The New York Times looks at audience viewing trends now and throughout history whenever economic times got tough and, alas, the insanely wealthy have been our characters of choice to watch. “Dallas” and “Dynasty” fulfilled the money void for us during the ’80s. Today, we have the likes of The CW’s “90210” and “Gossip Girl” and MTV’s “Paris Hilton’s My New BFF” and “The Hills” to help us through the current economic meltdown.
—Christopher Perez