On a pleasant day, on a wooded island not far from Seattle, a troop of amateur geologists trudged across a tall grassy meadow with a purpose: find a lost culture which was completely devoted to television. Led by a self-appointed, charismatic videophile, "Dr. Chew," they unearthed the remains of a 15,000-year old treasure of artifacts, identified, tagged, and dutifully recorded details about them. C. T. Chew, an artist, conceived the expedition as...