Not on a TV screen as you are viewing something produced for you if that makes sense. You don't know basically what should be visible and what should not as you have no point of reference. I am willing to bet if you put a say Brightness test pattern on your TV it will be a mile out.
There is a level of black (video black) and white that has more or less set values that directors etc adhere to, so going by guessing alone will be far from the intended look and the detail in a scene that was supposed to be seen (or not seen) will not be accurate. Many other parts of the calibration process will also influence this, adjusting contrast, colour, greyscale will all have an impact.
Here is a short list of things that will also improve your viewing experience:
Set viewing mode to Cinema/Theater for the most accurate preset
Turn off all digital enhancements (intelligent frame creation, noise reduction etc)
Use a calibration disc or the free download i linked to earlier.
Set gamma (if available) to about 2.4 again though this should really be set with a meter.
Set sharpness to zero or it's lowest setting for HD material, maybe a few clicks for SD.
If you are viewing LCD try some ambient lighting behind the TV something that will give off a D65 colour temp. this will improve contrast and perceived black levels.
Hope this helps anyone interested. Let me know what you think?
Strange thing though everyone who commented yesterday has disappeared.
