I would argue that the production values of a show are irrelevant to whether or not it's entertaining. Well, as long as it's passable. I don't want to see someone's hand holding up the plane that's getting shot down on 24. But, even then, it's just because it breaks me out of my suspension of disbelief.

It's all about the writing and acting, from my point of view, on TV. WIth the advent of HDTV, I think we'll start to see the direction come more to the fore, but not yet, really.

Of course, there's also taste to be accounted for, and while I'm sure that you all loved The Sopranos, it bored the ever-living crap out of me. I'm sure the same can be said by you about things that I love.

Anyway, I'm rambling, but judging a show based solely on production values is pretty short-sighted. I mean, there's no reason that How I Met Your Mother couldn't be shot like Annie Hall, but it would still be crap. In fact, high production values may be self-defeating. Networks cancel shows not only based on their ratings, which directly translates to revenue for the show, but also on how much it costs to produce the show. Veronica Mars may have lower ratings than The Black Donnellys did, but I'll guarantee you that it costs a third to make.