The invention of television in the late 1920s would have lasting effects on the world. By the late 1940s, televisions began appearing in homes across the United States, although at that time they were still expensive and rare. The magic of television fascinated people, and in 1946, thirteen-year-old Jim Henson insisted that his family have a television of their own. As he would later say: “I forced my family to buy a set. I absolutely loved television" (qtd. in ch. 2, Jones). Religiously watching the four stations available in the Washington area throughout his adolescence, the lifelong gadget lover decided he would work in television. He watched the variety shows and cartoons in middle school and high school, but during the senior year a milestone occurred for television. In March 1954, television broadcast the hearing between Senator Joseph McCarthy and the U.S. Army It was Jim's first experience with the immense power of television as an educator as well as an entertainer. That episode would stay with him throughout his life (Ch. 2, Jones). Henson has worked in television and film. He is best known for creating the Muppets, but his work includes several experimental live action shorts and two feature films made with animatronics. He was fascinated by technology and innovation in puppetry and other media. For example, the documentary Youth 68, a one-hour production about the various lifestyles of the 1960s, was made for technical rather than political or social reasons. Jim was more interested in playing with the available technology of the time than in conveying a message through his content. His love of complicated puppets would manifest itself… in the middle of the paper…, The Muppet Show and Fraggle Rock became the first Western shows broadcast in the Soviet Union and were broadcast in ninety countries in total (ch. 11). Jim's vision of the power, role and responsibility of television can be summed up in his acceptance speech when he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987: Television is already one of the most powerful influences on our culture, but because it so powerful that it comes with great responsibility. And I think those of us who make programs, particularly for children, need to be aware of what we're putting out there. I think that's what I enjoy, and why I'm so grateful for this very special honor... it makes my work, or rather my fun, so rewarding. (qtd in ch. 13, Jones) Works Cited Jones, Brian Jay. Jim Henson: the biography. New York: Ballantine Books, 2013. Kindle ebook.