How To Watch Television
"There’s quite simply no book out there that can match this in scope and quality. The contributors are a 'Who’s Who' of contemporary television studies, and the prose is engaging and highly readable. If you’re looking for models of how to think about television from a range of perspectives, you need look no further."-Greg M. Smith,author ofBeautiful TV: The Art and Argument of Ally McBeal"[I]t is a damn good collection, featuring 40 different contributions from American scholars, plus Matt Hills from Aberystwyth and Roberta Pearson from Nottingham.   Their contributions are organised under five main themes: Aesthetics and Style; TV Representations: Social Identity and Cultural Politics; TV Politics: Democracy, Nation, and the Public Interest; TV Industry: Industrial Practices and Structures; and TV Practices: Medium, Technology, and Everyday Life.   As with television schedules, it is easy to flick and pick and read—indeed, the editors in their Introduction actively encourage ‘readers to go straight to a particular program or approach that interests them.'"-Geoff Lealand,CST Online"Ask anyone in Hollywood and they’ll tell you the movies are dead. TV is where it’s at, and this book will show you why. Thompson and Mittell offer an essential guide to television today, featuring the most insightful critics writing about the most creative and engaging shows. Whether student, fan, or TV professional, it belongs on your bookshelf."-Michael Curtin,co-author ofThe American Television Industry“There’s not a single dull page in this book…”-Jose Solis,Popmatters"With their urging in the introduction about how the essays serve as models for writing your own criticism, the editors seem to be addressing media studies students.  But because of its well-commissioned and well-balanced tone and diversity/specificity of texts, it is just as instructive for a wide range of burgeoning or established TV scholars as well as inquisitive fans of the various programs.  The collection manages to be potentially enjoyable and useful to scholars and TV fans alike."-Kathleen Collins,Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly