I probably watched more TV as a sprog than was good for me and I turned out all right. Of course, back in them olden days, we didn't have the likes of Big Brother, Survivor [insert obscure hellhole] or The Bachelor to pollute our tiny little minds. Not even much Sesame Street or Play School for me. Instead, I grew up on Fawlty Towers, The Benny Hill Show, The Sweeney, The Odd Couple, Kojak, Starsky & Hutch, Magnum PI, Rush, Home Sweet Home, etc. And look at me now!
As a kid, you can actually pick up a lot about the world through sitcoms and cop shows (along with documentaries, of course), especially human interactions and what's appropriate and what's not. But the idiot box should not be used as a cheap substitute for parental involvement in children's upbringing, because moulding the next generation requires a bit more than tuning into the next exciting instalment of Batman.