One of the first things that writers are taught is that they should show, not tell. The mind's eye, when skillfully primed and given half a chance, will take a reader wherever you want her to go. So it's not surprising that working in the visual media is so much fun for writers. When we have all those talented directors, cinematographers, editors, sound technicians and actors helping us tell the story, we get so good at it that you can hardly believe your eyes. They free us from the task of painting the scene and allow us the room to play freely in the fields of information and ideas. As far as we're concerned, there's just no excuse for bad television, film or documentary writing. Unfortunately, it continues to thrive. Don't ask us why because we refuse to have anything to do with it.