Something unexpected happened last week while I was watching NBC's The New Normal, which after four episodes has distinguished itself as the best new sitcom of the fall season.
The Norman Lear Center gets its name from a man whose belief in the power of entertainment to degrade and to do good, to demagogue and to uplift, to be both gloriously silly and urgently relevant, made him an industry pioneer.
All I remember of my brief meeting with Bea Arthur is this: I told her that she was fantastic, and she said with that famous deep voice, "Thank you, David." Thank you, Bernice.