Prime-Time Television: A Concise History (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780275981426)

Television is a unique medium in that both its dramas and its comedies have the ability to tell their stories over real time, with characters developing over years rather than just the two hours allowed in a movie or the few hundred pages of a book. Despite this, very few authors have attempted to look at television from this vantage point. Prime-Time Television provides an essential resource for anyone interested in the history of television. The focus here is on programming: the shows, the producers, the genres, the trends, and the influences. Everyone interested in the questions of why the programs look the way they do, why they're scheduled as they are, why some shows air while others are cancelled, and what has shaped and influenced the shows we see, will want this book.

The chapters are organized chronologically, beginning with an examination of radio's influence on early television, and cover all major developments--technological, aesthetic, and to some extent cultural--in the medium. Concise sidebars cover more concise topics, such as the quiz show scandals, and the introduction of the three-camera filmed sitcom with I Love Lucy, a model that has remained the standard for over 50 years.

Author: Barbara Moore,Marvin R. Bensman,Jim Van Dyke
ISBN-10: 0275981428
ISBN-13: 9780275981426
Publisher: Praeger
Language: English
Published: 03/30/2006
Pages: 320
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.41lbs
Size: 9.54h x 6.32w x 1.19d

Review Citation(s):
School Library Journal 07/01/2006 pg. 135
Reference and Research Bk News 08/01/2006 pg. 289
Choice 11/01/2006 pg. 476