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Title: The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows: 1946-Present by TIM BROOKS, EARLE F. MARSH ISBN: 0-345-45542-8 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 14 October, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.71 (35 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Gets better all the time :-)
Comment: I have been purchasing this book ever since the 1st edition in May of 79. While it's true typoes are made and other mistakes occur, they aren't serious ones, and are usually remedied by the next issue 3 years later. In addition, Brooks and Marsh include new info on old shows at times. For example, the 7th edition is the first to identify Wrangler Jane from F Troop's middle and last name "Jane Angelica Thrift". A must have for every tv fan.
Rating: 4
Summary: Very good book on TV shows
Comment: As a young (29) person who is still building a collection of classic TV shows, I found this book a very valuable tool. I don't like it that it says 'to present' in the title, because it seems like a ... trick to have people buy it once it's outdated.
Anyway, I'm going to comment first on what the book has, and the on the flaws.
The book comes with a list of more than 5,500 TV series. Each entry includes original and last air dates, cast and a synopsis, and often interesting notes. It also comes with the primetime schedules for all networks since 1947, a list of Emmy winner, and several rankings (top-rated programs, longest-running series, top 100 series, etc. The index is good, too.
The flaws: Information is not always accurate. I'd like to say this is occasional, but I have spotted several mistakes, and well, I haven't watched all 5500 series, as you can imagine. If I found like 5-6 mistakes in 30 series I really checked (even watched the tapes to make sure), I wonder what the real ratio is.
Also, there's missing shows (mostly from HBO and/or the last year, which probably means they didn't put a lot of work in updating the book).
Still, I think this is a great book to buy for TV fans. However, the information it contains can be easily found on the web (the list of Emmy winners, or information about shows, etc are freely available), so for the casual person who just wants to check a specific fact, it's probably not worth the money.
Rating: 2
Summary: An Uneven And Decidedly Opinionated Book About TV
Comment: This book sort of considers itself the "industry standard" at giving you the facts about television shows. And, in many ways, it does give you a sense of many of the programs listed here, more than six thousand, as the cover states. However, it frequently doesn't know whether it wants to give you the gossipy dish on a program or to clearheadedly state the facts of a show, and it frequently misses the historical records or the most important points about and surrounding the listings.
For example, in the case of television's most celebrated flop, "My Mother The Car," they flatly state the plot of the program, but nothing about how outrageous the concept was or any of the commentary about it. Meanwhile, just over the page, they talk of how many people found the critical darling, "My So-Called Life" whiny and melodramatic!
Either a tome like this should treat all shows with no editorial opinion included, or they should dish the dirt on all programs. It makes the authors seem like rank amateurs to try to be both critics and paladins of television facts.
One final note: They always state, with each ensuing version of this book (currently at the Eighth Edition), that the text is "completely revised and updated." This is a lie. The reviews and comments on every show reviewed in a previous edition is exactly the same as it was when it first appeared. Some of these are embarrassingly outdated, like the comments they made about the landmark miniseries, "Roots."
This book is helpful to people who are aware of the programs firsthand and won't be swayed by the author's biases. However, with internet resources available, this book and many others like it may soon be as dead as many of the shows it purportedly reviews.
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Title: Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide 2004 by Leonard Maltin ISBN: 0451209400 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 05 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $8.99 |
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Title: Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming from 1948 to the Present (4th Ed) by Alex McNeil ISBN: 0140249168 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: September, 1996 List Price(USD): $27.00 |
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Title: The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2004 by Editors of World Almanac ISBN: 0886879108 Publisher: World Almanac Pub. Date: 05 December, 2003 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: TV Land To Go : The Big Books of TV Lists, TV Lore, and TV Bests by Tom Hill ISBN: 0684856158 Publisher: Fireside Pub. Date: 27 November, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: DVD & Video Guide 2004 by MARSHA PORTER, MICK MARTIN ISBN: 0345449932 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 26 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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