After all, as a former editor of mine used to say, "Television is what brings us together."
But with hundreds of channels to choose from, it's also increasingly what drives us apart, sending us into separate rooms to indulge tastes that aren't exactly universal.
Given that no one can keep up with every development in the free-for-all that's been the fall season so far, here are some possible talking points. Just remember that drumsticks aren't for hitting and that not even the long end of the wishbone is going to bring your favorite canceled show back from the dead:
* So who'd have guessed that fairy tales do come true? Cynics might point out that ABC and NBC both belong to companies that also own theme parks, but there has to be more than corporate synergy involved in the success of "Once Upon a Time" (8 p.m. Sundays, 6 ABC) and "Grimm" (9 p.m. Fridays, NBC10), both of which premiered later in the fall than most of the lineup and each of which has already been picked up for the full season.
"Grimm," whose ratings get graded on a curve because it's on Fridays and on NBC, will also get a tryout at 10 p.m. Thursdays on Dec. 8. Of course, that's the time slot where NBC's all-but-canceled "Prime Suspect" has languished all fall.
* And speaking of "Prime Suspect" - a show I'm really going to miss - would NBC have been better off not even attempting to link this better-than-average cop show starring Norristown's Maria Bello to the beloved-by-PBS-viewers British drama it barely resembles?
