Premise:
"What impresses me, in fact, is that with all the blather about the new, there is a hunger for history, and for many people, the old is more relevant than the new."
Hypothesis: History is interesting, so people are curious to learn about it.

it is not possible to tell

Premise:
"It's competing with a comic take on politics, Spin City (ABC, 9 p.m.), featuring guest star Christopher Lloyd as yet another wacky mentor to Michael J. Fox."
Hypothesis: Spin City is the only show airing at 9 PM.

no

Premise:
"A bit of shadowing, maybe, or such like?" Tuppence affected to consider, then shook her head."
Hypothesis: Tuppence decided that the tactic of shadowing was a good choice in this case.
no