I think those are extremely valid points, Josh. I have pondered this before, in a number of ways, in how not merely the stories themselves, but the means of telling them have impacted the way we hear those stories, and learn from them.

I think perhaps culturally we have sped things up to such an extent that we haven't learned how to incorporate patience into them--for instance, a show like Heroes. The writers rightfully felt that to keep audiences around (since so much competing media is luring them away) they needed a good season finale. And they provided one for the first season. But what they didn't do was figure out how to make that finale just one small finale within a larger framework. Instead they took an almost season-by-season episodic approach, whereas what was truly needed in such a show was a mounting plot, wherein one finale leads to the next, in a coherent manner. I would maybe cite the first few seasons of the X-files to show how this can be done well; and conversely, the last few seasons to show what not to do...

In any case, I think that our technology and media is maturing faster than we are, and it's a problem, but I have no doubt that someone will find a way to right it. Look what Pixar did for Disney movies....

Actually, Paul, while the acting and dialogue and all that was quite good in The Sopranos, I felt that the overall plot--the multi-season plot--was rather flimsy. Not as flimsy as Lost, though. Lost may have had some over-plot that I'm just missing, but to me it seemed that the writers were impatient, introducing us to the Others much too soon and then floundering, uncertain what to do next. In an effort to create dynamic characters, they have instead created a cast of haphazard, inconsistent characters who rarely act out of consistent motive or even sensible self-motivation. I was quite enamored of the first season, but after that the show has lost me, no pun intended.

I think what I left out of the above post is the inability of writers these days to exercise patience. A good plot should be sustained to the breaking point. Take the Office for instance. Season Two was much too soon for Pam and Jim to kiss. I think of an earlier show, Northern Exposure, which exercised far, far more restraint and kept that sexual tension running between its two leads much, much longer.