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Title: The Showrunners : A Season Inside the Billion-Dollar, Death-Defying, Madcap World of Television's Real Stars by David Wild ISBN: 0-06-093202-3 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: October, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.43 (23 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A Clever And Smart Look Inside Your Television
Comment: I picked up this book on a lark at my local bookstore, being familiar with Wild's work in Rolling Stone, and thought it would be interesting and fun. It delivers. Wild manages to tell us about the stories behind the television series that we know and love. It's told in almost uniformly smart prose, with crackling humor. There are a few problems with the book. First and foremost is that large portions of the book, especially those dealing with "The Norm Show," appeared previously in substantially the same form in Wild's Rolling Stone articles. Another problem is that at times, there are too many stories going on. Wild follows SEVERAL sets of "showrunners," with characters and stories whipping in and out. I'd love to see Wild do a more in-depth look at just one of these people. Sure, some stories predominate--particularly the heartbreaking stories of Rob Thomas' "Cupid" and Paul Simms' "NewsRadio"--but often, I felt like there wasn't enough focus laid on a single storyline. Still, it's well worth picking up, if you're interested in seeing how shows come together in modern TV-Land.
Rating: 2
Summary: Great subject, poor execution
Comment: As someone in this business myself, I eagerly looked forward to this book. I was unfortunately extremely disappointed. It is poorly written, with trite metaphors, images, and phrases repeated over and over again, not to mention occasional grammatical and typographical errors as well. It's too bad, because Wild clearly had access to some very interesting, influential, and important people, and the story he has to tell (about that year's TV season) is compelling (hence the 2 stars). The quality of the writing simply doesn't equal the quality of the material.
It also becomes evident that he didn't have access to certain shows - "Sports Night" was one glaring omission - and he never addresses this, which is particularly strange in light of the fact that he does mention that "Sports Night" was one of the most critically acclaimed shows of that season.
All in all, some interesting tidbits, but in my opinion not well told, and with some serious gaps. When I finished the book I felt frustrated that I'd spent the money I did on it.
Rating: 2
Summary: An unsatisfying chinese meal.
Comment: As a producer in the motion picture and television industries, I found this book was something of a Chinese meal. Once you digest the clever anecdotes, you discover there is very little else of substance. There is virtually nothing about the real mechanics of running a show day to day such as overseeing the writers room or the day to day give and take with network execs. What is especially disappointing is the single-minded focus on sitcoms. There is nothing about dramatic series. Anyone looking for a serious discussion of the TV industry should avoid this glib and shallow treatment.
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Title: TV Creators: Conversations With America's Top Producers of Television Drama (The Television Series) by James L., Jr. Longworth ISBN: 0815606524 Publisher: Syracuse Univ Pr (Trade) Pub. Date: November, 2000 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: This Business of Television by Howard J. Blumenthal, Oliver R. Goodenough ISBN: 0823077047 Publisher: Watson-Guptill Pubns Pub. Date: August, 1998 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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Title: Conversations With My Agent by Rob Long ISBN: 052594222X Publisher: E P Dutton Pub. Date: January, 1997 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: It's All Your Fault: Adventures of the Hollywood Assistant by Bill Robinson, Ceridwen Morris ISBN: 0684869586 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Pub. Date: January, 2001 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Writing Television Sitcoms by Evan S. Smith ISBN: 0399525335 Publisher: Perigee Pub. Date: September, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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