Time and again the New York Times Media and Advertising section reminds me how much I'm ensconced in my own bloggy, hipper-than-thou little universe. Here I was thinking that the zeitgeitsiness (quadruple word score!) of old school three-camera laugh track sitcoms had been weakened by the single-camera tag team of Really Serious Dramas and Meta-Comedies That Are Better Than You. Apparently, however, traditional sitcoms are still kicking ass.

"30 Rock" on NBC is a new-economy sitcom. It's very funny — even about turmoil in the Asian markets — but its ratings are still mediocre. (Last week's episode was beaten by a rerun of "Grey's Anatomy" on ABC.)

Old-economy hits like "The Big Bang Theory," "Two and a Half Men" and "How I Met Your Mother" on CBS are more successful than ever, suggesting that nowadays network viewers prefer comforting comedy to high-wire satire. And accordingly CBS is replacing its one offbeat, Seth Rogen-ish sitcom, "Worst Week" on Monday nights, with the return of "Rules of Engagement."

Tellingly "Rules" is the most conventional sitcom of all, the only CBS comedy that is centered on a long-married couple.

I feel like I should get off television's lawn…