In this episode Brian Winston analyzes the issue of reality versus representation in Black sitcoms. While watching clips from Different Strokes, Hill Street Blues, Benson, 227 and The Cosby Show (the most popular show on television in 1985), Winston examines the effort made to represent race relations realistically. He questions the value of realism in television and the expectation that media can help solve complex social issues. Does drama need to be sociologically accurate? He argues that truthful representation is not enough to solve social problems. The liberal hope of being progressive by showing negative depictions of blacks and racist whites may perpetuate more stereotypes than break harmful boundaries. With the common sentiment that television skews *everything* where do positive and negative representations of black characters start and end? Winston emphasizes that understanding the television production process is crucial for a critical understanding of how television creates meaning. Set in PTTV’s classic hand-painted living room, with R&B music and slides. Brian Winston analyzes the racial workings of Black television. Winston is the first Lincoln Chair of Communications at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom. He is a former dean of the College of Communications at Penn State University and former chair of cinema studies at New York University. He was also the director of the Center for Journalism Studies at the University of Wales College of Cardiff. He has worked on television current affairs and features and as a print journalist. He is a communications scholar, journalist, Emmy award-winning documentary scriptwriter and author of “Lies, Damn Lies and Documentaries” and is known for being one of the first to write on the subject of documentary and ethics.