A history of television in 100 programmes
By: Phil Norman
Publisher: The Friday Project, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 2015
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 438
ISBN-13: 9780007575497; 9780007591404
Copyright date: 2015
Subjects: Television broadcasting; Television; Television programs; Social aspects; Popular culture; History
Description: An entertaining and illuminating celebration of televisual history by cultural historian Phil Norman. For decades, television occupied a unique position in the national imagination. By today's standards the 'box' was tiny, but it dominated the living room in a way its technically superior descendants never quite manage. Has the television lost its power in the internet age? Cultural historian Phil Norman goes in search of such questions as he tells the history of TV through 100 ground-breaking programmes. He celebrates the joy of the TV schedule which, in the days of just a few channels, threw up dizzy juxtapositions on a daily basis: an earnest play might be followed by a variety spectacular; a horror anthology that drove children behind furniture followed a sketch show that chewed the carpet. This riotous mix, now slowly disappearing as themed channels and on-demand services take over, gave television a sense of community that no other media could compete with. The wonderful variety of programmes in the book includes overlooked gems and justly wiped follies, overcooked spectaculars and underfunded experiments - just as much a part of TV history as the national treasures and stone-cold classics. A history of television in 100 programmes' revels in the days when television was at the most exciting, creative stage of any medium: a cottage industry with the world at its feet.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Table of contents: title: Tele-crime (1938-9); title: Cookery (1946-51); title: Cavalcade of stars (1949-52); title: Crusader Rabbit (1950-1); title: The Burns and Allen show (1950-8); title: The Ernie Kovas show (1952-61); title: The Philo-goodyear television playhouse: Marty (1953); title: Small time (1955-66); title: The Phil Silvers show (1955-9); title: A show called Fred (1956); title: My wildest dream (1956-7); title: Opportunity knocks (1956-78); title: The singing ringing tree (1957); title: Six-five special (1957-8); title: The strange world of Gurney Slade (1960); title: Armchair theatre: a night out (1960); title: Hancock: the bedsitter (1961); title: Kingsley Amis goes pop (1962); title: That was the week that war (1962-3); title: The Sunday-night play: a suitable case for treatment (1962); title: The tonight show starring Johnny Carson (1962-92); title: World in action (1963-98); title: Play school (1964-88); title: Crossroads (1964-88); title: Le manège enchanté (1964-1971) / The magic roundabout (1965-1977); title: World of sport (1965-85); title: Talking to a stranger (1966); title: The Smothers Brothers comedy hour (1967-9); title: The prisoner: fall out (1968); title: If there weren't any Blacks, you'd have to invent them (1968, 1973); title: Sesame street (1969- ); title: The owl service (1969); title: Nationwide (1969-83); title: The Mary Taylor Moore show (1970-7); title: Miss world (1970- ); title: Columbo (1971-8/1989-2003); title: The largest theatre in the world : the rainbirds (1971); title: Duel (1971); title: The special London Bridge special (1972); title: Un, Dos, Tres ... (1972-2004); title: Inigo Pipkin/Pipkins (1973-81); title: The indoor league (1973-8); title: Whatever happened to the likely leads? (1973-4); title: Thriller (1973-6); title: Tiswas (1974-82); title: Don't ask me (1974-8); title: Supersonic (1975-7); title: The Thrilla in Maniila (1974); title: The Norman Gunston show (1975-9); title: Play for today : double dare (1976); title: Pauline's Quirkes (1976); title: I, Clausdius (1976); title: The fall and rise of Reginald Perrin (1976-9); title: BBC nine o'clock news (1976); title: Battle of the network stars (1976-88) / Star games (1978-80); title: Rock follies (1976-7); title: Trans America ultra quiz (1977-92) / Ultra quiz (1983-5); title: Soap (1977-81); title: Roots : the saga of an American family (1977); title: Leapfrog (1978-9); title: The BBC television Shakespeare (1978-95); title: Connections (1978); title: Blankety blank (1979-90); title: Life on Earth (1979); title: Minder (1979-94); title: Now get out of that (1981-5); title: Artemis 81 (1981); title: Hill Street blues (1981-7); title: The Oxford Road show (1981-5); title: Jane (1982-4); title: Boys from the Blacksuff (1982); title: St Elsewhere (1982-8); title: The tube (1982-7); title: MASH : 'goodbye, farewell and amen' (1983); title: Saturday night affairs (1984); title: Threads (1984); title: Ever decreasing circles (1984-9); title: Heimat : Eine Deutsche Chronik (1984); title: Moonlighting (1985-9); title: Pob's programme (1985-7); title: The Max Headroom show (1985-7); title: A very peculiar practice (1986-8); title: The comic strip presents ... private enterprise (1986); title: Night network (1987-9); title: Mahabbarat (1988-90); title: Def II (1988-94); title: Twin peaks (1990-1); title: Abroad in Britain (1990); title: The real world (1992- ); title: Come on down and out (1993); title: Frasier (1993-2004); title: Our friends in the North (1996); title: This morning with Richard not Judy (1998-9); title: The Sopranos (1999-2007); title: People like us (1999-2001); title: Battlestar Galactica (2004-9); title: Forbrydelsen (2007-12); title: Apple action news (2009- ); title: Louie (2010- ); title: House of cards (2013- ).