Arguing for respect and serious attention to be given to the medium of television, this manifesto takes on the conventional wisdom about TV, challenging allegations that it discourages literacy and encourages violence. David Bianculli seeks to define, explore and embrace the mass medium, heralding television as an ideal forum for art, information and education.

Now in paperback, a rollicking history of the rise and fall of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour --"A stunningly alive portrait of the 1960s and of two very different men who 'refused to shut up' and thereby made TV history" (People).

A dramatic behind-the-scenes look at the rise and fall of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour--the provocative, politically charged program that shocked the censors, outraged the White House, and forever changed the face of television.

Decades before The Daily Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour proved there was a place on...