Caldwell knows a lot, and this class was fun-- watching TV shows and then having Caldwell point out these details you didn't even notice but that tie into a larger picture! It's great.
The essay is graded a bit harshly, though.

Probably the hardest class I've ever had the displeasure of taking. And that's saying something at UCLA, where there are numerous astronomy, graduate level courses. Even if you study, if you spend the entire quarter preparing for ONE of Caldwell's tests, you'll still find it difficult and annoying.

You'd have a better chance taking the SAT blindfolded and having a fork as a writing utensil than passing one of Professor Caldwell's exams. Not to mention, there are three of them, each worse than the last.

Is this course interesting? Sure.
Is Professor Caldwell knowledgeable? Of course.
Is there proper power points, lectures, discussions that improve student's knowledge in order to pass the exams? Nope.

In my opinion, this course is terrible because of the his unorganized lectures, and over organized exams.

Even some of the TA's agree. Although, only one or two of them don't grade as harsh as the rest.

Ironically, it is hard to evaluate a class that is so fundamentally unorganized in an organized manner. John Caldwell is, no doubt, an experienced academic, but having no power points to guide extremely scattered and difficult-to-follow lectures without a central focus, has made this class a less than enjoyable experience (to say the least). The amount of readings and content on the exams is profoundly unreasonable, and the content we learn in lectures and readings is completely ineffective and, to be frank, utterly useless.

The class, overall, is by far the worst I've ever taken at UCLA; I've gone to every single lecture and discussion, and can honestly say that I haven't learn a single thing that I consider valuable (mind you, I'm a Film and Television major). I never give negative reviews of teachers, but this experience was so awful, I had to say something. I hope future FTV classes don't have to take this class, at least not with this instructor.

Professor Caldwell is awesome. Please disregard the dated and poor reviews below (from 2001? c'mon, I was in third grade then). All in all, Caldwell's class is an easy A if you just do the readings and attend class, and the material is fascinating. Caldwell is a preeminent scholar in Film and Television studies--like one of the most prestigious PhDs are our school--so you should take advantage of him as a resource.

Grade Breakdown (course is easy):
-Three non-cumulative tests.
-One extra credit quiz (can raise final grade 5%)
-One final 6-7 page paper comparing two shows.

Weekly Workload:
-One scholarly reading, these can be a little dense and you have to read them because you're tested on them.
-Half of a textbook chapter, these can be a little dense too, and you're also tested on these.
-Lectures, you have to attend lecture because you are tested mostly on lecture material.

Yes, his lectures can be a little scattered, but so what? Just listen and write down what he has to say. His tests are SUPER easy and he doesn't worry about the minutia of his lectures, but rather simple/general points. I plan on taking another class with him because:

A.) He's easy, I think I got 103% ?
B.) He's a riveting lecturer talking about interesting material.