Review by Choice Review
Renowned film writer and author of over 30 books on film, including the classic The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, Thomson turns to another medium in this work on the history (biography) of television. The first nine chapters are separated under the heading "The Medium" and deal with the "climate of television." The remaining 12 chapters are grouped in "The Messages," a take on Marshall McLuhan's "the medium is the message." In most of the book, Thomson explores the themes and messages of live television, comedy, documentary, police, news shows, women, role models, US presidents, the long-form show, and shows in syndication. Each chapter reads like a separate essay, with themed chapters of the author's personal observations of what he describes "as the elephant in the room." The chapters begin chronologically with the development of both American and British television broadcasting 60 years ago through 2015. The histories of and photo images from several shows are included throughout the book. The history of television is presented, but the text is important because it's about television itself and its impact on people's lives. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty. --Cynthia Lea Clements, Richland College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Although esteemed film critic Thomson (How to Watch a Movie, 2015) calls this a biography, readers will not find it a chronological account of the birth and rise of television. Instead, Thomson closely examines the medium's cultural impact by taking a largely thematic approach to revealing just how pervasive it has become in our lives. The result is a somewhat anecdotal study that is at its best when Thomson illustrates the way television has given presidents and presidential candidates enormous access to their constituencies or how major events, like the shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald and 9/11, have become heightened and deeply personal via repeated broadcasts into our living rooms. Readers seeking extended analysis of their favorite shows had best look elsewhere. Though Thomson does examine the impact of some of the greats, such as I Love Lucy, Gunsmoke, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and The Sopranos as well as some forgotten gems, his focus is much broader and more complex. This is a large, lavishly illustrated, erudite, and richly analytical look at television and its influence.--Huntley, Kristine Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Prolific film critic and historian Thomson (How to Watch a Movie) ambitiously endeavors to map the history of television in this illustrated volume, but for those who don't admire the author's sauntering style, the results will be less than satisfying. Compiled into thematic chapters with catchy titles such as "The Sit and the Situation," "The Loneliness of the Role Model," and "Women, Wives, and Wonderers," it promises a fresh and practical analysis of the medium but lacks depth. The book looks at a wide assortment of subjects, including stars Donna Reed, Lucille Ball, Bill Cosby, and Jon Stewart, as well as hit shows such as MASH, Law & Order, Seinfeld, and Breaking Bad. However, its operating principle seems to be "throw it at the wall and see what sticks." The author has intriguing historical tidbits to share in this series of loosely organized essays, but his genuine insights are obscured by the slapdash narrative. This weightless study improves whenever the author's dry humor comes to the fore. Casual readers should enjoy this brisk read, but anyone expecting a comprehensive consideration of the medium will have to look elsewhere. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
In the 1960s, communication theorist -Marshall McLuhan famously declared that the "medium is the message," recognizing that the media formats used to distribute content are as influential as the content's messages. Film critic Thomson (How To Watch a Movie; Moments That Made the Movies) certainly prescribes to McLuhan's theory as he turns away from his usual medium of choice, the big screen, and tackles the history of the "elephant" in our living rooms-television. This is not an appraisal of hit TV shows and their players, although there is some of that, but rather a sharp analysis of its impact on collective consciousness. Thomson also provides valuable insight into the different organizational and philosophical structures of British and American TV, i.e., socialized vs. commercial productions and how that affects programming. VERDICT Thomson's discussion of a "crowded medium" can feel haphazard at times, and frequent references to current political figures seem tacked on in an otherwise readable examination of this pervasive medium over the past 60 years.-Amanda Westfall, Emmet O'Neal P.L., Mountain Brook, AL © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The article in the subtitle of this book is telling. The eminent film writer offers not a definitive or comprehensive history of TV but a personal celebration of his particular fascinations and a provocative consideration of the ways in which the very mechanics of the medium affect the audience, both as individuals and as a mass culture.In chapters often focusing on slightly left-field topics, including the problem of role models and the psychological effects of the commercial break, Thomson (How to Watch a Movie, 2015, etc.) organizes the book thematically rather than chronologically. This organization suits his allusive, digressive style, as he analyzes the ways in which TVs unique qualitiesendless variety, constant availability, and insidious tendency toward narcotized reassurance, to name a fewshape and contextualize viewers understanding of the world. By the authors reckoning, the influence of TV on human experience is so profound that we perch on a precipice of complete unreality (or virtual reality), existing only in relation to the screen; in his formulation, the elephant in the room of TVs primacy has become the room. Thomsons insights are typically unsparing and acute, and while many of the implications of his argument are troubling, his love and admiration for the best of TVBreaking Bad gets high marks, and no Thomson fan will be surprised to find multiple appreciations of Angie Dickinsonare palpable. When it suits his purpose, the author delves into more straightforward histories of institutions such as PBS and the BBC, and he provides memorable sketches of figures from Lucy Ricardo to Larry David (David has as confused an attitude to the public as Charlie Chaplin had. But like Charlie he has found release and self-love in performing. He is maybe the most fascinating awful person on television), but this is not merely a reference book. Its a love letter and a warning, beautifully written and deeply disquieting. A bracing, essential engagement with the ramifications of our lives before the small screen. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
