Think of how Roots moved society. More recent shows such as Twin Peaks and Sports Night have shown that even television can be artistically adventurous. The quality of writing on some network series, both comedy and drama, is at an all time high. Whereas a film may shoot only two to three pages per day, an hourlong TV drama must shoot six to eight in order to finish within seven days. Rehearsals are perfunctory at best and quality is hard to maintain when you are being pushed.
Art takes time.
But television is not an art form in and of itself any more than a stage floor is. It is merely a platform for the exposure of whatever is placed upon it. It, like stage and film, is a mode for the delivery of dramatic art, or anything else. Television does carry a burden, however, that the other modes don't. It has taken over from film the mantle of mass media leader of the arts.