each of which is accompanied by an impressively deep microsite. These are more than just brochureware; they feature extended interviews, articles, charts, essays and reference materials. You could spend hours in any one of them, whether you’re interested in Hollywood, the Clinton years or global warming. They’re well-designed and content-rich, and great examples of how old media can get the most out of new media.

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Not So Vast Wasteland

ScrubsTelevision is a heck of a lot better today than it has been at just about any time I can remember. This includes the glory days of my youth when networks actually thought they could pass off the likes of “Matt Houston” as quality entertainment and people would go for it. Everybody loves “The Sopranos” of course, but I’m equally wowed by “The West Wing,” and I’m probably more impressed by this season’s newly initiated “Scrubs” than just about anything else. That said, I really, really have to stop watching TV, because it stills sucks the energy from one’s soul mercilessly.

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