Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 791.45097303
EAN: 9780816045556
ISBN: 0816045550
Label: Checkmark Books
Manufacturer: Checkmark Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 512
Publication Date: 2002-10
Publisher: Checkmark Books
Sales Rank: 1220323
Studio: Checkmark Books
Related Items:
Editorial Review:
Product Description:
This guide is a celebration of television as well as a fact-filled reference. It provides a historical guide to the programmes, personalities, and practices of network television from its early days to the end of the 20th century. From game shows to the nightly news, from sitcoms to serious dramas and everything in between, 1000 entries provide story synopses, biographies, production histories, and air dates. Also featured are two appendixes - the top-rated programmes from 1952-1999 and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Annual Emmy Award winners from the second half of the 20th century. Among the shows, characters, and topics covered are: 'The Addams Family'; the 'Bing Crosby Show'; 'Captain Kangaroo'; 'Dynasty'; Andy Griffith; Michael Landon; Mary Tyler Moore; and 'Star Trek'.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Total TV for the baby boomer generation
As a baby-boomer I've always had an interest in television. I mean, in my case it's pretty much all I remember. Two reviews I read intrigued me and so I bought a copy of THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF 20TH CENTURY AMERICAN TELEVISION.
David M. Lisa in his Library Journal review of Feb. 15, 2003 said: "Nearly three years ago, Facts on File published Lackmann's excellent THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN RADIO: An A-Z Guide to Radio from Jack Benny to Howard Stern. Its companion volume is just as valuable, in addition to being fun to read and use. Similar in scope and format to its predecessor, AMERICAN TELEVISION presents more than 1000 capsule descriptions of all major network and syndicated television series from 1947 through 2000, with entries for primary television personalities also included. The attention to detail that characterized AMERICAN RADIO is evident here as well, with listings of broadcast schedules, network information, and show trivia included in each description. In addition, Lackmann offers two excellent appendixes: a listing of the top-rated programs from 1952 to 1999 (divided by television season and including yearly ratings for each program) and Emmy Award winners from 1948 to 1999. Black and white photographs accompany the major entries, and the book's index makes it easy to find your favorite program or personality. Alex McNeil's TOTAL TELEVISION has a similar setup but only goes up to 1995, and while Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh's THE COMPLETE DIRECTORY OF PRIME TIME NETWORK ... Read More
Rating:  - Massive task well executed
What a massive task, to review and include all the television shows from the beginning through 2000. Our first TV entered our home in '50 and has been a fixture ever since. So, to read the sketches for so many of the shows that have been available for this vast period has been a real treat. This book will serve as a useful reference for anyone researching the "vast wasteland" and/or is just looking back on their own history. You will like this book.
Rating: - A concise and useful reference book
This is a wonderful, concise and helpful general reference souce for anyone researching the major television shows and stars of the past century. Unlike other books on the subject, The Encyclopedia of American Television, is easy to read, gives only the important highlights of each show and major personality and is a very attractive looking book. The photographs in the book are nostalgic and provocative. The back of the book has lists of the top twenty shows of the 20th Century, as well as Emmy winners. I think this book would be most useful to school aged children and adults who are interested in an overview of television and its major stars of the past century.
Rating:  - Error-Ridden and Incomplete
I can only find three things to fault with this book: it is riddled with errors; its entries are arbitrary and incomplete; and the indexing, where accurate, is inconsistent. Other than that, I must admit it has some redeeming features: the cover is attractively designed, the text is legible and it is printed on good quality paper. That about sums up the positives.
A complete list of the book's errors would constitute a fair-sized work in itself. Some of them are factual, e.g. that Don Adams was the cartoon voice of "Underdog." (While Adams did do another voice on that series for one season, the title character's was that of Wally Cox.) Many are inconsistencies: for example, in the entry for actor Gene Barry, it states that his "Burke's Law" character was a secret agent, while the entry for the series has it correctly, that he was an LAPD captain; for another, in the "Barney Miller" cast, Linda Lavin is listed as portraying a doctor, but the entry for Lavin has it correctly, that her character was a detective. While an author or compiler of a reference work is entitled to set the parameters for what his work will cover, it is unacceptable to then proceed to violate one's own rules. Lackmann does that here, several times. While series are supposedly limited to those which lasted at least one full season, there are entries for those which did not meet this condition, but others are excluded which did, such successful series as "Laredo" and "Movin' On" (The latter is mentioned in the ... Read More
Rating: - Error-Ridden and Incomplete
I can only find three things to fault with this book: it is riddled with errors; its entries are arbitrary and incomplete; and the indexing, where accurate, is inconsistent. Other than that, I must admit it has some redeeming features: the cover is attractively designed, the text is legible and it is printed on good quality paper. That about sums up the positives.
A complete list of the book's errors would constitute a fair-sized work in itself. Some of them are factual, e.g. that Don Adams was the cartoon voice of "Underdog." (While Adams did do another voice on that series for one season, the title character's was that of Wally Cox.) Many are inconsistencies: for example, in the entry for actor Gene Barry, it states that his "Burke's Law" character was a secret agent, while the entry for the series has it correctly, that he was an LAPD captain; for another, in the "Barney Miller" cast, Linda Lavin is listed as portraying a doctor, but the entry for Lavin has it right, that her character was a detective. And, while an author or compiler of a reference work is entitled to set the parameters for what that work will cover, it is unacceptable to then proceed to violate one's own rules. Lackmann does that here, repeatedly. While series are supposedly limited to those which lasted at least one full season, there are entries for those which did not meet this condition, but others are omitted which did, such successful series as "Laredo" and "Movin' On" (The latter is mentioned in the entry ... Read More
Browse for similar items by category:
|
