Kategoria BISAC: Performing Arts >> Television - History & Criticism

The classic television show The Twilight Zone explored the possibilities inhering in the ordinary. A Twilight Zone episode moved us by being poignant and intimate, rambunctious or thought provoking. But whether it takes place on an asteroid, in a city pool room, or in the backwoods, it will usually convey both a folklorist s eye for detail and the born raconteur s sense of pace. Rod Serling, the show s originator, main scriptwriter, and artistic director, knew how much burden he could place on his rhetorical and dramatic gifts. Deservedly celebrated as a pioneer fiction writer...

The classic television show The Twilight Zone explored the possibilities inhering in the ordinary. A Twilight Zone episode moved us by being poignant and intimate, rambunctious or thought provoking. But whether it takes place on an asteroid, in a city pool room, or in the backwoods, it will usually convey both a folklorist's eye for detail and the born raconteur's sense of pace. Rod Serling, the show's originator, main scriptwriter, and artistic director, knew how much burden he could place on his rhetorical and dramatic gifts. Deservedly celebrated as a pioneer fiction writer...

In this first volume of a projected three-volume series, Browner covers the 79 episodes of The Andy Griffith Show that were written by Harvey Bullock, Everett Greenbaum, Bill Idelson, and their partners. Photos.

Jonathan Bignell presents a wide-ranging analysis of the television phenomenon of the early twenty-first century: reality TV. He explores its cultural and political meanings, explains the genesis of the form and its relationship to contemporary television production, and considers how it connects with, and breaks away from, factual and fictional conventions in television.

Jonathan Bignell presents a wide-ranging analysis of the television phenomenon of the early twenty-first century: reality TV. He explores its cultural and political meanings, explains the genesis of the form and its relationship to contemporary television production, and considers how it connects with, and breaks away from, factual and fictional conventions in television.

Combining cutting-edge theories of culture and government with programming examples--including Todd TV, Survivor, and American Idol--Better Living through Reality TV moves beyond the established concerns of political economy and cultural studies to conceptualize television's evolving role in the contemporary period.

• A major textbook on the impact of reality and lifestyle television on today's programming, and on broader social, cultural and political trends
  
• Draws on a range of examples from The Apprentice and...

Television in the Multichannel Age is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to the history of multichannel television in all its forms - from cable to direct-to-home satellite and beyond. Chapter by chapter, the book traces the evolution of cable television from its pre-historical origins in the late 1940s to the communications satellites and DBS distribution systems of the modern digital age, both in the U.S. and internationally.

• Guides the reader through the history of multichannel television from its origins in the '40s to the modern age
  ...

Television is one of the most important socializing forces in contemporary culture. This book is a cultural history of prime-time television in America during the 1990s.

• Examines changes that took place in programming, such as the rapid adoption of cable, the proliferation of content providers, the development of niche marketing, the introduction of high-definition television, the blurring of traditional genres, and the creation of new formats like reality-based programming
  
• Argues that television programmes of the 1990s afforded viewers a symbolic...

Television Truths considers what we know about TV, whether we love it or hate it, where TV is going, and whether viewers should bother going along for the ride. This engaging volume, written by one of television's best known scholars, offers a new take on the history of television and an up-to-date analysis of its imaginative content and cultural uses.

• Explores the pervasive, persuasive, and powerful nature of television: among the most criticized phenomena of modern life, but still the most popular pastime ever
  
• Written by John Hartley, one...

Television Truths considers what we know about TV, whether we love it or hate it, where TV is going, and whether viewers should bother going along for the ride. This engaging volume, written by one of television's best known scholars, offers a new take on the history of television and an up-to-date analysis of its imaginative content and cultural uses.

• Explores the pervasive, persuasive, and powerful nature of television: among the most criticized phenomena of modern life, but still the most popular pastime ever
  
• Written by John Hartley, one...

Defining Visions is a powerful narrative social history that examines television's rise as the great -certifying agent- in American life. This newly updated and fully revised edition extends its coverage to the end of the 20th century. It defines the -Television Age- as a discrete period in American history bracketed by monumental events--the triumph of the Allied victory of WWII and the devastation of 9/11.

• A powerful narrative social history that examines television's rise as the great 'certifying agent' in American life
• Extends its coverage to the end of the...

Defining Visions is a powerful narrative social history that examines television's rise as the great -certifying agent- in American life. This newly updated and fully revised edition extends its coverage to the end of the 20th century. It defines the -Television Age- as a discrete period in American history bracketed by monumental events--the triumph of the Allied victory of WWII and the devastation of 9/11.

• A powerful narrative social history that examines television's rise as the great 'certifying agent' in American life
• Extends its coverage to the end of the...

Hollywood Warts 'N' All is an anthology of scandal, trivia and anecdotes about the first one hundred years of American cinema. For more than a decade the author has gleaned thousands of items from hundreds of films, biographies and movie publications in general, focusing on the bizarre, the scandalous and the controversial aspects of Tinseltown and, in particular, the private and public lives of the stars themselves. As the title implies, it is a no-holds-barred portrait of an industry notorious for its promiscuity, eccentricities and outrageous behaviour.
In these pages the reader will...

Rooney combines extensive research with a lively personal voice and engaging narrative style to untangle the myths and presuppositions surrounding the club, and reveal its complex and far-reaching cultural influence. Comprehensive and up-to-date, the book features a wide survey of recent commentary, and describes the Club's suspension of operations in April 2002, as well as its resumption in June 2003 with a new focus on "great books."

(Applause Books). Television history was made on April 30, 1997, when comedian Ellen DeGeneres and her sitcom alter-ego Ellen Morgan, "came out" to her close friends and 36 million viewers. This groundbreaking episode represented a significant milestone in Amerian television. For the first time, a TV series centered around a lesbian character who was portrayed by an openly gay actor. The millions of viewers who tuned in that historic night were witnesses to a new era in television. THE PRIME TIME CLOSET offers an entertaining and in-depth glimpse into homosexuality on television from the...

In an age when the American public relies more on television for its news than any other medium, Edward Jay Epstein's detailed, probing analysis of the decision-making process in network news organizations has achieved the status of a classic. Mr. Epstein shows how internal corporate policy and budget requirements shape the direction of television news coverage. What we see on the network evening news, he demonstrates, does not mirror reality because TV's essential aim is not to inform but to excite viewers enough to induce them to "stay tuned." "The best book ever written about any aspect of...

Whatever happened to Bozo the Clown, to Aunt Norma, to Solomon C. Whiskers, those television celebrities who hammed it up between cartoons and contests during local kids' shows?

In Hi There, Boys and Girls America's Local Children's TV Programs, Tim Hollis tracks down the story of every known local children's TV show from markets across the United States.

There have been many books about children's television on the networks, and such shows as Captain Kangaroo, Howdy Doody, and Sesame Street are legends in broadcasting.

However, the local branch of...

For eight wonderful years "The Waltons, " the story of a family living in the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains during the Depression, entertained America and the world. Yet this television show was more than entertaining. Each episode combined wonderful stories and "teachable moments" in which adults and children alike learned the importance of honesty, hard work, respect, responsibility, self-sacrifice, and kindness. As is true in most families, the Waltons faced many challenges, occasionally stumbled along the way, but they struggled to live their lives within the framework of...

TV's Grooviest Variety Shows (of the '60s and '70s)' is an irresistible page-turning account of TV's greatest and goofiest variety shows of the psychedelic 1960s and '70s. Designed to be browser-friendly, the book covers the main shows of the era?Ed Sullivan, Lawrence Welk, Dean Martin, the Smothers Brothers, 'Laugh-In, ' Flip Wilson, 'Sonny and Cher, ' 'Midnight Special, ' classic 'Saturday Night Live' (1975-80), 'SCTV, ' and 'The Muppets.' Each of these key chapters is fast-moving and fun, with quick, easy-to-skim sidebars like Memorable Moments,"" ""Quotable Quotes,"" and ""Bloopers &...

With an eye for the eccentric, amusing, or downright bizarre, Sweeney's portraits offer a glimpse at celebrity from the other side of the curtain during the peak years of the "Tonight Show."